Zane jolted up, gasping for air while clutching his chest. It took a moment to steady his heavy breathing and take in his surroundings.
His brow knitted together, and his breathing slowed as he realized he was in his room, lying in his bed.
"What?" he whispered, only to flinch at the sound of thunder outside his bedroom window.
He sat up hurriedly, rubbing his eyes as he recalled what had happened. "Was that a dream?" he questioned no one and sighed.
But it felt so real.
He looked around his darkened room, his hand moving across the bed, searching for his phone. That was when he realized—he was still wearing his hoodie, and his sneakers were still on.
His eyes widened, and he quickly pulled out his phone to check the time.
His grip tightened as he stared at the glowing numbers.
00:00. March 2, 2025.
That was tomorrow.
Wait, no. That wasn't right. He had been on a bus. He remembered the sudden stop—and then the explosion.
There was no way that was a dream. What the hell was going on?
Instinctively, he swiped open his browser, desperate to check the date, the time—anything. Maybe his phone was just bugging out. Maybe he was still half-asleep.
But the second he tapped the search bar, an error popped up:
No internet connection.
Zane frowned. That didn't make sense. His Wi-Fi always connected automatically. He swiped down to check the network. No signal. No bars. Nothing.
He switched to data. Still nothing.
His breathing became uneven. He tapped the weather app—error. News app—error. Social media—nothing would load.
His eyes darted to the upper corner of his screen. Where the Wi-Fi and data icons should have been, there was a small message instead:
[NO SERVICE.]
He exhaled sharply. His phone wasn't broken, so why the fuck—
A sharp pain shot through his head, sudden and overwhelming. He scrambled to his feet, but the pain only got worse, followed by a piercing, high-pitched ringing in his ears.
"Augh…" he groaned, clutching his head as he fell to his knees.
"God! Fuck!" he shouted. It felt like a thousand knives were stabbing into his eardrums.
But then—just as suddenly as it came—it stopped.
Zane let out a shaky breath and slowly pulled his hands away from his ears.
Before he could even process what just happened, a glowing blue screen flickered into existence right in front of his eyes.
[Welcome, Player 2471.]
A mechanical voice said it out of nowhere, startling him so badly he scrambled backward until his back hit the edge of the bed. But as he moved, he noticed the glowing screen followed him.
His brow furrowed. What the hell was this? A hallucination? Some kind of augmented reality glitch?
He held his breath as his trembling hands reached forward and swiped the air, but quickly pulled back, expecting something to happen. Nothing.
The screen remained exactly where it was.
[The Trial begins now.]
[Task: Sit down.]
A countdown timer started ticking: 00:00:10
"Who are you? What the fuck do you want?!" he yelled. It had to be some sick joke. A prank. A dream. But then the timer reached zero.
[You have failed to complete your task: Sit down. Penalty: -10 HP.]
He barely had a second to react before a sharp, intense pain shot through his body, like he was being ripped apart and stitched back together. He clutched his stomach and collapsed to his knees.
[HP: 90/100]
His breath came in ragged gasps.
"That… that was real."
The pain was fucking real! Like his entire organs had been rearranged. "What the fuck," he muttered, staring at the glowing screen in horror.
Before he could process it, another message appeared.
[New Task: Stand up.]
[Time Limit: 00:00:10]
Zane swallowed hard, fists clenching. Last time he ignored it, and it hurt like hell. Would it be worse if he failed again?
The timer started ticking.
00:00:09…
00:00:08…
And he wasn't about to find out.
In an instant, he scrambled to his feet, and immediately the screen flashed again:
[Task Completed.]
[+5 HP]
[HP: 95/100]
So that was it. He chuckled—but it quickly turned to sobs. His body shook with uncontrollable laughter and tears.
[New Task: Exit your room.]
[Time Limit: 00:00:30]
Zane quickly wiped away the tears with the back of his sleeve as the timer began ticking.
00:00:25…
00:00:24…
His legs trembled, but he forced himself up and stumbled toward the door. His fingers wrapped around the handle—but it wouldn't open.
His eyes widened and his breath hitched. "Locked?" He rattled it harder. Nothing.
00:00:18…
"Well, how the hell am I supposed to get out of here?!" he yelled to no one in particular. "I should at least get a hint or something!"
[Hint: Find the key.]
[Hint: 9/10]
"Are you serious?!" He hadn't expected a reply. He spun around, scanning his room frantically. Where the hell was his key?
His nightstand—nothing. The desk—just old notebooks and some wires. His bed—wait. He dropped to his knees and yanked up the covers, patting around.
00:00:10…
Come on, come on—
His heart beat faster by the second.
Then his fingers brushed something cold and metal. The key.
00:00:05…
He lunged to the door, shoving the key into the lock. His hands fumbled for a moment, and he cursed silently. The second he twisted it, he yanked the door open and jumped to the other side.
[Task Completed.]
[+5 HP]
[HP: 100/100]
"I did it!" he gasped, staggering back. "Yes! I fucking did it, you fucking bastard! In your face!" he shouted excitedly, but slowly, his excitement died down as something strange dawned on him.
He had made a lot of noise in the middle of the night, yet his father hadn't once come out to check on him. Which was weird—and so not like him. After all, his father was a light sleeper. The noise alone should've earned him a scolding.
But the house was eerily quiet.
"D-Dad?" he called in a shaky voice, taking a step forward into the dark hallway.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Footsteps. But what he found odd was the fact that they were coming from inside his bedroom.
The screen flickered again.
[New Task: Hide.]
[Time Limit: 00:00:30]
Oh, fuck no.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The tapping sound got louder, followed by the screeching of something being dragged across the floor.
Zane's breath caught in his throat. His eyes darted toward the door, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
00:00:28…
Zane didn't wait around to find out what it was. He dashed down the hallway.
Hide. Hide. Hide. His mind screamed, but there was nowhere to go. The nearest room was the living room. He sprinted toward it and dove behind the couch, barely squeezing himself into the small gap between it and the wall.
00:00:25…
The tapping stopped.
Bang!
The door to his bedroom slammed open, making Zane jump.
He clamped his hand over his mouth as his heart pounded so violently, he was sure it would give him away.
His hands trembled. He bit down a sob as something heavy scraped across the floor, followed by a low, guttural clicking sound.
00:00:20…
Zane pressed tighter against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut, lungs burning from holding his breath.
The scraping grew louder. It was getting closer.
Then—
Crrrk…
The couch creaked.
Something had climbed onto it.
00:00:15…
Zane's eyes flew open, but he still didn't dare move. He pushed his hand harder over his mouth, trying to hold back the rough sobs in his throat.
Click… click… click…
The sound wasn't footsteps. It was more like claws tapping against the wooden floor… or bone against bone.
Unshed tears filled the corners of his eyes.
00:00:10…
Just ten more seconds… please.
Then it stopped.
Zane blinked, confused, as everything suddenly went quiet.
00:00:05…
His shoulders sagged just a little. Maybe it had left. The time was almost up anyway.
He exhaled, dragging a shaky hand down his face.
And then—
"Fooooouuuuund… yooooouuu…"