All Chapters of The Art Of Dying : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

MIA'S POVThe bus felt different this time. Maybe it was because there were only seven of us left, rattling around in a vehicle meant for ninety-eight. Maybe it was because I could still hear the sirens singing in my head, their voices like hooks trying to pull me back into the water. Or maybe it was because I'd just survived two nightmare worlds in what felt like two days, and my brain was finally catching up to the fact that I was dead and this was my eternity now.Fun times.I was sitting by the window again, watching the fog roll past. Axel was beside me, close enough that our shoulders touched. He hadn't said much since we got back on the bus. None of us had. We were all too busy processing the fact that we'd watched twelve people get erased from existence.Twelve deadies who'd been standing next to us just hours ago. Gone. Like they'd never existed at all."You okay, newbie?" Axel asked quietly."Define okay," I said. "Because if okay means I'm not currently being eaten by vampi

MIA'S POVOne second I was falling through sand, the next I was standing in my apartment. My old apartment. The one I'd shared with Tanum before everything went to hell."No," I whispered, recognizing the peeling wallpaper, the secondhand couch, the stack of manuscripts on the coffee table. "Not here. Anywhere but here."But the Sandman didn't care about my preferences. This was my nightmare, and I was going to live through it whether I wanted to or not.I heard it immediately. The sound that had shattered my world. The rhythmic creaking of bedsprings. The breathless moans. The giggles that made my skin crawl.They were in my bedroom. Tanum and my sister, Maya. Going at it like they had every right to destroy me in my own home."This isn't real," I told myself, pressing my hands over my ears. "It's the Sandman. It's just a trick. Just a...."But I could still hear them. Even with my hands clamped over my ears, the sounds penetrated, drilling into my skull like they were being played d

MIA'S POVThe explosion tore through the bus before anyone could scream.One second we were driving through the fog, the next the entire front half was gone. Just ripped away. The driver's seat—empty. The windshield—shattered into nothing.We were falling.I grabbed Axel's arm as the bus tumbled through the void, spinning end over end. Erina slammed into the ceiling. Brady's scream cut off as he hit a window. The world was chaos—metal shrieking, glass flying, everyone being thrown around like rag dolls.We hit the ground.The impact drove the air from my lungs. Pain exploded through my body. For a moment, I couldn't move, couldn't think, could only lie there in the wreckage and try to remember how to breathe."MIA!" Axel's voice, panicked. "Mia, talk to me!""I'm...." I coughed. "I'm okay."I wasn't okay. Nothing was okay. But I was alive. Or as alive as a dead person could be.Around me, the others were groaning, pulling themselves from the debris. The bus had been torn apart, piece

MIA'S POVI could see the Hollow Cathedral from the fog . It was massive, like the size of a city block. The stone was black, painted with something that looked like blood. Stained glass windows covered every surface, each one showing scenes of suffering I didn't want to look at too closely."I hate it already," Brady muttered.The bus doors opened, and cold air rushed in. Not just cold but empty, like something was missing from it. "Remember the rules," Axel said. "Confess your sins before entering. Don't look at the windows. Don't answer if someone calls your name. The priest isn't our friend.""What kind of sins?" Marcus asked nervously."Any sins. All sins. Just be honest." Axel looked at each of us. "The cathedral judges intent. If you try to hide something, it knows."We filed off the bus. The moment my feet hit the ground, I felt it weight. Pressing down on my shoulders, my chest, like gravity had doubled."You feel that?" Erina whispered."Yeah," I said. "What is it?""Guilt,

MIA'S POVDracula's Castle looked different this time. Less menacing, somehow. Or maybe I was just too exhausted to be properly terrified.We climbed off the bus slowly, every muscle in my body protesting. The cathedral had taken more out of me than I'd realized. Using my power to break reality wasn't like flipping a switch, it was like setting myself on fire and hoping I burned bright enough to light the way before I turned to ash.Dracula stood at the entrance, waiting. He wasn't alone. Mickey was there, glowering at us with barely concealed hostility. Candice stood beside him, her eyes locked on Axel with that same possessive hunger I remembered. And Jugo, the brute who'd tried to kill us, leaned against a pillar looking bored."Welcome back," Dracula said smoothly. "I must say, I'm impressed you survived the cathedral. The administrators don't usually change rules mid-game. You've really gotten under their skin.""Lucky us," I muttered."Indeed." Dracula's crimson eyes studied me