Evelyn ran.
Her shoes struck the pavement in an uneven rhythm, one foot landing harder than the other. She barely noticed. Her lungs burned, her throat felt raw, and every few seconds she glanced over her shoulder.
Daniel wasn't there. That didn't mean he'd stopped following her.
She rounded the corner of the humanities building and nearly collided with a student carrying two coffees.
"Whoa! Watch it!"
One cup slipped from his hand. Coffee splashed across the pavement. Evelyn stumbled, caught herself against the wall, and kept moving.
"Hey, are you—"
The student stopped speaking.
She didn't look back.
Her right forearm throbbed. Blood ran down to her wrist, gathering at the edge of her sleeve before dripping onto the pavement.
Daniel had cut her.
After he'd already killed her.
The thought made her stomach twist. She could still remember the knife entering her abdomen. The horrible pressure. The pain that had swallowed everything else.
And afterward—
Nothing.
No.
Not nothing.
Darkness.
She remembered the darkness.
Evelyn forced herself to run faster.
Ahead, the university courtyard was crowded with students. Far too many students. Normally, most of them would have been in lectures at this hour. Instead, people stood in clusters, staring at their phones or arguing with one another.
She heard fragments as she approached.
"—hundred thousand gold, are you serious?"
"There's never been a World Quest before."
"Maybe it's a mistake."
"The System doesn't make mistakes."
Evelyn slowed.
Someone laughed. Someone else was recording a video. A young woman sat on the edge of the fountain, crying while her friend tried to comfort her.
The entire world had received the quest. Everyone knew her name.
But did they know her face?
Evelyn hadn't examined the notification properly. She'd been too busy trying not to die.
She glanced down. Her shirt was soaked in blood.
Not a few stains.
The entire front was dark red, with a ragged hole near her stomach.
A girl passing nearby noticed.
"Oh my God."
Evelyn instinctively covered the hole with her hand.
There was no wound underneath. She knew that. She'd checked.
But the blood remained, and the fabric was torn where Daniel's knife had entered her body.
A young man stepped toward her.
"Hey. Are you okay?"
Evelyn stopped.
He was tall, perhaps a little older than her, with a backpack hanging from one shoulder. His eyes moved from her shirt to her arm.
"Jesus. You're bleeding."
"I'm fine."
Her voice barely worked.
"You're definitely not fine. Do you need an ambulance?"
An ambulance.
Daniel hadn't called one. She'd begged him. She'd been lying on the floor, bleeding, and he'd refused.
Evelyn stepped backward.
"No."
"Are you sure? Because—"
"No!"
The young man raised his hands.
"Okay. Sorry."
She hurried past him.
Behind her, someone said, "Wait. Isn't that—"
Evelyn ran.
She entered the humanities building through a side entrance. The corridor was quieter than the courtyard.
A few students sat along the wall with laptops balanced on their knees. A vending machine hummed beside the stairwell. Somewhere behind a closed classroom door, a lecturer was still speaking.
It all looked painfully normal.
Less than an hour ago, Evelyn had been sitting in a lecture, worrying about an assignment and whether she'd remembered to charge her phone. Now she was covered in her own blood.
And people wanted to kill her.
Not everyone.
She forced herself to remember that. The young man outside had offered to help. He hadn't attacked her.
But he hadn't recognized her, either.
Would he have helped if he had?
She didn't know. That was the problem. She couldn't know.
Evelyn passed a noticeboard covered in advertisements for student housing, language exchanges, and a Halloween party.
A Halloween party.
She stared at the colorful poster. Someone had drawn a smiling cartoon ghost beside the date.
For some reason, that was what finally broke her.
Tears spilled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with her sleeve, leaving a faint red smear across her face.
"Miss?"
Evelyn flinched.
An older woman stood a few steps away, holding the handle of a cleaning trolley. She wore a blue university maintenance uniform. Her grey hair was tied into a loose bun, and reading glasses hung from a cord around her neck.
The woman looked at Evelyn's shirt. Then her arm.
"Oh, sweetheart."
Evelyn backed away.
"Please don't."
The woman stopped immediately.
"Don't what?"
Evelyn opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
Don't come closer.
Don't recognize me.
Don't hurt me.
Don't be another Daniel.
The woman's expression softened.
"All right. I'll stay here."
Evelyn swallowed.
"Is there another way out?"
The woman glanced toward the main entrance.
"There's a service exit at the back. But you need medical attention."
"I can't go outside."
The woman studied her for a moment. Then she pointed toward a narrow passage beside the stairwell.
"Down there. Left at the end, through the double doors. There's a loading area. Usually quiet this time of day."
Evelyn followed the direction of her finger.
"Thank you."
"Wait."
Her entire body tensed.
The woman reached into her pocket. Evelyn recoiled so sharply that her shoulder struck the wall.
The woman froze. Slowly, she withdrew a small packet of tissues.
"Just tissues."
She placed them on the windowsill.
"For your arm."
Evelyn stared at the packet.
The woman stepped back.
"Take them if you want."
After several seconds, Evelyn approached, snatched the tissues, and retreated.
"Thank you," she whispered again.
The woman nodded.
"Be careful, love."
Evelyn turned toward the passage. She made it halfway before the woman spoke again.
"And be careful who you trust."
Evelyn stopped. She looked back.
The woman was already pushing her trolley away.
Had she recognized her? Had she seen the quest? Or had she simply noticed a frightened young woman covered in blood?
Evelyn couldn't tell.
She hurried onward.
The service corridor smelled of cleaning chemicals and cardboard. She passed two storage rooms, a locked electrical cabinet, and a door marked STAFF ONLY.
At the end were the double doors leading outside. Through their narrow windows, she could see a loading area, several dumpsters, and a delivery van.
Nobody was there.
She could leave. She could run.
But where?
Home.
The answer came immediately.
She wanted to go home. She wanted her mother. She wanted to sit on the sofa with Lucy and complain about something stupid. She wanted to hear her father grumbling about the heating bill.
She wanted to be somewhere familiar.
Somewhere safe.
Her phone vibrated. Evelyn nearly dropped it.
For one terrible second, she thought it would be Daniel.
It wasn't.
Mum — 4 missed calls
Dad — 2 missed calls
Lucy — 7 messages
There were others. Hannah. Three classmates. An unfamiliar number.
And Daniel.
She couldn't look at his messages. Not yet.
Her thumb hovered over Lucy's name. She opened the conversation.
Evie???
Have you seen the quest?
Please answer.
Mum is freaking out.
Where are you?
Someone just called the house asking for you.
EVIE PLEASE
The last message had arrived two minutes ago.
Someone had called the house.
Already.
Of course they had. Her full name was on the quest. Finding her family wouldn't be difficult.
They'd lived at the same address for years. Her mother posted photographs on social media. Lucy had a public profile. There were probably dozens of pictures of Evelyn online.
Her stomach tightened.
She pressed the call button. Lucy answered after the second ring.
"EVIE?"
Evelyn tried to speak. Nothing came out.
"Evie? Oh my God, where are you? Mum's been calling you, and Dad's trying to get hold of the police, and there's this thing on everyone's screens, and—"
"Lucy."
Her sister stopped.
"Evie?"
"I'm okay."
The lie sounded absurd.
"Where are you?"
"University."
"Are you coming home?"
Evelyn closed her eyes. She wanted to say yes. More than anything.
But she pictured Daniel standing in their hallway.
Then she imagined someone stronger than Daniel. Someone with a sword. Someone who could break down their front door without even trying.
"No."
"What?"
"I can't."
"Why?"
Evelyn leaned against the wall.
"Because they'll come looking for me."
Lucy was silent.
Then, quietly, "Are you hurt?"
Evelyn looked at her forearm. Blood had soaked through the tissues she'd pressed against it.
"A little."
"What happened?"
"I—"
She remembered Daniel's face. His relief when she'd opened her eyes. The way he'd smiled. The knife in his hand.
"I can't explain right now."
"Evie, you're scaring me."
"I'm scared too."
The words escaped before she could stop them.
For a moment, all Evelyn could hear was her sister breathing.
Then Lucy said, "Come home. Please. We can lock the doors."
Evelyn almost agreed. She could picture the front door. The familiar hallway. Her mother wrapping her in a blanket.
Then she imagined someone knocking.
"No," she whispered.
"Evie—"
"Listen to me. Don't open the door for anyone you don't know. Don't tell anyone where I am. If someone asks, you haven't heard from me."
"Why would someone—"
"Promise me."
Lucy began crying. Evelyn gripped the phone harder.
"Lucy. Please."
"Okay."
"And tell Mum and Dad."
"Okay."
A man's voice sounded faintly in the background. Her father.
Then another sound.
The doorbell.
Lucy stopped speaking. Evelyn straightened.
"Lucy?"
"Someone's here."
Her stomach dropped.
"Don't open it."
"Dad's going to check."
"Lucy, don't—"
A muffled exchange came through the phone. She couldn't make out the words.
Then Lucy said, "They say they're from the Adventurers' Guild."
Evelyn stared at the wall.
The guild.
She'd seen adventurers on television. People who fought monsters and cleared dungeons. People with levels so high that ordinary police officers sometimes needed their help.
They were supposed to protect people.
Weren't they?
"Evie?"
She didn't answer.
"They say they can keep us safe."
Evelyn thought of Daniel.
I'm trying to help you.
She closed her eyes.
"Don't tell them where I am."
"I don't know where you are!"
"Good."
"Evie, what am I supposed to do?"
Evelyn had no answer.
She was twenty-one years old. She'd never even lived on her own.
What was she supposed to tell her little sister about dealing with people who could kill monsters?
"Stay with Mum and Dad," she whispered.
"Please call again."
"I will."
"Promise?"
Her throat tightened.
"I promise."
She ended the call. Then she stood in the empty corridor, staring at her phone.
For a long time, she didn't move.
The phone rang again.
Mum.
Evelyn stared at the name. Her thumb moved toward the answer button.
She wanted to hear her mother's voice. Wanted to tell her everything. That Daniel had hurt her. That she'd been so frightened. That something impossible had happened and she didn't understand any of it.
The ringing stopped.
A second later, a message appeared.
Please call me, sweetheart. We just want to know you're safe.
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears. She began typing.
I'm okay. I love you.
She looked at the words. Then deleted I'm okay.
She wasn't okay. She didn't know if she ever would be.
She typed again.
I love you. Please stay with Dad and Lucy. Don't tell anyone where I am.
She sent it. Then she switched her phone to silent.
The service corridor was still empty. The double doors were only a few meters away.
She could go outside. But the moment she did, someone might see her. Someone might recognize the blood. Someone might ask her name.
She looked down at her clothes. At the dark stains. At the torn fabric.
She couldn't walk through the city like this.
She needed somewhere to hide. Somewhere to think. Somewhere she could stop shaking long enough to decide what came next.
Evelyn turned away from the exit. She walked back along the corridor and tried the first storage-room door.
Locked.
She tried the second. The handle turned.
Inside, she could see shelves, cardboard boxes, cleaning supplies, and old furniture.
No people. No windows facing the courtyard.
Just a small, forgotten room.
Evelyn stepped inside and pulled the door shut. For a moment, she stood with her back against it.
Then she slid slowly to the floor.
Her phone vibrated silently in her hand. She didn't look.
Outside, someone laughed. A door opened and closed. Footsteps passed along the corridor.
The university continued around her as though nothing had happened.
Evelyn pressed her forehead against her knees.
She wanted to go home.
But someone had already reached it before her.
And she had no idea what they would do to her family if she refused to come back.