Everything passed in a haze and finally before I knew it the night was over. I plopped down on my bed exhausted. Tomorrow I will finally go home. A lot has happened. Mira is officially engaged, against her will, something is different about Kaital and i'm not so sure it's good, My leg hurts a bit, Kyle has been acting strange around me, i'm not so sure that Nara and Viv will fix their relationship, i'm being pressured to 'save' Mira but how do I even start. If I disobey I'll probably be kicked off the council,maybe even The Group, I haven't paid much attention to my social media. So many things. Which is more important? Probably my account. It's my main source of income, my reason for fame. I take out my phone. I scroll through a few pictures I took at the event. I make a short 2 minute video of the photos. I post. 12 seconds after posting I already got 140 likes and 280 views. I turn off my notifications. I don't want to hear the nonstop chime from Tiktok and Instagram saying this person liked your post. I go through Mira and Kaitals posts. Neither of them posted anything. I think Kaital is disturbed and Mira is depressed. I sigh. Maybe I should go home tonight.
I looked up the available Ubers this late. I find one a bit more expensive than usual but it's not a problem for me. I have enough money on my own. I'm paid every week by TikTok studios and have my private credit card given to me for being in The Council. I step out into the cold night, my suitcase in one hand, my phone in the other, watching as the Uber creeps closer on the map. The air feels heavy, like it's trying to tell me something I don't want to hear. Maybe it's just the exhaustion from the night, but I can't shake the feeling that someone is watching me. I glance over my shoulder. The grand house looms behind me, its windows dark and silent. The car pulls up, a sleek black sedan. The driver, a man with kind eyes and a graying beard, nods to me as he pops the trunk. "Long night?" he asks, his voice warm and steady. I smile weakly. "You have no idea." As the car pulls away from the estate, I sink into the backseat and let out a long sigh. My head is spinning with everything that happened tonight. Kaital's strange behavior, Mira's engagement, the council, Kyle... it all swirls together like a storm I can't outrun. I check my phone again, scrolling absentmindedly through the flood of notifications. One message catches my eye, though. It's from Kaital. "You shouldn't have left. It's not safe." My stomach twists. I reread the message, hoping I misunderstood, but the words are clear. Before I can reply, another message pops up. "Stay in the car. Don't stop, no matter what." The hair on the back of my neck stands up. I glance out the window. The roads are deserted, just stretches of asphalt cutting through dense woods. The driver hums softly to himself, oblivious to my growing unease. I type back quickly.
"What are you talking about? What's going on?" No response. The car slows down, and my heart lurches. "Why are we stopping?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady. The driver glances at me in the rearview mirror. "Roadblock up ahead," he says casually, pointing to a cluster of red and blue lights flickering in the distance. "Probably just a routine check." I lean forward, peering through the windshield. Three police cars are parked across the road, their lights flashing, but something about the scene feels... off. There are no officers in sight, just the empty cars and the eerie silence of the night. My phone buzzes again. Kaital.
"GET OUT OF THE CAR."