If you like my art, sketches, stories, transformations you can find more like this on my Patreon page or in DeviatArt Premium Early Access folder for subscribers here. Every bit of support is truly appreciated, but just having you here means the most to me - without you, none of this would have been possible. Thank you very much!
Check also my shop at DeviantArt for other works
The message on the phone screen looked ominous. Emma stared at it, feeling a tightness in her chest. She didn’t even realize right away that she was trembling from tension. Her heart was pounding wildly—even though it was summer outside, inside her, a real icy storm was raging.
She didn't immediately notice that her fingers had gripped the edge of Dan's jacket. Realizing this, she jerked her hand away as if she had touched something burning. Her gaze shot upward—Dan was looking at her, frowning.
— What the fuck?! — Emma shrieked, yanking the phone out of Dan’s hands. She didn’t immediately realize she was shaking until she saw it—holding the phone, rereading the message. A sharp, piercing fear clenched her chest. She could feel her heart pounding so hard it seemed like her chest was about to explode. Jessica… her Jessica… was she really missing?
— Emma… — Dan took a small step closer, but she cut him off, raising her hand sharply, signaling him to shut up. She read the message again, searching for a hidden meaning, and something twisted inside her. This wasn’t just a game. This wasn’t some high school bullying bullshit. This was serious. And if before Emma could confidently say she knew how this school worked, how people acted, now… now she felt real fear. Cold, sticky fear that crept under her skin, locked up her muscles, and squeezed her chest so tightly it was hard to breathe.
She cleared her throat, trying to steady her breathing.
'You’re a man. You have to keep it together.'
— Emma… — Dan seemed to notice something in her face, but she quickly lifted her head, forcing herself back to reality.
— Let’s go! — she snapped, shoving the phone into her pocket and striding toward the warehouse entrance. Her heart was pounding like crazy, but she wasn’t going to show fear. Fuck, Jessica was missing! And here she was… acting like some scared little girl afraid of the dark?! No, she was a man. No… she was Emma.
'No, I’m Mark!' she mentally corrected herself, gritting her teeth.
She took a step forward, but suddenly Dan grabbed her wrist tightly.
— Em, wait! — His eyes locked onto hers, like he was trying to figure something out.
— Huh?! — She yanked her hand back sharply, but his grip was like iron. Her heart pounded in her throat, but not because of his touch—because of the panic choking her from the inside.
— I’ll go alone, and you… — Dan tightened his grip on her wrist, holding her in place. — You stay here.
— Are you fucking kidding me?! — Emma tried to yank her arm free, but he held on tight. The panic in her chest was quickly turning into anger. — It’s Jessica, do you even get that?! I’m not gonna just stand here like some cowardly little girl!
Her sharp voice echoed against the warehouse walls as she quickly strode toward the large open doors.
Dan cursed under his breath but didn’t stop her. Instead, he stepped forward, walking beside her, his posture tense, as if ready to grab her at any moment. Emma could feel his gaze burning into her temple, but she didn’t turn to look at him. Her heart was hammering in her chest, adrenaline surging through her veins, but she forced herself to push down the fear. She had to be a man. She wasn’t a coward. She…
But her body was betraying her. Her legs trembled, her fingers clenched into fists, and her chest—damn it, her fucking chest that had grown too much over the past year—rose and fell with her ragged breaths. Her body screamed that she was just a scared girl. But her mind… her mind kept repeating that she was Mark.
'I was a man. I know what to do. I can handle this,' Emma told herself, swallowing the cold air.
But for some reason, her heart clenched at the sight of Dan’s serious, determined expression. He looked… different. Not like he had all year. He wasn’t acting like some eager puppy trailing behind her, begging for attention. He was the Dan who, at the start of the year, had stood up for her, defended her in front of the whole school, shut Maddy up. The Dan who had looked at her back then—when she was at the lowest point of her new life.
And now, he was the same. And that scared her more than anything.
She didn’t understand why this feeling came rushing back now. Why was he the first one to come to her? Why was he the one who cared about Jessica just as much as she did? And most of all—why did the message go to him and not her?
'I’m her best friend, and he… He’s just Dan,' Emma thought, but even in her mind, she couldn’t hold onto that conclusion with confidence.
The warehouse greeted them with the musty scent of rust and old wood. It was dark inside, but not so dark that they couldn’t make out their surroundings. Narrow gaps in the roof let in thin beams of light that fell onto the dusty concrete floor. Emma stepped forward slowly, her heart hammering.
— Jess?! — she called out, but only her own voice echoed back.
Silence. No one.
Dan stayed quiet, but his hand subtly moved toward his pocket, clearly gripping something. A phone? A knife?
And then, a sound.
Sharp, ringing through the warehouse—speakers crackling, and then, almost mockingly soft, laughter. Familiar, piercing, and full of amusement.
— Oh, look who decided to show up—our little queen! — The voice, dragging out the words, echoed from the speakers mounted in the corners of the warehouse. Emma instantly realized—they were being watched through cameras. — I almost thought you’d chicken out. Oh, but right, you’re a "man," and men don’t get scared, do they?
Emma froze. Goosebumps ran down her spine.
That voice… She recognized it instantly.
Maddy.