I drop to all fours. Chest heaving. Muscles twitching like live wires.

  My right hand won’t stop shaking. The one that threw the spear. Feels like it doesn’t belong to me.

  I roll to my side. Clutch it tight with my other hand. Hold it close to my chest. Like that'll help.

  It’s over. Right?

  Then—light flares. The screen flashes.

  [Bunny Enchantress Slain]

  [Monsters Killed: 1 / Remaining: 4]

  I blink. Once. Twice. My breath catches.

  Then it hits me.

  Of course. A monster. What else could do that?

  Not some fluffy woodland critter. Not some harmless rabbit. No.

  A thing. A thing that smiled too wide. Spoke inside my head. Almost owned me.

  And there are still four more.

  I exhale. Let my head drop back against the dirt.

  Great. Just great.

  “Dude!” Johnny screams from a distance. “You killed the bunny. The bunny! Who kills a bunny?”

  Does he really not remember? Do none of them? Not even a flicker of recognition that they were drooling over a monster warping their minds?

  These city folks. No survival instinct. Might as well be walking snacks.

  I throw up my still-shaking hand. “I do,” I say, slow and deliberate.

  Then I cup my hands around my mouth and scream—

  “And I’ll do it again!”

  “What?” the brat shouts. “Why?”

  I roll my eyes. Plant my fists against the dirt. Push myself up.

  I wobble. Light-headed. The world around me sharpens. Colors crisp. Sounds too clear. Every rustle, every breath—loud.

  My senses—enhanced?

  No. Just returning to normal.

  That thing had me subdued. The warping trees, the whispers, losing track of time—that was it. Twisting my head. Now that it’s dead, I’m finally back.

  I exhale. Flex my fingers.

  The shaking stops.

  At last.

  I walk up to the others. Eyes on the rabbit. Such a small thing. Yet it had that kind of power.

  Mind control.

  How? Just by looking? Just eye contact and—bam—I was its puppet.

  Shit.

  How the hell am I supposed to fight that? Weak body, sure. But I need my eyes to kill it, don’t I? What’s the plan—close them and start pelting rocks, praying one lands?

  Come on. No.

  “Nate. WHY?” Johnny steps toward me, arms out. “Why’d you kill the rabbit? It wasn’t hurting anyone.”

  He looks offended. Very.

  So do the others.

  Russel—plain sad, like I just kicked a puppy. Dave—fuming, fists clenched.

  Becky—shooting me a death glare. Violet—half-confused, half-annoyed, like I ruined a fun day out.

  Not their fault. They were under the influence. More than me.

  I sigh. Pinch the bridge of my nose.

  “Because,” I say, slow and clear. “It was a monster.”

  “Monster?” They all repeat, frowning. Then—eye rolls. Like I just told them the Earth is flat.

  “Bull—” Johnny starts, but I cut him off.

  “Shut up.” I jab a finger at the floating screen. “Bunny Enchantress. I killed it. The quest says so.”

  “You’re kidding?” Dave scowls. “Bunny Enchantress? That sounds like a monster name to you? Fuck off.” He waves me off like I’m crazy.

  “Exactly!” Johnny doubles down.

  “It says so on this fucking screen, dimwit,” I snap.

  “Like we’re supposed to see that, somehow,” Becky snarls, jabbing a finger at the air.

  Right. Of course. We can’t see each other’s screens.

  But that doesn’t make it any less real.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “You guys really don’t remember anything?” I say, exasperated. “That bunny was mind-controlling you. I broke free and killed it. The system registered it as a kill. Now I’ve got four more monsters left.” I gesture at the dead thing. “It was a monster.”

  “Mind control? Really.” Russell sighs, throws his hands in the air. “How can it do that, Nate? It was just a bunny. We were playing with it, and you—” He glares. “You killed it.”

  “Yeah!” they all nod, perfectly in sync.

  I resist the urge to bash my head against a tree.

  Playing. That’s what the bunny had them convinced.

  Five grown-ass men and women, frolicking around with a bunny. In the middle of a forest. In another world. A world that is actively trying to kill them.

  Yeah. Sounds totally plausible. Very much. Absolutely.

  No.

  NO.

  Why not write a damn novel about it? Bestseller, for sure.

  I exhale. Hands on my waist. Shake my head, slow, in utter exasperation.

  I can’t make these morons understand. Not without proof.

  Fine.

  I turn to Johnny. “You’re a fucking otherworld expert, right? Know the genre? The tropes?”

  “What does that have to do with—”

  “Yes or no?” I snap, stepping in. Towering over him.

  He swallows. Looks away. “Yes. Yes.”

  “Then tell me.” I jab a finger at his chest. “How do you tell a monster from a normal animal—when they look the same?”

  “They…” Johnny’s eyes dart around, searching. “They’ve got monster cores. That’s what makes them monsters. Normal animals don’t have them.”

  I step back. Point at the bunny.

  “So if I find a monster core in there, you’ll admit it was a monster?” I scan their faces.

  They look even more offended. Like I just insulted their childhood pet.

  But they nod. Begrudgingly.

  “Go ahead.” Johnny snickers, arms crossed tight. “But you won’t find any.”

  I don’t answer. Just get to work.

  I crouch beside the bunny. Grab the spear. Yank it free.

  Then I press two fingers into the wound and pull. Skin peels. Blood sprays.

  I don’t flinch.

  Credit goes to all the gory shit I saw on my dad’s computer. He was a surgeon.

  I dig through the mess. Fingers sliding through blood and flesh.

  There has to be a core. This world follows the tropes, right?

  But—nothing. Just meat and bone.

  The glares from the others crank up to murderous.

  I groan. Fine. No point being gentle. I shove my whole hand in, ready to tear the damn thing in half if I have to—

  Then—my fingers brush something.

  Solid.

  Cold.

  Right below its head.

  I yank it out.

  A black ball. Smooth. Heavy in my palm.

  I hold it up. Let them see.

  Silence.

  Johnny and Dave go pale.

  Russel? Eyes locked on the thing, unblinking.

  Becky and Violet? Hands over their mouths, like they might be sick.

  Yeah. Now who’s the wrong bitch?

  .

  .

  .

  I give them a moment. Let it sink in. Let their brains do the very difficult math.

  Barely two minutes later—

  Johnny yanks at his hair. “How can I be this blind?”

  Not just blind. Dumb.

  I don’t say it. Just sigh.

  Then—something clicks.

  “Why did I let it go?” he groans.

  I perk up.

  “You let it go?” I ask. Then, on a hunch— “Let the bunny go?”

  Johnny hesitates. Then hangs his head. “...Yes.”

  My stomach drops.

  “What?” I yell. “How? When? Where?!”

  “I don’t remember when or where, man!” Johnny flails his hands, voice turning into a low whine. “I saw it behind a tree. Gave it a pat and shooed it away.”

  I just stare.

  Unblinking.

  Because I am—completely, utterly, fucking dumbstruck.

  “You spotted a monster. Gave it a pat. And shooed it away. Just like that.”

  I repeat his words. Slowly. Carefully. Like I’m trying to comprehend the sheer, monumental stupidity of it all.

  “Hey, I didn’t know it was a monster—”

  “What the fuck were you expecting it to be, you fucking piece of flying snack?!” I snap, voice rising. Their lack of basic survival instinct is killing me faster than this damn world ever could.

  “You’re in another world, dumbass. A world that gives you one objective: SURVIVE. Why? Because it’s actively trying to kill you. Everything here is danger. You figured it out yourself, damn it.”

  Johnny shrugs. “...It was a bunny.”

  “Oh, you mother****ing piece of shit—”

  I raise my spear.

  The others scream at me to put it down.

  I lower the spear. But the frustration? That stays.

  “Fuck!”

  “Calm down, mate,” Russel says, hands up like he’s soothing a wild animal. “Whatever happened, happened. No one’s in danger anymore. That’s what matters.”

  Easy for you to say.

  I exhale through my nose. Groan.

  I thought I could rely on these people. Thought Johnny, at least, would have the knowledge I didn’t. But he’s turning out to be the stupidest of them all.

  This world really knows how to kill someone.

  But I’m not dying this easy. No.

  The other four can still—

  “It’s not like it’s his fault alone…” Becky mutters.

  I turn. What?

  She looks away.

  “Alone?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. Who the hell is dumber than him?

  “What are you waiting for?” Johnny shouts. “Tell him! I showed you the bunny, and you thanked me for it. Said it was your lucky charm. That something good was gonna happen. Is this the good that happened?”

  I blink.

  Mouth slowly hanging open.

  Before I can even process that—

  “Hey, I’m not the only one you showed it to,” Becky chimes in. “Dave hugged it, didn’t he?”

  I whip around.

  Dave—chill, reasonable Dave—is slowly creeping behind a tree.

  No. No, no, no.

  I thought he wasn’t stupid—

  “Russel, buddy,” Dave calls from cover. “Didn’t you say we should keep the bunny? ’Cause you’ve got a pet like this at home? When I showed it to you?”

  My pulse skyrockets.

  Russel too?

  “Hey, I…” Russel stammers. Then—like a drowning man grasping for a life raft—he points at Violet.

  “You said it looked cute, didn’t you?”

  I close my eyes.

  And fall to the fucking ground.

  I’m dead. So. Fucking. Dead.

  But… I can’t die because of others.

  I can’t let this world win.

  No. NO.

  I clutch my spear tight.

  I’ll survive.

  I’ll thrive.

  I’ll show you. Just you wait.

  I suck in a breath. Force my heart to find its rhythm. It does. Steady. Strong.

  Time for a new strategy.

  I thought I could rely on people. Save them. Protect them. So they’d do the same for me.

  But I forgot—these are the same idiots who threw me under the bus.

  Three. Times. In one day.

  No.

  People can’t be relied upon. Can’t be trusted.

  They don’t feel for me. No matter how much I see my struggle in theirs.

  No.

  I’m the only one I can count on.

  Yes.

  “Yes!”

  I push against the ground. Sit up. Jump to my feet. Stretch. Crack my neck.

  Ready to go.

  Then, I march. Straight for the tree I vaguely recognize.

  I’ll kill those monsters alone. I’ll figure out their weaknesses. Find Josh.

  All on my own. I can do that. Yes.

  I reach the tree. Look for the marks—Nothing.

  A chill slides down my spine.

  No. Maybe it’s the other tree. I check the one beside it.

  Nothing.

  Come on.

  Third tree.

  Nothing.

  No…

  I move faster. Eyes darting. Fingers scraping bark. There has to be a mark. There has to be.

  My heart hammers.

  Fourth tree—nothing.

  Fifth—nothing.

  My breath turns shallow. Chest tight.

  I double back. Retrace my steps. Maybe I just missed it. Maybe—

  Sixth tree.

  Seventh.

  Eighth.

  Nothing.

  No. No. NO.

  I stop. Stand there. Still.

  The forest presses in. Trees identical. Shadows shifting. Ground blending into more ground.

  Every direction—blurred. Indistinguishable.

  I exhale. Slowly.

  It takes my brain a second to catch up to what my body already knows.

  I’m lost.

  Lost.