Page 12 of Immersed
Tears welled in Levi’s eyes as this twisted version of existence refused to dissolve around him. He thought of his apartment, his streaming setup, his chat watching this breakdown in real-time. Could they see any of this? Was he really alone?
“Voice commands,”he whispered, words breaking.“Hey Alexa. Hey Google. Computer, end program.”
Nothing. Nothing worked.
“End simulation,”he gasped. His last desperate plea to whatever system held him captive. “End game. Please.”
The pressure on Levi’s back eased, but before relief could take hold, strong hands gripped his shoulders, spinning him around. His back slammed against the tree trunk, knocking what little air remained from his lungs as cold steel pressed against his throat. Trapped again, but now facing his attacker.
The moonlight filtering through the canopy illuminated the figure before him. Tall, with broad shoulders and an athletic build thatspoke of carefully honed strength. His facewasall sharp angles—high cheekbones and a strong jawline that seemed carved rather than formed. But itwashis eyes that froze Levi’s blood—one brown, one green—both catching the distant firelight with an unnatural gleam. The manwasattractive, his features too perfect, too symmetrical to belong in this gritty, blood-soaked nightmare.
The attacker stared at him, head tilted slightly as if examining a fascinating puzzle. His eyes moved across Levi’s features, from the sweat beading on his forehead to the trembling of his lower lip, like he was cataloging every detail.
“Game?”The word emerged from those lips with genuine bewilderment, as if Levihadspokenin a foreign language. His brow furrowed, confusion flickering across his perfect features. He repeated the word, rolling it around his mouth like hewastasting something unfamiliar.“Game,”he said again, softer this time, more thoughtful.
His head tilted further, predatory curiosity replacing confusion.“What game?”
The knife thathadbeen pressed against Levi’s throat withdrew slowly, the cold metal dragging lightly across his skin without breaking it. Levi gasped as the blade disappeared, only to feel the man’s hand replace it, fingers splaying across his neck. Not choking, not yet, just resting against the vulnerable skin.
“I’m done,”Levi’s words shattered like glass, each one a broken fragment. His legs threatened to give way beneath him, knees knocking together in a pathetic rhythm.“I want to end the game. I want to go home. Please. I don’t—I can’t do this anymore.”
The attacker’s eyes lit up, as if Levi’s terrorwasthe most fascinating thinghe’dever witnessed.
“You keep saying that word,”he murmured, his thumb tracing Levi’s jawline with disturbing gentleness.“Game.”
The touchwasfeather-light yet impossible to escape. The pressure on Levi’s throat intensified, not enough to choke him, but enough to remind him of his complete helplessness. The palmwaswarm against his skin, each fingertip a point of burning heat.
Levi’s mouth opened and closed, trying to form words that wouldn’t come. His mind raced through fragmented thoughts—his streaming setup, the neural interface ribbons, his 178 viewers watching from safety. None of it made sense anymore. How could this feel so tangible if itwasn’t? How could he taste blood, smell death, feel his heart hammering against his ribs if thiswasjust code and graphics?
The man leaned in closer.
“Your voice...”he whispered, lips brushing against Levi’s earlobe with obscene intimacy.“I like the sound of it.”
His grip tightened around Levi’s throat, cutting off all oxygen. Panic exploded through Levi’s body like electricity. His hands flew up, clawing at the attacker’s wrist, catching skin beneath his nails. His legs kicked out, connecting with nothing but air. Each movement grew weaker than the last as precious oxygen failed to reach his lungs.
The world began to narrow, his vision telescoping down to those eyes. Brown and green, watching his death with scientific fascination.
“I wish this moment could last forever,”the man murmured, his words growing distant as Levi’s hearing began to fade.“Just you and me.”
Levi’s vision darkened at the edges, the forest dissolving into abstract shapes. Sounds became muffled, as if heard through water. The pressure on his throat felt disconnected, like it was happening to someone else’s body. His sense of smell faded, then taste, then touch. Only sight remained, and even thatwasfailing.
This is real.This isn’t a game. This isn’t virtual reality. I’m dying.
The realization should have terrified him, but a strange peace began to settle over his fading consciousness. His apartment felt like a dream now—the ring light, the nervous energy, the chat messages.Hadany of that been real? Orwasthis forest, this death, the only truth?
In his fading awareness, fragmented images flashed before him—his brother’s smile, his empty streaming corner, the avatars of peoplewho’dnever know what happened to him. His viewers.Werethey watching him die in his gaming chair?
The attacker’s face swam before him, those impossible eyes the only clear thing in Levi’s dissolving world. Then, impossibly, the pressure on his throat eased for just a moment.
Lips pressed against his own. A tender kiss, gentle where everything elsehadbeen brutal.
Iwasjust trying to help people,washis last coherent thought as consciousness fled.I just wanted to raise money for the foundation. I wanted to make Ethan proud.
The kiss deepened as his vision faded. The man wasbreathing in his last breath, claiming even that small thing as his own.
Then darkness. Complete and absolute.
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