CHAPTER 7 - CRYING GHOST

This cycle was a little different from the previous two.

Because as soon as Natalie entered the corridor, she heard a burst of crying.

"Uh uh uh..."

It was a woman's sobbing, faint but distinct. In the dead silence of the hallway, it echoed clearly.

"What the hell, why is someone crying?!" Natalie felt her scalp go numb.

"Damn, I'm starting to get scared again!"

"That crying sounds really off!"

"What's going on? There was no sound like this in the first two loops!"

"Maybe it's the little ghost left the bathroom?"

"Nope. This crying sounds like it's from a woman."

"I got so scared I yanked out my headphones. Muted now, nope!"

The audience heard it too the crying wasn't loud, but it was chilling, like someone sobbing with something tight around their neck.

Natalie could also tell the voice belonged to an adult woman, not the little girl ghost from the bathroom. Which meant... a new ghost had appeared.

She swallowed nervously. Even though she was panicking inside, she still shouted out loud.

"Hah! I'm not afraid!!!"

She strode forward, still trying to act tough, and continued rambling out loud.

"What kind of ghosts and monsters are these? It's all fake! And these scare tactics, so old fashioned! Just cheap jump scares. It's all the same stuff."

"I've got it figured out. I'm not scared anymore. They just throw things at you suddenly to make you jump."

"I'll just charge through. Let's see how they scare me now-"

Her words stopped cold.

As soon as she turned the corner, she froze. She stood still, her eyes wide.

She stared straight ahead, in disbelief.

A tall ghost was standing just ten meters in front of her.

It was a thin, towering female figure, far too tall for a normal person, nearly touching the ceiling.

She stood there, slightly twitching, letting out that same low sobbing: "Uh uh uh..."

The corridor lights were dim, and Natalie couldn't see her clearly. But it was clear she wore a dirty dress, and her figure was extremely slender, impossibly long.

"What the hell! She's just standing there?!"

"This isn't a jumpscare, this is just freaky!"

"Natalie really just said 'they only pop out suddenly' and now this ghost's like. Nah, I'll wait."

"This female ghost is HUGE! Like three meters tall!"

"This is terrifying. This thing is haunting."

The chat was full of panic.

The little girl ghost earlier had only popped out to frighten.

But this one just stood there, openly and silently, in full view.

"Uh uh uh..."

The ghost didn't move. And Natalie didn't dare move either.

She tried to calm herself with deep breaths, but her mind was going blank. Her body wouldn't stop trembling.

"Guys... what do I do now?!"

Her confident act was completely gone. Her voice was shaky and full of fear.

"I can't walk past her. She's gonna kill me if I do! She's just standing there, but I know she'll rush me. Damn, she's so scary!"

"Come on, it's just a game, Natalie! Go for it!"

"Just run through! YOLO!"

"It's not that deep, just gooo!"

"Bro I wanna switch with you, I can't take this secondhand anxiety!"

Natalie snapped, her voice cracking with panic.

"Easy for you guys to talk! You're not the ones in here! It's too real! I know it's fake, but my body doesn't listen, I'm shaking nonstop!"

She was trembling all over, completely out of control.

"I swear I want to quit the game right now. I can't handle this. My heart's about to explode... I can hear my own heartbeat."

"Forget it. I'm going back the way I came..."

She started backing away slowly.

"How are you going to go back? The door's locked!"

"That's right, Natalie! There's no turning back now!"

"This dev is a demon. Too good at horror."

Natalie suddenly remembered, there really was no way back.

All the doors behind her were locked.

She had no choice.

She was trapped in the corridor.

And the only way forward was straight past the crying ghost.

"Huhuhu... Fine! If that's how it is, I'll risk my life for the sake of my viewers... You better send me some gifts!"

"If I die here, nothing will happen, you can do this." Natalie muttured under her breath.

She took a deep breatht then shaking, she took a small step forward.

One step. Then another.

She slowly got closer to the ghost.

Ten meters... nine... eight...

As she walked, her body stayed tense. She hunched forward and gripped her VR headset tightly with both hands ready for anything.

If the ghost made even the slightest move...

She'd just quit the game!

That thought gave her the courage to keep walking.

But then, something unexpected happened again.

Click.

There was a quiet sound, like a switch being flipped.

The light above the ghost suddenly went out!

The hallway ahead was instantly put into darkness.

The tall, thin figure of the ghost disappeared into the shadows.

"Fuck!!" Natalie screamed in shock.

She froze in place. The sudden blackout caught her completely off guard.

She stared at the darkness, on the edge of tears.

"The lights went out?! Right now?! Why would they turn off now?! How am I supposed to go forward?!"

"This is just cruel!"

She knew that the terrifying ghost was still standing somewhere in the dark, just ahead.

Before, seeing the ghost had already been scary enough.

But now this game turned off the lights?

"Damn, the developer is evil, this is way too creepy!"

"It's not enough to have a ghost, they turn off the lights too?!"

"Close your eyes and run, Natalie! It's just a game!"

"I can't even look at the screen anymore, this is too much."

"Brace yourselves. Something big is coming..."

The viewers flooded the chat with comments.

But Natalie didn't move.

She stood frozen, completely stuck.

"Forget it... I'm quitting..."

She started backing away.

"Wait, the ghost stopped crying!"

"Yeah, that sobbing sound is gone. Maybe the ghost left?"

"It might be a hint from the game. The ghost disappeared!"

Natalie read the messages and stopped.

She listened carefully.

It was true, after the lights went out, the strange crying had stopped.

Maybe... the ghost really was gone?

But even if it was, the hallway was still pitch black. She couldn't see anything.

There was no way she was going in there.

As if the game heard her thoughts, the next second, she heard another soft click.

The lights in the hallway turned back on.

The area lit up again.

A few cockroaches crawled out of cracks in the wall, but Natalie didn't care.

Her eyes went straight ahead.

The female ghost was gone.

"She's gone! Thank God!!"

Natalie let out a deep breath.

"If the lights had stayed off and I had to walk through that hallway, I really would've quit."

It was just too much.

People are naturally afraid of the dark, it's part of who we are.

Light feels safe. Darkness feels dangerous. That's just how it works.

And this game? It used that fear perfectly.

Natalie took a moment to calm herself, then carefully continued forward.

She walked slowly, cautiously.

She was still scared the tall ghost would jump out again at any second.

Luckily, the hallway stayed quiet.

That is... until she reached the one place that still haunted her the most.

The bathroom.

And then, the thing she feared actually happened.

Creak...

The sharp sound of old hinges filled the air.

Just as she got close, the bathroom door opened on its own.

Not just a small crack this time.

The whole door swung open, wide.

Like a mouth, waiting to swallow her.

"Oh no. The bathroom door is wide open!"

"This is definitely where something happens."

"I can't watch this part..."

"If she walks past that, it's game over."

"Lowering my screen brightness again..."

The entire chat went quiet, full of tension.

Everyone watching was holding their breath.

The suspense had reached its peak.

1340 Words.