Hell was different than what I expected. No brimstones. No fire. Only layers and layers of trees and branches eerily stretching surrounded me. Mist snaked through the trees and floated just above my knees. The ground was unseen, and I didn’t wish to know what I might step on.

I found myself alone, unconscious on the ground just a moment ago. The taste of the foul swamp mud still sat on my tongue, tainting my taste buds.

At first, I thought I was kidnapped, but the lack of restraints made me reconsider. Death came to my next guess, which felt more sound. My body felt foreign to me. No aches, no pain. Even the scars on my chest disappeared, leaving unblemished caramel skin. Then there were the surroundings.

The forest emanated pressure, tingling down my neck, letting me know something was watching me. Something otherworldly. I tried to recall the last few days, but everything returned in a murky haze.

I wandered around, hoping for a sign or any evidence of civilization. They say not to walk around in a forest, or you’ll get lost, but no one ever told me what to do when I wake up lost. Oddly a few steps were needed to find a path illuminated by moonlight through the trees. The branches bent away from the trail almost as if afraid to touch the light.

Warning bells rang in my head. The sight was too suspicious. Everything felt purposely manipulated to get me to walk down the open path.

A shudder ran down my spine. What kind of presence could manipulate a forest like this, and what would happen if I didn’t follow its wishes? Warily, I walked down the path into an open field surrounded by trees. Treading cautiously, ready to run at any moment, I prepared myself for everything.

“Vinny?” A feminine voice sounded from behind me.

Maybe not everything.

Turning around, a solid force impacted my chest. The blow punctured and bounced around in my lungs, violently evacuating every breath of oxygen I had in sputtering coughs. My mind froze. Only one person in my life hugged me like a living cannonball.

“Rach?”

Her small face peered up at me, and tears threatened to flood from her brown eyes. Instinctively my hand guided down her black flowing hair. Her head bobbed, matching the rhythm. For a moment, the surrounding silence disappeared. A voice sang softly, gently caressing our souls. Deep from the recesses of our memory from a time simpler. One when tranquility defined us as a family.

It’s been so long since I was at peace like this. Unfortunately, peace for me is always short-lived.

“Hey, You there! Where the hell am I!?” A spiky-haired blonde man emerged from the clearing, rushing straight towards us. A snarl escaped my lips, displeasure apparent in my dark iris. An intense force bubbled within me, gradually building, threatening to consume me. He must have noticed something as his raging tiger momentum stopped, turning quickly into a frightened kitten.

“Vinny…” A hand touched my face, guiding my sight back to her level. Her concern and care worked its way through to my heart—the best medicine for the torrent inside me. Rachel turned around, and her gentle smile disappeared, replaced by sternness and authority.

“I don’t know who you are, but you’re pointing your anger at the wrong people. Neither of us knows what happened. So if you calm down, we can figure something out. Otherwise, turn back and deal with whatever is out there.”

I watched in amusement as his face dyed a deep shade of red. Rachel always did have a talent for getting underneath people’s skin. That’s what made her one of the best journalists in America. She really knew what made people tick.

I moved to support Rachel in case the blond punk decided to do something stupid when the rustling of bushes entered my ear.

“Rach, we might have more company.”

Rachel and I turned towards the noise defensively while the punk’s face changed from red to white. He quickly backed away, ready to run. At least until he saw it was just more people. Two men and a woman walked out carefully, eyeing everyone with caution. The older of the two gentlemen, a mechanic, if my assumption of the black stains on his shirt were correct, showed evident distrust with all of us. The other two followed closely behind, a young man in his early 20s wearing glasses and a buttoned shirt and a woman who appeared the youngest of the three with red curly hair and freckles.

“Who are you, people? Where am I? What am I doing here?” The older man asked, suspicion coating his tongue. I knew people like him. He wouldn’t believe us even if we told him the truth—the kind of man who was stubborn to a fault. I always somehow ended up arguing to no end with these kinds of people. They take one look at me and assume they know everything about me. Thankfully Rachel was more patient than I was.

“We don’t know, sir. My name is Rachel. I’m a journalist. I woke up not long ago and found my brother here too. This guy then showed up shortly after asking the same questions you are.”

“You expect me to believe you?”

“That’s your choice, sir, but I have no reason to lie. I don’t know who you are or the people behind you. Now we can go back and forth trying to find an answer none of us know, or we can work together to find a way out of this forest. Does anyone have problems with that?”

Rachel scanned the four strangers, and though the old mechanic grumbled, once the two behind him whispered in his ear, he nodded in compliance. The blond punk wanted to say something but quickly shut his mouth after seeing everyone else agree.

Watching Rachel find an agreement with a kind of assertiveness I have never seen left me feeling a vacancy I couldn’t place. Suddenly the sister I had thought I knew became unfamiliar. I searched through my memories, but the haze grew suffocatingly thick. What am I missing? How much time can’t I remember?

“Aww, that’s no fun. You could have at least argued for a little bit. I always love the tension. It leads to such interesting results.”

I jumped, my worries shoved to the back of my brain. The voice scraped like thorns stabbing my ears. I ran towards Rachel, pushing her behind me while we searched for the one responsible. However, everyone’s faces matched ours, confused and afraid. Why am I looking at them? The voice couldn’t possibly have been human.

“Up here. HEHEHEHEHE!” My head shot up, and there it was, a small voodoo doll floating above us, knit together with barbed wire. It laughed at us. Its metal lips grating together pierced our minds in irritating agony.

“Someone make it stop!” The blonde punk screamed, holding his ears, crouching on the ground.

Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do. Our hands did nothing to block the sound. We were left suffering while he watched us high in the air. Until all of a sudden, like a lie, the pain was gone. Only the trauma remained.

“Ok, I think I’ve had enough fun for now.” The doll snickered, the metallic grating no longer there, though my body did twitch a little still. “Welcome to Timorem, a realm different from your own. Isn’t it lovely?”

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

My eyes widened. So this wasn’t hell but some other plane. At least it meant his sister didn’t die as he feared.

“Why are we here?” Rachel asked from behind him, her eyes squinting suspicion. Oh no, I knew that look.

“Hey Rachel, maybe don’t piss off the creepy floating doll,” I whispered.

“I would listen to him. I’m feistier than I look.” The scraping metal noise returned only this time, the voice projected directly in my ears. The doll somehow appeared on my shoulder. Before I could even attempt to grab it, the voodoo doll teleported away into the sky.

Rachel gripped my shirt, using me to keep her balance; blood dripped down her ears. Her gaze never left the creature, strong even after the attack. The bubbling sensation emerged within me, but the floodgates burst open this time. My fingers tensed in desire. One to pierce into the bastard and rip from the inside out. The doll seemed to sense my thoughts as it looked directly at me and smiled.

“So where was I? Oh yes.” The doll clapped, and a bulletin board appeared before them. Long thin, jagged bones framed the board. They were stabbed into the dirt made by a creature I couldn’t recognize. Everyone glanced at each other unwilling to move first. Not until Rachel took the first step pulling me along with her.

“Come on. We need to take a look.”

“Do you not feel a single ounce of fear?” I ask her.

“Of course, I’m afraid, but I’m not going to let fear stop me from doing what I know must be done.” She turned and stared straight into my eyes. “I never have, and I never will.”

Why? Why hadn’t you quit? You should have moved on with your life. Of course, I couldn’t say that to her now. She already knew since I told her long ago. Her gaze burned my soul, her conviction unending. I turned my head away to focus on the board. Now was not the time for this.

[Timorem welcomes you.]

[The game will begin shortly]

[Newbie World: Forest of the Lost]

[World Type: Closed]

[Mission Type: Survival]

[Background: The Lost gather wishing to find their way. Beware. Something here wishes to find you first. If found, you will truly be lost.]

[Main Mission: Escape the Beast]

The information was bare, to say the least, and didn’t have any information on how we got here. The thing about the beast, though, was concerning. Rachel must have thought so, too, as her grip on me tightened.

“A game. I have no time to play. Send me home right now. There is too much work to be done.” The gruff old man yelled after reading.

“I’m sorry. Is there somewhere written where it says if you’re pleased to do so? No. Then you can stay there for all I care. The game has already begun. What you five do is all up to you.” The doll said, lounging on air uncaringly.

“The doll is right,” Rachel said. The only way out is to leave the forest, and if this beast captures us, then we’re dead.”

“What! Did you say die!?” The young redhead screamed.

“The game type is survival. So losing means failure to do so.” I add. I didn’t care about any of these people, but I needed to do whatever I could to ensure Rachel and I escaped.

“Exactly. We need to move. The longer we remain in this open area, the easier it will be for the beast to find us… If it hasn’t already.”

The young woman’s mouth clamped shut. Her eyes darted to the edge fearfully. Rachel

“Um… I’m sorry, but I have one last question before we leave.” All eyes turned to the young glasses man who had his hand raised. He seemed hesitant and unsure of himself.

“What for me?” The doll asked, his entire body now upside down watching us.

“You said what you five do? But there are six of us.”

Silence descended upon us all. Rachel’s grip tightened again, her sight directed on the others. I took a few steps backward, drawing distance between us and the four of them.

“Six?” The doll questioned. He disappeared from sight again, reappearing in front of the old man. The mechanic startled, flailing onto the ground. The doll then teleported to each person before appearing before Rachel and me.

“Huh, there really are six of you. How strange. This wasn’t supposed to happen.” The doll tilted its head in confusion right in front of me. He was still so unconcerned, unworried about anything. I took two steps; it was all I needed. With one motion, I grabbed the doll from the air, to its surprise.

“Huh? What are you doing?” The doll was shocked. I didn’t care. I never forgot how this thing hurt Rachel.

Squeezed slowly, letting my fingers puncture through its frame. The barbs pricked my skin, and my blood flowed, staining its metal. I didn’t stop, smiling while the wires creaked and bent.

“Vinni, stop!” Rachel yelled. I frowned and turned to her.

“Why? This thing has been a pain since it arrived, attacking you, laughing at our suffering. Why should I stop?” I asked, frustrated. Couldn’t see I was protecting her.

“We still have too many unanswered questions. We need him.” Rachel placed her hands on my arm. I sighed. I knew she was right. I stopped squeezing the doll, now a skinnier version of itself, but I didn’t let the thing go.

“Aw, a little longer, and I would have reached my waist size.” The doll complained. Annoyed, I almost squeezed again.

“Stop provoking him.” Rachel hissed, equally annoyed at the doll. “You said this wasn’t supposed to happen. Explain.”

He laughed, the metal screeching again, yet no pain arrived. The doll shook in my hand, and I could tell his excitement was genuine for the first time since he came.

“Yes, yes! Each tutorial is supposed to have five survivors, yet here there are six people. You know what that means.” The shaking intensified, and the doll unraveled in my hand, slipping from my grasp. I tried to regain my hold, but the thing escaped faster than I could react.

The doll reformed above, returning to its former form, unblemished without even my blood tainting its silver body, laughing all the while.

“One of you is not like the other!”

Rachel squinted while everyone drew a clear distance from each other. If the doll wanted tension, then he accomplished his goal. Suspicious gazes glared at one another. The mistrust could be tasted in the air.

“Are you saying one of us is the beast?” Rachel questioned.

“No.” The doll’s smile warped, stretching beyond its face. “The beast isn’t here, but don’t worry, this is good, no, this is great! You all experienced quite the privilege.”

The doll spread its arms, and mist gathered from the outskirts, drawing toward them. Soon sight became an impossibility. Other than Rachel beside me, all I could see were shadows.

“I’m sorry, but the game will be put on hold temporarily while we fix the mixup.” The doll’s voice reverberated from all directions in the mist. “Now say goodbye to our special guest, and hope you never see them again because the next time will be your last.”

The mist intensified, blowing in my face. I tried keeping hold of Rachel, but something was pulling me away.

“Vin–” And she disappeared. Her, the forest, the mist, everything was gone. I was no longer standing in the middle of the woods. For a moment, all I could see was darkness. I had no idea where I was or what happened.

Trying to move, my body refused to listen, stuck, not allowing me to wander, to seek freedom. Trapped in my own body again. Again? The haze in my memory emerged, and for once, I almost could see through it.

Unfortunately, my focus would be disturbed not before long. A large screen appeared before me. Gray static buzzed, illuminating the room. I was seated, bound to a wooden chair with leather straps around my torso, arms, and legs.

“What the hell?”

“Oh, sorry. Sorry. I know this can be uncomfortable. We do hope you understand, considering the circumstances. That stupid, lazy Nitaj almost screwed up badly this time. My name is Ahsatan, by the way, but you call me Ahsa,” A soft voice complained from beside him. Another doll, one made from black hair and red buttons in a dress, floated in front of him.

“I mean, you have to be a new kind of lazy to not count the number of survivors. Granted, you radiated off some supreme survivor energy, but still, he should have figured it out sooner.” The little doll continued her tirade. “He puts a wolf with sheep and acts like he did nothing wrong. It’s a miracle the scenario wasn’t ruined.”

“What is going on? Where is Rachel?” I squirmed in my chair, trying to slip out of the straps to no avail.

“Shh shh, you’re ok. There was a mistake in our system. Again sorry. You will be placed in your correct scenario to do what you do best.” Ahsa nodded to herself, pleased.

“What are you talking about?”

Ahsa tilted her head, confused.

“Why killing, of course.”

The static screen changed, and a message was slowly typed in crimson onto a black screen.

“Welcome to Timorem, Vice, Prisoner of Lettica Penitentiary. Your new home.”