Creepy Tales

Locked In

      It's so annoying that I can't go into the basement. I really want to see what he's been working on, I'm too curious and he knows that. Uncle Mike keeps talking about this new gaming technology he's been working on and now that I'm staying here for a couple weeks...the curiosity is killing me. It's not like I'm going to mess everything up if I walk in there and look at it, but he acts like I will. I even told him that I'd be super careful. Tomorrow I will be home alone. I know where he hides the keys.

  
                           ___________

       Finally. I could hardly sleep last night thinking about today. He's gone, only for an hour, but an hour will be enough. He hides the keys in his bedside table drawer, I've watched him do it several times and he's never caught me. I watch his car leave the driveway and immediately rush to his room and open the drawer, getting the key and going down to the basement. I nearly trip due to how fast I'm going down the steps and I don't care.

     I halt in my tracks when I finally see it. It's sitting on a desk in the middle of the room. Waiting for me. Inviting me. I walk over to the desk and sit down in the chair in front of it, the scraping of the chair against the floor filling the silence of the room. It's just how I imagined, maybe even better. A VR headset...the shiniest most futuristic looking one I've ever seen. It's like the controllers in front of it are pleading for me to use them. I sigh and crack my knuckles, a grin on my face as I power it on and place it over my head, grabbing the controllers as well.

   My vision is filled with the sight of the opening screen, my eyes widening as I read the text "Hello, Anthony". What? How did he...how did he know I was going to play it? Is this made specifically for me..or does it have really enhanced features; so much so that it can recognize someone's face? A Terms of Service screen pops up and I roll my eyes, skipping it. No one reads these things, I swear. Literally no one.

    Okay...here we go, loading...what...the...hell? I'm...in the house. The house is in the game. It looks just like this house, down to every last detail. This is freaking me out. I hear a noise and set the controllers down, taking the headset off...why isn't it coming off? It's not even budging. Jesus Christ it's like I'm locked in. Locked in my uncle's house in both worlds. Why? What's the point of this game?

    I pick up the controllers and go upstairs, into my room. I look around in amazement. Every. Detail. I hear footsteps and rush over to my closet, hiding in it. Finally, something's happening. I was getting bored. The voice I hear now sounds like Uncle Mike's. "Where are you, Anthony? I know what you did and I'm not going to let you get away with it!" I flinch. Is he talking about what I'm doing right now? Nah.

   I open the closet and step out. "Here I am, Uncle Mike. What do you want?!" I yell at him. My uncle turns around and that's when I notice he's holding a knife in his hand. My eyes widen and my hands fumble with the controls as I run away from him. Why does he have a knife? God this is so stupid. I can't help but let out a laugh. I can hear his footsteps as he chases after me.

   I find the front door of the house and open it before realizing that I'm looking into a dark abyss. The front yard must not be finished yet. Ugh. I turn around and am immediately met with my Uncle standing in front of me. "What, Uncle Mike?" I ask him, laughing. "What are you looking at? Do somethin-" Before I can finish my sentence, a knife jabs me in the stomach.

   "Oh come o-" And again, I'm interrupted by a knife stabbing me. But this time, I feel it. Then, my Uncle speaks next to my ear. "I knew you just couldn't resist, Anthony. And I bet you didn't read the terms and agreements. If you die in game, you die in person. Do you have any idea how long I've been wanting to get rid of you?"