The man woke up suddenly.

  Something felt wrong.

  He didn’t know what it was yet, but the silence in his room felt… strange.

  He turned his head toward the clock on the wall.

  3:33 AM.

  The second hand wasn’t moving.

  He stared at it for a few seconds.

  Still nothing.

  “…Did the clock stop?” he whispered.

  He reached over and picked up his phone from the table beside the bed.

  The screen lit up.

  3:33 AM.

  His eyebrows slowly pulled together.

  “That’s weird.”

  He locked the phone.

  Waited.

  Turned it on again.

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  3:33 AM.

  He checked the clock again.

  Still 3:33.

  For a moment he just sat there on the edge of the bed, staring between the phone and the clock.

  Then he rubbed his face and let out a tired sigh.

  “Whatever… maybe both are just glitching.”

  He got dressed slowly and grabbed his bag.

  “If I’m already awake, I might as well go to the office early,” he muttered.

  When he opened the apartment door and stepped into the hallway, he noticed someone standing near the elevator.

  A man.

  He wasn’t moving.

  At first the protagonist barely paid attention.

  He started walking toward the stairs, but something about the man felt… off.

  He stopped.

  The man was standing there with his eyes open.

  Not blinking.

  Not breathing.

  Not moving even a tiny bit.

  “…What the hell?”

  He stepped a little closer and waved his hand in front of the man’s face.

  Nothing.

  The man stayed exactly the same.

  The protagonist frowned.

  “…Okay. That’s creepy.”

  He shook his head and continued toward the building exit.

  When he stepped outside, the street lights were still on.

  The city should have been quiet at this hour…

  …but not like this.

  No cars passing.

  No footsteps.

  No voices.

  Just silence.

  As he walked down the street, he suddenly saw a dog near the sidewalk.

  The dog had one paw lifted like it was about to take another step.

  But it wasn’t moving.

  At all.

  The man slowly approached it.

  “…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  He leaned closer.

  The dog’s eyes were open…

  …but completely frozen.

  A cold feeling crawled up his back.

  Then a shadow passed over him.

  He looked up.

  A bird was in the sky above the street.

  Its wings were stretched out…

  But it wasn’t moving.

  Not even a little.

  The man felt his heart beat faster.

  “...Okay.”

  He looked around the empty street.

  The frozen dog.

  The bird stuck in the sky.

  The silent city.

  And then the thought finally hit him.

  “…Why am I the only one moving?”

  Next Chapter: "The beginning of horror"