February 2020 Wattpad Sci-Fi Writing Challenge: [picture prompt] in under 500 words

Winter. It is always winter. Always cold, but never snowy. My coat is mandatory. My hat is required. No one can wear less than a long-sleeve shirt, pants, and shoes. There are rules, and no one dares to disobey.

Luke was the last one to disobey. We haven't seen him since.

Then there was me. I disobeyed, but I got away. I came back.

It started at my house. I had my friends over. Everything was going great. No one had taken off their VR's, no one had spoken, and everyone was sitting peacefully in the living room. Overall, no rules we're broken.

In our VR room, I looked around at my three friends. We were about to enter an escape room. I nodded to each of them, or the avatars that I represented them, and we headed in.

The room was very dark, with one blue light illuminating the far wall. I, of course, was exploring the darkness, trying to find what I wasn't supposed to yet. And that I did. A villain's dialogue had begun and my friends we're still, paying attention to every detail. The dialogue was just coming to a close when I called out to them. They made their way toward me, rolling their eyes at my overly-adventurous personality. They asked what I had found, and I pointed at a small crack (or glitch, choose your pick) in the wall. They all shook their head, declining the ever-inviting decline into secrets and forbidden crevasses and continuing the escape room.

I am a very curious person. Everything is a mystery that I alone can solve. I wish I wasn't that way. It's too late now, I suppose.

I entered the glitch without hesitation. My friends were preoccupied and wouldn't notice my absence for another hour.

I felt my way around. It seemed to be an extensive labyrinth of unlit hallways. There were no doors. I wandered for what seemed like hours before the officers found me. Their lights blinded me, and before I knew it, I was strapped to a chair in a bright room. And Luke was next to me. His veins bulged and his eyes were red. Discoloration painted every part of his body. This was the point when fear started to grip me. Two officers came in the door to my right, one staying by it to guard. The other walked toward me, reading off my name, date of birth, and more personal details. When he finished, his hands reached to either side of my face and unplugged my VR.

I can't even begin to describe the light. It was so bright, so vibrant, and so blinding. I had never seen it before. I knew immediately that I was not where I used to be. I ran and ran, with no escape from the white plains I was in. Until one day, I stumbled back into the cold street of my hometown and was home. No one said a word.