The Disappearing Hour
The Window
Author
I have only one request before you begin this book: read it at night.
Not during the day, not in the safety of sunlight, but in the silence of your room, when the world is asleep and the only sound is the faint hum of your clock. That’s when this story is meant to be told. That’s when you will feel closest to them—the ones who vanished.
This is not a story about ordinary horror. It is about an hour that should never exist. At 1:47 AM, time doesn’t move forward. It swallows. It erases. And if you listen closely while you read, you might just hear the faint buzz of a message, or see a shadow at the edge of your vision.
Remember this: once the shadow speaks to you, the words will not leave.
So go on. Read in the dark. Let the clock guide you. And when you glance at the glowing red numbers on your nightstand, ask yourself:
Do you really want to know what happens at 1:47?
Sweet dreams… if you’re lucky enough to have them.
Ava
I can’t sleep. Again.
(Ava types… deletes… types again. The screen glows on her pale face. The room is dark except for the soft hum of her clock. 1:12 AM.)
Ava
I woke up and my window was open.
Noah
Maybe you forgot to lock it.
Ava
I didn’t. I remember locking it. I always lock it.
Ava
You’re freaking me out.
Noah
Good. Stay freaked out.
Ava
Don’t lie to me. You know something.
(Typing bubble appears… disappears. He’s hesitating.)
Noah
Just promise me one thing.
Noah
Don’t look at the Window.
Ava
Noah, I already looked.
Ava
Nothing. Just the streetlight.
Noah
Because the hour’s almost here.
(The clock reads 1:45. Ava’s chest feels tight. The numbers glow like open eyes staring at her.)
Ava
Why are you acting so weird?
Noah
Ava….don’t close your eyes. Don’t answer anyone except me.
Ava
Anyone?? You’re scaring me.
Noah
Good. Fear keeps you alive.
(Her phone buzzes. A new notification. Not Noah.)
Ava
Noah. Someone else just texted me.
Ava
I can’t. My phone won’t let me.
(Another buzz. Ava’s hand trembles as she unlocks her phone. The message waits. Cold. Simple.)
Ava
How did they get my contact??
Noah
Ava. Move away from the Window. Right now.
Ava
Noah. What aren’t you telling me?
Noah
Please. Just trust me.
The clock flips. 1:47. Ava’s phone vibrates again. She stares, frozen. A long message slides across her screen.
UKNOWN
Ava. Pull the curtains back. I’m already here.
I'm Already Here
[Private Chat: Ava ⇄ Noah | 1:47 AM]
UKNOWN
Ava. Draw the curtain. I’m already here.
(Her phone nearly slips from her hands. The glow of the clock bleeds across her room—1:47—casting her face in red. She stares at the message, her heart hammering against her ribs.)
Ava
They just said my name.
(Her hands tremble. She never gave them her name. Her contact info is private. She never uses her full name online. Her throat burns.)
Ava
How do they know who I am?
Ava
Don’t panic?? SOMEONE IS OUTSIDE MY ROOM AND THEY KNOW MY NAME.
(The phone buzzes again. She doesn’t want to look, but her eyes drag down to the screen anyway.)
UKNOWN
You look smaller than I thought.
Ava
Noah they’re describing me.
Noah
Don’t touch the curtain. Don’t give them more.
Ava
More?? How much do they know already know??
(Her skin crawls. She’s scanning the walls, the ceiling, her desk—half-expecting to see a hidden camera lens blinking red. She presses the back of her hand to her mouth to keep from sobbing.)
UKNOWN
Your hair is darker than Lily’s.
(The name hits her like a blow. The room sways around her. She almost drops the phone again.)
Ava
Noah. They know about Lily.
Noah
Ava. Don’t let it get to you.
Ava
Don’t let it get to me?? They know my NAME. They know about LILY. What aren’t you telling me?
(The silence stretches. The tick of the clock is too loud. Ava grips the phone so tightly her nails dig into the case. Then another buzz.)
UKNOWN
You won’t hide from me, Ava. The fabric doesn’t matter.
(Her gaze snaps to the curtain. The faintest outline presses against it—a curve, a shadow. Someone standing there. Close enough to touch. She digs her nails into her palms until they sting.)
Ava
Noah. It’s not my imagination. Someone’s really there.
Noah
Don’t look that’s how they take you.
Ava
What do you mean take me??
Noah
Just keep the curtains closed. That’s the only thing keeping you safe.
(Her phone buzzes again. One new message. Short. Final. Her blood turns to ice.)
UKNOWN
I’m smiling at you. Right now.
Harper's Watch
[Harper’s Phone | 1:50 AM]
(The buzz pulls Harper out of half-sleep. She groans, reaching blindly across her nightstand. The glow of the screen stings her eyes. It’s from Ava. One line. Chilling.)
Ava
[Sent 1:49 AM]: if anything happens to me…don’t look out the window.
(Harper blinks, heart thudding. Ava doesn’t text like this—not unless she’s spiraling. Harper pushes herself upright, tangled in sheets. She types quickly.)
Harper
Ava?? What’s going on? You’re scaring me.
(No reply. The typing bubble doesn’t even appear. Harper’s pulse quickens. She stares at the message, chewing her lip, then hears it—tick… tick… tick—her wall clock suddenly loud, deliberate. She swallows. It wasn’t this loud before. Was it? Then another buzz.)
UKNOWN
You’re awake too. Good.
(Her stomach drops. “Unknown.” No number. Just a blank contact. She sits frozen, phone heavy in her hand. Finally, she types.)
(The answer comes fast, like it was waiting for her.)
UKNOWN
Ava thinks she’s the only one. She’s not.
(Cold spreads through her chest. Her fingers tremble as she types.)
Harper
What are you taking about? Where’s Ava?
UKNOWN
Do you want to know why Lily disappeared?
(Her mouth goes dry. She hasn’t heard that name in months—not out loud, not in text. No one dares bring it up around Ava. But here it is, slashed across her screen. She stares, the silence in her room pressing in tight.)
UKNOWN
Ava thinks Lilly was lost. She wasn’t. She was chosen.
(The word chosen claws at her mind, ugly and wrong. Her hands shake as she types again.)
Harper
Chosen for WHAT? Tell me!!!
(The typing bubble appears… then disappears. Her chest tightens. She can hear her breathing now, too loud in the dark. The bubble comes back. Vanishes again. Then—)
UKNOWN
You’ll see her soon.
Harper’s skin prickles. Then she hears it—scrrrk… scrrrk—a dragging sound outside, against the wall of her house. Not footsteps. Heavier. Slower. Her eyes flick to the curtains. They shiver as though something brushed them. She clamps a hand over her mouth. The clock ticks again. 1:53. Each second stretched thin like it’s about to snap.)
(Another buzz. She flinches, nearly dropping the phone. The message glares at her.)
UKNOWN
Don’t look outside. Ava didn’t listen either.
(Her chest heaves. Every muscle in her body tells her not to move, not to touch the curtain—but she sees it: a tall, motionless shadow cast faintly on the fabric. Her stomach twists. The shadow isn’t shaped like a person.)
(Her phone buzzes one last time. The words make her blood run cold.)
UKNOWN
Smile for me, Harper.
(Her lips part, but no sound comes out. Whoever’s out there—whatever’s out there—knows her name.)
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