A silence permeates the space, a voice infiltrating the tape of painful memories. Dreams illuminate the darkness of my nightmares, amidst the void of my fears. Alice, that small soul dreams, after suffering behind her inevitable reality, as if fate had granted her a chance from nothingness, to guide her to the threshold of her dreams.
Can the nightmare be the beginning of my dreams?
******
"Now!" Otto shouted, and Mike turned on the device. At that moment, Alice felt a jolt in a part of her brain, and the headache began to increase in Pain, little by little.
"Otto… I can't bear it!" Alice screamed.
"Alice… endure… breathe deeply… resist the Pain… breathe deeply… let your imagination flow…."
"Otto… the pressure is rising more… we have to stop it." Mike, worried.
"What?... At this time?" Otto.
"This is dangerous for Alice-"
"No… keep going." Alice.
Alice felt as if her head was about to explode, and the symbol appeared on her forehead, with corruption beginning to seep from her pores.
"What's happening, Otto?" Mike, scared, sweat pouring from his brow.
"Keep going, Mike…." Otto, confidently.
The pressure was intense on Alice, but she endured it. Breathing became a difficult struggle for her. Suddenly, the symbol began to glow with a rusty crimson color.
The device began to emit a warning sound, and Mike turned to Otto: "The device might explode… let's stop."
"We won't miss this opportunity, Mike." Otto, firmly.
"What about Alice?... She won't withstand this pressure." Mike.
"We'll intervene at the right time."
"But-"
"We must continue…"
At that moment, Alice lifted her head, panting, saying with difficulty: "Otto… I can't… it's Painful."
"Endure… please."
The Pain intensified, but Alice tried, feeling the fear of failure within herself.
'This is Painful… Is this the Pain Eve felt… This is all because of me… Yet she still blames herself… she felt guilty… she blamed herself for my disappearance {It's an innate feeling… inside me…}… Wait…'.
At that moment, the screen glass shattered violently, and the device stopped working.
"What happened?" Otto, in anger and worry.
"The pressure was high… but… what about -." Mike, with concern and regret.
At that moment, the two turned to find a hollow body that neither trembled nor moved, like a lifeless corpse, with dead green eyes, and corruption seeping from that symbol on her forehead.
Both were shocked. Otto rushed to Alice, shaking her body and calling her name anxiously.
"I told you this was dangerous for her." Mike, in shock and anger.
"Don't worry… she's not dead… she's still alive."
At that moment, Mike grabbed Otto by the collar of his shirt, angrily: "Fool… look… nothing appears on the screen… how will you justify her death...?"
"Mike… don't worry… we'll find a way-"
"It was hard enough to justify the disappearance of Ethan and Ruth."
"We eventually managed to hide-."
"Otto… I know your motive… but the price you'll pay… we'll pay is high…"
"Stop that… Mike." Otto, pushing Mike's hand away.
Suddenly, the door burst open. Otto and Mike turned to find Robert, concerned: "What was that-".
At that moment, Robert's eyes fell upon Alice's body. He said in shock, slowly approaching them: "What exactly happened?"
The two fell silent, regret evident on Mike's face.
********
'What… what happened?'
A strong headache made it difficult to get up. Alice slowly opened her eyes, her mind on the verge of exploding. She looked around to find herself in a dark place.
Alice quickly stood up, fear seizing her heart.
'This place…'
Alice felt something coming from behind her. She quickly turned to find corruption tentacles rushing towards her. She slipped to the right, but one of them struck her right shoulder.
"Painful." Alice placed her hand on her injured shoulder, trying to get up, but the ground was slippery. She couldn't stabilize herself, looking around, cautiously anticipating any attack.
The sound of footsteps came from behind. Alice slowly turned, her eyes conveying her fear, as a sharp knife darted from nowhere, hitting her foot. Alice lost her balance, falling onto the slimy ground. The sound of footsteps intensified.
Alice crawled away from the sound, and the knife turned into corruption, restricting her movement.
The black corruption became sticky, and Alice's limbs stuck to it. She slowly directed her gaze towards the fear, cold sweat pouring from her forehead.
It appeared from nowhere, Alice's nightmare, advancing towards her with a disgusting laugh, holding dozens of knives in its hands. Alice tried to sway, but the corruption became stickier with each attempt.
Alice's limbs thickened, the air became heavy in her lungs, and her heart pounded with unbelievable force. There was no escape for Alice. The laughter emanating from Pain made things worse.
'What should I do… "… Otto… can you hear me… Otto?"..' Alice, anxiously looking in all directions.
Suddenly, Pain lunged and grabbed Alice by the neck, its corruption seeping onto Alice's skin.
[What's the point of screaming… Alice… this is… our fate.] Pain grabbed one of its knives, pointing its sharp tip at Alice's forehead, and a drop of blood trickled from her brow.
[These features… on your face… this fear… that covers your body… I've never felt anything like it before… Alice…].
Pain began to raise its knife, and Alice's pupils constricted as she swayed in all directions.
"Otto… Otto… can anyone hear me… Otto… Otto… If you can hear me… do something…-"
And quickly, Pain lunged.
******
A screeching sound began to come from the device. Mike rushed towards it, finding an entity of corruption in a waitress uniform pointing its knife at the camera.
"Otto… Alice is alive!" Mike, with hope.
"What?" Otto rushed to the device, adjusting the sound, saying: "°Otto… Otto…°".
"Alice's voice… Robert… detach the red needle from her head."
And quickly, Robert rushed to detach the red needle from Alice.
******
Alice opened her eyes, feeling dizzy, to find Pain stabbing her in the chest.
[What the-] And quickly, Alice formed a knife and held it firmly, aiming it at Pain. Suddenly, the corruption on the ground vanished, and Alice quickly kicked Pain's head hard, standing up with difficulty.
"°Alice… can you hear me?°" Alice heard Otto's voice from nowhere.
"Otto… what happened?"
"°We disconnected the sensation needle from your body… Where are you now.°"
"In the void… but I'm not alone." Alice, running away.
"°Who is that corrupted entity?°" Otto, with worry and caution.
"My nightmare… Pain."
*****
Amidst that void, something brings back a part of dark memories, a strange feeling tells a part of my fears, and the nightmare materializes into my sterile reality.
Even our worst fears can become reality.