Dead Angel •《A BuzzFeed Unsolved Fan Fiction》

Chapter 4

30 July ⚪ 03.42.48

Ryan POV

Ryan rubbed his eyes and checked again. Nothing.

The spot on the hotel bed next to him was empty. Shane had disappeared.

It was still dark outside, and the only source of light came from the lamp that Ryan had switched on. Ryan groggily lifted himself up on his shoulders and checked the bedside clock. 3.42 am in the morning, where could Shane have gone? The stores are mostly closed at this time. Everyone was asleep.

Ryan blindly grabbed his phone to see if Shane had left any note. No new messages. With a sigh, he dialed Shane's number.

While waiting for Shane to pick up, Ryan reluctantly stood up and searched through the hotel room, hoping that Shane might have left a clue to his whereabouts. Shane's luggage, his hat, clothing, and other daily essentials seemed to be in place. Only his phone and wallet was gone. 

Mentally, Ryan went through the strange events that took place last night, perhaps Shane said something about this that Ryan had forgotten.

They were shooting the new true crime video when Shane had abruptly left, saying he needed sometime alone. Ryan didn't know what bothered him, but the look on Shane's face made him decide not to push it.

Shane had returned a while later, reassuring him that nothing important had happened. They decided to head back to the hotel first, and continue the next day, today.

Ryan had tried to bring up the topic of what happened many times last night but Shane had shook it off by either changing the subject or pretending he never heard Ryan.

Something was off, but Shane didn't say anything about disappearing in the middle of the night.

Ryan's thoughts were interrupted by the click of something landing on the emergency staircase just outside the window, the faint sound a cannon compared to the monotonous silence of the night. 

He jumped, but to his embarrassment it was nothing but a raven, its talons clicking against the metal railing as it landed. Funny, he thought, it looked exactly  the same to the one outside his window back at home. 

Ryan calmed himself down and returned to the task at hand. Nothing, no explanation for where Shane could have gone. His phone was switched off, the call leading to voice mail. 

Another tap threw Ryan's gaze to the window. The raven with its jet-black coat had blended in with the dark surroundings outside, and he could only make out its beady eyes, staring at him, just like it had when Ryan was sick. He felt a familiar shiver run down his spine. 

Damn it, the bird ruined it. Now Ryan felt uncomfortable, there was no way he could sleep now, not until the bird left.

He scrutinized the bird again, it didn't look like it had any intention to leave, ruffling its feathers and making a resting spot out of the peeling surface of the railing. 

Ryan led out a sigh and headed out the door. If the bird wasn't going to leave, he would. 

Outside, he might as well look for Shane. Ryan turned in the direction of the alley they were at yesterday, the scene of the crime, deciding it was the best place to start searching. Shane's disappearance definitely had some connection to that place, but Ryan wasn't sure how.