YouTube: Dream Gamers: Book 3: The Humatronics

Chapter 18

Cierra was completely torn. Seeing not only people that had done great things, but her own older brother, one of the people she looked up to the most, in a state like that. It broke her. It was all she could do to hold back her tears to stay strong for Bethany and Isaac.

The three siblings exited the Safe Room and found Arin, Dan, and Matt seated at a table nearby, looking as wrecked as them.

"Cierra," Arin looked up, worried. "What happened? Is Mark... dead?"

"No, he isn't," Cierra answered, letting the Grumps and Matt breathe a sigh of relief and fear. "Jordan spared him because he realized something. Mark never wanted any of this to happen. He was forced."

"Forced?" Dan asked. "How?"

"I don't know," Cierra replied. "I expect he'll tell us when he's ready."

Just at that moment, Jack, Jordan, and Mark entered the main room, all of them covered in blood.

"Mark!" Matt shouted as he ran over and hugged him. "I'm so glad this wasn't your fault!"

"Yeah," Mark breathed, still choking on his tears. "I don't know what I'd have done if this had continued. I'm glad I took the last shift instead of you or Jack."

"Well, Mark," Jack said, solemnly. "I have a confession to make."

********

"It was you all along?!" Mark shouted in disbelief as Jack buried his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry!" Jack cried. "I thought this was all your intent and I found no other way to stop it than to kill you! I'm so sorry!"

"Sean," Mark sighed, suddenly sympathetic.

"But if it wasn't for Jack, my siblings and I would've never gone back to normal," Jordan explained. "It was because of him that the program shut down and why I spared you."

"But, Sean," Mark started. "How did you find out that I was being possessed?"

"I had a vision," Jack confided. "I saw you with the evil ghost of a girl controlling you as though you were a marionette. Tell me, who is that girl?"

"The only name I know her by is The Voltox," Mark answered honestly. "I don't know her by any other name than that."

"The Voltox..." Arin thought out loud. "What a mysterious name. It almost sounds like some sort of virus."

"You're right, Arin," Isaac agreed. "Maybe she isn't a ghost, maybe she's a virus or parasite?"

"She could be a parasitic ghost, Isaac," Jordan added. "Whatever she is, we need to make sure she stays away from Mark."

"Or any of us, for that matter," said a soft female voice.

Everyone turned to see the floating figure of a young teenage girl, glowing blue. Her eyes were soft, and her smile was kind. Her pink slip floated with her as though it her a part of her.

"W-who are you...?" Jordan stammered in awe.

"I am the one who hears when you cry into the darkness, and comes when you are in great despair. I am Farcry, the dream goddess of healing and safe haven," she girl introduced, sweetly.

"Dream goddess?" Jordan questioned. "Is that just a title you go by, or do you truly believe you have the power of God?"

The room went silent at Jordan's remark, unsure if he was merely asking her or threatening her. The truth was, Jordan was questioning her power and status as a "goddess", as he believed there was only one true god, the God of Christianity, whom he called Lord. Jordan was skeptical that there would be a divine power that equaled the power of God.

"The status of 'dream goddess' only tells of a very powerful dream creature," Farcry explained. "Most people only know me as the voice of comfort they sometimes hear after a nightmare: a mother's assurance, the voice in your head that confirms that it was all just a bad dream. That is me, personified. I am not really a goddess, if you choose to believe that."

Jordan said nothing.

"Now, to tell you what I know about the Voltox," Farcry continued. "The Voltox is the personification of the dark side of the mind of a teenage girl who looks up to you all. She, like the Fryes, is a whole-hearted Christian, yet she sees me as a motherly figure who was sent by God to protect her from the Voltox. In Russian and Slavic culture, she would be seen as a Nocnitsa, a creature that lurks in the shadows and preys on sleeping victims. In those cultures, mothers would place a knife in their child's cradles to keep them safe. 

"The Voltox is terrible creature, filled with unknown vengeance and crass. She can easily find one's worst fears just by studying them. She knows how to inject fear into each one of you, just because that girl knows your fears, and has theories that can explain other possible fears. The Voltox knows each one of them, and she can barely keep secrets from her."

"Oh my god," Mark murmured. "She's a lot worse than I thought."

"Also," Farcry smirked. "Jack, you really shouldn't have forgotten about your injuries. You are about to pass out from blood loss any second now."

"Wait, what?" Jack half-shouted in disbelief, then immediately realized, he was getting really dizzy. A few seconds later, he collapsed, unconscious.