Gleb Viktorov

The last thing Gleb remembered before going to bed was that it was almost midnight and his phone screen. Pitch darkness all around, the only source of light was his phone with an open Telegram app.

He dreamed of his entire group: Sasha, Seraphim, Andrey, Fenya, even a friend from the US, and other performers. Everyone was in the park, laughing, meeting up, and having a good time. But someone, either in the crowd or from behind, shouted "Gleb!" and he didn't understand, and everything felt out of place. Passersby and friends were wearing theatrical masks.

Turning around, he saw his old friend. She'd disappeared from all radars. What's surprising is that she was wearing a mask. She walked calmly, smiling. And just about 20 meters away, he heard a click, and found himself in a white space.

The white space didn't frighten him. Yes, it was strange that he wasn't frightened, didn't start running and looking for a way out. But he knew there was no way out. Running was pointless. A loud click pulled him out of his sleep, and when he looked at his watch, it was 2:44. He'd only slept three hours, maybe even less.