Nobody said anything for several seconds after Ryan spoke. The apartment remained unusually quiet as the news footage continued looping in the background. Firefighters were still spraying water over the smoking remains of the abandoned factory while forensic officers carried sealed evidence boxes past the cameras. Every now and then the broadcast switched to aerial footage of the destroyed building before returning to the reporter, who repeated the same details with slightly different wording. Eventually Ryan scratched the back of his head and broke the silence.

"...So does anyone actually remember what happened?"

Marcus frowned. "Not really. I remember walking into the factory... then nothing. The next thing I remember is Adrian shaking me awake while everything was on fire."

Daniel nodded. "Same here. It’s like someone cut out part of my memory."

Ethan rubbed his temples. "I thought it was just me. I don’t remember hearing an explosion or smelling smoke either. One second we were looking around, the next we were running for our lives."

Everyone instinctively turned toward Noah.

He adjusted his glasses before shaking his head.

"I remember splitting up to search different areas. After that..." He frowned, clearly trying to remember. "...Nothing."

Their eyes slowly shifted toward me.

"...Don’t look at me," I said, raising both hands. "I’m just as confused as you are."

Ryan narrowed his eyes.

"You were the one who woke us up."

"Because I woke up first."

"Convenient."

I shrugged.

"When I came to, I was inside one of the production units. I don’t know how I got there either. The place was already filling with smoke, and I could see flames spreading through the building. I found you guys tied up, woke everyone I could, and we ran."

"...That’s it?" Marcus asked.

"That’s it."

It wasn’t even technically a lie.

I really had found them tied up before waking them.

I just skipped...

Almost everything in between.

Ryan sighed and leaned back against the sofa.

"Great."

"So now we’ve got haunted factories that wipe out memories."

"Wonderful."

"I’m starting to miss normal boredom."

Daniel nodded in agreement.

"I would’ve happily spent yesterday watching movies."

"You suggested exploring the factory," Marcus reminded him.

"I made mistakes."

"We all make mistakes."

Ethan suddenly pointed toward the television.

"Guys..."

The reporter had disappeared. In her place, another anchor sat behind the news desk with a serious expression.

"...Police have released additional information regarding evidence recovered from the abandoned toy factory. Investigators have confirmed discovering numerous empty snack packets and several discarded soft drink bottles scattered throughout different sections of the building. Forensic teams are currently processing fingerprints and DNA samples. Authorities believe the items may have belonged to individuals who entered the property shortly before the fire..."

Ryan and Ethan froze.

The two of them slowly looked at each other.

Neither spoke.

Both of them were sweating.

A lot.

Marcus blinked.

"...Why do you two suddenly look guilty?"

Ryan laughed.

Too loudly.

"What?"

"Guilty?"

"Me?"

"Never."

Ethan nodded so quickly it looked painful.

"Exactly."

"We’re innocent."

"Completely innocent."

Marcus folded his arms.

"I didn’t even accuse you of anything."

Ryan’s smile immediately became awkward.

"...Right."

"You didn’t."

Daniel looked between the two of them before slowly asking, "...Didn’t you idiots leave the trash there?"

Ryan looked away.

"...Maybe."

Ethan coughed.

"...Possibly."

"..."

Marcus closed his eyes.

"You actually littered inside the crime scene."

"It wasn’t a crime scene at the time!" Ryan defended himself immediately.

"It was an abandoned factory!"

"We thought we’d pick everything up before leaving!"

Ethan quietly added, "...Then we got kidnapped."

"...That’s actually a decent excuse," Daniel admitted.

Ryan pointed triumphantly.

"See?"

Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I can’t believe this."

"If the police trace those snack packets back to us, we’re going to look like the world’s dumbest arsonists."

Ryan’s expression slowly changed.

"...You know..."

"When you put it like that..."

His face turned pale.

"...We’re screwed."

Ethan looked ready to cry.

"I bought those drinks with my membership card."

Ryan stared at him.

"...You what?"

"I wanted the discount!"

"The discount?!"

"It was fifteen percent!"

Marcus sighed so deeply it sounded painful.

"I refuse to believe I’m friends with you people."

Noah quietly raised his phone.

"They haven’t identified anyone yet."

Everyone immediately looked at him.

He continued calmly.

"The report says they’re still processing evidence."

Ryan pressed both hands together.

"Please let every fingerprint be burned."

Daniel looked at him.

"You know that’s not how fingerprints work, right?"

"I choose hope."

Thankfully, the news moved on to another story before anyone had a chance to panic any further.

About an hour later, Ryan stretched and stood up.

"...Well."

"We’re all alive."

"Nobody’s been arrested."

"So I vote we stop thinking about haunted factories for one day."

Daniel smiled.

"Come to my place."

Marcus looked at him.

"Your parents home?"

"Yeah."

"My little sister too."

Ryan grinned.

"Free food?"

Daniel rolled his eyes.

"I knew that’s what you’d hear."

"It wasn’t the only thing I heard."

"It was just the loudest."

None of us had a better idea, so after cleaning up the apartment and making sure nothing had been left behind, we headed across the city toward Daniel’s house.

Unlike my apartment, Daniel’s home was spacious and lively. The moment the front door opened, the smell of freshly cooked food drifted into the hallway.

His mother appeared first, smiling warmly.

"So these are your academy friends?"

Daniel nodded.

"Mom, this is Ryan, Marcus, Noah, Ethan... and Adrian."

She greeted each of us before inviting everyone inside without the slightest hesitation.

"Make yourselves comfortable."

"If you’re hungry, lunch will be ready soon."

Ryan whispered beside me.

"I would die for this woman."

"I heard that," Daniel’s mother called from the kitchen.

Ryan immediately straightened.

"...I meant... respectfully."

A burst of laughter spread through the group.

Daniel’s father eventually joined us from the living room, greeting everyone with a firm handshake before asking about academy life. His younger sister peeked around the corner for exactly three seconds, declared that we all looked weird, then disappeared upstairs before anyone could respond.

Ryan looked genuinely offended.

"I’ve been insulted by a child."

Marcus shrugged.

"She isn’t wrong."

After lunch, someone suggested video games.

Nobody remembered who.

Within minutes, six controllers were scattered across the living room floor.

Ryan immediately chose the loudest character available.

Marcus picked whoever looked strongest.

Ethan somehow lost the tutorial.

Daniel laughed so hard he nearly dropped his controller.

Noah quietly dominated the first match without saying a single word.

I watched the chaos unfold in front of me and couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

For a few hours...

There were no ghosts.

No fragments.

No system messages.

Just six boys wasting a public holiday playing games, arguing over unfair mechanics, accusing each other of cheating, and laughing loudly enough for Daniel’s mother to tell us twice to keep the noise down.

It was ordinary.

Wonderfully...

Ordinary.

And after everything that had happened, I realized I needed a day like this far more than I had thought.