The ride back was quiet. Jade stared out the window, eyes fixed on nothing in particular, like he was trying to ignore the weight pressing down on him. His mind spun in circles. I wonder how home's gonna be. I'm definitely getting in trouble. His chest tightened at the thought. There was no getting out of this one.
Alex finally broke the silence.
"You know… life's funny. Addicting, even. Throws punches, then hands you a moment of peace just to rip it away again. It's sad, yeah, but I see it as motivation. You fight to get that peace back. You don't just roll over and let life win. So when you go back, don't fold. Don't let anyone belittle you. Push back if you have to. Because the one who stays silent… dies in silence."
Jade turned to look at him, eyes narrowing just a little. Wise guy. Maybe a little too wise.
"It's been a rough week," he said. "But I think God meant for me to find you. Thanks, Alex."
"Don't sweat it, kid," Alex said with a half-smile. "Think of me like a big brother."
Jade hesitated, then asked, "Can I ask something? Actually, two things. How do you always seem to know exactly what I'm feeling? And why do you even care so much?"
Alex chuckled and gave him a sideways glance.
"People call me a psychic sometimes. But you don't need powers to see your life's a mess. I care because, in a lot of ways, you remind me of myself when I was younger. I didn't have anyone back then. So if I see someone I can help—even a little—I try."
Jade smiled, said nothing. The silence settled again, and Alex turned on the radio. A smooth voice came through the speakers.
"You're tuned into Lightborn Pulse 87.3 FM. I'm your host, DJ Michel, bringing you waves of sound to light up your soul and keep your heart beating in rhythm."
Something felt... off. The static was too deep. The voice came in just a bit too loud. Then the music started—slow, low—but strange. It wasn't the melody that stood out, it was the rhythm. Dark, layered, like a low chant echoing beneath the surface.
"Alex… do you hear that?" Jade asked.
"Hear what?" Alex replied, eyes on the road.
The sound grew more distorted. Less like a song, more like some kind of code hidden in noise. Then a line repeated, again and again:
What grows when it's fed, but dies when it speaks?
Jade's skin prickled. He glanced at Alex.
"You don't think the song sounds weird?"
Alex shrugged. "Maybe this just isn't your genre."
Am I the only one hearing this? Jade wondered. The rhythm twisted, warped. The phrase came back, more broken each time.
"What grows when it's fed, but dies when it speaks?"
"WhAt groWs whEn it'sss fEd but d-dies wHen iT sSsSpeaks..."
"WHhhhat… grrrows… wheN itsssss… fEEEddd…_ but diesssss whhhen it ssspeeeeaaks…?"
"W̷̢̳͔̔̄̅h̷̰̼̾̔̊a̶̛͍͇͋̿t̵̟͆͘͝ ̴̖͕̈́g̸͙͉̤̑͆̕r̶̳̆o̴̩͒̅͘w̵̦̾s̵̡͔̞̈́ ̸̰̖̃̋̒w̴̤͇͌̀̏h̷͉̘̩͗͒͠ë̷̙̞́́n̵̬͎͝ ̴̐̿͆ͅi̸̖̺̹̍t̵̮̅̽͝'̸̩̅͘s̷̗̮͊͐̒ ̶̰͗̿͝f̴̺̥͚̓e̴͙͛̈́̍d̷̡͇͓̀ but̸̢̤̬̎̀ ̶̨͕̞̅͑di̪͚̰̐͘e̸̲̤̾s̷̜̯̥̏̈́ ̵͎̿̅ẅ̴̨̢́h̵͖̮͘͝è̴̏́ͅn̶͎̺̻̓ ̵̻̩̀͂i̵̟̟̇͠t̵͇̺͝ ̵͚͚̔̐s̶̝̞̤̅p̸͚̼̹̑͝e̸̢̦̕͘͝á̷̢̼͆̀͜k̵̜̼̎̈́s̷̞̈́..."
"W͕͚͡H̸̤̻̗A̢̿T̥̞́ Ğ͈̯̹R̲͓̼̊͐Ȏ̜W̪͋̋S̲ͅ… W̡̚͞H̳͍͂E̙͓̩͡N I͖̝̲̒̇T͖́'̰͝S F̖͚͗E̞̿ͅD̞͍̗̐ b̽͐͠u̜̼̚͘t̢̰̦͛͐ ̨̤̪͝d̨̺̋̓̍i̛̩̖͝ë͕̻͎́͌s̪͉̟̎̐͝ ̩̝͋̿͞w̛̯̤͗̍ͅh̙̫̬͊ë͚́̑̚n̳̙̓͂ ̯͕̺̿̾̕i̢̬̠͊͘t̙͔̒̾ ̗̟̟̄̅̄s̤͔͛͡p̛̦̲̮̅͡e̖̍͗a̬̪̅k̥̎̏s̛̳̰…"
And then, it clicked.
Jade whispered, "What grows when it's fed, but dies when it speaks... A secret... A secret"
Suddenly, the track cut. A generic pop song filled the air, like nothing strange had happened at all.
Alex glanced at him. "What was that?"
"Nothing," Jade muttered.
But his eyes told a different story. He looked out the window again, like someone who had just seen something they couldn't explain.
The drive continued, but something had shifted. Not in the air, but in Jade. It was in how he sat now, spine straighter, jaw clenched. Like whatever that whisper on the radio had awoken… hadn't fully gone back to sleep.
Alex noticed. But he didn't ask, just observed skeptically.
They passed an old bus stop. A figure sat on the bench, slumped, face shadowed, unmoving.
Jade blinked. It was gone. He gulped and looked down at his hands.
Still normal.
He clenched them anyway.
By the time they reached the station, the sun was higher but somehow duller, like it had lost some color.
Alex pulled into the lot and killed the engine. The two of them just sat there for a moment.
Then Alex spoke. "That thing you said earlier. 'A secret.' Where'd that come from?"
Jade hesitated. "Nowhere. It just... made sense."
"Right," Alex said. But his eyes said: Bullshit.
He didn't press it. Just got out of the car, stretched, and waited for Jade to follow, he knew something was up with him, trauma maybe, he sighed.
As they walked inside, a voice called out from the side of the station.
"Alex! Got a package for you. Came while you were out."
It was Officer Hall, holding a plain cardboard box sealed with black tape. No return address.
Alex took it, brow furrowed. "Thanks."
"Something wrong?" she asked, noting his expression.
"I don't order things I don't remember," he replied.
Hall gave Jade a little wave. "Hey, kid. You alright?"
Jade nodded, but the smile he gave her looked like it had been borrowed and worn out.
They headed into Alex's office. The crescent mark on the window hadn't faded. If anything, it looked deeper.
Alex set the package down on his desk. Stared at it.
"What do you think it is?" Jade asked.
Alex didn't answer. He pulled out a pocket knife and sliced through the black tape. The box opened with a faint hiss, like air escaping something sealed too long.
Inside: a single object. Wrapped in cloth.
Alex unwrapped it.
It was a recorder. An old-school, handheld one. Silver, scratched. Heavy. No note. No label.
Just one button pressed down, the play button.
A click. Then static.
Then a voice.
Faint. Warped.
"What grows when it's fed... but dies when it speaks?"
Alex and Jade locked eyes.
Then the voice continued—distorted, dragging like something underwater.
"New blood... must learn... silence is survival."
The recording ended.
Nothing but dead air.
Jade stepped back. "That was… my voice."
Alex didn't argue. He rewound the tape, hit play again.
There it was. Slightly clearer this time.
Jade's voice. Saying something he never remembered recording.
"I have no mouth, but I must scream. What am I?"
They answered In unison, but with different truths:
"Sleep Paralysis," said Alex.
"A thought," murmured Jade.
"I have a face but no mouth, hands but no arms — what am I?"
"A clock," Jade said to Alex.
Then another voice, unmistakably different. Older. Rougher. Inhuman.
"Time never forgets."
Alex stopped the tape.
The silence that followed didn't feel empty. It felt watched.
"Okay," he said, finally. "You're staying one more night."
Jade didn't protest.
I can't let him leave now... but if I delay his return, I might be dragging myself deeper into something I don't understand. And if Denise asks? Hell, I don't even know what to lie about anymore... Fuck
He looked at Jade again.
"...What the hell are you?"