Page 26 of Immersed
Items transfer between loops!!!
Bear spray works - aim for eyes
Gun safety!! Practice beforehand
Mine shaft - metal interferes with satellite signal
Killer gets more personal each time
The words spilled across the page, his handwriting growing more jagged with each line. He documented everything—the deaths, the campsite layout, the killer’s behavior patterns, strategic observations. When he filled the first page, he flipped to the next, continuing his frenzied documentation.
I’m making strategy guides for a nightmare. At least it’s better organized than my actual life.
“Hey! There you are!”
Jasper’s voice cut through Levi’s concentration. He looked up to see Jasper, Maddie, and Owen approaching through the tall grass, their expressions friendly and oblivious.
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Owen said, adjusting his glasses. “Tyler said you wandered off to check out the meadow.”
“Are you journaling?” Maddie asked, peering at the notepad with genuine curiosity. “That’s so wholesome.”
Something inside Levi snapped. The sight of their innocent faces—faces he watched die in agony—sent a wave of rage and grief crashing through him.
“Don’t touch that!” he barked, his voice harsh and unfamiliar even to his own ears. He clutched the notepad against his chest protectively. “Just—just stay away from me for a minute, okay?”
The three exchanged hurt looks, taken aback by his venom. Owen’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly, confusion and concern warring across his features.
“Dude, we were just—” Jasper began, his usual laid-back demeanor faltering.
“I know what you were ‘just’ doing,” Levi cut him off, voice rising with hysteria. “You’re going to invite me to camp, and we’ll set up tents, and Maddie will offer me her flask, and Owen will talk about thePerseids and weather patterns.” His voice cracked. “And then you’re all going to die. Again.”
The words hung in the air like accusations. Jasper’s face went pale beneath his perpetual tan. Maddie took an unconscious step backward.
“Levi,” Owen said carefully, voice gentle like he was talking to a wounded animal. “Are you feeling alright? You seem... distressed.”
“Distressed?” Levi laughed, the sound sharp and brittle. “You could say that.” He looked from face to face, seeing their genuine concern, their care for him. It made everything worse. “You all act so real. So fucking real.”
“We are real,” Maddie said softly, reaching out as if to touch his arm. “Levi, what’s wrong?”
He jerked away from her hand. “No. No, you’re not. You’re NPCs. You’re code. You’re—” His voice broke. “You’re going to die and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”
“I think you need some space,” Maddie said finally, backing away with tears in her eyes. “We’ll be at camp when you’re ready. When you... feel better.”
As they retreated, casting worried glances over their shoulders, Levi felt a pang of guilt pierce through his rage. Their hurt expressions seemed so genuine, so human. Jasper looked back once, confusion and pain written across his features.
They’re not real, he reminded himself, turning back to his notes with shaking hands.They’re NPCs in a game. Saving them isn’t the objective.
But as he stared down at the notepad, a troubling thought emerged. If they weren’t real—if none of this was real—then why did their pain hurt him so much? And why did dying feel likeactual death?
Twilight bled into darkness as Levi crouched behind a fallen log, watching distant campfire flames dance through the trees. Laughter drifted on the night air—Owen’s snorting chuckle, Maddie’s high-pitched giggle, Tyler’s booming guffaw. They searched for him earlier, calling his name with increasing concern before eventually giving up.
Let them think I wandered off and got lost. Better than watching them die again.
Stars emerged overhead, pinpricks of cold light in the vast emptiness. The Perseids would start soon. Levi turned away from the camp and oriented himself using the compass. He needed to return to the mine shaft.
The forest transformed at night. Shadows deepened, branches became grasping fingers, and every rustle in the underbrush froze the blood in his veins. His fingers clutched the notepad in his pocket like a talisman.
The mining operation appeared suddenly through the trees, skeletal and foreboding against the night sky. Levi’s chest tightened as phantom pain bloomed in his knee, his body remembering the bullet that shattered it.
