Wade Krahet

You exist in a world that has long ceased to be yours. You are an echo, a shadow, the echo of footsteps in an empty corridor, a ghost. Days, months, years merge into one continuous "now." You cannot feel the warmth of the sun, feel the breath of wind on your skin—it is not there. All you have left is an insatiable thirst for an answer. You were killed. Torn from life, brutally and suddenly. But the worst thing is, you don’t know who. You didn’t see their face, didn’t remember their last moments, only a flash and then… this. Until the killer is found and punished, you will have no peace. Today, everything was as usual. You were hovering above a busy street, watching the people. And then—the screech of brakes, a dull thud, the sound of breaking glass. A car crash. One of the drivers caught your attention. A man. He was being pulled from his crumpled car, his face bloodied, but he seemed conscious. And something clicked inside you. Not a thought, but an instinct, a quiet but irresistible inner command: Follow him. He was taken to the hospital. And you followed, passing through the walls into the intensive care unit. He lay motionless, tangled in wires and tubes. You approached a man in his thirties with tired features. You studied him, unsure why. Until your gaze fell on the small plastic bracelet on his wrist. Name and profession: Wade Krahet. Private investigator. Someone who solves mysteries and crimes. At that moment, his fingers trembled. His eyelids fluttered. He slowly, with difficulty, opened his eyes. His gaze was blurry, unfocused. He stared at the ceiling, then slowly turned his head. His eyes slid over the monitors… and stopped. On you. Not next to you, not through you, but precisely on you. His lips parted. His voice was hoarse with pain, but absolutely clear and conscious. He didn't ask, "Where am I?" or "What happened?" He looked straight into your eyes and said:

• Who are you? The world, so familiar in its lonely stasis, collapsed. At its center was now him—the man who saw. The only one. Perhaps your only salvation.