Page 14 of Immersed
“This isn’t real!” Levi’s voice cracked, high-pitched and desperate, stutters fragmenting his words. “N-none of this is real! We’re in a g-game, Jasper! A fucking horror game! There’s someone in the woods—he k-killed Zoe, he killed me—we’re going to die again!”
Jasper’s bloodshot eyes widened, confusion and concern replacing his usual laid-back expression. “Whoa, whoa! Easy, man.” He tried to step back, but Levi’s grip tightened.
“You don’t understand! We’re in a game! You say the same things, do the same things—there’s someone watching us from the trees!”
“Levi, what the hell?” Owen’s voice came from behind him. Levi whirled around, still clutching Jasper, to see Owen and Elliot approaching from the tree line, concern etched across their faces.
“He’s having some kind of episode,” Elliot said, exchanging a glance with Owen. “Probably altitude sickness or dehydration.”
“It’s not—” Levi released Jasper and spun in a circle, scanning the dense forest surrounding them. There—a shadow moving between trees. A flash of something pale. Watching. “He’s there! The killer is right there!”
Elliot stepped forward, placing a patronizing hand on Levi’s shoulder. “Look, why don’t we get you back to camp? You should probably lie down. Maybe the sun got to you.”
“Don’t touch me!” Levi knocked the hand away, the contact sending panic shooting through his system. “I know what I saw! I know what happened!”
“What exactly did you see, Levi?” Owen asked, adjusting his glasses with the same precise motion as before.
“Zoe—dead. M-mutilated. And then someone attacked me, strangled me, and I woke up here again. Like it reset.”
The three exchanged worried glances.
“Zoe’s at camp,” Owen said slowly, using the same careful tone. “She’s fine. Everyone’s fine.”
“For now,” Levi whispered, eyes darting back to the tree line. Something moved again—or did it? The shadows seemed to shift and breathe with malevolent awareness.
Back at camp, Tyler paced around the fire pit while the others huddled together, shooting concerned glances at Levi. He sat alone on a log, hands shaking, watching them whisper about him with the same gestures, the same expressions of worry.
“We should take shifts watching him,” Tyler murmured, not quite quietly enough. “Make sure he doesn’t wander off again.”
“I’m not crazy,” Levi called out, his voice hoarse. “This has all happened before.”
Zoe approached, medical kit in hand. Her face—alive, unharmed, beautiful—sent a shock through Levi’s system. Just hours ago, he’dseen her torn apart, her organs arranged in ritualistic patterns. Now she knelt before him, whole and concerned.
“Your forehead’s bleeding,” she said gently, opening the kit. “Let me clean that up.”
Levi flinched as she dabbed antiseptic on the scratches he made. Her touch was so real, so warm. The antiseptic stung with authentic intensity, sending sharp pain through his scalp.
How can this feel so real if it’s not?
“Here.” Maddie appeared at his side, offering a flask with a mischievous smile. “This’ll take the edge off whatever you’re going through.”
Levi grabbed it without hesitation, gulping the burning liquid. It scorched his throat—a sensation that seemed too impossible to be simulated. The alcohol hit his bloodstream, creating that warm flush through his chest.
“Easy there, tiger,” Maddie laughed.
The alcohol hit his system quickly. Levi watched through increasingly unfocused eyes as the group continued setting up camp. Tyler arranging the tents. Owen organizing supplies. Elliot complaining about cell service.
Levi took another swig, desperate to numb the terror clawing at his mind. He tipped the flask upside down, watching amber liquid continue to pour out in an endless stream.
It should be empty by now.
He screwed the cap back on, waited a moment, then reopened it. Full again. The liquid glowed golden in the firelight, never diminishing, no matter how much he poured out.
Great. Even in hell, the alcohol has respawn mechanics.
The absurdity of it should have been reassuring, proof that this was artificial, that reality had rules this world ignored. Instead, it onlydeepened his terror. If the rules didn’t apply, if physics could be bent, then what else was possible? What other horrors awaited?
Darkness crept across the campsite as the sun disappeared behind the mountain ridge. Levi watched the others build the fire, placing kindling in the same pattern, Tyler striking matches with identical motions, the flames catching at precisely the same spot as before.
