Virtual NightmareWritten by L0CKED334The construction of the large facility had drawn a lot of rumors within the small town. Usually, there were promotions to coming businesses to the area but no one seemed to have any clue of what this building would be. The economy could use the boost here though and many people had hopes of new jobs for the area. As the weeks went by not a single advertisement was made in the search for new employees. The people of the town began to wonder just what was being built here. The last piece to be erected was a glowing blue sign that simply read, “Game Vision.”Jason’s eyes scanned the flier he had found under his windshield wiper. It matched many that had been posted all across town. “Game Vision – A Full Immersion Experience,” was printed in bold letters across the top. It was offering positions as video game testers for a new type of virtual reality gaming. He had always wanted to be a real video game tester, not just reviewing the ones he had played over YouTube. This was his chance to get in on the ground floor of something big, so he decided that with his spring break from college he would apply for a position.He stood just outside the doors, staring up at the marvel of block and glass. It was so much different than any other building in town. The first floor was nothing but glass, you could see people passing from the large lobby through to small offices on each side. Each with their own desk, red plush chair, and top of the line computer. People sat communicating in headsets and, from what he could tell from the sidewalk, playing games. This definitely looked like the kind of place he wanted to work. He just wondered why he had never heard of Game Vision before.Once he passed into the lobby, people shifted about around him. At least a hundred people clutched fliers just like the one he held. If these were all the applicants, he worried if he even had a chance at a position. He approached a large half-moon shaped desk that two women sat at. People in front of him were signing in, receiving identification badges, and being directed to take a seat. When it was his turn, he placed the flier on the desk. One of the women gave him a smile and passed a clipboard over to him, instructing him to sign in. He scribbled his name and date eagerly.When he returned the clipboard, his information was entered into the computer. Within seconds a temporary badge was printed and handed to him. He was instructed to take a seat with the rest of the applicants and await being called to the back. The entire lobby was alive with people and they scattered around on the various forms of seating within the room. Jason took a seat on the corner of a large orange couch with purple and blue pillows, his thumbs twirling around each other nervously.A tall, slender man entered the lobby with a clipboard in hand. He called several names but not Jason’s. After a few moments he pulled his phone from his pocket and began scrolling through his social media notifications to try and combat is boredom. An hour went by before the door opened again, almost all of the people who had entered returned with a look of disappointment. He tried to ask a few of them how the interview went but he only received looks of contempt in return.The man returned, reciting another list of names and Jason’s happened to be at the end of it. He quickly stood, shoving his phone into his pocket before falling in line behind the others. They were led through a large corridor, past the glass offices he had witnessed from outside. He couldn’t help but stare as they moved by each one. The people seemed happy as they worked on their projects. This was the life he wanted, to make a living doing something he actually enjoyed in a place that didn’t have him in a tiny cubicle for eight hours.The group was ushered into an elevator, their shoulders brushing against each other as the man reached to press a button. To Jason’s surprise, it wasn’t for any of the floors that towered above them. The man’s finger rested on the “B” and it lit up blue. With a jolt the elevator began to descend, a nervousness seemed to fill the tiny space.A young Asian girl quizzed, “Why the basement?”“Our new project will require a lot more space than your average game testing facility and our basement was designed specifically for it,” the man replied.Jason’s mind wandered, trying to imagine what would require the use of such a large space. If the basement was even half the size of the top floors then it would be like putting two football fields side-by-side. His imagination ran wild with ideas of machinery and mechanism but the sudden stop brought him back to reality. The elevator emitted a ding before the doors parted to reveal a white room, lined with small desks on each side, one for each of them. They were instructed to take a seat and complete the forms upon the screen.Jason took a seat near the back of the room at a desked labeled with the number 12, there was a door that led out but it read, “Authorized Personnel Only.” He turned in the little red chair, his fingers coming to rest on the black keys before him. The questions began with basic things, like his name and age. The longer he went the questions became more personal, like if he currently had a relationship and if not how long ago was his last relationship. He answered it, but he could not figure out why a game developer would need to know he had been single for the last year.Then the medical and family history questions came. He spent a good twenty minutes just trying to remember if any of his great-grandparents had suffered any mental disorders. It became daunting and after thirty minutes he stopped to rub his eyes for a moment before completing the form. Once he allowed the mouse to click “Submit”, a prompt appeared on the screen that thanked him for his application. Several of the people within the room had finished and were sitting quietly for instruction. When every application had been submitted, the man received a message on his phone. He scanned over the text before looking to the group.“Applicant 9 and 12, please remain seated. The rest of you come with me,” he said. The room became alive with groans at the thought of not being chosen. Jason however, grinned ear-to-ear. He had never been one to gloat but this genuinely made him feel superior. The other person to be selected was the small Asian girl who had spoken in the elevator. Jason nodded at her and she returned with an upturned thumb. She seemed happy to have made it through as well. They sat this way for a few moments before the door behind Jason opened. A small blonde woman with a lab coat entered, her thick black glasses hiding her eyes as she made notes on a tablet.“I’m Dr. Keirtch, if the two of you would come with me we can proceed to the next part of your application process. Names please?” she said while turning back out the door.Jason and the girl stood quickly, their smiles fading at the thought that the selection process was not over. They hurried to catch up, Jason looking over to the girl beside him with confusion forming on his face. She simply shrugged in return, not sure what was going on either.“I’m Jason Alvarez,” he said quickly and noticed the doctor tap her tablet a couple of times.“Stacy Nugyen,” the girl responded just after, more taps being applied to the tablet.They passed through another long hallway with doors much like the one they had entered. They could not see inside but when they stopped at one of them Jason was directed into it, while the girl was directed to the one across the hall.As Jason entered he immediately took notice of how white everything seemed to be. The floor, the walls, the small desk in the corner were all white. The only contrast was the gray of the metal frame of what appeared to be a medical bed. The doctor stood in the doorway for a moment before entering.“This is where the testing will take place, but first we have to make sure you are a good candidate. We have a few preliminary tests we must perform, one of which will be a physical. So, if you would please remove your clothing and any personal items, place them in the bag on the desk and put on the gown that is in the closet,” she said while pointing at both the desk and the closet.Jason followed as she pointed around the room, but not sure why he needed a physical to play a video game, “You said tests, what other tests?”“Let’s focus on the physical for now. Please get dressed,” almost in a frustrated tone.As Dr. Keirtch left him, he stepped over to the closet and pulled out the gown. It was just as white as everything else and something about that made Jason feel uneasy. Maybe it was the completely unnecessary questions, the fact he was far underground, and now being asked to subject his body to a physical that made all of this seem wrong. A voice in the back of his head told him to leave, but the thought was silenced by the distinct sound of metal against metal.The gown dropped to the floor as Jason rushed for the handle. He struggled with it but he had been sealed in. His fists pounded on the door and he screamed to be let out. Between his cries for help, he could hear Stacy struggling across the hall. Then suddenly she stopped struggling, Jason pressed his ear to the door but he could not hear anything on the other side. He did, however, hear a very subtle hissing sound within his room.The air seemed thicker than it was when he first entered. His eyes searched the room and a mist of some unknown gas slowly filtered in from a vent above him. He choked on the fumes while trying to cover his mouth with his shirt. His vision began to blur and his head seemed to swim. The room started to spin and his knees gave way under him. H
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The original Spooky Boo's Scary Story Time telling spooky, scary stories since 2016. Here you'll find true scary stories, fiction stories, urban legends, creepypasta, and other tall tales from the darkest corners of the internet.
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