"elle… Danielle~"
I groaned slightly, curling tighter. Leave me alone, I just found a safe place to sleep! A chuckle echoed in my ear, sounding slightly confused. "What do you mean by that, Dani?"
Wait… What? Blearily I opened my eyes, blinked once, then shot up straight. I'm in my apartment, safe.
"Danie…whoa!" my friend got treated to a very extreme hug, me shaking badly. "What's wrong? Nightmare?"
I didn't reply at first, too busy trying to reassure myself that I was actually safe. It was still pretty bright out. How long had I been out? I stared at the wall, clinging to Jazzy until she tapped the side of my face.
"Dani!" I started and stared at her sheepishly,
"Sorry, I think it was a nightmare? I don't know man, I was about to play the game then blacked out. Felt like the game pulled some horror movie cliché shit and I got sucked inside the game." Jazzy deadpanned at me, concern.
"That sounds bad, you sure you're okay?" I shook my head.
"I'll be fine… I'll just message everyone not to play the game till I figure out what happened."
Quickly, I pulled away from Jazzy and grabbed for my phone. I blinked at the time. It was 3 pm. Jazzy didn't say anything, only watched as I pulled up twitter and quickly DM'd the YouTube Creators.
[ markiplier Hey, you haven't opened the game file I sent you yet, have you?]
I repeated this twitter message to the other Creators, and anxiously waited, Jazzy glancing over my shoulder.
"What did you see?"
"Nothing, I hope. I pray to the Goddess I get replies and it was just a nightmare on my part…" I murmur, watching with hawk eyes as I refreshed the feed every minute.
Ten minutes pass.
Then half an hour.
At the forty-five-minute mark, I was beginning to worry a bit. They hadn't been sucked in, right? Right?! I tried to rationalize it. They were just busy, or away from their phones.
An hour passes, and on the hour mark a ding startled me.
{direct message from danisnotonfire}
[What the hell is going on?!]
"Oh thank the goddess!" I breathed, releasing tension that had been building up in my body.
[There's what I believe to be a glitch in the game that normal systems can't find. I only found it after I played the game myself.]
[I've never heard of a glitch that makes the player PASS OUT! Phil won't respond to me! What the fuck Danielle?!]
Jazzy frowned at the message and raised an eyebrow as I began to pale.
"What's wrong?"
"I may have an idea what happened…I forgot to close my circle last night in my excitement." Jazzy, who's agnostic, still smacked me round the head for that.
"Dumbass, how many times have you talked about proper closing rituals?!"
"I know, I know! Dammit!" I turned back to twitter and messaged Dan back.
[I can explain better via phone or Skype. DON'T SHUT DOWN THE GAME!]
I sent him my number and Skype, barely waiting a minute before I got a friend request on skype. Clicking on accept, I didn't waste any time and Skype called him. Jazzy watched over my shoulder as the feed of Dan appeared on my screen.
He didn't look too hot at the moment, with his hair everywhere, and his eyes and mouth twisted with frown lines.
"Okay, what the hell is going on? Did you hypnotize him or something through that damn game?" Jazzy flinched at the anger and panic in his voice, and I almost did, neither of us liking that he seemingly hated the game.
"No Dan, I didn't. The game is fine, something latched onto it and corrupted the file. That's what's got Phil. I can fix it, but it's not really possible remotely." I muttered the last part, but apparently Dan heard me.
"Can you get to London then? You need to fix this." I merely nodded at the thinly veiled demand.
"I'll be leaving sometime tonight after I let my professors know I will be gone for a bit." I sighed a bit and glanced at Jazzy's worried face. "I've got six other Creators to save…"
"Wait, six? Who else got the game?!" Dan sat back from the screen, staring in horror as I replied heavily,
"Markiplier, Ian Hecox, Anthony Padilla, Pewdiepie, Jacksepticeye, and Nathan Sharp. However, four live here in the states, so they've probably been playing since I played around noon, or 4 pm for you. Neither Jack or Felix replied though, so I assume their also in the game."
Dan didn't say anything, just staring and stuttering slightly. Fear was the biggest emotion on his face, and I didn't blame him. This shit was only supposed to happen in horror movies and fiction.
"Look, I'll be in London in 8-10 hours, will you meet us?" I waited for him to gather himself and nod. "Okay, I'll tweet you the time we are supposed to be landing. Whatever you do, don't shut down the game, or we might not be able to pull him out."
We talked for a few more moments, then I closed out of Skype and stood, shaking slightly.
Jazzy hadn't spoken the entire time, just waiting for me to calm down.
"Jazzy…" I turned and leaned against her, breathing slowly before pulling my laptop into my lap and began the process of buying plane tickets and letting my teachers know I would be out of country for a week or two.
"You don't mind coming with?" She shook her head, making me smile, "Thanks Jazz." She shrugged,
"You aren't leaving me in the states and gallivanting to London by yourself." I laughed and relaxed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.