The Afterlife of a Gamer

Chapter 3

Simon had told Duncan about the incident. Duncan didn't believe him. Simon argued. Neither mentioned Lewis' name. Lewis watched from beside them. They don't see him anyways.

"I am serious, Duncan!" Simon said. "Something is going on here!"

"You're overreacting," Duncan argued. "It was probably the wind."

"The wind is what knocked my phone out of my hand?!" Simon asked.

"Okay," Duncan said. "Maybe you just dropped it."

They continued going back and forth while Lewis just sighed. He needed to convince Duncan somehow. He looked around the room.

They were in Duncan's office currently. Duncan's computer was turned on, one monitor on a game he was playing and the other with his screen recording and audio. Lewis walked over to the computer and placed his hand on top of the monitor, causing it to make a high-pitched ringing sound and static to fly across the screen. Both men jumped backwards, Simon letting out a terrified squeak.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Duncan said, holding his hands up as if it would protect him.

Lewis took his hand off the monitor and stepped back. The static eased, and the noise stopped. Then, just as the two men relaxed, he shook Duncan's shelf of toys and trinkets from various game cons, but only managed to knock over the stuffed Honeydew doll on the top shelf and not much else. Duncan and Simon jumped as the dwarf doll fell, hanging onto each other in fear.

Lewis almost wants to laugh. He loves pranking his friends, and scaring them is even better. But he doesn't, and watches and waits.

Simon and Duncan stared ahead at the shelf for long while, long enough for Lewis to think he needed to hit something else to get their attention when Duncan turned to face Simon.

"Okay," He sounded shaken up. "I believe you. Something is definitely going on here."

"That what I've been telling you!" Simon said. "Anyways, what do we do?"

"We should tell the others," Duncan said. "Hannah and Kim will get a kick out of this."

Lewis scoffed at them as they walked passed, avoiding the computer and the shelf. Of course the girls would love this, they loved horror, even if it left them shaken up.

Thinking about the girls, he can't help but let his thoughts drift to Hannah. If he was really dead(a part of himself can't believe it) then he won't ever be able hold his girlfriend again. Never drive her home, never take her out on dates, never be able to kiss her. She'll move on, and he'll be stuck inside Yogtowers, never speaking, only watching as all his friends move on and forget about him.....

He's suddenly overwhelmed with intense anger. He feels like his chest is heating up with an anger he's never felt before. He wants to strike someone, wants to throw something across the room. And just as quickly as the anger comes, it fades.

Lewis is left with a stunned feeling, not quite sure where that anger came from. He takes a deep breath, even though he's sure he's got no lungs, and walks out of Duncan's office.

***

Turns out Lewis doesn't have to do much to convince Hannah and Kim that there's a ghost in Yogtowers. The girls had finished recording three hours of the new Outlast DLC (and Lewis had tried to be seen on the green screen, but he blended in with the background) when Duncan and Simon claimed there was a ghost. Although the girls were shaken up by the game, they had gotten excited over the possibility of there being a ghost in Yogtowers.

Lewis stood behind the girls as they talked to Duncan and Simon. He knew Hannah didn't hesitate to say yes to 'ghost hunting' because she wants something to get her mind off of him. She was hurting, everyone was hurting, and they were trying to occupy their minds by other things.

Without thinking, Lewis stretched his hand out to brush the blonde strands of Hannah's hair. His hand went right through, but she shivered and her breath came out in a fog.

***

He listened in on their conversations. Eavesdropping was never a thing he did regularly, but since he can't actually talk to anyone, it seems the only way to be included. He's always searching for a conversation where his name would pop up, followed by an explanation of how he died. But that never happened.

He heard that Duncan, Simon, Hannah, Kim, possibly Hatfilms, Sjin, and maybe Turps will show up at Yogtowers, Saturday night, with a Ouija Board. A Ouija Board. Not the best thing in the world, he's not even sure if he could manipulate a Ouija Board, but it'll help to get his message across. That the ghost haunting Yogtowers wasn't just a random one, it was him.

He waited around Yogtowers Saturday. They weren't coming until late that night. So he wandered around the hallways, not daring to drift if it meant missing the meeting tonight.

As he was wandering around, a black fog circled his feet. He froze, recognizing the fog, and slowly turned around.

Just as he was expecting, the shadow monster stood before him. The claws stretched against the rough, scale-y skin, and now a new detail was added; large, narrow yellow eyes glowered at him through the thick, black fog.

This time it didn't just stand there and watched him. It stepped forward. And then took another step. And took another. Each time faster than the last.

Lewis gulped and repeated each step, but went backwards, away from the shadow. After the third step, he turned around and ran.

He heard the shadow follow, the claws scraping against the wall, the fog curling around his wrists and ankles. He made his legs run harder, sure that this was the most exercise he's gotten, ever, even when he was alive.

Lewis took a sharp turn and leaped into his office, slamming the door shut behind him. He froze, waiting to see if the monster followed. A second later, his fears were confirmed as long black claws ripped right through the door, but not leaving a scratch on the door itself.

On a last second whim, he leaped into the wall to his left, falling through and ended up in Simon's office. As the claws reached through that wall, he leaped into the next wall, and repeated.

They repeated that for what felt like hours. Then Lewis stumbled through the final office, and almost crashed into the front doors of Yogtowers he knows he can't open. He spins around, waiting for the monster to appear, but it never does.

As he's looking around, he noticed that the day is no longer morning; it's now evening, and he sees his friends has already arrived. Sjin, Duncan, Hannah, Kim, and Turps had come. Simon and Hatfilms didn't appear to have made it.

They head down the hallway, talking and joking, and Lewis follows behind. He looks over his shoulder constantly, waiting to see the glowing eyes and the black, curling smoke come out of nowhere.

It seemed he was safe. For now.