The night air tasted like damp concrete and burnt neon as Seraphine strutted ahead, her heels clicking against the cracked sidewalk. I trailed behind with the camera, trying to keep the frame steady. Nyx, her black cat, slinked at her feet with the casual arrogance of a runway model who happened to have claws.
We had just wrapped the "haunted park" segment. Seraphine was radiant, smirking into the lens like the whole world was her stage. The livestream counter ticked up past eight thousand viewers. I should've been used to it by now, but the scrolling comments still buzzed in my peripheral vision.
[Chat]
ghosthunter88 : bro I swear I saw something behind the cameraman??
witchfangirl : QUEEN SERA 🔥 slay the ghosts too
lurker101 : cameraman sounds tired lmao give him a Red Bull
catmom77 : THE CAT 🐈⬛ NYX MY BELOVED
specterlover : rewind pls did anyone else see the shadow??
I didn't see anything at first. Just the vending machine ahead, humming faintly in the half-dark. A miracle in a steel box—cold drinks and instant ramen, glowing like a shrine of sodium light in this desolate stretch of city. My throat was dry, and my shoulders ached from the rig.
"Break," Seraphine announced. Not a request—royal decree. She swiped her card and bent gracefully to punch in selections. The lens caught her reflection on the plexiglass: sharp eyeliner, sharper smile. Nyx pawed at the machine like it owed her rent.
I pulled a canned coffee from the tray, its aluminum slick with condensation. "Blessed be the beans," I muttered, cracking it open.
That was when the shadow slid across the pavement.
It wasn't just darkness. It moved. Like a ripple of ink spilled too deliberately, stretching toward me. My skin prickled as the thing passed close—so close I felt the air stir, cold and wrong.
I stumbled back, camera jerking. The can slipped from my hand, clattering and spinning in a pathetic spray of coffee.
"Holy—! It almost clipped me!" My voice cracked, half laugh, half panic. "What the hell was that? I swear I felt it brush past!"
[Chat]
urbanlegend77 : OMG HE SAW IT TOO
witchfangirl : 😱😱😱 LUCKY SURVIVAL MODE ACTIVATED
skeptic999 : nah prob just a bug on the lens
nyxlove : PROTECT THE CAT!!!
ghosthunter88 : dude rewind rewind rewind IT MISSED HIM BY INCHES
The shadow hit the vending machine instead. Plastic and steel shuddered, screen flickering, lights guttering out for a second. Then silence. Only the faint hum returned. My heart thudded like a misfiring engine.
Seraphine turned, unbothered, sipping her own canned tea. "You attract them," she said coolly, like this was normal. "The camera makes you a beacon."
"More like a bullseye," I muttered, wiping coffee off my hand.
Nyx yowled at the pavement, fur bristling. For a second, the shadow seemed to curl back, like it didn't want to cross her claws. Then it melted into the cracks and vanished.
I stayed very still, the lens tilted downward, broadcasting my shaky breathing.
[Chat]
witchfangirl : SERA SO CALM WTF QUEEN ENERGY 👑
lurker101 : cameraman's nine lives speedrun any%
shadowseeker22 : IT MISSED HIM CUZ HE'S INVINCIBLE LOL
catmom77 : Nyx is the REAL shield here 😤🐾
specterlover : this is why I watch live not VOD man the luck is CRAZY
Seraphine set her tea down delicately on the vending machine, as if declaring the moment finished. "Eat, drink, and keep filming," she said. "Your luck hasn't run out yet."
Easy for her to say. My hands were still trembling as I raised the camera again, silently praying that "luck" came in six-packs.