GAME OF HORRORS: Level Up Fear

Game over for Mark

Kai's POV

The sound of the basketball bouncing echoed through the court as Mark dribbled the ball expertly, weaving around the others. We were playing another pick-up game, just like any other day, trying to forget about the nightmare we’d all been living through for the past few weeks. The game...

Game of Horrors: Level Up, Fear hadn’t given us any tasks in a while, and we were trying to believe, even if just for a moment, that it was over. That it was all just some twisted phase.

But we all knew deep down that it wasn’t.

I passed the ball to Rubin, who made a quick shot. "Nice one!" I yelled as he fist-bumped me.

Mark was a few steps away, standing at the edge of the court, his phone pressed to his ear. He hadn’t said much all day, and I could tell he was still haunted by what happened with his sister. I didn’t blame him. We all had scars, but Mark's were particularly raw.

"Hey, you okay?" I called out, but he didn’t respond. He was too focused on whatever was on his screen.

Suddenly, his face went pale. I saw his hand tremble as he pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at the screen, the familiar smiley face of the game flashing in front of his eyes.

His lips parted as though he were trying to say something, but nothing came out. His breath hitched, and his eyes welled with something unrecognizable.

The air around us seemed to grow colder, the sunlight dimming ever so slightly.

I stepped toward him, concerned creeping up my spine. "Mark? What's going on?"

He looked at me for a split second, and the look in his eyes it wasn’t him. It was like he had already gone somewhere far away. His voice was hollow when he spoke.

"I have to go," Mark said, his words barely audible. He turned quickly, without another glance at any of us, and headed toward the exit of the court.

"Mark!" Rubin called out, but Mark didn’t stop.

I felt a strange, gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something wasn’t right.

Before anyone could react, we saw him disappear behind the school building. I thought about going after him, but something told me it wasn’t the right move. There was an eerie finality to the way he walked away.

I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but one thing was certain: Mark was changing, and it wasn’t in a good way.

Later that night...

I tossed and turned in bed, unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong with Mark. I couldn’t explain it, but I could feel the weight of it—the sensation that this time, it wasn’t just another task or challenge. The game had gotten to him, and it wasn’t about his sister anymore. It had broken something inside him.

•••••••••

The next day, we met in the abandoned warehouse where the game summoned us. The air in the abandoned warehouse was thick with tension, each breath like a shard of glass in their chests.

My hands clenched into fists, my mind racing. Around me, my friends once united by laughter and shared moments were on the brink of falling apart. Their voices clashed like thunder, an angry symphony of blame and frustration.

“You think we can just let this go?” Huang Tae spat, his face contorted with rage. “Someone’s going to die, and you’re telling us to wait? To do nothing?”

“No!” Marianne shot back, her face flushed with emotion. “You think I want this? I want it all to stop, too, but you’re not the only one who’s scared! We’re all scared!”

“I didn’t ask for this!” Emilia screamed, her voice breaking. Her hands were shaking, her entire body quivering. “I didn’t sign up for any of this. Why is it always me who gets blamed?”

I stood in the center, helpless. We were tearing each other apart, and it wasn’t just the fear anymore it was the game, driving a wedge deeper and deeper into our friendship.

I swallowed hard, trying to find the words to bring us back together, to remind ourselves of what we once were. But there was nothing I could say. They couldn’t hear me over the chaos.

“You’re all being idiots!” Rubin’s voice cut through the noise, sharp and biting. “I’m not dying for any of you. If the game wants one of us to go, it’s not gonna be me!”

I flinched at the coldness in Rubin’s tone. Rubin had always been the one who kept things light, the one who’d made everyone laugh during tough times. But now... now he sounded like a stranger.

“We have to stick together,” I said softly, my voice shaking with the weight of my words. “We have to find a way out of this together. Fighting won’t get us anywhere.”

“Fuck you, Kai!” Huang Tae snapped, his face twisted with anger. “You’re the one who always wants to be the hero, but look where it’s gotten us! We’re all going to die, and you’re just standing there acting like everything’s fine!”

My chest tightened, my heart sinking. It wasn’t fine. It would never be fine again. But I didn’t want to lose them, not like this.

But before I could respond, something happened.

The phones in our pockets buzzed simultaneously, the vibration so forceful it sent a chill down our spines. Every single one of us froze.

A notification flashed on our screens, blood-red letters blinking on the black screens.

“Task: One must die. You have one minute to decide who. Failure to comply will result in elimination of everyone.”

The group went dead silent,the air was suffocating, the words on our phones were impossible to ignore. One must die. The time was ticking. And the panic set in.

No one spoke at first. Everyone was paralyzed with shock, trying to comprehend the cruelty of the task.

“I can’t…” Marianne whispered, her voice barely audible. “I can’t decide. I can’t choose who should die.”

“I won’t,” Huang Tae growled, eyes wild. “I’m not dying for any of you.”

“Same here,” Rubin added, his voice cold and detached. “I’m not choosing anyone. I’ll pick myself if it comes to that.”

“Are you serious?” Emilia’s voice broke, and she stepped back, eyes wide with disbelief. “Are you really going to let someone die? Just like that?”

The clock on the phone ticked down. Seconds turned into minutes. The tension was unbearable, each tick of the clock a countdown to catastrophe.

“No,” I said, shaking my head, my voice steady but desperate. “We can’t let the game make us do this. We need to stick together. We need to figure this out.”

“Stop talking, Kai!” Huang Tae yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. “You don’t get it, do you? We don’t have time for your ideals! The game’s gonna kill us anyway!”

Rubin’s gaze darted between the group. He stepped back, his eyes cold. “I’m not playing. If it’s gonna be one of us, I’m out.”

“What?” Marianne gasped. “You can’t leave us, Rubin! We need...”

“I’m not staying to die for any of you,” Rubin interrupted, cutting her off. He shoved past the others, heading toward the exit. “I’m getting out of here. You all do what you want.”

“Rubin, wait!” I shouted, but Rubin was already gone. The door slammed behind him, leaving all of us in a stunned silence.

The timer was down to thirty seconds.

> "Thirty seconds left. If no decision is made, a random elimination will occur."

One of us had to die. But who?

Emotions boiled over,the screams, the accusations, the pain it was too much.

I could feel my heart tearing apart. I wasn’t sure if it was the fear or the guilt eating me, but all I wanted was for it to end.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the dark hall, followed by the unmistakable smell of blood.

We all turned to see Mark, our friend, lying sprawled in the middle of the warehouse floor. His limbs were twisted grotesquely, broken in impossible angles. His head was hanging at an unnatural tilt, his eyes wide open in a frozen, empty stare. The bloodstains around him glistened under the dim, flickering light.

Mark was dead!.

>Game over for Mark!

Task Completed.<

> “New Level Unlocked. Consequences are now permanent. Welcome to Stage Two.”

But it wasn’t just the horror of seeing him like this that made the air thick with fear. It was the realization that the game had already made its decision for Us.

“We… we have to run,” I whispered, my voice trembling.My eyes were locked on Mark’s lifeless body, but my mind was elsewhere. I could feel the walls closing in.

“We can’t just leave him!” Marianne shouted, rushing toward the body, but Huang Tae grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

“No!” he snapped, his voice harsh and panicked. “We have to get out of here! We’re next if we stay!”

And then, as if the universe itself had cursed us, Rubin’s voice came from behind us, a twisted sneer in his tone. “You really think you can outrun this? You’re all dead.”

We turned to see Rubin standing at the entrance, his silhouette framed by the eerie glow of the exit light. His expression was cold, and calculating.

“You can’t outrun the game,” Rubin said, smirking. “I’m leaving you all to die. Good luck.”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving us to face the horrors alone.

I stood frozen, torn between my friends and the horrible truth that we were being torn apart. I knew that running, fighting, or hiding wouldn’t change anything. We were all marked, and the game would claim us one by one.

But the worst part was this: Rubin had chosen to betray us all.