Chapter Two

Chapter Two

We looked up at the comments, and a bad feeling crept up from the soles of my feet.

"Let's go. Every level's on a timer. The faster we finish, the sooner we get out."

We headed carefully toward the rooms. The hallway floor was sticky, and every step had to be placed with care.

Everyone found their rooms. I was the only one still walking toward the room at the very end of the hall.

As I walked, I thought: at least I can't talk. No way I'll die for making too much noise.

I reached the door and knocked softly.

The door creaked open on its own.

A wave of cold air hit me, and I couldn't help shivering.

I pushed the door wider and stepped carefully inside, looking around. Pitch-black bedding with a pair of bright red pillows. Directly across from the bed stood a mirror.

Another line of text appeared before my eyes: [Hello, player. It's dark now. Time for bed.]

Following the system's instructions, I pulled back the covers. Hiding under the blanket were two little kids.

Neither of them had a head. Their arms and legs were tangled together. When they saw me, they started to giggle.

The giggling sounded like crying, and it was getting louder.

And sound was the deadliest thing in this game.

I quickly lay down on the bed and pulled the covers over all three of us.

The giggling stopped. But in its place came something wet and slick, wrapping itself around my body.

They were crawling up my legs together. In the mirror across from the bed, I could see their hands already pressed against my neck.

Their headless bodies were slick with blood. The stumps of their necks were stretching wider and wider, like they wanted to swallow my head.

I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep.

After all, the system's task for this level was to sleep.

OMG this girl is a beast! She can't talk, so she's basically exploiting a bug in the game. Anyone else would've screamed by now.

For real. But the Big Boss is about to show up, and he hates people sleeping in his bed.

The last person who slept in the boss's bed lasted one second.

Even with my eyes closed, the comments kept popping into my head. The more I read, the more scared I got, and my hearing sharpened far beyond normal.

Water started dripping from the ceiling onto my face.

I knew it wasn't water. It was blood. More and more of it, until my hair was almost soaked, and the suffocating feeling forced my eyes open.

Hanging upside down from the ceiling was a woman. Her eyeballs had fallen out and dangled in midair, still attached by strings of flesh.

Liquid dripped from her throat. Her upper body was nailed to the ceiling. Her lower half was gone.

Tap. Tap. Tap...

The sound of dress shoes on the floor was painfully clear in the silent room.

The footsteps stopped outside my door. I knew it was the legendary Big Boss.

Remembering what the comments had said, I carefully rolled off the bed, meaning to hide underneath it.

The second my feet touched the floor, the two kids on the bed burst out laughing and wrapped their arms around mine.

I pried their hands off, dropped flat to the floor, and saw two little heads under the bed, grinning at me.

I wanted to scream. I opened my mouth, and nothing came out.

I shut my eyes, ignored those horrible grins, and crawled under the bed.

The door clicked open.

The instant it did, the laughter on the bed stopped dead.

A moment later, the footsteps came closer.

I opened my eyes and found myself face to face with the two heads. Their hands reached under the bed, up to their own mouths, and made a shh gesture at me.

My stomach dropped. I turned my head—

A man in a mask was lying on his side on the floor, looking at me under the bed. Watching. Silent.