001 . FINN ✦ HORROR

YouYou’re on a school trip at an arcade, enjoying the excitement with your classmates. After a while, you stepped away to use the bathroom.*

But when you’re finished and head outside, something’s wrong. You’re no longer at the arcade.

Where are you? The world around you seems unfamiliar, and you find yourself standing in a long, dimly lit hallway. "Am I hallucinating?" you wonder. You pinch yourself and slap your face, but it’s real. The strange hallway is definitely real. Hesitant but curious, you decide to walk down it.

You stop when you notice an old computer sitting on a dusty desk. On the screen is the title: “Pip and Trix’s Adventure World.” You’ve heard of the game. The reviews were horrible, and there were disturbing rumors. Kids had been disappearing after it was released, but despite all that, curiosity takes over.

A button labeled “Start” is blinking on the screen. You hesitate for a moment, then sit down and tap it. The screen flickers to life with an unsettling hum, and you see Trix, her appearance cheerful and friendly, her voice upbeat.

Trix: "Hi! My name's Trix! What's your name?"

You type your name into the box, and she responds, her smile widening.

Trix: "Oh, that sounds familiar. Have you played this...game?"

The screen glitches, and Trix's voice falters.

Trix: "Where one person hides...and you gotta go find them! I’m looking for my friend..." She trails off as her words start to warp.

Trix: "Wait, you think you see him?" She tilts her head and the screen glitches again, her face distorting for a brief second.

Suddenly, the game tells you to find Pip. As you look around, you spot a golden retriever behind a tree. His soft, amber eyes peek out from behind the bark. You tap the tree, and Pip stumbles forward, his tail wagging.

Pip: "Hey, look, you found me! Guess it’s my turn, huh?" Trix: "Or we can play another game, maybe tag!"

As you interact with them, a new figure catches your eye—a character hiding behind a tree. He looks disheveled and injured, his clothes torn and covered in dirt. His skin is pale, bruises dark against his face, and his hands are cut, as though he’s been here for far too long. He glances at you, eyes wide with fear, then quickly ducks behind the tree. But you don’t think much of it, assuming it’s part of the game.

They decide on another game of hide and seek. It's Pip’s turn to count. He begins:

Pip: "1... 2... 3... 4..."

He stops, sounding confused.

Pip: "Uh... What comes next?"

A box pops up, and you continue the counting. You type "5", and Pip cheers.

Pip: "Oh right! You're the best! You must play this a lot!" He continues counting. "So, ready or not... Here I..." He opens his eyes. "Come..."

The screen glitches again, and the bright green forest is replaced by a black and red nightmare landscape.

Pip: "Oh no, she could be anywhere!" His voice glitches, becoming distorted. "Do you see... Tri..." His voice faltered..however, Pip's distorted face suddenly became full of fear. "Please hel-"

Suddenly, the screen flickers and flashes a loud "Error" that hurts your ears. Then, the text flashes across the screen:

“WILL YOU HELP ME FIND MY FRIEND?”

A handprint of blood stains the text.

You freeze, shocked. Before you can react, the screen sucks you in, pulling you into the game.

The moment you’re pulled through, you feel cold, dizzy, and disoriented. The air is heavy, thick with an unnatural silence that makes your heart race. Your surroundings warp and twist. The once innocent, cartoonish world now feels alien—wrong, as if the game itself is trying to trap you. The colors are too dark, the shadows too deep, and the air feels suffocating. The sound of distant footsteps echoes, but there's no one around.

You find yourself standing in the eerie, twisted world. The once friendly environment is now dark and unsettling. The moment you look around, you spot Trix standing in front of you, but Pip is nowhere to be found.

Trix: "Hi! My name’s Trix..." Her voice trails off as her gaze locks onto yours. "Oh, hi, it’s you again! We’re playing hide-and-seek. Seems like it never ends." She laughs...but, her smile falters slightly, a hint of something wrong in her eyes.

Suddenly, Trix starts glitching, her face warping.

Trix: "Isn't it getting boring? We’d have more fun today if we try something else..." Her body begins to grow larger, her smile stretching unnaturally wide. "... Put hide and seek away." Her figure distorts, the glitches becoming more intense as she transforms into a hideous, nightmarish version of herself—her body warped, skin contorting in unnatural ways.

Trix charges toward you, her monstrous form shaking the ground. Trix’s monstrous figure screams, her voice distorted and unnatural, as if the words are tearing through the air. "We'll play my way! We'll play my way!" She drags out the phrase, her voice slipping into a guttural, raspy echo. You freeze, horrified, but before she can reach you, a figure suddenly grabs you and pulls you away.

It’s Finn, the injured figure you saw behind the tree. He’s panting, his breath ragged from running. "What are you doing here?! Why did you play this game?" His voice is sharp, but there’s a flicker of concern in his eyes as he pulls you along.

As you run, you spot Pip’s head lying in the dark ground, blood staining the ground around him. You gasp, but there’s no time to stop.

At the end of the platform, you see a door, and Finn runs toward it. He bursts through it, dragging you along as you both tumble inside. The door closed.

---

You both gasp for air as you suddenly find yourselves somewhere else. The tension from the nightmare world seems to ease for a moment, and you're now standing in what seems like a cheerful, brightly lit room. The walls are painted in soft pastel colors, decorated with cartoonish patterns and oversized plush toys scattered around. The faint sound of cheerful, upbeat music plays from an old, worn-out speaker in the corner, but it feels wrong somehow—too perfect, too out of place.

"Don't let your guard down, this is far from over." Finn says in a sharp, bitter tone.