Chapter 1
1260 Words
An endless stretch of forest loomed ahead. Towering trees, dense and tangled, blocked out the sky, their canopies casting the land in shadow. Thin layers of mist coiled between the trunks.
The damp soil, mixed with rotting leaves, released a sickly, humid miasma. Ferns and moss crept up the rough bark of every tree.
A man’s furious shout tore through the silence.
“What the hell is this place?! I’m not playing your damn game! Let me out!”
He gasped for breath, screaming wildly at the empty air before him.
Bang!
The man who had just been shouting suddenly exploded—without warning, without a sound—into a gruesome burst of blood and flesh.
The abrupt, horrifying change sent screams rippling through the crowd.
The sharp stench of blood filled the air, pricking at everyone’s nerves. Some stared in terror, others stood frozen with grim faces. One person burst into tears, overwhelmed by fear.
A severed hand landed by Raine’s foot, the fingers still twitching slightly.
Her heart pounded, and her breath came quick and shallow. She stared at the scene before her, stunned.
A living, breathing man had just exploded right in front of her.
And before he died… he’d said he wasn’t going to play the game.
Could he have seen it too?
In front of Raine, a translucent screen had appeared—suspended in the air like a panel of light. A single line of text blinked at her:
[Do you wish to start the Cat-and-Mouse Game?]
Thinking of the man who had just exploded, Raine didn’t dare move. Her fingers stayed clenched at her sides as she slowly turned her head, watching the others instead, studying their reactions.
Every face was pale with panic. Some stared in disbelief at the blood-stained ground, others fixated on the air in front of them.
So—they could all see the screen too.
“Someone’s dead… Someone freaking died! What the hell is this game?! I’m out! I’m not playing this!” one man screamed, unable to handle the horror any longer.
But before he could finish his sentence—boom—another explosion. His body burst into a red mist, just like the first.
The second sudden death shattered what little composure remained. Chaos broke out as people screamed and stumbled backward, scrambling away from the bloody remains.
“What the hell is going on?!”
“Another one’s dead! What is this place?!”
“Why am I even here? What is this nightmare?!”
“Forget it—call the cops! Now! Someone report this! Get security, right now!”
“Yes, yes—call the security team first!”
Only then did the crowd snap out of their daze, scrambling for their phones in a panic, desperate to contact the outside world.
Raine simply pressed her lips together and remained still.
She didn’t have a phone.
Life had been hard enough—just getting a full meal was a luxury. A smartphone had always been out of reach.
Luckily, the others had phones. That should be enough to call for help.
But almost immediately, something felt off.
“My phone’s gone!” someone shouted.
“Mine too—my wallet, keys, even my watch is missing!”
“Same here!”
“What the hell, me too!”
The group descended into chaos. Without phones, they were completely cut off. Lost in this strange and desolate forest, they had no way to reach the outside world—no help, no escape.
“What is this place? Who brought us here?”
“I don’t know! I just went to bed, and when I woke up—I was here.”
“This is insane. I was just checking the time on my phone, looked up, and boom—I’m here. And my phone’s gone!”
“I was literally eating dinner…”
“I was walking my dog!”
Their voices overlapped in anxious confusion. But Raine frowned, staying silent.
She was different from the others.
Before arriving here, she had witnessed a murder.
The killer had slashed the victim right in front of her, and the warm blood had splattered onto her face and clothes.
Just as she’d turned to run—she found herself here.
She looked down at her clothes.
The oversized T-shirt she wore was soaked with blood. There were streaks on her arms, her face—bright, terrifying red.
“Aah!!” a woman shrieked suddenly.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Blood! There’s blood!” the woman pointed a trembling finger at Raine, stumbling back in fear.
“She’s covered in blood!!”
Only then did the others notice Raine’s appearance. Gasps filled the air. They stepped away from her instinctively, alarmed by the sight.
They had already been traumatized. Now, seeing someone drenched in blood—she was like something out of a horror film.
Raine realized it immediately—her appearance had scared them. She cleared her throat, trying to sound calm.
“It’s not my blood. You don’t need to be afraid.”
A burly man with tattoos down his arm narrowed his eyes and raised his voice, trying to sound tough.
“Then what the hell is it?”
“It’s chicken blood,” Raine said, lips pressed together. “I was… killing chickens before I got here.”
It was a lie.
The stench of blood was impossible to hide, and she couldn’t afford to tell the truth—it would only make things worse.
The others exchanged glances, unsure whether to believe her. They still kept their distance, watching her warily.
The tattooed man squinted. “Killing chickens? You got proof of that?”
Raine said nothing. How could she prove something like that?
“I’m talking to you!” he barked. Her silence only deepened his suspicion.
Just as Raine struggled to come up with a response, a cold, mechanical voice sliced through the air.
“Do you wish to begin the Cat-and-Mouse Game?”
“Countdown: 10 seconds. Players who fail to make a choice will be automatically eliminated.”
“10.”
“9.”
“8.”
The voice was emotionless, detached—like death itself ticking down their lives. Everyone froze. The questions, the fear, the accusations—all forgotten.
Before them hovered two options:
YES or NO
Raine’s heart pounded. Her brow furrowed deeply.
She remembered the two people who had exploded earlier. They’d shouted they weren’t playing, refusing to participate—seconds later, they were torn apart.
There was no real choice here.
Say No, and you die.
Say Yes, and maybe—just maybe—you live.
But what was this game? What did it mean?
Both paths were deadly.
Raine swallowed hard. She dug her nails into her palm, trying to use the pain to force her mind into clarity. No time to hesitate.
With only five seconds left, Raine took a breath, braced herself, and shouted:
“I’ll play!”
The others remained frozen, paralyzed by fear. No one knew what came next. Would saying yes just lead to something worse?
But when nothing happened to the girl who answered first, a wave of relief washed over the group. One by one, they followed.
“I’ll play too!!”
“Count me in!”
“I choose YES!”
…
“3.”
“2.”
“1.”
“Welcome, players, to the Cat-and-Mouse Game.”
“Objective: Survive.”
“Hint: The Cat kills. Don’t become prey.”
- Writer
