Title: The Last File
I woke up, my head pounding like a drum. My room felt empty, even though nothing was missing. But something was wrong.
"Hey, where’s Alex?" I yelled to my roommate, Jamie.
Jamie frowned. "Who?"
"Alex! Our roommate! They’ve lived here for a year!" My voice shook.
Jamie just stared. "Dude, you okay? It’s always been just us."
My stomach dropped. I ran to check Alex’s room—empty. No clothes, no bed, not even a single fingerprint on the mirror.
Then my neural implant buzzed. A single file, hidden deep, labeled "FOR YOU."
I opened it.
Alex’s voice whispered:
"If you’re hearing this, I’m gone. Not dead. Erased. They found out I wasn’t supposed to exist. Run. Before they delete you too."
A scream cut the recording short.
I grabbed my jacket, hands shaking. Someone was coming. I could feel it.
Then—knocking. Three slow, heavy raps on the door.
I didn’t answer. The handle twisted.
Locked.
For now.
Breathing fast, I stumbled to the bathroom and climbed out the small window. The street was empty, but the air felt wrong—like the world itself was holding its breath.
Then I saw them.
Two figures in dark coats, walking toward my building. Their faces were blurry—impossible to focus on.
I ducked behind a trash bin, heart hammering. The neural implant buzzed again—another file, appearing from nowhere.
"THEY SEE YOU."
"LOOK UP."
I froze. Then, slowly, I raised my gaze.
Above me, hanging like misplaced shadows, were dozens of people. Frozen in midair, their mouths open in silent screams.
And one of them was Alex.
A hand clamped over my mouth.
"Don’t move," a voice hissed in my ear. Alex's voice. "They can’t see you if you stand still."
The figures below stopped. Tilted their heads. Sniffed the air.
One turned toward us.
Then—nothing.
A blank space where it had been.
Alex tugged my arm. "Run. NOW."
We sprinted down the alley as the world behind us flickered—buildings vanishing, sidewalks dissolving into static.
"Where are we going?" I panted.
"Somewhere they can’t reach," Alex said. "The edge of the system."
And as the city collapsed behind us, I realized the truth—we weren’t just forgotten.
We were never supposed to exist at all.
THE END.
Prompt: You wake up to find that someone you knew very well, a roommate, a best friend, maybe even a partner, has been 'deleted'. No one remembers them, but you do. You find one file left on your neural implant.
Write a short and suspenseful ending to this story.