Alden adjusted his little pinkie finger that was currently hanging on to dear life, trying its hardest to hold his enormous phone in place.
He walked carelessly through the road, barely dragging his jacket through the warm sun. He had miscalculated how high the temperature for the day would be, and even though he could swear he'd seen it rain yesterday night, today was truly a hot summer day.
Yet although the sun was out, there was no sight of man, pet or machine, which was quite odd if you'd consider that this place rarely got any sight of the afternoon glow, but it wouldn't be so odd if you took into account the fact that it was a Thursday afternoon.
And Alden was most definitely late to school.
"Oh, fuck school," our detention-seeking bandit muttered to himself.
He knew he was going to be late, and it wasn't like he woke up late or anything; he just simply didn't want to go in.
But that would logically beg the question: why would he come in for the afternoon lessons if he'd already missed the morning ones?
He… Well, he had felt bored…
"Uhm, no, actually, I'm coming in because the exam season is near," Alden grumbled under his breath, yet if you paid close attention, you'd spot a shameful blush creeping up on his slightly tanned skin.
See, the original plan was to simply not come in at all, an unfortunate habit he'd found himself developing as of late, since for a while now he'd rather be stuck in his room playing god knows what game alone rather than go into school to socialise with friends.
Which wasn't technically really that big a deal since he was already taught all the content for his upcoming exams – meaning what was left was only to revise and memorise some equations here and there.
But halfway through his 52nd "Mental Health Awareness Day" – as he'd come to call his time not in school, for seemingly no particular reason – Alden suddenly felt a burst of…something?
I mean, although it was similar to boredom, it wasn't really. Logically speaking, why would he suddenly develop boredom now out of all days? Why not on any of the other 51 of his days off?
And if you were to ask him to explain what exactly he felt in that moment, he wouldn't even be able to give you a straightforward answer.
I mean, in hindsight, was it boredom at all?
Or was it rather a…sense of foreboding?
"Enough of the yap; what else could I have felt?" He sighed.
"Boredom makes the most amount of sense, so let's just go with that…for now," he sighed again, yet this time with a grave tone.
In truth, ever since being born, Alden had always had this strange feeling.
The kind where, for no reason at all, he'd sometimes either get extremely emotional or be oddly confident about small matters.
The day before his grandfather died, 9 year-old Alden couldn't get a wink of sleep - only managing to stop bawling his eyes out in his mothers arms.
And in other times, he used this strange intuition to his advantage. Alden simply couldn't remember a time where he'd failed a multiple choice question.
The most recent example he could think of was on the theoretical section of his driving test, by relying solely on intuition and gut feelings he'd managed to get 100% with no prior knowledge or study.
But…Today was different, that feeling had never been as strong as now.
And on a separate note, he was worried about his own wellbeing.
…His physical condition has been slowly deteriorating ever since the first time that had happened to him.
What had, you may ask?
His sudden illness, diognosed as chronic, the actual reason he'd been taking days off school.
Of course, not to say he'd want to be in.
…
A few minutes later.
As Alden neared the school entrance, he could hear the faint sounds of kids playing, a melody to a mother's ears. And to him, the most awful sound known to man.
He had reached the ripe age of adulthood, 18, a few months back. And yet he still had to share a school with prepubescent morons.
Remembering that in only a few months' time he'll be heading off to University in a big city had invigorated him to keep walking while avoiding commenting on their weird speech and odd choice of words.
That was until one of them caught his eye.
Lightly tanned skin, a tall yet slender frame, wavy black hair, oddly coloured eyes – murky grey with a hint of blue – and glasses.
He did not stare at the small child, not more than 12, for no particular reason; he stared because the child resembled him.
Even though Alden's hair was curlier than the boy's, and although he had hazel eyes instead of the little guy's murky mess.
The two shared a strong resemblance, from the size and shape of the nose to the eyebrows and eyes. The little kid was effectively a child replica of Alden.
And for good reason, for he was Alden's little brother.
"He's more committed to school than I am… even though he's in his first year and I'm in my final…", Alden slightly caressed his forehead, not sure whether to be proud or ashamed.
Alden averted his eyes before his brother even noticed he was staring at him in the first place.
"Hmm, what time is it?" Recalling something, he glanced at his phone.
"Ooh, it's 12:49, just on time, haha." Putting his phone away quickly, he began speedwalking to the cafeteria.
Currently it was near the end of lunchtime, so hopefully he'd be able to grab a bite – if the food was even edible – before his 2-hour lesson if he hurried.
And grab a bite he did, because this fine – no, make that finer – afternoon they were serving cheeseburgers.
And cheeseburgers he got—two, to be precise.
Some may call him fat and others his actions gluttonous, and yet his response to both is a middle finger.
I mean, how else do you expect a 6'1+, 200 lb+, and growing young man to feel full aside from two of his favourite cheeseburgers? A light snack, might I add.
"For God's sake, why is he never not in?" Finishing the last bite of his second burger, Alden grumbled while lamenting the fact that in the 7 years he's been at this school, he could count the number of times this particular teacher had been absent on his hands.
Closing the door behind him, Alden glanced at the other pupils in the room. Raising his eyes slightly, he recounted a few times, not believing his eyes.
He was even tempted to look under the table to check for anyone hiding from him. This was because there was an unbelievable amount of other pupils in the class, a staggering three!
Well…there's usually five, not much better, I know… But that wasn't why he was shocked.
Alden was shocked mainly because out of the five, he was friends with one, close friends with two and just acquaintances with the remaining two.
And let's take a guess at which two weren't in this good afternoon.
Taking a seat next to his friend, Alden looked at him. Straight black hair, sharp brown eyes, clear white skin. He was the definition of above average in appearance.
His name was Dorian.
As for Dorian's build? Uhh… Well, let's just say that if I could see his chin, I'm certain he'd be handsome as hell.
"What the fuck are you looking at?" Feeling an odd gaze on his chin, the confused Dorian shifted his eyes from the computer screen and confronted the perpetrator.
"Don't worry, pal; don't you worry your pretty little head," Alden said deeply while caressing Dorian's double chin softly.
"Get the hell off me!" Dorian shouted while swatting his hand away.
"Both of you settle down unless you want to come see me after school," the teacher threatened.
The teacher was an old man, nearly 70 by the looks of it. A head of full white hair with streaks of grey every now and then, he carried himself with dignity and had an aura almost demanding respect from the younger generations.
Both of them instantly stuck their heads to their respective computer screens in defeat, one grumbling vague death threats under his breath while the other continued to snicker at each one, only to upset Dorian even more, causing more death threats. Which in turn, created a vicious cycle of insults going back and forth.
Time passed.
"This is genuinely so boring…", Alden mumbled under his breath. Why did he even bother coming in? Because of an odd feeling?
"2:31, not too much time left." He could almost smell his bedroom, better yet, his hot dinner prepared by his mother. Trying to avoid salivating at the thought, he tried paying attention to the class.
"… And that is how you normalise a floating-point number…I think??", Dorian said, while second-guessing himself.
"Not exactly, but you're almost there; there's a mistake in the second part. Go sit back down; I'll explain using the board," the old teacher replied, extending his hand to take the pen from Dorian.
…
Click!
?
???
"Huh?"
Looking at the scene, Alden could not believe his eyes.
Goosebumps.
Every hair, every pore on his body stood tall.
His blood churned.
"What…?" Dread seeped into his speech.
He was gone.
No scream.
No sound.
Nothing.
He just vanished.
Right in front of his eyes.
Dorian vanished?
"Where did he go…?" Utter confusion and disbelief were all that could be discerned from his tone.
How could someone, that had stood right there a moment ago, disappear right in front of his eyes?
His worldview had shattered.
Followed by a great, terrifying emotion.
A feeling of...Incomprehensible Horror
//////////////////////////////////////////
Name: Dorian Alstead
Date of Vanishing: 7/3/2025
Time of Vanishing: 2.32
??????????????: ???
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