Goedam - 1

Shh.

Twenty paces. A child's shoe lay upturned in a puddle that hadn't been there a second ago. It was a small white sneaker, impossibly clean. He didn't touch it. He remembered his grandmother's warning about items left as offerings. goedam 1

Jae-ho's blood turned to ice water. He wanted to run, but his legs wouldn't obey. The camera feed showed only static now. The flashlight flickered once and died. He stood in absolute darkness, listening to the sound of his own heart hammering against his ribs. It was a small white sneaker, impossibly clean

"Jae-ho-yah," the voice came again, sweeter, more insistent. "Don't you love me? Turn around." Jae-ho's blood turned to ice water

When Jae-ho opened his eyes, he was lying on his back at the entrance to the alley. Dawn was breaking. His camera was shattered beside him, its memory card cracked clean in two. And on his chest, pressed into the fabric of his jacket, was a single white shoe print—small, child-sized, and wet.

"Hello?" His voice cracked.