30 DAYS OF NIGHTMARES

The email had 3 words in the subject line. *30 DAYS. $4 BILLION.* Producer Peter Dan leaned back in his leather chair and smiled. "We're making history, Man." Director Spell Man didn’t smile. He tapped his pen on the table. "30 days in an abandoned town. No network. No exit. Just us and the film." "Hot-Blooded Justice." Peter said the name like it was holy. "Biggest budget of the year. And we have them." He slid two photos across the table. Edward Carter. Hollywood’s golden boy. Arrogant jaw. Eyes that looked through you. Bella Kinkle. The nation’s sweetheart. 22. Clean image. Zero scandals. The MC. "Edward signed yesterday." Peter said. "Bella took some convincing. But $20 million changes minds." Spell Man picked up Bella’s photo. "She’s too good for him." "That’s why it works." Peter grinned. "The tension will be real." --- *DAY -2. BLACK PINES, AMERICA* The first team of 6 went in. Their job: Clean the abandoned town. Set up generators. Make 46 rooms livable. Black Pines used to be a mining town. Population 0 for 40 years. One road in. One road out. Perfect for a film that needed isolation. The crew texted back: _Place is creepy. But it’ll work._ --- *DAY 1. 6:00 AM* 46 people. 8 vans. 2 trucks full of equipment. The mood was excited. Loud music. Selfies. This was supposed to be the shoot of a lifetime. Harry Dack sat in the last van, camera in his lap. He wasn’t staff. Not really. He was a 24 year old cameraman who won a contest. "Work on a $4B movie." He was Bella Kinkle’s biggest fan. Had her posters on his wall since he was 16. He didn’t expect to be on set. He expected to carry lights. The road climbed. Mountains on both sides. Pine trees. Fog. Then the rain started. Not normal rain. This was the kind that hit the windshield like bullets. "Slow down!" someone yelled from the front. In the third van, Edward Carter was on a call. "Yeah baby. 30 days. Then I’m back. No, I won’t miss you." He hung up and laughed. In the fifth van, Bella sat quietly. No phone. No makeup. Just looking out the window. Her manager had said, "It’s good for your career." She didn’t feel good. She felt trapped. Harry looked up when the van in front of them braked hard. The driver was out of the van, staring back. Behind them, the mountain was moving. Rocks. Mud. Trees. All of it sliding down in a slow, roaring wave. "Landslide!" the man screamed. The vans didn’t stop. They couldn’t. The road was too narrow. The wave hit 200 meters behind them and stopped. When the dust cleared, the road was gone. Just a wall of rock and mud 30 feet high. Silence. Then someone whispered, "We’re cut off." The driver got back in. His face was pale. "There’s only one road. That was it." No one said anything for a full minute. Edward rolled down his window. "So? Fix it." "Sir, that will take weeks. Maybe a month." Peter Dan’s voice came over the radio in every van. "Keep driving. We’re already late. The town is 20 minutes ahead. We have 30 days planned. The road will be cleared by then." No one argued. Because arguing wouldn’t bring the road back. --- *DAY 1. 9:30 AM. BLACK PINES* The town looked like a ghost had sneezed and left. Broken houses. Faded signs. One main street. But the generators were running. Lights were on. 46 rooms had beds and hot water. The 6-man crew looked exhausted. "Welcome to hell," one of them said. Peter clapped his hands. "Alright! We shoot in 2 hours. This is Hot-Blooded Justice. We don’t wait!" The cast and crew moved into the old hotel. It was the only building with 2 floors. Harry got room 12. Small. One bed. One window that looked at the mountains. He put his camera down and sat. 30 days. No way out. --- *DAY 1. 1:00 PM. SET* The first scene. Location: The old saloon. Scene 1: The hero meets the girl. Kiss. Edward in costume. Black suit. Gun on his hip. Bella in a white dress. Hair down. She looked nervous. Spell Man yelled, "Action!" Edward grabbed Bella. It was supposed to be soft. Romantic. His hand went to the back of her head. His mouth came down hard. Bella made a small sound. "Cut!" Spell Man frowned. "Bella, you okay?" Bella pulled back. There was blood on her lip. Edward had bitten her. "I’m fine." She said quickly. Too quickly. She wiped it with her thumb. Harry, behind the camera, felt his stomach drop. He had seen it. Edward did it on purpose. Edward smirked. "Method acting, baby." No one said anything. The scene was done in 3 takes. --- *DAY 1. 10:00 PM. HOTEL* The rain hadn’t stopped. Harry couldn’t sleep. He was replaying the kiss scene in his head. A knock on the door down the hall. He looked out his door, just a c***k. Room 8. Bella’s room. Edward stood there. Suit jacket off. Two buttons of his shirt open. He knocked again. The door opened. Bella. Hair tied up. Sweatpants. No makeup. "Edward. It’s late." "Just checking on you." He said. His voice was soft. "Lip hurt?" "It’s fine." He reached out and touched her cheek. "Anything you need. I’m here. Just tell me." Harry’s hands gripped the door frame. Bella didn’t move away. But she didn’t lean in either. Over Edward’s shoulder, her eyes met Harry’s. She saw him. For half a second, something passed between them. Then she stepped back and closed the door. Lock clicked. Edward turned. Looked right at Harry’s door. Smiled. Then walked away. Harry closed his door. His heart was pounding. --- *DAY 2. 3:17 AM* Mike. Lighting crew. 28. He woke up gasping. Sweat on his forehead. Heart racing. In his dream, he was on set. The giant light. The "farnus" as the crew called it. It was swaying. The rope was snapping. And it was falling. Right on top of Bella. He sat up. "Just a dream." But it felt real. Too real. He got up and went to the kitchen for water. He saw Jenna, makeup artist. "You okay? You look pale." "Bad dream." Mike said. "The light falls. On Bella." Jenna laughed. "Dude. Too much coffee." --- *DAY 2. 9:00 AM. SET* Same saloon. Scene 2: The argument. Bella slaps Edward. The big light hung above them. 15 feet. The "farnus". "Action!" Edward yelled his line. Bella raised her hand. Above them, a creak. Harry was looking through the camera when he saw it. The rope. Fraying. Snapping. The light was falling. Directly on Bella. Time slowed. Harry dropped the camera. He ran. 3 steps. 2 steps. 1. He jumped. His shoulder hit Bella’s waist. They both went down hard as the light crashed behind them. Glass. Metal. Wood. Everything exploded. Silence. Then screaming. "Cut! Cut! Are you okay?" Hands pulled Harry up. He was shaking. Bella was under him. Breathing. Eyes wide. "Are you hurt?" Harry asked. Bella shook her head. "No. You... you saved me." She touched his face. "Thank you." Edward walked over. Face red. He grabbed Harry by the collar and shoved him back. "What the hell do you think you’re doing? Touching her?" Harry stumbled. "I saved her life." "You think you’re her hero?" Edward laughed. "What’s your job again? Camera boy?" "That’s enough." Bella stood up. Her voice was quiet but steel. "You didn’t save me, Edward. He did." Edward went still. "Excuse me?" "I said he saved me." Bella looked at Harry. Then at Edward. "Don’t talk to him like that again." She walked off set. The whole crew was silent. Edward stared at Harry. "We’ll talk later, boy." Then he followed Bella. Harry picked up his camera. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking. It was just a dream. Mike had said it was just a dream. --- *DAY 2. 11:00 PM. HOTEL* Harry couldn’t sleep. Neither could 31 other people. Because at 3:17 AM, Mike had knocked on every door. "I had a dream." He said to each person. "About how you die." Some laughed. Some got angry. But no one slept. And now, sitting in his room, Harry was thinking about the light. About how real it felt. About how Mike’s eyes looked when he said, "The light falls. On Bella." His phone buzzed. No service. But the notes app worked. He typed: _Day 1: No death_ _Day 2: The light. Mike dreamed it. It happened._ _Day 3: ???_ Outside, the rain hit the roof. 30 days. And somewhere in this town, someone was going to dream tonight. And tomorrow, that dream would come true.