The pale light inside the room flickered slightly as Eva sat cross-legged on the floor, her fingers anxiously pulling at the edge of her hospital gown. Valeria, Isabel, and Leila stood quietly, watching her with wide eyes. Outside the room, behind the thick one-way glass, Kai and Cody waited, slumped on the hallway bench beneath buzzing fluorescent lights.
"So," Eva began, her voice soft but strained, "you really saw it? The ferris wheel?"
Leila nodded slowly. "Every detail. The bolts snapping, the screams, the... the people inside—crushed."
"That's how it starts," Eva muttered. "It shows you the horror. Then it gives you the illusion of hope." She looked up at them. "But Death always takes what it's owed."
Isabel's arms were crossed, but her voice trembled. "We thought we'd broken the chain by skipping the ride."
"You only delayed it." Eva stood now, walking to the small wall where she'd drawn a timeline in faint pencil. "There's a pattern. Like in mine. One by one, according to the seats, the movements, the actions taken during the vision."
Valeria pointed to a name scribbled faintly. "That's Kai, isn't it?"
Eva nodded grimly. "He's next."
"What happens if we protect him? Lock him in a vault?" Leila asked desperately.
Eva looked at her. "Death finds a way. It's never about safety. It's about disruption. It needs the chain to stay broken. If he's skipped again, the order moves… violently."
They all fell silent.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from outside the room.
They all jumped. Isabel ran to the door and pulled it open.
"Kai?" she shouted.
Cody was on the ground outside the room, struggling to his feet. "It—it came out of nowhere! The light just exploded!"
"Kai?" Leila screamed, bolting down the hallway.
In the center of the corridor, Kai's body lay twisted unnaturally. A large industrial lamp had fallen from the ceiling, the jagged edge slicing deep into his chest. Sparks hissed and jumped across the floor where shattered glass surrounded him like a cruel halo.
"No!" Valeria cried, dropping beside him. "No, no, no—!"
Blood pooled rapidly beneath him, and his eyes stared up, unblinking, glassy with confusion. His last breath had been stolen without warning.
Cody backed away, shaking. "He was just—just sitting there. And then—"
Eva appeared at the door, white gown soaked at the hem. "It's started again."
Leila stared down at Kai's body, whispering as tears blurred her vision. "We couldn't even warn him."
Eva appeared at the door, white gown soaked at the hem. Her eyes, hollow and cold, locked onto the group.
"It's started again," she said.
Leila collapsed beside Kai's body, hands trembling. Valeria covered her mouth, tears rolling silently.
Cody backed against the wall, voice cracking. "Who's next?"
Eva looked straight at Isabel. Her voice was a whisper, but it sliced through the air like glass:
"Isabel."
Isabel froze. Her breath caught in her throat.
Valeria turned to her slowly. "No…"
Eva nodded solemnly. "You're next in the order."
And just like that, the room grew heavier. The hallway lights flickered. And Isabel felt it—that creeping shadow behind her shoulder.
Death was watching.
The End of Chapter 30