Warning: Violence is depicted in this chapter.

        Fighting to open her eyes, Ava gasped loudly, her breaths heavy as she slowly rose from the ground. Her mind felt clear, detached from what she had just witnessed. I hope I do not die a second time. It was an emotional roller coaster. For a heartbeat, she truly believed she was dying. she still feels hollow and shaken.

A muted, irregular sound reached her ears. She turned. catching sight of the first murder of the night. The grass shears lay in the distance. The woman stood over Lily, her posture unhurried. In her hand was a rock, lifted and lowered with a measured rhythm. Each time the stone descended, it returned to the same fragile place, guided with unsettling care. The sound was low, dense, wrong, as if something inside Lily were being slowly undone. The woman did not rush. She corrected her grip, adjusted her aim, and let the motion repeat, calm and precise. Lily’s arms, already losing strength, struggled blindly, searching for her weapon. The flowers she could not bear to pluck earlier were scattered across the ground, stems broken, Petals clung to her tangled hair, held there by a dark, tacky liquid. 

The sight and the smell were unbearable.

True crime documentaries Ava had watched could not convey the horror and helplessness Lily must have been feeling at that moment. Ava, knowing nothing she could do would change anything in the slightest, had to stand there, eyes wide open, as Lily stopped moving. The woman stood up, still holding the stone that was softer than her heart, and started walking in a hurry toward the direction where the boy had run earlier.

“Baby, where did you go? Why are you upset? Don’t you like playing and having fun?”

It was over. She was going to bring him here to kill him too, then play the victim, pretending to be a witness terrified by what happened to her nephew who ran away in the middle of the night. Ava was expecting the worst when a low voice that was not supposed to be heard again frightened her—’STOP’— but the woman did not seem to hear it. She kept moving forward.

Ava watched in disbelief as Lily took the shears in her hand, reached the woman in a second, and slammed her to the ground. Her hand moved once, precise and brief.

“I told you to stop talking to him.”

The woman stiffened, not in pain exactly, but in surprise. Her mouth opened on a breath that did not quite arrive. Words tried to form and failed, breaking into a thin, wet rasp.

Lying on the ground, helpless as Lily had been moments earlier, her eyes remained clear, fixed on Lily with a dawning awareness that came too late. Her hands rose to her throat, fingers pressing, searching for a way to stop the intruding, rusty blades from moving and making her survival impossible. Each inhale grew shorter than the last, shallow and uneven, her chest working harder for less.

Lily drew the blades out without batting an eye. The woman’s eyes opened even wider in shock that Lily would go even further.

“You like having fun, right? I’ll have fun with you now.”

Lily’s eyes reflected her madness, bloodshot with enlarged pupils. She used the rock from earlier and smashed the woman’s hands.

“You laid these filthy hands of yours on him, right? Let’s see if you can do that anymore.”

Fingers bent where they should not, joints shifting out of their familiar order.

Returning to the shears, she locked eyes with the terrified woman, with a wide smile sending shivers down the spine.

“That’s not enough fun for you, right? I know, let’s play a little longer.”

Then her hands rose high and fell. The blades pressed in until the skin split with a soft tear, like fabric being pulled apart. She repeated the same motion until pale coils were revealed, glistening under the streetlight. She did not stop until she heard the police sirens, throwing the shears aside.

“It took you long enough.”, looking at the twitching body and the puddle of blood ruining the scenery of the beautiful flower bed. She wondered outloud, “Can this still be considered self-defense? Will I be able to go finish the exam in the morning? And my injuries—” She used her soaking hand to touch her head, and a puzzled expression appeared on her face. “Why doesnt it hu— “

Finnaly going out of her state of madness, she noticed what made Ava scared.

“Huh, no wonder I had all that strength now, when I couldn’t even touch her earlier.”

She laughed as she approached the cold corpse, gently touching the unrecognizable face.

Ava stood there as the police flooded the scene. Lily, with a bitter smile and red tears flowing down her unnaturally pale cheeks, covered what was once her face with the flowers she had damaged while resisting, whispering, “You’ve worked hard.”

Returning to the present, all the players were frozen in place, unmistakably shaken by what they had just witnessed.

Player 5, drained of strength, collapsed near Ava’s feet, strugling to breath. Blood smeared his hands as he stared at them in disbelief, his usual calm demeanor completely gone. Ava guessed ealier in the evening he doesnt tolerate the sight of blood, She handed him the wipes she had just retrieved fom her belongings to clean the scratches left by her nails when she used the laces, then offered him a water bottle.

“You owe me,” she said quietly. “If we meet in another level, you help me.”

The sound of heels clicking echoed through the deep night, sharp and deliberate, accompanied by a sweet voice— Lily’s voice.

“Now that hunting time is over, let’s play a little game and have some fun. I’ll give you one minute. You hide. If I find you… well, I’ll repeat what just happened to those two—To you.”

Lily stood beneath the streetlight, her red gown still spotless, free of any suspicious stains. Her hair fell neatly over her shoulders, beautifully styled. The contrast was unsettling, especially with the red, hunched body lying at her feet.

The players exchanged glances. Since this was the present they were visible to her. The young girl whose corpse had been unrecognizable moments ago now stood before them, whole and composed, urging them to play a twisted game of hide and seek. 

A game with a vengeful ghost could only end one way.

Just as panic pushed them to run, Lily waved a dismissive hand.

“Don’t mind me, guys. This is between me and this thing. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

She gestured toward the figure beside her. Upon closer inspection, it was the woman from yesterday.

“Ready? Now go.”

She closed her eyes and began to count down from 60.

“…45, 44… 13…5…2,1.”

When she opened her eyes, the woman was gone.

“I’m coming.”

From a distance, Ava watched, not daring to move closer. Lily’s heels struck the ground again as she circled the roundabout and entered the alley. Her footsteps stopped. A knocking sound followed.

“Knock, knock,” she said calmly. “Our game of hide and seek is about to end.”

The slow, creeping sound of opening the bin was loud.

“Looks like I’ve won.”

Amid the woman’s chilling screams, Lily’s calm voice reached their ears clearly.

“You’re not very good at hiding. This is a recycling bin. You’re contaminating it.”

The screams grew quieter until they stopped. Distracted by what was happening, Ava noticed the change in the scene too late. Police cars had entered the empty street.

“Freeze. Hands in the air.”

 Not wanting to die for a second time, she chose to listen to them.

Really. I am being arrested in a stupid game. System is this what you meant by a unique emmersive experience why i am not liking this?

As she was guided into the car, Lily suddenly stood close to her, far closer than the safe distance from a ghost. Close enough that Ava felt her presence like pressure on the skin.

‘Do not show him the photos’, Lily whispered.

‘The surprise was ruined by this unfortunate happening.’