Into the Ether

As the night begins I find myself suckered into cleaning up a Spring Break motel room after an escapade of filthy sex. Not my own mind you, I was hired. As I'm digging through the mess, I find odd items. Old toys which I can't make sense of. Staying here seems like a waste of time. I look for an exit but two men interfere with my departure. They tell me I have a job to do. I tell them no, I don't. I head back into the room and they leave yet remain nearby. I manage to rip a hole in the wall and leave that way.

I emerge into an old home of mine. I walk around. My close friend, K, is already here. She wants Starbucks again. We walk downstairs to the Starbucks, she gets her drink but I have a nagging feeling I can't get rid of.

We go back upstairs and I sense it again. Something is following me. Something dark and heavy but I can't see it and it doesn't interact with me.

I ignore it since I can't pinpoint it. I go into a bedroom to rest. I fall asleep and wake up looking at a computer screen. People are chatting, I'm reading the lines of text, nothing out of the ordinary for chat rooms. Until a symbol shows up on the screen.

A glowing red eye appears at the bottom of the page and the chatter picks up. I look at the name next to the eye and it's Mzzkc. I lean away from the screen. Look left then right. Hrm.

I haven't typed anything into chat yet and don't feel like I should. I'm about to log out when suddenly I get an invitation to join a call. Silently I click 'accept' and wait.

Mzzkc is in the middle of talking to a group of us about a video game he's designed. I can't recall specifics, it was nerd-speak on the mechanics of it but I understood enough to know he was talking about the 'how' in regards to the creation of the game.

A moment later I'm pulled through the screen of my computer and am within the game. Others are here with me and we're standing while listening to Mzzkc continue his lecture. I'm still decently confused of the 'how' and the 'why' behind this but don't mind it enough to leave yet.

Along the way we passed through a barricaded hallway. I stared at the barricade for a long while, trying to make sense of the mess. Many fire extinguishers and boxes. . . varying types and sizes for both.

We're doing a walk through of the progression of the game. We're guided through a school, eventually finding our way to a laboratory with a medical chair in the middle of the room. We walk into a connected room with windows and vials bordering the walls. As we walk around this area a werewolf looking character emerges. Startled, I prepare to fight it but soon realize it's not real. Sort of like a hologram or a replica of the real thing. The attention to detail in the character is impressive, in fact everything so far holds an excessive attention to detail.

I haven't said much so far but decide to walk out. I walk down a driveway and then continue along the side walk for a short distance.

"Hey, wait up."

Mzzkc is walking on the grass at an angle before arriving in front me. He keeps walking, says something, then points out the snake nest to my right.

"They won't bother you if you don't bother them." He points right in front of me.

I look down. There's a couple coral snakes that I would have stepped on with my next step if he hadn't pointed them out.

Slowly I step away but one of the snakes takes an interest and follows me. I slowly shift directions but the snake moves for me. I'm forced to jump to avoid it, when I land it comes at me again, I jump again and the cycle repeats a few times before I ask for help.

Mzzkc catches it attention and it follows after him, which gives me enough time to leave.

I'm now in a house nearby, safely away from the snakes. Then I see some kids running outside as I run inside. I'm concerned they'll run into the nest and head out after them.

Turns out they've found a snake and they're hovering over it, staring at it curiously.

I walk over and get to them before they've touched it, managing to pick the snake up and hold it near the neck.

I can't seem to keep a solid grip on it and the longer I hold the snake, the more the flesh degrades and falls apart. Yet it's still alive and able to strike so I continue to hold it, considering tossing it but aren't sure the risks involved with tossing it free. I become worked up with holding it and eventually break down.

"Mzzkc!"

"Mzzkc!"

"Mzzkc!!!"

He comes running out of the house I was just in, passes through the garage, and comes to help take the snake from me. Just in time for me to wake up.