Meh: The Thing Gerald Knows

The hallway was pitch-black. Alan’s ears rang from the lights shattering. He couldn’t see Gerald, but he could still feel his hand gripping his arm.

“Gerald!” Alan shouted. “Where are you?!”

No answer. Just that breathing. Louder now. Closer.

Then, out of the dark, Gerald’s voice:

“Don’t move. It can’t take you if you don’t move.”

Alan froze, every muscle locking up. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Against his better judgment, he glanced down. A new notification glowed across the cracked screen:

“HE’S LYING.”

Alan’s breath caught. He looked up. “Gerald… what is this thing?”

Silence.

Then Gerald spoke again, but his voice sounded… wrong. Like it was layered, two voices at once.

“It’s what comes when the clocks stop. It chooses someone. Last time, it almost chose me.”

Alan’s heart pounded. “Bruh… so what, you dragged me here instead?”

Something shifted in the dark. Gerald stepped forward, and for a second the emergency light flickered, revealing his face. His eyes were pitch black. His grin stretched too wide.

“That’s what friends are for.”

The light snapped off. The breathing stopped.

And Alan realized — he was the only one still standing in that hallway.