chapter twenty-seven / eeship-chil
Go Go
(027)

As I sat on the train taking us to the city of the next boss, I had to continually convince myself that what I was experiencing wasn't a dream. Though my surroundings felt real, it was hard to comprehend that what I thought would be so unattainable just a few weeks ago, was finally in my grasp.

By that, I mean Namjoon was finally by my side again, and we had finally all agreed to go after the next boss. Though we were getting back on track, this situation was lacking of any normalcy. Before, we would all be lighthearted, joking around with one another, maybe a few of us cuddling with one another as we got some peaceful rest. So much has changed since we set off to defeat the first boss. Now, the air seems cold and rigid with nerve wracking anticipation. We've all seen too much to think that we're lucky and talented enough to get through another boss without a scratch. At this point, it isn't a matter of if something will happen, it's a matter of when and what will happen, and that has all of us sick to our stomachs.

Not only that, but Yoongi has been so distant and sullen, and it's taking a toll on the whole group. No one but me, Yoongi, and Namjoon know why, and that's causing a rift between the three of us. Yoongi is too hurt to even look at me, Namjoon is jealous and weary of Yoongi, while also being suspicious and untrusting of me, not to mention, he's still trying to get over the things he saw in Genkaku. It's all a mess, and all of it is because of me.

I want to talk things out with Yoongi, but what could I say to make things okay? I could get past Namjoon's dirty glares and jealousy if it meant I could put a patch on me and Yoongi's torn relationship. The reason we've made it this far is because we work together as a team, but what'll happen when we don't trust each other, when we aren't open with one another. We'll all fall apart.

I watch as Hoseok does his best to cheer up a gloomy Yoongi. He jokes, and blabbers about all kinds of things. I see Yoongi chuckle and smile lazily, but it hurts even more to know that he's forcing it. There's nothing more that I want to see right now than a genuine smile on his face, but I know that's too much to ask since I stole that away from him, and I hid it somewhere even I couldn't find it.

The next destination on our list was a place called Satsujin-sha. The town used to be a popular place to visit, with lots of traffic on it's streets. This was where most of the players with a higher ranking and status would go to shop and eat. The richest players often built homes or hangouts here for bragging rights.

Now, I hear the town is deserted, due to a psychopathic murderer who went on a killing spree there. Most bosses tend to stay in a small, localized area, but this one, he moved around. The game moderators even had to make sure to place some kind of force-field around the town to make sure it couldn't harm anyone else.

This boss seems different than the others. The ones we faced before, they only had one goal in mind, to protect the key. If we didn't try to go after the key, then no harm would come to us. This boss, it's actions seem to prove to me that it has more than just one goal. It's not just to protect the key, it's driven by another force; blood-thirst. It enjoys taking away, not only people's lives, but their sanity. There's been reports that before he kills his victims, he "plays" with them, like a cat does with it's prey.

The thought causes a chill to run down my spine. Did Jungkook create it to be that way? Or did it form a mind of its own? I want to believe that Jungkook would never purposefully make something so terrible, but I also wanted to believe that Jungkook wasn't the hacker. Forgiveness came easy, but trusting him is a little harder.

As we get off at our stop, I can't help but notice the tired and weary look in everyone's eyes. I want nothing more than to be able to get through this boss as quickly and easily as possible.

Before entering the town, we stop at a small, abandoned park to discuss what our strategy will be. Namjoon and I sit down on a rusty set of swings that squeak with the slightest bit of movement, Jungkook lazily plays on the monkey bars, going back and forth or climbing on top of them, Jimin lays at the end of a small slide, Yoongi and Hoseok sit on a seesaw, and Jin and Taehyung sit on the merry-go-round.

"First thing's first," Jungkook starts, "weapons." He taps away at something on his screen, and not long after, all of our screens pop up before our eyes with a message. "JK would like to gift you the following items, would you like to add them to your inventory?" It reads. Without a second thought, I hit the check mark under the question. Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll need it.

"Whatever happens, we stay together!" Jungkook instructs. I can't help but think back to the last boss we dealt with, and how Jungkook wanted us to split up to cover more distance. Is it because this boss is even more dangerous that he wants us to stay together? Is he scared to let any of us out of his sight?

"This boss is incredibly sneaky and intelligent. Stay alert to your surroundings. If anything seems suspicious in the slightest bit, communicate that to the rest of the group. This is a boss that we can't let get away. If we don't kill him, there's no way we'll get out of here alive."

We have to kill him. For some reason, learning of that makes me afraid. Yes, we did go to the first boss with the intent of killing it, but that was a dragon. I'm aware that this boss is just a pixelated image, there's no person behind it that will also die if it gets killed, but that doesn't change the fact that it looks and sounds and acts human. No matter how evil something might be, will I have the guts to take a weapon to it with the intent of harming, and killing it? Will that image haunt my dreams and further destroy my conscience?

I know that this boss is just numbers in a computer system, and I know that it has caused harm to actual living people. I just hope I'm able to remind myself of that if it comes down to me taking his life. I hope I can remember that and keep my resolve, even as I look into his life-like eyes.

Signs of the psychopathic boss could be seen more and more the further into the city we traveled. Windows in boutiques were smashed, with stains of blood smeared here and there.

At one point, I nearly screamed my lungs out when I saw what looked like a dead body hanging from the ceiling of a restaurant. At a closer look, we came to find that it was a stuffed doll that was idly hanging from an old rope. That didn't make me feel any calmer though since after inspecting the area, we came to find that the doll was a representation of the boss's last victim.

Apparently, after people die in the video game, they die in the real world too. This causes any connection their brain has to the game to be lost, and that means their virtual character disappears; lost into nothingness. As we continue to make our way through the area, we stumble across even more dolls, finding out all to quickly that the way they're set up - either hanging from a ceiling, their limbs cut off with a bloodied chainsaw sitting nearby, or a hot iron shoved down their throat - is how a former player lost their life to the boss.

It's all I can do not to dry heave when we come across another doll. I can't help but fear that after today, one of us will be replaced with one of these nightmarish toys of his. I don't want to become just another trophy for him and his sick game.

"This is it," Jungkook announces to us, fear lacing his tone and apprehension gripping his bones. I can tell as he stands in front of the building, he wants to turn right around and go back to the safety of our house. Part of me wants to do the same, but the thing is, it's our house, not a home. The sad reminder gives me the courage I need to take the first step closer to the nightmarish structure that apparently is where the dreaded boss resides.

I feel Namjoon grab my hand and I immediately lace my fingers through his. It reminds me of how he held my hand tightly before he got taken by the last boss. A queasy feeling runs through me as I think to myself that the boss took him some point after I let go of his hand. I find myself squeezing his hand tighter.

As we walk through the abandoned asylum, I almost want to choke slam Jungkook to the floor for making every boss so terrifying. He really couldn't make something cute and light-hearted. Of course, he was going for a vibe that would discourage people from going after them, but we don't have much of a choice, and I'd much rather be hunting down fairies and unicorns instead of a psychotic murderer in a creepy asylum.

Most windows are boarded over sloppily with planks of wood, letting little light flood through. Seen in different rooms are metal bed posts with old mattresses sitting on top of them, dirty and rusted sinks and bathtubs. Everything here creaks and groans, and due to all of us being on high alert, any noises made from the place makes the hair on our arms stand on end.

I open a door in the never-ending hallway we've been walking through, slow and cautiously. I lift my flashlight and shine it into the room hidden behind the heavy door, and with my other hand, have my weapon aimed and ready, just in case someone is waiting for me in the room. Taehyung follows close behind me, not letting me ignore the buddy system Jungkook enforced on the group.

My heart rate quickens as I examine the room. Littered on the walls are many drawings, seemingly done by a child, but at closer look, the images are unsettling to say the least. Depicted on the papers are dark and mysterious people, doing terrible things to people. Scribbles in dark, red crayon are everywhere, and I can only assume it's meant to represent blood. That's when I realize a similar color stains the walls and floor. My hands shake uncontrollably and I try my best to steady them, knowing that the gun in my hand won't do any good if I can't aim.

I'm not sure if it's my anxious mind deceiving me, or if it's real, but I swear I hear a voice somewhere nearby. Me and Taehyung both look at each other, as if to confirm that we both heard something. Against my better judgement, I follow the sound to investigate. I feel my whole body trembling as I move forward, and as I call out to see if anyone is actually there, I cringe at the thought that I'm doing everything that you would scream at the main character in a horror movie not to do.

"Hey Wren, I don't think we should investigate without the rest of the group," Taehyung wearily advises. I know he's right, but if someone is hurt, I don't want to waste time, so I continue, with or without Taehyung. He debates on whether he should leave me alone to get the others, or if he should follow me. After an inner war within himself, he reluctantly decides to come with me, groaning at my stubborn nature.

As I get closer, the low voice becomes more distinguished, and I'm finally able to hear what it's saying. "Run."

"Wren, I really don't think this is a good idea." He tugs on my arm sleeve, trying to get me to come back with him, but I push open the door in front of me, and that's when I find the source of the voice. I drop the flashlight and gun in my hands when I see the boy laying on the hard floor. Blood drips down his face and stains his clothes. His face is so swollen that it's difficult to distinguish if his features are familiar to me.

"Oh my god," I breathe out in shock, immediately crouching down to try and find a way to help him. I call the others to come and assist me. In the meantime, I try to sit the boy up and check him for any fatal injuries. "What happened?"

The only answer I get is him whimpering and shaking his head like a lunatic. "No," he continuously repeats, desperation taking over his voice and expression. "No, no, no!"

"I'm not going to hurt you, I'm just trying to help," I try to explain. I take out some alcohol and bandages from my inventory and begin to start treating the wounds that are visible to me. I hear the other boys finally enter the room, and a few audible gasps are heard. I reach out to start cleaning the cuts on his arm, but as soon as I touch him, he jolts forward and grabs my arm with such force and strength that I nearly fall back. I try to retract my arm, but his grasp only tightens and I wince in pain. There's no doubt this will cause a bruise.

"L-Let go!" I more or less demand. Though he's clearly hurt, he's still much stronger than I am, and making demands would be humorous if not for the tense situation since I have nothing to back it up. The boys all yell and shout for him to let go, and I can hear them readying their weapons if the need arises. Despite their threats, the boy in front of me pays them no attention, he keeps his hold on me, and he eyes me with such a look of anguish and wildness that I can feel bumps rising on my skin.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I'm just trying to help," he repeats my assurance from earlier, and I immediately feel myself start to relax, and at that same moment, his grip loosens. Now that he has my attention, and, somewhat, my trust, he seems almost relieved. "Run," he instructs, "you have to run!"

I start to try and lift him from the ground, prepared to make an escape with the injured boy, but he retracts his arm and glares at me with such a determined, but distraught look. Just from that, I know his resolve; he's planned to stay behind, knowing he would only slow us down. "Go, before it's too late. If he catches you, you'll never see daylight again."

"We came here for a reason," Namjoon interrupts, "the only reason we're running is to get you out of here."

"Whatever you came here for, it's not worth your lives," he grits out, obviously pained by whatever trauma he's faced here. Before anything else can be said, a crackling sound surrounds us, presumably coming from an intercom system, followed by what sounds like a nursery rhyme being played by a music box.

All of us look around, startled by the sudden blaring of music, but the boy in front of me doesn't look surprised. He lets out a scoff and slumps back against the wall in defeat. "Great, it's too late now. We're all dead."