Chapter 6 – Vanishing Evidence
Emily’s breath hitched, white mist curling in the frigid night air. The figure did not seem to move, did not speak, it just stood there at the mouth of the alley, still as a statue, like he was made of the shadows themselves.
Her phone buzzed again.
Unknown Number: “You look rather stunning tonight, Emily.”
Her entire body screamed at her to sprint. Her legs tightened, her pulse thudded in her throat, but something about those words froze her in place. Whoever it was, they wanted her afraid. And they were winning.
“Sarah!” Emily’s voice cracked as she turned toward the office doors.
Sarah appeared a moment later, shrugging into her coat. “Emily? What the hell are you... ”
Emily grabbed her by the arm, nearly dragging her into the street. “Look! Right there!”
Sarah squinted across the road, her reporter’s eyes scanning the alley. But the figure was gone. The space where he had stood was empty, the shadows still and undisturbed.
Sarah turned back with a frown. “At what?... There’s nobody there.”
Emily’s heart plummeted. “No... no.... no.... no He was right there. I saw him. He was standing over there, he was watching me!”
“Em,” Sarah said carefully, like she was trying to soothe a child. “All I see is a busted streetlight and a rat digging through a takeout bag.”
Emily’s chest heaved, an idea came to her, she shoved her phone into Sarah’s hand. “Fine.... Then look at this....look at these texts. Read them.”
Sarah tilted the screen toward her face, scrolling slowly. Emily watched her friend’s expression shift from scepticism to confusion.
But then Sarah looked up. “Emily… there is nothing here. Just my messages. You, asking me to come over.”
Emily snatched the phone back, her stomach churning. The screen glowed blankly, and the damning words gone as if they had never existed.
Her throat closed. “No... no, they were there. I saw them. They were right here.”
Sarah’s face softened in a way that made Emily’s skin crawl. “Em, you are exhausted. You have not slept in days. You are letting your head get the better of you.”
“I am not imagining this!” Emily’s voice came out louder than she intended, sharp enough to make a man walking by glance at her. She lowered her tone. “I saw him, Sarah. He was right there. And the messages.... they were there too.”
Sarah’s gaze lingered on her for a moment, then she sighed and slipped her arm through Emily’s. “Come on. Let’s get inside before you freeze. We will figure this out together.”
Emily wanted to argue, but the pity in Sarah’s eyes hollowed her out. Her fight drained away, leaving only the cold, gnawing dread.
\~~~
Back in Emily’s apartment, the air felt too still, too heavy. She tossed her coat aside and paced the living room while Sarah sank into the couch.
“Whoever is doing this,” Emily whispered, “they are smart.... They know how to make me look crazy.... They are erasing things.”
Sarah folded her arms, eyes following her. “Or… maybe there is another explanation. Glitches, maybe... Delayed messages, or maybe you are just stressed and overworked that your mind is filling in the rest.”
Emily froze mid-step. “You really do not believe me.”
Sarah’s lips pressed into a line. “I believe you think it’s happening. And that’s enough for me to stay here with you tonight. I’m not leaving you alone.”
Emily slumped against the window, forehead against the glass. Outside, the city glowed, indifferent to her unravelling.
Silence pressed in until her phone buzzed again.
She lunged for it, heart hammering. The screen lit with a single new message.
Unknown Number: “You should not have told her Emily.”
Emily’s breath caught. She spun the phone toward Sarah. “See?.... Look sarah... ”
But the screen blinked back to black. When she unlocked it, there was nothing. Just Sarah’s chat again.
Her knees nearly gave out.
Sarah rose from the couch, catching her elbow. “Emily, there is nothing there. You have got to stop scaring yourself like this.”
Tears burned in Emily’s eyes. “I am not scaring myself. Someone is playing with me.”
Sarah did not argue. She just guided her back to the couch, her hand firm on Emily’s arm. “Then let us play smarter. You keep screenshots. You forward them to me the second they come in. If someone is really messing with you, we will have a trail.”
Emily nodded numbly, clutching the phone like a lifeline. Her chest felt hollow, scraped clean. She did not know if she was going mad, or if someone out there was twisting reality around her until even Sarah could not see it.
But deep in her gut, one truth pulsed like a warning siren.
She was not safe.
\~~~
That night, long after Sarah drifted off to sleep on the couch, Emily lay awake in the bed, staring at the shadows clawing across her ceiling. Every creak of the pipes, every gust of wind rattling the window, made her flinch.
Her phone rested on her nightstand, and the screen was dark. She wanted to reach for it, to check again, to prove she was not crazy. But she could not move. She could not breathe.
And then...
Buzz.
The phone lit up.
Her heart stuttered as she turned her head.
One message glowed across the screen.
“I’m closer than you think, Emily”
Emily’s blood turned to ice.
She did not dare reach for the phone. She did not dare move at all.
Somewhere in the apartment, the floorboards creaked.