Chapter 12 New Game
New Game+
Levi stirred at the sound of familiar voices bickering. The low rumble of an engine vibrated beneath him, and the scent of marijuana smoke hung in the air. Something warm pressed against his right side—an arm draped casually over his shoulder.
“I’m telling you, man, we need some Zeppelin for ghost hunting. Sets the mood,” Jasper argued from somewhere in front of him.
“That’s so basic,” Tyler shot back. “Everyone plays Zeppelin. We need something unexpected, like Chopin. Creepy classical shit.”
Levi kept his eyes closed, confusion washing over him like a cold tide. This wasn’t the meadow. Where was the familiar grass beneath him? The morning sunlight? Instead, he was... moving? In a vehicle?
What’s happening? Where am I?
The weight against his side shifted, the arm around his shoulders adjusting its grip. Someone was holding him, and the casual intimacy of it made his skin crawl with unidentified dread.
“Hey, pass me that other microphone, would you?” Owen’s voice came from the front seat. “I need to check the battery level. The EMF detector is already showing interference, which is weird because we’re not even at the location yet.”
“Maybe it’s picking up our phones,” Maddie suggested, her voice coming from Levi’s left. “Or Tyler’s watch. That thing has more tech than NASA.”
“It’s not the watch,” Tyler snapped defensively. “It’s military-grade. Doesn’t interfere with anything.”
Ghost hunting? EMF detectors? Levi’s mind struggled to process the fragments of conversation. Nothing made sense. Last he remembered, he was dying in a barber shop, blood pouring from his throat as Asher—
“So we’re voting, right?” Jasper asked. “Ghost town or abandoned hospital? Because I’m telling you, Riverbend has serious energy. My cousin went there last year and his camera batteries drained in like five minutes.”
Terror spiked through Levi at the mention of Riverbend. The abandoned mining town. The place where Asher had nearly—where he’d chosen to—
“The hospital has better documentation,” Owen countered, shuffling papers. “Drosselmeyer County Sanitarium has seventeen confirmed deaths on record, plus rumors of experimental treatments in the east wing.”
“My uncle owns the land it sits on,” Elliot added.
“That sounds way more promising than some played-out ghost town,” Maddie agreed.
The arm around Levi’s shoulders shifted, and a voice spoke from above his head—smooth, controlled, and terrifyingly familiar.
“The hospital would be safer,” the voice suggested. “Riverbend has structural issues. Collapsed mine tunnels beneath the town. Someone could get hurt.”
No. No, no, no, NO.
Levi’s eyes snapped open, his entire body jerking with shock.
The interior of a van came into focus—equipment cases stacked against the walls, camera gear secured in custom brackets, Owen and Tyler in the front seats with professional-looking monitoring equipment between them.
Maddie sat across from him, scrolling through what looked like research notes on her phone.
Elliot was beside her, organizing batteries into labeled containers with the efficiency of someone who’d done this many times before.
And pressed against his side, arm draped around his shoulders with comfortable familiarity, sat Asher.
Levi’s breath caught in his throat as he took in the details.
Same symmetrical features, but everything else seemed fundamentally different.
Asher wore a black t-shirt with a sound equipment company logo, cargo pants with multiple pockets containing various technical tools.
His hair was slightly mussed, making him look younger, less predatory.
Most startling of all, he wore wire-rimmed glasses that gave him an almost scholarly appearance.
When Asher looked down at him, his expression showed nothing but mild concern and friendly warmth. “Good morning, sleepyhead. Just in time for the vote.”
No predatory smile. No calculating gleam in those mismatched eyes. Just... normal human concern.
But panic exploded through Levi’s system anyway, muscle memory overriding rational analysis. He lunged for the door handle, yanking it with such force that the entire van shuddered.
“What the—” Tyler swerved. “Is he trying to open the door? We’re moving!”
“Levi, what the hell?” Elliot shouted.
Levi’s fingers scrabbled at the handle, his breath coming in short, desperate gasps. The door was locked—child safety locks, his mind registered distantly—trapping him inside with either his killer.
“St-stop the van!” he gasped, voice cracking. “L-let me out!”
“Jesus Christ,” Tyler muttered, pulling onto the shoulder. “What’s wrong with you?”
The moment the vehicle stopped moving, Levi lunged across Elliot’s lap, reaching for the opposite door. Elliot grabbed his arms, trying to restrain him with obvious concern rather than malice.
“Dude, calm down!” Elliot’s voice seemed distant through the roaring in Levi’s ears. “You’re scaring the shit out of us!”
“I n-need air,” Levi choked out, breaking free from Elliot’s grip. “I need—I c-can’t breathe—”
Through his peripheral vision, he caught Asher’s reaction. No sadistic pleasure, no calculating assessment. Just concern, his brow furrowed as he leaned forward.
“Levi? Hey, what’s happening?” Asher’s voice carried none of the smooth menace Levi remembered.
The side door slid open, and Levi tumbled out onto the gravel shoulder, knees hitting the ground hard enough to tear his jeans. He scrambled away from the van, chest heaving as he fought for air that wouldn’t come.
The world tilted around him, edges darkening as hyperventilation set in. His vision tunneled, focusing on the gravel beneath his palms. Each stone pressed into his skin with hyper-realistic detail—too sharp, too present, too real.
“He’s having a panic attack,” Jasper’s voice came from somewhere above him.
“Should we call someone?” Maddie asked, her voice pitched with worry.
“Give him space,” Owen suggested. “Let him work through it.”
Levi sensed someone crouching beside him, then felt a hand on his back. He flinched violently, head snapping up to see who had touched him.
Jasper knelt there, hands raised in a non-threatening gesture. “Easy, man. Just breathe with me, okay? In through your nose, out through your mouth.”
Levi’s gaze darted past him to the van, where Asher leaned against the open door. But instead of the predatory observation Levi expected, he only saw concern.
Is he faking it? Or is this really a different character?
“Focus on me,” Jasper instructed, moving to block Levi’s view. “Count with me. One, two, three, four...”
Levi forced himself to follow Jasper’s lead, his breathing slowing.
This is a new scenario. New rules. I need to gather information, not react to assumptions.
“I’m sorry,” he managed after several minutes, testing the group’s response. “Bad dream. It felt too real.”
“Must’ve been intense,” Jasper said, offering him a water bottle. “You were completely chill one minute, freaking out the next.”
“Yeah, nightmares can be brutal,” came Asher’s voice from behind Jasper. Levi looked up to see him approaching with concern. “I get them sometimes, too. Sleep deprivation from too many late-night recording sessions.
Levi took a careful sip of water, studying Asher’s expression for any trace of the predator he knew. But all he saw was a slightly awkward, concerned colleague adjusting his glasses.
“Guess I’m more nervous about tonight than I thought,” Levi said, still testing.
“The hospital?” Tyler asked.
“Wherever we’re going,” Levi hedged, watching Asher’s reaction.
“We were just voting on that,” Maddie explained. “Hospital or ghost town.”
Asher stepped forward, but maintained a respectful distance. “If you’re not feeling up to it, we could always postpone. The equipment isn’t going anywhere, and your health is more important than any footage.”
The killer would never suggest postponing. He’d want to get me isolated.
“How long have we been planning this trip?” Levi asked, trying to sound casual.
“Like three weeks,” Elliot replied, looking confused by the question. “Ever since your channel hit five thousand subscribers and you wanted to branch out into paranormal content.”
My channel? Five thousand subscribers? The game had constructed an entire alternate history.
“Right,” Levi nodded, forcing his expression to remain neutral. “Just making sure we’re all on the same page.”
“You sure you’re okay?” Jasper asked, concern creasing his features. “We can postpone if you’re not feeling it. Mental health comes first.”
“I’m fine,” Levi insisted, pushing himself to his feet. His legs trembled slightly, but he forced himself to stand tall. “I just needed some air.”
As the others drifted back toward the van, Levi grabbed Jasper’s arm, keeping his voice low. “Hey, quick question—how long has Asher been part of the team?”
Jasper’s brow furrowed at the odd question. “Almost the whole time? He’s your sound guy. You vetted him yourself after that disaster with the last tech who corrupted half your footage.”
I hired him. In this reality, I chose to work with him.
“Right, of course,” Levi nodded, filing away the information. “Just making sure you guys are comfortable with him.”
“He’s quiet, but he knows his stuff,” Jasper shrugged. “Equipment’s never sounded better since he joined. Plus he’s got that whole mysterious vibe that works great on camera.”
Levi watched as Jasper walked back to the van, mind racing with possibilities. Either the AI had entirely reprogrammed Asher’s character, or the killer was playing a sophisticated long game.
But why would he integrate himself as an ally? What’s the advantage?
As Levi approached the van, his gaze met Asher’s again.
“Feeling better?” Asher asked. “We’ve got some energy drinks in the equipment case if you need caffeine.”
The offer was so mundane, so considerate, that it sent Levi’s mind spinning. This couldn’t be the same person. The AI must have recycled the character model.
“Thanks,” Levi managed. “I think I’m good.”
“We’re heading to the hospital,” Tyler announced as everyone climbed back into the van. “Four votes to two. Drosselmeyer County Sanitarium, it is.”
Levi hesitated at the door, studying the seating arrangement. In his panic, he’d been sitting beside Asher—apparently by choice, based on everyone’s casual reactions. Now he faced a decision: maintain the facade of normalcy or risk drawing attention by changing his behavior.
If this is a different character, I’m being paranoid. If it’s the same one, avoiding him might trigger his hunting behavior.
With deliberate casualness, he slid back into his original seat beside Asher. The killer—or whoever this was—didn’t react with triumph or satisfaction. He simply adjusted his position to give Levi more space, then returned his attention to a tablet displaying what looked like building schematics.
“I pulled the original blueprints,” Asher said, holding the tablet so Levi could see.
“The hospital’s got a really interesting layout.
Three floors, plus a basement level that was supposedly used for storage but.
..” He paused, pushing his glasses up his nose.
“Well, the documentation gets weird around the basement.”
As Tyler pulled back onto the road, Levi found himself in the surreal position of sitting calmly beside his potential tormentor, watching him explain hospital architecture with enthusiasm for the technical aspects of their investigation.
Either this was the most sophisticated psychological manipulation he’d ever encountered, or the game had truly created a different character who just happened to share the killer’s face.