The Unseen Nightmare

Written by: Sneha Sikder
























The Unseen Nightmare

Table of Contents

















Chapter Name Page Number
Chapter-01: The Beginning of Everything 01
Chapter-02: What Is Going On? 02
Chapter-03: Beginning of the Real Game 03
Chapter-04: It’s Only the Beginning 04
Chapter-05: If There’s Will, There’s A Way 05
Chapter-06: Is It A Treasure Hunt? 06
Chapter-07: Did I Make A Mistake? 07
Chapter-08: What Should I Do? 08
A Thank You Message 09

Chapter-01: The Beginning of Everything

                 

Have you ever felt lonely and scared, wondering what would happen if everything in the world disappeared except you? There would be no one to rely on but yourself. If someone had told me this before, I would have laughed it off, thinking it was impossible. But not now. It has been 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 59 seconds since I began something I shouldn't have. The world hasn’t disappeared, nor have the humans or anything else. The one who disappeared was me… into a VR game. I’m Alexi, a sci-fi and horror enthusiast who loves exploring new things and games. My life was going well until a project I worked so hard on placed second. The winner celebrated, even the third place was delighted, but I couldn’t smile no matter what. People congratulated them and some expressed sympathy to me, but none could understand what I was going through. I had worked for months on that project, and the feeling of losing and regret consumed me. While looking for a distraction, I came across the news of my favorite studio’s new VR adventure game seeking beta testers. Without hesitation, I signed up. Arriving at the testing site, I met the creators of my favorite games. I told them how much I appreciated their work. After talking with them, they asked me about my feelings regarding the VR game I came to test today. I said that I was really excited as it was my first time being a beta tester; the feeling of trying a game before its release was indescribable. After signing the confidentiality paper, a person took me to the testing room. The testing room was cold, the kind of cold that made my skin prickle. The headset in my hands felt heavy with the weight of unknown possibilities. As I slipped it over my head, a shiver ran down my spine. All my excitement soon turned into my worst nightmare as I put on the device. Sweat began to pour down my face. When I tried to remove the gadget, a sinister and creepy voice said, "The game has started… Live if you can." I thought it was a joke. Now I am trapped. 01




Chapter-02: What Is Going On?

                 

After hearing that voice, I felt nauseous and passed out. When I woke up, I felt a sharp pain in my head. Slowly, my memories started coming back. I realized I wasn’t dreaming; I was trapped in this game. The place I woke up in was covered in darkness, with only two visible lights. Each of these lights came from two black doors. As I got closer to the doors, I saw the words “CHOOSE YOUR PATH, CHOOSE YOUR FUTURE” written in bold red letters above them. One door led to a scene of icy-crystal storms, while the other opened to a landscape of volcanic eruptions and magma-covered floors. No matter which path I chose, I would end up dead. Why am I stuck here? This was supposed to be a VR game, wasn’t it? Is this how I’ll die? Why is this happening to me? What should I do? I asked myself over and over- I can’t die. I won’t die. No matter what, I’ll survive. This isn’t the time to panic; I need to think of a solution. Then I remembered something someone once told me: “If you can’t find a way, create one.” I started examining my surroundings, hoping to find another way out. I didn't think they would be foolish enough to leave only these two doors as options. Maybe this was a mind game. I thought optimistically as I continued to look around. I started to scan the room desperately, my heart pounding heavily in my chest. The walls seemed to close in on me, shadows dancing menacingly in the faint light. Then, almost hidden behind a thick curtain of darkness, I saw it—a third, barely visible black door. A bright light shone through. I stepped into the light, thinking I had won, without considering what might be waiting for me ahead. 02







Chapter-03: Beginning of the Real Game

                 

Stepping through the door, my triumph dissolved as a sinister voice shattered my illusions. It warned, "THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. FAIL TO COMPLETE THE GAME IN TIME, YOU’LL BE LOST HERE FOREVER.” Glancing at my watch, I realized only 54 minutes had passed. The headset covering my face meant I was unconscious—how would I eat? People can survive without food for three days, some even longer. Could I endure that long? Urgency gripped me; I needed to escape. Lost in thought, I stumbled upon a colossal maze that loomed ahead, the guiding light now extinguished. "Holy moly! I've never seen such a massive maze." "YOUR TIME HAS BEGUN" blared the ominous message before the maze. "Excellent work, Alexi! Everyone should learn how to complicate their lives from you!" Beside self-cursing, I grappled with indecision. Which path should I take? What if there's no turning back? Would I perish before finding an exit? Despair threatened to overwhelm me. "Wait... Why panic? Who am I? I am Alexi. Instead of blaming myself, I must focus on action. Some things can't change. What's the plan? Can I feel my body? Yes. Can I use the thread from my sweater? Yes, I can tear it. Let's see what I can do." Surveying the maze, I spotted tree branches nearby—potential clues. Gathering them, I teared a bit of thread and tied the branches together. Without much hesitation, I chose the second path from the left and ventured into the maze, marking my progress with branches. As I continued to explore, each step felt heavier, the path seemingly endless. Yet, I reassured myself, "I'm getting closer. Just a bit more. Just a bit more." Finally, I reached another imposing black door. Checking my watch, I completed the task in 1 hour and 12 minutes, totaling 2 hours and 6 minutes since my arrival. The second challenge was less exhausting and easier but left me uneasy. Opening the door, I was pulled through like a magnet, the door slamming shut behind me. What’s the thing that was waiting for me ahead? Is it the end or it’s just the beginning of something? 03




Chapter 04: It’s Only the Beginning

                 

Panic seized me as I rushed to the door, finding it tightly sealed. My heart started pounding heavily, sweat slick on my palms, the eerie voice returned. "CONGRATS! NOW YOU'VE ENTERED THE REAL GAME. BUT IF YOU CAN'T COMPLETE THE GAME IN TIME, YOU'LL BE TRAPPED HERE FOREVER. BUT THINGS WON'T BE AS EASY AS BEFORE." "What do you mean? You can't just leave me in the dark!" "YOU'LL UNDERSTAND AS YOU PROGRESS. BEST OF LUCK!" After hearing that, I felt the ground shaking. Soon, the ground broke from the middle and I fell from there. As I fell, I thought I died. But I survived. I sprained my right leg. It felt as if it had broken. I felt so miserable when I wasn’t even able to move. It wasn’t my real body to begin with, but I felt exactly as if it was really happening to me. My thoughts didn’t last long; the place I fell was again shaking heavily. Some insects were coming, and the floor was filled with them. Rocks were falling from above. As I was lost in thought, I saw a black door again, but the sprain was so painful that I couldn’t even move around, and moreover, the insects were crawling on the floor. The black door was closing bit by bit. I realized at that moment that if the door is closed then I would not be able to return no matter what I do. At that moment I looked at my watch. It was exactly 2 hours 14 minutes and 59 seconds since my arrival. I started feeling extremely anxious. I felt the world without me will move perfectly fine. Would anyone even think about me if I die in this place? I began something I shouldn't have. The world hasn’t disappeared, nor have the humans or anything else. The one who disappeared was me… into a VR game. The reality was still hard to accept. 04




Chapter-05: If There’s Will, There’s A Way

                 

How ironic it is!
I couldn’t help but laugh as I started thinking. Is it really the end?
Can I even reach the door before all the insects come and devour me?
I shook off the negative thoughts. I started mumbling nonstop:
"I need to survive. I need to survive. I need to survive."
I took a deep breath. [Inhale and Exhale]
I swore to myself it's now or never. I don’t know how, but I felt as if I was given an instant energy boost at that very moment. And I quickly ran over to the door just before it closed.
I finally realized what the proverb meant by , “If you have will, there’s a way.” I never thought I could even walk with that much pain but I ran over. Humans are truly a piece of work.
As I reached, I saw an unknown place. But it didn’t take long for me to understand. I realized at that moment what was waiting for me ahead. 05






Chapter-06: Is It A Treasure Hunt?

     

I can still feel the pain in my leg. The pain is so bad that I feel like cutting my leg off. It got worse since I ran. But I have to keep moving even if I die here. At least, I won’t have any regrets left. I opened the door. As I entered the place, I noticed that there was number of doors. Which almost reminded me of a maze, but not exactly a maze. I kept feeling that I know what that is, but I couldn’t remember. I started thinking which door should I take. Each step became crucial for me. I felt that the heaviness of my helpless desire started consuming me. But it didn’t take me long to understand what that place is------- Is it a treasure hunt? Yeah, it is a treasure hunting place. A place where clues are kept in the surrounding things from which you have to retrieve the key to the tightly sealed lock of the door and open it. But as the level rises and you get closer to your victory, the harder the games get. So, no matter which door I choose it won’t be a problem for me to find the way to triumph as long as I don’t mess up with the clues. Without hesitation, I choose the door that was front of me. As I opened the door, I noticed that the room was a darkish grey colored room. To be honest, I didn’t expect it to be some bright colored room as it was a horror vr game to be honest. But honestly, they are going to give a heart attack to the guy who comes to play this vr game. The reason why I said this is because how creepy this room is filled with dust, dried blood and skeletons. But I don’t have the time to complain about how bad the room is. My main goal now is to survive. So, I started looking around the place for some clues. There was a photo frame, a map, an almirah, quite a number of bones, dried blood and a door which is tightly sealed with a lock. I first opened the almirah and found nothing but dust. Then I looked the map. There was a lot of places marked. But my eyes got hooked as I saw a statue like person looking at the map of a room. I noticed that the room was quite similar to mine. I took the map as I thought it would help me in the future. I took the photo frame and throw it to the wall. The picture broke and key was exposed. Though it was a reckless move I accept, I did it. Because that’s how detectives work in the movies. And surprisingly, it works. I quickly opened the door and as I thought I was taken to another room like before. 06






Chapter-07: Did I Make A Mistake?

                         

But I felt slightly confident and happy that I was doing ok. The first thing I noticed was when I came to this room, that this room had a very distinct smell. The smell of blood. It felt so awful that I had to cover my mouth as soon as I arrived. The room was covered with red light. I felt the room was mostly dark with only red bulb emitting light. The combination of the light and the smell made me felt as it was a crime scene. More like a serial killers secret place. Where he does the gruesome work. And once again I was right. There was body in front of me. Which I presumed was dead. To confirm it, I got closer to the body. The floor was drenched with dried blood. The room had nothing else. It was a very small place. Like only five medium sized people could fit in the room. The body was of a man. Who had died by knife stabbing. As the knife was used for stabbing was still inside his chest. But the problem is where can I find the key? Don’t say…d-do I have to touch the bodyyy????? I looked around the place but there was no clue. I realized at that moment that this was not a treasure hunt that I was thinking of. Because in that treasure hunt number of clues are hidden and without solving that you can never find the key so easily let alone to open the door. Then what kind of treasure hunt is this?? Wait is this even a treasure hunt?? Maybe it was sort of close to the treasure hunt. But what if its not? At that moment I take out the map I brought with me from the room before. I saw that the statue in front of the map was still there. I thought the map would be like a gps and the statue was me. But if its not then……did I miss something? At that moment the walls started to come closer to me and the door began to close. I ran there like I was running for my life ignoring the pain in my leg. But my sleeve got stuck in the door as it closed. Without having any choice, I had to tear it. I came back to the first room. Back to square one! Huhh……… 07




Chapter-08: What Should I Do?

        

I realized that the way I thought things was wrong. Things were much more complex to think them simply. And without considering the other sides, I made decisions which backfired me. As the walls started to come close and the door began to close, I felt that if the doors got closed, I won’t be able to return no matter what I do. I ran hard and came back to the first room. I still don’t know whether I did the right thing or wrong. My leg is hurting like hell. The door to the second room is closed. At this moment, I don’t know what should I do. I felt shattered inside. I didn’t understand how but things were taking a toll on me. Though I didn’t realize but little by little all the things that happened made me emotionally weak. I reminded myself again that I have to survive……. I looked at the map and went to the place where the statue is supposed to be. I stood at the exact place. I kept the map also at the designated place. Only then I notice that there was a very statue like button on the was below the map. I pressed it. And for the third time I fell as the middle of the floor broke down and I was taken to a new place. I thought my leg would be broken this time for sure. But surprisingly the total opposite thing happened. My leg got healed. As I arrived at that place, I heard the eerie voice again after such a long time. “VICTORY!!! CONGRATULATION ON COMPLETING THE GAME!!” HUH????? How did it happen?? Wait..I won? That easily? You are lying otherwise I wouldn’t have been stuck in the game. “HELLO, THIS IS THE CHIEF PROGRAMMER OF OG STUDIO. WE ARE TRULY SORRY, MISS. YOU WERE STUCK DUE TO THE BUG OUR PROGRAMMERS RECENTLY FACED. IT WAS TOTALLY UNEXPECTED THAT IT WOULD HAPPEN TO YOU” What…bug? That means I am free now? “YES, YOU ARE FREE MISS. NOW IF YOU WANT TO PLAY MORE YOU CAN OR YOU COULD CHOOSE TO EXIT.” I exit…I mean I choose to exit. But one question if I didn’t go back to the first room, would I be able to win and go back like now? “NO, MISS. THE VICTORY BUTTON IS THE ONE YOU HAVE PRESSED AND THAT’S THE ONLY ONE.” Then if I had not gone back to the first room and stayed in the second room, then? “WELL, MISS THAT’S HARD TO SAY. ANYWAYS THANKS FOR PLAYING OUR GAME YOU WILL BE NOW EXITED” I opened my eyes. The room was bright unlike the ones in the game. Everyone asked me if I was okay or not. I said I was fine. But the day I spent there was none other than my unseen nightmare. TO BE CONTINUED…………………… 08