Short Story: Virtual Nightmare

I had to escape, bound clear of them. Who? I had to get away from the monsters who were gaining on me, virtually breathing down my collar. A vile smelling gas excurding from the deepest dank hole in the ground. An ice cold hand gripped my neck in a vice like grip and I cried out as the hand began to tighten.

ZZIP

The computer screen went black.

“Huh?” I cried out. I looked up from the trance I’d been caught in. “Mum! That was the furthest I’d ever got!”

“You know we’ve got to go out.”

“You could have at least let me save my progress!” I exclaimed.

“Sorry you never make a mistake! You’re not an angel you know!” she replied.

“And neither are you!”

“Get downstairs, and get your shoes on. I’m taking you to your Dad’s.”

“No you’re not thanks, when you own the world then tell me where I can and where I can’t go. What I can and can’t do. Until that day comes, I’m never going to obey anything you command, ok?”

“Pretty, pretty, pretty please?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my son!”

“So!?”

“Well, you should listen to me.”

“Well perhaps I don’t want to.”

A tear welled in her eye and then trickled down her face.

“Don’t start your pathetic fake cry, Mum” I said shaking my head. “Even I could turn the waterworks on right now if I wanted too” I added cautiously.

I stormed out of the room and downstairs. I pulled my sneakers on and slid into my Reebok jacket.

“See you, I’m going out!”

“Where to may I ask?”

“No! Well… yes you can, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to answer you does it?”

With that I kicked open the front door, and it’s ancient hinges creaked. Then CRASH the door fell off its hinges.

“They don’t make doors like they used to!”

“Oi! Get back here now!” Mum cried after me.

“No! Why should I?”

I didn’t give her a chance to reply, I walked off down the path and opened the gate. CRASH! The gate fell off it’s hinges.

“They don’t make gates like they used to either!”

I stalked through the mall until I came across a stall I’d never seen before. It was called “MultipleelpitiuM”. I went in and was faced with computer stations and games. I saw a game for the PC CD-ROM that I’d not seen before. It was called Iced Ranks III. I’d never seen or heard of it before, so I had to check it out so I bought it. That was the biggest mistake I’d ever live in this dimension to make!

I loaded up the game into my system and entered my password. Or did I? I would no longer be in this dimension soon to find out.

A message came up to ask me if I would like to enter a file called “Outer Realms \,,’[#] S%£*&(***)”

I answered YES and then I was faced with a screen that caught me in such a transfixed stare from which I could not break free. I felt dizzy and sleepy. Everything went black.

I lifted an eye lid. A silhouette was cast upon me and when it moved a scraping sound echoed about the still world. It was a shadow with no opaque object to cast it. It was a shadow with its own life and it did not want me to be there in its life. It was just purely breath-taking. I did not believe it at all.

“It’s a dream… it’s a dream…” I began chanting. “…soon I’ll awake and find myself tucked up in a nice cosy bed!” I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s approach was deadly and slow. Truly terrifying. It’s shape was a sort of ogre shape, but shrunken. By about five metres. The only other colour was red and that was its eyes. They were as red as blood. Like red flames licking up the walls. I turned and ran.

I was running across some smooth grass, wind rustling through my hair, whipping it about like feathers. I stared up ahead, the wind was making my eyes water. I was running ahead when the grass turned to jagged glass. Blood splattered upon the floor yet the glass did not hurt. A long gash was slit deep into my foot and the blade of a sword could be seen poking through it. I stumbled head first into the spikes that awaited me. My skin absorbed the shock so I received the wounds only. I looked like the blistered, chapped and mutated creature I could ever imagine.

I picked myself up and looked at my arms. Scarred. Scarred all over. I didn’t believe it. I was going to die! I reached behind me and found I wore a quargskin rucksack. I reached in and retrieved a sheet of paper, on it was a message that read:

“WHAT YOU THINK IS WHAT YOU RECEIVE.
BEWARE THOUGH. BEWARE THOUGH. BEWARE.
AS IF YOU THINK OF HIDEOUS THINGS THEY WILL BECOME REALITY.
DON’T TELL ANYONE THE CODE TO THE DIMENSIONAL GATE TO THE EARTH REALM.
OR THEY WILL PASS THROUGH TOO.”

“I don’t even know the code!” I exclaimed shaking my head vigorously. “How can I tell anyone the code if I don’t even know it! I’m not a psychopath you know!”

To my amazement a voice answered me back.

“Aren’t you?”

“No I’m not!” I screamed, my head whirring. “I’m not!”

“Keep your hair on; you haven’t much left.”

“Shut up!”

“Why?”

“Z!”

“No, why should I? I am waiting for an answer.”

I stalked off when a Minter with biological implants materisalised up ahead, grasping a rusty, scratched old bludgeon. I turned and saw only a black shape beginning to catch on me. I thought of a machine gun and it appeared much to my amazement, I thought of it’s weight and it became feather weight. I raised it and aimed it at the monster concentrating on aiming and hitting the target.

Suddenly the gun disappeared and a remote control appeared in my grasp.

I felt the straps loosen and my rucksack blow away into the emptiness. I looked at the remote and saw it contained some buttons. I have written a list of a few below.

RED = INVISIBLE
GREEN = INVINCIBILITY
YELLOW = SAWN OFF SHOTGUN
BLUE = BAZOOKA
BROWN = MAGNUM 970
PINK = RC-P90
TURQUOISE = THROWING KNIVES
PURPLE = TOUCH DETONATION MINES

There were many more. Last but not least was:

DARK BLACK TWISTED LINE = RETURN TO REALITY

A strange list for one remote, eh?

I pressed the PURPLE button and touch detonation mines appeared all around me! I couldn’t escape! The hi-tech minotaur with biological implants was closing in, and soon there would be a…

EEOOUN… EEOOUN… EEOOUN… KABOOM!

The minotaurs guts exploded and body organs showered down upon my tiny form. They came keen. Blood. Pools of the stuff all over the place. Sick. At least the minotaur had been blasted to smithereens, and whilst dying, left the door open for me to leave through. I was surprised when I came through the hole that I saw no “shadow”. Weird. Strange. Cool. No more death. Wicked.

Until it’s vague shape appeared from thin air. The “shadow” was back with reinforcements of Grechaz Stormboyz. What more could you not want!? I dropped to the floor and pressed a button on the remote. A nail gun appeared in my grasp… unloaded!

I had no time to press the right button, the “things” were already upon me! In fact I didn’t even have time to think, I grabbed out towards a Stormboyz face ready to squeeze. My thin bony hand made contact with the things face, and some runny slimy blood, a watery substance trickled down its face and stopped abruptly at the end of its nose. It let out a mighty roar that shook the floor. It fell back onto the dusty earth and a misty cloud of powdery mud lifted into the air. It was then I chose to run. Run until I could run no longer. That was my plan of escape.

I put it into action and began to sprint away, trying to shake the “shadow” out of my head and replace it with thoughts of happy thing such as cake, presents and Christmas. Impossible! I’d never manage to get it out of my brain. It would follow me into reality and destroy the inner realm of Earth. That’s what made me think of the Gate. It appeared before me. The big, bold dimensional gate with a brass rapper. A sign was on the door that said to ring the code in.

I didn’t know the code.

I didn’t even have a clue where I was. I turned and looked behind me at a large white mass of snow. Fields it covered. Fields and fields and fields. It was crisp and delicate. Cold. Melting. Over one way I could see a disused nuclear plant. And the other, an abandoned shack that appeared to be empty. And straight ahead an area of mountains reaching towards the sky. Night was drawing in, fast. The sun was resting on a mountain top, and the sky was turning a pinkish, reddish colour. A truly magnificent sunset. Now you don’t see that every day!

I turned and bent my head low, shielded my face and headed toward the creaky shack. It had glass windows out of my reach and simple wooden door. A golden oiled handle and a red substance splashed up the door. I took a whiff. It stunk. It was runny. Blood. I recognised it almost instantly.

I kicked down the door and entered to the most revolting scene you ever saw. Two zombies with bones sticking through their skin. They were feasting on an alive human. Sick. The human clambered to his feet, screaming and thrashing about. The zombie kicked him in his right lower limb, and to my amazement it fell of onto the floor. Blood spewed onto the tiled floor. Stained.

He stopped all movement and lay there lifeless. Helpless. Dead. I didn’t hesitate to pull out my remote! I pressed a green button and used whatever appeared. A minigun. “Yahoo!” I cried, clinging to it pulling, pulling back the trigger. It spun me here, it spun me there, by gum it spun me everywhere. By the time I let the trigger fall back into place, all that was left was the foundation of the shack, bones, blood and clothes. Well, what was left of them at least.

I turned and scanned the area.

A tall stout form suddenly arose out of the ground dressed in white.

“Who on God’s earth are you!?” I exclaimed.

“Who on Dartius’ earth are you? And who is God when he’s at home?” it replied.

“God made the world which you stand on, and…”

He trailed off and dropped to one knee. “Dartius, your excellency” he said bowing his head.

“Who is this Dartius, you’re on about!?” I asked him.

“ME” boomed a voice from behind me.

I leapt about a metre up into the air and turned to face the man in flowing robes.

“I am Dartius, Ruler of the World, Master of Disguise.”

“Your Majesty I say, you do not own this world. God created it for everyone to share, your Majesty.”

I turned and took to the deep trod path towards the nuclear plant. A crate labelled HN03. Nitric Acid!

I turned and jumped over a wall of snow into a ditch. I clambered to my feet and began to run. Even the tiniest spark could blow the lot. I half ran, half fell through the thickest snow into ditches. I clambered to my feet for about the twentieth time as I reached the plant. Smoke rising from nonation pipe give the signs that I did not want to see. Signs of company.

I pressed the silver oblong and guess what happened; an artillery tank. There was no door, so I made one. Pits of acid lay in wait. I put my gun to the back of an unaware guard.

“LIDAS V INTRUDA ALERTA CLEAR DA WAI OR ELSE DI”

I took my gun up the back of his head and pulled the trigger. “Oops, sorry Lidas! My finger slipped!”

“The acid pits wait for your soul, or the gas shall claim your life intruder. By the way, what is your name?”

“Micky Mouse!” I pulled back the trigger with grim determination. “Oops my finger slipped again!”

I slipped into the clothes and equipment between the bodies, and dumped the rest into the acid pit closest to leave no trace or evidence that a trespasser was here. I took the gun he had in his pocket and aimed at a lock on the door. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The dead lock tumbled noisily to the floor. I booted open the door, gun at the ready.

The corridor lay empty, save for a pile of rags up the corner. I let my curiosity overpower me. I kicked them aside to reveal a key ring with two keys attached to it. I put them into my pocket and turned around. I took my gun out. I opened the door and walked in gun at the ready. A table stood firm with a lamp on top. A crate to one side, a bible sat on the table and a few sheets, a safe to the other side. The key was on the table alongside another key. A key to who knows where?

I took the safe key and unlocked the safe. Inside were plans of the unused nuclear power plant. I took them and put them into my back pocket, picked up my gun and headed toward the door. I reloaded it and got ready for a death match with whoever was in the next room.

I resumed and went back to the table. I took a look at the paper. A contract about selling illegal arms. I took them and the blueprints for a highly advanced stealth helicopter that sat beneath it. I opened the bible. Foreign. The people who were working here were foreigners. They would not understand a single word I said. Stuff it. I wouldn’t need to speak to them, I pull back the trigger, they drop dead on the spot. Simple.

No. Not simple. Hard.

I walked to the door, and pulled it open.

I was faced with a minigun.

They led to prison where I was later assassinated.