> Try Again
Kade slammed back into existence.
The ruins felt colder this time—or maybe it was just his pride freezing over.
He pushed himself up slowly, groaning.
"Alright," he rasped, "plan C."
He brushed imaginary dust off his hoodie, stretched his arms like an athlete about to commit crimes against common sense, and flicked on the flashlight of his cellphone.
Battery: 54%.
He muttered, "No running. No yelling. No surprise selfies."
He crept forward.
The hallway opened up.
The figure was still there.
Neck still crooked.
Blade still dangling.
Waiting.
Watching.
Kade narrowed his eyes. He thought about every survival game, every speedrun cheese strategy he'd ever seen.
"...I'm not beating you fair and square, am I?" he whispered.
He slowly, carefully, crouched—and picked up the old, cracked skull from the floor.
It felt wrong in his hands.
Light.
Brittle.
Grim.
Perfect.
Kade whispered to the skull, "You're on throwing duty, buddy."
He peeked around the hallway.
Distance: maybe fifteen feet.
Enough.
Kade sucked in a breath—then chucked the skull down the side corridor as hard as he could.
The bone clattered against the stones with a loud CRACK—echoing like a gunshot in the damp air.
The undead's head snapped toward the noise.
For the first time, Kade saw the creature move without directly chasing him.
It sprinted toward the sound.
Full speed.
Gone.
Kade stood frozen, jaw hanging open.
"...It worked?"
A beat.
Another.
Silence.
No screech.
No steel.
Nothing.
He dared to peek around the edge—
Empty hallway.
The monster was gone.
Gone.
Kade let out a shaky laugh.
"I am a genius," he whispered.
He stepped forward, heart pounding.
One step.
Two steps.
Carefully.
Carefully—
SKRRRRTCH.
From the side passage—
The undead came barreling back into view.
Too fast.
Too close.
Kade shrieked and dove sideways, rolling across the damp stones.
"NOT A GENIUS—NOT A GENIUS—"
The creature's blade whistled overhead.
Missed by inches.
Kade scrambled to his feet, running blind, half-laughing, half-screaming.
Behind him, the undead gave chase, blade dragging sparks along the wall.
"This is so much worse than dying!"
He bolted for the staircase.
Stairs meant elevation.
Elevation meant—
He didn't know.
But it sounded smart.
Clatter clatter clatter—
He flew up the first steps three at a time.
Behind him, the monster hit the bottom of the stairs—
—and stopped.
Kade froze, halfway up, breathing hard.
He turned.
The undead stood at the base, twitching, but not climbing.
Like an invisible wall blocked it.
Kade blinked.
"...Stairs? Stairs are the answer?"
He almost collapsed in relief.
He laughed—giddy, broken, victorious.
Then—
The creature raised its sword—
—and threw it.
Straight up the stairs.
Kade had time for exactly two words:
"Oh sh—"
THUNK.
Void.
…
…
…
> Game Over
> Try Again
> Saved Files
WHAM.
Kade belly-flopped into the void's invisible floor again, limbs sprawled like a dropped action figure.
For a moment, he just lay there.
Breathing.
Thinking.
Suffering.
Then—
"Pffft—"
A weird, tiny laugh escaped him.
High-pitched.
Kind of broken.
Kind of victorious.
He sat up slowly, grinning like someone who had just discovered fire... and immediately set themselves on fire.
"Flashlight," he muttered, counting on his fingers.
"Sound," he added, another finger up.
"And..."
He cracked a wobbly grin wide enough to split his face.
"Stairs," he whispered, almost reverently.
Then, without meaning to, he giggled.
A short, sharp bark of laughter. Half joy, half madness.
His hands trembled—not with fear anymore—but with something sharper. More dangerous.
Hope.
Kade pointed a finger upward, like a mad scientist who just realized lightning was his best friend.
"Three weaknesses," he said, voice rising in giddy disbelief. "Three!"
He looked around the endless void, laughing to no one at all.
"They gave me a puzzle. They gave me a puzzle! Idiots!"
He flopped backward, arms spread wide like he was making a snow angel in the abyss.
The glowing options hovered patiently above him:
> Try Again
> Saved Files
> Settings
Kade's eyes gleamed with renewed fire.
He jabbed "Try Again" without hesitation.
The ruins welcomed him again.
Cold.
Damp.
Alive with opportunity.
Kade pulled himself up with a manic grin, whispering under his breath:
"Alright, Zombo. This time, I'm gonna make you run."
Kade crouched low, hands trembling with excitement—and maybe a bit of lingering terror.
He scooped up the cracked old skull lying on the ground. It grinned at him in the faint light.
"Sorry, buddy," Kade muttered, hefting it back like a baseball pitcher. "You're doing God's work."
He hurled the skull down the hallway.
CRACK—clatterclatterclatter!
The noise exploded through the ruins.
Instantly—
SKREEEEEECH!
The undead lunged.
Blade dragging.
Head still twisted at that awful angle.
Kade didn't wait.
He sprinted like hell was nipping at his heels—because it basically was.
His bare feet slapped against the cold stone, flashlight swinging wildly in one hand, phone clenched in the other.
The stairs were just ahead.
Almost there.
The thing was gaining, rusted blade rising for a brutal swing—
Kade whipped around, teeth bared in a wild grin.
"Smile, you freak!"
He lifted his Cellphone,flashlight together—
FLASH!
The burst of light hit the undead square in the face just as it swung.
The blade arced—
—and missed.
By inches.
Kade felt the blade's cold wind kiss his cheek.
A sharp sting.
A shallow cut opened just under his eye, blood already trickling down.
"AAH—" Kade gasped, but momentum carried him forward.
He half-tripped, half-dived up the broken stairs.
Behind him, the undead stumbled, disoriented by the flash.
Kade didn't look back.
Didn't dare.
He vaulted two steps at a time, flashlight jerking crazily, blood dripping from his cheek.
Only when he cleared the landing did he dare steal a glance.
The figure was still below.
Pacing.
Groaning.
Confused.
Kade leaned against the cracked wall, panting.
Grinning through blood and sweat.
"Flashlight," he gasped between heaving breaths.
"Sound."
"And stairs."
He wiped the blood from his face with the sleeve of his hoodie, wincing at the sting.
"Still alive," he whispered.
He laughed again.
Low.
A little crazy.
But victorious.
"For now."
Kade choose save and leaned against the cracked stair wall, panting, a thin line of blood trickling from the shallow cut across his cheek.
The creature's rusted blade was embedded deep into the stone steps — quivering slightly from the force of the missed swing.
Unarmed.
For the first time, Kade wasn't the one flat on his back.
He let out a shaky laugh — part giddy, part frayed at the edges — and wiped his face with the sleeve of his hoodie.
"Flashlight... sound... stairs," he muttered, grinning like a madman. "You've got cracks after all."
He thumbed open his menu, no hesitation.
>Save Game
>Yes/no?
The moment locked itself in place — a checkpoint forged in blood, sweat, and pure stubborn survival.
He didn't save because the system told him to.
He saved because he earned it.
He shoved the phone back into his pocket and slowly straightened up, staring at the creature.
The undead twitched — confused, almost harmless now, stumbling without its weapon.
Kade smirked, heart hammering.
"Looks like it's just you, me, and whatever's left of your dignity."
He cracked his knuckles.
And for once... he had a plan.
The undead twitched — confused, unarmed, its rotted fingers grasping at empty air.
Kade cocked his head, a lopsided grin tugging at his bruised mouth.
"You know," he said aloud, stepping closer to the embedded blade, "I gotta wonder…"
His fingers wrapped around the rusted hilt.
He yanked.
With a shriek of protesting metal, the sword tore free from the stone.
Kade swung it experimentally, feeling the off-balance weight.
He glanced at the undead — still staggering toward him in stiff, broken motions.
A gleam of dark amusement sparked in his eye.
"Are you the type that keeps walking after your head comes off?"
He hefted the sword onto his shoulder, grinning wider.
"Only one way to find out.'