A group of teens got together one night for a innocent night full of games. One of the teens brought a new game he/she had picked up today. It was a PC game that seemed to have appeared out of no where. There were no trailers online for it, no ads on TV saying it was coming out but suddenly it had appeared on the shelf. Mind it, the game was bought from the weird old game store down the street, the one with the creepy old man. The teens pushed this creepy thought aside though as they started the their computer and put the game inside.

A loading street came up with the title, in big bold letters it read “Underland, Walk Among Us.” Weird title but at least the graphics looked cool. The teens got themselves situated around the computer screen and pressed start. The screen flashed a few times before fading in to show a creepy man looking at them(Well I guess it was a man) The creature looking at them looked more like a werewolf type creature except his head appeared to be floating above his neck. He had blood red eyes but instead of pupils he had black spirals that seemed to look right through them. He had white X’s that crossed over both eyes and a red and black Mohawk that ran between a pair of black wolf like ears. The creepiest thing about his face was that he was split down the middle, his right side was black and his left side was white. It looked like two people had been morphed into one, which made the teens shiver.

As the creature smiled at them the screen zoomed out to show an even creepier body. His arms were broken into pieces, his shoulders connected to his body but his mid arms floated apart from it and his hands floated apart from the middle. His legs were disconnected at the knees so it looked like he was simply floating. He had a long rat like tail that was also broken up in to four different sections. Again he was split; half black half white with X’s running down both sides of him with the opposite color. This time as the teens stared at this weird man like creature he raised his arm and held out his hand to them.
“Do you wish to play a game?” A static filled voice echoed out through the system.
All the teens hesitated at first but then laughed it off, it was just a stupid horror game.
“Yea of course.” One teen said but was surprised when the game seemed to respond to just his voice and answered with a nod and another smile.

They didn’t have any microphone hooked up so they thought it was just a weird fluke but they were all shocked when the creature moved forward towards the screen. They only had time to blink before the screen flashed, blinding them as they felt a strange pull and the world started to spin. When they finally settled down enough to open their eyes they were shocked to find they were standing in front of the creepy creature. The only thing was now the 2D creep was down standing in front of them in a solid 3D form.

“So, you wish to play my game. Let me explain the rules, shall I?”

Sydney swallowed hard but found herself nodding slowly with the rest of the group. The strange wolf like creature slowly blinked his red spiral eyes before a large creepy, Cheshire like smile crossed his face.
“My game is simple,” He began slowly. “This is my world and you are the players, or pawns really. In my world I have a path that the players may follow, which will split into more paths along the way. Only one path will lead you to where you wish to go; home.” Jigsaw paused, casting his gaze across the rag-tag group of friends. He then lifted his head and a strange little dragon type creature appeared in a puff of smoke.
“Throughout my game, there will be creatures, such as this one. Some will be small, some will be large but each one will wish to kill you. If you defeat them or outsmart them, you shall move on. If you don’t then you will be dead, of course.”
The dragon in his hand opened his mouth to show 4 rows of sharp jagged teeth before lunging at the group, disappearing right in front of their faces.

“At the end of the game there is a gateway; it will take you home if you make it. OH, but on one condition; defeat the gate keeper at the end. He is quite hungry and very angry, he would love some human bones to munch down on.” Jigsaw stopped once more, this time taking a step towards the group.
He lifted his arms and suddenly out of thin air, one knife appeared in each players hand.
Sydney looked down in shock at the new weapon, slowly turning it over a few times before looking back up at the black and white beast.
“This will be your starting weapon, there will be more weapons along the way that you can find.” He added.
“So this will help us get past the first monsters we meet?” Sydney finally spoke up, causing Jigsaw to let out a raspy laugh.
“You’re foolish, that will merely help you get through the grass. The first monster will easily eat that knife and your hand.” Sydney shivered at the thought before tucking the knife into her pocket.

Just as she looked back up again she caught a flash of white in the bushes nearby but it disappeared to quickly for her to see what it was. Her eyes stayed trained there for a few more heartbeats before Jigsaw’s voice called her back.
“That is the only thing you need to know for now. Day and night will fall just like in your world, but I wouldn’t consider sleeping unless you really think you are safe.” Jigsaw laughed before turning on his heel.
“Good luck players, let the game begin.” With that he disappeared, leaving the group to stand there by themselves.
“Well…Shall we go then?” Sydney finally asked the rest of the group.



Yang heard the familiar sound of Jigsaw’s cocky voice, that’s what led her to the starting field. She felt her body transform from human to wolf as she grew closer to the group, allowing herself to crouch down and remain hidden in the bushes. She lowered her ears as she noticed the large group of players that stood facing the game maker. She hated seeing new players in the game, she wished people from that other world would stop buying the game.
“Humans in that world are so dumb.” She thought to herself as she listened to the rules, those that she had heard a million times before.
She couldn't even count on one hand how many players she had watched come through the gate, only to be slaughtered in an unfair battle against giant beasts. Her tail twitched as she thought back to the last group that had entered. They had only been young teens, one of them only 12 years of age. She had tried to help them but they feared her, just like the other monsters that lived her. Before she could even speak to help them they had taken off and been killed by one of the predators in the forest. Yang was never sure why she felt the urge to help the players, all they ever did was scream and run or call her a monster.

The white wolf let out a sigh as she watched each player receive a weapon, merely something to give them false hope.
“Foolish humans.” She huffed. “Just drop the knife and accept early fate, you won’t make it out of here alive.”
Yang slowly cocked her head to the side to get a better view of Jigsaw but as she did she felt a branch snap beneath her feet. Even as she froze she caught the ever so tiny flick of Jigsaw’s eyes as he picked up the quiet sound. She growled softly to herself but wasted no time as she turned tail and bolted back into the shadows, only a bit of her white fur flashing before once again she was gone.

Strauss looked his knife, he was kind of beginning to regret saying that he wanted to play. "Well I guess we've got no choice." he said slowly and began walking forward cautiously hoping that he was going in the right direction. How had he even gotten into this mess? It was just supposed to be a little party, a fun game. This wasn't what he had in mind, maybe he was just having a weird dream or something. Maybe that coke really was too old to drink. He smoothed his hair down and held his knife a little tighter, "Make sure to stick together, I don't think this game is meant for solo play." he said attempting a weak joke as he searched the area around them for danger while he slowly moved forward.

Simon looked at his knife and sighed. "I don't see how this tiny thing is supposed to help us fend off things like that dragon. From the sounds of things this games very unbalanced making game play extremely hard for players. That character design was neat, I give this game a 2/10... So Sydney when you say 'Shall we go?' I hope you mean let's go home and watch Netflix because I don't want to fight monsters." Simon looked ahead at the path they were going to take. "As Strauss said though, we have no choice... I'll protect all of you." Simon went up to Strauss and ruffled his red hair playfully. "I'll protect you too tough guy."

Press looked at the knife that spawned in his hand, then at everyone else. His mind was racing at a million miles an hour, attempting to determine the best course of action. Right now, they were in unfamiliar territory, being provided with what hardly equated with starting weapons as well as practically unfair difficulty. If his years of experience in video games told him anything, it was that they should play smart rather than force progress.

"Ok guys, keep your eyes open for any signs of equipment or enemies," Press warned. "Don't stray too far away, and don't try to take on anything by yourself. One mistake could cost us our lives." The concern about lives worried Press, as he didn't know whether they had multiple lives or just one. Press assumed the latter, just to be safe. It was better to play it safe for now rather than risk something just for the sake of knowledge.

“What in the world…?” Esmay’s head swiveled as she glanced to her friends, wondering if they had any idea about what had just happened.
She took in their surroundings, then flexed her hands in front of her, making sure they were real. Her attention snapped forward to where the fox creature stood, his body appearing as real as hers felt, as he spoke.
She gawked at him, the desire to place her hand in one of the gaps in his body to see what, if anything, held him together almost overwhelming. She stared at the dragon he summoned, an amazed grin spreading on her face before one sentence rung through her ears: “If you don’t, then you will be dead.”
Esmay blinked at him. “Wait, like dead dead, or game—”
The fox continued speaking, interrupting her question and making Esmay scowl. She startled as she felt a small knife materialize in her hand, then turned it over, examining the puny, all but useless blade.
She subconsciously rubbed her wrist at the visual the fox’s words brought.
When the fox finished addressing them, Esmay stood still for a moment, glaring at the spot where he disappeared.
She looked to Simon as he spoke, questioning the knife’s abilities.
“Fox-guy said it’s just for trimming his lawn, remember?” She gripped the meager knife and slashed at an invisible enemy, stepping after the boys. “Gotta watch out for those man-eating weeds…” she paused, realizing that such a thing could very well be out there.
She looked back to Press at his warnings, her face tightening at the repeated concept of death. “Right.” The last thing she wanted was to see any of her friends die. Even so, her curiosity grew steadily, the desire to see this world, a world inside cyberspace she had never even thought existed making her antsy to see what such a place held… as long as it did not end with her or the others six feet under or in in the stomach of a monster, anyway.
“Well, we’re not going to get anything done by just standing here like a bunch of dazed idiots, are we?” she said as lightly as she could. “We’ve got a world to explore, and I have a bag of Cheetos waiting for me back on Sydney’s couch.” She strode onward, her slow steps confident. Even so, she remained alert and her grip tightened on the knife, even if it was only good for cutting down Fox-Man’s flowerbed.

Mia blinked down at her hand, where the knife remained clutched in her grip tightly. Ever since arriving, everything had been a low hum in her ear, as if her mind refused to believe this sudden change in scenery. "W-we're just dreaming this, right? This is some weird group dream we're all having." Mia looked to her right, where her brother looked around at the dull surroundings with a distrusting look in his eye. Nathan also had a frown on his face, but seemed like he was at least listening to the creature speaking.

When the creature disappeared, Nathan took hold of the thin cardigan sleeve of his sister's, keeping her close. "C'mon," he muttered, "let's follow the group. We'll get out of here soon."

Sarah stood in mute shock, her lips working as if speaking but with no words tumbling out. She seemed almost paralyzed, her brilliant blue eyes gazing steadily, almost without blinking, into the place where the Cheshire creature had simple faded out of existence. She hadn't moved a muscle since that miniaturized dragon had left the Cheshire's hand and attacked. She had squealed then but hadn't uttered a single thing since.

There was a echoing buzzing noise with a sharp edge in her ears like an entire hive had taken residence in her head and she felt dizzy, nauseous, like she was about to throw up. The world wasn't spinning but it felt like it was and if she turned her head the whole thing would fall apart leaving her floating in space.

There was no thinking, not when her mind was simply repeated the same thing over and over again. It was nothing more than a simple, "no", echoing through the infinite darkness that threatened to swallow her into sweet oblivion. Was this all a dream? If so it was a bad one. She'd had much better. A part of her insisted on sleeping, sleeping her way through this awful dream. Unfortunately, she'd had dreams where she'd fallen asleep and the dream hadn't ended.

So, in the end, Sarah just stood there in the grass, teetering in those ridiculously tall high heeled clogs, staring ahead at nothing.

When Esmay mentioned Cheetos Simon's belly growled. "Can I have some of those when we get back?" Simon regrets deciding to go out to eat after playing this dumb game because he was really hungry, he hadn't eaten since breakfast after all. Simon noticed Sarah's distress and he felt his heart begin to hurt in sympathy. "Sarah, it's going to be ok! Like I said I'll protect you!" Simon hugged Sarah from behind and then helped her back up. "You don't even have to fight, we'll fight for you and get you home and we can have one big dinner... Though I suppose you don't eat much being a model and everything." Simon gave her a reassuring smile before walking with the group and continuing down the path.

Strauss moved his head out of the way somewhat irritated, he didn't like people touching his hair, "Just cause you're taller than everyone doesn't make you stronger." Strauss said annoyed and looked at the grass nervously. He hadn't consider the possibility of the grass being a danger. Still they couldn't do anything without moving forward, so move forward he did, his eyes rapidly scanning everything in front of him. He didn't think Esmay was taking this serious enough, but that was alright. At least Press was looking at the situation rationally, of course he played a ton of video games all the time so this probably wasn't anything new to him. "Press wanna come to the front with me? Could use your experience if this really is a game."

Sydney started off down a rough dirt path, heading towards the forest that loomed in front of them. The words from the rest of the group were reassuring but she had a sinking feeling that the positivity would change as the game went on. As the group neared closer to the forest the trees seemed to grow in front of their eyes. Large almost black trunks rose up to meet the sky and soon completely blocked out the little sun they had. Sydney shivered as a sudden coldness overtook her body and she found herself stopping, unable to enter the forest any further.
“Something doesn’t see, right about this.” She whimpered, “It seems too quiet.”

Shadows fell around the group, reaching up trees and almost seeming to stretch out to the group. Sydney staggered backwards as one of the shadows seemed to leap off the tree, fly past her face and disappear into the darkness ahead.
“Did anyone else see that?!” She squealed, stepping back into the rest of the group, her eyes wide.
Little did the group know that the shadows around them weren’t the shadows they were used to in their world. They were shadow creatures called spectres and they were very good at striking before you even had time to blink.

One of the spectres flew out from one of the dark trucks and sliced its claws across Strauss’s arm, leaving what looked like a large paper cut. Another one lunged forward, striking Sydney and knocking her backwards off her feet before disappearing again. Sydney yelped as she hit the ground, her head whipping around trying to spot the attacker.
“Are the shadows hurting us?” She stammered.

Yang watched the group from the shadows, her red eyes almost non-blinking as the darkness overtook the group. This was one of Jigsaw’s favourite tricks, sending the spectre after them right off the bat. Although the spectre’s weren’t strong enough to do more then leave a few cuts, they did strike fear into players since they aren’t easy to spot. She leaned back onto her back paws, trying to decide whether she should help the poor players or just let the spectre’s play it out, eventually getting bored and leaving.

After one of the players was cut and another was knocked down Yang let out a sigh. They didn’t seem like they were having much luck with these things but even if she stepped forward they might run. Yang folded her ears back before finally making a decision. She crept along the ground until she was almost upon the group, spotting the shadowy figures of the spectres. Lunging forward, the white wolf landed in front of the group, facing the looming darkness, and bared her jagged fangs. She let out a low growl which turned into a snarl as she snapped at one of the moving shadows. Her long dragon type tail whipped back and forth as she challenged the weak creatures which soon let out a screech and disappeared. It wasn’t long before the forest opened up, allowing sunlight back through the dark branches. Yang took one glance at the group of players then bolted into the woods, not waiting for a not so warm greeting that she was used to having.

Alexander grinned as he stared at the wolf-man that'd been explaining the rules. Ultimately he could feel an odd surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins. Fear, perhaps? He looked around at the scenery as the others listened to whatever else the wolf had been saying. A forest was to one direction with an ominous dirt path leading into its clutches, whereas thick, tall grasses were what currently were brushing against his knees. His attention was drawn back to the wolf as a weight began to press against his palm, peeling open his previously closed fist as a rinky-dink knife began to materialize in his hand. A smile was plastered across his face. "Technology sure has come a long way, huh?"

His attention was drawn to Simon as he began to criticize the game for its seemingly uneven playing field. Has the man seen the graphics though? Damn son, this is top tier, he thought to himself before turning to the dirt path. "Well, I was always one to walk off the beaten path, but that never really worked out for me in games," he mumbled to himself, quietly voicing his own thoughts. But before he could come to a conclusion, it'd appeared that the decision had already been made for him as the hostess Sydney and Esmay began walking towards the forest.

He raised his arms, stretching out his back as he began to follow. However, before they could reach the forest a black shape darted past Sydney's head, and almost immediately she stepped back, "Did anyone else see that?!"

"Yeah! Totally wicked, right? How much did this game cost again?" He began jumping up and down, getting as excited as a schoolgirl in a candy shop as seemingly ethereal shadow beings began to emerge from the trunks nearest to them. "Whoever made this game, do they accept donations? The scene was just set and I'm already pumped!"

When the shadows began attacking, Nathan instinctively pushed Mia behind him, as if he could protect her by just standing in front. Mia held onto her knife tightly, attempting to swing at any of the shadows that came close to her or her brother. "I must be high, this is the only logical reasons. Shadows cannot hurt people!" Mia cried incredulously, but shut her mouth as the white wolf lunged forwards and snarled at the darkness.

Nathan stared on silently as the snarling wolf somehow made the darkness retreat enough for sunlight to pass through the woods. "Where the hell did you find this game?" He couldn't help but ask.

“Maybe,” Esmay called to Simon with a taunting grin, drawing out the word. She quickly turned her attention back to the forest looming ahead, every shadow cast by the trees or lurking beneath the bushes housing a possible threat.
Even so, the beauty of the world was still captivating. She hurried toward the forest a little ahead of the others, reached up with her free hand, and gripped one of the leaves on a low-hanging tree limb, pulling it off.
For a game, this feels incredibly real, she thought, rubbing her thumb over the leaf. If this world was created by pixels, then there was no other game that could match this place. Not that she had known that games were made to be capable of doing this outside of science fiction films.
Before she could think too much on it, the trees looked as if they turned to darkness as they grew and stretched into living, twisting shadows.
Esmay’s pace slowed to a near stop, when something dark flitted between the path in front of them.
“What the…?” Esmay stepped back with Sydney. She spared Alexander a quick glance at his response, and smirked. “I know, right?”
She shouted and jumped aside as one of the shadows lashed out at Strauss, but she had scarcely flinched before a second black mass sent Sydney to the ground.
“Sydney!” Esmay brandished her knife, scowling once more at its size. Making a quick mental note to try and find a good-sized stick, she stood with her body angled sideways and knife held in front of her, ready to try fighting or defending. She searched the shadows for any further movement, lashing out at any mass that so much as twitched.
Esmay staggered back when a white wolf with an odd tail jumped from the tall grass, nearly tripping over Sydney. She held the knife higher, her eyes wide.
How do you fight a wolf? she wondered, but then, the creature began snapping and growling at the living shadows. Is it… helping us?
As soon as the wolf had chased the shadows away, allowing the thin spears of sunlight to pass through the thick foliage above once more, it darted back into the woods.
“Hey!” Esmay called, stepping after it, but it was long gone. “Thanks,” she muttered, then turned back to the group, casting a quick glance the way the wolf had gone in case it was not actually friendly. Perhaps a trick of the game’s host.
She turned back to the others and offered Sydney a hand up, her gaze straying to Strauss. “You two okay? Did that whatever-it-was actually hurt you guys, or do you think we all have like hit points or something?”

Sarah let herself be prodded along by Simon and then followed the others meekly as she peered down at her ebony painted toenails as struggled to stay aright atop her prodigiously high heels. Those before her could hear her mutter as she walked. Her words weren't always audible. Most notably were words like, "impossible", "makes no sense", and "what would be the purpose".

Then came the attack of the flitting shadows as they sliced through air and flesh alike with wanton abandon. Sarah squealed at the top of her lungs and immediately ducked herself into a small ball with her arms wrapped around her blond tresses and her head between her legs. As a result she was mostly ignored but at the same time missed the resolution and the emergence of the pale creature that had pounced upon one of the spectres and send the rest fleeing into the grasses.

When the shadowy creatures had appeared he went into a defensive position but was sad to see they attacked Sydney and Strauss instead. Simon scowled at Alex for praising the game creator. "Whoever made this game should be put in jail, genius or not he's kidnapped us and has possibly put our lives in danger." He readied himself for the next attack but a wolf like creature appeared. "Oh boy, now what?!" The wolf started to snarl at the shadowy creatures causing them to flee. Before Simon could ask why or even thank the beast it was gone.

Esmay muttered a thank you. "Did it save us? I thought everything wanted to kill us? Maybe it was hunting... Though people sound tastier than shadows."

He went up to Strauss and asked, "Does that... hurt? If it hurts then we know we are in danger." He pointed at his wound. "If that hurts, there's a good chance this is more than just a game."

Strauss brought as his arm back as a cut suddenly appeared on his arm from a shadow that leapt from the trees, the cut was surprisingly shallow but also very, very, annoyingly painful. He looked around frantically almost beginning to panic when things got even worse a low growl began emanating from the bushes. He turned to the source tiny knife at the ready when Strauss saw a fearsome white lion creature snarl viciously and then quickly run away.

To his surprise the shadows returned to normal and the sunlight that he hadn't noticed vanish quickly returned. He looked at his arm that was now welling up with blood, "Well I don't know if we have HPs or whatever but it hurt, really bad." he said in response to Esmay's and Simon's question. It hurt like a paper cut, but it was giant so the pain grew accordingly. He pondered for a moment before cutting off the sleeve of his T-shirt using the cloth to cover the wound and tying it as best he could. "That should do it, guess we keep going and hope we find something to fight off those shadows before they come back, we should probably hurry." Though before he began moving forward again he saw Sarah curled up in a ball on the grass. "And uh, someone make sure Sarah doesn't get left behind." he said awkwardly gesturing at the girl before moving forward. He didn't think he'd be very good at that whole comforting thing, he played sports for a reason after all.

"Sorry, but I'm more of the guy that stands back and deliver long range support," Press said. "So, I'll stay a little further behind." As Press looked around, he saw nothing of significant importance. Just each other and the environment. Of course, that was bound to change.

As everyone kept walking, Press noticed that everything seemed to be... darker. Press wasn't quite sure what to think of it, so he stayed on his guard, turning his head side to side to try to spot an incoming threat. Then they suddenly found themselves under attack by what appeared to be shadows. "Guys, watch for the shadows!" Press warned as the shadows darted around to injure them. Press had no idea what to do in a scenario like this, but it seemed like fate had other ideas.

A wolf had appeared, which made Press jump. At first, he was thinking that another threat had appeared, and tightened his grip on his knife. However, it didn't seem like the wolf was going to attack them. If anything, the wolf was actually helping them, scaring away the shadows. Before Press could say anything, the wolf left after the job was done. Press stared at the spot where the wolf disappeared out of sight, then said, "Ok, that was weird." Press paused for a second, then asked everyone, "Is everyone alright? Nothing life-threatening, right?"

Alex looked to the white wolf as it leaped out from the bushes, scattering the shadows before immediately dashing out of sight. He turned his smile into a cocky grin as he walked up to Simon who had been next to Strauss, seemingly looking over the scratch that he'd received from one of the shadows. "Why would it matter if it hurts? All that matters in games such as this is that we simply enjoy ourselves," he said, shrugging.

"That should do it, guess we keep going and hope we find something to fight off those shadows before they come back, we should probably hurry."

With this, Alex turned to Simon once more with that cocky look in his eyes, "See? Strauss is manly enough to brush off a paper-cut. He's got the right mind-set, pursue and push on I say!" spoke Alex, loud enough so nobody could miss his words. At Strauss's concern for Sarah he simply shrugged. "If she can't walk on her own, Simon or you could always carry her"

After the attack Sarah slowly peeked out from beneath her arms, cocking her head about and peering in each direction. Her blue eyes peered through the grasses, realizing just about anything could be hiding there or in the brush. She quickly rose, standing up and looked about again as if expecting something to jump out at any second.

Falling into step along with the others Sarah's eyes kept darting about, searching every shadow and possible hiding place. Adjusting her step she insinuated herself into the middle of the group so she'd be less likely to encounter danger. Let the stragglers get dragged off and let those ahead be first to run into danger. She wanted to be safe.

"You're all wrong," Sarah said suddenly, "It's not a video game. We're in purgatory."

“Doesn’t look like it…” Esmay answered Press, before looking to Simon and shrugging. “Don’t know. But it scared them off, regardless. Could’ve attacked us, but it didn’t.”
Her face fell at Strauss’ words and got a better look at the cut on his arm. As narrow as it looked, blood seeped from it.
“This is real, then, to some extent,” she muttered, thinking aloud. “You wouldn’t have felt that if it was just a game, right?” Panic tried to push its way through her as she watched Strauss cut his sleeve. She inhaled, doing her best to shove it back down. There was no use in panicking. It wouldn’t get her anywhere.
That wolf didn’t attack us, she thought on the positive side, so maybe not everything in this game world’s out to get us.
“Why would it matter if it hurts?” Alex’s insensitivity made Esmay glare at him. “All that matters in games such as this is that we simply enjoy ourselves.”
“You think so?” Esmay's brows rose. “How about I jab you a few times?” She held her knife up with the offer. “We’ll see how much ‘enjoying’ you’d be doing when you’re limping behind us ‘because it hurts’ and get eaten by who knows what.”
She shook her head and ran her free hand down her face. She turned her attention to the surrounding woods, searching for any dead branches on the ground she could carve into a point. Or perhaps a treasure chest or a traveling merchant who didn’t have murder in his eyes. Anything that might be or hold a better weapon.
“It’s not a video game. We’re in purgatory.”
“If I was wearing those shoes,” Esmay glanced to Sarah’s inappropriate footwear with as sincere of a grin as she could, trying to keep the mood light, “I’d say that, too.”