The apartment smells like betrayal.
Arden knows that smell. Recognizes it. Sex and lies and the death of something that mattered.
She stands in the doorway. Keys in hand. Still wearing her coat. Still believing—until three seconds ago that she had a life worth living.
The red couch. Their red couch. The one they bought together. The one where they watched movies. Where they talked about the future. Where they made promises.
Marcus is on that couch.
Not alone.
Lira.
Her sister. Blonde hair tangled. Skin flushed. Eyes wide with shock that mirrors Arden's.
For forty-seven seconds, nobody moves.
Arden counts them. One. Two. Three. Old habit. Terrible habit. The habit that defined her at twelve years old. Standing on a dock. Watching her sister drown.
Counting.
Always counting.
Forty-seven seconds then. Forty-seven seconds now.
Some patterns never break.
"Arden." Marcus finds his voice first. Scrambles. Pulls on his shirt. "This isn't. I can explain—"
"Don't." One word. Flat. Empty.
Lira sits up. Doesn't bother covering herself. Just. Stares. Defiant. Guilty. Triumphant.
"How long?" Arden asks.
"Does it matter?"
"How. Long."
"Six months." Lira's voice. Not Marcus's. Lira admitting it. Owning it. "Since your book launched. Since you got busy. Since you stopped paying attention."
Six months. Half a year. While Arden was writing. Editing. Promoting. Working.
While she was building a career. They were destroying a relationship.
"Get out," Arden says.
"Arden—"
"Both of you. Now."
Marcus grabs his pants. His shoes. Doesn't look at her. Can't look at her.
Lira takes her time. Dressing slowly. Making Arden wait. Making her watch.
"You'll forgive me," Lira says. Casual. Certain. "You always do. You forgave me for drowning. You'll forgive me for this."
Arden's hands clench. Jaw tight.
"I never forgave you for drowning. I forgave myself for letting it happen. There's a difference."
Lira flinches. First real emotion. First crack in the defiance.
Then she leaves. Marcus behind her. Door closing.
Silence.
Arden stands there. In the apartment that's suddenly too big. Too empty. Too full of ghosts.
She should cry. Should scream. Should break something.
Instead she counts.
One. The bookshelf Marcus built. Two. The coffee table Lira picked out. Three. The photos on the wall. Happy lies.
She stops counting at forty-seven. Always forty-seven.
Her phone buzzes. Text message.
Unknown number.
You've been chosen. Bus 000. Tonight. Midnight. Corner of Boylston and Tremont. Don't be late.
Arden stares at it. Reads it twice. Three times.
Spam. Has to be spam. Weird spam. Creepy spam.
She deletes it.
Packs a bag. Clothes. Laptop. Passport. Phone charger. The essentials of running away.
Leaves the keys on the hall table. Laptop on the desk. Everything else behind.
Walks out into Boston rain.
Cold. November. Night coming fast.
She walks. No destination. Just. Away.
Away from the apartment. Away from the betrayal. Away from the life she thought she had.
At 11:47 PM, she finds herself at Boylston and Tremont.
Coincidence. Has to be coincidence.
Except.
The bus stop. Number 000 on the sign. Never seen that number before. Never knew it existed.
And at 11:52, the bus arrives.
Black. Sleek. Wrong.
No route number on the front. No driver visible through the windshield. Just. Darkness.
The doors open.
Arden hesitates. Counts. One. Two. Three.
"Don't."
She turns.
A man. Late twenties. Dark hair. Sharp features. Standing in the rain. Not using an umbrella. Just. There.
"Don't board that bus," he says.
"Why not?"
"Because once you get on, you can't get off. Not until the Game ends. Not until you win or die. Whichever comes first."
"Who are you?"
"Someone who knows what that bus is. Where it goes. What waits at the end."
He steps closer. Close enough that she can see his eyes. Sad eyes. Old eyes. Eyes that have seen too much.
"My name is Kael Draven. I've been riding that bus for a long time. Longer than you'd believe. And I'm telling you. Walk away. Go home. Forget you saw this."
"I don't have a home anymore."
"Then find a new one. But not on that bus."
Arden looks at the bus. At the open doors. At the darkness inside.
Looks at her life. At the betrayal. At the forty-seven seconds of paralysis that defined her childhood and haunts her still.
"What if I want to get on?"
"Then you're either very brave or very broken. And I'm not sure which is worse."
"Maybe both."
She steps toward the bus.
Kael grabs her arm. "You don't understand. The Game. It's not a game. It's hell. It's death. It's losing everything that makes you human. I've seen people board that bus. Seen what comes back. If they come back."
"Then why are you here? If it's so terrible. Why are you getting on?"
He hesitates. Lets go of her arm.
"Because I don't have a choice. Not anymore. But you do. You still have a choice."
"No." Arden looks at him. At his sad, old eyes. "I don't think I do."
She boards the bus.
Kael follows. Like he knew he would. Like this conversation was just delay. Not prevention.
The doors close.
The bus moves.
Reality breaks.
They were on a street in Boston. Rain. Traffic lights. Normal world.
Now they're.
Nowhere.
Black space. Nothing above or below. Just void.
"Where are we?" Arden whispers.
"Between." Kael sits across from her. Resigned. Tired. "Between your world and theirs. Between alive and dead. Between everything."
Other passengers appear. Not boarding. Just. Materializing. Forty-five of them. Different ages. Different backgrounds. All looking confused. Terrified.
"Welcome." A voice. Female. Cheerful. Wrong.
A woman appears at the front of the bus. Tall. Beautiful. Wearing a red sequined dress. Smile too wide. Eyes too bright.
"Welcome to Bus 000. I'm your host. Your guide. Your executioner if necessary. You may call me Miranda Magnificent."
She spreads her arms. Theatrical. Delighted.
"You've been chosen. Selected. Invited to play the greatest Game ever created. Seven Stations. Seven challenges. Seven chances to die and come back and die again."
A man stands. Older. Business suit. "This is a mistake. I don't—"
Miranda snaps her fingers.
The man stops talking. Just. Stops. Mouth open. Eyes wide. Frozen.
"No interruptions during the introduction. House rules."
She walks down the aisle. High heels clicking. Examining passengers.
"Forty-seven players. Forty-seven souls. Forty-seven chances to entertain."
She stops at Arden. Leans close. Smells like copper and roses.
"Horror writer. How delicious. You create nightmares for a living. Let's see how you survive them."
She moves on. Continues her speech.
"The rules are simple. Survive each Station. Reach the exit. Move to the next. Do this seven times. Reach Station Zero. Win the Game. Go home."
"What if we die?" Someone asks. Woman. Young. Terrified.
"Then you resurrect. In Terminal Zero. Our lovely waiting room. You lose a memory. A piece of yourself. A fragment of who you were. But you get to try again. Keep trying until you're Empty. Until there's nothing left to lose."
"Empty?" Arden asks.
Miranda smiles. Shark smile. Predator smile.
"Empty. No memories. No personality. No self. Just. Walking. Breathing. Existing. We have several Empties. Useful for maintenance. Cleaning. Occasionally entertainment."
She claps her hands.
"But let's not think about that. Let's think about winning. About surviving. About going home to your lovely lives."
The bus shudders. Stops.
"We've arrived. Terminal Zero. Your home base. Your prison. Your nightmare."
The doors open.
Darkness outside. Then. Light. Sudden. Blinding.
Arden steps off the bus.
Into hell.