Zander wandered through the empty forest, surrounded by the gentle chirping of birds and the cool breeze brushing against his face. He loved taking late-night walks, enjoying the peaceful feeling of escaping the weight of his worries. Nature had always been his safe place. Being alone made him feel calm — there were no loud voices, no judgment, just himself and the thoughts he kept buried deep inside.
As the night grew colder, a sudden shiver crawled down his spine, causing him to tense up. Without warning, exhaustion crashed over him like a heavy wave. His body felt weak and dizzy, and panic rushed through him as his breathing became uneven. Gasping for air, he clutched at his throat while his vision slowly blurred. Then everything went silent. The birds stopped singing, the wind disappeared, and darkness swallowed him whole.
Hours later, Zander slowly regained consciousness. A sharp ache pounded through his head as he tried to remember what had happened, but his memory felt empty. Confused, he looked around at his surroundings. The silence was unsettling — not the comforting quiet he usually enjoyed, but something eerie that made him afraid to be alone for the first time in his life.
The room around him was strange. Yellow walls stretched endlessly around the empty space, decorated with faint patterns that were barely visible. In the centre of the room stood a single table. Zander sat up slowly, his thoughts racing.
“Is this real?” he whispered to himself. “Are you serious?”
As reality slowly settled in, fear tightened in his chest. He remembered the rumours people used to talk about — stories claiming that strange things happened to people who wandered outside too late at night. Some said that if a person suddenly passed out, they would disappear without leaving a single trace behind.
Zander’s heart pounded.
“Is this actually happening to me…?” he muttered aloud.
The tension in the room felt suffocating as he forced himself to stand. One terrifying question filled his mind.
Would he ever escape this place?