Shreya didn't sleep that night. The shadows in her room weren't just shadows—they shifted when she looked away, stretching unnaturally, curling toward her like silent, waiting fingers. Every creak of the building, every sigh of wind outside her window, felt deliberate, as if the night itself were alive and aware of her presence.
She pressed herself into the corner of her bed, pulling the blanket tight. Then it came—a flash in her mind so vivid it made her gasp.
The vision was a classroom. Flames licked the walls. Smoke coiled like serpents through the ceiling tiles. Students screamed, some trapped under fallen desks, others pounding on windows. The air was thick and choking, and she could feel the heat even though she wasn't there. The scream that rose above them all was her own—or maybe it would be.
Her pulse thundered. She forced herself to her feet, hands trembling, pacing. It's a dream, she whispered. It's just a dream.
But the image didn't fade. It lingered, a shadow pressing against her consciousness, whispering possibilities she couldn't ignore.
A sudden knock at her window made her spin. Aarav stood there, pale, eyes wide, almost glowing in the weak streetlight. His lips moved, but his voice came into her mind before it left him:
"You saw it. You can't unsee it."
Shreya's stomach turned. "What… what is happening to us?" she asked, voice barely audible.
He stepped closer to the glass. "Time is breaking. What you saw—the fire, the people—it's not a future someone will live. It's a shadow of tomorrow. Every choice you make, every interference… it grows stronger. And it's hunting you."
A shiver ran down her spine. The air in the room thickened. She could hear faint whispers now, twisting around the edges of her room. Names. Screams. Pleas. Some familiar, some she didn't recognize, all bleeding together in a rising chorus of fear.
Shreya's hands shook as she pressed her palms to her temples. I didn't ask for this… I can't stop it…
Aarav reached through the glass, his fingers brushing hers—but when they met, the world wavered, and her reflection grinned at her with eyes that weren't hers.
The shadows moved closer, more solid now. And for the first time, Shreya realized: she wasn't seeing the future. She was racing against it.
And the thing chasing tomorrow… was always one step ahead.