Glitch Haven was a walled and gated city. When Annalise, Snuggles, and I approached the huge gates, we had to use a retinal scanner in order to gain access. On the walls, what appeared to be mounted guns swiveled toward us, holding us in their sites.

“I thought guns weren’t a thing here,” Annalise said, eyeing the mounted gun warily, as if she feared one wrong move would cause the automated gun to open fire.

“Those aren’t guns,” Snuggles chimed in from my shoulder. “They’re data disruptors. One blast from those babies and you’ll be blue-screening faster than you can say ‘fatal error’.”

As the retinal scanner finished its work with an eerie green glow, the massive gates began to creak open.

What lay beyond took my breath away.

Glitch Haven sprawled before us, a fever dream fusion of cyberpunk aesthetics and medieval architecture. Neon-lit skyscrapers twisted impossibly into the sky, their tops lost in a haze of pixelated clouds. But at their bases, cobblestone streets wound between half-timbered buildings that looked like they’d been ripped straight out of a fantasy RPG, only to be studded with holographic signs and pulsing LED strips.

As we stepped through the gate, the first thing that hit me was the smell—a bizarre mix of ozone, digital decay, and oddly enough, freshly baked bread. The air felt charged, as if the very atmosphere was alive with data, making the hairs on my arms stand on end.

The streets were a cacophony of sights and sounds that assaulted my senses. Hovercars zipped by overhead, leaving trails of glitching pixels in their wake. Yet on the ground, I saw what looked like a knight in full plate armor, only his visor was a LED screen displaying a pixelated face.

NPCs of all shapes and sizes hustled about, their forms flickering occasionally as if struggling to maintain coherence. I saw a group of what appeared to be elves, their pointed ears adorned with cybernetic enhancements, haggling with a merchant whose lower half was a mass of writhing tentacles made of fiber optic cables.

Massive holographic billboards floated in the air, advertising the Trials of the Damned in garish, eye-searing colors. One showed a contestant being chased by a horde of demons, the tagline reading “Will YOU survive the Seventh Circle? Tune in to find out!” Another displayed a smiling family gathered around what looked like a torture device, with the words “Family game night just got a whole lot more exciting with the new Home Tormentor 3000!”

Interspersed between these were ads for products that defied comprehension. A shimmering image of a potion bottle rotated slowly, promising to “Upgrade your soul’s firmware!” Another showed a sword that crackled with electricity and binary code, claiming it could “Slay your enemies in both the physical and digital realms!”

As we made our way deeper into the city, an alien face suddenly appeared on every screen, its features an unsettling blend of organic and mechanical. Its voice boomed out, echoing off the walls of the narrow streets.

“Citizens of Glitch Haven, this is a warning. The Decibel Demons approach. Seek shelter immediately. This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill.”

The already sparse crowd on the streets thinned even further at this announcement, with NPCs scurrying into buildings or down alleyways. Those that remained moved with increased urgency, their flickering forms a blur of motion.

“Well, that doesn’t sound good,” I said.

A notification popped up on my screen.

Find Feedback Felix!

“Who the hell is Feedback Felix?”

“Our contact, I’m assuming,” Annalise said. “But this place is massive. How the hell do we find this guy?”

Bringing up my map, I zoomed in on the city. Then I saw what I was looking for—a neon orange dot with the letters FF hovering over it. “Got a location. Our man is somewhere in the north of this place. Let’s go.”

We pressed on, our footsteps echoing on the cobblestones. The street beneath our feet seemed to shift and warp occasionally, as if struggling to decide whether it wanted to be medieval stonework or a futuristic light path. In some places, the cobblestones gave way to circuits that pulsed with energy, while in others, they morphed into screens displaying scrolling lines of code.

The buildings themselves were a mind-bending mix of old and new. A tavern with a thatched roof and wooden sign advertising “Ye Olde Byte” sat next to a sleek chrome structure with no visible windows, only a massive screen displaying rapidly changing stock prices for what I could only assume was the soul market.

As we turned a corner, I saw a town crier standing on a digital soapbox, his voice amplified by speakers embedded in his medieval costume. “Hear ye, hear ye!” he called out. “The latest patch for reality has been released. Please update your personal matrices to avoid desynchronization with the mainframe!”

“This place doesn’t make any sense whatsoever,” Annalise said. “It’s like it doesn’t know what it wants to be.”

“Yeah, I think the AI was drunk when it put this place together,” I said. “But we’re not here to write a review. We’re here to complete this quest. So let’s just do that and then get the hell outta here.”

The air was thick with more than just the strange smells and electric charge. Streams of data flowed visibly through the air like rivers, occasionally coalescing into shapes or images before dispersing again. I saw a flock of what looked like birds made entirely of shifting numbers fly overhead, their wings leaving trails of binary code in the air.

In a small square, a group of monks in traditional robes stood in a circle, but instead of chanting, they were reciting lines of code in perfect unison. As they spoke, the air around them shimmered and warped, creating localized reality glitches that bent light and matter in impossible ways.

Despite the warning of impending attack, life in Glitch Haven seemed to carry on with a surreal normalcy. A group of children ran past, laughing and playing. But their game involved tossing a ball that kept changing its physical properties, one moment a sphere, the next a cube, sometimes becoming entirely intangible.

In an alley, I spotted what looked like a back-alley tech dealer, his trench coat lined with pocket dimensions containing everything from ancient scrolls to futuristic gadgets. He caught my eye and grinned, revealing teeth that were actually tiny LED screens displaying a smile emoji.

Further up, in another alley, two scantily clad women stood. At first glance, they appeared to be human. But as I peered harder into the gloom of the alley, something about them began to unravel the illusion. Their identical faces were unsettlingly flawless, with skin that seemed almost too smooth, too perfect, as if painted on by an artist obsessed with symmetry. Their eyes glinted with a strange light, reflecting the neon chaos of Glitch Haven in a way that felt too deliberate, too calculated.

Their long, black coats hung open, revealing what should have been alluring curves. But instead of breasts, I saw something that made my breath hitch. Nestled within their chests were masses of writhing tentacles, slick and glistening as they coiled and uncoiled with a life of their own. The tentacles seemed to pulse with a rhythm, like some grotesque heartbeat, their tips twitching as if sensing my gaze.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Lower still, where I expected to see the usual curves of a woman’s body, something even more horrifying stared back at me. In place of genitalia, each of them bore a plastic doll’s head, glossy and immaculate. The heads were eerily lifelike, but for the fact that their eyes were hollow, empty voids. Their mouths, round and open, glistened as if perpetually wet, and as I watched in revulsion, a slick, viscous liquid dripped from those grotesque orifices onto the ground.

They smiled at me, their lips parting to reveal rows of sharp, needle-like teeth. The sound of their voices, when they spoke, was a discordant harmony, an otherworldly blend of sweet seduction and something darker, more primal.

Siren Dolls - Level 8

Part alluring glitch, part nightmare fuel, the Siren Dolls are Glitch Haven’s ultimate femme fatales. With tentacles where their charms should be and a creepy doll’s head in all the wrong places, these twisted beauties are here to make your nightmares come true—literally. Approach at your own risk, unless you’re into getting devoured by corrupted code with a taste for the dramatic.

Pro Tip: If they start sweet-talking, RUN.

“Come closer, Kade,” the Siren Dolls cooed in unison, their voices wrapping around my mind like a velvet chain. “We’ve been waiting for you...”

The words echoed in my skull, a hypnotic pull that made my feet move of their own accord. I felt myself walking toward them, the terror in my mind overridden by an overwhelming compulsion. Their tentacles writhed more eagerly as I approached, reaching out as if to welcome me into their embrace. The doll heads smiled too, in a sickening parody of innocence, their mouths gaping wider as if in anticipation. Fangs appeared in those wet, plastic mouths as well.

I tried to stop, to fight the urge pulling me toward them, but it was as if my will had been disconnected from my body. My legs carried me forward, step by step, each one bringing me closer to the horrifying figures.

On my shoulder, Snuggles remained silent. He didn’t try to stop me, suggesting he was as much under the allure of the Siren Dolls as I was. Their ploy was obvious, but I couldn’t stop myself from falling for it. All I could think about was the pleasure to be had with these creatures, their sweet, poisonous words coiling through my mind like a drug I couldn’t resist.

My feet moved forward, driven by an insatiable desire that I knew wasn’t my own. The closer I got, the more the world around me seemed to blur and fade, leaving only the Siren Dolls in sharp focus. Their beckoning smiles promised something I couldn’t define but desperately craved.

Just as I reached them, the Siren Dolls opened their coats wider, revealing their writhing tentacles in full. Without hesitation, two of the slick appendages shot out, their movements disturbingly graceful. At the end of each tentacle, a small, fleshy mouth opened, lined with tiny, needle-like teeth. Before I could react, the mouths latched onto my neck, and I gasped loudly.

The instant they made contact, a shudder of pleasure rippled through me, and I couldn’t help but sigh. It was as if the tentacles were siphoning my very will, drawing out not just blood, but something deeper. On my shoulder, Snuggles remained still, his tiny body frozen as another tentacle latched onto his neck as well. He let out a small, contented purr, his eyes half-closed as if in a state of bliss.

The Siren Dolls watched us with a hunger that went beyond the physical, their eyes glowing with a cold, calculating satisfaction. They leaned in closer, their doll heads grinning wider as the mouths on the tentacles sucked at our flesh, tasting our essence with a greed that was almost palpable.

In that moment, I felt myself slipping away, my consciousness fading into a dark, soothing void. It was too easy to give in, to let the Siren Dolls consume me completely.

“Yes, that’s it,” the Siren Dolls cooed, their voices a sickeningly sweet chorus that echoed in my mind. “Give in to us, Kade. Let us taste your soul.”

I tried to resist, to fight back against the overwhelming compulsion that held me in its grip. But it was like trying to swim against a tidal wave. The pleasure was too intense, too all-consuming, drowning out my rational thoughts and leaving me a slave to my base desires.

Beside me, Snuggles let out a soft, contented purr, his eyes half-closed as the tentacle latched onto his neck sucked at his flesh. His tiny body was frozen, held in the thrall of the Siren Dolls’ twisted allure. I could see the life draining from him, his fur losing its luster, his eyes growing dull.

“No,” I gasped. “Stop… please.”

But the Siren Dolls only laughed, a sound like shattering glass, filled with a cruel, mocking delight. “Stop?” they echoed, their voices dripping with a twisted, sadistic amusement. “But why would we stop, Kade? You taste so... delicious.”

As they spoke, the doll heads nestled in their groins began to writhe and contort, their hollow eyes filling with a sickening, otherworldly light. The mouths on the doll heads opened wider, the fangs within glistening with a viscous, putrid liquid that dripped onto the ground, sizzling like acid.

“And now,” the Siren Dolls said, their voices filled with a chilling, malevolent glee. “It’s time for the main event.”

With a sudden, violent motion, the doll heads detached from the Siren Dolls’ bodies, their necks elongating like grotesque, fleshy tendrils. The heads slithered toward me, their eyes burning with a hungry, malevolent intent, their mouths gaping wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.

I tried to scream, to recoil in horror, but I was held fast, trapped in the grip of the tentacles that sucked at my flesh. The doll heads reached me, their tendrils wrapping around my limbs, holding me in place as their mouths latched onto my body, their teeth sinking deep into my flesh.

The pain was excruciating, a searing, burning agony that seemed to consume my very being. I could feel the doll heads feeding on me, their teeth tearing at my flesh, their tendrils pulsating as they sucked the life from my body.

But then, through the haze, I heard a sharp, familiar voice cut through the fog.

“Kade! Snap out of it!”

Annalise’s shout was like a knife slicing through the trance, and before I could fully comprehend what was happening, she launched herself at the Siren Dolls, her body a blur of motion. With a fierce cry, she delivered a perfectly executed flying kick, hitting one Siren Doll first, before spinning in mid-air and hitting the other.

The impact sent them sprawling back, their tentacles and doll heads ripping away from my flesh in a wet, sucking sound. The plastic doll heads screeched in frustration as they lost their grip, and the Siren Dolls themselves howled in rage as they were thrown against the alley wall. Their beautiful faces twisted into masks of anger, and for a moment, the air was filled with their eerie, discordant wailing.

Annalise landed in a crouch, her eyes blazing with fury. “Get back, you idiots!” she shouted, her voice urgent as she pushed me up the alley, away from the fallen Siren Dolls.

As soon as her hands touched me, it was like a switch had been flipped. The fog lifted, the strange, alluring pull of the Siren Dolls evaporating as reality crashed back into focus. My heart pounded in my chest, the lingering pleasure from the tentacles replaced by a cold, creeping dread that underlined the pain from the bite marks.

“Come on, Kade, move!” Annalise snapped, shoving me harder. “Before they get up!”

I stumbled back, my body finally responding, and we retreated quickly, putting distance between us and the writhing forms of the Siren Dolls. They were already starting to recover, their tentacles flailing wildly as they struggled to right themselves, their fury burning hotter with every passing second.

Snuggles shook himself out of his stupor, his fur standing on end as he hissed at the Siren Dolls. “Ugh, that was disgusting,” he muttered, his usual sarcasm tinged with genuine disgust. “Kade, you’ve got to stop falling for the pretty ones. They always have the sharpest teeth.”

I shook my head, still trying to clear the lingering effects of their influence. “What the hell just happened?”

“You almost got turned into a snack, that’s what happened,” Annalise said, keeping a wary eye on the Siren Dolls as we backed away. “Next time, listen to your instincts. Or at least mine. I’m not going to keep saving your ass if you keep walking into every trap with your eyes wide open.”

We reached the mouth of the alley, and I took a deep breath, the air sharp and cold against my skin. The Siren Dolls’ wails of frustration echoed behind us, but they didn’t follow. Whether it was due to their own injuries or some other unseen force, they remained in the shadows, their forms gradually dissolving back into the darkness.

“You okay?” Annalise asked, her tone softer now, though still tinged with exasperation.

“Yeah,” I replied, rubbing my neck where the tentacles had latched on. The skin was tender, but there was no real damage. At least, not that I could see. Though the bite mark from the doll head was pretty nasty. Hopefully nothing a Health Potion couldn’t clear up. “Thanks for the save. I don’t know what came over me.”

Annalise just shook her head. “I have a pretty good idea what came over both of you.”

I glanced down, slightly embarrassed to see I had an erection. “Damn.”

“Yeah. This city obviously messes with your head, Kade. Don’t let it. We’ve got to stay sharp if we want to get out of here in one piece.”

I nodded. “Message received. Now, let’s go and find this Feedback Felix dude.”