A Room with Dim Light
The room was dimly lit, and Abdul sat slouched on a worn-out sofa, his eyes glued to the glowing phone screen. It was 11:53 PM, and he was engrossed in a tense game of PUBG. His fingers moved furiously, adrenaline coursing through him as he neared victory.
Suddenly, the screen froze. The Wi-Fi signals were gone.
Abdul: "No, no, no! Not now!"
He clenched his jaw, frustration bubbling over. With a loud growl, he hurled the phone onto the bed nearby.
Abdul (thinking): "I was so damn close to winning! And this stupid internet decides to act up now?! What the fuck!"
He leaned back into the sofa, exhaling sharply. The quiet hum of the room felt suffocating without the usual sound of the game. He reached for his phone to check if the connection was back, but the screen flickered—something unusual.
The familiar PUBG logo appeared, but it was distorted, flickering with strange, glowing symbols.
Abdul(thinking): "What the hell is this? A bug? Some hacker messing with me?"
Before he could react further, the phone began to buzz violently, the symbols growing brighter. A deafening high-pitched sound filled the room as the phone emitted a flash of blinding white light.
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Abdul shielded his eyes, but it was too late. His vision blurred, the sofa beneath him vanished, and he felt himself falling. A cool breeze whipped across his face as he landed with a thud on coarse dirt.
Disoriented, he staggered to his feet. His eyes darted around, taking in the landscape. It was all too familiar
Abdul: "Wait… I know this place…"
The air was crisp, the faint rustle of leaves carried on a soft morning breeze. Abdul stood still, his eyes scanning the unfamiliar-yet-familiar surroundings. The field stretched out before him, dotted with wild grass and patches of dirt. In the distance, the silhouette of crumbling structures stood against the pale light of dawn.
Abdul (thinking): "No way. This can’t be real... Am I inside the game?"
His heart pounded, a mix of disbelief and unease swirling in his chest. He clenched his fists, his mind racing. Bringing his hands closer, he inspected them carefully, as if expecting them to dissolve into pixels. When they didn’t, his fingers instinctively touched his face—solid and warm.
Abdul (murmuring): "This… this isn’t a dream."
Just then, something on the ground caught his attention—a piece of rolled paper lying a few feet away. Hesitant but curious, he moved toward it. His footsteps felt heavier, as though gravity itself was reminding him of the situation's absurdity.
He crouched down and picked up the paper, his fingers trembling slightly as he unrolled it. The lines and markings on the map stopped him cold.
Abdul: "Erangel."
It wasn’t just any map—it was the map. The places he’d dropped into hundreds of times were laid out in front of him: Pochinki, the School, the Military Base. His chest tightened as he looked around again, everything matching the virtual terrain he had memorized over hours of gameplay.
The realization hit him like a punch in the gut.
Abdul (thinking): "This is impossible. This is insane. How did I get here?"
He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. His thoughts spun in every direction, trying to make sense of the situation. Was this some kind of prank? Had he been drugged? He couldn’t think of any explanation that didn’t sound absurd.
But then the faint sound of distant gunfire broke the silence, sending a chill down his spine. His instincts sharpened.
Abdul (thinking): "If this is real, I need to figure out what’s going on—and fast."
Clutching the map tightly, Abdul started walking, his body on edge and his mind a tangled mess of fear and determination.