September 7, 2088 a day after the release. Doctor Auld was sitting in his office reading over his work reports, over 250,000 people went into a coma in a day. Most Hospitals were filled so some had to be treated at their homes. The building could only fill 50 patients and he had over that many, each were bound to a bed with a metal band around their heads.
Dr Auld looked up the device on his computer, this device was called a Dream Ring a new generation Virtual Reality device that was created by FromMoon the gaming company responsible for this. It completely controls the player's consciousness by redirecting the signals the brain sends to the body and sending its own waves to stimulate the five senses. The Dream Ring doesn’t need a power source as it's powered by the player's mind, as well as a high frequency electromagnetic transmitter.
The environmental type games were first produced by Instinct Vidia a software that makes things real for the players. Therefore, Darkest Ground a virtual reality survival horror role playing game was made. A major excitement to all gamers, this grand design brought over 250,00 players during its first official launch in September 6, 2088 and is the first VR game that has been mass-produced.
“All these people are in a coma, from a video game? How is that possible?” Observing the device, he wanted to know what the other players were doing to have cause them to go into a coma. loud footsteps were heard down the hall, looking through his office window Doctor Auld saw a few of his nurses rushing by until one came bursting in his office.
“This one is worse! Doctor Auld please come see this!”Doctor Auld rushed and saw a young boy laying on the stretcher wearing a Dream Ring, looking shocked as blood leaked from his eyes and ears.
“How did this happen!?” Dr Auld ask as he feared for the boys health.
“I don’t know doctor we received a called from the boy’s parent.” Grabbing her tablet, she pulled up the boy’s file and showed it to him. The boy was very young, as they entered the emergency room.
“How could this happen? I never seen anything like this before.” A few hours passed, Dr Auld sitting back in his office a little shaken to what he just witnesses. Turning back to his computer reading more about the game, scrolling through the forums he saw pictures of other victim of this game. Some of the victim were from different cities, states and even countries it was worldwide and nobody knows what is causing these players to go into a coma. Doctor Auld had enough, if he wanted to know what was the cause of this he would do it himself.
Dr Auld was a gamer himself, from time to time he will be in his office playing some first person shooters or a few rpg games here and there. Being in his early 50s he hasn’t lost his touch of being good as a doctor or gamer. Reaching towards his office phone he called in his most trusted nurses.
“Nurse Lucille please come to my office. I have something i want to discuss.” Luciel was Dr Auld 1st student and rival in video games. The other nurses that worked in the building was his students as well. Dr Auld taunt them well if anything happens to him he know that his nurses will be able to run it without him.
"Yes, Doctor Auld?” Luciel looked at Dr Auld with a calm tone unaffected by what they experience a few hours ago.
“Luciel, I’m leaving this hospital in your care while I’m gone.” going in more details about his plan.
“Yes, I understand, we will be waiting your return Doctor.” Luciel nod and left his office to inform the other nurses of his plan, It was going to be long night. After installing the gaming on his pc and making an account, he then synced the Dream Ring to his computer and put it on. Dr Auld leaned back in his chair and relaxed as the Ring began to glow, as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
It was cold and dark, Dr Auld awoke and saw himself laying in the middle of a strange forest, his work clothes now tattered clothing that looks like it belong to an old farmer was infested with worms. The ground he stood on was also infested with worms and maggots, it was as if the land was rotting.
"What is this place?” Doctor Auld looked around until he heard a voice.
“Why...Me...Why...Me…?” A women crying in the distance. Dr Auld followed the sound of the woman's cry’s, feeling the worms and maggots slither through his feet he could barely hold himself from vomiting. A few minutes past, as Dr Auld finally reached the women crouched next to a dark puddle covered in sores and pus.
“Hey! Are you ok!?” Seeing the women in pain Dr Auld ran to the women aid.
“Ma’am? I can help you! I’m a Doc-” The women turn around looking at him.
“Who...Are...You…?” The weeping woman replied, her face replace with a large mouth with twisted sharp teeth.
Dr Auld couldn't believe what he’s seeing, falling backwards into the worm and maggot filled ground as the women crep closer to him.
“Who...Are...YOU!?” the faceless woman's voice change to a more aggressive tone stepping even closer to him, as more faceless humanoid monsters spawned from the shadows, some even were crawling like animals.
“Who...Are...You?” They all spoke to him in unison, blood dripping from their fang faces as their sharp claws scratched the ground.
Dr Auld knew he was in the game but to feel this much fear it was more of a nightmare, with no choice he ran. The faceless creatures then started chasing after him, crushing every worm and maggot Dr Auld ignore the gross feeling and kept running until he heard nothing. Dr Auld turned around, noticing the faceless creatures weren't chasing after him any more but stood staring at him. In the middle of the woods Dr Auld felt a soft cold touch on his foot, he stepped back and saw a woman face sticking out from the ground. Looking around he saw other faces of men and women they all had their faces coming out the ground, Dr Auld stood staring in horror as he recognized all their faces.
“The Patients!? They're all here!?” Dr Auld then looked around to see a large dark arch tree.The arch tree was great in size, it had no leafs as its branches were dead as the ground Dr Auld stood on and in the center of the tree was a large blood mark. The blood mark then leaked onto the roots, ground and even the faces until Dr Auld was standing in a pool of blood.
“What kind of game is this!?” Dr Auld shaken in horror as the faceless women and men surrounded the area, some were watching in the trees and the rest were on the ground kneeling, as if they were praying to something.
“Come…. Come…” The mystery’s voice called out from the arch tree.
“Who is that? Where are you?” Dr Auld replied to the strange voice.
“You… Must…. Come…” The faceless creatures all spoke in unison again pointing at the arch tree.
Dr Auld looked in the direction they were pointing, as a large entrance started to appear from the arch tree. Inside the arch tree was a shadowy being of great size and horror.
“Come… Come… COME!” Dr Auld felled backwards, feeling the blood boiled around his feet and scorching heat hitting his face as the forest set ablaze, as fire spread the faceless creature stood ignoring that their skin was burning.
“What is it that you want from me!?” Dr Auld screaming in pain as the blood fire burned his skin.
“It’s… not… what… I … want!” The shadowy figure spoke with scorched heat pushing back at the him.
“What do you mean!?” He Spoke back in anger.
“They… Weren’t… True…To… Themselves!”
“But… You… Are…!”
"And… So… You… Shall… Be…Revealed!”
Dr Auld fell to his knees, as scorched roots wrapped around him burning his skin, as he screamed in agony. The fire burned him greatly, his body scarred and his vision gone all that was left was pain. The pain of loss is what he felt, thinking about his students, career and all the people he helped were all going to be gone. The memories of his past went through his mind like channels until there was nothing left, as darkness settled in he was able to see and saw something facing the shadowy figure.
“Who are you?” Dr Auld saw the back of a creature that was covered in pitch black fur and two spiked horns from its head. Being barely able to speak with his burnt mouth and charcoal tongue, the creature turned around and face him.
“Its… Me…?” Now staring at a empty husk that was crumbling to dust, as the roots burrowed back into the bloody ground, Dr Auld stood looking at his remains as he himself changed.
“You… Are…True!” The Faceless creatures said in unison as they went silent.
“I… Understand… Now.” Raising his beast like hands as conjured fire in his beastly palm, Dr Auld was no more as something else took his place.
“Now...Drink…!” The shadowy creature said, sticking its malformed hand out from the tree.
Standing in the blood he then drank it and so did the faceless creatures joining him, as disease, fury and pain filled their minds and body with power. Holding their claws to their chest feeling great pain, as they tore it open as beastly sound replace their screams.
A few hours passed and Luciel was just checking on the last patient that was in a coma, as the monitor showed everyone was green, she went back to check on Dr Auld.
“I Hope he’s OK it’s been few hours now.” Worrying about Dr Auld, she haste to his office. Thinking back to where she was a young girl, picked on for being the smartest in her class and the best at shooting games until that fateful day. As Luciel reach Dr Auld office an uneasy feeling came to her, opening his door she saw Dr Auld chair facing the window.
“Doctor Auld are you ok?” she walked slowly to his desk as his chair rocked back in forth.
“Doctor? Are you…” Dropping to her knees crying, staring in horror.
“DOCTOR AULD!” her voice reached to the other nurses from down the hall.But before they could react, large error messages began spamming across their monitors, as each of the patients began to shake. The nurses starred in horror as the patient shook like they were having a seizure, finally they came to a stop. While blood leaked from each of their eyes and ears.
“What... happen... to you? Doctor Auld?” She spoke, as blood leaked from his eyes and ears remaining silent staring at the moon.
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