Four and a half years.
That's how long it's been since Gabriel Reyes walked away from the Philippine National Police Academy.
No ceremony.No farewell.Just a signature on a resignation paper… and silence after.
The ceiling fan ticked above him, slow and uneven.
Gabe lay on his back, staring at it, counting the rotations like they meant something.
They didn't. Nothing did lately.
His apartment was suffocating in its smallness—peeling paint, dim light, and the smell of stale air that never left.
A place you ended up in… not chose.
His phone buzzed. No messages. Just notifications.
He grabbed it anyway. Scrolled.
Photos flooded the screen.
Uniforms. Medals. Smiles that looked earned.
His batchmates. Graduated.
"Batch Sinag-Laya – Class of 2026."
Gabe stared. Longer than he should've. Faces he used to run with, eat with, get punished with… people who endured. People who didn't quit.
And then—he saw her.
A woman.
Standing in the crowd, blurry, her features just out of focus. Something about her posture, the way she looked straight ahead, tugged at a memory Gabe didn't want to revisit. He couldn't name her. Couldn't remember. And yet… he felt the pull.
Gabe exhaled sharply. "Of course," he muttered, though he didn't know why.
More posts. Assignments. Promotions. Pride. A life that kept moving—without him.
He locked his phone. Then unlocked it again. A reflex. A punishment.
His reflection flickered on the screen. Unshaven. Hollow-eyed. A ghost of someone who almost became something.
"Failure," he whispered.
Silence answered.
Then—a sound.
Not from outside. Not from the hallway.
From inside.
A whisper.
Gabe froze.
"…don't…"
He sat up slowly. "What?" he muttered, scanning the room.
Nothing. Just the same cracked walls staring back.
He rubbed his temple. "Lack of sleep," he said under his breath. "Yeah. That's it."
He stood, pacing once across the room. Then again.
The whisper came back. Clearer.
"…not yet…"
Gabe stopped. Every muscle in his body tightened.
"Who's there?" he said, louder now.
No answer.
Just—a sudden pressure behind his eyes.
Images flashed. Fast. Disjointed.
A road at night. Rain hitting asphalt. A gunshot—
Gabe staggered back, gripping his head. "What the hell—"
Another flash.
A man falling. Blood spreading.
And then—a blurry face of a woman. Standing. Watching.
The image snapped away.
Gabe gasped, stumbling into the wall. His breath came in sharp bursts.
"What… was that?"
Silence.
But not empty. Waiting.
He squeezed his eyes shut. "Okay," he whispered. "Okay… I'm losing it."
Deep down—he knew.
That didn't feel like imagination.
It felt like… a warning.
The whisper returned. Right next to his ear. Clear. Cold.
"They see you."
Gabe's eyes snapped open. The room hadn't changed. But something had.
"Do not let it happen."
Then—one last image forced into his mind:
A tree. Massive. Ancient. Its roots twisting like veins into the ground. And beneath it—darkness. Moving. Breathing.
Gabe collapsed to his knees, gripping the edge of the table.
The whisper faded.
But the feeling didn't.
He was no longer alone.
And somewhere far from that cramped apartment—something had just noticed that he could hear it.
END OF CHAPTER 1