It was an eventuality, David just didn't think that it would
happen so soon.
He was growing tired of FOG.
Now, don't get him wrong. The MMO world that was created was
possibly one of the greatest feats of technological prowess in
all of human history. It was pretty amazing when it first came
out, almost every gamer in the world had gone out and picked up
their console. Their game became, in the spanse of a week, the
most widely played video game in the world. And now, other
companies were scrambling to attempt to catch up. No way could
they come out with their own VR console, it was both impractical
and, most of all, a waste of money.
So that led David to this, floating in the black menu of the
console as he mentally scrolled through the growing list of
third-party games being ported over to the FOG. The only company
the company had originally had a deal with was Steam, and now
companies like Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft were jumping on the
bandwagon to get their games on the newest big thing. Of course,
even with those, it would take some time for the porting to go
well, and for now he was limited to only what was currently
available.
Hmm...VVVVVV? No thanks, that gave him some serious motion
sickness last time he tried it. Team Fortress 2? Nah, too many
annoying pre-teens running around and shouting about noscopes
and gays. Nuh-uh. None of these really held David's eyes for
more than a few seconds before he swiped a hand, moving over to
the new releases menu. And it was then that a name caught his
eyes.
Five Nights at Freddys.
His hand trembled slightly as he brought up the menu. He had
loved those games when they first came out, absolutely adoring
the fantastic atmosphere of terror that the games made. It was,
in his opinion, one of the best games in the genre. Sure, there
were jumpscares. So what. The game is made for the atmosphere,
not the cheap scares that accompany a game over.
And playing it in virtual reality? Oh fuck yes.
He downloaded the games, agreeing immediately to all the usual
permissions and stuff to get the game installed. It was still in
beta, only one night available, but David was still super
excited. He pressed his hand to the option, the black menu
landscape melting seamlessly into color.
But not much color. The gray lights and sounds of the Office
were shocking from the usual bright sensation of these virtual
reality games. The only sounds were the buzzing of the computer,
the gentle whirr of the fan, and the distant sounds of oh shit
he knew that laugh.
David slowly sat down in the chair of the office, shakily
reaching for the laptop and flipping the lid up. A familiar
camera map lit up immediately, defaulted to the show stage.
Bonnie, Chica, and the eponymous Freddy stood, unmoving on the
stage. He immediately flipped over to Pirate's Cove, relaxing
immediately at seeing the closed curtains. He was safe, for now.
Time seemed to stretch on as David played, keeping an eye on his
clock as he locked the doors, flipped lights, and checked on
Foxy every time he had the chance. It was far more intense than
playing on his desktop, without any questions asked. He could
feel the sweat beading on his neck, his heart beating like a war
drum in his chest. His hands slipped on the hard plastic on the
laptop as he swung it open, a second later he slammed his fist
into the left door button. Foxy slammed against it a second
later, visibly shaking the door. He couldn't survive at this
rate. There wasn't quite enough power left to make it to six AM.
He jumped, hearing a warning light go off. One percent. He was
as good as dead. Jumpscares were not something he really
enjoyed, in VR or not. Better to log out now. He brought down
his menu and hit the disconnect button.
Nothing.
Press press press presspresspress. Nothing was happening.
He couldn't feel his heartbeat.
He stumbled back, managing a deep, shuddering breath. It must be
broken, or something. He had to wait out until the simulation
ended, but he wouldn't do it here. David moved over to the right
door, and...walked through it.
The hallway seemed bland, even compared to the office. The maker
of this port probably didn't think that anyone would try this,
and didn't put as much detail into it. About halfway down the
hallway, there was a terrific crash and scream in the office.
The lights dimmed slightly, and David dropped into a run. The
scream continued, the sound of robotic circuits clicking and
clacking as it began to follow him.
He spun into one of the doors to his right, slamming the door
shut and locking it. The clickity-clacking slowed and came to a
stop, just outside the door. It was waiting. This way was not a
way out.
David slowly stepped away from the door, looking around the room
he was in. It was a simple kitchen, exactly what you'd expect
from a professional kitchen. He made it five steps in to the
refrigerator before his legs gave out, forcing him to slump
against the appliance and slide to the ground. Everything about
this was wrong. He needed to get out, and now. He brought up the
menu with a wave of his hand, finally now having time to try the
emergency override.
Nothing.
You know what? Fuck immersion. David stood up, with a wave
bringing up the full menu, where he frantically scrolled through
his user information. There were only two ways something like
this could happen. A machine malfunction, which was rather
unlikely, or somehow someone had gotten access to the
administrator functions and removed his permissions to access
it. More likely, but terrifying to think about. Finally he got
to the panel of permissions, and what he saw made his hand stop
in terror.
Just two words. Two little words, floating on a holographic
screen.
Its me.
There was a laugh from behind him, and when he turned it was too
late. An all too familiar golden face was leaping straight for
him.
David was found dead the next day, a look of terror frozen on
his unmoving face. The game was taken off of the FOG game list
days later, after it was discovered that it overwrote the safety
files and had been proven to be the cause of at least ten
different deaths across the country. It was unknown if it was
Scott Cawthon's doing or some Steam third-party changer, but the
game was still blacklisted regardless.
BAD END.
