ENTERING THE GAME

‎Melissa's POV

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‎The impact slammed into my ribs like a cannon blast, lifting me clean off the ground.

‎The card slipped from my fingers falling carelessly in the thick snow.

‎In the twinkle of an eye, I found myself hitting the hard pavement.

‎Then came a flit of panicked screams flooding towards me.

‎Footsteps rushed closer. Voices — distant, warped.

‎My eyes spun like a broken wheel, yet I still caught a glimpse of the car speeding away.

‎My head landed first on the sidewalk, a warm sticky liquid slipping from it.

‎My body went rigid.

‎My joints refused to cooperate, as if they’d been ripped from their sockets.

‎The pain didn’t come right away. Just cold. Deep. Absolute.

‎Snowflakes drifted down, melting against my skin as my vision dimmed. The sky above me blurred into a smear of white and red.

‎Something warm spread beneath my back

‎

‎Everything hurt—especially my ribs. It felt like a thousand needles stabbing into my chest.

‎Tears seeped from the corners of my eyes.

‎I tried screaming, asking for help but all I did was choke on a metallic liquid in my mouth which I presume to be blood.

‎As my vision began to stabilize, I spotted the silhouette of the familiar traitors rushing toward me.

‎It was none other than Daniel and Victoria.

‎“Melissa," My sister called out, her voice came in like a bell to my eardrums.

‎She knelt beside me, shoving the crowd away.

‎Fake tears running down her face as she grabbed my arm.

‎Her touch felt like hot iron to my skin.

‎I tried pulling away but I couldn't feel my arms.

‎Daniel, on the other hand, didn’t touch me. He pulled out his phone and called for help.

‎Watching them, a small spark of hope ignited in my chest.

‎‘Could it be that seeing me on death's door finally triggered their love for me?' I wondered to myself, but just then they decided to prove me wrong.

‎

‎In the blink of an eye, Victoria picked the black card lying next to me in the snow, gave a small suggestive nod to my husband, who was still pretending to be engrossed in a call.

‎Daniel seemed to understand what she meant, and immediately hung up the call.

‎Giving her a nod of his own, he grabbed the card from her wrist and escaped the scene.

‎So this was the coward I had married. I couldn’t do anything but cry—because crying was all I had left.

‎Once he was out of the way, my sister flew into her full on drama queen mode.

‎She pulled me into her arms, bursting into a loud cry, consequently pulling the attention of onlookers, who all rushed to her side comforting her.

‎My stomach turned from revolt.

‎My eyes became drowsy... I was tired– So very tired.

‎But... I didn't want to die.

‎I wasn't going to let go of life so easily, I wanted revenge – so badly that it hurt.

‎

‎Victoria lowered her head, her lips buried next to my ear, and said something that completely disconnected me from reality.

‎“Just die already, sis,” she whispered, her voice dripping with malice. “Why are you hanging on, no one loves you."

‎Her words hit me like a storm.

‎It was a fact, I was never loved. Not by my own parents, they always favored Victoria.

‎Not my colleagues and definitely not my husband.

‎My life had been a waste, and honestly I was tired.

‎“Just so you know, I didn’t steal Daniel from you,” she said calmly. “He was mine first.”

‎In that moment it finally clicked, the way Daniel looked at Victoria, the way they chatted from the day I introduced them was uncanny for strangers.

‎

‎My mind screamed at my stupidity, it was exhausted. Tired. It wanted freedom from life's problems.

‎My body too agreed, seeking relief.

‎Instantly my organs began shutting down, leaving just a lingering trail of pain.

‎My life flashed through my eyes, and in that moment I realized I had never lived.

‎I had so many regrets.

‎I wanted to have friends, to live for myself.

‎I wanted to take back my slot as a scholar at chef academia.

‎I wanted to have kids.

‎I wanted to have a career I could be proud of. But more than those I wanted revenge.

‎With my last breath I made a silent promise.

‎“If there’s ever a next life, I would make Victoria and Daniel lose everything.”

‎My eyes flickered shut, and that was it... Melissa Miller's story was over.

‎

‎I let the darkness envelope me in its gentle embrace.

‎I hoped to enjoy peace at last, but when I reopened my eyes I wasn't dead.

‎In fact I was lying on a wet, dark alleyway.

‎A luminous bulb flickering from a distance.

‎A pair of round clear glasses rested over my eyes.

‎What was happening? I had traded my glasses for contact lenses 10 years ago, so how were they back?

‎Panicked, I sat up in a hurry, glancing at my hands.

‎Which happened to be perfectly fine, free from all wounds, and calluses which had previously plagued them.

‎Instead, my nails were perfectly manicured into stilettoes with black and red polish.

‎I touched the back of my head and still nothing... No pain or blood.

‎I felt my hair, and for once it wasn't a hairy mess. In fact it was braided into corn rows, and worse my hair was dyed red, my most hated color.

‎My skin felt unnaturally smooth—wrinkle-free, like I’d been reborn.

‎My nose felt rough though, I could feel a medium sized nose ring on my left nostril.

‎I glanced down at my thighs, and a pair of bump shorts rested.

‎I never wore shorts cause I was insecure of my now non-existent scars.

‎The number “101” was tattooed on my left shoulder. A tattoo I clearly didn't get, because of my phobia for needles.

‎

‎‘Was this some kind of prank?' I asked myself, but concluded on ‘I must be dreaming.'

‎I nodded understanding, shutting my eyelids for the transition.

‎That was when a cold, chilling voice rang through the humid air.

‎“New player injected."

‎The voice was tiny, feminine, and robotic.

‎Quickly I opened my eyes, scanning the perimeters for the supposed tiny stranger, but all I saw was a glittering ball of light.

‎“Hello, anyone there?" I asked curious, my voice low, a little over a whisper.

‎“Welcome to the Demon games player 101, Melissa Miller."

‎The voice echoed from the unprecedented ball of light, and a cold chill crept up my spine.

‎“Where the fuck am I?"

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