Nightmare Game
Copyright© 2025 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 70
The group trudged eastward.
Everywhere they looked, houses sagged under layers of spiderwebs, their frames splintered and weary, like forgotten relics left to rot.
Ethan knew better than to chalk it up to poverty or hardship. No, this was caution etched into every beam—the villagers dodging Arachnis’s fragments at every turn, too terrified to sweep away a thread or patch a crack.
They wouldn’t dream of clearing the silk, let alone mend what broke. And so the decay spread, unchecked.
The farther they went, the more baffling it grew. They were nearly at the village’s edge—no sign of Everspring Meadow anywhere.
But then—
One more step, and blinding light flared ahead, forcing their eyes shut against the glare.
When it eased, they blinked into a sight that stole their breath.
Who could’ve imagined, amid this crumbling husk of a village, a landscape so achingly alive?
No more of the gray haze that choked Weaver’s Hollow, visibility choked to a crawl. Here, sunlight poured generous and soft, blue skies stretched endless overhead, and a gentle warmth kissed their skin, coaxing out the first flicker of ease.
Before them sprawled a sea of flowers, a fever dream in riotous bloom, petals clashing and harmonizing in a symphony of color.
Golden rays dusted the blossoms, gilding them like jewels caught in firelight.
Everspring Meadow rolled in waves of varying heights, nature’s own tapestry layered with effortless grace.
A breeze whispered through, setting the blooms to sway in lazy undulations, thick with scent that wrapped around them, intoxicating, pulling them under.
Vibrant butterflies—splashes of jewel-toned wings—darted like mischievous sprites, weaving art into the air.
A masterpiece, Ethan thought, half in awe of nature’s sleight of hand. But the wonder soured quick into wariness.
The path here had been too seamless, the meadow’s sudden bloom too jarring against the village’s gloom.
And more intriguing than the vista? That squat white cottage tucked at the meadow’s rear, unassuming as a forgotten sketch beside such splendor.
In any other world, they’d have whooped and dove in, drunk on the beauty. But this was Dreamplay—paradise always hid teeth.
As the spell of Everspring Meadow held them, the group’s thoughts snapped back to the task, eyes drifting to the cottage.
“People actually live here?” Tessa murmured, a mix of shock and quiet envy in her voice. The place tugged at her—the sun-dappled blooms, the crisp air, all of it a siren’s call to any girl’s wandering heart.
“Should we check it out?” Bennett suggested.
“Pass,” Wesley said, wiping phantom sweat from his brow, yesterday’s brush with death still raw. “Task’s just picking flowers—no need to stir up extra ghosts.”
Hazel nodded, legs unsteady. “Who knows what’s lurking in there? I’m with him.”
Oliver scratched his head, glancing Ethan’s way. “What do you think, man?”
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