_I'm Behind You_

Emily had always been uneasy about her new apartment. The rent was suspiciously low, and the landlord's smile seemed to hide secrets.

As she settled in, strange noises echoed through the halls at night: whispers, creaks, and faint breathing sounds.

One evening, Emily discovered a cryptic message scrawled on her bathroom mirror: "I'm behind you."

She dismissed it as a prank, but the words lingered in her mind.

Days passed, and Emily began to feel an unsettling presence. She'd catch glimpses of movement in the corner of her eye, only to find no one there.

One fateful night, Emily woke to the sound of her own voice whispering: "I'm behind you."

She spun around, but her room was empty.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number: "I'm behind you."

Emily's heart raced. She tried to flee, but her doors and windows were sealed shut.

As she frantically searched for an exit, the whispers grew louder: "I'm behind you."

Emily's reflection in the mirror began to warp, its eyes blackening. A figure materialized behind her – tall, imposing, and faceless.

The mirror shattered, and Emily spun around. The figure vanished.

But the words remained, etched into the broken glass: "I'm behind you."

Emily stumbled through the darkness, desperate to escape.

In the hallway, she found a door hidden behind a tapestry. The doorknob turned, revealing a narrow stairway descending into darkness.

As Emily descended, the whispers grew deafening: "I'm behind you."

At the bottom, she found a room filled with old photographs. One image caught her eye: her own face, with the words "I'm behind you" scribbled beneath.

Emily realized she'd been living in her own nightmare.

The faceless figure reappeared, its presence suffocating.

Emily's screams were drowned out by the echoes of her own voice: "I'm behind you."

When police found Emily's apartment, it was empty. The bathroom mirror displayed a new message: "I'm still behind you."

@danloader74

"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things."– Albert Einstein

"Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."– Babe Ruth

"Money and success don’t change people; they merely amplify what is already there." — Will Smith

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking." – Steve Jobs

"Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.” — Seneca

“If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

_Smoke_

In the sleepy town of Ogbomoso, a mysterious smoke crept in, shrouding everything in an impenetrable haze. It started with wispy tendrils, but soon engulfed the town, obscuring the sun.

Residents complained of vivid nightmares and unsettling visions. Some reported finding strange symbols etched into their doors, pulsing with an otherworldly glow.

Dr. Nneoma Okoro, a psychologist, began investigating. She discovered that the smoke seemed to be drawn to those with traumatic pasts.

Nneoma's own demons resurfaced as she delved deeper. Her sister, Amaka, had died in a fire five years prior. The smoke seemed to whisper Amaka's name.

One patient, Tunde, revealed a terrifying encounter. "The smoke took me to a place where my fears came alive," he whispered.

Nneoma's research led her to an ancient ritual, hidden in the town's archives. The ritual invoked an entity known only as "The Devourer," which fed on human terror.

As the smoke grew thicker, Nneoma realized she was being hunted. The entity manipulated her perceptions, conjuring visions of Amaka's charred corpse.

One fateful night, Nneoma fled into the smoke-shrouded woods. The symbols on the doors pulsed brighter, guiding her to an ancient site.

There, she found Tunde, his eyes black as coal. "The Devourer comes," he hissed.

The smoke coalesced into a figure, its presence suffocating. Nneoma's screams were drowned out by the roar of the entity.

When the smoke cleared, Nneoma was gone. The townsfolk found only her journal, filled with cryptic notes and a single phrase:

"The smoke knows my name."

Years later, travelers reported encountering a figure in the woods, shrouded in an eternal haze. Her eyes were black, and her voice whispered a haunting warning:

"Run. The smoke is coming."