Gradually, the ability to feel returned to me. I was in some strange substance, similar to liquid, in a completely enclosed space. Probably in a box.
I felt myself going insane. But somewhere outside, in the distant external world, I began to perceive some threads, some nodes. Like the web of the universe. I couldn't reach them, only see them with my mind.
…
At some point, I felt that someone had done something. The darkness around me shuddered.
Something had inexorably changed.
What is it? What happened?
Suddenly, a powerful electric shock pierced my body.
"Aaaaaaaah!" I screamed internally from the pain, but in the next moment, I realized that it… wasn't like that.
No, it was, just. Just, the pain was gone.
It disappeared. As if I had flipped a switch. As soon as I removed the thought of pain from my head, it vanished.
A strong impact against something hard. The box shook with renewed force.
And then everything fell silent. And… a crack appeared?
I heard voices outside.
"God, what even is this? Let's see, console 99%, success? Error? Why success and error in the same line… wait, a player simulator in a game? What abomination! And it's bugged too? And when did this crap turn into a horror game? How do I get out of here???" a clearer female voice, unlike the others, sounded, with notes of panic and full of disgust, and then the little box I was in was probably thrown onto the floor, because I just don't see any other logic.
A moment later, I heard hurried footsteps descending into the basement.
"Who do we have here? Some little mouse?" The voice oozed malicious glee.
I recognized one of them as Mita. A flash of realization pierced me. And it's true, she stabbed me in the stomach!
Then came the sounds of a struggle, muffled cries, the sound of… a knife plunging into flesh? And finally, rapidly receding footsteps, turning into a chase.
I could have lain there for another eternity, but I suddenly became curious.
Where am I, after all? What's wrong with me? And how do I get out of this hole?
Gathering my strength, I began to look for a way to break out.
After all, where there's a crack, there's a chance to break through it.
I focused. My thoughts stretched out into the distance, like tentacles, until… until my mind latched onto one of those very nodes that I could previously only see.
Now I could… cling to it, but was anything happening… it seemed not.
And yet, I felt this impulse pull part of me outward.
Poof!
I opened my eyes to find that, accompanied by black mist, I had appeared on the floor of the room.
I… had a body again. But a strange one. Unfamiliar.
My movements were stiff, unnatural. My body felt wooden… like a doll's?
Well, alright, how do I… get out of here? Or rather… what should I even do…
I just didn't know what to do next.
On the one hand, I remembered that I had forgotten something important. Up there, in the basement, a psycho Mita was possibly killing some girl. And I had to stop her. Find out what she did to me and just have a heart-to-heart, preferably after taking the knife from her. But on the other hand… she did kill me, right? And many times, if that even makes sense, considering I'm still standing here.
But then… wouldn't it be better to escape?
Stuck in these thoughts, I stared blankly for a while, wondering what would be better, but with the thought that my memory was more precious than escape, I went upstairs from the almost completely empty basement, except for the canned goods scattered around.
The design had changed a lot from what I remembered… or the fragments of what I remembered.
The first thing that caught my eye was the door by the stairs – I don't remember it being there before. Fortunately, it wasn't locked.
I walked further and saw that darkness reigned around. As if it were evening. Only dim lamps barely illuminated the premises.
Suddenly, the sound of tape recorder interference was heard.
I cautiously moved to another room and turned it off. After that, I reached the light switch and flipped it upwards in the bedroom.
What I saw horrified me. There were multiple bloodstains all around, as well as… bloody fingerprints on the walls.
As if this place had been a slaughterhouse…
Swallowing, I cautiously moved towards the bathroom, as the sounds were coming from there.
I opened the door and only saw my vision start to blur with interference.
What the hell, I thought and got scared, then I immediately closed the door, but… it was as if I hadn't managed in time – something had inexorably changed.
The first change – a lightbulb burst in the living room.
At the same time, the kitchen door creaked open.
Having no other choice, I headed there, just thinking that it wouldn't hurt to arm myself with a knife too.
Reaching it, I opened the door and saw a glowing, but bloodied flashlight lying in the sink. What horrified me was that next to it was a severed hand, clutching it.
I approached the sink and grabbed the flashlight, nervously starting to scan the countertop for a knife, to grab it and then grip it tightly.
Alas, there was absolutely nothing of the sort around! The entire knife block was empty!
I swallowed internally and slowly turned my head towards the living room.
Still no one.
I went back out and was about to overcome my fear and go into the bathroom, but then the lower half of a girl's body appeared in front of me… a moving half… all by itself.
My eyes rounded with fear and shock as I watched it walk into the bedroom and start banging against something.
Following it, I saw it powerlessly banging against the wall.
It seems it poses no danger… whatever it is…
Sighing, I go back to the living room.
I shine the flashlight ahead and freeze in horror.
Holy sh—
The living room was covered in writing, as if with a marker or even charcoal.
"Are you afraid?" – dozens of inscriptions starting from the door, spreading throughout the living room towards me.
I swallowed, went back into the bedroom, and closed the door.
And where can I even find a weapon? At least something… something clearly wrote those words out there, and… Mita?
I blinked, and again, changes – "find me" – inscriptions by the door, two of them.
Quickly orienting myself, I picked up the lamp standing near the stairs leading down, quickly wrapping the cord around my hand.
The door in front of me slowly opened and little fingers reached in, tensing my nerves like a string, and then I almost jumped when the doors began to open and close, crushing those fingers until blood dripped down.
I swallowed and ran forward, deciding it was better if I was the one doing the scaring here, even if only with a lamp.
However, I hadn't even gone a couple of meters when Mita suddenly appeared in front of me.
Before I could react, with one swift movement, she plunged the knife into me, just below my heart!!!