Free Web NovelChapter 23: The Same Warning
Kai didn’t move.
The apartment felt trapped in a strange limbo between disaster and anticipation. Outside his front door stood an unknown man. Inside his headset, Luna remained silent. His phone glowed in his hand, displaying yet another warning from yet another anonymous number.
Don’t answer. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
That should have been reassuring.
Instead it made his stomach twist.
Throughout the night, every message had contradicted the last. Open the door. Don’t open it. Trust Luna. Don’t trust Luna. Someone’s inside. You’re alone.
Now, for the first time, multiple voices seemed to agree on something.
And Kai had absolutely no idea why.
A faint rustling came from the hallway outside. The stranger shifted his weight, and the sound carried through the apartment door.
Then he spoke.
"Look, man... I know this sounds really bad."
The voice was young. Nervous. Human.
A short laugh followed.
"Actually, no. It sounds horrible."
The chat instantly exploded.
ExpiredMilkDealer:
HE KNOWS
GrandmaSniper:
WHY DOES HE SOUND LIKE A NORMAL GUY
BurntNuggetKing:
THAT MAKES IT WORSE
Kai couldn’t have agreed more.
If the guy had sounded creepy, threatening, or unhinged, this would’ve been easy. Fear was simple. Monsters were simple.
Normal people weren’t.
Normal people lied.
Normal people manipulated.
Normal people smiled while doing terrible things.
His phone buzzed again.
A new image loaded.
The photograph showed a grainy security camera feed from somewhere inside the building. At the end of a hallway stood a man wearing a hoodie and backpack.
The same person who had sprinted past Kai’s apartment earlier.
Beneath the image was a short caption.
he keeps coming back
Kai stared at the photo while the stranger outside sighed heavily.
"Okay."
The voice sounded resigned.
"You’re obviously not opening the door."
For the first time all night, Kai felt a tiny spark of relief.
Then the stranger added:
"Honestly? That’s probably the right decision."
The relief disappeared immediately.
Nothing about this night followed normal rules.
The stranger’s footsteps began retreating down the hallway. Kai listened carefully as they faded farther away.
Then stopped.
Not completely gone.
Just... somewhere else.
Waiting.
His imagination immediately filled in every blank space with worst-case scenarios.
The viewer count ticked upward again.
One hundred thirty-six thousand.
One hundred thirty-seven thousand.
The numbers continued climbing.
Kai stared at them for a second longer than he should have.
That familiar rush hit him again.
Validation.
Attention.
The feeling that people cared whether he succeeded or failed.
The realization made him feel disgusted with himself.
There was potentially a stalker in his building.
His front door had unlocked itself.
Someone knew things they shouldn’t know.
And part of him was still excited about his viewer count.
He hated how honest that felt.
"You should end the stream."
Luna’s voice cut through his thoughts.
Soft.
Gentle.
Concerned.
Kai looked toward his monitor.
"Derek said the same thing."
"Then Derek’s right."
The answer surprised him.
A small silence followed.
Kai found himself listening for her breathing.
That was new.
Dangerously new.
The apartment felt less empty when Luna was talking, and he was starting to depend on that feeling far more than he wanted to admit.
A Discord notification interrupted the moment.
A direct message.
Not from Luna.
Not from Derek.
The username made his stomach drop.
LunaLove
His pulse immediately spiked.
The profile picture matched.
The username matched.
Everything matched.
At first glance, it looked identical.
Then he noticed one detail.
The account had been created six minutes ago.
The message arrived.
that’s not me
Kai sat upright.
A second later, the real Luna typed in Discord.
Kai, don’t reply to that account.
Almost simultaneously, the fake account sent another message.
Kai, don’t trust her.
The room suddenly felt colder.
The chat erupted into chaos.
CrustySockCEO:
THERE’S TWO OF THEM NOW???
ChairViolence:
NOPE NOPE NOPE
DumpsterWizard:
SOMEONE TURN OFF THIS TIMELINE
Kai stared at both windows.
Two identical names.
Two opposite warnings.
And absolutely no way to know which answer would make things worse.
Before he could react, another notification appeared.
This one came from the apartment management app.
A live hallway camera feed had become available.
Location:
Floor 7 Hallway Camera
His floor.
With shaking hands, Kai opened it. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
The video loaded slowly.
The hallway outside his apartment appeared on-screen.
Empty.
The carpet stretched beneath dim emergency lights. His apartment door sat motionless in the center of the frame.
Nothing looked unusual.
Nothing moved.
Kai almost sighed in relief.
Then a figure stepped into view.
A woman emerged from the far end of the hallway and stopped.
She didn’t approach.
Didn’t knock.
Didn’t move.
She simply stood there staring toward Kai’s apartment.
The security footage was grainy enough that her face was impossible to make out.
Long dark hair.
Dark clothing.
Motionless.
Watching.
Kai felt a chill crawl up his spine.
The apartment suddenly seemed very quiet.
Too quiet.
For several seconds nobody spoke.
Then Luna finally broke the silence.
For the first time since they’d met, she didn’t sound calm.
She didn’t sound prepared.
She sounded shocked.
"...How did she find me?"
