A Voice in the Dark

Damian's breath came in short, shallow gasps.

The voice had been real. It wasn't his imagination. It had spoken his name, curling through the air like a ghostly whisper, crawling into the deepest parts of his mind.

His fingers clenched into the fabric of his jeans as he forced himself to move. He grabbed his phone from the table and turned on the flashlight, sweeping the beam across the room.

Nothing.

But that didn't mean he was alone.

His laptop screen remained black, the glow of the city outside casting faint, shifting shadows on the walls. His heart hammered against his ribs. Think, Damian. He needed to figure out what was happening.

Swallowing hard, he turned off the flashlight and stood still, listening.

Silence.

For a moment, it seemed as if the world had stopped breathing. The only sound was the rhythmic pounding of his own pulse in his ears.

Then—footsteps.

Slow. Measured. Coming from behind him.

Every nerve in his body screamed run, but he couldn't. He was frozen, his muscles locked in place.

The footsteps stopped.

And then, just inches behind him, the voice returned.

"You are not safe."

Damian spun around, fists clenched, but the room was empty.

A sharp breath tore from his lips. His mind was racing, trying to piece together something—anything—that made sense.

Had he imagined it? No. He knew what he had heard.

And worse—he knew something was here.

His chest tightened. "Who are you?" he demanded, his voice barely above a whisper.

Silence.

He swallowed hard, taking a cautious step forward. His body was tense, every muscle coiled as if expecting something to reach out from the shadows and grab him.

He clenched his fists. "Show yourself."

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—his laptop screen flickered.

Damian whipped his head toward it. The screen remained dark, but faintly, just for a second, something appeared. A word. A name.

Lucian.

The name sent a jolt through him, like a distant memory clawing its way to the surface. He didn't know why, but something about it felt familiar.

The screen flickered again.

This time, a message.

"Find Lucian before they find you."

Damian took a step back, his throat dry. "Who is 'they'?" he whispered.

No response. The screen went black once more.

A shiver crawled down his spine.

Everything inside him screamed that this was the point of no return.

He had two choices: pretend none of this had happened and try to go back to his normal life… or follow the warning and find out the truth before it was too late.

Deep down, he already knew.

He had to find Lucian.

Because whoever they were… they were already coming for him.