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Evening crept slowly toward sunset, the sky streaked with purple and red like a canvas of blood painted by an unseen killer. The air was stifling, as if the entire forest breathed heavy breaths, and the long shadows began to coil around everything like demonic fingers.
Dante turned to Herman and said coldly:
— "Let's go… we shouldn't have saved that arrogant girl, let's leave before she surely brings us trouble."
But an angry voice rang out from behind; it was Black With, raising her eyebrows arrogantly and replying:
— "You fool, who do you think you are to talk about me like that?"
Dante didn't bother to answer. He simply motioned to Herman with his hand and said:
— "Let's go."
The two began to walk away, leaving Black With frozen in place. But the strangeness of their movements made her uneasy. She frowned, then decided to follow them.
Soon Dante slowly turned, his eyes gleaming with mockery:
— "Are you following us?"
She lifted her head proudly and replied:
— "I'm not following you… I'm simply walking in the same direction."
Dante smiled slyly, winked at Herman, then suddenly dashed like lightning through the deserted village, with Herman laughing as he followed.
Black With felt a surge of anger and shouted as she ran after them:
— "Come back here, you scoundrels! Damn you both!"
Suddenly… the running stopped. Dante and Herman had collided with a strange human wall. Another group stood at a crossing ahead: Jude and his companions, the three twins.
Jude was carrying the unconscious Vivian on his back. The two sides exchanged sharp looks, like wild wolves about to pounce.
At that moment, Black With burst in from behind, shouting:
— "Damn you both! Didn't I tell you to wait for me?!"
But as soon as her eyes fell on the group, she gasped in surprise, then exclaimed with a mocking voice:
— "Impossible! More losers?!"
Lily and Camellia stepped forward together, their eyes widening as they said in unison:
— "Black With?! The famous singer?! What are you doing here?!"
Black With smiled arrogantly, as if she were still on stage:
— "I'm not here by choice, believe me."
Silence followed. Eyes studied each other, hearts beat in unease, and the air grew thick with fear. Then Jude suggested in a firm voice:
— "Night is approaching… we have no time. We must find shelter."
Camellia nodded:
— "You're right… the place is dangerous."
But Jason interrupted:
— "What house? They all look the same… and we don't know if any have food, water, or even lights."
There was no choice. They picked a random house that seemed better than the rest, slipped inside, and sealed the doors and windows tightly.
The real shock came when Lily opened the fridge with Ray. Inside, the food was fresh, as if placed there only minutes ago. On the other side, Dante touched a switch and all the lights came on at once. The brightness was harsh. It was startling to find electricity in such an abandoned place.
They all sat in the strangely tidy living room. The couches were clean, the curtains perfectly drawn, and the air smelled artificially fragrant.
Black With smiled as she sorted through the food:
— "Food, water, and light? There must be something strange behind this."
Karem replied in a heavy tone:
— "This is more like a survival test… like a group of mice racing for a piece of cheese."
Camellia looked around and said:
— "This is strange. Why were we brought here, and why us in particular?"
No one knew the answer.
Night fell. The sounds outside began.
A creak… then heavy footsteps, strange murmurs, and the scrape of nails on glass. Jude stood behind the curtain, stealing a glance. The darkness outside seemed alive, moving, breathing.
— "Are we the only ones they brought here?" Jude wondered.
But silence was the only reply.
Lily raised her voice as if to drive the fear away with words:
— "The only thing we need to think about is survival. This is not a dream, nor a game. You saw Laura's face lying on the ground without a body…"
Jason shivered and swallowed hard:
— "Yeah… it's awful… and extremely dangerous."
Karem stepped closer and asked nervously:
— "H…h.. how did you all get here?"
Jason sat down, his eyes clouded by a painful memory, and said:
— "We were at the gambling center as usual. I was waiting to challenge a skilled girl nicknamed the 'Gambling Queen' in a board game. But after long hours of waiting, she never showed up, so we decided to leave. Then a car suddenly stopped in front of us… men wearing wolf and fox masks got out. Ray and I tried to run, but they knocked us out with a blow to the back of the head and dragged us into the car… when we opened our eyes, we found ourselves here."
Jude gasped:
— "The masks again…"
Black With suddenly shouted:
— "Damn it! Those bastards are behind everything—who are they?!"
They looked at her in question, and she continued:
— "I was at a fan signing event… as I was leaving, a man in a formal suit and a strange mask approached. I couldn't tell if it was a donkey mask or a horse mask… I was exhausted, almost hallucinating. He said he wanted an autograph for a disabled fan who couldn't walk, and to protect my reputation in front of the crowd… I agreed. While following him, I found myself in a dark hall before someone attacked me from behind and knocked me unconscious."
Jude said anxiously:
— "Strange… why gather only the rich and famous? Maybe revenge?"
Dante raised his hands and said coolly:
— "Herman and I aren't rich or famous… we're boys from a miserable orphanage, adopted by a family only at the last moment. We don't know how we ended up here."
Outside the house, the scene was even more terrifying. Linda and Elias were stuck in a huge tree, while ghouls circled below them. Their bodies were deformed, their eyes a deadly red, their sounds like growls from the depths of hell.
Elias held Linda's hand and whispered:
— "Stay calm… they're blind, they can't see us. They rely only on our scent and sound."
Linda wept in a trembling voice:
— "I'm scared… exhausted from running… what if they climb up?!"
Elias replied with steady confidence:
— "Don't worry… they can't climb. It will be fine."
But she looked at him with tearful eyes:
— "You were right… if we had all refused from the start… if we had resisted, we wouldn't be here. Rosie and William… they wouldn't have died."
Elias lowered his head and said bitterly:
— "It's too late now… we just have to think about how to survive."
The scene shifted back inside the house. Black With sat staring with disdain at Dante and Herman.
— "From an orphanage? That's… disgusting."
Dante's eyes flared with anger:
— "What do you mean by disgusting?"
She smiled with cold mockery:
— "Yes, disgusting to have people from an orphanage among us."
Fire burned inside him. He stood and shouted:
— "You're truly arrogant… a conceited fool! Do you think we chose to live in an orphanage? Do you think we wanted this life?!"
Herman stood as well, his voice trembling but full of rage:
— "You're awful… I've never seen such rudeness! No one chooses where they are born or live…"
But Black With showed no sign of being affected. She only let out a low laugh, a cold laugh like a knife stabbing the dark.
At that moment, a violent pounding shook the door… then a metallic screech… followed by a piercing scream from outside, a scream not human.
The terror was so intense that everyone fell silent, listening to the sounds that choked the air.
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