"Just help me out this once, man. I just made it to the final round, and I can't leave the game. Help your little brother out for a change? You're the best, J."

It was 2:00 a.m. Chad asked me to go downstairs and pick up his takeout. I wanted to refuse because I was still recovering from a broken foot, but he did not look capable of tearing his eyes from the screen for even a second.

Thus, I agreed and stepped outside.

Without warning, something like a stream of comments flashed across my mind.

[No! Somebody stop him!]

[That delivery guy is your brother's roommate! He's got a knife!!!]

[Lil' Bro knows that already, J! He's using you as a human shield to buy himself time!]

I froze. I turned to go back inside.

The door would not budge. Chad had already locked it.

The elevator chimed down the hall. The comments in my head spiraled into chaos.

[The killer is here! Get out of there, Big Bro!]

My heart skidded to a halt. I turned and bolted for the emergency stairwell.

I was not fast. I had slipped on those stairs earlier and injured my foot. Even now, it had not fully recovered, and each step sent a sharp reminder up my leg. Running drained what little strength I had left.

The door to the stairwell swung shut behind me.

A second later, the elevator doors opened. Heavy footsteps rang through the corridor, loud in the dead of night.

I pressed myself against the wall inside the stairwell, shaking and slick with cold sweat.

I remembered Chad asking me to pick up his food.

"Just help me out this time, man," he had said. "I promise I'll buy you a drink next time."

Even then, his eyes had darted around. He had looked like he was hiding something.

Now I knew exactly what that was. He had robbed his financially struggling roommate, Teddy Krueger, of his scholarship. And Teddy had come back for revenge.

I clenched my jaw and pressed my ear to the door. I forced myself to focus on the faintest sound.

There was nothing.

The thick, suffocating silence stretched. It scared the hell out of me. Who knew what was waiting on the other side?

The livestream comments kept scrolling.

[That freaked me out, chat. Teddy's checking every door in the corridor. He's staying quiet so he can catch him off guard.]

[I don't know what would've happened to J if he hadn't run.]

[Wasn't he doomed last time? He didn't know Teddy Terror existed. His injury slowed him down. Then he got stabbed to death. And his shitty little bro never opened the door while he screamed for help.]

[We've got two killers in this story, chat. If you enable a murder, you're a murderer.]

[Justice for J. He treats his little bro like gold. That piece of shit brother has to go.]

[Justice for J. Disown that ungrateful little shit after this.]

I bit my lip until I tasted blood. Who had taken the fall for every rotten thing Chad had ever done? Me.

When he was eight, he played with fire and set the furniture ablaze. I tried to put it out. He shoved me toward the flames instead. I almost died. Then he told our parents I had started the fire.

After that, every mistake I made carried the same accusation. My parents dragged up the fire like a brand they could press into me whenever they pleased.

When Chad was 16, he ran away because our parents disapproved of his relationship. He did not even have the courage to leave alone. He demanded that I go with him.

Who would have expected him to run back home after a month and tell our parents that I was the corrupting influence who dragged him out with me when I ran away?

In response, my parents locked me in a small storeroom for a month.

I thought that was the worst of his behavior. But this time? This time he managed to sic a murderer on me. Me, the one who cooked for him and took care of him when he refused to find a job after graduating from college. Me.

And this was my reward?

I clenched my fist, bitterness tightening my chest.

The corridor remained silent. I slipped out my phone and called Chad.

The live comments flooded the screen.

[What's he doing? Is he going to call his brother and warn him?]

[You can't even save yourself. Stop wasting time on him and save yourself!]

[You're not Naruto. You can't Talk No Jutsu this guy into becoming good. No wonder he's died so many times before. He's too dumb to live.]

[No. Do society a favor and let that asshole die. The world will thank you.]

The glow from my screen washed over the metal handrails and the grated floor beneath my feet.

Chad picked up almost at once.

"Your food's here. Open up," I said flatly.

"Shit!" He was breathing hard, panic bleeding through the line. "Okay, okay. I admit it. I didn't order anything. But Teddy won't leave me alone. He said he won't. So can you just help me this one time? He won't hurt you."

He rushed on without waiting for my response. "Just talk him down from this toxic revenge crap, all right? Tell him I'll pay back all the scholarship money I used. Every cent."

He added, "Mom and Dad made you promise, remember? You're supposed to protect me. You're my older brother, J."

I clenched my jaw. Before I could answer, he hung up, as if afraid of what I might say.

That told me everything. Chad knew exactly what was happening, including how much danger I was in. This had been part of his plan all along.

The comments kept coming.

[How is this guy even human? Who says that?]

[He's beyond shameless. He's unhinged. Who sends his injured older brother to face an angry killer alone? That's practically aiding murder.]

[If you survive this, disown Chad and get as far away from him as possible.]

I drew a slow breath. I had to get out of this apartment if I wanted to live. Staying here was a death sentence. Teddy would find me sooner or later.

I shifted my weight and moved toward the emergency staircase, careful despite the pain in my injured foot.

Without warning, the light above the fire escape flared on.

The sudden brightness blinded me.

My heart lurched. The light threw my shadow across the landing. Anyone looking up would see a clear human silhouette. Teddy would know exactly where I was.

The footsteps I had dreaded returned. They grew louder with each step as Teddy headed straight toward me.

I had no time to think. I ran down the stairs, ignoring the sharp protest from my injured foot.

Seconds later, the fire door slammed shut above me. Teddy was here. He was right behind me.

I dragged my foot as I fled. With shaking hands, I called Mom and begged for help.

"Mom, I need help! Chad's going to get me killed!" I said.

"Jason, how dramatic do you want to be? You're just taking care of your brother," she snapped. "And don't feed me that. Chad's the sweetest boy in the world. You're the one who's always been a troublemaker. Don't you feel even a little embarrassed accusing him of the kind of things you'd do?"

She sounded more irritated than concerned.

"Don't ever call me in the middle of the night again."

The line went dead. I tried to call her back, but she had already turned off her phone.

Desolation settled over me. My parents had always been like this. Chad would run his mouth, spin some lie, and suddenly nothing I said could possibly be true. It hurt to realize that nothing had changed.

I was on the eighth floor. The stairwell was long and steep, not meant for running, but I could not stop. I kept going until a metallic taste filled my throat.

I nearly slipped several times. The sound of footsteps behind me never faded, so I forced myself to keep moving.

When I reached the ground floor, I glanced at the comments.

[No! Don't go down the stairs, man!]

[Teddy locked the outside door when he first entered the apartment, J! You can't get out that way!]

I froze, and my knees weakened. Still, the pounding steps behind me sent a fresh surge of adrenaline through my body.

If the exit ahead was a dead end, then this was where I would die.

The killer's footsteps drew closer. In my mind, I could already see the silvery flash of Teddy's blade.

I ground my teeth, bolted out of the emergency stairwell, and sprinted toward the elevator.

I jumped inside and jabbed every button on the panel. "Please work. Please work."

If the comments were right, the main door was no longer an escape.

I was certain Teddy would reach the elevator before the doors closed. After that, nothing would stand between me and his knife.

At the last second, I darted out of the elevator and dove into the large dumpster in the lobby.

The comment section held its breath with me.

A minute later, Teddy emerged from the stairwell. Through a narrow crack beneath the lid, I watched him stop in front of the closed elevator. He looked up at the display above the door, calculating which floor I might be heading to.

My heart pounded. Thank God I had not stayed inside the elevator. Teddy seemed convinced I had escaped that way.

If he would just leave, I could make my move. I could take the elevator down to the basement parking level and get out from there.

Teddy turned toward the stairs.

As he was about to leave, my phone rang.

My heart stopped, and sweat soaked my clothes.

Who would call me at this hour?

Teddy halted midstep. He turned slowly, scanning the lobby until his gaze fixed on the dumpster.

Sharp, acidic fear surged through me. I nearly gagged, but I clamped a hand over my mouth.

His footsteps shifted direction.

He started walking toward me.