Luke practically charged into the bathroom. Even as he rushed by two other cafe customers in the hallway, he was clutching onto his stomach while cursing under his breath.

What did ‘he’ eat? God...Luke was no fool. He has watched enough horror movies to know going to the bathroom alone in a horror movie was like committing suicide. At least committing suicide would be quick...he has yet to see a scene where these bathroom trips ended well!

But what else could he do? Ask someone else to come along? Or just sit there and try to ignore the stomach ache? Ultimately, he was still an ordinary person, and these things were just too embarrassing for him to do. In fact, they were so embarrassing that he was willing to take some risk to save face.

As he pushed the bathroom door open and found himself an open slot and sat down, Luke finally had the chance to reach into his pocket and touch his phone. The man quickly opened the Ghostscanner app.

Without wasting a minute, he snapped a few pictures of the surroundings and uploaded them to the app. Ok...everything was grey. Nothing supernatural. Good…

The man sat there for a few minutes in silence. Finally, in the bathroom, he had a chance to process what just happened all by himself.

How did all of this come to be? He was just an ordinary college student! He was in his first-year computer science program, and this was meant to be a random walk down the street! Why did he and his pals suddenly decide to go watch a movie? A horror movie, nonetheless? And how did they end up in the said movie? How?

Well...at least it’s not all that bad. The student did his best to cheer himself up as he glanced down on his phone. Ghostscanner...the app was the one silver lining in this situation. The one hope. Maybe whoever directed this movie had some sympathy left in his sickened heart…

Still sitting on the toilet, for a moment, Luke had very little to do. The scene appeared to be safe, and as he scrolled through his phone, he didn't quite have the interest to go on Facebook or Twitter. Plus, he didn't know any friends of the former owner of this body. With not much to do, he went back to the Ghostscanner app and clicked open the user’s manual.

When he and the others first watched the movie as audiences, they heard the characters read out some of the user’s manuals, enough to give them an idea of what the app did. It sounded straightforward, really. Take a picture and upload it. If there was anything unusual, then the app would show it in the processed picture it returned to the user.

Nonetheless, Luke decided to personally go over the manual once again. There were a lot more words involved, but the core idea remained mostly the same. Take a picture. Upload it. Blah blah blah.

And then, Luke’s eyes landed on one specific clause of the explanation. At first, the line was as straightforward as the purpose of the app, but...Luke’s expression turned pale as, deep down, he could tell something was wrong. He overlooked something, just like everyone else in the group! This something...it could very well decide the life and death of everyone!

And then, Luke realized the catch. He realized what was off...but it was all too late.

From the director’s perspective, it didn't make sense for a side character to expose the biggest plot twist when the plot itself was still ramping up. It just didn't make any professional sense.

Plus...the mistake was already made. Everyone in the group made one critical and deadly mistake, and that mistake...it had already doomed whatever chance they had of surviving.

That was why, before Luke could even stand up, he exploded right there on the toilet seat.

In a sense, it was mercy.

Outside of the movie, in the auditorium, the woman smirked at the bloody sight that was captured in every excruciating detail on the big screen. But that wasn’t it. The woman, just like almost all the audience sitting in the auditorium, turned to a spot in front of the big screen.

There, in the darkness, stood six unconscious bodies. All of them stared forward blankly, motionless. Suddenly, a light was shone on one of the bodies, the body that belonged to Luke.

Under the glaring lamp, Luke’s body exploded right then and there into a mist of blood, flesh, and bone.

He was dead in the movie, and now, he is dead in real life.

The woman leaned deeper into her comfortable seat as she turned back to the big screen, where the camera perspective has shifted once again.

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“So...who do you think is watching us right now? Another group of sorry losers about to replace us, or something else?”

Katie and Gadreel were still hanging out at the line. After staring right into the imaginary camera and delivering a message, Katie turned back to Gadreel with the interesting question.

“Who knows? Maybe the owner of this cinema?” The Angel shrugged as he checked the length of the line in front of him. “So...are we really gonna buy something?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“Uh...we’re in a horror movie where anyone can be a wraith ready to feast on our blood and flesh?”

“You’re talking as if that’s a problem,” Katie replied as she looked up at the menu mounted on the wall behind the cashiers and the counter. “I’m probably gonna try out some coffee. Oh...and a biscuit too. Do you want anything? Don’t worry...I’m paying.”

“I…”

Just as the Angel was about to refuse, he suddenly heard a sharp shriek coming from the direction of the bathroom. A few customers and waiters turned in that direction in confusion. Shit...Luke! Without a moment of hesitation, Gadreel turned...and charged right back to the table the other three boys were sitting at. All of them have stood up by now.

Katie coughed in surprise. She expected Gadreel to run into the bathroom and check out what was going on inside. After all, that was what all the detectives and protagonists in movies do. And then she realized if Gadreel did that, he likely would’ve run right into the culprit that likely killed Luke. Wow...Gadreel was really cautious! He was more cautious than Katie could ever be!

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Indeed, the Angel did agree to live in the Sunny Apartment Complex, but that was because he was somewhat confident of his abilities to stay alive. When it came to things out of his control, like this cinema, Gadreel did everything he could to steer clear of danger. Perhaps that was why he ran away from his fellow Angels. He wasn’t the type to fight an unwinnable war.

As she turned back to the line, a part of Katie wanted to buy the food anyways and then go marvel at Luke’s hopefully bloody corpse while enjoying the coffee and biscuit. Ah well...she had more important things to do.

She sighed and made her way to the bathroom.

“We need to get out of here right now.” At the table, Gadreel declared swiftly, eyeing every customer around him suspiciously. He quickly took a few pictures of them, ignoring their annoyed glances. Fortunately, all of these customers looked completely normal. The pictures returned to Gadreel were almost identical to the ones he uploaded.

Nonetheless, this cafe was already compromised. The wraiths were here, and they likely killed one of them already...which was odd, considering in the movie, the initial killing wouldn’t start until a few hours later.

“But...Luke!” KJ bit his lips. Much like Luke, he wasn’t an idiot either. He knew Luke was likely dead, or worse, but the four of them have been friends for years. They were really good friends too, and he just didn't feel right abandoning Luke while he could still be alive.

At the very least, they should go see Luke’s body and confirm his death before running with their tails behind their legs. What if Luke was still alive, just wounded?

“I...I’ll go check it out.” James gulped and turned in the direction of the bathroom. He was scared. In fact, he was terrified, but he stepped forward nonetheless. “I will scan everyone I come across. It’s going to be fine.”

“That’s what Luke did and he’s probably in pieces right now!” Gadreel cried out furiously. Why? Are you people stupid? Just forget about your friend and run! Are you really willing to die for...what? Friendship? Loyalty? Compassion? Just be a selfish bastard for once!

If Gadreel still had his power, then he might consider playing the hero, but as far as he knew, he could die as easily as a mere mortal, and that was enough to shut off any selfless play from him.

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” James' answer was quiet but decisive. For a moment, the boy who was busy flirting with Katie found himself standing tall.

On the side, Aaron frowned. His logic told him they should get out of here as soon as they could, but…

Just as Gadreel was about to say something else, Katie quietly walked over to the table in her plain white t-shirt. His sports shoes, though, had a few drops of blood on them.

“He’s dead.” Katie declared coldly. “Luke somehow blew up in the bathroom. Another guy in the bathroom fainted from the scare...I think he’s the one that screamed. Poor soul...I have no idea how the explosion happened, but his blood and guts are everywhere. It looked like someone set off a grenade in his stomach...come to think of it, that’s actually something I’ve never tried before.”

By the time Gadreel and the boys were still bickering about what they should do, Katie casually took a trip to the men’s bathroom, which was somehow made even more disgusting than it already was. Either way...the fact was that the group of survivors was down to five people.

The three boys sighed as they heard the news. Well...at least they did their best.

Now that the death was confirmed, Gadreel looked around once again. He expected to see people panicking and maybe calling the police, but after the brief moment of chaos, the Angel was more than terrified to realize everyone has gone back to doing what they have been doing the entire time. The cashiers kept on taking orders. The customers resumed chatting with their friends and families.

Everything just went back to normal. Somehow. So...were these people all wraiths? But he took pictures of them! All of them! They should be cleared!

“We need to go. Now.” He repeated, his tone more serious than ever. Deep down, his heart sank. Perhaps the Ghostscanner app wasn’t as trustworthy as he and the others imagined...

This time, the others were more than happy to obey.

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A few minutes after Katie, Gadreel, and the three boys left the cafe, in an office in the back of the establishment, the manager of the cafe stood up from his seat. He stretched his arms before casually strolling out of the office to grab a cup of coffee. As he walked into the hallway, he suddenly heard a weird sound.

The man turned around and found that, on the other end of the hallway, two people were cuddling and kissing each other. One of them looked like a cafe employee, judging from her clothing. The other one...was that a customer?

“Hey!” The manager called out without thinking. He could distinctly smell something weird, but he didn't think much of it. Even as he walked toward the couple, his voice was raised. “We are not paying you so you can snuggle with your boyfriend!”

The couple froze. Just as the manager smirked and thought his authority worked, the female employee suddenly turned back to face him.

Blood was all over her mouth and her teeth. Distinctly, the manager could see pieces of raw flesh in her mouth. Her eyes were black as if she was possessed by something.

She was one of the cashiers that were at the front counter when Katie and the others were here.

Now facing the manager, she let go of her ‘boyfriend’, whose lifeless body slowly collapsed on the ground. A giant bleeding wound was on his neck. The killing blow.

The manager finally realized what it was that he smelled. It was blood.

To his credit, the manager didn't scream or cry or beg. All he did was snap around and try to run for it, but it was too late. The woman leaped onto him and started chewing on his throat. He tried to fend her off, but she was simply too strong. All the punches he threw were useless.

Finally, all he could do was scream.

“No! No! Help! Ahhhhhh! Someone...save me! Please!”

The man’s screams pierced the walls of the cafe and reached the outside. Everyone within the walls of the cafe heard it.

But the cashiers didn't move. The waiters didn't move. Even the customers didn't move. They simply proceeded with whatever they were doing as the screams gradually died down.

It was truly a haunting sight.

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Katie and the others didn't know they barely made their way out of a deadly setup. Right now, they were busy standing around and essentially doing nothing.

Even now, they still had no idea how Luke died, but their best guess was that a wraith managed to corner Luke in the bathroom. Luke might’ve seen the wraith approaching, but he simply had nowhere to run. The wraith might’ve used some other supernatural power to take him by surprise.

In other words, it wasn’t the best idea for them to hide in a room or a building, as that would make them completely trapped if they were discovered. In fact, it was wiser for them to simply reside on an open field. This way, as soon as they saw their pursuers, they could turn and run in the opposite direction.

They still had no idea how to get out of this movie, but their best chance now was simply to survive as long as possible. That was why Katie and the others ended up finding themselves standing in the middle of an open grass field with a clear view of everything and everyone in their 200-meter radius.

It should give them enough of a head start, but as Gadreel watched the others spread out and take pictures of the surroundings, he couldn’t help but wonder something.

If this was indeed a movie, then there has bound to be something more to the plot. No one would watch a movie where the main characters just stood around on an open field for a few hours/days and survived. As far as he knew, the wraiths weren’t the fastest creatures, and they had some restrictions in terms of killing.

So if he and the others had to be threatened and hunted by the wraiths...then maybe there would be dozens, even hundreds, of wraiths trying to corner them? Or maybe their restrictions for killing would be dropped? Or they would be able to move faster?

Or...or perhaps it had something to do with the Ghostscanner app? Maybe it was actually rigged? That would explain why everyone in the cafe was acting so weird even after being cleared. Was that it?

Gadreel really didn't know what was going on. Right here and right now, in the middle of a horror movie with every drop of his power gone, the Angel has never felt so powerless before.

All he could do now was wait...and maybe pray?