The two froze.The humming wasn't just sound—it seemed to vibrate in the air, low at first, then slowly growing sharper, almost metallic.
Tucker flicked his cigarette away, the embers hissing in the grass."You hear that?" he whispered.
Darren nodded, his pulse quickening. "It's… weird. Like it's in my head."
The bushes rustled, not from the wind, but as if something had moved just out of sight. Both boys crouched lower, instinctively holding their breath.
Then, a flash—bright and bluish—lit up between the branches.
"What the hell was that?" Tucker hissed, grabbing Darren's sleeve.But Darren was already leaning forward, squinting through the leaves.
Beyond the schoolyard fence, in the far corner where the grass grew tall and uncut, something hovered.It looked like a figure—tall, slim—but its outline shimmered, like heat rising off asphalt. The humming was definitely coming from it.
The figure tilted its head, almost like it knew they were watching.
Tucker swore under his breath and began pulling Darren back."Nope. Not today, man. We're going to the park. Forget that freaky crap."
But Darren didn't move. Something about the figure felt… familiar. It wasn't faceless like the people in his paranoia—it had features, though blurred and shifting. And even though it didn't speak, Darren felt a strange pull in his chest, like it was silently calling to him.
The humming dropped to a deep, bone-vibrating note.Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the figure dissolved into the air, leaving only the empty grass.
Tucker stood up straight, scanning the area. "See? Nothing there. Just our brains messing with us."
Darren didn't answer. He kept staring at the spot where the figure had been, a cold prickle creeping up the back of his neck.Because in the silence after the humming stopped… he could swear he still heard it, faintly, from inside his own head.
By the time they reached the park, the afternoon sun had already begun its slow dip, turning the sky a washed-out orange. It should've felt peaceful—kids laughing near the swings, the wind moving through the trees—but to Darren, everything felt off.
Even with the noise around them, he could still faintly hear the humming. It wasn't as loud as before, more like a faint vibration in the back of his skull. He hadn't told Tucker yet—Tucker would just call him paranoid again.
They flopped down on their usual bench, the one tucked behind an old oak tree, half-hidden from the walking path. Tucker lit another cigarette, leaning back and blowing the smoke toward the fading sky.
"So," Tucker began, "you gonna tell me what's actually eating you up today? Or are we just gonna sit here in awkward silence until I get bored?"
Darren didn't answer right away. His eyes were scanning the park—every face, every movement. Most people looked normal, but every now and then, just for a blink, he thought he saw the same blacked-out faces from earlier.
"You ever feel like…" Darren hesitated, "…like something's following you, but not in a normal way? Like it's not even a person?"
Tucker raised an eyebrow. "You mean like that thing you thought you saw by the school?"
Darren swallowed hard. "I did see it. And it… it knew I was looking. And now…" He trailed off, unsure if he should say the rest.
Before Tucker could press, something flickered in the corner of Darren's vision.Out by the far edge of the park, half-hidden in the shadows beneath a cluster of trees… it was there again.
The figure.Standing still. Watching.
The humming grew louder in Darren's head, pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
He gripped the edge of the bench so hard his knuckles went white."Tucker," he whispered, not taking his eyes off the trees, "don't… make it obvious. But tell me you see it."
Tucker glanced over casually—and froze."…Oh, shit."
The figure began to move. Not walking exactly—more like sliding forward, its feet never touching the ground.
And as it drew closer, Darren realized something terrifying.Its face wasn't blacked out anymore.It was his own.
Same pale skin. Same dark circles under the eyes. Same faint scar above the eyebrow from when he fell off his bike in fifth grade.The only difference was the eyes—too wide, too still, the pupils like bottomless pits.
Darren's breath hitched. His legs felt cemented in place, even as every instinct screamed at him to run.
"What the hell…" Tucker muttered beside him, but his voice sounded far away, muffled, like Darren was underwater.
The other Darren—it—stopped a few feet away, head tilting just like before. Then it smiled. Not a friendly smile. Not even a cruel one. It was empty. Hollow.
The humming returned, low and vibrating through Darren's bones, making his teeth ache. This time, he could hear words buried beneath it, whispered in a voice that sounded exactly like his own:
"You can't run from me."
Darren staggered back, nearly tripping over a tree root. "T-Tucker—"
But Tucker was gone.
The park, the trees, the sky—they all seemed to dissolve into a gray, shifting haze. Only the thing wearing his face remained, gliding closer with that same inhuman smoothness.
"You're not real," Darren said, though his voice cracked and his body betrayed him, trembling violently.
The figure leaned forward until its face was inches from his. Darren could see his own reflection in those black, bottomless pupils… only in the reflection, his mouth was moving.
"Neither are you."
The ground vanished beneath him. He was falling, spinning, choking on that same low hum as the world tore itself apart—
And then—
"Darren! Wake up!"
He was back in the park, Tucker shaking his shoulders hard. The sun was still in the sky, the trees still in place. No haze, no sliding figure. Just the pounding of his heart.
But when Darren looked past Tucker, across the grass, there was a single footprint pressed into the dirt.
It was his.
Darren stared at the footprint.It was impossible for it to be his—he hadn't even walked over there.
But there it was, pressed deep into the damp earth, the tread pattern matching his beat-up sneakers perfectly.
Tucker followed his gaze. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing," Darren lied, quickly slinging his backpack over his shoulder. His voice came out sharper than he meant. "Let's just… let's go."
Tucker frowned, but didn't press. They left the park and made their way down the cracked sidewalks, their shadows stretching long in the late-afternoon sun. But Darren couldn't shake the feeling that there was a third shadow trailing just behind them, always slipping out of sight when he turned his head.
By the time they reached Tucker's apartment, Darren's hands were slick with sweat. The TV was on in the living room, static buzzing faintly before the image resolved into some sitcom rerun. Tucker tossed him a can of soda and collapsed on the couch.
"You've been acting weird all day," Tucker said, cracking open his drink. "Even for you."
Darren hesitated. "What if I told you… I saw something? Something… wearing my face."
Tucker snorted. "Dude, that's either the creepiest pickup line ever or you seriously need to get more sleep."
"I'm not joking!" Darren's voice came out louder than intended, sharp enough to make Tucker glance over in surprise. "It wasn't just in my head. It… it talked to me. Said I couldn't run from it. And then—" He stopped, realizing how insane it sounded out loud.
"And then?" Tucker pressed.
"And then I woke up."
Tucker leaned back. "Like a dream?"
"Not a dream." Darren's stomach twisted. "It felt real. Too real."
Before Tucker could reply, the TV flickered again, the picture warping for just a split second. Darren froze.
The static shimmered into an image—of him. Standing in the park. Smiling that same empty smile.
Tucker didn't notice, still scrolling on his phone.
But Darren saw the figure on the screen lift a hand… and wave.