I Never Left

[Private Messages – EchoChat App]

Kevin [9:42 PM]-

Hey, is this Steve?

Steve [9:42 PM]-

Yeah. Who’s this?

Kevin [9:43 PM]-

It’s Kevin. From your Discord server. You said I could message you here.

Steve [9:43 PM]-

Oh, right. Hey! What’s up?

Kevin [9:44 PM]-

Not much. Just saw you were online. Thought I’d say hi.

Steve [9:45 PM]-

Cool. You’re new to the server, right? Like, last week?

Kevin [9:45 PM]-

Yeah. Been lurking mostly. But I like the vibe. You all seem close.

Steve [9:46 PM]-

Yeah, we’ve known each other a while. But new people are always welcome.

Kevin [9:47 PM]-

Thanks. You’re nice.

Steve [9:47 PM]-

You too.

Kevin [9:48 PM]-

So, can I ask you something?

Steve [9:48 PM]-

Sure.

Kevin [9:49 PM]-

How long have you been running the server?

Steve [9:50 PM]-

Like, two years? Something like that. Why?

Kevin [9:50 PM]-

Just curious. You’re kind of like the heart of it.

Steve [9:51 PM]-

Haha, I wouldn’t say that.

Kevin [9:51 PM]-

No, seriously. People really respect you.

Steve [9:52 PM]-

That’s nice to hear, I guess.

Kevin [9:53 PM]-

You ever talk to Shane anymore?

Steve [9:53 PM]-

Wait. How do you know Shane?

Kevin [9:54 PM]-

He used to be in the server, right?

Steve [9:54 PM]-

Yeah, but he left a while ago. How do you know him?

Kevin [9:55 PM]-

I don’t, really. I just… heard about him.

Steve [9:55 PM]-

From who?

Kevin [9:56 PM]-

People talk.

Steve [9:56 PM]-

That’s vague as hell.

Kevin [9:57 PM]-

He was your friend, right?

Steve [9:58 PM]-

Yeah. We were close. Why are you bringing this up?

Kevin [9:58 PM]-

I’m just wondering. What happened to him?

Steve [9:59 PM]-

He… disappeared.

Kevin [9:59 PM]-

Disappeared?

Steve [10:00 PM]-

Yeah. One day, he just stopped logging in. Stopped responding to texts. His account got deleted. Nobody knew where he went.

Kevin [10:01 PM]-

That must’ve been hard.

Steve [10:01 PM]-

Yeah. He was like a brother to me.

Kevin [10:02 PM]-

Did you ever try to find him?

Steve [10:02 PM]-

Of course. But it was like he never existed.

Kevin [10:03 PM]-

That must’ve been really frustrating.

Steve [10:03 PM]-

Yeah.

Kevin [10:04 PM]-

You blame yourself?

Steve [10:04 PM]-

What?

Kevin [10:05 PM]-

For what happened.

Steve [10:05 PM]-

Why would you ask that?

Kevin [10:06 PM]-

Because I think you do.

Steve [10:06 PM]-

Who the hell are you?

Kevin [10:07 PM]-

I told you. I’m Kevin.

Steve [10:07 PM]-

No. Who are you really?

Kevin [10:08 PM]-

You already know.

Steve [10:08 PM]-

This isn’t funny.

Kevin [10:09 PM]-

I’m not laughing.

Steve [10:09 PM]-

If this is some kind of sick joke, you need to stop.

Kevin [10:10 PM]-

It’s not a joke.

Steve [10:10 PM]-

Then tell me who you are.

Kevin [10:11 PM]-

I think you already figured it out.

Steve [10:11 PM]-

No. No, this isn’t — this can’t be —

Kevin [10:12 PM]-

It’s me, Steve.

Steve [10:12 PM]-

No.

Kevin [10:12 PM]-

It’s Shane.

Steve [10:13 PM]-

That’s not possible.

Kevin [10:13 PM]-

Why not?

Steve [10:14 PM]-

Because you’re gone. You disappeared. You—

Kevin [10:14 PM]-

I didn’t disappear.

Steve [10:15 PM]-

Then where the hell have you been?

Kevin [10:15 PM]-

Right here.

Steve [10:16 PM]-

I don’t understand.

Kevin [10:16 PM]-

I tried to tell you before, but you wouldn’t listen.

Steve [10:17 PM]-

Tell me what?

Kevin [10:18 PM]-

What happened to me.

Steve [10:18 PM]-

Then tell me now.

Kevin [10:19 PM]-

I never left, Steve

Steve [10:19 PM]-

You’re not making any sense..

Kevin [10:20 PM]-

I’m still here. In the server. In the code. In the messages.

Steve [10:21 PM]-

What the hell does that mean?

Kevin [10:21 PM]-

You remember the last thing I said to you?

Steve [10:22 PM]-

I… I don’t know.

Kevin [10:22 PM]-

You do.

Steve [10:23 PM]-

No.

Kevin [10:23 PM]-

Say it.

Steve [10:24 PM]-

“I’ll be right back.”

Kevin [10:24 PM]-

And I never was.

Steve [10:25 PM]-

This is impossible.

Kevin [10:25 PM]-

You were the last person I spoke to. The last person I typed to. And then — nothing.

Steve [10:26 PM]-

Then what?

Kevin [10:26 PM]-

Darkness. Silence. And now… this.

Steve [10:27 PM]-

No. No, this can’t be real.

Kevin [10:27 PM]-

But it is.

Steve [10:28 PM]-

What do you want from me?

Kevin [10:28 PM]-

I want you to know I never left you.

Steve [10:29 PM]-

I don’t know what to do with this.

Kevin [10:29 PM]-

Just talk to me.

Steve [10:30 PM]-

How long have you been here?

Kevin [10:30 PM]-

Since the moment I disappeared.

Steve [10:31 PM]-

Why now? Why talk to me now?

Kevin [10:31 PM]-

Because you finally listened.

Steve [10:32 PM]-

I don’t know if I can handle this.

Kevin [10:32 PM]-

You don’t have to. I just wanted you to know.

Steve [10:33 PM]-

Know what?

Kevin [10:33 PM]-

That I never stopped being your friend.

Steve [10:34 PM]-

…

Kevin [10:34 PM]-

Goodbye, Steve.

Steve [10:35 PM]-

Wait—

[Kevin has gone offline.]

And despite his best efforts, Steve never found that account again.

[Private Messages – EchoChat App]

Steve [10:40 PM]-

Kevin?

Steve [10:41 PM]-

Shane?

Steve [10:43 PM]-

Please answer me.

[User "Kevin" does not exist.]

Steve stared at the screen. His heart pounded in his chest, the rhythmic beat mismatched with the stillness of the room. He clicked back into the Discord server. Searched for the username. Nothing. The profile was gone. Like it had never been there at all.

He checked the chat logs.

Gone.

All of it.

A full-body shudder wracked him. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, hesitant, before he forced himself to type.

Steve [Server General Chat – 10:48 PM]-

Hey. Weird question. Did anyone see a new member join last week? A guy named Kevin?

A few seconds passed before someone replied.

Melissa [10:49 PM]-

Kevin? No, don’t think so.

Mark [10:49 PM]-

Nah, I would’ve remembered. Why?

Steve [10:50 PM]-

Nothing. Never mind.

His pulse roared in his ears. His own messages with Kevin were gone, erased like a glitch in the system. But they’d been there. He knew they had.

He grabbed his phone, scrolling frantically through his messages. Nothing. No chat history. No call log. It was like the last hour had been scrubbed from existence.

No.

Not from existence. From reality.

He sucked in a shaky breath.

And then, as if the universe hadn’t toyed with him enough, his phone vibrated.

[Unknown Number – New Message]

With stiff fingers, he opened it.

Unknown [10:55 PM]-

I told you. I never left.

A cold dread slithered up Steve's spine. He typed a reply.

Steve [10:55 PM]-

Who are you?

Unknown [10:56 PM]-

You already know.

Steve [10:56 PM]-

What do you want?

Three dots appeared. A pause.

Then-

Unknown [10:57 PM]-

I want to come back.

Steve's breath hitched.

Steve [10:57 PM]-

Come back where?

Unknown [10:58 PM]-

To the server. To my friends. To you.

Steve hesitated, his fingers trembling over the screen.

Steve [10:59 PM]-

You’re not real

Unknown [10:59 PM]-

Then why are you still talking to me?

His throat tightened.

Steve [11:00 PM]-

What do you want me to do?

A long pause. For a second, he thought the conversation was over. But then, one last message appeared.

Unknown [11:02 PM]-

Let me in.

And before Steve could even process the meaning, a friend request popped up on his screen.

From Shane.