Chapter Text
Vanessa took the headset off, breathing in deeply. There was a sense of unease lingering from the game. She set the headset on the table beside her and sat down on her couch. She leaned back, brushing her hair out of her face. Her shoulders relaxed as she closed her eyes. That last level she played took her an hour of constant play to beat. She’d have to report that when she arrived at her job the next day. She wasn’t supposed to bring the headset home, but she hardly cared. She only had a week left to test this game.
The feeling of someone or something staring at her persisted, even as she stood. She walked to the kitchen to get a drink of water, trying to ease the discomfort. She looked back towards the kitchen, feeling a pulling sensation. She stepped back into the living area. The pull she felt grew stronger, coming from something in the room with her. Vanessa glanced around the room, trying to find where the feeling came from. Her eyes settled on the headset. The closer she got, the stronger the sensation became. She lightly laid her hand on the headpiece. She took a deep breath and set her glass down, picking up the goggles.
She slipped the headset back on, once again in the game she was tasked with testing. She looked around for something out of the ordinary but couldn’t find anything. She turned back to the in-game monitor and clicked the game's last level. She didn’t remember seeing this in the files. There were doors all around her, seemingly beckoning her to choose a path. Vanessa contemplated which door to choose, seeing no difference between them. She eventually chose the left door, clicking the button to move forward. The door led to another room, with more paths to choose from. She continued choosing paths, one after the other. They all seemed to be connected in a loop. No matter what she chose, she landed back in the first room.
Vanessa sighed, pausing her game, and taking off the headset. She felt like she had been going in circles forever. ‘I’ll try one last time before turning it off.’ She wiped her forehead and slipped the goggles back on. She un-paused the game, choosing the next path. As she continued to explore the game glitched, occasionally showing hidden messages. One of the messages showed a door that had not been previously visible to her. She moved her avatar forward, walking towards the newly found path.
As she opened the door the game faded to black, completely blocking her vision. She continued to move forwards, unsure of what to do. A small glitching table slowly came into view as she walked closer. Another being came into view behind the table. She was confused, as this wasn’t in any of the files she scanned. She moved closer, studying the being. It didn’t seem responsive to her. She moved to walk past it, trying not to disturb it. The being looked over at Vanessa, shifting its form into a previously loaded model from the game.
The being waved at Vanessa, beckoning her closer. She got a strong sense of déjà vu. She moved forward slightly, hesitant to trust the creature in front of her. She never really liked the unknown, despite being naturally inquisitive. As she continued moving slowly, a glitching cake appeared on the table between them. The being gestured towards the cake as though offering it to her.
"No thank you."
The creature did not respond to her words. It continued to beckon toward the cake. Vanessa moved to be directly in front of the entity. She took a slice of the cake, staring at the being. She felt as though she should be right by it, touching it, being it. The table disappeared, leaving only her and the entity. The being didn’t move. She stepped towards the creature, feeling compelled to touch it. She looked up into the being’s eyes as it started to revert to the form she first saw it in.
The background started to change, showing barely visible stripes. The entity’s eyes swirled as Vanessa stared into them. She started to feel a little drowsy, not backing away from the creature. She slowly swayed back and forth, not daring to break eye contact. The being reached out to her, its movements were slow and methodical. The creature’s hand brushed against Vanessa’s arm. She jumped back, blinking hard.
She ripped the headset off, shaking. Whatever that thing was had rattled her core. She grabbed her glass of water and chugged the last of it. She still shook slightly, but she had calmed enough to formulate theories of what the entity could be. Vanessa walked to the kitchen to return her glass. Her brain swirled with ideas, yet none of them seemed to be substantial. She shook her head to clear it enough for relaxation.
She focused on her breathing, inhaling and exhaling in rhythm. She walked to her bedroom, ignoring the sickening feeling she got when passing the discarded headset. Her breathing steadied as it slowed to match her steps. She threw open the door and flopped onto her bed, neglecting to close it behind her. She grabbed her notebook from the nightstand set by her bed. She opened it to the next black page, planning to write down her experience.
Her pen glided across the page, writing her thoughts and feelings. She’d write a formal report when she awoke the next day. Vanessa shuddered, suddenly feeling cold. She pulled her blankets closer around her, shivering as she continued to write. Her lip quivered as the first tear rolled down her cheek and hit the page. She finished the sentence she was writing and closed her notebook, wanting to preserve the pages as much as she could. She reached over to the lamp on her nightstand. Her hand shook as she fumbled with the switch; her eyes had blurred from tears.
She turned the lamp off and settled into her bed, still trembling. Vanessa cried silently as she lay in bed. She forced herself to close her eyes, focusing on her breathing once again. She inhaled slowly, wiping her face with her arm. Her tears slowed as she drifted off to sleep.
