Episode 5: The Emergence of a Terrifying Shadow

That morning felt strange for Queensha, Seno, and Sagena. The cold air pierced their skin, even though the sun was already high. After a night filled with mysterious rumbling sounds, they woke up with an unexplainable sense of unease.

Queensha pressed a button on her phone, trying to contact her friends to see if they felt the same. But there was no answer. No signal. No sign of life except for the battery icon slowly draining.

Seno rubbed his face, his breathing heavy. Normally, he always had something to say—whether a joke or a sarcastic remark. But this time, he just stared at his lifeless phone screen, his eyes filled with anxiety.

"It's like... everything's dead," he muttered, his voice lower than usual.

Sagena, standing by the window, looked outside with a tense expression. His eyes followed the dry leaves swirling in the wind on the empty streets. The city, usually bustling with activity, now looked like a ghost town. No sound of vehicles, no street vendors calling out, not even birds dared to chirp.

"This isn't just a power outage," he murmured, as if speaking to himself.

The suffocating silence made it impossible for them to stay still. Something felt terribly wrong. Cautiously, they decided to step outside and check the situation.

The moment their feet touched the asphalt, the air felt even colder. Queensha hugged herself, tightening her jacket. The once traffic-clogged streets were now eerily empty, as if time had come to a halt.

"Where is everyone?" Queensha whispered.

Their pace quickened as curiosity turned into fear. They walked past several houses with doors left open, yet no one was inside. Dining tables were still set with unfinished meals, a standing fan lay toppled on the floor as if it had just fallen. It was as if the residents had vanished instantly—without warning, without taking anything with them.

"Look at this," Seno pointed at a car parked by the side of the road, its door wide open. The engine was still warm.

"People left in a hurry," Sagena added. "Or... something worse happened."

Queensha shivered, a chill running down her spine.

Then, they saw it.

A dark shadow, faint and blurry, stood at the end of the street. At first, they thought it was just another person—maybe someone just as confused as they were. But something was off.

The figure moved too slowly, too stiffly, as if its joints weren't functioning properly. Its body swayed gently back and forth, as if listening to a rhythm they couldn't hear.

"Seno, don't go near it," Queensha whispered, her voice caught in her throat.

Seno ignored her and stepped slightly forward. "Maybe they need help."

Queensha wanted to pull him back, but before she could move, the shadow began to change.

With an unnatural motion, its head tilted to the side at an impossible angle. Then suddenly—at a speed that defied logic—it turned to face them.

Queensha held her breath. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw its face.

Or rather, the lack of one.

Its face was nothing but a pulsing void of blackness, as if something was trying to emerge from within. No eyes, no nose, no mouth. Just a hollow darkness, shifting like liquid shadow.

"RUN!" Queensha screamed instinctively.

Without a second thought, the three of them spun around and sprinted.

Their footsteps echoed through the empty streets. Their breaths came in ragged gasps, their chests rising and falling rapidly. But another set of footsteps followed—faster than they expected.

Seno glanced back, his face drained of color. "They're getting closer!"

From the street corner, more figures appeared. Faceless beings, moving with impossible speed, gliding like shadows creeping over the asphalt.

"Left! Into that alley!" Sagena shouted.

They made a sharp turn, nearly slipping on the uneven ground. But one of the figures had already appeared ahead, blocking their escape.

Queensha skidded to a stop, her heart pounding wildly.

"We're trapped," Seno whispered.

Sagena clenched his fists. "We can't just stand here!"

The three of them stood back-to-back, their breaths coming in quick, shallow gasps. The shadows closed in, surrounding them from all sides.

In the deafening silence, a low hissing sound filled the air, like wind whispering through ruins.

Suddenly, one of the figures lunged forward.

Sagena reacted fast. Instinctively, he grabbed a large rock from the ground and hurled it with all his strength. The rock hit the shadow's head—only to pass through as if striking mist.

The shadow remained unaffected.

"Damn it! That won't work!"

Queensha took a shaky step back, her legs trembling. "What do we do now?"

Just as their hope started to fade, another sound rang through the air.

A deep, thunderous roar.

The shadows suddenly froze.

Then, one by one, they turned—and vanished into the darkness as if swallowed by the night.

The three teenagers stood frozen, trying to process what had just happened.

"What was that?" Queensha's voice shook.

Sagena swallowed hard, his body still tense. "I don't know… but we need to get out of here before they come back."

Without wasting another second, they ran in the opposite direction, hoping to find answers in a city that was becoming more unfamiliar—and terrifying—by the second.

The night breeze blew gently, carrying a faint scent of damp earth and something foreign—something that made Aisyah's hair stand on end. Her sweaty fingers gripped her phone tightly, pressing it against her ear anxiously.

"Delisha? Are you still there?" Her voice trembled, reflecting the growing anxiety tightening in her chest.

"Yeah... I'm here," Delisha's voice was quieter than usual, no longer cheerful. "We need to gather immediately. This—this isn't a coincidence."

Gathan let out a long sigh before finally speaking. "Last night, I heard something outside my house. Like a growl, but... deeper, heavier. I thought it might just be a stray dog, but now I'm not so sure."

"I saw something too," Jasmine added, her voice shaky. "A black shadow. Standing in front of my window. I... I thought it was just my imagination, but when I blinked, it disappeared."

Nizam and Azzam exchanged glances from their respective homes. They listened to their friends' conversation, feeling the same unease creeping in.

"This is strange," Nizam muttered, biting his lip. "The city suddenly feels too quiet—no cars, no human voices. The power's out, too. It's like... we've been abandoned."

Azzam wiped his sweaty face. "Then what do we do? Just stay in our homes and wait for something we don't even understand?"

They all fell silent for a moment, trying to process the situation.

"Should we meet up?" Delisha finally asked.

"But where?" Aisyah whispered. "If we go outside and... something's out there—"

Silence.

But before they could decide, that rumbling sound returned. This time, it was clearer. Not the wind, not a building trembling. It was the sound of heavy footsteps, as if something massive was walking through the city streets.

Aisyah's heart pounded. She pressed her back against the wall, trying to steady her breathing. "Did you hear that?"

"Shit," Gathan muttered. "That's not a normal sound."

Delisha clutched the hem of her shirt, peering out the window. "Is it... getting closer?"

Jasmine held her breath. "I think... yes."

Around them, the eerily silent city suddenly felt suffocating. As if the air itself refused to flow. The heavy footsteps grew closer. They could feel the vibrations in their floors, in the air, in their chests that tightened with dread.

Then, suddenly—

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

A loud scream shattered the silence. But it wasn't a normal human scream. It was high-pitched, piercing, mixed with agony and fury. Like the cry of a wounded beast... or a predator hunting its prey.

Aisyah clamped a hand over her mouth, holding back a gasp. Delisha immediately crouched under the table, her body trembling.

"What was that?!" Nizam whispered sharply.

"Don't move... don't make a sound..." Azzam murmured, his eyes wide, his body frozen.

Outside, the heavy footsteps grew louder. Closer now, as if something was pacing around their houses.

Bang!

A loud thud struck something outside Aisyah's house. She gasped, crawling backward into the corner of her room.

Bang! Bang!

This time, harder.

Something was trying to get in.

Jasmine pressed her ear against the wall, listening to something that made her body tremble even more. "Oh my God..." she whispered. "It's right in front of my house."

The footsteps dragged along the ground, as if the creature lacked proper balance. But as time passed, its movements grew faster, more erratic.

Gathan tried peeking through a crack in his window. And the moment he did, he nearly screamed.

A large black shadow, taller than any human, stood in the middle of the street. Its form was unclear, like shifting dark mist. But in the center of its face, two dim red points gleamed—eyes. Eyes that glowed in the darkness.

For a moment, it didn't move. Then—

It turned its head directly toward Gathan's window.

Gathan's heart nearly stopped. He collapsed onto the floor, his breathing frantic. "Shit... shit... shit... it saw me!"

"Don't move!" Azzam warned. "Don't make a sound!"

But it was too late.

The shadow began moving. At first, it stood still. Then, it shot forward, gliding unnaturally above the ground. Gathan froze, paralyzed by the suffocating fear.

Aisyah gripped her phone tightly, nearly crying. "What do we do?"

Delisha, who had been trembling in fear moments ago, suddenly spoke in a low but firm voice. "We need to get out of here. Now."

Jasmine turned to her, eyes wide. "But where?!"

"To one place where we can be together," Delisha answered. "If we stay separated, we'll be easier to pick off!"

Outside, the rumbling footsteps and distant screams intensified. More of them now.

They didn't have much time.

"Let's choose a meeting place!" Nizam urged.

Aisyah swallowed hard. She knew they needed to reunite—before something horrifying reached them first.

But before anyone could suggest a location, another sound emerged from outside.

Not footsteps.

Not screams.

But heavy breathing, fogging up their windows.

The creature was right outside.