章 169: Chapter 169
The lights flickered. It wasn't a typical flicker, though. It was like the power wasn't just going out—it was being sucked into something, pulled away. People froze in their homes, phones still glowing in their hands. The hum of the refrigerator died. The silence that followed wasn't peaceful. It was like a void, an absence that swallowed everything. The stillness felt wrong.
They waited. The blackout wasn't long. Maybe a minute, maybe two. But it was enough to unsettle the whole neighborhood. People stared at their devices, expecting a notification, some explanation. None came. The moment passed, the lights returned, but when they did, the houses weren't the same.
The man across the street had been sitting at his kitchen table, drinking coffee. He was gone now. No sign of him. Just his chair, turned over. The table was there, too, with a few crumbs scattered, but no one.
They thought it was some weird glitch. Maybe a power surge. But that night, it happened again. And again. Houses across the world went dark. Then the lights flickered back, but the people didn't.
At first, it wasn't so noticeable. It was just a few houses. The couple next door was missing. The neighbor's son, the one who always played guitar in the garage, just… gone. But the more it happened, the more people realized it wasn't an accident. Something was taking them. No one knew how. No one knew why. And the ones who were left couldn't talk about it, not without sounding insane.
The news tried to explain it away. They said it was a malfunction with the power grid, some kind of cyber attack. But it didn't add up. There was no explanation. And worse, they stopped asking questions. They didn't want to know. Because every time the power flickered, it was one less person in the world.
It wasn't until 1% of the population was gone that people started leaving their homes. They couldn't trust the lights anymore. People gathered outside, sitting around small fires, huddling close together for warmth. Electricity became a thing of the past, something to be avoided. The air felt different. Every city, every street, every corner had a hollow feeling to it. No one felt safe.
Henry lived alone. At least, he thought he did. He'd woken up in his apartment to find the place eerily quiet. The hum of the fridge, the buzzing of the lights, all gone. He hadn't noticed the first time it happened, but now he couldn't ignore it. The silence ate at him. The clock on his wall ticked louder now, like every second was reminding him that he was the last one here. He'd looked out his window, seeing nothing but darkened buildings, empty streets. The only light now came from the fires scattered across the city, people trying to survive without the comfort of electricity.
He walked outside, not knowing what to expect. There were other people, but they kept their distance. Their eyes were wide with suspicion, the same fear that gnawed at him in the dark corners of his mind. The smell of smoke mixed with the scent of something sour, like rot. He didn't know what it was, but it followed him wherever he went.
By day, the world was nothing like it had been. People clung to whatever they could find. Matches, candles, firewood, whatever worked to create some semblance of light and heat. No one spoke much. They were all afraid. Afraid that the next blackout would take them, too.
It wasn't until a man in the crowd said something that Henry began to understand. The man had been quiet for days, sitting near a fire with his hands shaking, eyes darting around like something was always watching him.
"They don't come for you when the lights are out," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "They only come when they flicker."
Henry stared at him, trying to make sense of the words. The lights flickered. People went missing. The more he thought about it, the more it gnawed at him. It wasn't random. It wasn't just some freak accident. Something was taking them, picking them off one by one, and leaving the rest of them to rot in fear.
No one could explain it. It didn't matter if you were alone or with others. If the lights flickered, you were gone. No one knew where they went. No one knew why.
One night, Henry sat by his fire, the glow of the flames the only comfort in a world that had forgotten how to stay lit. He had no idea how much time had passed. Hours? Days? Everything felt like one long, suffocating stretch of empty space. There was a woman across the way, staring into the fire, her face hidden in the shadows. He had seen her earlier, walking down the street, but there was something wrong about her. Something about her that didn't sit right with him.
He turned away, trying to focus on the fire, but his thoughts kept circling back to her. She was still staring. But now, she was closer.
She was standing at the edge of the firelight, watching him. Her face was pale, too pale, and her eyes were wide, but not in fear. In something else. Something colder.
Henry wanted to scream. He wanted to run, but his legs wouldn't move. His heart slammed against his chest, his skin crawling. But before he could react, the fire flickered. Once. Twice.
He saw it. She was gone. Just like that. No sound. No warning.
The fire burned in front of him, dancing, casting strange shapes on the ground, but there was no one else around. He stood there, paralyzed, unsure of what he had just seen. Had it really happened? Was it just his mind playing tricks on him? But the empty space where she had stood wasn't a trick. She was gone.
The next blackout came with no warning. The lights went out. The power blinked. Henry held his breath, waiting. The silence was unbearable. His body stiffened. He could feel it. The pull, like something was reaching for him. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.
He glanced around, trying to see if anyone else noticed. But there was no one. The street was empty. The air was thick with tension. The blackness around him pressed in, suffocating. He turned back to the fire, hoping that the flicker of the flames would bring some comfort.
But when the lights came back, he didn't see the fire anymore.
The house was gone. The street was gone. There was no sign of anyone.
Henry blinked, disoriented. His chest tightened as he tried to understand what was happening. The world felt strange, like he was on the edge of a dream. But this wasn't a dream. This was real. His heartbeat pounded in his ears.
Something was coming for him.
It was too late. There was no escape.
He felt the cold fingers wrap around him, pulling him away from the fire, from the world, from everything.
And then, like all the others, he was gone.
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット