The Locked Door

What is this? Where am I?

I feel like I can't breathe. I'm falling through an endless black void, deeper and deeper. The air is thin—if it's even there at all—and my lungs are on fire. I'm suffocating. Am I dreaming? Did I sleep through a challenge, or… is this the challenge?

A strange sound echoed through the emptiness. I turned around—and there it was.

A massive, glowing eye stared directly at me.

As I locked eyes with it, a flood of images hit my mind—brief flashes, like snapshots of memories. One stood out: a boy with blue hair.

Then I woke up.

Gasping for breath, drenched in sweat. It was only 7 a.m. It couldn't have been the challenge. So what the hell was that?

"Get up, Connor. I made breakfast," Leon called from the kitchen. "Little burnt, but hey, it's got a crunch to it."

He took one look at me and frowned.

"You good? Wanna talk about something?"

"I had this weird dream," I said. "I was floating in a void—pitch black. I couldn't breathe. Then this massive glowing eye appeared and stared into me. I think it showed me memories… or maybe visions of the future."

"My dreams are never that intense," Leon said, grabbing a plate. "Mine are like weird fever dreams. That stuff about memories though? Might just be déjà vu."

"I usually have strange dreams too, but this one felt real. I physically couldn't breathe."

"Yeah, it be like that sometimes. I once had a dream where someone kicked me in the nuts, and I actually felt the pain."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm saying—feeling stuff in dreams happens. Doesn't mean it's real. Your punishment probably just messed with your head. But what about those memory flashes?"

"I couldn't make out most of them. But I do remember seeing a boy around our age with blue hair."

"Well, whatever's going on, you need food in your system. Now come on, get up."

I rolled out of bed, still in pajama bottoms and shirtless. As I wandered into the kitchen, I eyed the food on the table.

"Is this an enlarged flat kidney?" I asked, poking the pancake.

"It's pancakes, birthday cake flavored," Leon said. "Also, put a damn shirt on."

"This is our house. We can do what we want."

"So I can get naked and make pancakes?"

"Hell no," I said, laughing.

We both laughed. Despite only knowing Leon for a few days, it felt like we'd been friends for years.

"Who's excited for today's challenge?" Kara called out.

"Not me," I said.

"I get it. You've had more punishments than anyone else," Dahlia added.

"Tell them about the dream you had," Leon said.

I explained it again: the void, the giant eye, and the image of the boy with blue hair.

"Sounds interesting," Penny said. "Anyway, we need to get some groceries before today's challenge. Anyone wanna come?"

"I can't," Leon said. "Someone's gotta clean up after breakfast. Connor, you go. You've got a license, and we need snacks."

"Why me?" I groaned.

"Because you and Leon are the only ones who can drive," Dahlia replied.

"Fine, let's take my car."

The supermarket was only a mile away.

"What exactly do we need?" I asked once we got there.

"Just a couple of things," Kara said.

"When someone says a couple, it's always ten," I muttered, glancing at the list. "Holy shit—twenty items?"

"Yeah, just a couple," Penny said with a smirk. "Let's split up. Two teams, ten items each."

I paired up with Kara and pushed the cart.

"Half this list is just produce," she said. "Want anything in particular?"

"I'm a big fan of honeydew, watermelon, and cantaloupe."

"Two of those are already on the list. We'll grab the third. Can you get some apples, too?"

I went to the apple section, searching for a bag without any bad spots. It was nearly impossible.

"You looking for one with no soft spots?" a voice asked.

"Yeah. These all have, like, five," I said, not looking up yet.

"There's always one good one. Probably in the back—they put the older ones up front."

I reached toward the back—and sure enough, there it was.

"You were right," I said, finally turning around.

And froze.

It was him.

The boy from my dream. Blue hair. Blue eyes.

"Sorry, didn't mean to freak you out," he said.

"No, you're fine. You want these apples?"

"Nah, I'm here for blueberries. You new in town? I've never seen you around."

"Yeah, just moved into the big house up north."

His face changed. Shocked.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"It's just… I used to live there. With a few friends."

He extended his hand. "I'm Jackson."

"Connor," I said, shaking it. "When you lived there… did you have to upload content daily?"

"Yep. If we didn't, the monster would show up. Someone would die. I moved out a year ago. I was the youngest. Started at 15, left at 16."

"Why'd you leave?"

Jackson dropped to the ground, catching his breath.

"Sorry. Just… a lot. I left because everyone else died. One killed herself. One got eaten. One died during a challenge."

"You didn't have a fifth member?"

"Nope. Just four of us."

"Did you have cards, like us? With assigned roles?"

"Yeah. I still have mine, actually. I was The Chaos."

"Wait—what?"

"Something wrong?"

"Our roles are The Heart, The Ghost, The Fool, The Eye, and The Face. Nothing about Chaos."

"Yeah… our team had different roles. Anyway, I should get going. Actually—let me get your number. Just in case. If you ever need help, I'm down."

"Was the house really that bad?"

"At first, it was kinda fun. But we had no time for anything else. It drained us."

"Thanks, Jackson. Really."

"No—thank you. I've wanted to talk to someone about it for a long time. If you ever need anything, text or call."

We said our goodbyes. A moment later, Kara crept up behind me.

"Where've you been?" she asked.

"I was talking to someone. Oh—here are the apples."

"Who were you talking to?"

"Uh… the guy who used to live in our house. Said he had to post daily like us."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. And he was the blue-haired guy from my dream. Same age as me and Leon. I got his number in case we need anything."

"That's… wow."

"Anyway, how's the shopping going?"

"Almost done. Just one more thing, then we'll find the others."

"We're over here!" Dahlia called from the other aisle.

"You guys good?" Penny asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Just met someone who used to live in our house. Did the whole 'upload or die' thing. Same roles, different names. Everyone else in his group is dead."

"Oh my god," Dahlia said.

"I've got his number if we need to reach out. Let's head home and knock out today's challenge."

We drove back. I kept glancing at my phone, waiting for a message from Jackson.

But it never came.

"Can you help bring these in?" Kara asked.

"Yeah, of course," I said.

I dropped the groceries in the kitchen and turned to Leon.

"You remember that guy with blue hair I saw in my dream?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"He's real. I ran into him at the grocery store. He's our age—and he used to live in this house. Well, one of the previous owners."

"Get out!"

"Wait till you hear the next part," Dahlia said.

"He went through the same thing we're going through. A challenge every single day, just like us. And he and three others had their own roles too."

Leon went silent.

"I got his number. He said he's willing to help out if we need him. But he'll mostly stay out of sight—he doesn't want to piss off The Feed."

"Maybe we should start paying more attention to your dreams," Leon said.

"Anyway, we need to record the intro for our next episode. We've got an hour before the next challenge," Dahlia said.

Then came a knock at the door.

I opened it. It was Jackson.

"Jackson? What's going on?"

"Nothing much. Thought I'd stop by, see if you needed any help."

"We were just about to record the intro," I said.

"So you're the guy from Connor's dreams," Leon said. "I'm Leon—the Fool."

"Jackson. Pleasure to meet you. I'm the Chaos."

"That sounds badass."

"Yeah, my card was different from yours."

Jackson looked around the house, scanning every detail.

"Looks like Meaghan cleaned it up nicely."

"Wait… Meaghan sold you the house too?" Kara asked.

"Oh yeah. She works for The Feed. Handles all the paperwork."

We all exchanged looks.

"Sorry—I didn't realize you didn't know. You learn a thing or two when you survive here for a year."

"Shit," Leon muttered.

"Mind if I look around a bit?"

"Please do," I said. "You know any secrets we don't?"

"Of course I do," he said with a half-smile. "But I'll leave most of them to you. There's just one room I want to check. Anyone staying in the lavender bedroom?"

"No… I don't think there is a lavender room," I said. "There is one locked door upstairs. Are there any other locked rooms?"

"Oh, don't worry—there are more. You just haven't found them yet."

We walked up to the second floor.

"This one," Jackson said, stopping at the locked door. "I locked it myself. I never wanted anyone to go in."

"Was it your room?" Dahlia asked.

"No… it was my best friend's. Her name was Sophia. Out of the four of us who lived here, I'm the only one left."

"What happened?" Leon asked.

"You're about to find out."

Jackson pulled out a key, unlocked the lavender door, and opened it.

As soon as I stepped inside, I felt it—an eerie chill. There were no lights, no windows. It was colder than the rest of the house.

Jackson walked in slowly, then stopped—and began to cry.

"What's wrong?" I asked gently.

"This was Sophia's room," he said, voice cracking. "And this… this is where she killed herself. She couldn't take it anymore. She was suffering. She was the last to die."

He paused, wiping his eyes.

"One of us died during a challenge. Another was taken by a monster. When it was just the two of us left, she felt trapped. One day, I came home, and… she was gone. Lifeless. On the floor."

We all stood in stunned silence.

"The Feed realized I couldn't carry on alone, so it broke the contract and set me free. It had Meaghan fix up the house for the next group. Sophia… she sacrificed herself. She did it to free me."

Jackson collapsed to his knees.

"It should've been me," he sobbed. "I kept lying to her, telling her everything would be okay. But it wasn't. She's gone. And I… I loved her. She made me happy. She made me me. I don't know what The Feed really is, but I swear I'll make it suffer for what it did. I'll help you. I'm in."

There was another knock downstairs.

"It's time," Kara said softly. "We need to get ready for the next challenge."

Before we left, Jackson looked toward the safe in the lavender room. He walked over, entered a code—1201, Sophia's birthday.

The safe clicked open.

Inside was a necklace. A delicate chain with a rose quartz pendant.

"Hey Jackson, look at all the jewelry. So many options!" Sophia's voice echoed in his memory.

"Well, pick whichever one you want," he had said.

"Can you pick for me?" she replied. "Whatever you choose will be special—because you picked it."

He had picked the rose quartz. He didn't realize at the time what it meant: unconditional love.

"It's so pretty. Can you put it on for me?"

"Of course."

He had placed it gently around her neck. She kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you, Jackson."

Now, in the present, Jackson held that same necklace. A note was attached to the chain.

Dear Jackson,

If you're reading this, then I'm gone—and you're still here. There's so much I want to say. So much I regret.

My biggest regret is that I won't get to spend the rest of my life with you.

The last year we spent together was the best year of my life. You were always smiling, always making me laugh—even in our darkest times.

I had to make the choice for both of us. I gave you a chance to live. A chance to fight.

I know you can do it, Jackson.

This rose quartz represents my unconditional love for you. If you're ever lost, let my love guide you. Let it give you strength.

Kill The Feed—and set us free.

I love you. And I always will.

—Sophia

Jackson broke down, crying uncontrollably.

We all walked over and huddled around him, offering support.

"I'm sorry I'm a mess right now," he said through tears.

"It's okay, dude," I said. "We're all a mess. That's why we fit so well together."

Jackson stood up and wiped his face.

"I'll help you guys—as long as you help me. Let's kill The Feed. Let's end this misery. Let's finally set the lost souls of this house free."

"Let's do this thing, team," Leon said, holding out his hand.

We each stacked ours on top of his.

Our new mission was clear.

Kill The Feed.