The first thing Cassie noticed was the smell.
Iron.
Thick. Metallic. Heavy in the air.
It filled her lungs before she could even open her eyes.
Then came the sound.
Drip… drip… drip…
Slow. Steady.
Too steady.
Cassie's eyes snapped open.
Darkness.
But not the kind she knew.
This darkness felt… alive.
Breathing.
Watching.
She tried to move—but her body didn't respond.
Her fingers twitched.
Her chest rose sharply as panic settled in.
"W-where am I…?"
Her voice came out barely a whisper.
No answer.
Only the dripping sound.
Drip… drip… drip…
Then—
Light.
A flicker above her.
A broken streetlight sparked to life, casting a weak, trembling glow across the ground.
And that's when she saw it.
The alley.
Narrow.
Walls stained and cracked.
Trash scattered everywhere.
And something else…
Something lying a few feet ahead.
Cassie's breath caught.
"No…"
Her body finally obeyed her.
She pushed herself up slowly, her legs unsteady, her heart pounding louder with every step.
The smell got stronger.
Worse.
She already knew what she was going to see.
But she kept walking anyway.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The figure came into view.
A person.
Face turned away.
Body twisted unnaturally.
And beneath them…
A dark pool spreading across the concrete.
Cassie staggered back.
"No… no, no…"
Her voice shook.
This wasn't real.
It couldn't be.
She had never been here before.
Never seen this place.
So why did it feel so familiar?
Then—
The body moved.
Cassie froze.
Her heart stopped.
"No…"
Slowly…
Too slowly…
The figure's head began to turn.
Bones cracking softly.
Skin dragging against the ground.
Until—
Its face was looking directly at her.
Cassie screamed.
Because the face staring back at her…
Was hers.
The eyes were wide open.
Lifeless.
The lips slightly parted.
As if trying to say something.
Blood trickled from the corner of its mouth.
And then—
It spoke.
"…You're too late…"
Cassie woke up screaming.
Her room was bright.
Morning light poured through the window.
Birds chirped outside.
Everything normal.
Everything safe.
But her body didn't believe it.
Her chest heaved as she sat up, gripping her bedsheets tightly.
Her entire body was shaking.
"That… that wasn't…"
Her voice broke.
A dream.
It had to be a dream.
Right?
She touched her face.
Warm.
Alive.
Not cold.
Not… dead.
Cassie let out a shaky breath.
"Just a nightmare…"
But the words felt empty.
Because she could still smell it.
That metallic scent.
Faint.
But there.
The rest of the morning passed in a blur.
She got dressed.
Packed her bag.
Left for school.
Everything felt distant.
Muted.
Like she wasn't fully there.
Until she heard it.
"Did you hear about what happened last night?"
Cassie stopped walking.
Her body stiffened instantly.
Two boys stood near the school gate, talking.
"No, what happened?"
"One girl was found dead. Behind East Street."
Cassie's grip on her bag tightened.
"…What?"
"They said it was brutal. Blood everywhere. Police are still there."
Her heart began to race.
East Street.
An alley.
A broken light.
Dripping.
"No…" she whispered.
That's just a coincidence.
It has to be.
There are many alleys.
Many streets.
Many—
"…They said she looked just like a student from this school."
Cassie's vision blurred.
Her ears rang.
"Who?" the other boy asked.
"They don't know yet. But someone said her face was—"
Cassie turned and ran.
She didn't think.
Didn't stop.
Didn't breathe.
Her legs moved on their own, carrying her through streets she barely recognized.
Until—
She saw it.
Police tape.
Yellow.
Flapping slightly in the wind.
Cars parked around.
People gathered at a distance, whispering.
And behind all of it…
The alley.
Her alley.
Cassie slowed down.
Her chest rising and falling rapidly.
"No…"
She stepped closer.
Ignoring the looks.
Ignoring the voices.
Ignoring the officer telling people to stay back.
Her feet carried her forward.
Closer.
Closer.
The smell hit her first.
Iron.
Just like in the dream.
Cassie's stomach twisted violently.
"This isn't real…"
But it was.
It was real.
Every detail.
Every shadow.
Every crack in the wall.
Exactly the same.
Then she saw it.
A stretcher being rolled out.
Covered with a white sheet.
But not completely.
The face was visible.
Just a little.
Cassie's breath stopped.
"No…"
She moved closer.
Without thinking.
Without permission.
As if something was pulling her.
The wind shifted.
The sheet slipped slightly.
And the face was revealed.
Cassie's world shattered.
Because the girl lying there…
Looked exactly like her.
Same eyes.
Same lips.
Same face.
Cassie staggered back, her body going cold.
"That's not me…"
Her voice trembled.
"That's not me…"
But no matter how many times she said it…
It didn't change the truth.
Because she had already seen this.
Before it happened.
And as she stood there, shaking, trying to understand—
A voice whispered behind her.
Close.
Too close.
"…You saw it… didn't you?"
Cassie turned sharply.
But no one was there.
Only the faint sound of footsteps…
Walking away.