The strange feeling didn't leave me. I felt myself being pulled somewhere, but my feet stopped touching the ground. It was not difficult to go, as if an invisible hand led me along some strange path.
The buildings around blurred, changing shape and outlines, flowing into each other, like watercolor on wet paper.
And so, I'm not on the street anymore, but in some... place? It could not be called a room or a building. It was rather... space. Something more boundless, flooded with soft white light. No walls, no floor, no ceiling. Just dazzling whiteness.
- What is it and where am I? What nonsense? - I asked myself.
How could I be here? I was walking around the city. Then the forest... or the field? Damn, I don't remember. It's like my consciousness turned off at that moment.
- What kind of place is this anyway? - Trying to look around and open my eyes from too bright light, I couldn't see the figure in the center of this visit.
But she was standing there.
A white figure from my dreams. Exactly the same as in my visions: tall, slim, as if made of ivory. Her clothes shivered and flowed, and where the face was supposed to be, emptiness was still yawning.
Now, I felt her presence more clearly than ever. It was not fear, not horror. It was... greatness. Boundless, comprehensive.
Mark - her voice, the same as in my dreams, sounded in this infinite space. He was tender, but at the same time filled with the power that made my
Human inset.
- You came.
Who are you? - I asked, trying to stay calm, although the voice trembled. It was a strange feeling. A mixture of fear and awe.
I am the beginning, and I am the end," she replied.
I am what you call God. And you were chosen.
She spoke in simple words, but there was depth behind them. Endless. I felt that the words she says have a huge price.
Elected? For what? - flashed through my head.
- For correction. The worlds you created are distorted. They forgot their laws, got mired in chaos. You, Mark, will become the one who will restore balance.
Did she read my thoughts?
- I was created for this, to fix something? Or someone? - I asked.
She waved her hand, and a holographic display appeared before my eyes. It had a list of everything I saw only in the novels I read or in the anime: Name, glasses, tasks.
This is the System - explained the entity. She will help you. You will move to the worlds you call movies. And your task is to correct them, save the heroes, eliminate the villains. For this you will receive points that you can exchange for new things or abilities.
Movies? Is this a joke? - I asked. I thought I was crazy.
This test - the essence answered. But a test where the rates are real. Your task, like your reward, will be real. You will fight. You'll die. But you will also grow.
- And what's the first movie? - I asked.
The display has changed. The name "Scream" appeared on it.
- Come on, Scream?
- Your first test, Mark, is waiting for you in this world. You will go there to help the main characters solve the mystery of a maniac in a mask. The system will give you the necessary information.
Suddenly, the display froze and began to shimmer white.
- So that it's not too easy for you, I'll remove from your memory the knowledge of the plot of this movie and the personality of the killer. You will know only the main points and characters of the characters. You'll have to remember the rest yourself.
God's words were the last thing I heard before the world around me flashed with a bright light. I felt myself being pulled somewhere.
When the light went out, I was standing in a quiet, dark room, where the only source of light was a faint ray from the window. The System interface appeared before my eyes.
*****
Name: Mark Enz Talibal
Level: 1
Points: 0
Active skills: Not Available
System Store: Closed
Inventory: Closed
Tasks: Help the main characters figure out the identity of the maniac in the mask (300 points)
Save Sidney Prescott (200 points)
Location: Movie Scream
******
The words that the system left me were dry and understandable. Without giving any clues and solutions.
And the most important thing is that if I think too long, I can be killed. Because I knew from my world that events develop during the day, if I'm not mistaken.
I didn't know what was waiting for me, but I knew I had to act. I had a task. I had a System. And I had this damn world that I needed to save. Or at least survive in it.
I don't care where I didn't get out of.
The room I ended up in was simple, almost ascetic. It looks like it was some kind of warehouse or a reck room. Wooden shelves, filled with old boxes and tools, created a feeling of abandonment.
The faint light penetrating through the dusty window only emphasized the gloomness of the situation. The smell of old wood and oil slightly hit the nose.
I looked around, trying to find my way around. The system, still hanging before my eyes, seemed to be the only link to reality.
Scream - I read the name of the world again.
I knew this movie like the back of my hand. More precisely, I knew. Now only general information remains in memory: a masked maniac killing teenagers, the main character is Sidney Prescott. Everything else was like in a fog. It wasn't just that she said that she would erase important moments for me from the movie.
Great - I muttered under my breath.
Like in a sandbox game, where they don't give you tools, but they say build.
I understood that I couldn't stay here for a long time. Time is a resource that I don't have. The system didn't show me any timers, but I felt that the events had already begun to develop.
I went to the door, trying to move quietly and imperceptibly. Opening it, I found a small corridor going to the right and left. On the walls hung some old posters with advertising, obviously from the past.
On the left, I heard muffled voices. Voices of teenagers. I remembered that at the beginning of the movie the events take place in Sydney's house.
I moved in that direction, trying to walk as quietly as possible. Step by step, I tried to merge with the shadows, realizing that one wrong movement can attract unwanted attention. Turning the corner, I saw a living room where a group of young people were sitting.
I noticed her right away. Sydney. She was sitting on the couch, looking a little lost. Other teenagers were fussing around her. I remembered that they were also called once from the movie. At least I remembered the names and what they looked like.
I noticed one of the guys, dressed in a checkered shirt and jeans, giggling nervously and holding the phone in his hands. It was Randy. Another one, pumped up and with a short haircut, stood next to him and argued with the girl about something. It was Billy, Sydney's boyfriend. And the girl, a blonde with a provocative look, is Tatum.
They were here, in front of me. Alive, real. And that their lives are in danger.
The thought of a maniac flashed through my head. About a ghostly face in a mask. Where is he? When will it appear? How to calculate it? I remembered that anyone could be a murderer. Any of these teenagers.
And this knowledge evoked something new in me. I was no longer an observer. I was a participant in this game, and their fate depended on my actions.
I took a deep breath, trying to relieve the trembling in my hands. It's time to act. I had to start with something. And it's better to start now.
Having taken a step forward, I came out of the shadows, trying to seem as relaxed as possible.
Hi - I said, trying to make my voice sound as calm as possible. - I'm a little lost here.
All eyes turned to me. And silence, hung in the air.