August 6th, 2022. 21st birthday for Gary. He had a big night. Waking up in his room wearing only socks. His brown hair is really messy and has lots of knots. There’s dry spit all over the left side of his face. The bedsheets are still straight. And weirdly, no signs of drinks in his room. “Ah! Man, what happened? Who was here last night? Darn…I don’t remember. What time is it?” He looks at his phone, which has 27% battery. The time says 10:32 am and there are 7 missed calls from his boss, Juan. “Oh no, Juan is gonna be so mad!” Gary hurries to get ready super fast. 10 second tooth brushing, deodorant on just 1 arm, and his bright red work clothes are kinda dark. “Did I have fun last night?” He wonders as he’s about to go to work. “I guess I must’ve. But my poor liver.” Gary gets into his old grey 2001 Ford F-150, which uses a lot of gas. When he takes out his keys, his phone rings. It’s his boss. He answers after thinking for a bit. “Darn…” he whispers. He answers. “Hey, Juan I’m really sorry I’m late I’m getting in my car now.” Juan isn’t as mad as he should be. Gary was supposed to be there at 5:30am to help open. “I’m not mad, but you need to be here. I get being young, but work is important.” He says in a strong but not mean way. “I know, you’re right I’m sorry…I’m getting in my truck. I’ll be there in 15.” “I’ll be here.” Juan says and hangs up. Gary has a little trouble unlocking the truck because the lock is sticky, but he gets in. He puts the keys in, turns them, and…nothing happens. Scared, he calls Juan again. It goes right to voicemail. “What? Maybe his phone died? Weird.” He texts Juan about what’s happening. He tells him he’ll have to wait for an Uber. That could take 5 minutes or an hour. “$45 for an Uber? Wow!” He tries to call his girlfriend, Jace Gibson. They’ve been dating for almost 2 years. She doesn’t pick up. “C’mon, Jay…” he sits on the curb feeling mixed up and sad. Then he feels a weird poke in his arm. “Ow! That was definitely a fire ant.” Gary felt like everything was against him today. First his hangover, then being late for work, his truck not starting, and now fire ants? He couldn’t help but wonder if this was karma for having too much fun last night. As he sat there waiting for the Uber, a stray cat approached him. It was a small black cat with bright green eyes. Gary, being a cat lover, couldn’t help but smile. “Hey there, little guy. Are you having a better day than me?” He reached out to pet the cat, which seemed to enjoy the attention. “Maybe you’re my good luck charm,” Gary said hopefully. As if on cue, his phone chimed. It was a notification that his Uber was just around the corner. He said goodbye to the cat and hopped into the Uber, hoping the rest of his day would turn around. As Gary slid into the backseat of the Uber, the driver greeted him with a friendly smile. “Hey there, you’re Gary, right? I’m Tom. Where are you headed?” Gary gave Tom the address to his workplace and tried to relax as they began the drive. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, but he chalked it up to his terrible morning and lingering hangover. Upon arriving at work, Gary immediately sought out Juan to apologize again. To his surprise, Juan seemed unusually calm and understanding. “Don’t worry about it, Gary. We all have rough mornings. Just make sure it doesn’t become a habit.” Gary nodded in agreement, grateful for Juan’s leniency, and got to work, trying to make up for his tardiness. Throughout the day, Gary couldn’t help but think about the events of the morning. He felt like he was being watched, and he caught glimpses of the black cat with bright green eyes from earlier. Was it following him? He shook off the thought, telling himself he was just being paranoid. After a long day at work, Gary was eager to head home and unwind. As he was about to leave, Juan stopped him. “Hey, I just wanted to check on you. You seemed a bit off today. Everything okay?” Gary hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell Juan about the strange occurrences, including the cat that seemed to be stalking him. Juan laughed it off, but he could see the worry in Gary’s eyes. “Look, I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. Maybe the cat is just lost and looking for a home. Don’t worry about it too much.” As Gary walked back to his still-broken-down truck, he saw the black cat again. This time, it was sitting on the hood of his truck, staring directly at him with its unblinking green eyes. He felt a chill run down his spine, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. A sudden gust of wind rustled the leaves around him, and the streetlights flickered ominously. The cat’s eyes seemed to glow in the dim light, and it slowly opened its mouth to reveal sharp, gleaming teeth. And then, with a hiss that sounded almost like a whisper, the cat spoke, “You’re not alone, Gary.” Just as the words left the cat’s mouth, the streetlights went out, plunging Gary into darkness as his heart raced in fear.