Short Story: Games Of The Mind

Alice thought hard and fast. She had no idea of how she had gotten to this place. One minute, she was falling asleep. The next thing she knew, she was here. It was not a dream; she had already convinced herself of that. She had slapped herself and pinched as hard as she dared. No, this was no dream, and it wasn't the time to wonder on how she got here. Her survival instincts had set in.

The first thing she had to do was calm herself. Her heart was beating so fast and her breath was raspy and noisy. Anything out there could hear her loud and clear, she was sure. It seemed so difficult to regain control now when it mattered the most, after all that rigorous training! She swore under her breath and and chuckled, at least she hadn’t forgotten how to swear.

It seemed like forever, but she was finally able to slow her heartbeat and her breathing. She felt a surge of self admiration, but quickly shut it down, she had taken too long to regain control, plus there was no time for that now. She had to find out where she was and how to leave.

The one obvious thing was that she was in a forest; she had known that much since she found herself here. Now that her noisy breathing was no longer interfering, she shifted her focus into listening, becoming one with the forest. She began to distinguish the cacophony of the forest sounds.

She could hear the sound of a waterfall in the distance; she heard that peculiar call of the Hutu bird, sharp and piercing. She heard the leaves rustle as a gentle breeze blew.

The breeze blew a tendril of her hair loose and it tickled her nose as it danced, breaking her concentration. She let out a low irritated hiss as she tucked the unruly strands firmly behind her ears and went back to her task.

Alice stiffened suddenly, she sensed danger. She couldn't explain what it was, but she just sensed it. One thing was certain, this wasn't wonderland and something wasn't right here. 

Alice didn't want to wait and have to find out what was wrong, she spun on her heels and ran. She ran fast and swift. She didn't hear anything behind her in a chase, but she looked back as she ran still, just to be sure, she fervently hoped she was running in the right direction.

She saw nothing behind her, but as she turned her head forward, she saw she was just one foot away from a wide chasm right at the center of the forest and she was running too fast to stop. Her final thought as she fell was “Game over, Alice!”

Her eyes snapped open! She was in her room, sitting up in her bed against the headboard and her computer was in her lap. It was all just a dream after all, a nightmare! She was drenched in cold sweat. She looked at her computer’s dead screen and her hand went to the mouse. The screen came alive in a flash of light and her eyes took in the image it displayed, the words over the image read:

“Forest Run, Level 10, Game Over”

“Play Again”.


Cover image via Feralpoint.com