Beneath the whispers

Chapter 2

The day I saw my boyfriend cozied up, I don’t remember driving but the next thing I know I am at home scrolling through our pictures and crying, I broke a few frames and rubbed myself against my bed. Blur blur blur and next thing I am scrolling through my social media handle and deleting our couple video. Then an ad pops out. It says

Stop watching the game, be in it

That was enough to spark my interest, clicking on it and in no minute I am in a site, too lazy to read or observe the complicated features and the image of what looked like two ghosts. I simply scroll until I get to some bold writings that said: all you have to do is uncover this mystery and lay the twins to rest to save the village

“What twins?” I muttered to myself, scrolling back up to see where the story started. I read

In a faraway town, surrounded by nothing but hills and trees, hot like in the summer and the rains never wet the floor, a woman married to a ruthless man lived in the only mansion in the town, her husband worshiped her and did everything he could for her and yet she only asked for more, today she wants the most expensive dress and the next she wants a pool all to herself. This made the villagers angry but still yet all they could do is mumble grumpily whenever she walked by. But one day she and her family disappears and nobody could guess why and where they went. Until the whispering starts to grow in the silence and shadows take a member of the village each time letting their cry grow with the cool night’s breeze.

I sniff out air with a hum sound, this looks like a fun game, what better way to get over my now Ex-boyfriends betrayal? I don’t let the doubt cloud my optimism about how this game is going to change my life.

I click the sign up button and I see the form, I put Bella for my nick name and smile at the number 56 I was giving. That one is for the voices in my head. The next page require I sign something, scrolling through the document, I figured it has to do with a realty game show so I request the documents and in minutes I have signed it.

Then the notification that says I will be staying there for as long as it takes me to conclude the game to the last level and I can’t leave until I have completed it. My mum will kill me at this rate but I accept anyway and I am sent an email to print and a weird looking ticket to what seems like an island because I can’t even pronounce the name.

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"I don't know the full story but I know it has to do with a witch tormenting villagers. I saw the game ad” I continue, noticing his striking gaze pierce through me, what on earth is going through his mind? He seems to be studying me for some reason, then his gaze shifts back to the road to my relief

“And you signed up, just like that?” he asks, just when I thought we had returned to ignoring each other

“Yeah”

His dark eyes had a scornful look in them when he shot his gaze at the mirror again almost glaring at me, maybe I am the one he hates and not his job. He must hate me for choosing to take part in this game making him ride for hours and hours non-stop.

"What if the story is true?” He stops, trying to think through his next words “like what if … this is you …. going into your … own death?” he asks, hesitating between his words

Well.. tell that to someone that believes in voo-doo. I roll my eyes and cross my leg unintentionally lifting my floral gown to reveal my smooth laps but his gaze doesn’t linger, thankfully. It is true that like they said, nothing good comes easy.

That is if easy was quickly signing up for the game in few minutes, not having to pay a dime for accommodation, arriving on a private jet to the island and meeting only one cab driver whom I had to wait for a few long minutes. Maybe that was easy though but then – okay I have officially ran out of excuses

“it’s just like Scooby doo” I say, almost stammering. He scoffs in response, revealing a little white from his teeth and shaking his head sideways. His smile grew brighter then he looks through the mirror at my confused face making me squeeze it even further

"we are here” he declares. my mouth hang open as he rides towards a town, it was the first actual significance of human existence I had come across since the airport – well apart from the wooden old house which was visually empty by the way.

The roads is littered with nylon, clothes, cartons and a few household equipment, the homes are in bad condition it is like the occupants left in a sure hurry.

“What happened to the occupants of this place?” I ask looking back at the driver. My brows suddenly light and hanging against gravity, on getting no answer from him I groan loudly and drop yet again on the seat, my back crushing on the it’s smooth leather.

“Wow…. How creepy can this journey get?” I breathe the words out and rip out my phone from my handbag, my brows crease

Why wouldn’t the occupants escape this place I wouldn’t even survive a day without network connection

I sway the phone around but still nothing. I dump it right back with a sigh. anyway my sad reality is the very thing that brought me to this place so a simple connection issue is not supposed to hurt a fly and on the bright side I can fully grasp this experience without the outside world ruining it for me

“I can turn around” The cab driver says and I blink away my thoughts

He turns off the engine at the tiny metallic rods twisted into a gate, it is slightly open leading into a narrow leveled brown soil road with even more litters than outside the town

“It’s ok” you don’t get to be Mr. nice guy after boring me to death. Thank the sky for home training, those words would have slipped right out. The Cab driver shrugs innocently

“You should take me to the hotel” I demanded

He nods and sucks his teeth “Sorry ma’am, this is where I stop”

 

“you know what? I am really going to rate you down” I half-yell. forcing the door open and slamming it shut. He cringes from the sound making me gloat.

The stench from the gutter send my stomach rumbling in aggression and I suddenly have the urge to ask him to take me back, but just like that the back of his car grew smaller and smaller till I couldn’t catch a vivid view of it. It was just the sound of the engine hanging on my ears

Another wave of the stench accompanying a slight breeze snaps me back to reality, the deep nauseating urge to throw up my breakfast drags my lips apart. What on earth will stench this much in an almost abandoned town? These gamers sure took this to a whole new level and just that thought excites me all the more.