Chapter 1

MIA'S POV

I always thought my life was the punchline to some bad cosmic joke. It felt like the universe played rock, paper, scissors with its buddies and I got picked to live out the fuckery. But hearing my boyfriend screw my sister on the other side of my bedroom wall was another kind of fucked up.

At first, I didn’t believe it. Sure, Tanum had the emotional capacity of a spoon sitting in a cold tea and a face that was way too confident for someone who thought “crypto investor” counted as a career. But my sister? My own blood? That was just diabolical. It was a well orchestrated betrayal bullshit.

The walls of my apartment were thin enough to hear Masha’s moans followed by the breathy little giggles that made my stomach twist. It was like someone had pressed “play” on my personal humiliation playlist and left the damn thing on loop. I sat on the edge of my bed holding my phone, trying to convince myself I was hallucinating the whole thing. Maybe I’d finally snapped from too much caffeine and sleepless nights on my laptop's screen. Writers do that sometimes, right?

But no. The universe wasn’t that merciful especially when it came to me.

I could hear her voice. I could hear his grunts. The humping literally reverberated through the goddamn headboard.

That was the moment something inside me just… snapped. My hand was shaking and I didn’t even realize I was crying until the tears hit my lap. I'd hit my lowest point and it suddenly felt like I was drowning in a suffocating sea of misery. 

I didn’t plan to run. I just did. I grabbed my hoodie, my keys, and sprinted out the door. I didn't even stop to wear my shoes. My heart was pounding so loud it blocked everything else. I didn’t even lock the door. Let them keep the place… hell, let them keep the bed too.

The cold night air hit me like a slap as soon as I got out. I didn’t care where I was going, I just needed to move. My breath came out in ragged bursts as I stumbled down the street, trying to wipe away the tears. I remember thinking I must’ve looked like one of those horror movie victims that night which is fitting, considering I wrote horror for a living.

Then came the headlights. I didn't hear the horn until it was too late.

My brain said, move but my body froze. I felt the impact before I heard it. The only sane way to describe it was it felt like an explosion of pain that should’ve broken me in half. And maybe it did but I'd never know

The sound vanished and with it the pain too. The world just… folded. Like someone had grabbed reality by its edges and crumpled it up into a wastebin. 

Next thing I know, I wasn’t on the street anymore. I was floating or maybe falling. Could have been both. I went through something that looked like a wormhole made of static and light. Colors I'd never seen before flickered around me and my stomach twisted like I was on the world’s worst roller coaster.

Then it stopped.

I hit the pavement hard enough to rearrange my teeth. I gasped a lung full almost like I’d just surfaced from deep underwater. The air smelled like rust and rain which was odd considering Paytonville’s natural scent was a mix of berries and rosemary. I looked up and saw an old abandoned bus station. Cracked tiles and rusted benches completed the ghost-town aesthetics. The flickering streetlight half eaten by moths was just a bonus prop. It looked deserted.

“What the actual fuck…” I whispered, dragging myself up.

There was a bus stop sign leaning sideways not far from where I was. I tried to look for another landmark nearby but I couldn't see past the damn mist. It wasn’t your normal everyday fog. It was too thick, almost like someone had painted the world white and forgotten to add the details back in.

A shape emerged from the mist and at first I let my imagination run wild like any sane human would but then I chilled when I saw it was just a bus. The bus looked ancient with shattered windows and tires that looked like they’d been regurgitated by hungry tire-eating monsters. The bus screeched to a stop in front of me with the doors wide open.

I squinted into the darkness inside but all I could see was shadow. My brain immediately went into horror writer mode…. Girl stares into the haunted bus. Girl gets eaten by the shadow. Roll credits.

“Yeah, no thanks. I'll pass on the creepy bus.” I muttered, stepping back.

Then I heard voices from inside the bus. One voice asked, “Why are we stopping?”

“A girl’s at the station.” Another voice replied.

“What’s she doing?”

“Being a scared newbie,” someone laughed.

“It's still a no for me.” I said, backing up and shaking my head. “I’m not doing this. Fuck this bus. Fuck the creeps inside. Fuck—”

Suddenly an arm shot out of the darkness and grabbed my wrist. I screamed but before I could pull away, whoever it was dragged me so hard it nearly tore off my arm. The doors slammed shut behind me.

“Jesus Christ!” I shouted, turrning around fast. “Are you trying to rip my fucking arm?!

And that’s when I saw him. The guy holding my wrist wasn’t what I expected. He was tall with beautiful black hair that fell into his eyes. He was handsome with sharp, dangerous eyes. He looked like the kind of guy who'd kill you or kiss you depending on his mood. He smirked slightly as he let go.

“You’re welcome,” he said. “I don't usually help newbies." 

“Welcome for what? Assault?” I snapped, rubbing my wrist. “What the hell is this place?”

Before he could answer, we were interrupted by a loud static from an overhead speaker.

“Welcome to THE Survival Game!” a distorted voice announced. “Congratulations, you are all dead! But because hell is currently in recycle mode due to the greenhouse effect, you’re being sent to dead worlds as entertainment!”

I blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

The voice kept going: “Please provide the fanciest death you can. Or fanciest kills if you have what it takes to be a predator. The audience loves those.”

“What audience?!” I asked, turning to the grim looking passengers in the bus. No one answered. The speaker died. 

I looked around. The bus was packed with people mostly my age. They looked pale with dull unseeing eyes. 

I turned back to the tall stranger. “This is a joke, right? Some kind of messed up prank show? I’d like to make it known I didn't consent to being pranked on.”

He just looked at me with this tired, almost bored expression that somehow made look more handsome. “No prank, newbie. You’re dead.”

“Bullshit.”

He shrugged. “You’ll figure it out soon enough.”

“Okay, fine,” I said, crossing my arms. “Let’s say I am dead. Why the hell am I on a bus headed to God knows where? And what happens if I don’t play your stupid little game?”

He leaned closer. “Then you die. Eternal soul destructional final death. There's no coming back from that one, newbie.”

Something in his tone that made my stomach twist. It wasn’t a threat. It was a promise. He wasn't fucking around.

I stepped back, my heart racing. “You mean I'll die?”

He smiled then tapped my head like a puppy about to perform a neat trick. “No, newbie. You’re already dead. Look at it as if you'd be erased from existence itself.”

As I tried to process what he was saying, the bus roared to life. I had to grab a seat for balance. For the first time since getting on, I got a good look at the passengers and some looked human. Others… not quite. One woman has glassy eyes and a third eye blinked where her forehead should have been. I even saw a kid whose shadow moved even when he didn’t. My throat went dry.

The tall guy watched me take it all in. There was a cocky half smile on his lips. “Must be a lot for you, newbie. You'll get the hang of it pretty soon.”

“Like hell I will. I didn't sign up for this.” I cooed, rubbing my shoulders for comfort.

He chuckled. “Relax. You’ll get used to it.”

“Used to what?”

The speaker interrupted again before he could answer.

“Hold on to your seats, deadies. Next station, Dracula Castle.”

I laughed, unable to believe what I was hearing. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Dracula Castle? What’s next, Zombie Disneyland?”

The guy didn’t laugh. “We just passed there. The zombies have gotten faster than the last time.”

I stared at him looking for a hint to show it was a bluff but I didn't see it. He wasn’t joking. My head felt light. I tried to convince myself this was a coma dream, some coma induced hallucination after the car hit me. Any second now, I’d wake up in a hospital bed with a nurse telling me to calm down.

But when I pressed my fingers against the seat, it felt solid.

“Fuck,” I whispered. “I really am dead.”

The guy tilted his head. “You catch on fast.”

I snarled at him. “You’re an asshole.”

He smiled wider. “Probably. I get that a lot.”

The bus started moving. I saw my reflection from the window. I looked pale and s

cared shitless. I didn’t look like a ghost. I looked like a mess.

“Prepare yourselves, contestants! Your world awaits!”