CHAPTER 1: The Screen Wasn't Supposed to Break
Samuel wasn't expecting anything unusual that night.
He lay on his bed, phone in hand, scrolling through an app meant for writing stories. The page was simple:
"Novel Information"
Book Title: ______
He hadn't typed anything yet.
Then the screen flickered.
At first, it was small. Just a quick blink. Something anyone would ignore.
But then it happened again.
And again.
The page twisted.
The clean white background suddenly merged with something else — a dark, crowded place. It looked like a marketplace. Metal tools hung everywhere. Shadows moved in strange directions.
Samuel frowned.
"Network problem?" he muttered.
He refreshed the app.
Nothing changed.
Instead… it got worse.
The images overlapped like broken glass. Words from different languages appeared and disappeared. Symbols he didn't understand flashed across the screen.
Then—
He saw movement.
Not just animation.
Not video.
Real movement.
Someone inside the screen shifted.
Samuel froze.
A man, standing among the tools, slowly turned his head.
And looked directly at him.
Samuel's heart skipped.
"No… that's not real."
The man's eyes followed him.
Even when Samuel moved the phone.
Even when he tilted it.
The eyes stayed locked on him.
Watching.
Waiting.
Samuel dropped the phone onto his bed.
Silence filled the room.
His breathing became heavy.
"This is crazy…"
The phone buzzed.
Once.
Twice.
Slowly, like something calling him back.
Samuel hesitated… then picked it up again.
The screen had changed.
The glitch was gone.
Everything looked normal again.
Except for one thing.
The empty "Book Title" field was no longer empty.
Words had appeared on their own.
"You are already inside the story."
Samuel felt something cold crawl up his spine.
"Who typed that…?"
His fingers hadn't moved.
No one else was there.
The phone buzzed again.
A new message appeared below:
"Write… or be written."
The keyboard opened.
By itself.
Samuel stared at it.
His hands trembled.
But something deeper… something he couldn't explain… pushed him.
Slowly, he typed:
"I want to escape."
The moment he pressed enter—
The lights in his room flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then everything went dark.