Aiden is on edge, unsure of what to do as his fingers touch the screen. He hadn't agreed to anything, let alone even pressed a button.
"For god's sake, what is happening with this damn phone?"
He almost dropped his phone after it abruptly buzzed. Shortly after he turned it on, a black screen emerged.
Thinking he somehow broke the phone, sweat began to drip down his forehead.
He put the phone back where it belonged, the pocket, then held his breath as the plane jerked back and forth; the lights went off shortly after that.
"Let's just… Forget about that now."
The cabin lights went low. The turbulence hit, but eventually everything settled down.
He shoved in his earbuds that were already playing music, just to drown out that annoying Karen, two rows up ahead.
Her voice had been drilling into his eardrums since takeoff.
"Baby, no! Don't do that, do you want your tablet, no? Are you hungry? Excuse me, I'd like some French fries for my baby here."
So loud that even with his earbuds on, he could still hear her.
"Lady, just give him a break… Or maybe a parachute."
2 Hours later, the cabin went dead silent, no more annoying Karen screaming all over the place.
Aiden glanced back in the direction the Karen was.
Half-open mouths, drooling uncontrollably. They were finally quiet.
"I can smell their stinky, unbrushed teeth over here."
But he decided to double-check.
And when he did.
The kid wasn't asleep. Wide awake. Eyes all red and puffy.
"...Well, that's creepy."
He decided not to comment on it.
He lifted the curtains, then he froze on his tracks.
Outside the glass was a tall, inhuman black figure with white eyes glaring at Aiden's soul.
"Am I hallucinating?"
There appeared to be no moon, nor were there stars, just that figure staring at him.
Maybe he finally lost it, jet lag, low oxygen, or something else.
He gathered up his courage and decided to close the blinds.
Nothing happened, just silence.
Then he opened them again.
The figure was closer than ever, only the small, thin glass separating them.
Aiden screamed his lungs out.
"AHHHHHHHH."
Every passenger on the plane woke up.
Some random baby decided to start crying.
The Karen screamed.
"Who dared to touch my bags?"
Suddenly, the pilot keyed the intercom and started to speak.
His shaky voice came through.
"Ladies and gentlemen… This is your captain speaking. We're currently experiencing an emergency, a radar blackout. I-I don't know what's ahead. The instruments aren't picking anyt——"
He didn't get to finish his words.
The horizon jerked violently.
People shouted.
Then–
Black.
Aiden was startled awake as he gasped for air
The seatbelt dug into his chest as he stumbled forward.
"Fuck."
"Where am I?. Oh yeah, I'm on the plane heading to Canada..."
He checked his surroundings.
"But why are there bodies in the ground?!"
Around him were many rotten bodies covered with flies and dry blood, some still on their seats, but not a single one of them showed signs of life. The air reeked of decay and scorched metal.
"What the hell…"
He almost puked looking at the corpses that were lively passengers just before everything went black…
"Just how much has gone by for the bodies to start rotting like this…?"
Splintered wood was everywhere, piercing the plane with its sharp tip.
The plane was split into two large parts.
"What happened over here…"
Food carts were upside down, pieces of glass all over the floor, shattered trays. But something sparkled under a worn-out cabinet.
Crouching, he found an emergency fire axe, alongside a fire extinguisher.
He stared at them both.
And then took the fire axe with his hand.
"Better than nothing."
The extinguisher didn't even cross his mind; he had no use for it. It's not like there is a fire around here.
He decided to check the cockpit, pushing past ripped luggage and corpses, he gasped at the scene before him.
"Good grief…"
They were dead, both their lower bodies crushed, their eyes were open but lifeless, dried blood soaked the floor.
Then something clicked in his brain. He was the sole survivor of this incident. Was it a crash or something else? Will I ever know, or will I never know?
He made his way out of the plane, and a huge forest lay before him. It gave off a creepy feeling, like something ominous lurked inside.
It was already midnight, the moon had risen, but it looked too big.
"I don't think this is the moon I know."
Suddenly. Echoes of a scream sounded, unnatural ones.
"Oh, is this when I'm supposed to run?"
Aiden's adrenaline took over, and his legs moved before his brain could comprehend.
He ran without knowing what he was running from.
Branches snapped, his face was cut by sharp vines, he heard footsteps behind him, inhuman footsteps, ones that were surely quicker than him.
Aiden glanced back. Twisted antlers and glowing eyes, over 3 times taller than him, it looked like a demon and a deer had a child.
"OH HELL NO!"
He ran with all that he had, nearly tripping over branches. His breathing was unstable, the footsteps behind him only grew louder and closer, and he could feel the monster creeping up on him.
Suddenly, Aiden noticed smoke, and that could mean only one thing.
"Fire"
He looked back, the monster was only feet away from reaching him, but was strangely slowing down.
After a long chase, Aiden finally reached the source of the smoke.
"A campfire"
And there were people.
"I guess I found where the other passengers are."
But only a few of them remained, as well as that loud Karen and the pilots.
"Wait, the pilots, weren't they dead a minute ago?"
They sat on a log, staring at a worn-out pot placed on a fire.
Aiden wasn't able to comprehend what he was seeing; they were corpses only minutes ago.
DING
His phone interrupted him with a buzz.
The battery is dying. Only one percent remains.
"Ugh, why now?"
Then, he remembered, he brought a power bank in case of emergencies.
It appears to be serving its purpose today.
Suddenly, the screen turned gray.
It launched the "1000 game app" by itself.
And a large title covered the screen.
[✓] Finishing Game #1: "Run and Don't Look Back."[▶] The second game, "Investigator," began.
With his heart pounding, Aiden gazed at the screen.
"What do you mean by a game?"
Still, the game had begun.