Chapter 9 Achievement Unlocked Running Water
Achievement Unlocked: Running Water
Levi gasped awake in the meadow, his chest heaving as phantom pains echoed through his body. His hands instinctively clutched at his knee, then his chest—both whole, both uninjured. The memory of the stranger’s bullet tearing through him remained vivid, a ghost sensation that refused to fade.
Breathe. Just breathe. Count backward from ten. Focus on something real.
The dew-covered grass beneath his palms. The chirping birds overhead. The scent of pine and wildflowers.
Heat flashed across his skin as anxiety surged through his system. Levi yanked off his hoodie, the fabric suddenly suffocating. He tied it around his waist with trembling fingers, his t-shirt already damp with sweat.
Something heavy thumped against his thigh. A small object tumbled from the hoodie’s pocket, landing in the grass beside him. Levi stared at it, uncomprehending for a moment.
A compass. The same metal compass he found in Elliot’s backpack during the previous loop.
I died with this.
Levi snatched it up, turning the cool metal over in his palm. The needle swung freely, pointing steadily north. His mind raced, processing the implications.
Items I die with transfer between loops.
A hysterical laugh bubbled up from his chest. It wasn’t much, but it was a tiny scrap of control in this nightmare. A rule he could exploit.
I can prepare for the next loop.
Levi pushed himself to his feet, scanning the meadow with new purpose. If the game allowed him to keep items, there might be other mechanics he could leverage. Other rules he could bend.
He moved around the clearing, searching behind rocks and beneath bushes. Near the edge of the tree line, partially hidden by ferns, he spotted something white. A small notepad, blank and pristine, with a stubby pencil tucked into the spiral binding.
A convenient notebook just lying around. Ethan would have called this lazy game design.
Levi dropped to the ground, flipping open the notepad. The pencil felt strange in his hand, almost too real. He pressed the tip against the paper and began writing frantically:
LOOP #4
Killer: mismatched eyes (brown/green), perfect face, sadistic
Watches before attacking - learns from each encounter
NPCs: Jasper (gun in backpack), Owen, Maddie, Zoe (bear spray), Tyler, Elliot (satellite phone)
Items transfer between loops!!!
Bear spray works - aim for eyes
Gun safety!! Practice beforehand
Mine shaft - metal interferes with satellite signal
Killer gets more personal each time
The words spilled across the page, his handwriting growing more jagged with each line. He documented everything—the deaths, the campsite layout, the killer’s behavior patterns, strategic observations. When he filled the first page, he flipped to the next, continuing his frenzied documentation.
I’m making strategy guides for a nightmare. At least it’s better organized than my actual life.
“Hey! There you are!”
Jasper’s voice cut through Levi’s concentration. He looked up to see Jasper, Maddie, and Owen approaching through the tall grass, their expressions friendly and oblivious.
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Owen said, adjusting his glasses. “Tyler said you wandered off to check out the meadow.”
“Are you journaling?” Maddie asked, peering at the notepad with genuine curiosity. “That’s so wholesome.”
Something inside Levi snapped. The sight of their innocent faces—faces he watched die in agony—sent a wave of rage and grief crashing through him.
“Don’t touch that!” he barked, his voice harsh and unfamiliar even to his own ears. He clutched the notepad against his chest protectively. “Just—just stay away from me for a minute, okay?”
The three exchanged hurt looks, taken aback by his venom. Owen’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly, confusion and concern warring across his features.
“Dude, we were just—” Jasper began, his usual laid-back demeanor faltering.
“I know what you were ‘just’ doing,” Levi cut him off, voice rising with hysteria.
“You’re going to invite me to camp, and we’ll set up tents, and Maddie will offer me her flask, and Owen will talk about the Perseids and weather patterns.
” His voice cracked. “And then you’re all going to die. Again.”
The words hung in the air like accusations. Jasper’s face went pale beneath his perpetual tan. Maddie took an unconscious step backward.
“Levi,” Owen said carefully, voice gentle like he was talking to a wounded animal. “Are you feeling alright? You seem... distressed.”
“Distressed?” Levi laughed, the sound sharp and brittle. “You could say that.” He looked from face to face, seeing their genuine concern, their care for him. It made everything worse. “You all act so real. So fucking real.”
“We are real,” Maddie said softly, reaching out as if to touch his arm. “Levi, what’s wrong?”
He jerked away from her hand. “No. No, you’re not. You’re NPCs. You’re code. You’re—” His voice broke. “You’re going to die and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”
“I think you need some space,” Maddie said finally, backing away with tears in her eyes. “We’ll be at camp when you’re ready. When you... feel better.”
As they retreated, casting worried glances over their shoulders, Levi felt a pang of guilt pierce through his rage. Their hurt expressions seemed so genuine, so human. Jasper looked back once, confusion and pain written across his features.
They’re not real, he reminded himself, turning back to his notes with shaking hands. They’re NPCs in a game. Saving them isn’t the objective.
But as he stared down at the notepad, a troubling thought emerged. If they weren’t real—if none of this was real—then why did their pain hurt him so much? And why did dying feel like actual death?
Twilight bled into darkness as Levi crouched behind a fallen log, watching distant campfire flames dance through the trees.
Laughter drifted on the night air—Owen’s snorting chuckle, Maddie’s high-pitched giggle, Tyler’s booming guffaw.
They searched for him earlier, calling his name with increasing concern before eventually giving up.
Let them think I wandered off and got lost. Better than watching them die again.
Stars emerged overhead, pinpricks of cold light in the vast emptiness. The Perseids would start soon. Levi turned away from the camp and oriented himself using the compass. He needed to return to the mine shaft.
The forest transformed at night. Shadows deepened, branches became grasping fingers, and every rustle in the underbrush froze the blood in his veins. His fingers clutched the notepad in his pocket like a talisman.
The mining operation appeared suddenly through the trees, skeletal and foreboding against the night sky. Levi’s chest tightened as phantom pain bloomed in his knee, his body remembering the bullet that shattered it.
Focus. This is just a game. Find the objective.
The wooden structure marking the mine entrance loomed ahead, its timbers silver in the moonlight. Levi approached cautiously, testing each step before committing his weight. No killer lurking in the shadows. Not yet.
He knelt beside the ore cart where he’d been pinned, scanning the ground. Jasper’s revolver was gone, but something else caught his eye—a metallic glint beneath decades of dirt and debris. He brushed away layers of dust to reveal an old-fashioned flashlight, surprisingly heavy in his palm.
Worth a try.
He twisted the cap, not expecting anything from the ancient device. To his shock, a weak yellow beam sputtered to life, illuminating the entrance to the mine shaft. The light flickered but held steady.
Sixty-year-old mining equipment works perfectly. My laptop crashes if I open too many browser tabs.
The beam revealed boards nailed across the mine entrance, weathered but intact. A scrap of paper fluttered in the breeze, wedged in the gap. Levi worked it free, holding it to the light.
A newspaper fragment, yellowed with age. The headline partially visible: “RIVERBEND MINING DISASTER CLAIMS TWELVE.” Below, smaller text: “...town abandoned following third fatal accident in...”
The date was torn away, but the town name burned into Levi’s consciousness.
Riverbend. That’s it. That’s the objective.
His mind raced, fitting pieces together. Ethan always said horror games have like three plot templates. Find the abandoned town, find answers, and maybe find a way out.
Levi pulled out the compass, orienting himself. The terrain sloped downward to the east. Rivers always flowed downhill, and towns were built on rivers. Simple logic.
Follow the slope. Find the river. Find Riverbend.
He began picking his way downhill, flashlight beam bobbing before him. Every crack of a twig under his feet sounded like a gunshot in the silence. Every shadow held the potential of those mismatched eyes watching, waiting.
The forest grew denser as he descended, forcing him to duck beneath low-hanging branches. Something scurried through the underbrush to his right. Levi froze, breath caught in his throat, flashlight beam darting wildly toward the sound.
Just a raccoon, waddling away with indignant huffs.
Even the local wildlife thinks I’m suspicious.
He pressed on, glancing over his shoulder. The feeling of being watched prickled between his shoulder blades. Was that a footstep behind him? A branch breaking? The stranger could be anywhere, studying him, learning his patterns.
A new sound emerged—running water. Levi quickened his pace, following the sound until trees gave way to a rocky bank. A river gleamed in the moonlight, its surface rippling with silver.
He knelt at the edge, cupping his hands to drink. The water was shockingly cold, numbing his fingers and teeth, but sweeter than anything he tasted in days. He splashed his face, washing away sweat and fear.
When he looked up, wiping water from his eyes, he saw the shapes of buildings silhouetted against the night horizon.
Riverbend.