Seb leaned back in his chair, hands interlocked behind his head.
"…Well," he muttered.
"You don't say."
His eyes stayed fixed on the screen.
Another one of those videos.
He wondered if this was just another staged clip—one of those carefully crafted pieces meant to farm views and comments while pretending to be something deeper. Most of them were. It was always easy to tell.
The creators never bothered to step into the shoes of the supposed victim. They stumbled through it blindly, missing the weight of what they tried to portray. Everything felt hollow.
Seb knew.
He was a victim.
That gave him a sensitivity others lacked—an instinct for the slightest wrong note. Add his knack for reading people and these performances became unbearable to watch.
It was one of the reasons he had mostly abandoned movies. The only ones he tolerated anymore were war films or historical pieces. Chaos from real events had a texture to it that couldn't easily be faked.
A person's face was a canvas.
Every subtle movement told a story.
Joy brushed lightly across the eyes. Doubt creased the brow. Anguish lingered in the corners of the mouth, stubborn even when someone forced a smile.
Actors rarely understood that.
As expected, the expressions in this video clashed horribly with the emotions they were trying to portray. How could disgust sit beside love? How could joy exist with sadness in the same moment? And why was someone smiling in the middle of what was supposed to be grief?
Each performance collapsed into accidental comedy.
But the woman in this video…
That was different.
Seb leaned forward slightly.
All he saw on her face was fear.
The longer he watched, the more uneasy he felt.
Some staged videos were filmed in places that helped sell the illusion—old buildings, empty roads, locations with tragic histories. In those cases the actors usually mixed fear with disbelief, sometimes even amusement.
She had none of that.
Just fear.
Pure, unfiltered fear.
The footage was grainy, clearly old, but still clear enough to show more than panic.
There was something else.
Finality.
Like she had already accepted how things would end.
As if she had always known he would arrive.
"…She's either a very good actor or…" Seb trailed off. His expression slowly became solemn.
"What I don't get," he muttered, "is why she drove there in the first place."
He scrubbed a hand down his face.
"From her expression it looks like she knew what was coming. She even brought a camera—though honestly that thing looks like it came from the stone age."
Throughout the entire video she never spoke.
Not once.
She just drove.
Focused on the road.
Trying her hardest to escape.
Unlike the usual idiots who narrated their "haunting" like they were telling a bedtime story.
Seb scrolled down the page and opened her channel.
There were more videos.
Several of them.
He watched each one from beginning to end.
Near misses.
Close encounters.
Different roads. Different stories.
But something stood out.
In her first video, her expression wasn't fear.
It was confusion.
Extreme confusion.
She had been sitting on a bench, staring blankly ahead like someone who had just woken up from a dream. Then suddenly her eyes sharpened, clarity rushing in.
Her expression shifted.
Confusion.
Fear.
And something else.
It almost looked like she didn't know why she was there.
Seb checked the channel page again, searching for contact information.
Email.
Good.
He wanted to ask her a question.
Just one.
Even if that was all he got.
Vrrrrr!
His alarm suddenly screamed beside him.
00:12 AM.
"Uhhh… fuck."
He stared at the clock for a few seconds, feeling unhappy with the intrusion.
Then he set another alarm for 8:00 AM.
He hated alarm clocks.
Truly hated them.
But if he didn't wake up before noon, he risked missing David and the bus.
"Well… it's not like she'll answer this late anyway," he muttered.
"And even if she did… would she want to talk to some random guy emailing her in the middle of the night?"
He opened the blinking icon.
To his surprise, a phone number was listed.
Seb stared at it.
For a long moment.
Then shook his head.
Nope.
Bad idea.
There was no need to disturb the poor woman over such a stupid question. Honestly, the question itself might come off creepy.
"Yeah… let's not do that."
He shut down the PC and went to bed.
4:54 AM
Seb's eyes snapped open.
He shot upright in bed.
His shirt clung to his skin.
Sweat dripped from his hair and his pillow was soaked.
He exhaled slowly.
Another nightmare.
As vivid and disgusting as the last one.
He wondered, not for the first time, if nightmares like these were what drove people to suicide.
Because honestly…
He was getting tired.
Really tired.
"I wonder if anyone's ever died from a heart attack during sleep," he muttered.
He tried to stand up but paused halfway.
"…Oh."
He looked down.
"Well, third brother," he sighed, "you seem very active today."
"No wonder it felt like someone stabbed me."
Eventually he stood up, wobbling slightly as dizziness washed over him.
He stumbled into the bathroom.
The shower lasted longer than planned.
Not that it helped much.
He was too tired.
At one point he actually fell asleep standing.
Only waking up when he nearly face-planted into the tiles.
"Yeah… senior coffee might need to step in today."
His mom had packed his lunch yesterday. He grabbed it while noticing someone had eaten one corner of it.
"Savages."
Breakfast followed.
Along with a dangerous amount of coffee.
Finally he packed everything into his bag, plugged in his laptop and phone, then sat down at his PC.
Sleeping again wasn't an option.
Nightmares were bad enough.
But if he somehow managed to sleep peacefully for once, he'd probably wake up at 2 PM.
David would never let him hear the end of that.
The game started loading.
Then the system froze.
Debugging mode activated.
Seb frowned and slapped the PC lightly.
Nothing.
Optimization started instead.
1%.
"…What kind of joke is this?"
He sighed and turned to his phone.
"Yo, what's the percentage?"
[2%. Should I initiate fast charging, Seb?] the assistant replied.
"No. Normal speed."
[As you wish.]
Seb got up and started exercising.
60 push-ups.
90 crunches.
Then he grabbed a paperback novel and started reading.
5:36 AM.
[Seb,] the phone chimed. [I am fully charged. The PC also asked me to inform you that it is 12% from completion. As for the OG, it has requested external help.]
Seb looked up and nodded.
The OG was his name for his gaming setup
"Good to know."
He returned to reading.
11:50 AM
His phone rang.
Seb jolted awake.
"Shit. I fucked up."
He unplugged the phone and answered.
David.
"Sorry bro, it seems I might be—"
"Yo, I think I might be late," David cut in.
Seb blinked.
"…Come on Dave. Woke up late again?"
"You've got to plan better man. Now I'm stuck here waiting for hours."
"Yeah I know," David groaned. "Sorry. I'll treat you for the mess up. I'll be there in like an hour."
"…Fine."
"Sorry again."
"Yeah yeah. Take your time."
Call ended.
Seb sighed in relief.
At least he wasn't the only one screwing up today.
He packed the rest of his devices and wallet, then dashed downstairs.
"Hey—!"
June barely had time to react.
"Sorry—!"
BANG.
Door closed.
.....
Seb had been waiting at the meeting spot for 23 minutes and 39 seconds.
He didn't know how many milliseconds.
But it was probably huge.
What was taking David so long?
He'd already had two phone conversations.
One with his mom.
Another with Jack.
His mom wanted to know where he was going and whether he had his panic button.
Jack on the other-hand called on Alex's behalf.
Apparently Chloe wanted Seb's number and Alex had given it, so he asked Jack to inform him to avoid him.
Seb simply shoke his head to this, Bro's before Hoe's, It seems Alex had forgotten this
As for chloe, he hadn't decided how to react.
Ignore her?
Yell?
Accept an apology?
Assuming she even gave one.
He was still wondering why Alex had given it out, he had some suspicion with regards to this after all Jack was known to simp.
Jack simply claimed it was Ava's idea.
Seb wasn't sure whether to believe that.
"Seb!"
He looked up.
"Bro over here!"
Ah.
David.
On the other platform.
Great.
After a bit of walking and crossing tracks, Seb finally reached him.
David ran over and punched him.
Hard.
Right in the shoulder.
Seb flinched.
Not the face thankfully.
Still it hurt.
He looked up noting a number of difference's with David
He had changed.
Deeper voice.
Dyed hair.
Taller.
Definitely bulkier.
Seb rubbed his shoulder.
"So how are we getting there?" he asked.
David glanced at his shoulder and smiled sheepishly
"Sorry bro, forgot my strength."
He pointed ahead.
"That way. Train, not bus."
"I see."
The journey took about twenty minutes.
David spent most of it on a call.
Seb watched him grinning like an idiot.
"The joy of dating," Seb muttered.
Eventually the train stopped.
They got off and waited for their pre-ordered taxi.
Soon they were driving through a quiet street.
It was a rich neighborhood.
That much was obvious.
Wide lawns.
Tall houses.
Deep front porches.
Cars filled the driveways—sedans, spotless SUVs.
One house even had a white limousine parked out front.
Seb nodded in quiet respect.
David pocketed his phone and slung an arm around him.
"Liking the view?"
Seb nodded.
"How's she?" he asked.
"Who?"
"Sheila, you doofus. You were flirting pretty hard earlier."
David's expression shifted.
Guilty.
Seb raised an eyebrow.
"Something happen?"
David sighed.
"…That wasn't Sheila I was talking to."
Seb frowned.
That sounded ridiculous.
Who says "I love you" to someone that isn't their girlfriend?, and David did not have sibling's
"Shit," David muttered. "Wrong turn. Let's go back."
Seb's eyebrow rose higher.
Not your girl, huh.
They came of and walked to the gate pressing the bell.
After a moment the screen lit up.
A cheerful voice came through.
"Come in! What took you guys so long?"
"Had to do some things first," David replied. "Sorry."
"Sure, come in."
The gate clicked open.
Inside the yard, Seb glanced at the white limo again.
Other cars sat nearby.
A Porsche.
A BMW.
All spotless.
The main door opened.
A tall blonde girl with loose hair and bright eyes stepped out.
Seb glanced over and froze for a moment.
She was… attractive, really attractive.
They stepped inside.
The door clicked shut.
David suddenly spun around causing Seb to flinch.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement.
The girl who opened the door was rushing forward then—
—she jumped straight onto David.
Seb blinked.
His body reacted before his brain.
His leg had already whipped upward, stopping a few centimeters from her head.
Thankfully she didn't notice.
She was busy hugging David.
Seb slowly lowered his leg.
David However, noticed.
His eyes widening.
When did that happen?
"Oh we missed you so much!" she said happily.
She finally dropped down.
"You need to come over more often, okay? It's boring when you're not around."
"Well you've got Erick," David replied. "And your rich friends."
She shook her head dramatically.
"They're boring."
David shrugged.
Then he spun her toward Seb.
"This is Seb. He'll be helping with the coding."
Seb waved politely.
"Uh—he's so cute!" she gasped.
She rushed forward and hugged him.
Seb froze.
His leg twitched again.
Her hair fell into his face.
She pulled away but kept holding his arm.
"He's so young! You must be talented."
Seb nodded dumbly.
She smiled.
"I'll go get the cookies!"
Ah.
That explained the dough smell.
"Make yourselves at home!"
She turned to leave.
Then paused.
"Oh! I hope you packed swimwear. There's a pool out back."
She disappeared.
Seb stared after her.
"Your type?" David asked.
Seb instead looked miserable.
"…She called me cute."
David grinned.
"Well. That's better than ugly."
"Now give me your bag."
Seb handed it over reluctantly.
"Careful," he said. "My babies are inside." he warned
"Sure sure." David nodded
He then pointed to another door.
"Go outside and wait. I'll meet you there."
Seb nodded.
The layout proved easy to manoeuvre soon the sun hit his face as he stepped out.
Fresh air.
Nice.
A large pool stretched across the yard.
Mermaid statues stood at each corner.
They were well crafted, surprisingly life like.
At least from the top up.
Seb squinted at the bottom.
There was some kind of image there.
Looked like a girl.
Maybe.
"Pretty, right?"
Seb turned.
It was her again.
"Done with the cookies already?" he asked.
Then he froze.
She was wearing completely different clothes.
Swimwear.
"…Wow. You changed fast."
She stopped and raised an eyebrow.
Then she shook her head.
"Come sit. I want to know you better."
She walked ahead, swaying seductively.
Seb followed.
She pointed to a chair.
Seb nodded then sat down.
Then she sat—
On his lap.
Seb's brain crashed.
"Name, cutie?" she asked, poking his nose.
Seb blinked rapidly.
"My name" he asked, pointing at himself
she nodded her hand brushing his hair
"Seb. Sebastian." he stuttered.
"Sebastian," she repeated.
he nodded.
"Well am Ericka."
Ericka?
Didn't David mention the name Erick?, A mistake? he wondered
"Seb!" David suddenly called.
"Let's go!"
Ericka stood.
"Meet you inside," she said coyly.
Seb nodded dazely then followed David back in and... froze again.
The girl inside the kitchen was baking.
Same face.
Different clothes.
Different posture.
It clicked.
Twins.
"Oh forgot to tell you there name's," David said. "That is Amanda, The one outside was Erick."
Seb blinked.
"…Don't you mean Ericka?"
David frowned.
"Ericka?"
Amanda looked up.
"She goes by both. Erick or Ericka."
Seb became even more confused.
Erick was a guy's name.
Right?
"Why both?"
Amanda shrugged and pointed.
Seb glanced following her hand toward the living room wall.
A framed photo hung there.
An odd photo, it looked enhanced.
Three people.
Two girls.
One guy.
The guy looked suspiciously similar to the twins.
Seb pointed.
"Who's that?"
David smiled.
"Oh that? That's Erick."
Seb blinked.
"…The one outside?"
"Yep."
Seb's jaw slowly dropped.