CHAPTER 9 - GAME OVER

"God... what is that..."

Natalie stared at the thing in the sink, her voice trembling with fear.

It was a baby. But not a normal one.

"It looks, like a baby that wasn't fully developed."

"Wait, wasn't the wife pregnant in that murder case the game mentioned earlier?"

"Yeah! She was shot by her husband while pregnant!"

"Could this be... the unborn child?!"

"No wonder it's deformed. It never got to grow properly."

"But why would the baby be in the sink?"

"Did the killer cut it out after the murder? That's horrifying!"

"The guy must've been seriously twisted..."

While the chat was buzzing with everyone trying to piece the story together. Natalie was struggling to focus on any of it.

The half-formed baby in the sink was making her scalp tingle. It was hard to breathe.

She just wanted out of this bathroom.

But suddenly the baby moved.

It opened its mouth and let out a loud, wailing cry.

"WAAAH! WAAAH!"

Even though it didn't look fully developed, the sound was shrill and powerful, echoing through the whole house.

"Fuck... Why is it crying now?!"

Natalie's nerves tightened instantly. She didn't know why it was crying, but she was sure it wasn't a good sign.

It felt like something terrible was about to happen.

"I have to get out of here now!"

She grabbed the flashlight and turned to run from the bathroom.

But just as she stepped out.

"Uhhh... Uhhh..."

A low, haunting cry echoed through the hallway outside.

"That sound... that's the ghost! She's back again! The woman!" Natalie froze, her eyes widened in shock.

"I heard it too!"

"The crying is back, it's her!"

"Crap, it's coming from the corridor!"

The baby's wailing didn't drown it out, the two cries overlapped in a terrifying way.

Natalie could feel it clearly, the ghostly crying was drifting through the hallway, getting closer, heading straight for her.

"It's getting louder!"

"She's coming!"

"Close the door! Hide!"

"Don't go out now, it's suicide!"

"Get back in the bathroom and lock the door!"

"Shit!!"

Finally snapping out of her panic, Natalie yanked her foot back into the bathroom, slammed the door, and locked it tight.

She stared at the door in terror, unable to stop shaking.

"Uhhh... uhhh..."

The ghost's cries were louder than ever.

Natalie could feel her, right outside the door.

Just one thin layer of wood between them.

"Oh no no no... it's here... it's right outside the door! What do I do?!"

She curled up into a corner, crying and shaking, her mind completely blank.

Then... silence.

The ghost's cries suddenly stopped.

Only the baby's awful, wet wailing filled the room now.

"Is... is she gone?" Natalie whispered, barely audible.

Just as she was gathering the courage to move.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The bathroom door shuddered violently.

Something was slamming into it hard.

"AAAHH!!!"

Natalie let out a scream and collapsed into the corner again.

"No, no, no, what do I do?! If she breaks in, I'm dead!"

"She's trying to break down the door!!"

"Natalie, stay in the corner! Don't move!!"

"She's in serious danger now..."

"This isn't just scary, this is dangerous levels scary!"

"Natalie, just quit the game! We can't take it either!"

"I'm sweating just watching!"

Natalie was crying for real now.

She pressed herself against the wall, paralyzed with fear, as the door continued to shake under the force of whatever was outside.

She didn't know what would happen next, but she was sure she didn't want to be there when the door gave in.

"Dammit, I'm done! I can't take this torture anymore!!" Natalie shouted at the top of her lungs, her eyes fixed on the violently shaking bathroom door.

For a second, she even braced herself for death.

But then, the crashing stopped, abruptly, and not just that, the baby's crying stopped too.

No more ghostly weeping. No more pounding, nothing.

Just silence.

The kind of silence that didn't feel right, It felt wrong.

"Huff... huff..." Natalie was curled in the corner, gasping, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

She waited.

Nothing happened.

No footsteps. No creaks. No breathing on the other side of the door.

The terror that had paralyzed her slowly began to fade, just enough to move again.

"Oh my god, that scared me to death... I swear, this game, never again." Her voice trembled, and she forced a bitter laugh.

"This one session is going to take me months to recover from."

"Damn... I can't... My legs..." She huffed trying to stand but her legs gave out beneath her.

It wasn't just fear anymore, her whole body had reached its limit. Her legs were like jelly, her muscles too weak to obey.

This wasn't for show. This wasn't for the audience.

She was genuinely, completely overwhelmed.

"I... I really thought I was brave, I'm not. Not at all..." she muttered.

It took a while, several tries, before she could muster the strength to get back on her feet.

Even then, she had to lean against the wall just to stay upright.

"Hoo... hoo..."

She wasn't out of breath from moving. She was trying to calm the racing panic still echoing in her chest.

"The ghost's still outside, right? What if she's still there..."

She hesitated at the door.

If she opened it now and the ghost was just waiting there...

That'd be the end.

"Wait, Natalie! Don't open it yet!"

"Yeah, give it a bit more time, she might still be lurking!"

"Stay in the bathroom just a little longer. Safer that way."

Natalie agreed. She leaned against the wall, breathing, waiting, watching the door.

Thirty seconds passed.

Still nothing.

"Maybe... maybe she's really gone."

Carefully, cautiously, Natalie stepped toward the door.

But as she passed the mirror, her heart skipped a beat.

Something was off. In the reflection, just beyond her own image, There was another shape.

A tall, dark shadow.

Something was standing right behind her.

"What...?"

Cold prickled up her spine. She whipped around.

"UHHHH!!"

A distorted scream burst into her ears.

Right in her face was a pale, rotted visage, dead gray bulging eyes.

The ghost.

It smiled.

A wide, twisted grin.

Its arms were impossibly long, and in the blink of an eye, it grabbed her by the shoulders.

"AAAAHHHHHH!!!"

Natalie screamed in pure, instinctive terror.

She fell back, crashing hard onto the floor, kicking and flailing wildly in panic.

Her mind was blank. Her body overwhelmed. Heart pounding. She had never been this afraid in her life.

It felt like death.

Then the screen went black and a message appeared.

[GAME OVER!]

Natalie had been killed by the ghost.

Even after the game ended, her screams didn't. She kept screaming, until her voice gave out and turned hoarse.

"Hah... hah..."

Finally, she collapsed onto the platform and tore off her VR headset.

Her face was pale, eyes vacant.

Like she'd just returned from the edge of hell.

"HOLY SHIT!!"

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT TURNAROUND?!"

"Bro it jumped her from behind??"

"I knew something was wrong when she passed the mirror!"

"I'm shaking. I actually jumped out of my chair."

"This game is not normal. This is next-level horror!"

"Natalie, I don't know how you're still breathing after that..."

1211 Words.