Chapter 17: Malaware In The Soul
905 Words
The passengers continued smiling unnaturally as the train slowly crawled deeper into District 9.
Their hollow eyes remained locked onto Zamora while the livestream chat blew up faster and faster across her screen.
[GhostSignal]: DON'T LET THEM TOUCH YOU
[VOIDWATCHER88]: BRO, GET OFF THE TRAIN
[JokerFool]: nahhh this route is cursed
[DistrictEyes]: if the entity marks you, don't run.
That final message made her stomach twist wildly as chills ran down her spine.
The train finally began slowing harder now until metal screeched wildly beneath the wheels.
Outside the windows, the underground city stretched endlessly beneath Elysium itself.
Massive distorted neon towers flickered in and out of existence through the darkness, while distorted holograms glitched above empty streets far below the rail platforms.
Everything looked merely corrupted and disfigured.
But surprisingly not abandoned, almost like it had been waiting for her to set foot here.
DISTRICT 9 ARRIVAL CONFIRMED.
PLEASE EXIT QUICKLY.
The train speakers crackled wildly before dying into static again.
As the carriage doors slowly slid open, the cold air hit her face immediately, but the smiling passengers didn't move at all.
They all stood motionless on the train and stared straight at her.
She swallowed hard before stepping out onto the platform alone, and the second her feet touched the ground, the train lights behind her shut off completely.
Leaving everything in the darkness around her, the train doors immediately closed shut.
SCREEEEEECH.
The train immediately pulled away afterward, disappearing deeper into the underground tunnels while the smiling faces inside vanished one by one behind flickering windows.
And just like that, she was completely alone. District 9 was strangely quiet compared to the chaos above Elysium.
There were no sirens, drones, screams or survivors.
Only distant neon lights reflected across flooded streets and endless underground buildings stretching farther than she could even see.
Her livestream viewers continued climbing.
VIEWERS: 42,887+
PLAYER ZAMORA TRENDING #3 IN LOWER ELYSIUM.
Another donation alert appeared instantly afterward.
PLAYER ZAMORA RECEIVED A DONATION: 50,000 CREDITS.
DONATION MESSAGE: turn around.
Her breathing stopped immediately, then slowly she turned around, and nobody stood there at all.
The platform behind her remained empty.
[JokerFool]: NAHHHH
[Xyrethian-Ashveil]: oh babe I wish you would have listened to me…
[GhostSignal]: SOMEONE WALKED BEHIND HER
[DistrictEyes]: the stream saw it too.
A chill crawled harshly down her spine, and then her phone vibrated again.
PRIVATE MESSAGE RECEIVED.
COME TO ME.
Below the message, a new location appeared.
SECTOR NINE — LOWER MARKET.
DISTANCE: 0.7 MILES.
The message should've terrified her. But instead, something about it felt oddly familiar, almost like she recognized who sent it.
She started walking to the destination, as if her feet had a mind of their own.
The underground streets of District 9 looked almost peaceful compared to the upper Elysium.
Neon signs buzzed softly overhead while dark water reflected distorted advertisements across the sidewalks.
Strange civilians walked quietly through the streets, wearing masks, long coats, or glowing visors that hid their faces completely, as no one looked at each other or spoke a word.
Every once in a while, the surrounding advertisements glitched wildly.
YOU HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE.
Then the message vanished again.
"No…" she whispered.
Her livestream chat continued flooding nonstop.
[AcidRainFan]: i hate this district 😭
[LyraKills]: why does everything feel fake here
[JokerFool]: yooo watch she's gonna die, and I'm gonna laugh xD
[TunnelRat77]: don't trust anyone wearing masks.
[DistrictEyes]: she's getting close.
That last message made her pause in her tracks.
Close to what?
Suddenly, her phone updated again.
DESTINATION UPDATED:
LOWER MARKET — UNIT 09.
A glowing path appeared along the sidewalk leading toward a narrow alley between two flickering buildings.
But the deeper she walked, the quieter the city became, and even the livestream chat slowed down; the viewer updates stopped coming in, and the messages and donations stopped altogether.
Now, only dead static remained on the livestream, and she stopped walking immediately.
"What…?"
Her viewer count flickered wildly, then plummeted to zero in an instant.
Then the stream disconnected entirely, and for the first time since arriving in Elysium, nobody was watching her anymore, and the silence became unbearable.
Then someone behind her tapped her shoulder urgently, and a soft footstep echoed lightly behind her.
She then spun around instantly, but nobody was behind her at all.
But when she looked forward again, someone tall, motionless, and with a hidden face beneath his hood was standing at the far end of the alley, watching her.
In that very moment, her heart slammed wildly in her chest.
"You sent the messages?" she asked carefully.
No response came immediately.
But slowly, the figure lifted its head, and her entire body froze in place.
Because beneath the hood, the figure had no face, only black static where its features should've been.
Her phone vibrated aggressively in her hand.
WARNING:
PROGRESSION INTERFERENCE DETECTED.
The faceless figure tilted its head slightly, and it reached directly into her chest.
In an instant, everything around her glitched wildly, buildings distorted, lights stretched, reality cracked, and for one horrifying second, she saw another version of herself standing beside the entity.
But this version was dead, blood running down from her eyes and smiling back demonically.
Zamora stumbled backward in sheer panic.
"What the hell are you—?!"
The faceless figure suddenly rushed toward her impossibly fast, and then everything went black.
PLAYER ZAMORA HAS BEEN ELIMINATED.——
- Writer
