shadowless

Chain stepped out of the storage room the same way he had entered: calm, with measured steps. The September sun hit his face, but he didn't blink. On the sports field, a few boys were still running after a ball no one controlled. Raul sat on the sidelines, his gaze lost in his phone.Chain sat down next to him."Everything okay?" asked Raul, without looking up."Yeah," said Chain.Several minutes of silence. Chain tapped his foot, a regular rhythm, like a metronome. Then he saw Mira crossing the field, heading straight for them. Her face was different now - something between fear and determination."Chain," she said, stopping in front of him. "Come with me."Chain stood up. Mira led him to the farthest corner of the field, where a dumpster partially blocked the view from the school."What really happened to Zane?" she asked, directly.Chain remained still."What happened? The story said he skipped class. But you, when you came into the classroom, you took his backpack. And you said you handled it."Chain crossed his arms."I took the backpack to throw it over the fence. Zane couldn't jump the fence with the backpack on."Mira looked at him fixedly."And why did you come to get it?"Chain turned his gaze toward the school wall. A thin crack, from an old pipe. He followed it with his eyes, up, to where it disappeared under a green roof, saying nothing."So we made a plan that failed. He beat me up. He left to skip class." Mira paused. "But you came into the classroom, took his backpack, said it was handled. And now there's a story on Instagram saying he skipped."Chain turned to her."Yeah," he said.Mira took out her phone. She unlocked it, opened an app. She turned it toward Chain. On the screen, a simple map, blue dots for friends. Zane appeared there, clear, right on the school building. Not on the field. Not at the stadium. At the school. In the basement.Chain felt something cold spread through his chest, then his throat, then his temples.Okay, he told himself. Okay, Chain, calm down."It's just a matter of time," he thought, "until he's found. And I'll be caught. And I still don't know what will happen to me. I don't have time for this. I can't make a scene now.""Probably," he said out loud, "it's an app glitch."Mira looked at him. A few seconds. Then she nodded, slowly, a gesture that didn't mean acceptance."I understand," she said. "I think. Now just go and stop his location sharing. After you get away from the storage room with the phone." She turned, took a step, stopped. "I agree to anything. Just so I can win class president."Chain remained still for a few seconds.The storage room smelled the same. Dust. Rubber. Friendly darkness.But now there was something else. A sound. A muffled whistle, then a thud, then whistling again. Zane. Awake. Screaming.Chain entered, pulled the door shut behind him."Stop screaming," he said.Zane stopped. He looked at him from the darkness, tied to the chair Chain had prepared the night before - just in case, just for extreme situations, he hadn't thought he'd need it."Someone will hear you," Chain continued, then bit his lip. In his head: You can scream for hours. No one will hear you. These walls absorb sound. That's what Raul said.Chain approached. Zane tried to say something, but the piece of cloth tied tightly around his mouth turned his words into mumbles."I'll take the phone," said Chain. "I was careless. Apparently you have an app that always shows where you are."He bent down, took the phone from the front pocket of Zane's backpack - he had searched in a hurry, the first pocket, lucky it was there. He straightened up, looked at Zane one last time, then left.In the classroom, everything was the same. Teacher's desk, rows of desks, the blackboard with chalk traces. Chain opened the location app, stopped sharing. Checked twice. Closed it.He returned to the storage room.He entered. Zane looked at him, bloodshot eyes, forehead glistening with sweat.Chain put the phone back in the front pocket. Then he bent down, arranged it so it looked untouched. He straightened up, looked around. Empty shelves. Deflated ball. Darkness."You still have fight in you?" he asked.Zane mumbled something that could have been "I'll kill you" or "I'll destroy you" or just a sound without words.Chain left. Pulled the door shut. Checked twice that it was locked.Then he headed toward the sports field, his steps just as measured as at the beginning.He reached the sports field. Mira was there, waiting. She saw him and approached quickly, grabbing his hand."Let's talk," she said.Chain pulled back slightly, putting his hand behind him."Not now," he said, looking around. "We risk people thinking we're together."The bell rang. Gym class was ending. Students gathered toward the entrance, fragmented conversations, hurried steps on concrete.What would I say, he thought, I wouldn't mind. She has friends throughout the school who could help me in critical situations.Mira looked at him, eyebrows raised.Chain nodded, shifting his position."Actually," he said, "let's go."Mira smiled, a brief, professional gesture."You're right, Chain. Then I suppose we'll go to that cafe again tonight?"Chain shrugged, a gesture he hoped passed as indifferent."I suppose."Mira looked at him for another second, then let the smile spread."Yes."The bell rang. They headed toward class, keeping a meter's distance between them.In the classroom, the air was different. Warmer, heavier, smell of chalk and old paper.The bell rang. The chemistry teacher entered, a short woman with gray hair tied back. She set her bag on the desk, opened the attendance book."Raul?" she asked."Present," answered Raul from the right side."Ms. Akari?" she continued, without looking up."Present," said a voice from the back of the class."Zane?"Total silence.Chain clenched his fists slightly under the desk.The teacher looked up, scanning the class. A boy from the last row leaned forward."He skipped class, ma'am," he said. "He posted on his story that he skipped."The teacher nodded, noting the absence."Understood," she said, without changing her expression.Chain felt something relax in his chest. He looked at Mira."Because of you, now only the story can be seen by everyone. Not the location."Chain bit his inner lip, hiding a smile.Almost, he thought. Almost.Mira waited for him at the school gate. They didn't exchange two words until the cafe.They entered together. They sat at a corner table. Silence.Mira studied him. She searched for something in his eyes. Remorse. Regret. Anything.Empty. Not even a reflex."So," she said. "How did you realize Zane caught on to the plan?""Zane looked strangely at Raul when he sent you the message to come into the classroom. He stood there for a minute like he was having a monologue. Then he ran toward the school saying he needed the bathroom.""And the storage room? How did you prepare it so quickly?""I didn't prepare it quickly." Chain raised his gaze. "I had prepared it the day before. Just in case. For extreme situations."Mira looked at him fixedly."But why did you choose to help me? If you're so capable, you could be class president yourself. You would have beaten us both without any problem."Chain looked at her. Extremely attentive."I just want a normal life, Mira. But you complicated it."Complicated situation? he thought to himself. That's what you call this?Mira smiled, suddenly, like a light turning on."Would you like to meet my friends?"There, Chain thought. That's why I helped you."Yes," he said. "I would."They stayed another hour. Words without substance. At four, Chain walked her home.Then he went to his.4:30 PMThe house was empty. At four, not a shadow. Chain stretched out on his white bed, looked at the ceiling, waited.At seven, parents home. Dinner together. Smiles. "How was school?""Normal," said Chain.At nine, he retreated to his room. Waited.One AM. He got up. Barefoot, on tiptoes, he went down the stairs. The front door opened without a sound. He reached the school.The fence. He jumped. Soft landing on grass. He reached the school, opening the door with a lockpick. Opened. The school door, then the storage room.Zane was there. Tied. Awake. Bloodshot eyes, but lucid.Chain sat on the floor, face to face with him."I still haven't decided," he said.Zane mumbled something muffled.Chain looked at him. Waited.Zane's phone vibrated. Ten missed calls from "Mom." Chain looked at it."Apparently she's panicking."He opened the messages. Read aloud:"Where are you? Why aren't you coming home? What happened?"He replied: "I'm at a friend's house. I'll come back tomorrow at 3 when classes end."Zane started to cry, looking at him.Chain looked back."I don't think you'll get to come home."Silence. A few seconds."Yes, actually," he added. "You'll get home tonight. But I need to take some interesting photos of you."He took thirty-four photos. Zane tied, scared, vulnerable."This is all I need for you to stay quiet, right?"He untied him. Held the knife near Zane's stomach, in case of refusal.Zane grabbed his hand with the knife. Squeezed hard. The knife fell.Chain's face: no reaction.With his other hand, Zane pushed him against the wall. Put his hand on his throat."Give me the phone," said Zane. "I caught you. Everyone will see your true face."Chain looked at him."Wouldn't it be better to negotiate?"Zane laughed."You think you can still negotiate? See how I caught you?"Chain couldn't speak. Zane's hand was compressing his throat.Then Chain hit him with his left fist, free, in the stomach. Zane doubled over. Chain fell down, but now he had both hands free. He breathed. Then he kicked him in the mouth.Zane down. Conscious, but weak.Silence. Five minutes. Chain looked at him. Zane tried to get up."See what happens?" said Chain. "The second time you force me to do what I don't want."He started gathering. The phone, the photos, the knife, the rope. Everything in the bag. He pushed the chair into a corner."You recovered?"Zane didn't answer. He got up and ran.Chain didn't move. He watched him jump the fence. Free.He locked the storage room. Jumped the fence too. The road home.What will you do now, Zane? You ran without saying anything. You won't make trouble. You understood the situation. I made myself understood.Once home, he put the bag under the bed. Went to sleep.No remorse.His father had woken up. He had heard the door. He knew his son went out at night. But now he wondered: why? He had behaved perfectly. Too perfectly.Something doesn't add up.I'll figure it out, he told himself. What's happening here, Chain.