The first thing I noticed that morning was silence. Not the kind of silence that comes with the dawn—when the world has just risen—but an unnatural stillness, like the world itself had paused.
I checked my phone—10:35, it read. But that's strange; usually by this time, the street below is already bustling with the ear-buzzing honks of angry workers waiting to get to work. I sat up in my bed, my blankets tangled around my legs. With a trace of confusion, I dove deeper into my curiosity—why is it so silent? Did I miss something? A fire? Some sort of disaster? How deep did I sleep? I opened my social media apps to search for a hint—any hint. But nothing! Not even a post was showing. I looked up at my screen to find that there was no signal. No signal? I checked again. I wasn't dreaming. There was no signal, although I was connected to everything—Wi-Fi and my roaming data.
In procrastination, I threw myself backward and landed back in bed. This time, my eyes peered toward the window next to me.
I immediately jumped up. Fog? Are you playing with me? The heavy fog was covering my window. I felt a sense of unease. At that moment, all I wanted to do was open the weather app to check the reality of this.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed. A notification, then 99+ notifications started spamming my phone. To my surprise, they came from a single app—an icon with a simple black square and a red dot in the center, which I had never seen in my life. Has my phone been hacked? Whose prank is this?
I knew I shouldn't press it, but curiosity won, and I tapped on it.
The app opened to a group chat named "Building 1"—the apartment building I lived in. My chest tightened as I saw messages from my neighbors and other inhabitants whom I hadn't met. 112-Frankert Green, 207-Annie Furt—names and profile pictures filled the screen, along with a flood of messages.
302-Nina: What's happening? Why can't I call anyone?
201-Kevin: Something seems to be outside. Don't go near the windows!
104-Sam: Who's prank is this? WHO ADDED ME?
502-Ellie: My mum's not answering... What is this?
Hundreds of similar messages flooded the chat, with panic bleeding through every word. My thumb hovered over the keyboard to type something—anything—my struggles, my panic, my questions, anything.
This chat has been muted by admins.
The messages came to a sudden stop. For a moment, it was as if the entire building was holding its breath.
A new message appeared.
user101: Welcome to the Game, and I hope you will live till the end.
WHAT.
user101: This game will continue for three days.
This is a time of challenge for the human body, mind, and nature.
You can do anything for the next three days, but you must follow these rules:
Do not go into the mist. Don't let curiosity kill the cat.
Every 2 hours, one random person will vanish if no one completes their tasks. Be quick, or it could be you.
Food will be delivered to your door by a server dressed in black. Do not trust servers dressed in white.
Close all blinds and windows after 6 P.M., or the creature will hunt you down.
There will be a safe hour at 12 P.M. when you can move around the whole building, but you must be back before 1 P.M.
Do not go into the corridor at any time.
I am not trustworthy.
My hands went cold.
user101: Good luck surviving!
Before I had a chance to read all the rules, the sound of something scratching caught my attention and sent shivers up my spine. It was coming from outside.
QUICK! I told myself as I ran to close every window and blind. The mist was thicker now, swirling like it was trying to push its way inside.
I stood there, my back pressed to the wall, gripping the cord of the blinds like it was a lifeline.
My phone buzzed again, this time a direct message addressed to me.
user101: Welcome to the game, Kai.