If you haven't read parts 1 or 2, click here to read Run, Escape, and I will Find you and Welcome Home.
A bloodcurdling scream manifested in the distance, followed by an unnerving silence. I opened my eyes to a blinding white light in what appeared to be a hospital. As I came to my senses, I found myself alone in a dimly lit room within a sanitarium with nothing but a bed and a computer. I walked to the door to open it, to no avail. I stumbled across the room to the barred window, showing pitch black outside. As I latched onto it, trying to pry it open, a voice thundered from above, "STEP AWAY FROM THE WINDOW."
Momentarily petrified, I mumbled out, "Who are you… where am I?"
Silence.
I asked again, this time louder, "Where am I?"
Lighting struck somewhere close by, the flash illuminated the outside momentarily. It boomed again, this time revealing what looked like the hooded figure outside the window. I tripped backward and turned away immediately. Was this all just a dream – or rather a nightmare?
The lights went out, seemingly a power outage, if it weren't for the computer being on. I stood up and walked to the computer. The lights returned, now flickering. I turned on the monitor to reveal the RuneScape log in screen. I logged in and saw my Zaros hilt sitting in my inventory. "Where do I buy the Godsword shards?" I asked myself. I remembered and made my way to world 2 Falador. Walking around the park, I saw no one selling the shards. As I walked back to the middle of Falador, I saw someone selling the shards by the bridge to the White Knight's Fortress.
I wasn't in the mood to haggle, so I just paid what the player was asking. I hopped back to my homeworld, grabbed a hammer from my bank, and walked to Doric's hut to put the pieces together at the anvils. The blade gained a vibrant violet glow. Suddenly, it seemed the sun itself had set on RuneScape.
"I've been waiting for you," a player said.
I checked to see who it was. Sure enough, it was the shadowy figure whose house everyone had escaped to the night I was supposedly banned.
"Come with me," he said.
I complied and followed him toward the wilderness. Before entering, we noticed someone was following us, probably wanting to pk my Zaros godsword. When we went to confront him, I noticed that I had an attack option once again. Curious, I activated its special attack and clicked to attack. As the attack finished, he was hit for all 90 of his hitpoints. Instead of falling down as a killed player normally would, his character turned into a purple haze, which went straight into the shadowy figure's amulet.
"What just happened?" I asked confused.
"That's for me to know and you to find out. Now follow me." he replied.
He pushed back a pillar at the mind altar, revealing a trap door. I followed him down, revealing a vast, dimly-lit passage. Suddenly, the power went out and I was submerged in complete darkness. I tried to turn the laptop back on, but the battery had no charge. I felt a cold breath on the back of my neck and I turned around to fight back. As I began flailing my arms, a bright light manifested.
"Oh, good you're finally awake. How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.
I sat up, dazed and looked around. My mother and sister were sleeping on the chairs at the end of the hospital room.
"Fine, but I'd like some time to collect myself." I told the doctor.
He obliged and left the room. Relieved that the nightmare was over, I casually began observing the room. I looked out my window and saw a man walking by. I looked over at the calendar on the wall to reveal that it was very early Friday morning and I had apparently been unconscious since Sunday.
Later that morning, I was released from the hospital and rode the elevator down from the 11th floor. As we drove away, I looked up to where my window had been. Someone had walked by, but there was no place to walk. I felt the need to tell someone, but I knew no one would believe me after having passed out for almost five days.
As soon as I returned home, I went to my room and grabbed my laptop. I quickly logged in and found my character inside that same dimly-lit passage. Something was definitely wrong. I navigated my way through the passage for what seemed like hours before reaching the end.
I saw the same player again on the other side of the room, which looked like some sort of black hole. Suddenly, it hit me - his amulet was a disk of returning. Not wanting him to see me, I logged out and tried to go to bed.
An awful screeching noise manifested itself from my window. The decayed hand of His was scratching at my window. The scratching continued until I finally fell asleep. It was evident I could get no respite as I found myself imprisoned once more in the same asylum as before. I am going to die.
