The air hums.

Not the way an engine hums — more like the way a storm does before you even see the clouds. The world around you feels unfinished, streets and sidewalks sketched in but not filled, like someone started building a city and then walked away halfway through.

You don’t know how you got here.

You don’t know if anyone else is here.

But you’re not alone.

There’s a figure standing down the road — a smudge of black and grey in the fog, too far to see clearly. They don’t wave. They don’t move. They just… wait.

The silence isn’t empty. You can feel it pressing against you, almost daring you to speak first.

That’s when the light appears.

A faint square of white hangs in the air in front of you, no frame, no source — just a screen that shouldn’t exist. For a moment, it’s blank. Then words begin to spill across it.

[HELLO.] [ARE YOU GOING TO DO SOMETHING?]

The text flickers, like it’s impatient. The figure doesn’t come closer.

The fog swallows their face, their body — everything except the outline.

You realize the next move is yours.

⸻

What do you do?

➤ [1] Speak up. Ask who they are. The question feels obvious. Maybe safe. Maybe not.

➤ [2] Ignore the figure. Look around instead. The world itself might tell you more than they will.

➤ [3] Say nothing. Step toward them. Words won’t help. Only action will.

➤ [4] Turn away. See if there’s anywhere else to go. Sometimes the best choice is to leave… if you can.*