[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-115631-en":3,"doc-seo-115631-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},115631,687207024643,"Oliver","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2",1,"Story & Novel","Pretty Dead Things - Chapter 1 - The Night of the Lone Star Princess Pageant","A young contestant-driven beauty pageant unfolds under a brutal snowstorm, trapping participants inside an auditorium where generator hum and frantic music heighten dread. In the backstage room, glittering gowns conceal graphic evidence of violence, while terrified screams confirm a killer has infiltrated the event. Days earlier, the story shifts to Sarah Lynn, working at a smoothie shop and practicing a mother’s rules about smiling and using beauty and kindness as weapons. The contrast sets up escalating suspense and coming danger.","[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nBegin Reading  \nTable of Contents  \nAbout the Author  \nCopyright Page  \nThank you for buying this  \nSt. Martin’s Publishing Group ebook.  \nTo receive special offers, bonus content, and info on new releases and other great reads, sign up for our newsletters.  \nOr visit us online at  \n[us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup](us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup)[ ](us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup)[For email updates on the author](For email updates on the author), click here.  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nThe author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in anyway. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, [please notify the publisher at: ](please notify the publisher at: us.macmillan.com/piracy)[us.macmillan.com/piracy](please notify the publisher at: us.macmillan.com/piracy).  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nFor Resa, my fairy godmother  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nThe beauty is an illusion, and also a warning: there’s a dark side to beauty, as with poisonous butterflies.  \n—Margaret Atwood,“Alphinland”  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nCHAPTER ONE  \nTHE NIGHT OF THE LONE STAR PRINCESS  \nPAGEANT  \n2025  \nHail taps the windows, and the roof creaks from the weight of heavy snow. The contestants are trapped by the storm’s bitter cold. Frozen in shut.  \nThe auditorium is a murmur of voices overlapping and dresses rustling, of chairs shifting and mothers shouting for their daughters. The generator hums, and the speaker plays a steady, frantic drumroll. Down a hallway, the sound fades, the world narrows, lit only by the glow of the exit sign. And atthe end, there is a door.  \nWithin the room, a standing mirror reflects the wall of glittering gowns, each rhinestone and crystal appliqué catching the light in sharp, splintered glints, like the watchful eyes of creatures lurking in shadow. Under a single dim bulb, sequins and stones pulse, glimmering alive.  \nA multifeathered headpiece, once pristine white, is splattered with red ribbons of blood. Cans of hair spray and jars of body shimmer are misted in crimson. A large clump of brain matter, still warm, clings to the tulle layers of an emerald-colored gown.  \nIt is still, but for the overhead fixture swaying, its light twinkling off the beading on dresses and the sparkles on high heels. Still, but for the blood trails snaking slowly down the mirror, pooling on the vanity around tubes of lipstick and pots of blush.  \nFrom beyond the door come the sounds of screaming young girls. One’s high-pitched shriek of terror cuts sharper than the rest, pierces through the echoes of pounding feet across the hollow stage floor. A killer is among  \nthem, and panic spreads, stretches its fingers like the fractal shards of ice chilling their bones.  \nThe storm persists, battering the walls as wind continues to howl and scrape and claw.  \nBut the night is far from over.  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nCHAPTER TWO  \nSARAH LYNN  \nSix Days Before the Pageant  \n“Thank you for stopping by Smoothie Palace, and have a delicious day.” Ismile with all my teeth as I hand Mr. Mackey back his loyal customer punch card, the kind of smile that is like a gun, making whoever it’s aimed at feel super special. Smile like you mean it, Sarah Lynn, is one of my mother ’s mantras. It works for pageants and for sketchy old men like Mr. Mackey, who Hannah swears eyes my ass every time I turn around to blend his chocolate bananarama. But Mr. Mackey’s wife is a member of the board of Miss Lone Star Princess and has been selected as one of the judges this year.  \nBeauty is a weapon. That’s another thing Mom says.  \nBut so is kindness.“Oh, and Mr. Mackey, I got an extra punch on therefor you.”  \n“Well, aren’t you a sweetheart?” He gives me a wink, which he never does when his wife is in the passenger s","cbCaijOT601a8QTO","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijOT601a8QTO","pdf",5017242,4,316,"English","en",105,"# Chapter One: The Night of the Lone Star Princess Pageant\n# Chapter Two: Sarah Lynn - Six Days Before the Pageant","[{\"question\":\"What triggers the danger during the pageant night?\",\"answer\":\"A violent snowstorm traps the contestants, while a killer is among them and panic spreads through the venue.\"},{\"question\":\"What does Sarah Lynn’s mother teach her about beauty?\",\"answer\":\"Her mother frames beauty as a weapon and emphasizes kindness, alongside a mantra about using a genuine smile to handle people.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the book structure shift between the chapters?\",\"answer\":\"Chapter One centers on the pageant night’s escalating horror, while Chapter Two moves six days earlier to follow Sarah Lynn’s everyday interactions and preparations.\"}]","Pretty Dead Things - Chapter 1 - The Night of the Lone Star Princess Pageant | PDF",1785475454,487,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":28},"pretty-dead-things-chapter-1-the-night-of-the-lone-star-princess-pageant","",{"@graph":36,"@context":85},[37,53,68],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,51],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/story-novel/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/pretty-dead-things-chapter-1-the-night-of-the-lone-star-princess-pageant/115631/",{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":41,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-16","2026-07-31",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"What triggers the danger during the pageant night?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"A violent snowstorm traps the contestants, while a killer is among them and panic spreads through the venue.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"What does Sarah Lynn’s mother teach her about beauty?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"Her mother frames beauty as a weapon and emphasizes kindness, alongside a mantra about using a genuine smile to handle people.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"How does the book structure shift between the chapters?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"Chapter One centers on the pageant night’s escalating horror, while Chapter Two moves six days earlier to follow Sarah Lynn’s everyday interactions and preparations.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":52,"og:type":87,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":89,"canonical":52},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":92},[93,96,100,104,109,114,119,124,129,132,136],{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},90,"story-novel",{"id":47,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":120,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":123},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":126,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":128},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":130,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":131},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":133,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":134,"show_sort_weight":133,"slug":135},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":137,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":138,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":139},19,"General","general"]