Chapter no.29: Fear

*Trigger warning this chapter delves into dark themes of invasion of privacy and psychological warfare *

The kind of fear that makes you question everything—makes you doubt reality itself. Was this some sick nightmare? 

Could she wake up, please? Rei pinched herself, hard, desperate for this to end. Come on, wake up. 

Wake up! 

But then the pain came, sharp and real. 

No. No, no, no!

She let out a choked cry, her fist trembling as she resisted the urge to smash the computer screen. Her stomach twisted, bile rising in her throat as her body shook uncontrollably. 

How? 

How could such disgusting people even exist? 

How could they find pleasure in this?

Rei's mind raced as she stared at those horrible images. How in God's name did they get these pictures of her? Of all people, her?! Was there some mistake, some glitch in the universe that allowed this to happen? She didn't even want to think about who might be behind this.

And then her eyes drifted toward the second video. It looked different from the first. It was live. Her breath hitched. She didn't want to click it—she knew she shouldn't—but her hand moved on its own, guided by some morbid curiosity or maybe just blind terror.

The screen flickered, and there it was. Oh, God. It was a live video… of her. Of her, sitting there, right now, watching the live video. No. No, no, no. This wasn't possible. Her heart was pounding in her chest, each beat like a hammer driving nails into her skull. Her room—how were they seeing her room?!

She couldn't look away, though. Her eyes darted to the screen as it switched to a different feed—her bathroom, her living room, every corner of her apartment. They had cameras in there. Cameras everywhere. Recording her. Watching her. For how long? How long had they been spying on her like this? Was there any part of her life they hadn't seen?

Rei wanted to scream, to throw something, to tear the cameras out of the walls, to do anything but sit there like a helpless idiot. But she was frozen—frozen in that godforsaken chair. Fear gripped her like ice, numbing her limbs, swallowing her voice. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe. How long had they been watching her? How much had they seen?

She forced her eyes to move to the live chat, and her soul nearly shattered. They were watching her. They were commenting. Hundreds of messages poured in, flooding the screen, each one worse than the last.

"Look at her face, she's terrified! Hahaha!"

"Oh, this is interesting, after months, she noticed!"

"I wanna see her beg, let's make her beg."

They knew things about her. Dark things. Secrets she'd never told anyone. Things she buried so deep that even she tried to forget them.

"Rei, go wear that sling bikini, I want to masturbate?"

"Hey, use that rubber dildo this time, the plastic one is lame." 

Oh God, how could they know these things? She never told anyone about these, not a single soul. It was like they had reached inside her mind and ripped out her deepest secrets, exposing them for the world to mock.

And then she saw it—the message that made the world go silent, like everything inside her stopped breathing all at once.

[ Anonymous user donated 1000 Bitcoins.] [ You're in her house, GM. Give us a show then. ]

Rei's heart almost stopped as she read that.

No, no, no. 

Someone was there. In her house. Right now. They were there! 

Her body reacted before her brain could catch up—she shot out of her chair, slammed the door shut, and twisted the lock with trembling hands. Her breaths were coming in shallow gasps, her vision swimming with tears. Every sound, every shadow felt like it was creeping toward her, ready to drag her into the dark.

How long had they been in there? How long had they been watching her, waiting for this moment? She wanted to disappear, to melt into the walls, to be anywhere but there. Her mind was screaming, begging for this nightmare to end, but she knew—oh, she knew—it wasn't over. Not even close.

What did she do? 

What could she do now?

Tears poured down Rei's face, hot and blinding. She wanted her parents—she needed them. She needed someone to hold her, to tell her that this was all just a nightmare. Please, please let this all be a nightmare! She begged, over and over, but the universe didn't answer. Only the screen did, lighting up with a torrent of messages. Donations kept coming, each one more monstrous than the last.

GM, break her arm first.

GM, cut off her fingers.

Oh, God. Oh, God, no! Rei couldn't breathe. Her chest felt like it was caving in, her lungs shrinking into tiny, useless balloons. The room started spinning, walls closing in on her. She was gasping for air, but it wouldn't come. Her hands were trembling so violently she thought they might shatter, and her vision blurred, turning into this hazy tunnel. Every heartbeat was like a hammer in her ears, too fast, too loud—was this what dying felt like?

Focus, Rei. Focus! She screamed at herself, desperate to cling to anything, to pull herself out of this choking panic. She heard it then—the footsteps. Oh God, someone was here, really here. She didn't think. She just moved. She grabbed her bed, her hands suddenly strong with adrenaline. Superhuman strength, they say. I guess it's true. She dragged the bed across the floor, shoving it against the door to block it. Her taser was in one hand, her phone in the other, dialing the police with shaking fingers.

Please work, please, just work!

The room was so quiet now, yet it was like every sound was amplified a thousand times. Her own heartbeat thundered in her ears, so loud it drowned out everything else. Her pulse was in her throat, pounding so hard she thought she might choke on it. She couldn't stop shaking. Her hands, her legs—everything was trembling like she was caught in the middle of an earthquake that wouldn't end. She felt like her own skin was going to tear apart, that the fear was going to split her open.

And then the screen flickered, and suddenly, the website turned off. What? Rei's mind raced, a thousand questions tearing through her. Did this monster turn off the Wi-Fi? Why? What's happening?

The call finally connected, and she could barely choke out the words, her voice cracking and trembling. "Hello, please help, there is someone in my house… I'm scared." The words tumbled out of her in a rush, her voice small and broken, like a child lost in the dark. She pressed the taser tighter against the door, her hand shaking so badly she almost dropped it.

"Ma'am, where are you located?"

She blurted out her address in a breathless rush, clinging to the hope that they would get there in time. They said fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes. How can fifteen minutes feel like an eternity? Every second stretched out, her fear growing with each tick of the clock. What if they didn't come? What if this GM was just waiting, watching her squirm like a trapped animal? But they never tried to break down her door. They never even tried to come in.

When the police finally arrived, she almost collapsed with relief. They searched the house from top to bottom, escorted her out as they went through every room. It felt like a tiny bit of safety wrapped itself around her, but it was fragile—like glass that could shatter at any moment.

The entity was gone. Any sign of cameras was gone too—except for one. They found a camera in her room, hidden inside a pen she got as a gift last Christmas. She couldn't even remember who gave it to her. How could she not have known?

They searched the attic too. Was that where the GM hid? Were they watching her all this time, even when she was asleep? The thought made her skin crawl, like a million spiders were running under her flesh.

The dark web website was gone, deleted like it had never existed. Without any evidence, it looked like she was losing her mind. She could see it in the eyes of the police—they didn't believe her. They thought she was crazy. But they didn't say anything, probably because of the way she was shaking, the way her eyes were wild with terror.

Sitting in that police station was the closest she'd felt to safe in days. She couldn't go back to that house. Not ever. Not after what happened. No matter how much she cried, no matter how many times she tried to wipe away the memory, the tears always came back.

And she knew, deep down, that she was never going to be the same. This fear, this darkness—it had scarred her for life.

And no matter what she did, she would never be free of it.

"Hey, kid, your guardian's here," the police officer said, his voice breaking through the fog of Rei's thoughts. Guardian? What was he talking about?

"What?" Rei blurted out, her voice shaky as she turned to look. The officer pointed toward a man standing a few feet away. Her stomach dropped. It was one of her high school teachers, Mr. Shido. Why was he here? And more importantly, why was he pretending to be her guardian?

Rei felt herself taking a step back, her whole body tensing up. Something was wrong. Her instincts were screaming at her to stay away, to put distance between them. The police officer seemed to hesitate, glancing between Rei and Mr. Shido, his eyes narrowing like he was waiting for an explanation.

"Rei, didn't you get a message from your parents?" Mr. Shido asked, his voice too calm, too smooth. Rei fumbled for her phone, her hands still shaking as she unlocked it. Her eyes scanned the screen, and there it was—a message from her parents.

"Rei, we know this is a lot, but we had to make a decision quickly. This is your uncle—well, half-uncle, technically. He's the closest family we have nearby, so we asked him to come to take care of you. We know you're scared, but trust us. He's there to keep you safe."

Rei's throat tightened as she stared at the message. Half-uncle? Since when? Why didn't they ever mention him before? How could they send someone she barely knew to be with her now, after everything that's happened?

She looked up at Mr. Shido—no, her supposed uncle—and he gave her this smile. A slow, almost too-perfect smile that didn't reach his eyes. Something about it made her skin crawl, like ants were marching up her spine.

"Don't worry, Rei, it's going to be fine," he said, his voice soft and reassuring, but it only made her stomach twist harder. Fine? How could anything be fine right now? How was she supposed to trust him when her whole body was screaming at her not to?

Rei forced herself to nod, even though every part of her wanted to scream no. To run. To hide. But she couldn't—she was trapped in this moment, trapped in her own head, second-guessing everything.

"Now," he said, his smile never faltering, "are you ready to go back?"

Rei paused, her mind reeling. Go back? Back to that house where her nightmares came to life? The thought made her want to throw up. She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to go back. She wasn't ready to face that place again, not now, maybe not ever.

"My name is Koichi Shido," he continued, holding out his hand as if this was some kind of formal introduction. Rei stared at his hand, her own trembling by her side. She didn't want to take it. She didn't want to acknowledge him. Her brain screamed at her to trust her gut, to trust the fear that was making her heart pound like a drum in her chest.

But what choice did she have?

Author Note: More chapters on P@treon.com/LordCampione.