Sometimes,
fear doesn't come from what you see.
It comes from what you don't understand.
Jimmy opened his eyes.
A white ceiling above him.
A faint buzzing from the lights.
A steady beep… beep… from a machine nearby,
as if something was reminding him
that he was still alive.
He didn't remember how he got there.
Jimmy slowly turned his head
and looked at the glass in front of him.
His reflection stared back.
Everything looked normal.
And yet,
his heart was racing.
Like someone was watching him.
Jimmy closed his eyes.
And the story moved backward.
Neverfall was the kind of town
where life moved slowly.
School in the morning.
Bicycles in the evening.
Darkness at night.
Alex, Jimmy, and Jonathan walked together every day.
Three friends
who believed the world was predictable.
That day, Jimmy was quieter than usual.
He kept looking over his shoulder,
as if something was following him.
Alex joked about it,
but Jimmy didn't smile.
He didn't know why,
but he could feel it—
something in the air had changed.
At the edge of the town
stood an old building.
People said there was nothing there.
But deep beneath it,
far underground,
machines were running.
Lights never turned off.
Screens flickered with unfamiliar patterns.
Buttons were pressed
without a sound.
That night,
without anyone noticing,
a thin crack formed
between two worlds.
Jimmy was walking home alone
when the cold hit him.
Not the kind of cold that touches the skin—
the kind that sinks inside.
A streetlight flickered.
The wind stopped.
Jimmy froze.
A strange pressure built in his chest,
like someone far away
was trying to call his name.
Slowly, he turned around.
Something moved in the darkness.
Then something else.
His heartbeat grew louder.
He didn't know why,
but he was suddenly certain—
whatever was coming
was not human.
A faint cracking sound rose from beneath the ground.
Jimmy stepped back.
Too late.
The ground began to open.
Darkness spread outward,
thick and alive.
Jimmy tried to scream,
but his voice refused to come out.
He reached forward,
searching for help—
And the darkness pulled him down.
One second.
Just one second.
And Jimmy was gone.
The ground sealed itself shut.
As if nothing had happened.
Morning came.
Neverfall woke up.
But Jimmy's room was empty.
His mother panicked first,
then feared,
then felt that kind of terror
only a mother understands.
The police arrived.
Questions were asked.
Every answer sounded the same.
"Maybe the boy ran away."
Jimmy's mother knew better.
Her son wasn't lost.
He was alive.
Just not here.
Jimmy opened his eyes again.
He was in the same town.
But everything was wrong.
The buildings were broken.
The air felt heavy.
The darkness seemed to breathe.
He struggled to stand
when he noticed figures in the distance.
They looked human.
They were not.
Behind them
stood another figure.
Still.
Silent.
Its face was hidden in shadow.
But its presence pressed down on everything around it.
Jimmy didn't know who it was.
He only knew one thing—
This was something
he should be afraid of.
The figure slowly turned its head toward him
and spoke, calmly:
"You are not here by accident."
At the same moment,
back in the real world,
Alex felt uneasy.
Lights flickered.
The radio played nothing but static.
Jimmy's mother felt
as if someone was standing outside her house.
And somewhere far away…
tears rolled down Jimmy's face.
A door had opened in Neverfall.
But no one knew yet—
that whatever had come through
wasn't just watching.
It was waiting.
And this
was only the beginning.