The room I was in had changed slightly by the time I woke up. The room had been rearranged, as had the chair I was using for sleep. I was pushed toward the wall, which was still blank of text, and the room was essentially divided in half by a large glass wall that allowed me to see the other side.
"What's going on?" I asked in a drowsy voice, still staring around in confusion.
Once more, I heard that disagreeable sound.
"We created this stage in this room for the fifth game. The text read, "Don't worry, the game will begin in a few minutes."
I got up, still feeling lightheaded, and rubbed my eyes to regain my composure.
Just then, a door on my side of the room opened, and a man in a mask came in with a bottle of water.
"Would you like to wash your face?" the man asked.
I said without thinking, "Yes," and I did so while he was pouring water. After that, he reached out and handed me a towel, which I used to pat dry my face. Then, without saying anything, the man left the room and closed the door.
This was the most annoying thing for me in these games. He would make me or my loved ones suffer, sometimes even kill, but then help me with simple stuff like sleeping, waking up, eating…
Just why? Is he trying to play with my mind? Is he attempting to cause me to suffer mentally as well as emotionally and physically? How much farther can he go?
As I was thinking these, on the other side of the room, behind the glass, a door appeared. Someone came in. Someone I knew well, which frightened me more than I had anticipated. It was Layla, my girlfriend!
I quickly rushed toward the glass and called her, but she gave no reaction at all. Of course, she looked disgusted by the smell of the room and other blood, but how did she not hear me?
I started to knock on the glass, raising my voice to reach her, but no. None of them worked. And I heard the same writing voice again.
"Screaming is unnecessary because she won't be able to hear you. Please stop trying that.
"What are you hoping to get out of this?" I said after reading the text, "If you plan to do anything to her…" I couldn't even bring myself to imagine what he could do. Why did he put this glass between us? Is it really what I think it is?
I heard the writing voice again.
"Oh, no. I am not that type of person, I assure you. Believe me, I would rather have her eaten by stray dogs than have her sexually assaulted. You know, I'm not really that bad of a person."
The text didn't make me feel relieved at all. Getting her eaten by stray dogs? Is that what you think is considered being 'not a bad person'?
But I did not say anything. I couldn't. The words I use could annoy him, and… I don't even want to know what I could cause.
"What is the game?" I asked, but I couldn't get an answer.
A few minutes passed, and only now did I start to hear a voice. It was Layla's.
"Hey, why am I here?" she was asking. They probably did not explain to her what is going on here. Well, that part usually fell upon me.
"Let me out."
"They won't," I said, thinking that if I could hear her, she could hear me too, but no. No reaction again.
After knocking on the door a few times and not getting any answers, she started to walk inside the room out of boredom. The strange thing was that she didn't appear afraid. She was more confused than scared.
"Does she know?" I asked, just in case.
"No." The text changed.
"Surprising," I said. "Shouldn't she be scared?"
No answer I got. Nothing. This was a little suspicious. There were glitches and other issues all the time. Sometimes things do not happen when they should, or people do not react the way they should. But since I was not in a simulation, I didn't mind it too much.
Next to her, a door abruptly opened, and two masked men with a round table and chair came in. The door beside me opened at the same moment, and a man in a mask entered with a circular table.
The text behind me changed.
"Game #5: Pain of Love"