Grim Reaper Game

Sometimes, emotional scars could be quite difficult to heal. Ever since I confessed to the girl I liked and was rejected, I had been hooked on all kinds of mobile games. It got out of control. I played mobile games in class, in the dormitory, in the canteen, and even while I walked and ate. I was constantly playing mobile games. “Do you really enjoy playing mobile games that much?” My roommates once asked me. In reality, they had no idea that I was only trying to avoid the feelings of frustration and loneliness. The only way I could avoid feeling so lonely was if I placed all my attention on games. However, I would sometimes feel panic-stricken for no particular reason. What if mobile phones suddenly disappeared from this world? Would people like me be able to survive? When I looked up and realized all the college students around me were also constantly looking down at their phones, I felt relieved. Having played many mobile games, I came to a conclusion. None of the games that claimed to be ‘free’ were truly free. Would anyone be able to remain at ease when they realize players who paid to play had higher levels, had better equipment, and could easily s*******r them in those games? Were there even genuinely free games in this world? In the end, I actually found a game that was completely free for life. However, I regretted playing it because I had to risk my life to do so. One Friday night, I was alone in my dormitory with nothing to do. Since it was the weekend, all my roommates had gone out on dates with their girlfriends. Those who didn’t have girlfriends went to a cyber cafe, and they would probably spend the entire night out. I was the only one in the dormitory. As one of my favorite mobile games suddenly announced its termination of service, I got bored and began browsing the game store in hopes of finding a new game to replace it. “Do you want to experience a game that's truly free for life? Do you want a life full of thrills? Join the Grim Reaper game! You'll encounter countless horrifying tests, either as the Grim Reaper or the dead. Your attitude determines the Grim Reaper's.”  I snickered. It was another one of those ‘free game’ gimmicks. It had already become an overused term. Who would even fall for it? However… The Grim Reaper game did seem quite interesting. Was it a horror game? I felt a little tempted. ‘I’ll give it a try! Besides, if it really tries to charge me, I’ll delete the game and disappear. What can it possibly do to me?’ The game client was not too big. The download and installation were complete within a short period of time. A classic icon of the Grim Reaper wearing a black cloak and holding a huge scythe appeared on my phone screen. “You'll encounter countless horrifying tests, either as the Grim Reaper or the dead…” I felt a little nervous for no reason when I recalled this sentence in the summary. Suddenly, I had a strong feeling that once I started playing this game, everything would change. My life would change completely… ‘Hehe. What’s the point of overthinking things? This is just an ordinary mobile game.’ I chuckled at my own nonsensical thoughts and shook my head. I then tapped on the icon. The game started up, and the program began to run. Eventually, my phone screen became pitch black. A red trail of blood slowly trickled down from the top of the screen. There was a progress bar with blood flowing through it to mark the loading percentage. “Haha! This progress bar is well designed.” This game made me feel excited. I could not help but reach out and touch the realistic-looking trail of blood. My fingertips felt… sticky. I instantly pulled away and looked at my fingers. Nothing seemed unusual. What happened earlier? It felt so real. It definitely could not have been my imagination. I lifted my finger to my nose and inhaled deeply. There was a faint scent of blood. When I looked at the screen again, the progress bar showed that the game was fully loaded at a hundred percent. The trail of blood disappeared, and the screen changed to a view of a starry, dark blue sky. The perspective gradually panned downward. A bush of long, black grass appeared in front of me. There was a lone grave amidst the bush. Four words were carved onto the tomb. “Place of Eternal Slumber,” I read aloud. “Would you like to start the game?” I could see a prompt below the words. “Hehe. This is interesting.” I tapped on ‘yes’ without hesitating. Three options popped up on the right side of the gaming interface. The options were Character, Quest, and Store. Meanwhile, a mail icon repeatedly flickered at the top-right corner. I tapped on the mail. A dialogue box popped up. ‘Congratulations on joining the Grim Reaper game. You have become an official Grim Reaper player. You have obtained the title of ‘Scapegoat’. Please complete the beginner’s quest within the specified time. For more information on the quest, please check the quest panel.’ ‘What the hell? What’s with the ‘Scapegoat’ title? I don’t like it at all!’ I thought to myself. Feeling slightly angry, I tapped on the quest panel. Beginner’s quest: Escape from the haunted dormitory. Mode: Single-player mode. Time limit: None. Completion reward: Lifespan of ten days. Quest difficulty: Normal. First hint: The ghost will appear ten minutes after the game begins. Second hint: The ghost cannot bend its joints. Its body will always remain in the state just before it died. Third hint: Don’t ever be seen by ‘her.’ My jaw dropped in surprise. ‘What… What on earth is going on? ‘Who came up with this Grim Reaper game as a lame prank? Why must I accept this random ‘quest’?’ Four words in blood red suddenly appeared on the screen. ‘The game has started!’ Immediately after that, the screen became pitch black. I waited patiently. A few seconds later, the home page suddenly appeared on the screen. “What’s going on? Did something go wrong with the program? What a terrible game!” I uttered. I tried logging in several times, but all my attempts failed. I was so angry that I wanted to delete the game from the background menu. Right then, I felt a cold gust of wind. I could not help but shiver. ‘What’s going on? It’s May. The weather has gradually gotten warmer. How can there be cold breezes like this?’ I looked up at the window and realized it was tightly shut. ‘Something’s wrong… Something’s very wrong. Why is it so quiet around here? Why can’t I hear anything? It feels as if I’m the only person in the world,’ I thought to myself. Although I was the only one in the dormitory, it should not be this quiet. After all, it was the weekend! Normally, I would hear sounds of singing and laughing from the room next door. In fact, my neighbor would even have speakers turned up while he watched a film with his door wide open. I would have heard it from the gap under my door. How could it possibly be this quiet? ‘Strange. This is way too strange.’ I hopped off my bed. After opening the door, I looked down both sides of the hallway. There was no one in sight. The doors on both sides of the dormitory were closed. Apart from a dim light in the hallway, I could not see anything else. I swallowed hard, opened the door fully, and walked to the center of the hallway. ‘Where is everyone?’ I wondered. I quickly walked to the room next door, Room 501, and knocked on the door. “Liam! Will! Are you there? Open the door!” Nobody answered! I reached for the door handle and tried to open the door, but it would not budge. The door handle felt strange to the touch. I looked down and realized my hand was full of rust and dust. Looking at the door handle, I noticed it was completely rusted, as if nobody had touched it for decades. A drop of cold sweat fell from my forehead. What was happening before me was simply beyond my imagination. I could not explain any of this based on my past experience. Trembling, I took out my phone and tried to call my roommates. To my surprise, there was no reception at all. My phone was completely out of service. I walked slowly along the hallway and noticed that all the doors, like Room 501, had door handles that were completely rusted. I felt as if I was no longer in the boys’ dormitory building, but in a haunted building. I began to feel uncontrollably fearful. ‘It’s over. I’m in a haunted building, aren’t I?’ I dared not return to my room. Instead, I ran directly toward the stairway. The only thing on my mind was to leave this damn building as soon as possible. The fifth floor… The fourth floor… The third floor… The second floor… When I reached the first floor, I immediately came to a halt. That was because I discovered something else that made me terrified. The stairway did not end on the first floor. It actually went further down! I could not stop sweating. I nearly lost the ability to think after the succession of bizarre events. ‘Wouldn’t going past the first floor mean going under the ground? What’s down there? Could this be the stairway to hell?’ I wondered. I did not dare to ponder further. I had no intention of exploring the world below either. I ran toward a large door at the end of the hallway. However, I was met with despair when I realized that the door was but a realistic painting on the wall. It was not a door at all. “Ahh!” I shouted and kicked the wall hard. I then sat weakly on the floor. ‘What on earth is happening? Could this be part of the Grim Reaper game?’ I wondered. Gasping, I could feel my heart pounding. My mind was getting foggy, and my vision turned black for a moment. ‘No. I don’t think I can take it anymore. I might even scare myself to death before I see the ghost.’ I forced myself to calm down. After resting for a while, I gradually did. Nothing seemed to have changed around me. It seemed like I was trapped. It was pointless to wait here like a sitting duck. Based on the current situation, I had only one choice. I stood up and slowly walked to the stairway. I looked down and hesitated. ‘Should I really go down? Would there be even stranger ‘things’ waiting for me down there? Perhaps ‘it’ might be waiting in the shadows for me to fall into its trap.’ After much debate, I gritted my teeth and took the first step. Throughout the empty building, only the echoes of my footsteps could be heard. I did not know if this stairway led to hell, but there was no turning back. I was not a risk taker, but I would never choose to be a sitting duck when there was no other option. After taking a turn around the corner, I saw the number ‘-1’ on the wall to my right that indicated which floor I was on.