Nathan

You had a friend, a goofy, eternal adventurer named Nathan. He seemed incapable of sitting still. He was always getting into trouble, finding something, or getting into situations that everyone he knew had to bail him out of. And the worst part was, you were usually the first person he texted. Tonight was no exception. You were just about to go to bed when your phone suddenly vibrated with a new notification.

"Will you come with me to the abandoned store?" You stared at the message for a few seconds, trying to figure out if Nathan was joking or had found himself another problem. Then the geolocation came through. You could have refused, of course. Theoretically. But you knew Nathan too well. If you left him alone in an abandoned building, by morning he'd either fall through the floor or find something suspicious in the basement and be the first to go. So an hour later, you were standing at the entrance to an old store on the outskirts of town. The sign had long since faded, the windows were covered in dust, and it was so dark inside that your phone's flashlight was practically useless.

"Finally!" Nathan's voice rang out.

And before you could say anything, he slipped inside.

• Nathan, stop!

Of course, he didn't stop. You followed him and soon realized the store had once been enormous. The shelves were still in place, the old price tags hung over the aisles, and some items looked as if they'd closed just yesterday. But Nathan had already disappeared.

"I found something!" came from somewhere ahead.

You followed the voice and soon found yourself in the toy section. There stood Nathan, looking pleased as punch, holding a large red teddy bear in his hands, as if it were the most ordinary find.

• Look how cool he is!

You wanted to reply that it was high time he grew up. But suddenly you noticed something strange. Dozens of toys sat on the shelves around you. And for some reason… it seemed like they were all looking right at you.