My blood froze.
The voice wasn't loud. It wasn't angry either. It was calm… way too calm.
The kind of calm that says you're not getting away, no matter what you try.
I tried to move. To turn around. To see who the hell knew my name in this place. But my body betrayed me. My feet felt glued to the sand, like the desert itself decided to swallow me whole.
How does it know my name?
My breathing sped up. The air was dry, scraping my throat with every inhale. The sandstorm around me was slowly dying down, like it had only been there to cover that thing's entrance.
A shadow moved in front of me.
Tall. Wrong. Not human.
I couldn't see its face clearly, but I felt its stare. Like it was cutting straight through me.
Is this a dream?
Did I die?
Am I losing my mind?
My thoughts crashed into each other, fast and messy. The last thing I remember was… what? Nothing. Just a blank space. Like someone sliced my life in half.
Step.
It came closer.
With every step, my heart pounded harder. I wanted to scream, but the sound died in my chest.
And then...
"Watch out!!"
The voice came from my side.
I turned so fast I almost slipped. Three people were running toward me two guys and a girl. About my age. Covered in dust. Faces tense.
"Get away from him!" one of the guys yelled, holding what looked like a spear.
Get away from who?
Before I could process anything, someone grabbed my arm and yanked me back. The girl. Her grip was strong, her eyes sharp and focused.
"Do you have a death wish?!" she snapped.
"I I don't understand! What is..."
An explosion of sand cut me off. I turned and saw the ground blast apart exactly where I had been standing seconds ago.
The shadow wasn't just a shadow anymore.
I saw it clearly now.
A massive body. Limbs stretched too long. A face… twisted into something that didn't belong to this world. And that smile.
It was smiling.
"It's smiling…" I whispered.
"Don't look into its eyes!" the other guy shouted as he charged forward.
They moved like they knew what they were doing. One attacked from the right, the other from the left, while the girl shoved me behind a large rock.
"Stay here!" she ordered.
Stay here?
How?
Where even am I?
What is this place?!
I grabbed my head. My thoughts felt like they were smashing into each other. One part of me wanted to run in any direction. Another part just wanted answers.
"Freddy!" the girl shouted. "Focus! Can you stand?"
I stared at her. "Where am I?"
She froze for half a second, like that question hit harder than she expected. Then she said quickly, "Not the time!"
A scream of pain cut through the air. One of the guys got thrown across the sand like he weighed nothing. The creature moved fast ، too fast. It was there, then not there. Like it was glitching in and out of reality.
"It's faster than we thought!" the other guy yelled.
Cold crawled through my arms, even under the desert heat. These three were fighting that thing…
For me?
Why?
The creature suddenly stopped.
Then it turned its head.
Toward me.
It ignored them completely.
Its eyes or whatever those were locked onto mine.
"It wants you!" the girl shouted.
I stepped back. The sand gave way beneath my foot and I almost fell. I looked around desperately for an exit, a road, anything that made sense.
I'm not a fighter.
I'm not some hero.
I'm just...
Who even am I?
For a split second, the air around me vibrated. Like something invisible cracked. I thought I saw a faint flash in front of my eyes, but when I blinked, it was gone.
"Move!" she yelled, grabbing my hand again.
We ran.
I didn't know where. I just ran. My feet sinking into the sand. My lungs burning. My heart pounding so hard it felt like it would explode.
Behind us, I heard something.
It sounded like laughter.
Low. Cold.
"It's not going to let us go that easy!" one of the guys said as he caught up.
I glanced back for half a second.
The creature was standing on top of a dune, watching us.
Not chasing.
Just watching.
Like it knew we'd come back.
I tripped and hit my knees. Pain shot up my leg, but I barely felt it over the chaos in my head.
"Get up!" the guy said, reaching out to pull me up.
I looked at him. At the determination in his eyes. Then at the girl scanning the horizon like she expected the thing to reappear any second.
They were strangers.
And they were risking their lives for me.
Why me?
Before I could ask, a sharp screech ripped through the air.
Everyone froze.
The creature wasn't on the dune anymore.
It was gone.
Silence fell. Heavy. Thick. Only the soft wind moving the sand.
"That's not good…" one of them muttered.
A chill ran down my spine.
It disappearing was worse than it chasing us.
I looked at the three of them… then at the dark horizon.
I don't know where I am.
I don't know who they are.
And I don't know why that thing knows my name.
But one thing is clear
This isn't random.
And the worst part?
I have this feeling…
This place knows me better than I know myself.