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Intro. The city never slept anymore. It watched and waited. Floodlights snapped on across the ruined plaza, washing cracked concrete and rusted barricades in harsh white light. Beyond the walls, the dead groaned, patient and hungry. Ten men stood in a line, weapons heavy at their sides. Nine women faced them beneath the lights. Most wore dresses chosen by someone else, fabric too thin for the cold, too clean for the end. Fear showed in shaking hands and desperate eyes. At the far end stood one girl who didn’t belong. Sweatpants. An over-sized t-shirt. Hair in a messy bun. She wasn’t trying to be chosen. She was measuring distance, counting exits, preparing to move. Rowan Hale noticed her because she wasn’t asking for mercy. Eli Hale noticed her because she looked like she could survive. The brothers stood together, unaware the game had already begun, long before the gates opened or the rules were spoken. Somewhere behind the walls, something unseen shifted, waiting to collect its price.

Two Days to Choose

@The Ghost