THE ALGORITHM OF FEAR

4~the text!

Ivaan set the phone down, his jaw tightening as he glanced around the café. "Okay, first things first-are you sure your phone hasn't been hacked? Someone could be messing with you remotely."

Eve shook her head frantically. "No one has access to my phone. I've never shared my passwords or anything. And even if it's a hack, how could they mimic my voice on the calls?"

Ivaan leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Let's not rule anything out just yet. We need to figure out who's behind this. But honestly, Eve..." His eyes met hers, a shadow of doubt flickering in them. "Are you absolutely certain you're not blacking out or... forgetting things?"

Eve's expression turned defensive. "You think I'm crazy? Ivaan, I know I didn't make those calls or send those texts. Something else is going on here, and I need you to believe me."

Ivaan held up his hands. "Alright, alright. I believe you. But we're out of our depth here." He glanced back at her phone, the ominous message still glowing on the screen. "This isn't just a prank or some random glitch. Whoever sent this knows exactly what's going on between us."

Eve nodded, her mind racing. "But who would even care enough to do this? I don't have enemies, and neither do you. Right?"

Ivaan shrugged helplessly. "Not that I know of. But this feels personal. They're targeting you-and through you, me. We need to figure out why." Eve's hands trembled as she reached for her coffee cup. "Okay. Let's think logically. If someone's pretending to be me, they have to be nearby, right? Maybe they've been watching us."

Ivaan glanced around the café uneasily, his eyes scanning the crowd. "If that's the case, they could be here right now."

The thought sent a shiver down Eve's spine. She forced herself to stay calm, though her voice wavered. "We should leave. Maybe whoever's behind this left a trail. If we can't figure it out, we'll go to the police."

Ivaan nodded. "Good idea. Let's start with your call records and see where those calls were made from. If we can prove they didn't come from your phone, we'll have something solid."

They gathered their things quickly and left the café. Outside, the air was chilly, the streets eerily quiet. Ivaan walked close beside her, his protective instincts kicking in.

Eve glanced over her shoulder, her paranoia mounting. "Do you think they're following us?"

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Ivaan said, though his tense posture betrayed his own unease. "But just in case, we should stay in public places for now."

Eve nodded, clutching her phone tightly. "I'll pull up my call records when we get somewhere safe. But Ivaan... what if this isn't just someone playing a game? What if it's something worse?" "What do you mean, worse?" he asked, his voice laced with dread.

Eve hesitated, her throat dry. "I don't know. It's just... it doesn't feel like something a person would do. It feels... wrong. Like it's not just human."

Ivaan stopped walking, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her. "Eve, you're scaring me now. Are you saying this is... supernatural?"

"I don't know," she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. "But if it is, what do we even do? How do you fight something like that?"

Before Ivaan could respond, Eve's phone buzzed again. This time, it wasn't a text. It was a call.

From her own number.

Both of them froze, staring at the screen in horror. The ringtone echoed ominously in the silent street.

"Don't answer it," Ivaan said quickly, grabbing her arm. "Whatever you do, don't answer."