Chapter 3
I looked up again. "It is getting chilly. I need warm clothes."
Just like clockwork, the third supply crate landed on schedule.
Inside was a full premium outdoor set, thermal underwear, and a hot-water bottle.
On Bianca's side, she also managed to find a place to stay. Although it was definitely not the kind anyone would brag about.
It was nothing more than an abandoned bridge tunnel.
She had barely settled down when a vicious gust of wind swept through the concrete cavity and carried off the soggy newspaper she had been using as a blanket.
A moment later, the sky opened up with a brutal downpour.
Rainwater gushed into the tunnel and forced her to curl up with her knees pressed to her chest, shaking from cold and hunger.
"Participant Bianca, doom token activated: Extreme Hunger and Exposure."
The comment feed flipped instantly.
[I'm 100% sure now. This system's got a mind of its own.]
[How rotten does Bianca's karma have to be for the system to target her like this?]
[I used to call Mira dumb, but turns out I'm the real idiot. Sorry, Mira.]
[I'm a fan now. I love how she doesn't bother explaining. She just lets the facts do the talking.]
Bianca stared at the chat, listening to the system's icy voice, and finally lost it.
She screamed at the camera, her voice raw with desperation. "This is not fair. None of this is fair. Why does she get to live so well. That is not how things went last time."
She'd let it slip.
The chat exploded.
[Last time? What does that mean? Has she travelled through time?]
[Damn, that's a lot to take in. So she knew the B route was better, and that's why she jumped on it?]
[Then why is she so unlucky? Did she do something to Mira in her previous life or what?]
[Creepy. Bianca's really got some deep schemes going on!]
Bianca realized too late what she had said and slapped her hand over her mouth. The damage was done.
Her face drained of color as she stared at the flood of accusations.
She tried to explain but there was no way out because everything they guessed happened to be true.
Her biggest secret was out. So was her last shred of public favor.
I simply glanced at her then turned to the camera and spoke my first line since the show began. "What goes around comes around. No one escapes karma."
My words hit the chat like cold water thrown into hot oil. The screen blew up.
[Damn, Mira's so savage. She might as well have just typed 'Bianca totally deserves it' right on the screen.]
[So Bianca really screwed over Mira in her last life? No wonder she's so unlucky this time. Karma's a bitch!]
[That fake bitch finally got what she deserved. Serves her right.]
Bianca saw everyone in the chat dogpile on her, so pissed she was shaking.
She jabbed a finger at me on the screen and yelled, "Mira, you bitch! Why are you acting all high and mighty? You're just lucky, that's all! Just wait, I'll turn this around."
She clung to one desperate hope. The idea that her doom tokens would eventually reverse and reward her if she survived the early suffering.
*****
The next day, still starving, Bianca got hit with a new doom token.
"Participant Bianca, doom token activated: Windfall From Heaven."
When she saw those words, her eyes lit up instantly.
Finally. It was finally happening.
She looked around like a miracle was about to drop from the sky.
A fat leather wallet fell at her feet with perfect timing.
She grabbed it and opened it with shaking hands. Inside was a thick stack of hundred dollar bills.
Tears of relief spilled down her cheeks. She held it up to the camera. "See this. I told you I would bounce back. The system is finally paying me back."
The chat started to second-guess themselves.
[Maybe we blamed her too soon. This doom token looks like actual good luck.]
[Money falling from the sky. That is wild.]
But fate was not done with her. A middle aged man rushed up, snatched the wallet out of her hands, and slapped her so hard her head snapped sideways.
"You little thief. Thought you could run with my wallet," he yelled.