So many things happened at the same time. It's hard to put them into words. A silence that needs to be described at length. I sleep when the light goes out. But this story keeps going, says my dream while I'm hanging from the tree. The moment before the sound
BANG
takes over the world.
A moment to look back.
Elias – A Moment Before the Bang
If even one thing goes wrong, they'll pay for it. They'll start questioning their own lives. I'm already struggling to hold this all together, so I better say my next line. So far, everything has gone well. I should be proud.
"Blane is our first victim, as you can see. She's hanging from the tree before the countless thorns. Will she survive this? Thanks for watching and-"
One of the cameramen accidentally walks into the frame. Everyone watching live can now see him—right there, between me and Zane.
No. This can't be happening. I hired him to help. He's a professional. I've known him for years.
I reach into my pocket for my gun. The cameraman tries to quickly step out of view. But for me, it's too late. One of the last TV shows in the world is live, and this happens.
I aim. He doesn't notice. As he keeps walking, I slowly curl my finger around the trigger. I press gently, and the gun fires. The sound echoes everywhere—in the studio, but also in the darker world.
BANG.
The sound. The bullet hit his head, and the person fell to the ground. Screaming as he fell, blood spilled across the floor—so fresh, so wet.
He deserved it. You don't mess up the show, or you're done. That's clear now. I decide to say it on camera.
"Anyone who ruins my show? You're gone. All the time I've put into this must be done right. Let that be crystal clear," I say with confidence to the camera.
Zane, sitting with a confused look of frustration.
Zane – A Moment Before the Bang
Honestly, I'm starting to get used to it. Everything is flowing smoothly. And no—the idea isn't okay. But I have no choice anymore.
I glance at Elias, who built all of this. It's impressive in a twisted way. But why this intention? Why couldn't it just be actors? What if someone dies live on camera? Can it be fixed?
I finish my line quickly, my eyes fixed on Blane. I feel for her—there's no turning back now.
I remember the photos again. Maybe I have more power than I thought. What if I just slipped away one night?
Elias followed up: "Blane is our first victim, as you can see. She's hanging from the tree before the countless thorns. Will she survive this? Thanks for watching and-"
And then I see him—a cameraman stepping into the frame. Why? I don't know. But it's so suspicious. Black-brown curls, stumbling forward like he tripped.
I look at Elias for answers, then see his hand in his pocket. What's in there? This is all very suspicious. A panic shiver hits me again. Then he pulls out a weapon.
I freeze.
The cameraman doesn't even realize, trying to step behind the scenes again.
Elias effortlessly aims the gun at him. No one reacts, almost like they already knew.
Then—
BANG.
The sound was so loud that my ears lost balance for a moment. The body collapsed. A scream. A pool of blood.
I hear Elias say something, but it's all a blur for me. Still, I better focus... or I'm next.
"I... I want to make it clear—don't interrupt our work. Now, back to what Elias... said. Thank you for watching. We'll be right back when the next victim appears," I say, trembling with fear.
I still can't believe this happened. The body is cleared away by the team. Everything is silent. It all seems so normal. I have to act like everything is fine... or I'm next.
Meanwhile... Parents Are Watching
Blane's Mom – A Moment Before
The commercial ended, the outro melody fading out. The presenters sat still. An intro began playing. Then—the lights turned on.
Zane appeared, glowing with purple hair. Elias looked confident, mysterious. It caught me off guard—how simple, but well-made it all was. It made me forget my own reality, forget about my daughter. I was so absorbed in this.
The details. The quality. The music tones. The camera work—so revolutionary. My face expressed all emotions. The lights were so bright, like moonlight.
Then Zane said: "Welcome back from the break. Looks like Blane is ready — though she doesn't even know she chose to be here."
Blane? My daughter?
No. No no. This can't be real. The commercial didn't lie.
She's in this show? When did this happen? I wonder, as I realize I was just asleep.
Then Elias spoke again, with all certainty in the world: "Blane is our first victim, as you can see. She's hanging from the tree before the countless thorns. Will she survive this? Thanks for watching and—"
And there she was—hanging in the upper corner of the screen. While the rest of the screen showed that dark world. My daughter. Hanging.
"AAAAAAAAH!" I scream through the room. I slap the screen where Blane appears. My husband wakes up from the noise.
"Blane, our daughter... she's in that dark TV show. She... she might die," I cry out, breaking into tears.
"WHAT? Are you serious?" He rubs his eyes, now wide open.
We both start to flip out.
Then Elias pulls out a gun.
BANG.
The cameraman—dead.
Live on screen.
That's when we knew—this is no act. This is real.
The Cameraman Before He Died
I want to focus my camera more on Zane, that beautiful girl, and Elias, the tough guy. First, it goes pretty smoothly. I've known Elias for a long time. I know his style. We even studied the same subjects at school. When I heard he was working on this project, I couldn't wait.
But then a ball rolls across the floor. I see Elias do it, and it confuses me. But I decide not to pay attention and keep filming.
No one notices the ball rolling across the floor. Elias is still talking, and everything goes so fast, it feels like time is slipping.
The ball slowly slips under my feet. My foot trips over it, so I quickly jump forward. The ball disappears into the darkness.
I quickly decide to go back to my spot. Then, suddenly, I hear Elias' sentence cut off. I see in a mirror that he's aiming a gun.
I try to yell to save myself. But it's too late. The bullet hits me. I didn't hear the shot. As I fall to the ground, I feel so much pain that I can't even scream.
I reach quickly into my coat pocket for a photo with Elias, and a tear slips down my face.
Elias
I'm so disappointed in him. I expected much more. Now I have to handle him like it's nothing. He stumbled over nothing. How could that happen?
???
The white glow lets one of the strongest relationships fall. Because pain is something everyone deserves except for me.
Blane
The shot sounded so loud. So loud that even the ravens flinched. The atmosphere grew even more sinister. The realization that I'm still alive hit me. I was scared that I was shot. But... no.
But I've been hanging here for a while. It started to dawn on me that there were skeleton heads sticking out from under the thorns. A rat came along and started chewing on a corpse, joined by many other insects. This happened often.
I can't escape this. Sometimes I thought about killing myself, but my courage keeps me strong. I will and want to survive, I think. Although deep down, I know I can't be sure. So the game continues.
The shot sounded promising there. But Zane and Elias said they had to be careful and not mess up. It sounded like they deliberately shot next to the person.
Because no one screamed for help. They were so confident. As if I shouldn't worry. But of course, I don't know anything about that. I have no choice. My fate is in their hands. I can only hope that nothing serious happened.
Zane and Elias said they'll only come back when the next victim appears. Luckily, I'm not the only one here. Though I'll probably have to be alone for a while. Maybe not that long... or maybe forever. It's always a mystery. But—
PLONG.
A drop of blood interrupts my thoughts. It falls like a rocket to the ground. It happens every five seconds.
I want to get out of here. So I can at least be sure I'm going to make it. It's all so new, but still terrifying.
Suddenly, I see the bushes moving. Like a slow rhythm for a song. Although there's definitely no song. The bushes even get a little color from it.
Who's there? The next victim?
It's all so confusing.
OOOAOH.
I hear it in the distance. It's exactly to distract me.
When I look, I see absolutely nothing. Everything happens so fast, I think.
The bushes move faster. The rhythm accelerates. The atmosphere changes quickly.
I keep staring at how the thorns betray each other.
How the cameras don't break, and this is happening as if they knew all along. Strange, I think again. A few rats quickly scurry away from the bushes. A big mess, but the tree keeps aging. The blood starts moving under my feet.
I want to scream for help. But it won't matter. It's no secret—I'm stuck. The person who's coming? They'll catch me, while the locks hold me as if forever.
Who is that...?