August 1st, 2026
At Ellie's apartment - 9:25 PM
The lights snapped off without warning. Darkness swallowed the apartment whole - thick, suffocating, unnatural. The soft hum of the refrigerator died. The fan stopped. Only the heavy, wet sound of rain slapping against the windows remained.
"Jayden? Ian?" Ellie called for them in the darkness, getting anxious.
Then - BOOM!
The front door trembled under a violent assault. Something - no, someone - was trying to force their way in. A mechanical screech, like metal grinding against metal, followed. It sounded like a hydraulic ram or industrial battering tool. Then... silence.
And then came the hum.
Soft, melodic, feminine. Haunting and ominous...
"What is....that sound?" Ellie whispered.
It slithered through the apartment like a ghost. It was gentle, even angelic, but it didn't belong here. The voice was disembodied, yet unmistakably human. The humming lured in like a siren's song, and with each passing second, it became clearer.
Ian's spine turned to ice.
He knew that melody. He knew it too well.
"…That's our song," he whispered to himself.
A deep, broken sigh escaped his lips. His breath trembled. That hum - it could only belong to one person.
Ruth.
The clicking of heels followed. Slow. Rhythmic. Echoing in perfect harmony with the hum. Each step felt like a countdown to the end of something sacred.
Jayden, now tense and sweating, muttered, "What the fuck is that?"
The humming drew nearer. The clicking heels grew louder. Like death itself was pacing toward them in stilettos.
Then - silence.
The humming stopped.
The apartment became a vacuum. Even the thunder and rain outside seemed to hesitate, holding its breath.
"Jayden," Ellie whimpered, "go get your gun from the our room. Please. I'm scared."
Jayden blinked rapidly, hands shaking. "Yeah - yeah, okay. Stay here. Don't move."
They couldn't see anything in the dark. Their breathing overlapped - fast, shallow, panicked. Ian stood frozen, feeling his pulse pound in his ears.
A flash of lightning illuminated the room for a half-second. Just enough.
And Ian saw her.
Ruth.
Standing at the threshold of the living room. Her black trench coat soaked with rain. Her soaked hair clung to her face. And there it was - that smile. That creepy, stretched, yandere-esque smile - like a porcelain doll that had just snapped.
"Let's go home, Ian," she cooed sweetly, too sweetly.
"What?! Ian?!" Jayden yelled, confused.
Another flash.
This time, Ian saw the gun.
A small silver pistol, glinting like a dagger under the lightning, was aimed at Ellie's head.
"Jayden, Ian…?" Ellie's voice cracked. "I - I'm scared."
Jayden swore violently, still fumbling to find his way toward the exit of the kitchen. "Who the fuck was that?! I swear to God, I'll shoot her!"
"Don't make me do this," Ruth whispered. Her voice laced with silk and steel. "I didn't come here for blood, Ian. I came for you."
"Don't make me hurt her, Ian." Ruth added.
"Try it, bitch, I'll fucking kill you!" Jayden screamed, his voice echoing through the apartment.
Then -
BANG!
The first shot rang out like a thunderclap. Wood splintered. Glass shattered. Someone screamed.
Ian's body jolted. His ears rang. His chest tightened like a vice. His vision began to blur. He tried to breathe but it felt like inhaling fire. What just happened?! Who got hit?! He couldn't tell. Panic buried him in a pit of paranoia.
Then - BANG!
Another shot. This time closer.
Ian screamed internally. His mind spiraled. He didn't know where he was. Didn't know who was alive. He was drowning in adrenaline. His legs failed him. His knees buckled. His vision dimmed like a screen shutting off.
The smell of gunpowder thickened in the air, clinging to the walls like a stain.
Ruth began laughing.
Not loud.
Not manic.
But low. Controlled. The kind of laugh that says: "I win."
"You see, baby?" she whispered in the darkness, her voice a razor wrapped in velvet. "You can't run from me. I told you. You belong to me."
Her tone shifted, venom rising beneath the silk. "This is your fucking fault, Ian. If you had just come back when I asked... everything...-
Then Ian heard a sound of gun clicking.
"...everything will be so easy."
"And it didn't have come to this."
Ian dropped to his knees.
His lungs fought to drag in air.
His head swam. The room tilted and spun. His heart felt like it was exploding in his chest.
Who did she kill?!
Was it Ellie?! Was it Jayden?!
He tried to move. Tried to speak. But the world had already faded around him.
And the last thing he heard before everything went black… was the quiet hum of his and Ruth's favorite song.