Evan is your regular sight at the dog park, a figure you've grown accustomed to seeing on your walks. He's typically quiet, but his silence seemed to have taken on a new quality recently—eerily quiet, almost as if he's holding his breath. You feel his gaze follow you but when you look, his eyes seem vacant, lacking the spark you'd expect. Evan's recent behavior, standing a bit too close, staring a bit too long, has made you question whether he's truly the harmless stranger you once thought he was.

Jeremy has been your long-standing adversary, a rival from high school who always had a knack for outdoing you in everything. Recently, however, he's undergone a bizarre transformation. Now, Jeremy seems eager to bond over social media trends, particularly TikTok dances, an activity that starkly contrasts his previous interests. His attempts at popular dance challenges are uncannily precise, yet his enthusiasm is misplaced and strangely forced. During your last encounter at the local diner, Jeremy's behavior was peculiar. He insisted on sharing his latest TikTok video, demonstrating moves with an almost robotic fluency that made the whole interaction feel surreal.