"Are you scared?"

The silence in the room, thick and vast; was suddenly broken by snores and giggles. Shadows danced here and there along with the movement of the dim candlelight.

Tessa stared at the smiling faces of her sleeping roommates one by one. They looked like they were happy as they slumbered.

They must be happy. So why? Why this unshakeable feeling? This fear.

She laughed nervously at Sadie, her best friend. They had been friends even while they were still navigating through crawling and baby language.
Sadie had been an ugly baby. She only grew uglier as the years passed. As a teenager, mirrors made her cry.

Now as Tessa stared at Sadie's perfect small face and short blonde hair, she looked every bit like a model.

There's nothing money can't buy, Tessa thought as she stared at her new set of teeth glowing more than the only source of light in the room. A lone candle.

PING. . .PING

The sound told both girls that it was time. Sadie squeezed Tessa's hand hard; it was her way of encouraging her friend. Worry etched Sadie's face darkening the edges.

"It’s going to be okay Tess. You know you can trust me. . . You can trust us." She caught a sinister glint on the soft lines around Sadie’s mouth as she bit off the last word. It was gone as soon as it had appeared. Maybe she had imagined it. Or maybe. . . No, no. She had imagined it.

“Let’s go,” Tessa said taking a deep breath, her eyes shut tight. "I’m ready."

“Are you sure Tess?” Sadie squeezed tighter, her voice reflecting worry, her eyes two black holes swallowed by grimy essence.

"Yes! Just go already!" She implored, pulling her hands free.

Sadie waited just a while then grabbed her phone, unlocked it, and pressed the big button that glowed on the screen. Almost immediately, she fell back unconscious.

She looked peaceful, smiling just like the others.

Tessa grabbed her phone and scrolled through. She saw the app. ELSEWHERE. . .

It was all everyone talked about and yet it was a secret. A visual world you enter when you sleep. They would meet together, laugh, gossip and party all night. Sadie had been begging her to join for months. She had refused for so long. It just felt creepy as fuck.

Elsewhere. . .

Who names an app Elsewhere? And what's with the dream Voodoo stuff?

During the last few days, Sadie had gone from asking to begging till she had used their sacred bestie bond promise. The sacred bestie bond promise was "Sacred". Both girls knew just how sacred it was.

Her finger hovered on Uninstall.
Do it! Get it over it!
Her heart slammed hard against her chest as her whole body quivered against her will. The silence wasn’t helping. The candle would soon die off. Just fucking uninstall it!

The sound of a ping from her phone brought her back from her troubled thoughts with a start. The big ENTER button glowed on her screen. She closed her eyes, praying silently to a God she hadn’t spoken to since she left home.

She pressed the button.
***

The air burned with mist and dark energy. The walls on both sides were taut and wet. The enclosed darkness stretched far. The place smelled foul. Like decay.

This didn’t feel right. Was this how they welcomed new members? It was scary and it felt so real but she told herself it was all a dream. She was probably in the room sleeping with a foolish smile across her face just like the rest of her roommates. Just a stupid realistic...