The streets were quiet under the early morning fog, a sharp contrast to the laughter that had once filled Alex's life. The warmth of childhood adventures with Ben felt like a distant memory. They had been inseparable once, sharing everything, but now something had shifted, something Alex couldn't yet understand.
He had heard rumors whispers about Ben acting strangely, disappearing for days at a time but he had brushed them off. Ben had always been a little unpredictable, and Alex wanted to believe the bond they shared was unbreakable.
Until the day everything changed.
Alex had returned from the market to find the house unusually silent. His grandfather, who always welcomed him with a smile and a story, was nowhere to be seen. A cold dread settled in his chest as he ran to the study.
And then he saw him Ben.
"What… what are you doing here?" Alex stammered, confusion and fear mixing in his voice.
Ben's face was unreadable, shadowed under the hood he had pulled over his head. "I came to tell you something, Alex," he said calmly, almost too calmly. "From this day forward… we aren't friends."
"What? Ben, that's insane! Why?"
Ben didn't answer right away. Instead, he stepped aside, revealing Alex's grandfather slumped against the desk, lifeless. Alex froze, horror seizing him.
"No… no, this can't be…" he whispered, shaking his head. "You… you didn't…"
Ben's expression remained cold. "I did. And there's nothing you can do to stop it."
Tears blurred Alex's vision. He wanted to run, to scream, to demand answers, but his legs wouldn't move. "Why… why would you do this? We were friends! Everything we've been through, you"
"Friends?" Ben scoffed. "That ended the moment I realized the truth. You were blind, Alex. Blind to what's really happening."
Alex's chest tightened. "The truth? What truth?"
Ben shook his head, as if pitying him. "You wouldn't understand. Not yet. But someday… you'll see. Until then, don't try to stop me."
Before Alex could respond, Ben turned and vanished into the shadows of the morning fog, leaving Alex alone with grief and disbelief.
Alex sank to the floor beside his grandfather, hands trembling. "How… how could he do this?" he whispered. "He was supposed to be my friend… my brother."
The house, once a place of laughter and safety, now felt cold and empty. And as Alex stared at the lifeless form of the man who had taught him to believe in good in the world, he realized something terrifying: the boy he had trusted more than anyone the one who knew him best had become something unrecognizable.
Something dangerous.
And Alex had no idea how to stop him.