The city felt different tonight.

Like it was holding its breath.

I tightened my coat around me as I hurried down the alley behind my apartment—the shortcut I always took, even though I hated how silent it got. No footsteps. No cars. Just the sound of wind and the distant hum of neon signs flickering to life.

Then everything stopped.

The wind, even the noise from the street behind me—like the world had been muted.

I slowed. I wasn’t alone. I didn’t hear him. I felt him. Like the air itself thickened, coiling around my body with invisible fingers. My breath caught as I turned sharply, heart thudding.

He stood...