It was a normal morning in Luis's university routine.
He had just finished a short exam and was walking down the hallway with his twin, John, and Félix, one of his childhood friends. Félix's face was the same as always when a grade was at stake: furrowed brows, restless eyes, lips moving silently as he mentally reviewed every answer.
"Excellent, another exam passed," he finally said, euphoric, after checking his notes as if he could summon extra points through sheer faith. He tucked the notebook under his arm. "By the way, have you thought about where we're going? We have an hour before the next class starts."
Luis shrugged. As far as he was concerned, any place was fine as long as he could eat something. John, on the other hand, already had his phone in hand, sliding his thumb across the screen.
"If you ask me, we should get something light," John said without looking up. "Huh… messages from Cisco. Did something happen?"
Cisco. Francisco. The fourth member of that group that had survived childhood, moving houses, changing schools, and even stupid fights over things no one remembered anymore. He studied a different major, so they only crossed paths with him in some basic classes… and in the group chat, where Francisco sometimes appeared like a hurricane full of new ideas.
"I don't think so," Luis replied, without much emotion. "He probably wants to show us another story. Yesterday he said something about the novel contest, remember?"
John and Félix nodded almost instantly. Bombarding them with messages had been part of Francisco's essence since he was a kid. There were days when he sent twenty voice notes just to explain a scene no one had asked for.
"Back to the point," Luis said when the elevator doors opened with a metallic sound. "Burger and soda. The kiosk is empty at this hour."
"I second the motion," Félix replied. "Let Cisco know so he can catch up with us."
At that moment, Félix's phone started ringing.
Félix answered with an automatic smile, as if he already knew the punchline. "Speaking of the king of Rome…"
At first, his tone was the usual one: light, mocking, confident. But a few seconds were enough for the smile to fall apart on his face. His eyes hardened. His jaw tightened. And when he looked at Luis and John, his expression was different—genuine concern.
Luis felt an uncomfortable knot form in his stomach.
Félix made a quick gesture, pointing at the elevator. "Get in. So I can hear better."
The three of them stepped inside. The doors closed.
Félix pressed the phone against his ear and lowered his voice. "Now they can hear you. Repeat what you told me, please."
On the other side of the call, Francisco sounded… strange. Not upset. Not scared. More like excited, like someone who finally hears an old song again.
"S-Sorry," the voice said. "It's just that… I'm excited to hear your voices. So many things have happened in these years. I'll see you where we agreed. I have a lot to tell you."
Luis's stomach sank further.
"What!? But we talked this morning," he blurted out before he could stop himself.
John reacted too. "Cisco, where are you? What happened to you?"
There was no answer. The call ended.
And with that cut, the sense of normality shattered.
For a couple of seconds, none of them knew what to say. The elevator kept going down, calm, as if the world hadn't just tilted one degree toward the impossible.
Félix forced a laugh that didn't come out right. "Looks like we already lost him. Should we call him Don Ciscote?"
Silence.
"You know… like Don Quixote," he added, defeated. "I don't know why I even bother."
John gave him a light tap on the shoulder, half serious, half friendly. "Keep practicing. Maybe someday you'll be funny."
"Just don't throw bad jokes along the way," Luis finished.
He didn't want to be rude. He just wasn't in the mood. Félix could get a perfect score without breaking a sweat, but if humor were graded, he would fail with honors.
The elevator bell rang. The doors opened.
Luis took a step.
A chill ran down his spine like an icy hand, and the world gave a small lurch. The dizziness was brief, treacherous. He stumbled, braced a hand against the frame, and still ended up with his knee hitting the floor.
There was silence.
Luis took a deep breath, waiting for the usual reaction: a joke, a hand, a question. Nothing.
"Thanks for the concern," he said sarcastically. "I'll remember it next time one of you feels sick."
There was still no response.
At first, Luis thought it was payback for his comments. He could be sarcastic, sure, but everyone had flaws. However, the silence stretched on too long. It started to feel… wrong.
Luis stood up and turned around.
John and Félix were still inside the elevator.
Still.
Not like someone lost in thought. Still like a photograph. Not blinking. Not breathing. No intention.
"What are you waiting for?" Luis asked, his voice coming out higher. "Don't just stand there. Let's go!"
He walked toward them. Reached out. Touched Félix's arm.
Nothing.
He spoke to John, louder. Shook him.
Nothing.
The air grew thick in his lungs.
Luis looked around, searching for someone. A student with a backpack, a professor, anyone. There were people... but they all stood still, as if time had stopped.
"What the hell…?" he muttered. "This can't be happening."
'I must be dreaming,' he tried to convince himself. 'I fainted. Yeah. That makes sense. A vivid dream. An imbalance. Stress. Whatever.'
The problem was that the dream didn't break. And worse—it felt too real.
Then he heard it.
A hum.
At first it was faint, like a mosquito inside his ear. Then it grew, clearer, more invasive, until it seemed to vibrate in the bones of the building.
Luis swallowed.
'I don't care if this is a dream,' he thought with desperate clarity. 'I'm not staying to see what's making that noise.'
He ran through the hallways of the building, dodging immobile bodies like human statues. The hum followed him.
It didn't matter if he turned left. It didn't matter if he went downstairs or through doors. The sound stayed behind him… as if it was chasing him without moving.
When he finally got outside the building, the hum stopped.
Silence fell all at once.
Luis turned around, panting, expecting to see something. A shadow. A drone. A person. Any explanation.
There was nothing.
"Whatever it was… it's gone now," he murmured.
And just as he tried to leave the building, a white light enveloped him.