Chapter 1 The Video of My Death
At 11:59 p.m., Maya was brushing her teeth when her phone began recording itself.
She froze.
The phone was lying on her bed across the room, its camera light glowing.
For a few seconds, she simply stared at it.
Then the screen went black.
Maya slowly lowered her toothbrush.
“Okay… that’s creepy.”
She wiped the toothpaste from the corner of her mouth and walked toward the bed.
Her phone lit up again.
VIDEO SAVED
She frowned.
She hadn’t recorded anything.
Maya picked up the phone and opened her gallery.
There was one new video.
12:03 AM — Tomorrow
Her heart skipped.
Tomorrow?
She tapped the video.
At first, there was nothing but darkness.
Then the picture appeared.
It was her bedroom.
Maya recognized the posters on the wall. The blue blanket on her bed. The lamp beside her desk.
But the camera angle was wrong.
It was standing near the ceiling.
Watching.
Maya leaned closer to the screen.
Then she saw herself.
She was standing in the middle of the room.
Terrified.
Her eyes were wide, and tears were running down her face.
“Please,” the Maya on the screen whispered. “I don’t want to die.”
Maya stopped breathing.
“What the hell…?”
The video continued.
The bedroom door slowly opened.
Maya watched herself turn toward it.
Someone stepped inside.
A tall figure dressed completely in black.
Their face was hidden.
The Maya in the video screamed.
The figure grabbed her.
The phone fell to the floor.
The screen showed only the carpet.
Maya heard herself screaming.
Then—
Silence.
The video ended.
Maya stared at the screen.
Her hands were shaking.
She checked the time.
11:59 p.m.
“No.”
She looked toward her bedroom door.
It was closed.
She laughed nervously.
“This isn’t real.”
Her phone vibrated.
Maya nearly dropped it.
A message appeared.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
Don’t let him into your room.
Maya’s stomach tightened.
Another message appeared.
You have three minutes.
She stared at the screen.
Then came a sound from the hallway.
Knock.
Maya couldn’t move.
Another knock.
Knock. Knock.
“Maya?”
Her mother’s voice came from the other side of the door.
Maya’s eyes filled with tears.
“Mom?”
“Open the door.”
Maya took one step forward.
Then stopped.
Something was wrong.
Her mother never called her Maya.
She always called her May.
The voice came again.
“Maya… open the door.”
Maya backed away.
Her phone vibrated again.
She looked down.
Another message.
That’s not your mother.
The doorknob began to turn.
Maya covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming.
The lights went out.
And somewhere in the darkness, a man’s voice whispered directly behind her:
“You weren’t supposed to survive this time.”
