My Sister Died 101 Times to Send Me One Last Text

§PROLOGUE

Just promise me one thing, Cass, my sister said, her eyes shining brighter than the cheap string lights over the bar.

Leighton held up the acceptance letter, the Yale letterhead looking ridiculously formal in the dim, sticky air of The Dive.

"Tomorrow, we celebrate. Just you and me. Splash Kingdom."

I wiped down a beer ring from the counter, the motion mechanical.

"Right. Celebrate," I muttered, the word tasting like ash. "You get the Ivy League. I get to clean up after guys who think 'tip' is a city in China."

Her smile faltered for a second. "That's not fair."

"No," I agreed, tossing the rag into the dirty water. "It's not."

But I looked at her, my brilliant, impossible little sister, and the bitterness subsided into a familiar, weary ache.

"Yeah, okay, Leigh. Splash Kingdom it is."

I had no idea it was a promise I'd spend the rest of my life trying to keep.

Or that for her, tomorrow had already happened 100 times before.

§01

I'd just arrived at Splash Kingdom when I got the text from the unknown number.

【DO NOT GET IN THE WATER! DO NOT GET IN THE WATER!】

【There are life-threatening parasites in the water!】

【YOU WILL DIE!!!!!!!】

I pulled back the foot I was about to dip into the wave pool.

I tried calling the number back, but a synthesized voice on the other end said:

"We're sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service..."

A summer heatwave, and a sudden chill ran down my spine.

What the hell?

How can a disconnected number send a text?

And what was that about deadly parasites?

I knelt by the edge of the pool, peering into the water.

Sure, everyone knew water parks were basically giant petri dishes, chlorinated to hell and back.

Unclean, yes. But infested?

The water was crystal clear. I couldn't see a single strand of hair, let alone a bug.

Still... those texts were undeniably creepy.

"Cass, what are you staring at? Aren't you coming in?"

Leighton, already in her swimsuit, was bouncing on the balls of her feet, eager to dive in.

Instinctively, I grabbed her arm.

"Uh, I think I have heatstroke. It's too hot. Maybe we should just go home."

I wanted to tell myself it was just a sick prank, but a thorn of anxiety had lodged itself in my heart.

Leighton's face fell.

"No way! I just finished my finals. I need to blow off some steam. I heard there's this insane slide, The Kraken's Revenge. You'd love it."

My patience frayed.

"I said, let's just go—"

My words were cut off by a scream from the center of the pool.

Then another from the top of the slide. And another from the lazy river...

One after another, a chorus of agony erupted across the park.

"What's going on?"

People on the shore started jumping into the water to get a better look.

Leighton tried to pull away, but I held her wrist in a death grip.

"Don't go. There might be... there might be..."

The words "life-threatening parasites" flashed in my mind, magnified and terrifying.

Suddenly, right before our eyes, the screaming people convulsed.

Their bodies shriveled, blood turning their skin a bruised purple as if sucked dry from the inside out.

And from beneath them, writhing masses of white, flesh-like worms, each the size of a forearm, began to pour out.

Thick, obscene, and terrifyingly numerous.

The group that had just jumped in to gawk saw it too. They turned and swam for the shore in a panic.

But it was too late. The flesh worms, sensing fresh hosts, swarmed toward them, slithering through the water and forcing their way into the swimmers' open mouths.

"Help! Help me—"

The wider they opened their mouths to scream, the more worms crawled inside.

§02

The scene sent a wave of nausea through me, my scalp tingling with horror.

The people in the water looked like drowning ghosts, clawing their way to land.

The people on the land were a chaotic mob, screaming and running in every direction.

I didn't think. I just grabbed Leighton and ran with the crowd towards the park's main exit.

But the massive gates were shut tight, sealed with a newly erected electric fence that sparked ominously.

A cold, robotic voice echoed from the park's speakers:

"Due to an unforeseen incident at Splash Kingdom, and to ensure public safety, the park is now under a temporary but total lockdown."

"We ask for your patience and understanding."

That announcement was like throwing gasoline on a fire. The crowd exploded.

"Understanding? Screw your understanding! Open the damn gate!"

"If you don't, we'll break it down!"

A dozen or so agile men scrambled up the fence, only to be thrown back by a violent jolt of electricity.

Every single one of them.

§03

More and more people escaped the pools, their bodies trembling, their faces masks of terror.

They knelt before the gate, begging the staff for a shred of mercy.

But the speakers remained silent.

"Shit!"

I gave up on the gate and pulled Leighton back into the park, away from the desperate crowd.

Luckily, we quickly found a gift shop: The Sunken Treasure.

We scrambled inside with a dozen other survivors.

To keep the flesh worms out—or whatever was controlling the infected people—we locked the glass door from the inside.

Once we were sure we were temporarily safe, a collective sigh of relief filled the small space.

But our reprieve was short-lived.

Outside, we watched in horror as many of the people who had escaped the water began to chase down those who had never gone in.

When they caught someone, they acted like vampires, sinking their teeth into their victims' necks and ripping open their arteries.

They drank the gushing blood with a grotesque look of satisfaction on their faces.

They didn't stop until their victims were drained, their bodies turning into blackened, desiccated husks.

A sour taste filled my mouth. I spat on the floor.

"Jesus Christ, what are these things?"

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