CHAPTER 11 - AFTERMATH PT.2

"Thank you for your understanding." Natalie smiled with gratitude.

Seeing that her viewers weren't blaming her but instead showing support made her feel warm inside.

"But honestly, as terrifying as it was, this game is insanely well made! Although I kept cursing the developer the whole time." she laughed awkwardly.

"But let me tell you, that damn dev is a genius. The plot design? Totally deliberate. The pacing? Absolutely tight."

She leaned forward, more animated now.

"The ghosts never just jump out for no reason, they always foreshadow it first!"

"It's way better than those brainless horror flicks that just dump jumpscares everywhere for shock value."

And the viewers agreed.

They remembered it too, the quiet knock before the little girl appeared, the baby crying before the ghost mother came, the eerie buildup before that horrifying final twist.

Every scare had a hint. A cue. A breadcrumb. That made a big difference.

Because when you know something is coming, but not when, the anticipation becomes its own kind of terror.

"And the atmosphere? Top notch. That haunted corridor... I swear, even if nothing's happening, just standing there makes you want to turn around and quit."

In the whole game, Natalie had only had two ghost encounters so far. Yet, she had been frightened the entire time.

It wasn't the jumpscares. It was the tension. The pressure. The vibe.

"The only downside is that it might be too scary. Like, dangerously so. I really wouldn't be surprised if someone had a heart attack from playing it." she said honestly.

Her words sent a ripple through the chat.

"By the way, where did you get this game?"

"Yeah! Is there a download link?"

"I want to try it too! Or, well... get my friend to try it first, hehe."

"Damn, you're evil!"

The audience might've been scared out of their minds, but now that the fear had passed, curiosity was winning out.

After all, no one had ever seen a horror game this realistic.

"Let me ask my brother," Natalie said, getting up to find her brother. She quickly returned a moment later.

"Okay, good news! The game will be available on Steam tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock!"

"WHAT?!"

"Steam release?!"

"Hold on... how much is it??"

"That's the craziest part. It's free." Natalie grinned.

The stream exploded.

"NO WAY, FREE?!"

"This thing looks like a movie-level AAA game, and it's free?"

"Bro, this has to be a trap. You don't just give masterpieces for nothing!"

Even if they put aside how much the content there was, just the visual fidelity alone rivaled or even surpassed many big budget AAA titles.

Those usually ran for 300, 400, even 500 dollars.

And this one... cost nothing?

"There's gotta be microtransactions, right?"

"Yeah, maybe skins or props. Free games are never really free."

"Maybe if you don't spend, you get more jumpscares or ghosts chase you longer if you're poor!"

The chat burst into laughter at that.

"You guys are too wild..." Natalie laughed.

"But seriously, my brother said it's just a beta version for now. The devs want to test the waters, get feedback, and see how players respond. That's why it's free for now."

"So tomorrow at 9 AM, go experience it yourselves. Just don't drag me back into that nightmare again!"

"Understood!"

"I'll play it! ...maybe..."

"Looking forward to getting scared out of my soul!"

"Set an alarm for 9:00 AM. Let's gooooo!"

After chatting with her audience for a while, Natalie ended the live stream in a hurry.

This stream would go down as the most popular stream in her career so far.

Peak viewership had surpassed 600,000, and she had received what totaled over to 30,000 subs or $190,000 dollars.

A massive win, financially, emotionally, and exposure wise.

But Natalie had no desire to ride the wave further. Not today.

Because that game had left a deep psychological scar.

She just wanted to decompress, breathe, and maybe sleep with the lights on for the next week.

After ending the stream, she immediately went to find her brother again.

In the dim glow of his monitor, Tony sat quietly, typing rapidly. His fingers moved with confidence, lines of code and scripts flashing across the screen. He wasn't playing a game. He was making one.

"Still working the game?" Natalie asked peeking over his shoulder.

"Making some adjustments. After your, uh... intense experience, I realized it might be too scary." Tony replied without looking up.

"VR systems these days can monitor heart rate and blood pressure. I'm adding an auto-quit function, if someone's vitals spike too high, the game will kick them out." He said while writing more code.

"It's just insurance. I'd rather not have someone actually die from being scared. That'd be... a PR nightmare. And also, you know, morally terrible."

"Well, since you've already played it, tell me what you think." Tony said finally facing his sister.

"It's... terrifying, The game is brilliant. No bugs, incredible detail. But I swear, I'll never play it again. I don't want to die." Natalie admitted, her voice dropping.

"Understandable. Especially since you peed your pants." Tony chuckled.

"Hey! I told you it was because I drank too much water beforehand!" Natalie turned bright red. She stormed over and grabbed his shoulders.

"You are not allowed to tell anyone about that! Not Mom, not Dad, no one!"

"Alright, alright! I won't!" Tony laughed as his sister shook him violently.

Eventually, she let go, huffing. Then another thought struck her.

"Wait a minute. Why the hell are you releasing the game for free? Are you crazy? With quality like this, you could charge hundreds!"

"This is just a beta test. I want to gauge interest and gather feedback. Don't worry, there'll be other games. Bigger games. Plenty of chances to make money down the line." Tony confidently said.

Natalie frowned but nodded. She knew her brother well, when he said something like that with confidence, he meant it.

And it turned out, he had made the right call.

That night, both Natalie and 'Silent Hill PT' exploded across the internet.

Clips of her trembling gameplay session quickly landed on the front page of major media platforms. Views climbed by the second, and comment sections were flooded with reactions.

"Bro this game is TOO real. I was sweating just watching it!"

"Thought it was a horror movie at first, then realized it was a game."

"Honestly, I thought it was an urban exploration vlog. Looked too real to be a game."

"I ain't playing it, but I'm making my cousin try it tomorrow, LOL."

"Which game company made this? Netpack Factory?"

"Netpack Factory? Get real. That trash company can't even fix their mobile games, let alone make THIS."

"Maybe it's from a tech company like JetWing? The graphics are way too polished."

"No, no, it was played by a streamer, and it has basic voice acting. It has to be a new company!"

"It's not Netpack, not JetWing... Maybe it is some underground indie team?"

"Tbh, I didn't think a Indie studio could ever reach this level. But hey, I welcome being proven wrong!"

---BREAK---

He had done it.

He'd created a game so polished, so immersive, so terrifying, it fooled the internet into thinking it was the work of a massive studio.

And he was just getting started.

1229 Words.