Chapter 1

It was a scorching May day, and I was drenched in sweat as I burst through the door and made a beeline for the fridge. I grabbed a Coke and took a big gulp. As I was about to close the fridge, a note caught my eye.

"Today, you won a lottery, the amount is $5,000."

The note, with its stark black writing on a grayish paper, was off-putting, especially with a symbol at the bottom that looked eerily like a mouse click.

"Damn, this has got to be someone's sick joke," I muttered, slamming the fridge door shut. I was determined not to fall for whoever's prank this was.

No way was I buying a lottery!

"Team, you've all been working hard, and our sales are up 20% from last quarter. The boss is thrilled and sent some goodies our way," bellowed our manager, who was as large as a hog, trying to muster enthusiasm in the silent office.

We were all too familiar with these so-called 'goodies.'

Last month, it was a bunch of toilet paper rolls.

The month before, a couple of oranges per person, some of them rotten.

And in February, for Valentine's Day of all days, after making us work late, the 'gift' was a box of condoms from a clearance sale.

"Come on, guys, get excited! This time, the goodies are worth a fortune, over 20 million!"

The room perked up at that, and our pudgy manager, looking pleased, dug into his pockets and pulled out a stack of something.

"Lottery tickets, ten for each of you."

As he smugly handed out the tickets, everyone's faces twitched in disbelief. I cursed under my breath, remembering the note from the fridge earlier, my heart skipping a beat.

Sure enough, when I checked the lottery results that evening, I had won the third prize, exactly $5,000.

My emotions were a whirlwind of confusion, a hint of excitement, and an unsettling fear. My hands trembled as I tossed the winning ticket on the table and took another sip of my Coke.

Could a prank really go this far?

If it wasn't a prank, then this was beyond my comprehension. And if my horror movie experience was anything to go by, this wasn't going to end well.