Elsewhere Novels & Stories

the figure responded before the call disconnected. On the quiet street, Amy and Camellia walked slowly, enjoying the city’s refreshing breeze. Though it was only ten in the morning, the atmosphere felt more like four in the afternoon due to the desolate surroundings. Disliking the hush, Amy decided to break the stillness. “Cami, do you recall Bubbling Ass?” she asked, biting her lip as she struggled to suppress a laugh. “Amy!” Camellia exclaimed, giving her a sharp look.

Tessa kept refreshing my results page, muttering to herself the whole time. "No way. This must be a system glitch!" The principal and a few reporters came over, staring straight at my score screen. My score was blank. Below it was a line in bold: "Total score: You are ranked in the top 50. Please check back on the 27th for more details." Everyone in the room was stunned. Even the comments section froze for several seconds before it exploded again.

"Something came through. Something from the other side." I felt the words like frost across my spine. The Underworld. The place of shadows, magic, and monsters. It was a legend, only a ghost story, it couldn't have been real, and yet if it wasn't how else would we explain the chaos before us? Malen would never lie to me, he had a weird sense of humour but I could feel he was telling the truth about this one. The urgency in his voice and the raw fear I saw in his eyes was enough confirmation.

Standing in the sunlight, feeling the warmth of his palm and the sun on my skin, the chill in my body slowly faded. "Everything is finally over."

I stood by the window, feeling strangely disoriented, as if I were in another lifetime. "Happy New Year, Zachary," Melissa said, leaning closer. Her warm breath brushed against my ear, making it tingle. I turned to meet her deep gaze. At that moment, time seemed to stand still, and my heart skipped a beat. "Happy New Year, Melissa." She leaned even closer to my ear and whispered, "I like you." Outside, the fireworks continued to bloom, their brilliant colors reflecting on both our faces.

For the 13th time, an AI-generated photo pops up on my feed, showing my best friend, Gwen Spalding, and my boyfriend, Andrew Gunnell, wrapped in each other's arms. Gwen's still a mess after getting dumped so suddenly, so I assume she's mixed Andrew up with someone else again. Then a comment stops me cold. "I was there. Joyce tried to brush it off before and claimed the picture was AI-generated, but let's see her deny this! Besides, look at them. A guy as hot as Andrew belongs with a knockout like Gwen. They look way better together." Attached to the comment is a candid photo of Gwen and Andrew wrapped in each other's arms, in the exact same pose as the picture on my feed. I screenshot t