(NATHANIEL) The bus hummed and rocked slightly as it drove down the road.
Opening up my backpack, I decided to take a break from doomscrolling and pulled out a pack of Twizzlers.
The moment I opened the bag, a hand from a certain glutton instantly manifested.
Looking at the hand that came from behind me, I followed it to its owner and saw a pair of puppy-dog eyes staring at me expectantly.
Amy was listening to music but took out her headphones and looked at us for a moment.
Then she stretched out a hand as well.
Hers, however, held an offering of a few Tic Tacs.
I waited until Sammy’s gaze wandered to Amy’s offering and, in a quick movement, used his lack of attention to give her a Twizzler while taking the Tic Tacs for myself.
Sammy had no time to react or grab the offering, as Amy instantly took the Twizzlers and began munching.
“Uggg… you guys are so greedy.
Come on, just one.” he groaned as Liam chuckled beside him.
“Yeah, and then that one will turn into two, then three, then ‘Don’t be greedy and give me just one more’.” I retorted, popping the Tic Tacs into my mouth.
“He has a perfectly valid point, y’know.” Liam agreed, and I turned to him and gave a thumbs-up.
“I won’t!
I swear, it’s all good.
Come on, I’m super generous.” Looking him up and down suspiciously, I glanced at the bag.
‘There are 12 left… hmm.
Am I foolish enough to give him one and suffer the consequences?’ I looked at him and smiled, he in turn smiled back serenely.
Then I took a Twizzler and saw his eyes light up ever so slightly.
Of course, they darkened a bit as I licked the Twizzler.
“There ya go.” When I finally offered it, I saw a calculating look cross his face.
He snatched it, wiped it down, and shoved it into his mouth in one instant.
Happily munching on his prize, Sammy opened his eyes and looked confused when he saw our disgusted faces.
Even Amy grimaced, which was uncharacteristic, since she usually didn’t care about these stupid “boy” things, but even she found it gross.
“Game’s game.” he said simply.
“You gross little gremlin.” I commented, taking one more Twizzler before putting the bag somewhere safer.
“Sorry, but why call me a gremlin and then a—wait, I actually didn’t hear it” Sammy said, leaning closer.
But I had no more comments I was willing to say to the extortionist.
(MARTIN) The bus stopped, and I was the last to step out.
Covering my eyes from the sun, I looked for my group of traitors.
I didn’t bother listening to most of the professor’s speech, but I did know we had an hour to mess around before the aquarium.
‘What’s even fun about an aquarium?
Just fish… though Sammy does like the sea and all that, so he’ll probably have fun.’ After the crowd dispersed, the rest of our group gathered to plan.
“Alright, me, Nate, and Amy have plans to visit this great kebab shop.
As you know, we are culinary experts, so we’re ready to taste those delicacies.” Sammy proudly declared, Amy and Nate nodded enthusiastically.
“Since when was a kebab a delicacy?” Steven pointed out, earning three dirty looks.
Smartly, Steven backed away and hid behind me, while Damian checked his phone, smiled, and looked at us.
“Alright, lads, let’s go to the arcade.
I heard they got Pac-Man in that bih.” He didn’t really ask, it was more like he ordered.
I, however, had a soft spot for arcades, so I instantly agreed.
“Finally, something we can agree on.” Liam frowned.
“Are you still that salty about the game?” “Are you still dating Sammy?” I smirked, and Liam snarled.
“Haa… for the ten trillionth time, I’ll explain this to your barbarian brain.
I was mad that he took first place in the race and accidentally said… well, you know what.” “Fucking him to death?” Steven said matter-of-factly.
Holding back a laugh, I watched Liam redden slightly.
“Why, you lit— Hey, Sammy, tell the—” He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed the three food reviewers were gone.
He looked around, then put a palm over his face.
“So… you rolling with us or?” Damian asked.
Liam wasn’t much of a food guy, so he nodded.
“Calamity of…” I looked at Steven and raised a brow.
“Didn’t catch that.” Steven tilted his head.
“I didn’t say anything.” “You 100% did.” Steven stared at me for a moment before sighing.
“So… you sure you got enough sleep?” Sighing, I followed Damian along with Liam, while Steven trailed behind us as we made our way to the arcade.
As we walked past the rows of shops and food stalls, I spotted two guys and a girl holding hands and happily prancing toward a kebab shop.
‘Damn it, now I wanna try it.’ We headed to an escalator and finally saw the large glass doors that led to the arcade.
The floor had plenty of small drawings on it—rockets, trains, and spaceships.
Looking around, there truly was a vast array of machines.
We got to the front desk and bought tickets from the polite lady at the counter.
Damian and Liam went to the game where you push the puck into the opponent’s goal, though I couldn’t remember the name.
“Hey, wanna play Zombie Slayer?” I asked, looking for Steven, but the bastard had already gone off to play a racing game in one of those car simulators.
I went to Zombie Slayer, put in a ticket, and started the game.
As it began, I ignored the text explaining the setting.
“Destruction…” I whipped my head around quickly.
Behind me were only people playing arcade games and no one was there.
A cold sweat came over me as I took a deep breath…
when I looked back at the screen, I forgot how to breathe.
There was no game, machine, hell, there was no floor, all I saw was a vast, dark plain, it felt like I was standing on a river of polluted black water.
Looking around, I saw twisting tree branches protruding from the surface, each one dwarfing me in size.
Gulping audibly, I focused on a faraway figure, the moment i blinked, the figure closed an impossible distance before i could even register any movment.
Before me stood a man at least twenty feet tall.
He wore a bloodied mantle of blackened steel and his eyes were red, they held no warmth, only predatory malice, bloodlust unlike anything I’d ever seen and no sense of reason.
He stretched out a hand, and from his mouth came a voice like a million blades scraping together, while burning in a furnace of blazing fire.
“Origin of Disaster… Ruler of…” The figure paused and looked upward, as if something returned to it for a moment.
It looked downward, the instant its eyes met mine, the arcade snapped back into existence.
My hands still held the plastic rifle, shaking violently.
A shallow breath left my lips as my mind swirled.
My senses felt sharper, which could probably be caused due to adrenaline.
Falling to my knees, the gun slipped from my hands and hit the floor with a thud.
‘What… what…’ I gasped, barely able to breathe.
My eyes darted everywhere, every silhouette turning into that towering figure.
Through my heightened senses, I heard footsteps rushing toward me.
Snapping my head up i saw Steven reaching out, worry written all over his face.
“You good?
You’re as pale as a ghost.” I opened my mouth to explain, but there was…
nothing…
i couldn’t remember a thing…
Looking at the Zombie Slayer machine, I tried to recall what happened, but my mind was blank.
‘Was it… scary?
Like hell it was!’ The fact that I even thought something that absurd scared me more than forgetting.
‘Were my thoughts misguided?
Or did I mislead myself?
Can that even happen?
It sounds plausible… right?’ ‘But does it?
Are my thoughts being twisted by some mental illness?’ “…you hear me?” Steven’s voice pulled me back to reality, and this time, I actually remembered what he said.
‘Nate also said something strange to me at the bus stop… Is it possible he’s dealing with something terrible too…?’ (SAMMY) “No, obviously the Toyota 86 is the better option.” Nate said as he took a bite from his mixed döner wrap.
His expression instantly softened.
Sighing at my friend’s foolishness, I reached over to steal a fry from Amy’s tray.
She slapped my hand away instantly, clearly trained to fight for her food from having three brothers.
‘Damn.’ Biting into the köfte on my skewer with a slice of red paprika, I continued the argument.
“First of all, you’re biased ’cause it’s cheaper.
The Subaru BRZ is just a little more expensive.” Amy finished her bite and jumped in.
“I agree with Nate.
They’re basically the same, but the Toyota’s a bit quicker.” “You two are perfect for each other—cheap skates.” I looked at my empty plate while they were only halfway done.
“Why are you eating so slowly?” Nate sighed after swallowing.
“Y’know, with how well you swallow, you’re gonna make Liam really happy one day.” I stared at him and threw my skewer stick, which he dodged.
“Almighty… Creator…” I frowned.
“Why are you whispering?” Nate ignored me and happily kept eating.
But how could he talk normally while chewing?
Was that some skill true food reviewers had?
Of course i wasn’t impressed for long, his eyes looked slightly to the side and his face froze.
Raising a brow i looked toward the same direction and there was a… spider… I looked at him with the best pity ridden face i could msuter “Are you still scared of them?
Your almost a grown ass man.” Nate looked at me with a nauseated face, but after looking at his food, his fear of spiders was under control, after all he had spent money on food, so he wasn’t gonna waste it and run out of the store.
‘Oh…’ I smiled and looked at him “Hey if—” “Not a chance.” “Tsk.” (DAMIAN) Looking at the scoreboard and Liam’s fumes, I happily took the win in stride.
Of course, I tried not to gloat.
Really, really tried.
“…Anarchy…” I turned both ways, confused, then looked at Liam.
“What did you call me?” “A cheater!
You can’t hit the puck that hard!
I barely have time to react!” Smiling, I examined the board.
“You did react, though.
Just seven times—but hey, that’s good compared to my seventeen.” The look on his face said it all as he turned to another game.
Then he stopped mid-step and turned back.
“How the… how did you whisper to me?” he asked, louder this time.
‘I can’t whisper that loudly from that far away.’ Slightly disturbed but not too concerned, I yelled so he could hear me.
“Are you so mad you’re imagining things?” Liam snarled.
“Are you a dick by choice, or did the money get to your head?” ‘Alright, that’s it.’ I dropped the puck and sprinted at him.
Liam smiled nervously and ran.
(NARRATION) The two groups that were together at the beginning, now went their separate ways and explored more shops.
Sammy left the other two to help Liam escape Damian, and along the way, the pair found a photo booth and decided to mess around inside it.
Martin and Steven sat together in a small coffee shop.
Martin was still deeply disturbed by the thing that had occured arcade, and Steven tried to calm his friend down.
“So, you were playing Zombie Slayer, and all of a sudden you remember nothing?” Steven asked, like a psychiatrist trying not to upset his patient.
The red-haired youth nodded and stared into his macchiato.
‘He’s also been hearing strange whispers, but he can’t recall what they said… just like me… Is it some sort of toxic gas?’ Steven scrunched his face and dismissed the idea, lost in thought.
‘No, there are HVAC systems in place.
I don’t think a prestigious mall like this would allow something like carbon monoxide to build up.
Plus, I saw several sensors around the areas we visited.’ Sweat rolled down his forehead as he failed to reach a logical conclusion.
Sure, he believed in the supernatural—but would a spirit or whatever target a random group of people?
‘Maybe it’s a gas buildup… No, regulations require safe materials and regular maintenance checks to prevent hazards plus there’s ventilation everywhere.
I can rule out toxic gas.’ ‘Maybe a shared hallucination…?
Ugh… nothing makes sense.’ “…Knowledge… Arcana…” Hearing the strange whispers again, Steven tried not to react, not wanting to worsen Martin’s mental state.
Both boys snapped out of their thoughts when Steven’s watch beeped, signaling that their hour of free time was over.
With small sighs, they downed their drinks in one go, left a tip, and exited the coffee shop.
Camera clicks echoed inside a photo booth.
As Amy and Nathaniel stepped out, they reviewed their pictures and chuckled, Amy slipped them into her purse and checked the time.
As she did, her ears seemed to flutter slightly.
“…ity of All.” She glanced at Nate, who was counting the cash in his wallet with a calculating look.
Since she couldn’t even remember what the words were, she ignored it.
The two headed down the escalator.
It looked like they were the last to arrive, Amy went ahead while Nate froze in place.
‘Wha… where’s my coin?’ He checked his pockets and fanny pack.
‘Where did I put it?
Wait… I showed it to Sammy in the kebab shop earlier and stuck it in my shirt pocket.’ Searching again, he sighed in relief when he found it.
‘Phew, thank goodness.
If I’d lost it, I’d have been in serious trouble.
Dad would’ve given me a severe talking-to.’ The coin was silver.
On the front was a simple head, on the back, an armored man riding a horse.
Already exhausted from the day, he just hoped it would be over soon.
‘Hopefully there won’t be any incidents.’ He looked at Amy walking ahead and decided to put the strange events behind him… He failed to notice that the coin—which had been showing heads—had now flipped to tails.
But even if he had noticed, nothing could have changed.
After all, ‘He’ had already set the dominoes in motion.
__________________________ Author’s Note: What a fun trip everyone’s having, Does everyone have a guess at what’s gonna happen next Chapter?
If you have questions feel free to ask!