Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 756: Escalation [1]

I stayed where I was, watching my own face stare back at me from behind the desk.

The resemblance wasn’t quite perfect. Its skin was paler than mine, almost drained beneath the classroom lights, and its expression barely changed when I moved closer, but even the way it held the pencil looked familiar. The tip rested against the page at the same angle I was used to holding.

“…Who are you?”

Its eyes lowered towards my mouth while I spoke.

Almost as if it were trying to study it.

Not my face.

My mouth.

I glanced towards the children passing between us. One brushed against my arm on his way to his seat, but none of them looked at the figure occupying my seat. Elon had already stopped beside Desk 26, his book held tightly against his chest.

“You can see him, right?”

Elon’s gaze shifted towards me before returning to the figure. He waited until it moved its hand away from his desk before sitting down, placing his book as far from Seat 27 as possible.

That was enough of an answer, and I turned back towards the thing wearing my face.

“Get out of the chair.”

It continued staring at me, and I was considering whether touching it would be the stupidest decision I would make tonight when a certain footstep echoed from the doorway.

Step.

The figure stood before the teacher entered, leaving the chair exactly where it had been. It moved into the gap beside the desk, close enough that I had to step back to avoid its shoulder.

For a second, its face passed directly beside mine.

It didn’t look away.

The teacher stopped at the front.

“Mara, why aren’t you sitting?”

I looked between the empty chair and the figure beside it. It hadn’t vanished or even attempted to hide, yet the teacher’s attention remained on me.

“There’s someone—”

“I couldn’t find my pencil.”

A voice cut me off.

A voice… that sounded almost identical to mine.

“It’s on your desk. Sit down.”

I didn’t know when, but only after taking a small breath did I realize I had been holding it for quite some time. The teacher was still watching, and I knew that I couldn’t remain standing where I was.

Eyes on the clone of me, I sat without turning my back on it completely, keeping my feet beneath the desk as the children opened their books. The figure remained beside my shoulder, its arm hanging close enough that I could see the pale knuckles at the edge of my vision.

It didn’t seem to breathe.

No, it wasn’t breathing at all.

“…..”

My fingers tightened around the pencil as Mara’s note came back to me.

[She gets up when you come over.]

I looked towards the teacher, then thought back to how the figure stood up the moment the teacher came over.

I drew a small breath.

Biting my lip, I spoke again.

“There’s someone in my seat.”

“…..”

A biting cold pressed against me from all directions. To the point where it almost felt as though the very air had been stripped away from the room.

Until—

“The chair is empty.”

[Then you tell me my chair is empty.]

‘It’s not empty.’

“Continue yesterday’s exercise. I’ll take attendance.”

Paper rustled around me as I tried to decide what I was supposed to do. I couldn’t fight the thing with the teacher here, and even if I did want to fight it, I didn’t have any nodes to support me on that.

I had no other choice but to remain seated and observe.

I forced my attention onto the page as the teacher began calling names. Beside me, the figure leaned forward slightly, its eyes following the movement of my pencil.

When I stopped writing to adjust my grip, its fingers moved too.

But not quite right after I started.

There was a brief delay, almost like it needed a moment to understand what I’d done before copying it.

My mouth went dry.

I could feel its gaze. Its warm breath…

By the time the teacher reached Mara’s name, I was barely listening to the other children. I turned towards the figure, intending to stop it before it could speak, but its answer came before I could even put the pencil down.

“Present.”

It used my voice again, and the teacher marked the register without looking up.

“That wasn’t me.”

I spoke up without realizing it. Several pencils stopped around us, and I felt Elon’s arm pull away from the edge of his desk.

“Mara, you don’t need to answer twice.”

The teacher stopped before calling out the last name.

I remained still as the figure watched me from beside the chair, its empty eyes focused on me as it quietly observed my every movement.

I didn’t blink once.

Something else flashed in my mind.

[Yesterday you told me not to answer twice.]

That was another one of those clues.

More and more pieces started to fit the puzzle.

‘It’s… strangely hot in here.’

I tugged at my collar, feeling a certain level of discomfort. At first, I assumed it was sweat, but when I pressed my wrist against my neck, I realized my skin was hot despite the cold air settling over the desks.

The difference was uncomfortable.

The classroom felt cold everywhere except for me.

“——!”

Something else clicked inside my mind as I took another deep breath.

Elon…

He had mentioned something like this happening to Mara.

‘He spoke to her near the treeline, and the report specifically mentioned how warm her skin felt…’

This couldn’t be…?

My pencil stopped above the page as I looked towards the figure again.

The same pair of empty eyes stared back at me.

They were closer than before.

I…

When did it move?

The sight nearly made me jump out of my seat, but I managed to keep it together as I looked away from those soulless eyes. Things were very clear in my mind.

It was studying me.

Very deeply.

The way I moved.

The way I spoke.

Everything.

‘…Is this what happened to her?’

Step!

The question barely formed inside my mind when the sudden sound of a step echoed.

Step!

“Is something wrong?”

I lifted my head, but the words that came out weren’t mine.

“Just a headache.”

The teacher only looked at me as the room fell silent once more. I tugged at my collar again.

“Is that so? Continue working.”

Step.

I stared at the page, unable to remember which question I was supposed to be answering. It had watched me rub my forehead, listened to me speak, and now it was explaining what was wrong with me before I could do it myself.

Almost like it was learning everything about me.

The thought made my stomach churn.

And just when I thought things couldn’t get any stranger, a sudden movement at the back of the class caught my attention, prompting me to turn my head slightly.

The moment I turned, a pair of new eyes locked with me.

I froze at the sight.

Not before muttering,

“Mara?”

***

Kyle kept moving until the classroom window disappeared behind the turn. Zoey stayed beside him, her light low enough that their shadows stretched ahead rather than back towards the room.

Neither spoke until they reached the broken brick wall.

“…It looked exactly like him.”

Kyle glanced back while Zoey stepped over the rubble. He could still picture Seth’s face pressed against the glass, following their every movement as they stood outside the classroom.

“I know. It even sounded like him, but… That wasn’t him.”

Zoey adjusted the bag containing the diary.

“Mara was missing, but the children said she was still attending lessons. Then Mrs. Vale came down here and thought she saw her.”

“And now we’ve seen Seth.”

Kyle spoke right after, his expression tight.

Rubbing his forehead, he pinched his cheeks as he muttered, “He shouldn’t be involved in the scenario at all, and yet, he’s here. How does that make sense?”

“At least this confirms to us that he’s trapped in VILE – 303.”

Zoey looked towards the passage behind them, trying to see if the figure they had seen was following them from behind.

But all that greeted her sight was darkness.

“I’m not sure, but…”

Zoey hesitated whilst looking at Kyle before offering her opinion.

“…It’s just a guess, but I think whatever is happening to Seth is somehow connected to what happened to Mara. Maybe that thing was a clone, or maybe a copy of him is being made while he’s inside the classroom?”

“I think so too, but that still doesn’t answer a lot of things. What if—”

A subtle vibration stopped Kyle as he reached for his pocket and retrieved his phone. The moment he did, his expression changed.

[Section Chief]

He hesitated before answering.

“Chief?”

“I was beginning to wonder whether you’d stopped responding too. Have you found anything?”

Kyle looked towards Zoey.

“We recovered some records. There’s more going on here than the Guild file mentions. However, I think we’ve found a lead to Seth’s whereabouts.”

There was a short pause on the other end of the line.

After which, a sigh followed.

“A team has been dispatched to your location.”

“What!?”

Kyle’s grip tightened around the phone.

“I tried my best, but they already figured out what’s going on. I’ve got no choice on this matter.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“I understand, but sometimes you need to take a step back to take one forward. In this case, it’s obvious that something has happened to Seth. Our priority should be to help him instead of worrying about what is going to happen afterwards.”

Kyle’s jaw tightened.

“…Section Chief Johansberg has sent several elites from the Hoarding Department to help out. The moment they arrive, please fill them in on everything and help Seth. This is our current priority.”

Kyle’s lips parted, but no word came out.

The line ended right after.

Du. Du.

“What did he say?”

Zoey’s voice echoed right after, and Kyle looked at her.

His expression underwent a series of changes before he eventually thought of something, and his expression turned even weirder.

In the end, he muttered—

“How much money do you have?”

“Huh?”

“Lend me as much as you can.”