The email sat unread in Y/n's inbox for exactly four minutes. Not because they weren't glued to their phone — they were — but because the sender's name had made them nearly choke on their tea.

From: Sam Golbach <sam@samandcolby.com>

To: Y/n, Eleanor Neale

Subject: Hell Week. You in?

The body of the email read:

Hey guys,

So Colby and I have been planning this year's Hell Week, and we want to switch things up. We've done the ghost hunting side of things to death, but this year we want to dig deeper into the true crime side of the locations. The history. The deaths. The stuff that makes places actually haunted.

Which is where you two come in.

We want you both to fly out and join us for the week. We've got a list of locations picked out, and we need experts who can tell the stories properly. Eleanor, your true crime knowledge is insane, and Y/n, your podcast research is exactly the vibe we need for this.

We've also invited Daz Games — he's a skeptic, but we think having him there will balance things out. Plus he's hilarious when he's terrified.

We know we've never collabed before, but this could be something really special. What do you say? We'll cover flights and accommodation. All you have to do is show up and help us make the best Hell Week yet.

Let us know ASAP,

Sam & Colby

Y/n stared at the screen, heart thumping. They'd watched Sam and Colby for years. They'd made entire podcast episodes breaking down the cases behind famous haunted locations. And now they were being invited to join Hell Week.

Their phone buzzed. Eleanor.