It was a normal night, just like tonight. My husband ordered pizza, I picked up the beer. I wanted nothing more than to unwind from the harsh day of work. So, what did I do? My husband and I made love, took a shower and ate pizza.
Being gamers we owned two televisions, two systems and a computer. We playfully bickered on what we were going to play. I wanted to play ‘Slender the Arrival.’ He wanted to play ‘Smite.’ Normally we wouldn’t have qualms about the games we played together so I devised a plan.
Turning to look at him, I crossed my arms over my breasts.
“How about we play a game of Minecraft hide and seek?” I watched his green eyes flash a challenge.
“Oh?” he replied. I nodded. He gave a smirk and I watched his dimple deepen.
“You hide and I seek?” he asked, I nodded again. It’s how we always handled these kinds of disputes.
“You grab the beer, and I’ll set it up.” I watched his naked body rise from the couch and sauntered over to our entertainment system. Tossing my legs off the couch I went into the kitchen; to the fridge I pull out our favorite beer. ‘Not your grandpa’s root beer.’ It wasn’t strong, but it tasted good enough that you would want to keep drinking.
I took both six packs and returned to the living room. He was already sitting on the couch, his back to me. I tilted my head looking over his beautiful body. His hair was a soft brown, he lifted weights quite frequently so his upper body was rather muscular. Which I never minded. He leaned back, and I had gotten a good long look at him. Toned chest, abs, and beautiful toned legs. I smiled to my self, I wasn’t going to get started on anything else from the hips down.
My cheeks flushed as I came back, sitting next,to him he cracked two open, one for me and one for him. Our two controllers were set up and he returned to his gaming position.
“So, whoever wins gets to pick the game,” I looked over to him and he had a cheeky grin, green eyes looking me over.
“How about who’s going to be on top?” I gently smacked his arm.
“Oh come on! Lets play!” I looked to our large television, I went through the worlds we had and one stopped me. It was labeled ‘hide n seek.’ I gave my husband a look and shrugged.
We’ve had many drunk Minecraft nights so, I wouldn’t have been surprised if we had made it before. I took a drink of my beer and clicked enter.
The world loaded up in record time, I turned us both invisible, we both tossed the maps.
The world was, different then most Minecraft worlds. There was no music. No real sound… only the pitter patter of rain. It was oddly quiet. Normally there would’ve been sounds of animals, villagers, and since I was near the ocean, the sounds of water striking the beach. Even at night were creatures were to be prowling. There was nothing.
I felt slightly uneasy, as I gave my husband a look he shrugged.
“Probably one of those already made worlds you downloaded,” I shrugged.
“Maybe. But there’s no normal sounds,” pausing the game, I tried to find the settings. I kept finding other things, like… weapon options, serial killer perks. Even a reality box. The lettering was in italics, and red. My husband gave another shrug.
“Has to be a mod,” his voice calmed me. He was always right… so, I looked back to the game and I noticed, the corners were growing darker. I closed out of, the pause menu. On my HUD, where the hearts should’ve been, was a sanity mirror. My character, who was regular Steve… didn’t quite look like him anymore. He seemed… disheveled maybe even a little distressed with a small twitch. My husband was moving around on the bottom, trying to find me.
I kept moving my character, and this time I could hear the footsteps. Not of him, but of my husband’s character. Disheveled Steve seemed to move all on his own, looking over his shoulder, eyes wide with slight fear, and worry. Though the reality box wasn’t checked, this looked real enough. The emotions were at least.
My husband was really into it, trying to find me in the game. I managed to look down at his part of the screen. His character, wielded a machete and looked nothing like any of the skins I had ever seen. This time, I felt real anxiety roll in my stomach. I picked up the controller and forced my character to move.
He was swinging his arms trying to run away from the on coming threat. Death walked behind me. There was nothing else I could do, besides run. My character ran into the thickest forest I had ever seen in Minecraft, that no matter how bright the torch there was no way you would’ve seen a foot in front of you.
Within the forest I heard whispers, sobbing and pleading for freedom. By this point I was freaking out. While my husband remained eerily calm, running behind me, following my character. This game of hide n seek, turned into a sick game of cat and mouse.
My Steve was breathing hard, running out of energy. The time we had reached to a clearing, his face was red and sweaty. I could almost smell him, that’s how real it felt… and yet my husband stayed quiet, eyes glued to the screen, sitting on the edge of his seat. Searching for my character, my Steve…
I glanced at my husband, knuckles white and tight around the controller. Again the whispering returned, louder. The rain pouring harder. It was growing almost impossible for me to pay attention. Our living room grew dark as the screen grew brighter. The forest around my Steve became life-like. I delved deeper into the dense woods. My muscles became lax. The moment I blinked, was all it took. Rain touched my skin cooling my burning flesh. As I took a deep breath in, all I could smell was the overwhelming scent of pine…
I looked over my shoulder, the glaring white eyes of Herobrine stared back at me. The scream was lodged within my throat, the only thing I could think of to do, was run.
Yet I remained where I was in absolute terror. I couldn’t breathe, blink or think. I just stared into its cold, dead, empty eyes. Only the faintest of cries escaped my lips. My fingers trembled, my teeth chattered from the creeping chill shooting through my spine.
He stepped forward, out of the shadows. His very presence towered over me, I just stared up at him, tears glistening within my eyes making his figure blur. He blinked twice, tilting his head just slightly, and my stomach dropped.
On his clothing, was splotches of red. My gut screamed foul.
“The other player didn’t hide too well. I found him too soon. I’m giving you a second chance. I’m going to give you a ten second head start. Are you ready to play hide n seek?” The voice that came from this creature made my bladder turn to the size of a walnut, which released over my thighs. He just tilted his head and began to count.
“One.”
I turned from him.
“Two.”
I was gone at a dead sprint. Fresh tears warmed my cheeks.
“Three.”
I could hear him clear as day, as if I had havent moved one bit.
“Four.”
His voice turned to a gurgling growl. I screamed in terror. I just wanted to wake up from this nightmare. I wanted to be with my lover, wrapped in his arms…
“Five…”
He was behind me, no matter how fast I ran, he was still there. Following my every move.
The moment I hit the end of the forest, I was left with a snowy mountain, and a deep cave.
“Six… where are you going to hide player?” he called.
I looked over my shoulder, he wasn’t there but I could feel his soulless eyes staring at me through the thick downpour. I looked back at the two choices I had.
“Have to do something…” I thought, what else was I going to do?
“Seven, I’m coming for you…”
I ducked into the caves, there would’ve been more places to hide then an open desert… at least I had hopped.
I jumped down a few blocks, the darkness came fast. I couldn’t see no more than three blocks ahead of me. So I reached out, running my fingers over the cold cobblestone.
“Eight…”
His voice had grown far away, it gave me little reprieve. I knew he knew this game much better than anyone else… this could’ve been my smartest move, or the one that would kill me.
