PH:1
city was quiet that night Unnaturally quiet.The road behind the campus
long,isolated.
Tap…
Tap…
Tap… (Footsteps.)
Alan, ( student).,walking fast,Bag slung over his shoulder.Phone in his hand.
9:41 PM time didn't change.
"What the…?"....
(No Signal)..
looked around,wind still Not even the leaves moved.
Bzzzt!!
streetlight flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Sounds faded,,, The distant hum of vehicles gone.
"Hello…?"
When he spoke,his own voice felt unfamiliar to him.
Click!!!! (From behind)
A metallic sound,Like a camera adjusting.he didn't turn around.
!!!! His eyes widened,Breathing quickened.On his phone screen,
something flashed for a second.
"—ERROR—"
Then....Flick....
light ,,stabilized,wind returned,,,,,Sounds came back...
The road,,,empty.....
(2)The Next Day – College:
"He didn't come back."
hostel warden's voice,,,
In the classroom,during attendance.
"ALAN...?"
Silence.
Someone laughed Then stopped.
"Wasn't he a topper?"...
"He wouldn't just disappear."...
"This isn't the first time, right…?"..
sentence....
(Not the first time.)
It stabbed something inside Elior Vale....,Elior's eyes scanned the campus.
The corridors longer than usual.
CCTV cameras too many,Drones
flying low.
Bzzzz…...
One drone passed above him.
For a moment it stopped,
0.5 seconds.
Then moved again,No one else noticed.Elior's chest rose and fell rapidly.
"This…
this isn't just in my head."....
(Canteen),,,,
The clatter of plates Steam from tea.
But conversations felt… broken.
"Did anyone see him last night?"
"What did the police say?"
"Even the media hasn't reported anything…"
As Elior sipped his coffee,
Lyra sat on the chair opposite him.
She didn't touch her food,
"Did you hear?",, she asked quietly.
Her eyes shifted camera Door.
Camera again.
"Hear what?"
"This is the third one."
Elior froze.....
"Third?"
"Two others before him…"
"…toppers."
For a moment,
canteen noises dulled in Elior's ears.
Tick ....
Time stalled again,Lyra looked at him.
"You saw it too, didn't you?"
she asked softly.
"Saw what?"...
"That small… delay."
Cold spread through his body,
"How do you know about that…?"
Lyra didn't answer.
"There's something here
we're not supposed to see."
"And someone…
is watching it."....
(after some moments later)
Elior stood on the hostel rooftop.
Neon lights,Giant screens,Flying drones.city was alive.
But that life was not free.
Before his eyes ""Flash.""
A single readable line.
[Subject Noted.]
No sound,Only letters.
Elior stepped back..
"Let the next one who disappears…"
"…not be only Alan"....
siren wailed in the distance.....