All of it happened so suddenly that it caught Maria off guard, the unexpected vortex sucking her in and plunging her into deep darkness. After a brief moment, Maria immediately snapped out of her confusion and gathered her thoughts.
It's starting.
With quick reflexes, Maria raised her hands and tried to grab hold of her surroundings, but to her surprise, the surface around her was slippery. Attempting to dig her nails to try and slow her fall, Maria failed as her hands slipped and she continued to hurtle downwards.
For a split second, Maria kept her eyes closed while her body glided along the smooth surface. Then, steadying herself, Maria slowly began to open her eyes, taking in her new surroundings.
Maria narrowed her gaze and looked at both of her sides. She found herself inside some sort of transparent, gray tube. It seems to be connected by something within the tower.
Because the tube she was in was a bit translucent, she could see multiple tubes with silhouettes of other people sliding down as well.
From red to violet, all kinds of colored tubes were connected everywhere, but they were all separated. Some went to the right, some were to the left, and some went diagonal and zigzag, and a few upward and downward.
It was like seeing a complex pipe system connected to each other, except they weren't and each tube was going to different places.
Within the tubes, Maria could hear faint screaming from a few players while only a small portion remained calm. There were also those who couldn't handle the vivid colors and covered their eyes.
Good thing mine isn't all that vibrant...
Maria looked around calmly while gathering her thoughts. She slowly recalled the details of the novel. The interior of the Black Towers was a bit complicated.
Right now, she was in the inner walls of the tower. The walls of the Black Towers were usually thick around 500 meters wide, leaving enough room for a hidden space to be built behind it that consisted of multiple tubes where players were being brought down and transported to their designated levels and rooms where the event would begin.
While looking around the various tubes near her, Maria's gaze landed on a pair of blue eyes that stared at her. Maria stiffened when she saw Kiana sliding from a transparent gray tube a few feet away. The woman looked back, smiling while waving a hand casually.
The two exchanged looks for a moment, one calm and casual while the other completely bewildered. Maria blinked for a few seconds, and without thinking, she slowly waved back.
...
Maria immediately retracted her hand and pried her gaze off Kiana.
This is still a dream, just a dream.
Focus...
Though, how could she when Kiana was still looking at her?! Even without looking back, Maria could still feel Kiana's eyes staring at her, and she felt chills just imagining it.
Ignore her... Just ignore her...
Maria shook her head and focused on her current situation.
The vortex that pulled in Maria reminded her of a water slide, apart from the lack of water, the tube was slightly dark and the sudden pressure while falling made Maria a bit uneasy.
She could hear the sound of friction caused by sliding the smooth surface of the tube. Her hair swayed back as she fell smoothly, the sight of the other colorful tubes made her eyes twitch a little.
Maria was aware of the way players were brought to games. Random vortexes or portals would naturally appear every time a player enters a game that begins in a different location such as a subspace or domain.
The transportation was smooth and she soon reached the end of the tube, and fleetingly, she felt nothing but air. It was only for a quick second before pain struck Maria as she landed on her rear, her body hitting a wall, causing her to let out a pained groan.
Due to the chosen environment, the palm of her hand was scraped slightly by the rough landing. Shaking her head to reduce her dizziness, Maria looked up and found she was on a spalling concrete floor. Maria's gaze fell on her palm, bits of dust covered her scraped skin.
Feeling conscious of the possible germs she could attain from having bits of dirt and dust in her wound, Maria hurriedly got up from the ground and looked around for a way to clean it.
As her eyes flickered to both sides of the area, Maria found herself in a wide passageway between two tall, dilapidated buildings. The walls were covered with many inappropriate graffiti art painted on the old concrete walls. It was a run-down alleyway.
On her right, there was a wide apartment building with an emergency staircase that seemed to lead up to the sixth floor of the building. To her left, there were two buildings that weren't connected, with one appearing to be a small greengrocer shop on the ground floor and a home on the second floor, while the other seemed to be a bar, with a bright neon sign hanging above the side.
Maria took a moment to observe her surroundings, spotting a nearby faucet attached to the small shop which was likely to be where fruits and vegetables would be washed. She immediately strode towards the faucet and turned it on, cleaning her wound with the water.
After drying off her wound with her jacket, Maria finally took her attention off her hand and looked up. The sky was dark, only the pale moon's faint light casting a glow over the alleyway. There were no functioning streetlights in sight, all seemingly broken.
A cool gust of wind blew in, carrying in a foul stench that assaulted Maria's nostrils, making her wrinkle her nose in disgust. The concrete pavement where Maria had landed was full of cracks and crevices. Molds and greenery were growing from the small gaps in the pavement.
Just as Maria was about to check the buildings in the surrounding area, her attention shifted to the screams and clamor behind her. She turned around and saw the four people.
Ah, I was wondering why they weren't here yet.
"Ugh, my eyes hurt..." Luke groaned.
"No kidding, that tunnel was bright...!" exclaimed Chun Hee, rubbing her eyes rigorously until she could get a clear view of their current surroundings. "Are we in an alleyway?"
"Seems like it," Kiana was already standing and surveying the area. "This place is vandalized and old."
Jiahao was lying on a heap of trash bags, covering his eyes. The sudden fall and bright tube must've given him quite a shock. He looked dizzy and kept rubbing his face.
"Is he alright?" Maria asked, looking at the little boy with concern.
Chun Hee had Jiahao rest on her shoulder and nodded. "He's fine, probably woozy from the slide."
She patted his back while her hand supported the boy's arm. Maria stared at the two children before looking at Kiana and Luke. "The three of us should look around this place while those two rest."
Kiana and Luke had no objections. Maria had nothing more to say as she started investigating the abandoned alleyway, trying to familiarize herself with the area.
Broken beer cans and bottles were left on the ground, some shattered while some were crushed, leaving a strong smell that Jiahao had to pinch his nose. Maria stepped on a piece of glass and looked down. The strong smell of alcohol made her frown.
Maria silently looked at the alleyway with deep eyes.
There was an apartment building to her left; A bar and shop on her right; and further into the alleyway was another building, though Maria was unsure what kind of building it was due to the lack of lighting and how vague the building looked.
Hm, since this is supposed to be the first nightmare room, whoever the owner of this room should be able to recognize this place... but who?
Maria studied each of the four people intently, narrowing her eyes slightly as she tried to guess who could be the owner of the nightmare room judging by their expressions. Despite her efforts to read their reactions and thoughts, they appeared completely oblivious and baffled as Maria.
Perhaps it's one of those nightmare rooms that symbolizes something?
While Maria contemplated the potential objective of the first nightmare room, Chun Hee silently approached her, the bar's neon sign brightly reflecting the young girl's eyes.
"Unnie, do you think we could check that bar out?" She asked.
"Aren't you a little too young to drink?" Kiana smirked and looked at the girl.
Chun Hee rolled her eyes and said, "I meant to check for clues... We don't know why we're here, what we're supposed to do, and the meaning of all this... event, nightmare rooms, and such..."
"Unnie, what do you think?" Chun Hee asked Maria.
Maria gazed at the young girl before shrugging.
Instead, she looked ahead and began to tread over toward the bar. She stopped and noticed a dim glow that stopped at the curb.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Maria crouched down and picked up a rock, throwing it toward the door of the bar, only for the rock to flew back, hitting the ground. Following it was a trail of sparks, making Maria recall what happened at the mall earlier.
Both Chun Hee and Kiana looked surprised while Maria narrowed her eyes. While Maria kept her attention on the bar that couldn't be accessed, Luke began marching toward the main road where a big city stood. He stopped and stood a few centimeters away from the sidewalk and looked warily in front.
Buildings lined up together with no people in sight, giving off an eerie feeling for him. There were abandoned cars parked on the opposite side of the road and food carts with food were left behind.
Luke narrowed his eyes and extended his left hand out. The moment his hand went past the side of the building, sparks flew near his fingers, sending an electric shock to his entire arm.
"Shit!" Luke stumbled back in shock and cursed.
"What is it?" Kiana darted over to the man.
Luke shook his hand and sat, groaning as he said, "There's no way out. There's like an invisible barrier here."
Obvious burns could be seen on his fingers, fortunately, the rest of his hand remained unharmed. Maria and the two children returned to the two people's side, also looking at the translucent forcefield that prevented them out.
There was a hidden barrier in the center of the line, connecting to the passage of the alleyway. It was an electric force field that prevented any player from leaving their room. It meant that the room would begin within the alleyway.
Outside the alleyway, an empty road stretched ahead, devoid of any people or vehicles. A few streetlamps flickered on and off periodically, giving off an unsettling ambiance to the dark and desolated city.
Strange... why does this feel off for some reason?
Feeling a bit uneasy, Maria shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. She was about to speak when all of a sudden, screams erupted in the silence of the night. The screams came out of nowhere, causing the group to flinch and cautiously look around. Fleeting bursts of light began to appear out of nowhere.
Maria's eyes widened when she saw faint shadows of people falling, tumbling, and rolling over. Despite the clear view of the city road behind the forcefield, the figures of what seemed to be seven people were badly blurred, looking as if they were scrawled randomly by a black marker.
Seven figures, a few laying, kneeling, and getting up appeared behind the forcefield. Faint noises were coming from them, their voices were scrambled and low, as if their volume was put on low which made it sound as if they were whispering.
One approached, raising their hand to reach out before immediately stumbling back, letting out a loud yet still low voice in a pained tone. It was like what Luke had done. Even the seven figures behind the forcefield couldn't approach them.
The five people stood face to face with the seven shadows, a translucent forcefield in between them, preventing them from contacting each other. It was a strange and unnerving sight for the five people.
What is this? They're not attacking... and they're on the other side of the barrier... If they're not part of the nightmare room... then what are they? Shadow people?
Maria's eyes narrowed as her gaze locked onto one figure, facing her direction, hands on their side, and seemed to be in a still position. They seemed to be speaking, but their words were all jungled up and inaudible.
Sensing the figure's gaze and attention, Maria gulped and quietly stepped back, just beside Kiana.
"...What are they?" Chun Hee muttered, frowning while keeping Jiahao behind her.
Kiana furrowed her brows and raised a hand, blocking Maria.
"Back away," Kiana whispered.
Maria glanced at her calmly and did as she said, moving two steps back before averting her attention. She was gathering her thoughts and the messages that had popped up earlier.
So, we're assigned to the Level 9 floor huh? It's not too bad...
The black towers were one of the most important buildings in Game of Survival.
It had a total of 20 floors with different themed rooms generated for players. The tower had different levels ranging from 20th to 1st.
Maria tried recalling a few more information about the levels, but her thoughts were interrupted when suddenly a deafening roar pierced the silence, causing not only the five but also the seven figures to jump and cry out in surprise.
The five grew alarmed, their ears perking up to locate the source of the noise. Maria wondered where the stomps were coming from, only for a thunderous growl to boom. They all shifted their heads in front, their eyes widened at what they saw.
Another vortex appeared, this time it was bigger than the ones previously. A tumultuous and heavy thud reverberated through the alleyway, causing the twelve people to stumble back from shock.
Something fell from the large vortex. It was a monster, with a height of around 8'0 feet tall, and it stood right in front of the forcefield.
Fur brown as dirt, with its eyes, bulged out and red as blood. It had three large eyes, one was on its forehead. Its nose was long and crooked. It had skinny hands and sharp nails, hunching on its back. A pink, thick tail poked out of its rear and emitted a faint, yellow gleam. There was a severed arm stuck in the monster's mouth, fingers all broken.
Maria gulped when she saw the monster. She was familiar with the creature.
The monster turned to look at them and it opened its mouth, the hand slipping off from its bloody teeth, letting out a ferocious shriek.
A mutated sewer rat!
"U-Uh..." Jiahao trembled and nearly toppled backward when, all of a sudden, the world around him blurred and darkened.
Gradually clearing his mind from his disoriented state, Jiahao felt his body was strangely light and someone's arms wrapped around him. He lifted his head up and realized he was being carried by Maria who sprinted down the alley.
"Run!" Maria shouted, not looking back.
The two people looked at Maria with wide eyes.
"T-There?!" Luke shouted.
"It's too dark!" Chun Hee cried out.
Only Kiana, Maria, and the little boy entered the innermost alley, hearing the loud stomps coming from behind them.
Maria was already thinking that the two would die from the monster, but surprisingly enough, she could hear the sound of metal banging against hard flesh.
There was a roar coming from the monster until the sound of metal penetrating through something echoed. Along with a loud 'thuck', the mutant rat let out a screech so loud that it was enough to blow a human's eardrums.
"No way...?" Maria was in disbelief.
She remembered the pile of beer bottles and rusty rebars lurking around the side of the alleyway.
They heard Luke and Chun Hee cursing from behind them, their small footsteps emitting loud 'tapping' noises.
Maria could feel Jiahao's small hands gripping her tightly as they ran inside the darkness, the foul odor becoming more and more strong the further they were in.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
They ran for minutes, their heavy footsteps and gasps echoing through the alleyway.
While Maria was holding tightly on Jiahao, she used her other hand to frantically find her smartphone.
She rummaged through both of her pockets with difficulties, muttering curses before finally grasping her case. She pulled it out of her back pocket when clamorous thuds came from behind them.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
It was the sewer rat's hard stomps.
Maria felt her heart thump and immediately turned on her phone. A shred of horror appeared on her face.
The bright lock screen of her phone caused her to see the horrors that were hiding within the dark alley.
The foul odor they've been smelling was caused by decaying bodies scattered everywhere. There were not only dead bodies but there were also some alive. The wounds on their bodies were so fatal that humans couldn't survive. Yet here they were, talking with strength.
"H-Help..."
Some had large holes pierced through their stomach and chests, their organs strewed.
"P-Please help me..."
A few had swollen and bloody faces, bruises all over their body, and their legs severed.
"Don't eat me!"
One or two had dislocated bones, from their arms to their legs, but they still managed to scream.
"I don't wanna die!"
Maria could feel her heart tighten at the scene. Some tried crawling at them, pleading for help, but they ignored them. The monster chasing them roared, causing the players to flee the dreadful scene.
They all jumped and ran past the corpses, their breathing hitched at this disturbing sight.
"Don't leave us!" One shouted.
"Save us!" Another bawled.
Jiahao's face burrowed into Maria's shoulder as he sobbed quietly, gulping each minute. Maria quickly swiped away her lock screen and enabled her flashlight, shining it up upfront.
Thump.
The monster chasing them seemed to have slowed down, but the sounds they heard were unforgettable.
"Gah!"
"A-Ack...!"
"Ahhhh!"
"Kuak!"
Screams and wails echoed in the dark alley, flesh being torn apart and devoured rebounded the area. The sound of teeth sinking into hard flesh made the group's hearts thump wildly.
Bones were being spat out and something was being ripped, and ear-piercing cries could be heard. Just listening to the sound was enough for the group to guess what was happening. The monster was peeling off the skin of the corpses as if they were fruits, spitting out the bones as if they were pips.
Not only was the sound behind them disturbing enough, but the scene in front of them was just as terrible.
"What is this?" Kiana muttered.
Judging by the sewer rat's actions, they didn't need an answer.
Rather than decaying corpses, there was a scene filled with human skeletons. A few corpses of people who were still in the process of decaying were being eaten by dog-like creatures. The remaining corpses were pale as their eyes were wide open.
The four stopped for a moment. The mutant rat that was chasing after them seemed to be busy eating the other corpses, giving the others plenty of time to catch their breaths. They could hear the dog-like creatures drink the blood of the remaining corpses.
"W-What is that...?" Luke asked, his legs trembling.
Maria's eyes turned into slits as she continued to stare at the creatures.
Their appearance resembles a hornless goat, having hind legs, and dark eyes. They weren't eating the dead bodies, but rather, drinking the blood in them, explaining why some bodies were extremely pale. Maria backed away once she realized what these creatures were.
"A sigbin," Maria muttered.
"What?"
Maria looked at it again and nodded.
"It's a Sigbin."
A mythical creature in the Philippines. It was folklore that was popularly known in Visayas and Mindanao. They often prey on animals or children and bite them by the neck to drink their blood. It was well-known folklore in the Philippines that adults tell children to scare them from wandering around outside at night.
Her grandmother had always told her about the folklore of mythical creatures, treating it like a bedtime story, as if Maria wasn't always crawling to her brother's bed out of fear of being hunted by a mythical creature.
"What do we do now?" Chun Hee asked, breathing heavily. "We can't turn back... That rat monster is still there, eating those corpses..."
Maria felt her heart accelerating the more she stared at the lifeless bodies. Amidst her chaotic feelings, a thought flashed in her mind, overpowering her fear.
It was quiet, only the sound of drinking and chewing was heard.
"Do you all have your smartphones? Or anything to use as a light source?"
The three faced each other.
Luke pulled out his phone and grumbled, "Battery died."
Chun Hee opened her bag while searching. Her eyes lit up as she pulled out her phone. "I remember I had it fully charged before going to school."
Kiana took out a lighter from her pocket and a flashlight from her backpack. "I don't have a phone but I do have these."
Maria looked at their items; Two phones, one lighter, and one flashlight. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing.
Thinking for a few seconds, Maria said firmly, "We have to fight our way out."
"We can't attack that rat monster, but we can at least attack the sigbins," She added.
A hint of unease enveloped Luke and Chun Hee, their faces showing a hint of fear upon hearing this, yet they forced a nod, showing they understood. Meanwhile, Kiana remained composed and nodded in agreement. The only issue left was Jiahao, who was weeping against Maria's neck.
He's not letting go...
Maria let out a sigh and stroked the boy's head, deciding to ignore this first to recall her knowledge about the mythical creatures.
Sigbins were common Filipino lore often told in both the countryside and modern. The appearance matches well with the description her grandmother once told her.
Maria glanced at the lighter Kiana kept in her pocket, pondering over something before shifting her focus to the creatures.
The sigbins looked at them, growling like dogs. Some paid little attention to them but they were only a quarter to those who growled at them with hunger. They only had a little time and Maria wasn't willing to waste a second of this opportunity.
Taking a deep breath, Maria positioned herself in front, holding tightly onto her smartphone. She lifted her phone and directed the light towards the five creatures. Her fingers clenched tighter around her device, trying to suppress her trembling.
One by one, the creatures turned their gazes to the five people, fixating their deep, crimson eyes on the group. Growls escaped their twisted mouths, their hunger insatiable as they continued to feast the blood of the corpses. They couldn't turn back now.
To leave this event, they must fight their way out of these nightmare rooms. And the first room was a dark alley with monsters inside.