The sun rose in streaks of pale red, like blood diluted in milk.
Mark stared at the diner clock. 7:23 a.m. The same booth where the news first broke on the TV behind the counter—the same booth where six people now sat in silence, stirring cold coffee.
Mika's seat was empty.
"Pipes and water," Zoey muttered, rubbing her temples. "She should've drowned on the water slide. Instead she got… skewered in her bathroom."
Cole shifted uncomfortably. "Don't say it like that."
"Why not?" Zoey snapped. "She did. That's the point."
Leah leaned forward. "We need to understand this. The vision Mark had—it wasn't just about dying. It was about how."
Mark nodded slowly. "Death is following a design. A sequence."
Julian, hunched with bloodshot eyes, muttered, "Then we have to figure out the order."
"I think…" Mark began, flipping open his notebook, "it starts with Mika because she was the first to leave the line."
"She lost her bracelet," Leah added. "She told us that. Ran back down the hill to look for it. That saved her."
"Until last night," Cole said darkly.
"So… we list it out." Mark drew a chart. "Where were all of us when it started? Before the accident. The exact moment."
Zoey leaned back. "I was halfway up the hill. Stopped to tie my shoe. I looked up, saw everyone piling into the line… and then a bird flew right into the trash can and freaked me out, so I turned around."
Julian frowned. "I was already on the stairwell to the launch platform. Slipped. An employee helped me down. I went to first aid."
Cole shrugged. "Was with a girl I met. We were going to line up, but she said she had to pee. I waited outside the bathroom. We were about five minutes away from boarding."
Leah said, "I was already in line with Mark. But when he panicked, I listened. I didn't know why, I just—followed."
"And me," Mark said, "I saw everything. The collapse, the screams. I pulled out right before it happened."
They all looked at each other.
"Then this is the order," Leah whispered. "Mika… then Zoey… then Cole…"
"No," Julian interrupted. "It's based on how close we were to the disaster. Mika was farthest. She left the hill. Zoey was halfway up. Cole didn't even enter. I was on the stairs. Then you two were already in the ride line."
Mark tapped the pen against the table. "It's a proximity sequence. Closest to farthest—maybe even by seconds."
He underlined the names:
1. Mika (Gone)
2. Zoey
3. Cole
4. Julian
5. Leah
6. Me.
A heavy silence.
Zoey stared at her half-empty coffee cup. "So I'm next?"
Mark didn't answer.
Leah reached out, resting her hand on Zoey's. "We won't let it happen."
Zoey pulled her hand away. "Mika probably said the same thing to herself."
She stood up, face pale. "I'm not waiting around for a pipe to stab me or a sign to fall off a building. I'm gonna get ahead of this."
Cole glanced up. "What do you mean?"
She looked at the door. "I mean if Death has a plan, maybe I can find a way to cheat it again. Or at least stall it."
Julian watched her go. "She's gonna get herself killed trying to survive."
Mark stared at the list again.
The formula was real.
And they had just watched it begin.
Now, five names remained.
And the second had just walked out the door.