Displaced - Book One of the Alternate Reality Series

Chapter 8

Eric walked into his study, sat at his computer, and moved his thumb over the start sensor. Seconds later, the bluish holo-screen glowed to life.

Having just returned from the Vale's, where he spoke with Chad in person, he now planned to investigate Chad's online activities. Specifically, he would follow up on Arvin's information.

Arvin said that Chad belonging to the Crypt Keepers, an organization that murdered avatars in virtual worlds and filmed these events. At the Vales residence, Chad didn't admit this outright, but he hinted at belonging to certain groups, and Eric decided to see if this murderous ring was one. However, the decision wasn't without worry.

As Eric opened a search window, he considered the realism of virtual murder. Having never set foot in net space before, he didn't know what to expect, only that tech had radically virtual believability. Because of this, he feared that what lied ahead would be more than just splotchy video game pixels, reminiscent of the titles he played some fifteen years ago.

Eric entered Crypt Keepers into the search bar, and their site rapidly appeared. He frowned. Evidently, their webpage scored countless hits, though that didn't surprise him. Anyone harboring a lust for the macabre could easily satisfy themselves within the Internet's anonymity, and they often did. He opened the link.

The Crypt Keeper's homepage arced across his desk, the image nothing short of haunting. The black and gray color scheme displayed a nighttime graveyard, one with an antiquated crypt lurking in the background, maybe late 1800s. Or perhaps it only appeared dated from the heavy tangles of vegetation crawling up its sides. The tendrils seemed intent on consuming the worn edifice, and in this regard, they made progress, as the entire structure tilted while they swallowed it whole.

Eric rattled away the image's effects, then focused on the page's navigation options. Numerous links scattered throughout, but none were accessible, as user had to create a profile before proceeding. After an annoyed breath, he clicked on the New Users link, which activated a popup window with empty data slots.

The first slot asked for a screenname, and Eric, deciding to keep in line with the Crypt Keeper theme, typed Bee Keeper. Milliseconds later, a popped appeared, saying that no other user had this identifier.

He inputted the remaining data, and now with full access to the page, he opened the Keepers link, assuming this would navigate him to the active users. It did.

He scanned through the list and frowned once more. All the names were aliases, making it impossible to tell which belonged to Chad. Nevertheless, he carefully read each, thinking one might hint at the Vale's eldest son. Then after coming across a likely hit, he leaned forward.

"Hanging Chad."

Eric observed Hanging Chad's profile picture, a grim reaper's scythe set against a black background. That didn't say much, so he looked down and read over the biographical data, stopping after the first few lines. Chad wasn't eight-hundred years old, nor was he born in Dante's 5th circle, though if he did call one of the rings home, the circle of anger seemed rather appropriate.

Skipping what remained, Eric opened Hanging Chad's Videos link, and a new page morphed into view. The page, which still showed an eerie nighttime cemetery but no crypt, listed seven videos, Eric unsure if this number fell below or above the average. Either way, one was too many.

The videos were titled according to what world they were shot in. The titles also included duration times, with each only averaging one-minute. But did that reflect Hanging Chad's editing preferences or administrator mandates? Eric didn't know this either, but in any event, the clips only seemed to contain the gruesome final act.