Part one:The book
They say every game has rules.
Hide and seek.
Truth or dare.
Bloody Mary.
But there is one game no one should ever play.
Not because it's cursed.
Not because people disappear.
But because... sometimes, someone actually answers.
We laughed when we found the instructions.
Six names.
Six candles.
One drop of blood from each player.
One sentence spoken at exactly midnight.
Looking back, I wish one of us had been smart enough to walk away.
We weren't.
And Hell has been looking for us ever since.
Evelyn's POV
If there was one thing that never changed, it was waking up to Nessa arguing with her phone.
"I keep telling you, this cleanser is overrated!" she complained while recording another vlog. "If you're still using it in 2026, you're basically begging your skin to hate you."
I sighed and buried my face deeper into my pillow.
Sometimes I genuinely wondered what went on inside her head.
Nessa had won more beauty pageants than anyone in our town. She was beautiful—ridiculously beautiful. Boys tripped over themselves just to get her attention, while girls either admired her or secretly wished they looked like her.
I wasn't one of those girls.
Well... maybe sometimes.
Compared to Nessa, I was just Evelyn—the quiet girl people thought was strange because I preferred books over parties.
"Evelyn!" Justina called from the doorway. "Get up already! We're going to be late."
"I'm coming."
I reluctantly got out of bed and grabbed my backpack.
Today wasn't exactly a normal school day.
The five of us had been sentenced to community service for vandalizing school property.
To be fair...
It had been Nessa's idea.
She somehow convinced all of us that spray-painting the school's old gym would be "an unforgettable graduation memory."
Turns out...
The principal agreed.
Only not in the way we'd hoped.
The abandoned school library stood at the edge of campus like a forgotten relic.
Its faded bricks were covered in ivy, and most of its windows had been swallowed by dust.
The place looked like something straight out of a horror movie.
Waiting outside were Daniel and Scoba.
Daniel was the definition of perfect.
Good grades.
Good reputation.
Good looks.
Half the girls in town adored him.
Unfortunately for them...
Daniel only had eyes for Nessa.
Scoba was different.
Captain of the basketball team.
Always smiling.
Always joking.
Always saying the one thing nobody else had the courage to say.
I used to have the biggest crush on him.
He never noticed.
Probably never would.
"Finally!" Scoba groaned as we walked over. "I was beginning to think the ghosts kidn*pped you two."
Nessa rolled her eyes.
"If ghosts saw you, they'd return you immediately."
Scoba placed a hand dramatically over his chest.
"That... actually hurt."
Author's POV
Cleaning the library sounded simple.
It wasn't.
Dust flew everywhere.
Spider webs hung from every shelf.
Broken furniture lay scattered across the room like it hadn't been touched in decades.
Nessa contributed exactly five minutes of cleaning before deciding the lighting inside the library was "aesthetic enough" for another vlog.
"Evelyn," Justina whispered.
"Tell your best friend to actually help."
"I've tried."
Daniel wandered deeper into the library while the others continued cleaning.
A few minutes later—
"Guys!"
Everyone turned.
Daniel stood beside a dusty bookshelf, holding up a thick leather-bound book covered in strange symbols.
"I found something."
Scoba sighed dramatically.
"Please tell me it's your grandma's old cookbook."
Daniel ignored him.
"It's... some kind of ancient ritual book."
That got everyone's attention.
Even Nessa finally looked up from her phone.
"What kind of ritual?" Evelyn asked.
Daniel carefully opened the fragile pages.
His smile slowly disappeared.
"It says..."
He frowned.
"...it's a guide to summoning the Devil."
Silence.
Then—
Scoba burst out laughing.
"Wow."
He wiped imaginary tears from his eyes.
"So your grandma was a witch?"
"It's not my grandma's book," Daniel replied through gritted teeth.
"Sure it isn't."
"It's probably just some old horror story," Nessa said with a shrug.
"Or written by someone desperate for attention," Evelyn added.
Daniel flipped another page.
"It actually has instructions."
Scoba leaned over dramatically.
"Does Step One say 'Lose all common sense'?"
"No."
"It says..."
Daniel swallowed.
"'Six participants.'"
"'Six black candles.'"
"'One drop of blood from each participant.'"
"'Speak the final verse at exactly midnight.'"
Justina's eyes lit up.
"...We should try it."
Everyone stared at her.
"What?" she asked innocently.
"It'll be fun."
Scoba blinked.
"Fun?"
He pointed at the book.
"This thing literally says 'Summon the Devil,' and your first thought is fun?"
Daniel scratched the back of his neck.
"I mean..."
"It would be interesting."
Scoba threw both hands into the air.
"So all of you have officially lost your minds."
He pointed at Daniel.
"What if I end up as dumb as you?"
Then at Nessa.
"Or become obsessed with mirrors?"
Finally, he looked at Evelyn.
"Or suddenly start reading creepy books for fun?"
Evelyn couldn't help laughing.
"It probably doesn't even work."
"Exactly," Justina agreed.
"So what's the worst that could happen?"
Scoba's smile disappeared for the first time.
He looked at each of them before quietly saying,
"People who ask that question..."
"...are always the first to regret it."
For a brief second...
No one laughed.
Then Nessa shrugged.
"We're graduating in a few weeks."
"One stupid ritual won't kill us."
Justina clapped her hands.
"Then it's settled."
"Three nights from now."
"We perform the ritual."
Everyone looked at each other.
One by one...
They agreed.
Even Scoba.
Though he muttered,
"If I die because of Daniel's haunted bedtime story, I'm coming back to haunt all of you."
The others laughed.
None of them noticed...
The final page of the book slowly turned by itself.
A sentence that hadn't been there before appeared in dark crimson ink.
"The invitation has been accepted."
Far beneath the world...
Something opened its eyes
