Shadows Of Deception

The Roads That Forget

A slow, suffocating dread settled in my stomach.

The figure wasn't standing right. Its shoulders slumped at a strange angle, its head tilted too far to the side.

And the longer I stared, the more wrong it became.

Then—

The curtain slid shut.

I grabbed Kaylie's arm. "Go. Now."

She didn't argue.

We ran.

The neighborhood blurred around us, but no matter how far we went, the layout didn't change. The same houses, the same fences, the same empty driveways. And every time I glanced toward a window—

Someone was there.

Watching.

Kaylie's breath came fast and uneven beside me. I could hear the same realization settling into her bones.

We hadn't escaped.

We had just found another part of whatever was keeping us here.

I gritted my teeth, pushing forward.

We needed something different.

Something real.

Then—

The streetlight ahead flickered.

Not like the ones in the school. Not erratic. Not broken.

It was a signal.

A pattern.

One blink. Pause. Two blinks. Pause. One blink.

Kaylie slowed beside me. We both watched, breath caught in our throats.

Then it happened again.

A message.

Morse code.

Kaylie whispered, "It's spelling run."

A cold pulse shot through me.

I didn't need to be told twice.

We ran.

And this time—

The houses finally changed.

The streets twisted around us. The further we ran, the more the neighborhood seemed to shift. Houses that should have been there weren't. Roads curved in ways they never had before. My own memories of this place felt unreliable, like I had only imagined living here.

Kaylie panted beside me. "Where are we?"

I didn't know.

The sky above remained that dull, unnatural shade of blue. The clouds never moved. The air still felt wrong.

Then—

We reached an intersection.

It was one I recognized.

At least, I thought I did.

My street.

"Wait." I stopped, breathing hard. "This—this should lead to my house."

Kaylie shot me a wary glance. "And what if it doesn't?"

I didn't have an answer.

I looked down the road. The houses were familiar, but the unease twisting in my gut refused to fade.

"We have to try," I said.

Kaylie exhaled sharply but nodded.

We moved cautiously now, no longer running. The street was eerily silent, every sound swallowed by the thick stillness around us.

Then—

A movement at the edge of my vision.

A man stood in the yard of a house up ahead.

At first, relief flickered through me. Someone real. Someone who could tell us what was happening.

But as we got closer, my breath caught.

The man wasn't moving.

He was facing us, but his body was completely still. Too still.

His clothes were normal—jeans, a button-up shirt—but his face—

His face was wrong.

Not because it was inhuman, but because I couldn't remember it.

I knew this neighborhood. I had lived here for years. But I couldn't place him.

And something in my brain refused to hold on to his features.

Like I was forgetting him even as I looked at him.

Kaylie grabbed my wrist. "Ryo."

Her voice shook.

I turned my head—

And saw them.

Not just him.

More.

People standing in the yards. On porches. In doorways.

All facing us.

Still. Silent.

Unmoving.

Watching.

Kaylie's grip tightened. "We need to go."

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to breathe.

We took a slow step back.

None of them reacted.

Another step.

Nothing.

But I could feel it.

That same presence we had felt in the school.

We weren't meant to be here.

I turned my head slightly, speaking low. "Kaylie, when I say run—"

The nearest man tilted his head.

Like he had heard me.

Like he understood.

Kaylie let out a sharp breath.

I grabbed her wrist.

"Run."

We bolted.

The moment we did, the street shifted.

The sky darkened. The houses stretched taller. The air grew thick and heavy, pressing against my chest.

And the people—

They moved.

Not like humans. Not like anything alive.

One second, they were in their yards.

The next—

Closer.

Their faces still unreadable.

Still forgettable.

My lungs burned. My legs ached.

We had to get out.

We turned a corner.

And there—

A door.

A house I knew.

A house that shouldn't be here.

But it was open.

And we had no other choice.

We ran inside.

The door slammed shut.

And the world outside went silent.