The walk to the bus stop felt longer than usual. The street was busy—students spilling onto the sidewalk, cars crawling past in stop-and-go traffic—but the noise didn’t settle me. If anything, it felt too loud, like it was meant to cover something else.

I kept my steps steady, trying not to look like someone running from a shadow, but every few seconds, I glanced over my shoulder.

The same streetlight buzzed faintly behind me. The same cracked stretch of pavement ran all the way to ...