The Game Master

It was a cold, rainy day in December. There was less than a week until we got out of school for winter break. Usually my teachers don’t give us work before a break, but my bastard of a History teacher decided he’d assign us a 2000-word report due the day before we got out. I knew I wasn’t going to be there then; I was going up to the mountains in North Carolina to spend Christmas and New Years’ in Lenoir with some old friends I hadn’t seen since I moved.

So, in other words, I had to turn in the report a few days prior, as in that day. So, deciding I’d get started, I found a book I thought would help me, and sat down at a table with my laptop, so I could begin my report. After what seemed like forever, I finished my report and printed it out. I went to go get my paper from the printer, and when I got back, I noticed a small, black book sitting on top of my laptop, which was now closed.

This was strange. Not so much that someone was messing with my stuff, because that was common at my school. It was just that the printer I used was just across the room, and I didn’t see anyone walking anywhere near the table I was at. Another thing I found strange was that nobody else seemed to notice it. Not that I’m ever exactly the center of attention, but if you saw a book appear seemingly out of nowhere onto someone’s computer, wouldn’t you at least raise an eyebrow?

Anyways, I could feel that something was off about the book, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I decided to take it home with me. It was only until later that I realized what a hell of a mistake THAT was… I quickly went to my teacher to turn in my assignment, then left the building and began walking towards my apartment.

Yeah, I know it might be strange for a junior in high school to live in his own apartment, but my parents divorced when I was thirteen because my mother used to abuse me, so living with my father was my only option. My father comes from a rather wealthy family, and living with him was great until he died in a car crash on his way back home from a business trip when I was fifteen. I was sad, of course, but I didn’t have any time for moping; I had to figure out my living situation first.

I already decided that it would be a cold day in Hell before I moved back in with my mother, so I had nowhere to go. Luckily, my grandmother was kind enough to let me live with her until I was old enough to move out. Because I started school so late, I turned eighteen at the start of this school year. So, with the money my father left me, I rented an apartment of my own, and have been living there since.

Anyways, when I got home, curiosity overcame me, and I grabbed the book from my bag and looked at it. It was dusty, and obviously very old. The book was black, and the spine and edges of it were weathered and beaten. Filled with renewed curiosity, I opened the book. The first thing I noticed when I opened the book was that there was an inscription on the back of the front cover, which read To the reader; DO NOT READ.

I thought that was rather strange, as I didn’t understand how a person could read something without actually reading it. But, as any careless person my age would, I didn’t take heed to the alleged “warning” and proceeded to turn to the first page. As soon as I saw what was on the first page, or more accurately, what wasn’t, I was slightly taken aback, if that’s even the right word for it.

I turned to the next page. Still nothing. Same thing with the next page, and the next. After fruitlessly flipping through the pages, and seeing absolutely nothing on all of them, I closed the book and decided I would try to return the book to the library the next day. For now, I needed sleep. So I went to my bedroom and went to sleep. I had a strange dream.

In it, the book was floating in front of my face, and the pages were flipping like crazy, and a strange voice was telling me, “I warned you,” over and over. It wasn’t a human voice. It sounded as though it had multiple voices, like you would expect a demon to sound in a horror movie, and it had no regular rhythm to it. It didn’t sound human. The pages in the book stopped flipping at a page somewhere in the middle of the book. Black ink droplets began to rain down onto the page from a pen, whose holder was invisible to me.

The ink droplets began to form letters, which formed two words. When the floating pen finished its statement, I read it. The page bore large, bold letters, which spelled out the words: “NOW SUFFER”. After that, I woke up. I hadn’t had a nightmare since I was ten, so this was odd. The air around me felt tense, like when you think something bad is about to happen.

I waited a few minutes, before laying back down and attempting to go back to sleep. After a while, I did. Luckily, I didn’t have the nightmare again, but I can’t say that my next dream was exactly great either. I was in my home, my old one, and my parents were there. They were happy, which was strange, as before their divorce, they were always either fighting or simply not talking to each other.

My father walked over to my mother and hugged her, then kissed her on her forehead, before walking across the room and doing the same to me. He announced that he was off to work, and he grabbed his keys and headed out the door. That’s when things got even stranger. My mother turned to look at me, with a twisted smile on her face. I was worried about what she might do to me. Would she… Abuse me again?

She moved closer to me, and I flinched. Then, she opened her mouth, and spoke. “So how have you been, sweetie?” She said, her voice low, and full of affection. She sounded distant. “I-I’ve been g-great, Mom,” I stammered out, my voice shaky. I was still unsure of whether I could actually trust her or not.

She smiled warmly at me, and said, “Well, that’s good.”

But you won’t be for much longer, a deep voice said, shocking me. I was paralyzed with fear as the realization hit me. It was the same voice I had heard in the other dream. My mother didn’t react to the sudden stream of words, but she began to speak again.

This time, her voice was strange, and she moved closer to me with every word she said, her smile twisted. “I warned you, human,” she said, her voice growing progressively deeper with each word she said. When it reached the same pitch as the voice from before, she began to speak the familiar words I had heard before.

“Now suffer.” I shot upright, breathing heavily, my shirt sticking to my back. I looked over to my nightstand. On it, next to my alarm clock, rested that damn book. Though I knew it was just a dream, a sudden impulse drove me to grab the book, and I began frantically flipping through the pages. After seeing that all the pages were blank, I flopped back down onto my bed, and sighed loudly.

“I have to get rid of that book. I have to!” I muttered to myself. After deciding I wasn’t going back to sleep, I vowed to take the book back to the library the next day. After laying down, staring at the ceiling for several minutes, I reached out and grabbed my phone off of the nightstand. I clicked the power button once, to turn the screen on, and opened up my phone’s web browser.

I searched the internet for anyone who might have had the same issue as I am. I doubted I would find anyone, but with all that’s been happening since yesterday, I decided it was worth a try. After searching the web for what felt like hours, I came across a website called creepypasta.com. I was confused at first.

What the hell was a creepypasta? I decided to click the link. I soon discovered that creepypasta.com was a website that contained several horror stories, which, from what I had gathered, were called creepypastas. There were tales of a mysterious, tall man called “slenderman” and a psychotic murderer called Jeff. There were also many other stories, such as encounters with various other creatures, such as the rake, but none that matched the same symptoms as what I was going through.

Flustered, I threw my phone down, and put my hands over my face. What the hell was I going to do? I didn’t want to face those terrible nightmares again, but I couldn’t just not sleep, right? “Damn it!” I said. It was then that I got the feeling that someone, or something, was watching me.

“Damn what?” A voice said from behind me. I whipped my head around to see who was speaking, but saw nothing. “This wouldn’t be happening to you if you had obeyed my warning, boy.” “W-Who are you? Where are you?” I stuttered, shaking in my seat. “I can tell you are feeble-minded…” “What do you mean?” “From the way you act after only a few nightmares, you’ll never make it through what’s coming…”

“How do you know that? Are you the thing that was talking to me in my dreams?” “No, but I am one who can help you.” After hearing that, I relaxed a bit, but I was still nervous. “How?’ I asked. “By opening the book, you have agreed to the rules of the game,” the voice said, dodging my question.

“Game? What game? What are you talking about?” I stammered. “You will know, in time. Farewell, for now.” “No, wait!” But I could feel that whatever had been talking to me was gone; I didn’t feel its presence anymore.

That night, I vowed that I wouldn’t sleep, but at around 2 AM, my eyes became heavy, and I found myself drifting off. I slept fitfully, odd dreams plaguing my mind as I rested. At around 3:15 AM, I woke up to a loud crash that sounded like it was from my kitchen. I froze, fear beginning eat away at the corner of my mind.

After a while, I regained the ability to move. Everything was still, and silent, but the air felt tense, like last night, after my first nightmare. I rose to my feet, and quickly, but silently, crept over to the corner of my closet, where I grabbed the wooden baseball bat I kept in the corner of my room. Afterwards, I opened my door as quietly as I could, and crept through the hallway of my apartment, baseball bat at the ready.

As I approached the kitchen, I began to hear a soft whoosh sound, like the pages of an old book turning. As I reached the kitchen, I saw that nothing had been destroyed, or even touched for that matter. I began to wonder if I had imagined the whole thing, then I saw it. It was the book. It sat on the counter top, but I know that I left it on my nightstand.

If that wasn’t bizarre enough, its pages were flipping, as if wind were rustling through it, but none of the windows were open. Even if they were, there was no wind blowing outside. I backed away, slowly. Suddenly, I began to feel cold, but it wasn’t like a winter cold. It was as though I was being chilled to the very core, within my soul itself. I began shivering uncontrollably, while I crossed my arms over my chest, in a pathetic attempt to warm myself from the sudden, unforgivable cold.

Then, a voice began to speak. At first, it sounded like really loud wind, but after a while, I began to hear words from the noise, like a person whispering. I made out the words: sacrifice. You must make sacrifice. “Sacrifice?” I repeated under my breath. Surprisingly, the voice heard me, and gave a chilling response of yes.

“Who-er-What are you?” I asked the voice.

“I am the Game Master,” came the reply.

“Game Master… Game.. What game? What the hell is going on?!” I said, my voice shaky.

All games have rules, and you agreed to mine. Now you will play my game by those rules. You are my pawn, now.

Pawn? It was like my life had been turned into a board game, but I still had no idea what rules the thing was talking about. How can I obey something I know nothing of?

“Now, sacrifice must be made.”

“What sacrifice?”

“As a pawn in my game, you are after the prize. In order to obtain such a prize, you must win the game. Win the game, and you will obtain that which you desire most.”

“Well… How exactly do I WIN the ‘game’?”

“Sacrifice will be made,” said the voice.

“What if I don’t play your game? What if I don’t want to obey your rules?” I said.

“I wouldn’t do that…” The voice replied, with an edge to its voice that sent chills down my spine. If it was trying to intimidate me, it had definitely done its job. I guess I had no choice but to play the thing’s game, but… Sacrifice? What kind of sacrifice? And what did I desire most? This was all just so confusing…

Suddenly, a wave of nausea nearly knocked me down, and I found myself immensely exhausted. I decided I would try to get some sleep, and figure out the rest tomorrow. For the rest of the night, I didn’t have any nightmares, or at least none that I remember. When I woke up in the morning, I stretched, and followed the almost instinctual routine of reaching over to my nightstand to grab my phone.

When my hand reached where I had placed the phone the night before, however, my hand made contact with a small, rectangular object. Curious, and slightly confused, I looked over, and my eyes were met with the sight of the black book I had grown familiar with over the past few days. I jerked my hand away, and stared at the book, horrified.

Any confusion or fear I had felt before paled in comparison to how I felt now. It wasn’t as if strange things hadn’t already been happening recently, but I knew for a fact that I left the book on the counter the night before. I decided I was going to try to return the book to the library where I had found it, so I groggily climbed out of bed and put on a pair of jeans, then slipped on some shoes and grabbed my keys off my nightstand.

I reached over to grab the book, but when my hand made contact with it, a shock ran through my body, like if you were to put a screwdriver in an electrical outlet. My hand hand touching the book started to burn, as if my whole hand was completely submerged in a pot of boiling water. Once again, I jerked my hand away from the book and held my scorched hand up to my face. To my surprise, however, my hand was not burned at all.

The pain subsided, and the voice from last night came to me. There was anger in its voice.

“You agreed to the rules of my game, and you WILL play by them. There is no escaping the fate which you have brought upon yourself, just as a pawn may only move where the holder of the piece moves it.”

I felt the color drain from my face, and I turned in the direction I thought I heard the voice from, but to no avail. Nothing was there but the closed door of my bedroom. I heard the deep-voiced laughter of the game master, and chills ran down my spine at the sound.

“You may only see me if I reveal myself to you, just as mortals will never see their God. And were I to reveal myself to you, you would go insane, and that would kill the fun before it even began.”

I stood there, speechless. The voice laughed again, but it was less full of malice this time. It sounded like a person does when they are praising their pets for doing something good.

“Good, good, my pawn. Now, rest up, for the game will truly begin tomorrow. ”

I was about to protest, as I has just woken up, and had things to do. However, as I began to speak, a wave of nausea, then exhaustion came over me. I felt light-headed, and stumbled backwards, my vision blurred. I fell back onto my bed, and my eyes closed. I fell asleep instantly. That night, my dream was of the voice. It was, again, telling me the rules, but it sounded less like it was directed at me, and more like it was addressing an audience.

Also, for the entirety of the dream, I was floating in a completely black area, entirely submerged in shadows. I looked around, and upon closer inspection, I could see shadows of what looked like people. They were gathered in a loose circle, me included. Then, a bright ball of light came from somewhere above. What was strange though, was that the light wasn’t illuminating anything, it was just there. Then, the voice spoke again.

“Now, my pawns, awaken, and let the game begin. ”

My eyes opened. Still disoriented from sleep and slightly confused, I found myself in my room, laying in my bed. I reached for my phone, and like before, my hand was met with the book. I rolled my eyes and lifted the book up, and towards me. I opened the cover, and on the first page, there was today’s date, and below it a small line of bold text, which read, “the games begin.”

I almost dropped the book in my surprise, and became dizzy. My vision blacked out for a second, and when it came back, I was surprised and a little scared to find myself in a large room that look like an old temple. Everything was silent, and I didn’t dare make a noise. I know it’s stupid, but I had seen too many horror movies, and I was scared of something jumping out at me if I spoke.

Deciding there was no point in just standing there, I silently crept forward, further into the temple. As I progressed further in, the room grew brighter, as if the sun were shining in through some window from above me. I looked up, and was surprised to find no window there at all, or anywhere for that matter. It was as though the light came from nowhere.

I continued walking, and eventually reached a large, open area. The floor, from what I could tell, was made of small, stone tiles, that covered the entire room. As I grew closer to the center of the room, I saw that the tiles changed color at one point, and the different-colored tiles formed a large, round space that encircled a smaller, black area. What surprised me about this was that the black area at the center seemed unchanged by the light of the room. It was as though the light wasn’t reaching it.

I grew closer, until I was standing on one of the tiles that made up the large circle, and stopped. Then, I heard a loud, thunderous roar. I squeezed my eyes shut, and covered my ears with my hands, in a pathetic attempt to block out the terrible noise. Eventually, the noise quieted, and I was able to make out laughter in the noise.

I opened my eyes and looked around, and I saw people standing on the other tiles in the blocky circle. There weren’t many, just three. They were cloaked in shadows, much like the people from my dream the night before. They appeared to be looking upwards, so I did the same.

My eyes were met with a small ball of light, similar to the one from my dream the night before, that illuminated the room took the shape of what looked like a giant man, but slightly different. It had horns coming from what looked like a crown resting on top of its head. The figure’s arms were massive, and hung down past its waist, where its lower body faded into what resembled a torn curtain where its legs should have been.

“A-Are you… The game master?” I asked, with the icy fingers of fear beginning to grip me.

The gargantuan creature glanced down at me, and began to laugh. Its laughter resounded throughout the entire temple, sending shock-waves of terror down my spine.

“Player one.. Quite an intelligent person you are; very observant. Correct, you are, but how far will that intelligence bring you? I think it’s time we found out,” the thing said. When it finished its last sentence, the shadowy figures turned to stare at me. Their eyes, or where their eyes should have been, were replaced with glowing, red orbs. The eyes were full of malice, and hatred.

The other figures continued to stare at me until my vision blacked out again, and I was standing outside of my apartment. I must have been asleep again. It took me a while to regain my composure, as I felt severe nausea when I awoke, and almost fell down. Afterwards, I was filled with the urge to go talk with my grandmother about what was happening. Not because I thought she would believe me, but I needed to tell someone. I walked into my apartment and into my room. Surprisingly, my car keys weren’t on my nightstand where I had left them.

I checked my pockets, wondering if they were there, and when I heard the familiar jingle of the keys, I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned and walked back outside, got into my car, and drove to my grandmother’s house. When I reached her house, I felt tenseness in the air, like before. Immediately, my mind rang with the feeling that something was wrong. Had something happened to Grandma?

I rushed up to the front door, shoved it open, and raced inside the house. The ringing sensation that something had happened grew to a deafening roar, but the house was still, and silent. After a while, I began to hear a soft dripping sound. I began to move towards the sound, and as I grew closer, the steady dripping sound grew clearer, and more pronounced.

Worried about the possibilities of what could have happened to my grandmother, I moved more quickly towards the sound, and eventually reached her bathroom. What I saw sent chills down my spine.

My grandmother was on her knees, face-down in a pool of water, which I guessed was formed from the dripping of the shower-head. I was about to rush over to her, but I noticed a hand on top of her head. I traced it back up to a figure, dressed completely in black, who held my grandmother’s head in the water.

‘Wh-Why?” I asked the mysterious figure.

“Ahhh. Player one. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” the figure said, its voice low and masculine. It must have been a man, but his face was covered in shadows, so I couldn’t see what he looked like. “But our meeting will be short-lived!”

The man turned and charged at me, grabbing my neck and slamming me against the wall across the hall from the bathroom. I winced in pain, and tried to escape from my attacker, but his grip was firm. I began to find it progressively harder and harder to breathe, and eventually my vision dimmed and I saw a flashback to when I was speaking with the voice in my kitchen.

“…Win the game, and you will obtain that which you desire most.”

What I desired most? I desired my grandmother’s life back!

I felt anger begin to grip my oxygen-deprived body, and my strength returned. I lashed out at the man’s stomach with my knee, as hard as I could, and he grunted and moved backwards slightly. His grip on my neck loosened, and I was able to breathe again. I repeated my action, but he grabbed my leg and throat again, and slammed me on the ground.

At this point, rage had taken over, and I didn’t feel the impact of the blow. I glanced around me, looking for something I could use as a weapon, and I saw my grandmother’s broomstick laying a few feet away from me. I kicked out my leg at the man, but he caught it, and I pulled down with my leg as hard as I could. He stumbled, and that gave me enough of a time gap to grab the broomstick and swing it at the man’s head.

The blow knocked him back, and I jumped to my feet, advancing towards him. I swung at him again, and kicked him several times, letting felt my anger take over completely. I blacked out, and when I regained my consciousness, the broomstick I held in my hands was bloody and broken. I looked down, and the man was dead. His nose was broken, and his ribs were cracked. Blood was pouring out of his mouth and onto the floor, adding to the pool of blood that was beginning to form.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to call the police, and tell them about what just happened, but I knew I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell anyone. They wouldn’t believe me, they would call me crazy.

The guy called me player one. Was he a player in the game, too? And was the sacrifice… Death?

What if the other players came after me, would I have to kill them, too?

The thoughts were too much for me, and I fell to my knees and grabbed the sides of my head. What was I going to do? My grandma was dead, and she was the only family I had left. The game master said I could obtain what I wanted most by winning the game, but winning meant I had to kill more people.

I couldn’t do that. I’m not a murderer. If killing one person did this to me, there was no way I could kill another person. Then again, if I didn’t obey the game master’s rules, he would kill me. I wasn’t ready to die. Not yet.

Then, I realized something; if I killed everyone, and won the game, I could just tell the game master to bring everyone back.

With that in mind, I rose to my feet, and began to walk back outside. Once I reached my car, I climbed in, turned the car on, and drove back to my apartment. I walked inside and went to my room, and saw the small, black book sitting on my bed. The cover was open and turned to the second page of the book.

I walked over to the book and picked it up, seeing a short sentence written across the middle of the page, which read, “Congratulations on a job well done.”

“What?” I wondered aloud, rereading the sentence a few more times.

“You are learning quickly, player one. But don’t let your aspirations consume you…” The game master’s voice came from somewhere behind me, but I knew better than to try and look.

“What do you mean?” I asked, but heard no reply. A few minutes passed, and I resolved to just try to get some sleep. I laid down on my bed and shut my eyes, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

I only remember having one dream last night. In it, I saw a middle-aged woman standing outside of a flower shop. She looked very forlorn, and mixed with this sad look was an expression of paranoia. She looked warily at everyone who passed her by, flinching away from anyone or anything that grew too close to her.

Suddenly, the deep voice of the game master came to me.

“You have killed player three, and seen player two. Four is all you need. Will you make it?” he asked.

“I have seen player two? That woman?”

I heard no reply from the game master, and I don’t remember anything else happening in the dream. When I awoke, I tried to remember the face of the woman I had seen in my dream. The sooner I found her and took her out of the game, the sooner I could bring everyone back.

I grabbed my keys, then put them back down. Finding someone wasn’t going to be easy, and I needed to be thorough. I put on a jacket, and walked outside and down the street. In the dream, she was standing outside of a flower shop, and she looked sad. Was she mourning a friend’s death, or sad because she knew she could be killed?

Nevertheless, I decided to check outside the flower shop where she was in my dream, so I walked down to the only flower shop in town, but she wasn’t there. I checked inside, only to find nothing. Maybe I was right about one of her friends dying. I began the trek down to the cemetery located south of town. It was pretty far off, but I didn’t have time to get my car, so I started to jog. As I grew closer, the sky grew darker, and rain started to fall, picking up as I reached the gate of the cemetery. I looked in, and saw a lone person with a rain coat on, and an umbrella over their head.

I walked through the gate, and up to the person. They must have heard me coming, because they turned around to face me as I approached them. As the person turned, I saw the face of the woman from my dream. She looked even more tired and depressed than she was in the dream. She held a knife in her right hand.

“Player one… I don’t want to hurt anyone.. I can’t. But you can, can’t you?” She asked, her voice shaky.

“I-I don’t… I’m not a murderer.” I stammered. She took a step towards me, and I stepped away from her.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I just want this terrible game to end. Can you do that for me? I’ve already lost my husband to the game, and I wanted to bring him back, but I couldn’t bring myself to kill anyone. The game allows us insights of other players through our dreams. My insight was of you, and the voice told me you were player one. I hoped you would see me, too, and we could meet. Now, I’m asking you to end this for me. Could you do that?”

She lost her husband to the game? Then the man I killed… I tried to shake off the thoughts. After all, I was going to bring everyone back in the end.

She gave me the knife she was holding, and told me to end her life. She looked completely calm, and ready to die. I made it quick, and walked out of the cemetery, my resolve to end things stronger than ever.

I began the long walk back home, and by the time I made it back, I was exhausted, and more ready than ever to get some sleep. I was almost to my apartment door, when I heard a noise that sounded like sobbing. I followed the noise, and soon found a young girl, walking down the sidewalk with her head down, and tears streaming down her face. She looked no older than nine years old, and she was alone. I sped up my walking nd, when I caught up to her, I kneeled down in front of her, and asked her what was wrong.

Her response was quiet, and due to her crying, her words were slurred. “What did you say?” I asked.

“My mommy and daddy are gone. I don’t know where they are.” She said, her voice a little clearer.

“Do you want to come to my house? Then we can try to find your parents. Sound good?”

“Okay. Thank you, mister.”

The girl grabbed my arm and followed me back to my apartment. Once we were inside, she sat down on the couch in my living room, and told me she was thirsty. I went into the kitchen to get her something to drink, which was just water. She took the bottle of water, and took a sip of it.

We sat in silence for a while, and eventually, she spoke.

“I had a really bad dream last night,” she said.

“About what?”

“I was in this black room, and there were people that looked like shadows, but they were standing up. Then, ball of light was in the sky, and it looked like a man. One of the shadow people started talking, but I didn’t hear what he said, and then the man in the light looked at him and laughed, and I don’t remember anything else.”

Shivers ran down my spine. Was this girl… a player in the game? If so, then….

“Hey, mister? Where are you going?” the girl said. I ignored her. “Mister?”

I tried to deny it. If the girl was a player in the game, then that would mean I had to take her out of it. I had to win the game, but could I really just take a child’s life like that? The other player’s at least had a reason for it. I killed the man in self-defense, and the woman asked me to kill her.

But this girl had done nothing wrong. She had no reason to die.

The internal struggle was too much, but I tried to ignore it and keep moving. I tried to remember my motive for all this, and then I remembered something.

“…Don’t let your aspirations consume you…” That was what the game master told me. My aspirations? My motive for doing all that I had done? Don’t let them consume me… Could that mean… That I came this far all for nothing? What if I couldn’t bring them back? What if the game master lied?

I tried to force the thoughts from my mind. I grabbed a knife from my kitchen drawer, and walked back over to the living room where the girl sat, with my mind tearing itself in half as I made my way towards her. I raised the knife, and as I did, I saw fear in the girl’s eyes.

The sight made me realize how difficult it was for me, when I was young, to trust strangers, due to my troubled childhood. I saw myself in the young child sitting before me. At this thought, I loosened my grip on the blade and let it fall to the floor, causing a loud clattering sound to ring throughout the small room as it made contact with the hardwood floor.

I couldn’t do it.

The girl opened her mouth, as if she were about to say something, but I stopped her.

“Go.”

At first, she looked hesitant, then stood to her feet and ran past me and out of my small apartment without a word. I fell to me knees, exhausted both mentally and physically from all that had happened. I felt completely worn out. And I had disobeyed the game master. What next? Death? Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad; a cruel end to a worthless life.

Maybe that was okay.