GAME OF HORRORS: Level Up Fear

Similar Patterns

Author pov

The air inside Professor Warrick’s office was thick with uneasiness. Mark sat across from the aging professor, his hands trembling as he held his phone tightly.

The professor’s office was cluttered with books and papers, a strange mix of modern technology and old one. Mark could barely concentrate on the room itself, his mind spinning, swirling in a haze of fear and disbelief.

"I know this is hard to understand, Mark," Professor Warrick said, his voice calm, though his eyes were wide with concern.

He was a man of reason, someone who had dealt with more than his fair share of bizarre events over the years. But nothing had prepared him for this.

Mark stared at the phone in his hand, where the app's creepy smiley face blinked at him from the screen. It was almost as if it was mocking him. The tasks, the challenges, the deaths everything had led him here, to this office. He had to stop it.

He had to save his sister.

He pressed his thumb against the screen, and the notification popped up, flashing bright red with a chilling message:

“Mark, your sister is alive. But you have to finish the task... or you will never see her again.”

He swallowed hard, feeling the lump in his throat. His fingers hovered over the screen, not sure what to do next.

Was this a trick?

Was she really alive, or was it another cruel twist of the game?

Professor Warrick, noticing the tension in Mark's posture, stepped closer to him. "What exactly is this app? Can you tell me everything you've experienced?"

Mark’s eyes flitted between the professor and the phone. He wanted to believe the professor could help, but how could anyone stop something this... monstrous?

"It's... it’s controlling us," Mark said, voice shaky. "It gives us tasks, and we have to do them, or... or someone dies. My sister, My friends, People we care about. If we don’t play, we lose everything. It’s... it's like it knows our every move."

The professor frowned, taking a seat at his desk. He motioned for Mark to sit as well, but Mark couldn’t bring himself to do it. His mind kept replaying the last notification he saw, the one that said his sister was alive.

He had to believe it.

He had to.

“Okay,” Professor Warrick said slowly, his tone serious. “We’re dealing with something unprecedented here. But I need you to trust me. I’ll do everything I can to help you.” His voice became firmer. “We need to understand the app, Mark. We need to break it. Whatever’s controlling it, whatever’s behind this... we need to find it and take it down.”

Mark nodded, still clutching his phone. "It’s... it’s like a game, Professor. But it’s not. People are dying. I saw my friends do things, terrible things, because they had to. I just need to know if my sister’s really okay, or if it's all another trick.”

A sudden ding interrupted the moment. Both Mark and the professor turned to Mark’s phone.

Another notification.

His heart skipped a beat as he read the words aloud, barely believing them.

“Your sister is alive. Come home, Mark. Complete the task and your family will be whole again.”

The words glowed on the screen, and just as quickly, the text changed, replaced by a new task:

“You must kill the one who stands in your way. Complete the task, or your family will fall apart.”

Mark’s fingers clenched into fists, and he could feel his breathing quickening. The message was clear. It wanted him to kill someone.

The professor, his friends, maybe even someone he cared about. He couldn’t let that happen.

“Professor,” Mark said, his voice cracking, “we need to stop this. Now.”

Professor Warrick stared at the screen with an expression of grim realization.

“The game,” he muttered under his breath. “It’s feeding on your fear. But more than that...it’s manipulating you. If you refuse, if you hesitate, it’ll escalate. It’s a mind game, Mark. And you’re caught in it.”

Mark’s mind raced. The game was real, the stakes were real, but the twisted part of him, the part that had been playing along, had to admit: it wasn’t just a game anymore. It was survival. And the more he played, the more real it became.

“Do you have any idea who’s behind this?” Mark asked, his voice hoarse with desperation.

Professor Warrick’s eyes narrowed, his expression darkening. “I don’t know. But I’ve seen similar patterns in my research. There are reports, older ones. Files that mention people who have disappeared after being involved in strange, unexplainable events. The game… it could be tied to something big.”

Mark clenched his phone in his hand, his knuckles white. "I have to go back. I have to save my sister."

As Mark turned toward the door, the notification dinged again. His heart sank.

“Time’s running out. Complete the task or your sister will be lost to you forever.”

The professor placed a hand on his shoulder. “Mark, don’t rush. We need to think this through. There’s no way we’re going in blind. I’ll help you find the answers. But you need to stay focused.”

But Mark’s mind was already made up. His sister was alive, and the game had given him a choice. He didn’t know if it was a trick or if this was his only chance, but there was no time to waste. Every second counted.

“Thanks, Professor,” Mark said, his voice low but determined. “But I’m going to save my sister. I don’t know how yet, but I will.”

As Mark left the professor’s office, he stared down at the phone in his hand. The game was far from over, and whatever he did, wherever he went, the game was watching.

Back in the forest...

Kai and the others had no idea what Mark was doing. They could only see their phones, flashing their grotesque, taunting messages. They didn’t know what was real anymore. All they knew was that the game had tightened its grip, and soon, they might not be able to escape.

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Do you think Kai and his friends will succeed? Or is it just another day of defeat?