Digital Dystopia

Chapter One

Pain is all you feel in that moment, vibrating through every nerve in your body. Your body, which feels... different. You have the sensation of standing in the same house you'd grown up in, but somebody had removed all your belongings and painted the walls.

Your ears ring so deafeningly, vision blurred from what seems to have been impact. Running your hands along the surface you lay on, you feel thin gaps between planks, a smooth but grippy finish on what you assume is wood.

The ringing is fading, slowly being replaced by the pounding of your head.

"Uh, why... moved... yet?"

A high-pitched, female-sounding voice. Not high pitched like a child, but like a woman who has been silenced her whole life, now too afraid to have confidence in herself or her thoughts.

Perhaps you've fallen off the ladder setting up the lights for... what was that musical you were working on again?

"Looks like... hit their... too hard. Never seen... happen before."

Another female voice. Or maybe not? Like a female voice trying hard to sound less so. They spoke as if they're bored, or unimpressed, not with this particular situation but with existence in general.

The ringing is almost gone now, though your vision is still suffering. Could you just be experiencing an unusually aggressive migraine?

"C- uh, Caine, people can't die here, right?"

Die... Is this death?

It can't be death. People don't die at... Hold on, how old are you?

Light seeps through the dark glaze over your eyes, trying to snatch your vision as quickly as it's coming back to you. You attempt to shield yourself from the attack by bringing your hands up to your face, ignoring the chorus of voices around you.

But, this is worse.

This doesn't feel right.

These aren't your hands.

This isn't your face.

This is not your body.