His body froze, again. He had the feeling that the creature had somehow done what it did earlier, and he was now going to be its second human snack.
But suddenly, a blinding white light enveloped him and the creature was knocked back so hard it flew through the far end of the wall. The light seared at his skin, blazing brighter and brighter till the edges of Max's vision burned white.
The small box Sally gave him shone like the sun, scorching his palms in the process. Before he knew what was happening, everything ironically turned black.
Max jerked up on his bed, gasping for breath and squeezing the edges of the sheets with his fingers. He was back in his room. Everything seemed to be in order. He lunged across to his bedside drawer and checked the time on his charging phone. It was 1:00am.
"Could it be that…?
I just woke up from a dream. Or am I still in one?"
Max thought to himself.The craziness of the last five hours had made Max doubt the essence of reality.
He looked at his palm. The golden shiny box thing that Sally gave him was no longer there.
It might have just been a dream after all.
But then, an idea sprang in his head as he reached under his bed, where Stacy, his ginger cat, would be.
As expected, she licked at his fingers as he stroked her thick fur. Max could even hear a faint purr.
Max's heart rate relaxed. This was another one of those lucid dreams. Everything was fine. After this, he would check on his mother's room to make sure she was alright.
Max could hear Stacy's faint mews as he gently hoisted her nimble form from under the bed for cuddle time.
Of course, he expected to see a cute orange cat nestled in his arm.
He saw a dark ugly beast instead.
Its meows suddenly turned to shrieks.
SCREEEE!!
"Ahhhh!", he shook his arm, hurtling the monster towards the far end of the wall.
He ran towards his door, banging it shut behind him and locking the creature within.
"Max?"
His mom called out to him from her room.
Max could hear approaching footsteps. He was about to walk in its direction when he heard a voice.
"Don't even think about it."
"Huh?"
Max seemed to be hearing a voice in his head. It sounded like some female AI with a hint of sass.
He looked around to be sure he wasn't hallucinating.
"Who are you?"
"No time for introductions yet. All I can say is do not follow that voice. That's not your mother. Take a right through the parlour and exit the building."
"Why would I leave my house? And why would I trust you? I don't even know what you are. "
There was a moment of silence, almost like the voice was trying to calculate its next words.
"I'm your new system Max. And yes, you do have to trust me because I'm your only chance of survival right now."
"Survival? What are you even—"
"No time. Think sharp!"
Max looked up just in time to see his mother round the corner.
"Max? What is all the ruckus about?"
Max studied Sally for a moment.
Her hair seemed to be a bit dishevelled, but that was how it usually was when she took even a five minute nap. Other than the unusually large eye bags, she looked alright to him. His so-called system might have just been a figment of his overactive imagination.
But then, Max remembered the monster under his bed that posed to be his cat, and if he recalled correctly, Sally was meant to be dead, unless this was a dream, which it most definitely wasn't.
Max had gone through enough to figure out that everything that had transpired so far was as real as his last crazy girlfriend.
"Max? You've got to get back to sleep. Today's a big day for you. Come let me give you a hug."
Sally stretched out her arms and walked towards him.
If Max was to be slightly fooled by this spectacular performance so far, this particular move had gotten her busted.
His mom didn't do hugs. He was much too old for that.
Like the monster under his bed, something had decided to pose as his mother.
Max backed away slowly.
"Need some help here, Miss System."
The voice in his head had gone completely silent. Great! Right when he needed it the most.
"Max? Won't you give your mother a hug?"
Sally, or the thing that took her skin, kept walking towards him. Her calm demeanour began to slowly change to one of persistence as craziness crept into the corner of her eyes.
"Max. You would run from your MOTHER?!!" Her voice had changed to something horrendous, like the sound of car tyres driving over gravel. This was Max's cue to bolt. Behind him, his room door banged violently as the creature from within struggled to get out.
He barely turned to run when he was grabbed by the arm.
"Let go bitch!" He picked up a random screwdriver he saw on the floor and stabbed her in the right eye. She screamed and let go.
"YOU DARE?!!"
"You'll pay for that, puny human. Your death will make my master pleased."
While clutching her eyeball, Sally stood tall, the skin of his mother crumbling away to reveal blackened skin filled with even more eyeballs that all centred on Max.
Max should've run away a long time ago, but of course he couldn't.
Those freakishly large eyeballs that dotted the creature's skin transfixed him in a daze.
His instincts screamed at him to run, but his muscles locked in place.
Not this again…
Max thought to himself.
The creature seemed to smile with its unnaturally wide mouth. Rows of jagged teeth gleamed in the darkness.
"You, my dear, will be another addition to my life force. At least you'll be useful for one thing, making me stronger to kill more of you."
Max was gripped in fear. Maybe this was the end for him. Dying when he didn't even understand what the fuck was going on.
At the back of his head, he heard that ding.
[System Initiating]
[Binding Complete. Congratulations! Host has now become the Beacon of Light]