The Other Side of the Screen: Part 2

Here is the Part 1

Darkness.

Leo floated in an endless void. He wasn’t falling, but he wasn’t grounded, either. He could feel his body, yet it felt weightless, like he’d been untethered from the world. His ears buzzed with faint whispers, overlapping and incomprehensible. Occasionally, the whispers would turn into sharp, crackling static that made him flinch.

Then, a voice broke through the noise.

“Leo…”

It was soft, almost soothing, but underneath the calm tone was something menacing, like a predator trying to lull its prey.

“Why fight it? Stay with us. You’ll never have to leave.”

A surge of panic jolted through him. “No!” he shouted, though his voice sounded distant in the void. “Let me go!”

The whispers grew louder, swirling around him like a storm. Then, suddenly—light.

Leo’s eyes snapped open, and he found himself lying on a cold, metallic floor. Groaning, he pushed himself up. The air here was different: stale and electric, like the inside of an old, overheated machine. Around him, the world was a twisted collage of television static and broken visuals. Massive screens hovered in the sky, each playing fragments of different lives. Some showed people laughing at dinner tables. Others showed lonely bedrooms, flickering fluorescent-lit offices, or deserted playgrounds.

And in every scene, something was wrong.

A shadowy figure in the background. A smile held too long. Eyes staring directly at the camera.

Leo shivered.

“Where am I now?” he muttered to himself. His voice echoed unnaturally, as if the world itself was listening.

A sharp laugh rang out behind him. Spinning around, Leo came face to face with a girl about his age. Her hair was pulled into two messy pigtails, and her clothes looked like they’d been yanked straight out of an old black-and-white sitcom. Her face was unsettlingly clean and symmetrical, like a doll’s.

“Well, look who fell down the rabbit hole!” she said, grinning ear to ear. “Welcome to Channel 99, newbie.”

Leo blinked. “Who are you?”

“Call me Maggie. Everyone here has a name. Helps to keep things… orderly.” Her grin widened as she gestured to the chaotic world around them. “Not that there’s much order here.”

“What is this place?” Leo asked, his voice shaking. “What’s going on?”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “You got pulled in, didn’t you? Happens all the time. You see the static, you get curious, and BAM—you’re here.” She tapped a finger to her chin thoughtfully. “Though usually they don’t let people in unless they’re boring enough. Guess you made the cut.”

“‘They’? Who are you talking about?” Leo demanded.

Her face darkened, and her grin faltered for the first time. “The Watchers,” she whispered, glancing nervously at the hovering screens. “They’re the ones who run Channel 99. They watch everything—every life, every choice. And sometimes, they… replace people.”

Leo’s stomach churned. “That thing I saw—the one pretending to be me—”

“Yup. That’s a Copy,” Maggie said. “It’s probably out there right now, living your life. The Watchers like to swap us out. Think of it as their little game.” Her tone turned bitter. “They think it’s funny, watching us struggle while their Copies take over.”

“No,” Leo said firmly. “I’m not staying here. I need to get back. There has to be a way out.”

Maggie snorted. “Yeah, good luck with that. The only way out is through the Broadcast Tower, but…” She trailed off, biting her lip.

“But what?”

“It’s guarded,” she said quietly. “By something worse than the Watchers. Something that keeps people like us in line.”

Before Leo could press further, the ground beneath him began to tremble. A deep rumbling sound echoed through the air, growing louder with each passing second. Maggie’s face paled.

“Oh no,” she whispered. “They’ve found us.”

A wave of static rolled across the ground, like a tsunami made of broken signals. Buildings flickered and distorted as the wave approached. Maggie grabbed Leo’s arm.

“Run!” she screamed.

Without thinking, Leo bolted after her. The air crackled with electricity, and the wave gained on them quickly. Around them, people—if they were even people—flickered and glitched, their forms breaking apart and dissolving into static. The sight sent a chill down Leo’s spine.

They rounded a corner and ducked into an alleyway. Maggie pressed a hand against the wall, and a doorway materialized out of thin air. She shoved it open and pulled Leo inside just as the wave crashed past, shaking the ground.

Inside, it was eerily quiet. The room was small and dimly lit by a single, flickering lightbulb. Old VHS tapes were stacked haphazardly against the walls, and a rusty television sat in the corner, its screen dark.

Maggie collapsed against the wall, panting. “That… was too close.”

“What was that thing?” Leo asked, his voice trembling.

“Static Sweep,” Maggie said grimly. “The Watchers send it out when someone breaks the rules. It wipes everything in its path.”

“Why did it come after us?” Leo asked.

Maggie hesitated, avoiding his gaze. “Because you’re new. They want to make sure you stay in line.” Her eyes narrowed. “But you’re different, aren’t you? You’re not like the others who get pulled in.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” she said slowly, “I think they’re scared of you. And if the Watchers are scared of you…” She grinned, her confidence returning. “Maybe you have a shot at getting us both out of here.”

Leo didn’t know whether to feel hopeful or terrified. But one thing was clear: if there was even the slightest chance of escape, he had to take it.

“Alright,” he said, clenching his fists. “What do we do?”

Maggie’s grin widened. “We find the Broadcast Tower. And then we burn this whole place down.”

Above them, unseen by either of them, a screen flickered to life. A shadowy figure loomed within it, its face shifting and twisting like a bad signal. It leaned closer to the screen, watching.

And waiting.