The street is empty.
Not deserted.
Just too empty.
Lucas and Helena's footsteps hit the asphalt, the sound bouncing back louder than it should. It lingers, like the street is longer than it really is.
Lucas feels it before he understands it.
He slows down.
Helena matches his pace without noticing.
A streetlight above them flickers.
Once.
Twice.
Goes dark for half a second.
His stomach tightens.
He glances back.
Nothing.
A store window to the right reflects them walking side by side.
For a single second—just one—there's something behind them in the reflection.
When he turns for real, there's no one there.
His body stays on alert anyway.
Maybe it's just fatigue.
Maybe it's paranoia.
His heart disagrees.
"Okay, but answer properly. No lazy answer this time. You always dodge when you don't wanna think about it."
Helena's voice pulls him back.
He laughs. Too automatic.
"I'm not dodging."
She bumps her shoulder against his. The contact should calm him. It doesn't.
"You are. When you say 'it depends,' it means you already decided you don't wanna deal with it right now."
He tries to focus on the conversation.
He really does.
But he listens.
Behind them.
Nothing. Just their own footsteps.
"I just think it really does depend."
"Depend on what, Lucas?"
She stretches his name playfully, her voice sounding too loud in the empty street.
Lucas instinctively looks ahead. No open windows. No conversations drifting from sidewalks.
Too quiet. Since when does this street get this quiet?
He forces a smile.
"It depends on whether you're serious or if this is one of those questions you throw out just to watch my reaction."
She grins.
"Oh, so you admit you watch my reactions too."
"I'm dating you."
The words come out simple.
But the word dating sounds strangely fragile in the silence.
He looks back again.
Nothing.
But this time he hears it.
A single step.
Stops.
He stops too.
Helena stops with him.
The step behind them stops as well.
His stomach drops.
She doesn't notice.
"Okay," she says, taking a breath. "Hypothetically. What would you do if I moved to another city? Got a better job. Made more money than you. Became someone important and completely forgot this neighborhood?"
Lucas opens his mouth to answer—and can't right away.
His attention stays locked behind them.
When did this feeling even start?
He tries to remember while raising a finger. Can't find the beginning.
"First."
The gesture comes automatically.
"You would never forget this neighborhood because you complain about it every single day."
She laughs. The sound hits the walls of the street and echoes back too loudly.
He fights the urge to look behind him.
"Second."
Another finger.
"You wouldn't leave without telling me."
"But I'm telling you now."
She teases.
His heart spikes without warning. He tries to ignore it.
Why now?
"Third."
He swallows before continuing.
"I'd pretend I was fine… and then spend weeks thinking about what I should've said."
She bursts out laughing.
A metallic clatter echoes from the left.
Lucas spins fast.
A soda can rolls along the curb.
He didn't see anyone kick it.
Maybe the wind.
There is no wind.
"You're so dramatic."
She rests her head on his shoulder.
The contact feels heavy now. Not comforting.
He hears it again.
Two footsteps.
More in sync.
He doesn't look.
If he looks and someone's there, it becomes real.
If he doesn't, it could still be imagination.
"And you?" he asks. "Would you really go?"
"Sometimes I want to."
She keeps looking ahead as she speaks.
"Sometimes it feels like if I stay here forever… I'll start repeating the same sentences. The same jokes. And one day I won't even notice."
A chill crawls up the back of his neck.
Like something is slowly getting closer.
"You already repeat the same jokes."
"But I notice."
She smiles.
He forces one back.
Footsteps behind them.
Closer.
He stops again.
The sound stops too.
The silence feels heavy now.
She notices.
"Lucas."
He looks at her.
Her eyes aren't joking anymore.
"You feel that too, right?"
The question anchors everything.
Yes.
He does.
"I noticed a while ago."
His voice comes out quieter than he intended.
She takes a short breath.
"I knew it."
They start walking again. Faster.
Without saying a word.
The corner is only a few yards away.
The streetlight above them goes completely dark.
Too dark.
"Okay… last serious question." Her voice loses its light tone. "Promise you'll answer without sarcasm?"
He swallows.
"I promise."
She stops.
He stops with her.
"If one day I just didn't come home… would you know it wasn't because I wanted to?"
The world feels smaller.
Silence swallows the entire street.
A ringing grows in his ears.
Why that question now?
Why does it feel like a warning?
"Of course I'd know."
He answers too fast.
Fast like he's trying to stop something.
"You don't disappear."
She holds his gaze.
"People disappear."
The sentence doesn't match her tone.
Doesn't match anything.
He opens his mouth to reply.
A step behind them.
This time it doesn't stop.
It keeps coming.
They turn the corner.
A man is already standing there.
Still. Waiting.
"Hey."
His voice is too steady.
"Stop right there."
Lucas feels his body react before his mind does.
He spins around.
Now there are two.
When did they appear?
He didn't see.
He tries to pull Helena back.
A hand grabs his arm.
Another grabs his collar.
Helena screams his name.
He tries to count.
Three.
Four?
He can't see faces.
Only silhouettes.
A sweet smell fills the air.
He yanks his arm. Someone whispers in his ear.
A language he doesn't recognize.
"Let her go!"
He lunges. Manages to shove one aside.
Another steps in.
Helena is pulled away.
He sees her arm reaching toward him.
Their fingers almost touch.
Something slams into the side of his head.
White light explodes.
The ground tilts.
He tries to stand.
His legs don't respond.
The street spins.
The last sound he hears is the echo of his own footsteps.
But he isn't walking anymore.
His body hits the ground.
Cold asphalt presses against his face.
Darkness creeps in from the edges of his vision.
He tries to say her name.
No sound comes out.
The world goes black.
And he collapses.