Chapter 02
Thinking Alex might persist, I pulled out the hunting knife tucked at my hip, still in its leather sheath. Flashing a sultry smile, I deliberately ran my tongue along the sheath.
Then I tilted my head and gave a sharp warning.
“Back. Off.”
Sure, it felt like something straight out of a cringy teenage drama, but I wasn’t the real Christine anyway. No need to feel embarrassed. If it had been the actual Christine, she would’ve probably gone even further than I did.
Did it work? Alex flinched slightly, his gaze lingering on my lips.
Then, shrugging nonchalantly, he turned on his heel and headed to the back of the bus, where his friends were waiting.
“She didn’t fall for it, huh?”
“Did you lose the bet? That’s 30 bucks for me.”
Alex handed over the bills.
“Seriously, man, are you out of options that you’re hitting on Christine?”
“Did you see her lick that knife? She’s a total psycho. But sometimes that kind of crazy is… kinda hot.”
“Yeah, good luck not getting stabbed to death.”
“She might curse you before she stabs you.”
Laughter erupted, and Alex just smiled passively within the group. If I had given Alex permission, how much would they be mocking me by now? These worthless jerks.
“Hey, could you keep it down?”
Finally, Liam, the student council president, stepped in after noticing the camp counselor’s warning glance. The reason why the student council president was mixed in with the sports team’s training camp was that he was cousins with one of the off-duty coaches and seemed to have been asked to help supervise.
He was a handsome guy with a proper, neat appearance—completely opposite to Alex. Despite their poor relationship, Alex would still back down when dealing with him.
Even though the delinquent group pretended not to hear, notice how their voices got quieter than before.
Well, I didn’t need to be grateful to Liam. His face immediately crumpled when our eyes met.
Either way. The setting where nobody can mess with me isn’t too bad. This possession might actually be convenient.
“Hi, Christine?”
I met eyes with a brown-haired college girl sitting with the cheerleaders.
It was Bella Carpenter, a fellow student in the same major as Christine—though definitely not in the athletics department. Judging by her demeanor, she must’ve tagged along because she was close to one of the cheerleaders.
Please don’t talk to me. It’s annoying. I’ll just pretend to be asleep.
“Bella, are you crazy? Talking to that psycho?”
“Why? I’ll try talking to her. She might be different from the rumors.”
“What are you saying? I’ve seen the crazy things she does…”
Ignoring her friend who was frantically whispering warnings, Bella sat next to me with a gentle smile.
“…..”
I didn’t say anything. People around us started whispering.
“Hey. Someone save Bella.”
“Why would she choose that seat…”
But I had a feeling. That Bella Carpenter, with her beaming smile, was also not a simple character.
Whenever I saw her at school, I got an inexplicable sense of déjà vu. Her face seemed familiar, as if I’d seen it somewhere.
With that face, Bella leaned deeply towards me.
“Um, is there something on my face?”
I almost answered her question, but…
‘I am Christine Hilton, Christine Hilton. Ignore it.’
The bus finally started moving, the endless forest scenery quickly becoming monotonous. After the ordeal with the broken-down car, I felt as rattled as a frightened puppy. It wasn’t long before I found myself nodding off.
I must have dozed off without realizing it.
My eyes opened to the sound of bustling chatter.
“We must be almost there.”
“I can’t wait to unpack and swim in the lake!”
“Yay! This is going to be so much fun!”
Among the excited students, I spotted something like a welcome sign.
《Welcome to CAMP GREEN LAKE》
The moment I saw that sign.
Suddenly, a scene buried deep in my mind resurfaced.
‘〈Midnight Scream Camp〉, the opening cut from the recently released remake.’
The realization hit me like a blow to the back of my head.
Now I think I know where this is.
‘Crazy!’
This is inside a horror movie.
And not just any horror movie—it’s a D-grade slasher film where a masked machete-wielding killer systematically murders everyone!
By the way, the killer Jack is not only elusive but also has an overpowered setting where he’s immune to guns and knives.
“We’re f*cked!”
Bella, sitting next to me, flinched at my curse.
Now I know why her face looked familiar. She was the final girl—the only survivor in the end.
I’d watched tons of horror movies during my horror obsession phase, and this was just one of many third-rate derivative works, so I had forgotten about this one.
And when I just saw “Green Lake Camp” as text on the internet, I didn’t remember, but seeing the actual sign now brought all the scattered memories together.
I jumped up and ran to the front of the bus.
“We can’t go any further! Stop the car!”
“Hey! After I helped you out earlier, what are you doing? Get back to your seat right now!”
Coach Linda shouted sharply.
“Then at least let me get off! I’ll walk back on my own!”
“Christine Hilton, was it? Get back to your seat immediately!”
Getting off here might risk getting lost, but isn’t that better than being sliced up by an overpowered killer at the camp?
“What’s wrong with Christine? She’s really lost it.”
“Why did they even let her on our bus? Someone should stop her.”
“Why don’t you do it then?”
That’s when something strange appeared before my eyes.
[Now entering the Horror Dungeon Gate.]
‘What message?’
White letters glowing in mid-air.
Simultaneously, the sky turned blood-red, and a hologram-like barrier appeared swirling in front of the bus.
‘Is that the gate?’
The moment the bus passed through the gate, a horrifying screech rapidly approached.
Kyaaa!
They were bats, flapping their huge wings as they charged toward the bus.
“Aaaah! W-what is this?”
Screeech—.
The startled driver made the bus swerve before coming to a stop.
The bats flew up into the air, disappearing from sight.
“D-did you see that?”
“What the hell is going on?”
Sensing the gravity of the situation, the bus driver grabbed his rifle and stood up from his seat.
“I’ll go check it out. Everyone stay inside quietly.”
“Don’t go out!”
“Stop interfering with adult business and go back to your seat!”
But despite my protests, the front door opened with a hiss, and…
The moment the bus driver stepped outside….
KYAAAAAAH!
“Aah! AAAARGH!”
A bat perched on the bus roof grabbed his head with its long forearms and pulled him up.
The rifle fell uselessly, and then…
CRUNCH, CRUNCH!
“AARGH, kuh, gurgle…”
His screams were drowned out by the sound of neck bones being crushed and blood boiling.
Blood streamed down from the roof, staining the windows like rain.
“KYAAAA!”
“AAAH!”
I felt indignant.
“Damn it, why did it have to be a horror movie?!”
Plus, what’s with that system message about a gate? This isn’t even a normal possession.
First, I closed the front door and sat in the driver’s seat.
The aggressive cheerleaders sitting in the front seats screamed.
“Hey! Christine, knock it off, you crazy b****!”
“What the hell have you been doing since earlier?”
“If you don’t want to die, shut up and sit down!”
Hey, I’m actually a licensed driver!
The bus started moving again when I turned the key.
Once the bus got rolling, the students’ protests stopped.
BANG! CRASH! BOOM BOOM!
Well, that’s because everyone was too busy crying and panicking as giant bats kept ramming into the bus.
“KYAAAA!”
“What is this!”
“What if they break in!”
As if on cue, scratching sounds came from the roof.
“Damn it! Look up! Their claws are piercing through!”
The system message earlier said something about entering a dungeon gate, didn’t it?
For now, the best plan to shake off these giant bats is to step on the gas.
I sped up, and one bat that had been hovering in front of the bus collided with a loud thump!
The windshield cracked, smeared with blood.
At that moment, I heard the sound of a gun being cocked from behind me.
“B-Bella Carpenter?”
“Yeah, Bella! Shoot them!”
Come to think of it, she was the one who quickly picked up the dropped rifle during all that chaos.
Through the rearview mirror, I saw her aiming the gun.
Bang!
Bang Bang!
Screeech!
One bat down with those shots.
As expected of a Final Girl, even in a third-rate derivative horror movie.
Quick aside—what’s a ‘Final Girl’?
It’s a term that emerged from horror movies where the female protagonist survives alone until the end.
Suddenly, it hit me.
‘That’s it! The answer is the protagonist!’
Even if I’m stuck as the infamous psycho Christine Hilton…
I’ll stick to that girl like glue and survive no matter what!
Thank you for reading! ♡
