Page 11 of Immersed
The flashlight slipped from his shaking fingers, landing with a dull thud on the soft earth. It rolled, coming to rest against a tree root, its beam now angled to cast ghoulish shadows across Zoe’s mutilated face.
“No, no, no,”Levi gasped between heaves. His vision blurred with tears he didn’t remember starting to cry.
Zoe was dead. Brutally, horribly dead.
Levi scrambled backward on hands and knees, putting distance between himself and the corpse. His palm landed on something metal—the hatchet. He grabbed it with desperate strength, needing something solid to hold onto.
“Have to get back,”he wheezed, his lungs still struggling to find rhythm.“Have to tell the others.”
His legs felt disconnected from his body as he staggered to his feet. The forest spun around him, trees blurring into a dark carnival of shapes. Levi abandoned the flashlight, leaving it to illuminate the grim scene behind him. The shadows ahead seemed preferable to what lay in the light.
He ran.
Branches whipped across his face, leaving stinging welts. Roots felt like they reached up to trip him. Each time he stumbled, pure terror drove him forward. His breath came in ragged gasps, too shallow to properly fill his lungs, but enough to fuel his desperate flight.
Through gaps in the canopy, he caught glimpses of the same starsthey’dwatchedduring the meteor shower, now cold and indifferent witnesses to his horror. The trees began to thin. Ahead, the warm glow of the dying campfire beckoned like a beacon of safety.
“Maddie!”he tried to shout, but his voice emerged as a broken whisper.“Tyler! Jasper!”
He could hear their voices—concerned calls floating through the trees. Theywerelooking for him. For Zoe. His heart lurched with desperate hope.I’m not alone in this nightmare.
“I’m here!”he managed, louder this time.“Help! Zoe’s—”
An impact drove the air from his lungs. One moment, hewasrunning, the next hewasslammedagainst a tree trunk, rough bark scraping his cheek raw. Something solid pressed against his back—not the tree, but a body. Human. Warm.
Levi opened his mouth to scream, but a hand clamped over it, fingers digging into his cheeks hard enough to bruise. He tasted salt and something metallic. Blood. Not his blood.
He thrashed against the grip, hatchet still clutched in his right hand. He tried to swing it backward, to connect with his attacker, but a second hand seized his wrist with crushing force. The hatchet fell from his numbed fingers, hitting the ground with a soft thud.
A face pressed close to his ear, breath hot and humid against his skin. Levi’s entire body convulsed with terror so complete it felt like drowning.
“Shhh,”the voice whispered, gentle and intimate as a lover’s caress.“It’s okay.”
5
Game Over
ThebarkbitintoLevi’s cheek, splinters threatening to break skin. He shook so violently that his teeth chattered, air coming in short, desperate gasps that barely filled his lungs. The warm body behind him pressed closer, pinning him more firmly against the tree, the attacker’s chest rising and falling with controlled, even breaths that mocked Levi’s own panic.
The hand over his mouth loosened, but the fingers, slick with what could only be Zoe’s blood, remained pressed against his lips. The metallic taste seeped between them, coating his tongue with copper and salt. Levi gagged against the palm, his stomach threatening another revolt.
Just feet away, the hatchet lay on the forest floor, handle pointing accusingly toward him. So close. So useless.
“Please,”Levi whispered against the fingers when they relaxed enough to allow speech.“Pause. Pause the game.”
Nothing happened. No translucent menu materialized before his eyes. No soothing voice acknowledged his command.
The hand slipped further from his mouth, resting at his jaw like a threat.
“Main menu,”Levi tried again, words fracturing with desperation.“Options. Exit. Virtual Vice override.”His voice gained volume and urgency with each failed attempt.“Oculus home! SteamVR dashboard!”
The forest remained stubbornly, terrifyingly authentic. Wind rustled leaves overhead. An owl called in the distance. The scent of pine and decay filled his nostrils.
“System shutdown,”he gasped, trying every commandhe could think of.“Remove headset. Safety protocol. Neural interface disconnect!”
His voice rose to a shout.“EMERGENCY OVERRIDE! ADMINISTRATOR MODE!”
The forest didn’t flicker. The stars didn’t dim. The blood coating his lips didn’t disappear.
