The Awakening
A deafening silence enveloped the air, broken only by the drone of flies and the faint chirping of birds. Kim's eyes slowly fluttered open, his head throbbing with a sharp, piercing pain that seemed to act as a filter for all his memories of the past few hours. The sweet aroma of fresh popcorn had dissipated, replaced by a sickening stench of decay that clung to the air. Kim grimaced as he clutched his head, trying to piece together what had happened. Kim noticed a slick black watch-like thing on his wrist it was nothing special though he wondered why it was there.
"What...what the hell happened?" Kim muttered, his thoughts racing like a swarm of flies around a dead animal.
He turned to see Su-ji stirring beside him, her face contorted in pain. "Su-ji!" he exclaimed, his voice laced with urgency and fear.
But Su-ji remained unresponsive, writhing in agony. Kim's heart raced as he gazed into her dark, lifeless eyes that resembled those of a blackbird. Her once vibrant complexion had drained, leaving behind a sickly pallor, and her plump, ruby-red lips had lost their color. It was as if she was caught between life and death.
Trembling with fear, Kim wrapped his arms around Su-ji's shivering form, feeling her soft skin against his. He had no idea what had caused this strange turn of events, but he knew one thing for sure - they were in deep trouble.
Confusion intoxicated the air along with particles of dust and the piercing ray of light that shone on Su-ji's naked body. Su-ji noticed the fixated glare of Kim's eyes on her boobs
'HEY!' she exclaimed whilst simultaneously scurrying towards her bathrobe. Kim stood there in awe.
'WHY ARE YOU STILL LOOKING!' Su-ji screamed
'I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW SORRY!' Kim elaborated while averting his gaze and covering his eyes.
Su-ji clasped the bathrobe in hand only to notice that it was charred with dust and grim and bore the cobwebs on it.
'What?' she said puzzled about what she had just witnessed.
Su-ji screamed, 'AHHHHHHH'
'Get it off me, Get it off me!' while frantically flashing her hands.
Kim chuckled while clasping his side in pain.
'Ahhhhhh' Kim silently screeched
'Are you ok?' Su-ji whispered
'Mhmmmmm yep, I'm fine it's not like I bent here clasping onto my side growing in pain yep totally fine' Kim remarked with all the sincerity of a used car salesman
Su-ji rolled her eyes with a gentle smile on her face the smile that warmed Kim's heart to the touch. They both stood chuckling for a second as if they had forgotten about their awkward situation.
Kim's laughter died down as soon as Su-ji stopped. She picked up the dusty bathrobe with her thumb and index finger, observing it with disappointment and confusion. She couldn't understand how it had become so dusty so quickly.
"Kim, what's happening?" Su-ji asked with a trembling voice, feeling both confused and scared.
"I don't know," Kim replied, shocking Su-ji. It was the first time she had ever heard him admit that he didn't know something. Kim was a genius with an IQ of at least 180, so the fact that he didn't know something was enough to send Su-ji into a panic.
She clasped the bathrobe tightly with both hands, and her knees became weak, causing her to collapse on the floor. She desperately tried to find meaning in what was happening, but tears streamed down her face as she realized how little she knew. She felt as if she had lost touch with reality, and everything seemed fake.
"This can't be real," she repeated, rocking back and forth as she searched for sanctuary in her words. She wondered how something as simple as a bathrobe could cause such a strong reaction.
Kim, unsure of what to do, sat next to her in an attempt to comfort her. As much as Kim didn't want to show it he was just as scared as she was if not more. He was hesitant to hug her due to her naked state, but he whispered soothing words and tried to reassure her.
"It's okay, it's okay," he repeated, trying to calm her down. Him too trying to find comfort in his own words.
Su-ji buried her face in Kim's shirt, muffling her cries and letting all her tears out while Kim finally relived that Su-ji's vision was averted let out a silent cry worried for his friends, family, and even Su-ji herself as tears dripped down his face even he started to believe his lie.
After Su-ji had calmed down, she and Kim agreed to investigate the cause of the strange occurrences. As Su-ji stepped gingerly across the creaky floorboards, she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread gnawing at her insides. The darkness was suffocating, and the only light came from a flickering bulb that cast eerie shadows on the walls.
Su-ji's hand trembled as she reached for her grandfather's walking cane, the only weapon at her disposal. She gripped it tightly as if it were her only salvation in this haunted house.
The smell hit her first, an overwhelming stench that made her gag. She hesitated for a moment before summoning the courage to enter the kitchen. What she saw made her heart skip a beat. At first, she thought the wriggling masses were grains of rice until they began to writhe and squirm. Thousands upon thousands of maggots swarmed over the kitchen counter, devouring every scrap of food in sight.
Su-ji recoiled in terror, dropping the cane as she covered her ears and began to shake violently. The gibberish that spilled from her lips was a primal cry of terror and revulsion, as she fled in a frenzy of high-kneed running, her lungs heaving with the effort of screaming 'MAGGOTS!' at the top of her lungs until her throat was raw. The sound echoed through the empty halls of the house as if calling forth the spirits of the dead.
u-ji's heart pounded in her chest as she hastily searched through her closet, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air. Her fingers fumbled as she dug through the neglected garments, each one seeming to be a relic of a forgotten time. Finally, her hand closed around a pair of old jeans and a basic sports bra, their whiteness making the grime and dust on them stand out in stark relief.
As she changed into the clothes, Su-ji's mind raced with a thousand thoughts. What was happening in her own home? Why was it so unnaturally silent, broken only by the soft sounds of nature and the wriggling of maggots? The maggots. The mere thought of them sent shivers down her spine, and she couldn't help but imagine the writhing creatures crawling all over her body.
Su-ji knew that this was no normal occurrence, and the silence only served to exacerbate her mounting fear. It was as if the world had stopped, frozen in a moment of dread and uncertainty. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong, and that it was only a matter of time before the truth revealed itself.
Su-ji and Kim braced themselves for what may be next they picked up the key rustling and tussling with the old lock to open the door.
'Are you ready?' Kim asked. Afraid to answer Kim's question Su-ji took the key and opened the door only to be met by a bright ray of light that stunned her for a second. Kim and Su-ji stood frozen in shock as they took in the scene before them. The once bustling city now lay in ruins, a wasteland of death and destruction. The streets were now rivers of blood, flowing past mangled bodies and body parts strewn across the ground. The air was thick with the stench of death, suffocating them with its putrid odor.
Su-ji's hand shook as she tried to take in the enormity of what had happened. The scene was overwhelming, and her senses were assaulted by the sheer magnitude of the destruction. The walls were splattered with blood, and the floors were slick with it. The trees were no longer the lush, green symbols of life but were instead dripping with the red of death.
Kim tried to comfort Su-ji, but the words caught in his throat as he too struggled to take in what lay before them. They were both trapped in a nightmare, unable to escape the horror that had taken over their once-peaceful city. The Trees that gave the city life were overgrown and crumbling the massive skyscrapers stood tall above the people.
As they stood there, the wind carried the sound of distant screams, adding to the horror of the scene. Su-ji felt sick to her stomach, her body unable to cope with the horror before her. She tried to hold back the vomit that threatened to escape, and Kim's words of support were the only thing keeping her from breaking down completely.
The world they once knew was gone, replaced by a landscape of death and despair. They were alone in a world of horror, and there was no way out.
Suddenly, the towering screens that hung above the city all switched off to show an unworldly black.
Kim and Su-ji's eyes both met both of them speechless and just as confused as each other.
'Babe?' Su-ji exalted
'What's going on?'
His dull expression says it all. He had no clue.
Out of nowhere, all the lights turned on. What used to be a fun and crowded city fell into a lonely death town. All of a sudden, a figure appeared on the screen a vague pixelated figure blurred out. As the resolutions increased a head of a Jester appeared. This was no ordinary Jester. It had dark black eyes which matched the unholy, unworldly black of the screen, His mask was pale white and dirty with chipped and cracked pieces on it. His mouth was slit ear to ear with perfect rows of teeth his crown was like two horns extruded black and organic looking as if they were real horns with blood on them.
A loud playful but intimidating voice spoke from what seemed to be every speaker
"Hello everybody I hope you doing just fine. Now I know what you thinking 'what happened?' 'Are my friends ok?' blah blah blah all of that stuff. Well if you're expecting a response well I'm sad to tell you that I can't answer them sorry it's just a part of the game...
'Game?' Kim utters in confusion cutting off the jester
Jester: "...those are questions you have to find out yourself. Anyway, enough of that let me give you the rules Rule number 1: anything is legal unless told by the game it's not. Number 2: I am the game master, what I say goes. Number 3: When you are chosen for a game you must attend it, failure to do so will result in severe torture and pain.
'TORTURE!' Su-ji explained her heart pumping violently she felt as if she was about to throw up she swallowed it down again.
Kim's hand was shaking violently. He tried to suppress his fear but he couldn't.
Jester: Number 4: For every game, you have won you will be given Jester points each game is worth 100 Jesture points. Jester points allow you to skip days and buy items, each day is worth 75 points, so if you were to win a game, then you can skip 1 day and have 25 Jester points left. Number 5: A player can steal your Jester points. This is done by selecting one of the five symbols on your cuff, that's the black thingy on your hand that stores your Jester points.
Both Su-ji and Kim look at their cuffs and stare at each other intensely
Jester: Let's call it hmmm?... The inventory... Yes! the inventory, anyway each day the symbol will change on each of your cuffs, to steal someone else's points you have to select the symbol on your inventory that they have on that day and touch them. Each second of touch is worth 50 points. However, if both players touch each other and have selected the correct symbol on both of their watches they both lose all their points. That was a lot to take in I hope u got all of that down. Number 5 is a bit long. So be careful who you show your symbols as you never know anyone could be a wolf in sheep's clothing. Anyway, enough of that let the games begin."