Residue

Jessica sat on the edge of the Vasquez's bed, flipping through Daniel’s journal while Leanna and Olivia poured over the dates and locations he had recorded. The eerie stillness of the house pressed against them like an unseen force, like the walls were in on something, and just polite enough not to say."

"This doesn't make sense," Olivia muttered, comparing the entries to her phone’s database. "Every single one of these dates lines up with a missing persons report. He's not writing memories. He's writing case files.."

Leanna’s fingers traced the ink on the page. "He wasn’t just experiencing shifts. He was tracking them. These weren’t random moments of disorientation—he knew something was happening."

Jessica exhaled sharply, feeling the weight of their discovery. "So what are we saying here? That Daniel knew he was going to disappear? That he knew others had vanished the same way?"

Before Leanna could answer, Olivia’s phone beeped. She checked the screen and frowned. She angled the screen toward them. "The house's smart meter lit up like a Christmas tree the second Daniel vanished. Power spike off the charts. Whatever pulled him out of here didn’t do it quietly."

Jessica stood up. "Then we need to retrace his steps. Let’s go back to the last location on his list before he vanished."

---

The last location on Daniel’s list turned out to be the kind of place cities forget. Cracked asphalt folding in on itself. Weeds like barbed wire pushing through every seam. Rusted street lights hanging like dead teeth and a faint hum in the air greeted them. As they stepped out of the car, the eerie silence of the night wrapped around them.

"This is the last place Daniel logged in his journal," Olivia murmured, scanning with her EMF detector. "If he was onto something, it started here."

Jessica crouched down, pressing her hand against the pavement. The air crackled with static beneath her fingertips, sending a chill up her spine.

"It's here," Jessica said flatly. Not fear. Recognition. "That same presence from the house. It’s like... something’s watching."

Leanna pulled out her scanner. "There’s residual electromagnetic interference here, just like in the house. Whatever happened, it left a signature."

Suddenly, a sharp noise split the silence—a metallic groan, followed by a sudden rush of wind. The streetlight above them flickered wildly before bursting, showering sparks into the darkness.

Jessica shot to her feet. "Something’s happening."

A shadow flickered at the edge of their vision—something just beyond the realm of sight. Then, a voice, distant and distorted, calling her name.

Jessica turned sharply, her breath catching in her throat. "Daniel?" she whispered.

But when she looked, there was no one there. Only the wind. And that empty feeling in her chest — like the world had just lost something it was never going to get back.