Chapter Text
My name is Alex Mayer, and I'm your typical high school kid. I don't consider myself someone really remarkable but also not flat enough for my existence to go unnoticed.
I am 17 years old and live with my parents, more specifically my mother. My father died a few years ago due to a heart attack, and since then it has been just me and my mom. My life is not really complicated, in fact I would venture to say that compared to many others in a similar situation to mine I am doing relatively well.
Friends? The truth is that I don't have many, you know, being a gamer who spends all day playing in his room doesn't leave much room to form bonds. Although contrary to what it may seem people tell me that I can be very sociable.
The few friendships I have are really good. We usually go out for a walk or stay up late playing any online game until the wee hours of the morning.
Today however is one of those days when we just don't have any plans and everyone goes on their own. I probably would have gone out for a walk and maybe had something to eat, but right now I'm in my room, at my computer playing this video game that was recommended to me.
"Doki Doki Literature Club" is ostensibly a visual novel/dating simulator. Of course, that's just a facade, as behind the pretty girls on the cover is a psychological horror game that was all the rage back in 2017. Although to be honest, the impact that would have to make on me is not very big. The game came out 5 years ago, so it's normal that I already know what I'm going to find.
I tried to avoid any kind of spoilers before playing the game to try to get the purest experience possible, which was practically impossible because the internet is unforgiving and just by googling the game I had already found reddit posts screwing up the plot.
But to be honest I didn't really care much about it. I'm playing the game only because of a friend's recommendation (and because I saw it free on Steam), otherwise I'm sure I would have never tried it. It doesn't matter if it's a horror game that can really get deep, it's just that games of this type are not my thing.
That's why during the first act I simply skipped most of the dialogues. I chose Sayori's route because it seemed the easiest and simplest to do. Sure, the other girls caught my attention a bit but I never liked them enough to try any of their routes.
I continued to play disinterestedly for quite a while, until I eventually reached the end of the first act.
I knew very well what I was going to find, after all that scene became so famous on the internet that I had to watch it several times even when I didn't know anything about the game, and we are talking about 5 years ago.
It was one thing to see it in videos.
But fuck.
Seeing it on my own screen was an experience that was simply... Surreal.
Sayori lay hanging in her own room. There was blood pouring from her wrists, running down her hands and falling in drops to the floor. And her eyes...Seeing her once full blue eyes so dull and glazed over made me feel... Empty, to say the least. The damn music in the background didn't help at all, as it was just a twisted version of the game's main theme.
I knew well that this was what was going to happen once the act was over, but despite this I couldn't help but freak out at what was happening. Now I understand why this gave several people the creeps when the game came out. The scene is simply shocking.
Nevertheless, I continued to play. Monika deleted Sayori's character file and the game continued. By this point I decided to pay a little more attention to the dialogues. I know Sayori's death is inevitable, but I just can't help thinking that maybe if I had been more attentive, I could have at least made her last moments a little happier.
"Great, now I'm starting to feel emotional pity for these characters" I thought to myself.
I continued playing until I reached Act 2. Despite my attempts to try to get to Yuri and Natsuki, I was unable to do so. Monika was constantly altering the others' dialogue and personalities in order to make them less likable. Everything eventually culminated with Yuri and Natsuki dying, the former taking a knife and stabbing herself in the abdomen, and the latter dying after being deleted by Monika
Honestly, I didn't know how to feel at the time. I know the game has to be that way, and I know it's pretty hypocritical of me to have felt bad for the two of them even though I didn't bother to address them during the first act. But I can't help it. Real or not, seeing two human beings die in such a way was just cruel.
And now I was face to face with the cause of all these evils.
In the game, sitting across from me, was Monika, her head resting in her hands, smiling at me, her emerald eyes locked on me.
Monika simply proceeded to explain what she did. Apparently she is aware that she is in a video game, and all she wants is the player's attention. It was Monika who modified the game to make Sayori's depression even more severe and drive her to suicide. It was Monika who made Yuri's obsessive attitude lead her to stabbing. It was Monika who made Natsuki behave more aggressively than usual to prevent me from getting involved with her, and all to end up eliminating her just like the others.
All this was just Monika.
Just Monika.
After all that confession, I could do nothing but stare straight into the eyes of the orange-haired girl
"You know, your actions really are pathetic" I started to tell her even though I knew I wouldn't get a response "You claim to have done everything just for your love of the player, for your love of me. But ironically in the process you only made me hate you. Murdering 3 other girls just so they wouldn't have my attention is something just... Horrible if you ask me."
I honestly don't know why I'm talking to Monika as if she's real. But I just wanted to get that off my chest. If this game was trying so hard to break the fourth wall I could at least play along.
"Listen, Monika. The truth is that I have little to no interest in that love you say you have, because I don't think anything good can come out of loving someone whose obsession went so far as to cause the death of her own friends. Fuck, I wish I could have prevented it if I could, but I know that's impossible..."
At that point I was feeling emotionally drained. Sure, I didn't know absolutely nothing about the other girls to really try to replay the game to see if I could save them. But still, I felt that despite the fact that I didn't know them at all and that they were virtual characters, they deserved a happy ending.
I decided to check the time and was shocked to realize that it was already 12:00 AM. I really lost track of time while playing. I decided it was time to go to sleep, so I went to turn off the computer. Just before I pressed the off button I took one last look at the screen.
Monika was still there, staring straight ahead as if by doing so she could be observing me in detail. I don't know if it was my imagination or something, but I could have sworn that after I pressed the off button, Monika's expression faded to a thoughtful one. Anyway the screen turned off only a second later so there's no point in continuing to worry about it.
Once I was lying in bed and wrapped in my blanket I realized how mentally exhausted I really was. I guess after an experience like Doki Doki anyone would be the same.
Slowly my mind began to sink deeper and deeper into the realm of sleep, until eventually I fell in a deep slumber.
It was at that moment that everything changed.
Even without having opened my eyes, I could feel how everything around me was NOT right. It's like that feeling you get when you know something is terribly wrong without even being fully aware of the situation.
And when I opened my eyes I realized that nothing was really right.
"...Where...Where the fuck am I?"
The place I woke up in was definitely not my room. My room was totally disorganized, and I'm pretty sure I only had 2 pieces of furniture in it, plus a TV. This place however is totally different. Where there used to be a chaos of thrown clothes and dirty dishes, now there is just a totally neat room. No matter how hard I look I don't think there is a speck of dust in here.
Here...
But where is here?
I'll be honest, I'm scared right now, but can you really blame me? After all I find myself in a room that it's not my own in a house that I'm sure isn't mine. Hell for all I know I was kidnapped in my sleep and now I'm being held here.
Still bewildered and with fear and uncertainty running through my body, I got out of bed. I took a few more minutes to observe the place.
A bookshelf with a stack of books and a television, a small desk, a nightstand, a door that seems to lead to a closet, and a laptop.
As I looked around the room, I couldn't help but notice something. Although it seemed so at first, this room is not so different from mine. Leaving aside the nightstand, the closet, and the laptop instead of a PC, the room was almost a replica of mine. All the furniture was pretty much in the same place, the only difference being the lack of clutter. Yet there were still differences from my room. My bookshelf was not as big, plus I had never in my life filled it with books, and the general decor of the place was not the same.
Discovering that this place was almost a perfect replica of my room did nothing to calm my nerves, so I decided to leave the room so I could explore more of the rest of this house.
When I placed my hand on the knob I simply stood there for a few seconds, thinking.
"Maybe...Maybe all this has a logical explanation. When I open this door, I'm going to find my house just as I remember it. My mom will be on the other side smiling at me, maybe with a cup of coffee in her hand, ready to explain to me what's going on" I said to myself.
After all, there's got to be an explanation, right? It's just a misunderstanding or something. Hell for all I know I'm still asleep and as soon as I walk through the door I'm going to wake up back in my bed.
So clinging to the hope that everything would return to normal, I turned the knob, slowly opened the door and...
"...Shit."
Yup.
This is definitely not my home.
Deciding to finally leave the room, I began to slowly move down the hallway heading for the stairs...Stairs that my house did not have...
I honestly don't quite know what I expected to find. The possibility that I had been kidnapped was still very high, but in that case I don't understand why my captors would simply let me roam the house at my leisure instead of locking me in the room.
Once I reached the first floor, I began to examine my surroundings.
On one side of the room was a sofa. It was not particularly large, but big enough for at least 3 people to sit on it. In front of the couch was a glass table and a television with some other pieces of furniture around. Nothing really remarkable about it.
I decided to head to the other side of the room, where I assume the kitchen is located.
The truth is that if I wasn't in this situation I would take several minutes to contemplate the kitchen more thoroughly. I don't consider myself someone who really likes to cook, but even I have to admit when a kitchen is well equipped. It was totally clean, with its pots, pans, dishes and other silverware all neatly in place. Plus the overall decor of the place gives it an air elegance and modernity. I should mention that this kitchen is almost as big as a room, unlike mine whose size could be equated to that of a slightly larger bathroom.
I opened the refrigerator. Not because I was really hungry, I did it simply so I wouldn't leave any corner of the kitchen unexplored.
I honestly don't know what surprised me more, either the fact that the fridge was overflowing with food and products of all kinds, or that everything inside was from brands I had never seen before in my life.
Wait a moment.
...Are they Japanese food brands?
I decided to take the first thing I saw (a jar of mustard) to give it a closer inspection. Indeed, it is Japanese.
I started going through each and every product in the fridge, hoping to find something non-Japanese. But after a few minutes passed I realized that, indeed, the fridge did not have any American products in it, only Japanese.
"Whoever the person is that has me here seems to be obsessed with Japan...God please let it not be an Otaku who kidnapped me to make a sacrifice and awaken the Sharingan or some shit like that..."
Returning to the living room, I sat down on the couch. As I did so, I couldn't help but let out a sigh. I really can't figure out what the fuck is going on.
Where the hell am I?
How did I get here?
Who brought me here?
And most importantly.
Can I go home if I want to?
I need to figure out what I'm going to do next. Contacting the authorities sounds like a good idea, maybe the laptop in the upstairs room has an internet connection. I could go online and try to ask the police for help somehow, since I don't have my phone with me.
Although I don't even know where I am to be able to give directions to the police, I should look out of a window or something-
Wait.
Did I really forget to check the windows?!
Slapping my head at my own stupidity, I got up from the couch. How the hell did I not notice the windows? Fuck, there's one right next to the front door...And come to think of it I didn't check said door either.
I am beginning to believe that if I ever die, it will be a product of my own stupidity.
But I didn't get very far anyway, because as soon as I took a few steps I could hear someone knocking at the very door I was heading for.
Instantly panic swept through my body.
"That's it. I had many opportunities to escape and I didn't take them. Now my captor is going to come in and I'm going to die here. I'm fucking stupid."
Frightened, I could do nothing but watch the door intently, waiting for it to open at any moment to reveal what would probably be my executioner or torturer. Accepting my fate, I simply stood there, waiting for the inevitable.
...But it never came.
Surprisingly, the person on the other side of the door did not enter. I know he is still there, I can see his shadow. But he has made no attempt to enter. If I were not mistaken I would say that he is waiting for me to open the door.
*Knock *Knock *Knock *Knock *Knock*
...Okay, I'm not wrong, the person is actually waiting for the door to be opened.
At that moment I didn't know what to do. I still have a chance to look for somewhere to hide, or maybe I can escape through a window on the second floor and leave this place forever.
Although... I don't know why, but I have this feeling deep inside me that tells me it would be best to open the door.
I know it goes against my most basic survival instinct to go full out and face the danger instead of looking for a way to get to safety. But I just can't shake this feeling that whoever is behind the door is someone I need to see.
So I decided to head for the door, but not before grabbing one of the knives from the kitchen so I could defend myself in case things got ugly. I'm not stupid enough to go unarmed into imminent danger.
Placing my hand on the knob, I couldn't help but become totally nervous. My hands were trembling slightly, my heart was pounding at an accelerated rate, and my breathing was rapid and somewhat erratic.
I have no idea what I'm going to find once I open this door, but I can't delay the inevitable. So in one swift movement, I turned the knob, opened the door and...
I dropped the knife.
I don't quite know what I expected to find on the other side, but it was definitely not what was in front of me.
That orange hair pulled back in a ponytail with a distinctive white ribbon. That school uniform. Those emerald eyes that kept staring at me through the screen.
And that smile that served as a mask for the monster behind it.
Standing in front of the door was Monika, the president of the literature club.