Xaria sat near the front, wanting to be the first off when the bus finally stopped. She told herself it was just another ride home, nothing more and nothing to fear. But as the night wore on, the silence around her grew heavier. Penelope trembled on her lap, not from the cold but from whatever she saw when she glanced around. Xaria pulled her closer, staring out the window for comfort that never came. The mist outside had thickened, consuming everything beyond the glass. Only the occasional streetlight broke through the grey making the ride feel endless. And that’s when she saw it, the reflection in the window, staring back at her.

NOTES:
My entry into the 2025 Renderosity "Horrific Render Contest 4".

Splatterbaby my friend, so well deservingly, won it last year.

NO AI used
All edits done in this order:
- Rendered from Daz Studio
- Affinity Photo (Edit out some errors, alter Dracula, alter collar)
- Topaz Labs from 2019 used "1940 Landscape Painting" set to 17%
- Google Snapseed (see attached screenshot for list of edits)

About three weeks went into this one originally using MSO Ivory, then MSO Reza but they were both older than I wanted. Finally ended up using MB Xaria who was just right for the part.

All assets used are in the Daz3D Gallery Link here:
https://www.daz3d.com/gallery#image=1380507

Happy Halloween Everyone!