The bus had already passed him.
Adrian was sure of it.
He remembered the wind rushing against his face. The roar of the engine. The heavy vibration through the ground. He had even taken a step forward, preparing himself for the long walk home.
But when he looked up again, the bus was still there.
Waiting.
The doors were open.
Adrian frowned.
Something felt wrong.
The engine hummed, but the sound wasn't natural. It repeated the same low note over and over, like a broken recording stuck in a loop.
The streetlights above flickered.
On.
Off.
On.
Off.
A pattern.
Adrian blinked.
The bus was gone.
The road was empty.
He stood there for a long moment, staring at the space where it had been, his breath slow and controlled. His body felt tense, like he had stepped somewhere he wasn't supposed to.
"...I need sleep," he muttered.
He rubbed his eyes and started walking.
The city at night was never quiet.
But tonight, it felt hollow.
Neon signs buzzed. Traffic lights changed for no reason. Somewhere in the distance, sirens wailed.
Then they stopped.
Not faded.
Stopped.
Mid-sound.
Adrian froze.
He waited.
Nothing.
The silence pressed against his ears.
A cold feeling crawled down his spine.
You're imagining things.
Stress. Exhaustion. Lack of sleep. That was all. Anyone would start seeing things after weeks of overtime and cheap coffee.
He forced himself to keep moving.
At the next corner, a couple stood under a broken streetlamp, arguing loudly.
"I told you, I didn't—"
The woman stopped.
Reset.
"I told you, I didn't—"
Adrian's steps slowed.
The man made the exact same gesture. Same hand movement. Same tone. Same breath.
"I told you, I didn't—"
The loop broke.
Both of them continued like nothing had happened.
Adrian turned away quickly.
His heart began to race.
By the time he reached his apartment building, his hands were shaking.
The place was old and forgotten. The elevator had been broken for years. The stairwell lights flickered constantly.
Tonight, they flickered in rhythm.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Halfway up, Adrian stopped.
The echo of his footsteps continued after he stopped.
Step.
Step.
Step.
He turned.
No one.
The sound repeated again.
His breathing became shallow.
"...Enough," he whispered.
He forced himself to keep climbing.
Inside his room, the air felt thick.
He dropped his bag and sat down, staring at nothing. The city skyline outside his window shimmered strangely, the edges of buildings bending like heat waves rising from asphalt.
Minutes passed.
Or seconds.
He couldn't tell.
Finally, he pulled out his phone and opened the camera.
His reflection stared back at him.
Pale. Tired. Eyes shadowed from sleepless nights.
"Am I going insane?" he asked quietly.
The screen flickered.
For a split second, his reflection moved after him.
Delayed.
Adrian froze.
He moved again.
Normal.
His chest tightened.
"No..."
He stood abruptly, pacing the small room.
This wasn't stress.
This wasn't exhaustion.
Something was wrong.
A loud crash came from the street below.
Adrian rushed to the window.
A car had slammed into a streetlight. People gathered. Someone shouted. An ambulance arrived, sirens screaming.
Then—
Silence.
The scene reset.
The car was untouched. The streetlight stood straight. No crowd. No ambulance.
Nothing.
Adrian stumbled back.
Cold sweat ran down his spine.
"What... is happening?"
He forced himself to breathe.
Think.
Observe.
Patterns.
There were patterns.
The lights. The sounds. The loops.
It wasn't random.
It was structured.
Like code.
Like errors.
Like—
A glitch.
The word appeared in his mind.
And the moment he thought it, the world around him flickered violently.
The walls bent.
The air grew heavy.
For a terrifying instant, Adrian felt something else.
A presence.
Watching.
Studying.
Measuring.
His heart pounded.
Slowly, he turned toward the window.
The street below was empty.
Except for one person.
A man stood beneath the streetlight.
He was looking directly at Adrian.
Smiling.
The moment their eyes met, Adrian felt a chill unlike anything he had ever known.
Then the man disappeared.
Gone.
Adrian stood frozen, staring into the empty night.
His instincts screamed.
Something had just noticed him.
And for the first time in his life, Adrian Vale realized—
The world was broken.
And he was the only one who could see it.