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Chapter 2

Author: Seven Blades
I blinked in confusion.

“What is it?”

The three of them exchanged looks. Their faces took on a strange expression.

“Wait. What did you say your name was? H-E-N-R-Y Forte…”

I repeated it slowly. “Henry Forte. Yes.”

“Pfft hahahaha!”

“Hahahaha! No way! Henry Forte? You are that Henry Forte?”

“Dude, I cannot! Of all people, we got him as our roommate!”

My stomach dropped. I froze where I stood.

One of them laughed so hard that his eyes started to water. He pointed at me. “You’re the legendary poser from the freshman chat?”

Another gave me a fresh once-over and struggled to hold back a laugh. “You even bought all these cheap knockoffs covered in designer logos.

“People who actually have money don’t dress like walking billboards. Did you guys see the man who dropped him off? That guy looked broke as hell.”

I frowned. “Why would I pretend to be rich? Since when is there a rule for what a rich person is supposed to look like?”

One of my roommates tapped around on his phone, then shoved the screen in front of my face.

“This is what someone with real money looks like. See?”

I glanced at it. It was PoserPolice’s social media profile.

[Buying the dip tomorrow. If you miss your chance and get stuck holding the bag, don’t say I didn’t warn you.]

Underneath was a screenshot of a brokerage account showing a portfolio worth several million dollars.

[Can people on the campus forum stop digging into my personal life? It’s getting really annoying.]

Attached was a screenshot of one of the hottest threads on the student forum.

[EXCLUSIVE: Incoming freshman is an ISEF award winner, and apparently comes from serious money]

[Grabbed dinner before move-in. What is it like going to the same college as the girl you grew up with? Mostly annoying. I’ve been looking at that face since kindergarten. I’m sick of it, lol.]

Meanwhile, the only account he followed was my childhood friend, Esther Lewis.

“His childhood friend is Esther Lewis, Zania’s golden girl. People in that circle probably look at posers like you and laugh.”

I scoffed. Since when were Esther and this guy part of the same circle?

Messages kept popping up on my roommate’s phone.

[Of course someone who actually has money can spot a poser from a mile away.]

[PoserPolice, what’s your real name? What are you majoring in? You look kind of hot even from behind in those pictures. Are we going to see you at orientation camp?]

When everyone found out his name was Keith Rash, the fawning only got worse.

[Okay, even his name sounds good!]

[Keith’s officially the hottest freshman on campus!]

PoserPolice: My dad pulled some strings so I could skip orientation camp, but I like a little entertainment. Also, orientation week is prime poser season. No way I’m missing that.

The chat immediately filled with excited responses.

[Yes! Orientation camp is going to be so entertaining!]

[Can’t wait to watch the poser get put in his place!]

[Keith, I’m buying you coffee when I see you. Please don’t say no!]

[I’m getting him one too!]

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  • We’re All Prey   Chapter 10

    The abandoned dorm room reeked of mildew and something sour and unpleasant.The second Keith heard footsteps approaching, his whole body tensed.I looked at him and scoffed.He certainly had not seemed this fragile back when he was playing “PoserPolice” and passing judgment on everyone else.“Keith?”He flinched hard. Then, he tilted his head and tried to place my voice.“That voice… Henry, is that you?”His face lit up. “Am I saved? I’m getting out of here!”I sneered and pulled out my phone to start recording.“No. Not yet. I called for help, but they haven’t reached this building. Whether they find you or not depends on what you do next.”His body, which had just started to relax, went rigid again.“What? Then, call them! Tell them to come here! Get me out of here! Please, just get me out!”I stared at him and said nothing.After a while, he finally calmed down.When he spoke again, his voice was far more subdued.“Henry, please. Please get someone in here and get me

  • We’re All Prey   Chapter 9

    My dad was on the university’s board of trustees. He had been beside himself for the past two days.The underground clique never struck on a fixed schedule.Sometimes they waited a month after the semester began. Other times, they waited only a week.This was the first time they had taken someone before orientation camp was even officially over.The police had been involved for two days, but they had no leads.Every security camera covering the area had conveniently gone offline, leaving behind nothing useful.We had been given our phones back before the closing-night social.However, Keith’s phone had been switched off shortly after he left the gathering, so there was no way to track his exact location.To avoid causing panic, the university kept the disappearance quiet and continued investigating behind the scenes.Meanwhile, a new topic had completely taken over the freshman group chat. [Keith stole all those photos on his socials!][Wait, what?!][He accused Henry of s

  • We’re All Prey   Chapter 8

    On the day of the closing ceremony, Keith was forced to lead the entire procession.All of the Outstanding Participants walked together at the front.Keith, meanwhile, had to walk out ahead of everyone else, making him by far the most noticeable person there.Plus, every part of his performance had to be flawless.Randy had warned him that morning, so Keith had no choice but to take it seriously.Getting marked down on a mandatory orientation requirement before classes had even properly begun would not exactly be a great start to college.By the time the ceremony ended, Keith had been named the camp’s “Top Participant.”At the awards ceremony, Randy spent nearly ten minutes praising Keith over the microphone.My roommates, still completely unaware of what was really going on, looked unimpressed.“Keith gets to hog the spotlight again!”“Exactly! This time, it’s not just faculty and administrators watching. They opened the ceremony to families and the local community too.”On

  • We’re All Prey   Chapter 7

    I cut him off before he could finish. Randy turned toward me.With a worried expression, I hurried over and grabbed Keith by the hand.“Bro, are you okay? Did all that leftover food from the dining hall mess up your stomach again? I told you, it was just a stupid bet. You didn’t have to go that far just to win a free trip to Blackridge.”Randy frowned. “Blackridge?”I quickly explained.“Sorry, Mr. Moshier. This is my fault. Last night, we made a bet over who could finish all the leftover food from the dining hall barbecue. The loser had to pay for a guided trek at Blackridge Adventure Resort. “Keith loves hiking, and he’s been wanting to go forever, so he ate everything. It’s no wonder he feels awful today.”Keith’s expression darkened instantly. He said through gritted teeth, “What the hell are you talking about?”Randy glanced at him. “Severe photosensitivity and a heart condition? How are you an avid hiker with those conditions?”Hiking was physically demanding and requir

  • We’re All Prey   Chapter 6

    The orientation camp lasted fifteen days.As our team’s Outstanding Participant, Keith had to go up to the front every day and give a quick recap for the group.Whenever he appeared, students from other teams who had no idea what was really going on would start cheering for him.“Keith! Keith! Keith!”Thanks to Randy’s “special attention,” Keith was constantly being singled out to demonstrate an activity or lead one of the camp challenges.He looked absolutely miserable every time his name was called. No matter how desperately Keith tried to get out of it, there was no escaping the spotlight.Every couple of days, he was back in front of everyone. Every few days, Randy found some new reason to put him on display.Before long, Keith had become one of the most recognizable freshmen on campus.For some reason, I could not shake the feeling that somewhere, someone was quietly watching all the attention he was getting.As for me, I made my social media private.I was up early and

  • We’re All Prey   Chapter 5

    I turned to look at Keith and watched the color drain from his face.A few seconds later, he challenged the result.“Mr. Moshier, I think Henry Forte tampered with the vote!”Randy was a stern middle-aged instructor with an imposing presence. He turned to me with a serious look on his face. “Did you?”I shook my head. “No, sir. I didn’t touch the results.”Keith snorted and said, “That’s impossible! Everyone already agreed they were voting for you!”I looked at Ben. “Ben, did I tamper with anything?”Ben glanced at the $3,000 payment that had just landed in his account and grinned. “Nope.”Keith lost his composure and stormed toward us.“No way!”He reached for Ben’s phone to check the results himself, but Ben shoved him back.“What the hell, Keith? I’m the team captain. Are you seriously accusing me of rigging the vote? The results are right there. Look for yourself.”Ben held up his phone so everyone could see the final tally.“The numbers speak for themselves. Anyone wh

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