Chapter 3: Don’t Open It
Kai stared at the message on his screen.
Don’t open it.
Another knock echoed through the apartment. It was soft, patient, almost polite. Not aggressive enough to justify panic, but somehow that made it worse.
Behind his monitor, the chat was moving so fast it looked like noise rather than text.
Boobykiller_051: BRO THIS IS HOW HORROR MOVIES START
Peepee_666: IF YOU DIE ON STREAM IM DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL
xX_CryptidMilk_Xx: WHY IS SHE TEXTING LIKE SHE’S YOUR FBI HANDLER
Kai’s mouth had gone dry without him noticing.
Twenty-three thousand people were watching him sit frozen at his desk while someone stood outside his door. And somehow, Luna already knew.
That detail kept catching in his thoughts like a hook. How could she possibly know before he even moved?
The knock came again, three light taps this time.
Kai muted his mic automatically, more out of instinct than thought. He was pretty sure his heartbeat was loud enough to carry through the stream.
He typed quickly.
who is it
The typing indicator appeared instantly, disappeared, then returned again, like whoever was on the other side was hesitating in real time.
Someone from your building.
Kai frowned at that, staring at the words.
luna what does that mean
No response came.
The typing indicator vanished entirely.
He looked toward the door again. The thin line of hallway light under the frame stayed perfectly still, and the silence behind it felt too intentional.
His viewer count climbed again, past twenty-four thousand, then twenty-five. The stream title had already turned into something closer to live commentary on his own life.
People were clipping everything. Every pause. Every glance. Every second of hesitation.
Kai exhaled and unmuted his mic, forcing his voice to stay steady.
"So," he said carefully, "this is either the beginning of my villain arc or a really inconvenient Uber Eats delivery."
The chat erupted instantly.
ToeSnifferActual: DONT OPEN IT
GrandmaToeCollector: OPEN IT FOR CONTENT
Jacksonvill3_89: WE PAY YOUR BILLS NOW SACRIFICE YOURSELF
Kai let out a short, strained laugh.
"Good to know none of you would survive a hostage situation."
Another knock came, and this time a voice followed it.
"Mister Mercer?"
Male. Older. Calm.
Kai’s shoulders loosened slightly without him meaning to. At least it wasn’t immediate danger. That alone felt like progress.
"Apartment maintenance," the man called through the door. "We got reports about a water leak."
Kai blinked.
That didn’t match anything he could see. He instinctively looked toward his kitchen sink, then the bathroom, then anywhere that might justify the claim. Everything was dry. Everything was normal.
The rain outside had gotten heavier, tapping against the windows in uneven rhythm, but inside the apartment nothing was wrong.
His phone buzzed again.
Luna.
He’s lying.
The shift in atmosphere hit him harder than it should have. Not because of the words themselves, but because of how fast they came, like she was already waiting for this moment.
Kai swallowed.
"Okay," he muttered to himself under his breath. "Cool. Awesome. Love whatever this is."
He stood up slowly, headset still on, and the chat immediately reacted like he was walking into a disaster movie.
Boobykiller_051: HE MOVING
Peepee_666: BRO THINKS HE’S THE MAIN CHARACTER
MilkableOtter: THIS MAN IS ABOUT TO GET SKINNED FOR VIEWS
Kai approached the door carefully. Every instinct told him this was a bad idea, but another part of him—the part that had learned to perform even in bad situations—couldn’t fully shut off the curiosity.
He leaned toward the peephole.
The hallway beyond looked warped through the lens, but there was only one person outside. A man in a dark maintenance jacket holding a toolbox. Middle-aged. Gray beard. Tired posture. A building ID clipped to his chest.
Normal. Almost painfully normal.
The man shifted slightly and knocked again.
"Sir?"
Kai’s phone buzzed in his hand again.
Don’t let him see your face.
Kai stared at the message, then back through the peephole.
The man outside adjusted his stance, and for a moment his expression softened into something almost apologetic. Not threatening. Just patient.
Kai let out a quiet breath through his nose.
This was ridiculous. He was standing here, taking advice from someone named LunaLove while live-streaming to twenty-five thousand people with usernames like WetHamster_420.
He was exhausted. That had to be it.
The man knocked again.
"Sir?"
Kai cleared his throat and raised his voice slightly.
"Uh... yeah, sorry. I don’t think there’s any leak here."
A pause followed.
Then the man spoke again, still calm.
"Mind if I check anyway?"
Kai didn’t respond immediately, because his phone vibrated again, harder this time.
No.
Don’t.
Please trust me.
The last message landed heavier than the others. Not commanding. Not controlling. Something closer to fear.
Kai’s grip tightened around his phone.
He stepped back from the door.
"Sorry," he called out. "Bad time."
Silence followed. Then a sigh from the hallway.
"Alright."
Footsteps began to retreat.
Kai stayed still until he was sure they were gone.
Only then did he let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
When he turned back to the stream, the chat had completely lost control.
xXDivorceArcXx: SHE SAVED HIM
Peepee_666: NAH I’M TEAM LUNA NOW
GoblinFreak_77: THIS ISN’T A STREAM THIS IS A LIVE POLICE INVESTIGATION
Kai sat down slowly, adrenaline still buzzing under his skin, and rubbed both hands over his face.
"This is insane," he said quietly.
A pink donation alert flashed immediately.
LunaLove donated $15,000:
Thank you for listening to me ♡
Kai barely reacted to the number anymore. That realization alone should have scared him more than it did.
He opened Discord.
how did u know
Typing appeared instantly.
Stopped.
Started again.
I saw him earlier today.
Kai frowned.
around the building?
Yes.
and you thought he was suspicious?
A longer pause this time.
Then:
He took pictures of your windows.
Kai’s stomach dropped so sharply it felt physical.
"What?"
He didn’t realize he said it out loud until chat reacted instantly.
Boobykiller_051: WAIT WHAT
ToeSnifferActual: PHOTOS OF THE WINDOWS???
Jacksonvill3_89: BRO MOVE STATES
Kai’s breathing shifted, shallow and fast as he typed again.
how do u know that
The typing indicator stayed up for a long time.
Long enough for his thoughts to spiral into something ugly and fast.
Then the message appeared.
Because I was watching him too.
Kai froze.
Outside, the rain sounded louder now, pressing against the windows in a steady sheet. The room felt dimmer even though nothing had changed, like the light itself had been drained out of it.
Somewhere out there, Luna was awake.
Watching.
Protecting.
Maybe something else entirely.
Another message appeared before he could think too hard about it.
You should buy curtains that fully close. I can help you pick some if you want.
Kai let out a soft laugh despite himself, because the suggestion landed in a way that was almost normal. Domestic, even. Like this wasn’t spiraling into something wrong.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
u know this is the weirdest flirting anyone has ever done right
Typing appeared instantly.
This time, no delay.
Is it working?
Kai stared at the message for a long moment.
Then, against every warning in his head, he smiled.