The Rumor Under the Overpass

It was still enough to feed the city's fear. But this time, fear carried something else. People were starting to say the dark figure only showed up when the wrong people were about to fall. When Ethan got back to his mother's building, one hallway light was still on, flickering like a warning. He was about to turn away when the door opened and Noah stepped out. "Are you out of your mind?" Noah pulled him inside, voice kept to a whisper. "Two cars have been watching the building. Somebody already knocked and asked if you lived here." Ethan looked at the stack of bills on the kitchen table: medical invoices, rent notices, overdue utility warnings. He said nothing for a moment.