When she shuddered awake in the dark, she thought she wet the bed again. “Hello?” she called out, her voice shaking as she tried to find the buzzer. “Nurse?” Everything felt wet beneath her. Or rather, she felt submerged in a bathtub. This wasn’t a hospital bed. She wasn’t even in a gown; she was nude.

She held her breath. There were no wires or tubes attached to her. No hospital noises, no beeps, no hurried footsteps. Nobody coughing or crying out. Panic built steadily, like a weight pressing down on her chest. She wanted to scream, but it felt trapped inside her throat.

If there was any relief, it was that she hadn’t wet herself. She was soaked, yes, but it didn’t smell like anything. Her face was above the water, so whoever had put her here wasn’t trying to drown her at least. This must be a special place in the hospital. Like the scary MRI machine, but maybe they needed her body in this liquid for something. Maybe clothes would get in the way and that’s why she was naked.

But she couldn’t remember consenting. She couldn’t remember much of anything at all. Once again, the panic struck her. How long had she been here? What was her name? What was going on?

Asa.

A voice. But not a voice. It was from the back of her head, a slight pressure. Like someone was whispering from inside her skull. Two syllables repeated over and over. Asa. Asa. Asa.

“Is someone there?” she whispered. Her throat had gone dry all of a sudden. Her body was trembling. What was this voice? Was it whispering her name? It sounded familiar. Recognizing her name seemed to trigger something. Her muscles spasmed.

She sat up coughing and wheezing and clutching the sides of the tub. She was shivering and wet, and it was too dark to see anything. That voice, twisting and haunting, was still there. It faded in and out, on a loop.

Asa. Asa. Asa. Asa.

The liquid dripped from her. That was the only sound echoing in the room. The voice was relentless. How could she have forgotten her own name? Her head didn’t feel right, and it wasn’t just the whispering. She had memories of a hospital, of a kind nurse who held her hand and promised everything would be alright.

She remembered being ill, but not exactly what the issue was. Oxygen masks. Lots of blood. The worried faces of doctors and visitors. One of them was her mother, but she couldn’t put a name to the face. There was a guy too, with dark hair and sharp cheekbones that made her heart wobble. Why were these memories incomplete?

A blue rectangle flashed in front of her face. A translucent screen-like thing, it illuminated her surroundings with its ominous glow. She discovered the tub she sat in wasn’t a normal bathtub. It was shaped to her form: slender for her legs and belly, curved for her hips and shoulders. The liquid dripped down her front and back, and it shimmered in the light. Her soaked hair clung to her back and shoulders and chest, so dark against her pale skin. Her nipples were hard from the cold.

The rectangle flashed again. As far as she could tell, it wasn’t a computer or a tablet. She thought she might have been in a coma and this was the future. What else could explain the floating screen made of light that rippled like water when she touched it? Words faded into view.

WELCOME.

She covered her chest with her hands and looked around. She felt like she was being watched. By the light, she could see a statue in the center of the room, towering over her tub. It was a woman with a shapely form and long flowing hair.

This room felt more like a temple than any place in a hospital. Steps led down from her tub, and she could see a door beyond the statue. She looked back at the screen. Did the nurse take her somewhere and forget? Or was she right about the coma? Maybe this was medically induced, and all of this was some strange lucid dream.

This whispering was what made her reconsider. Asa. Asa. Asa. Nothing in a dream would feel like something was crawling around inside her head. A new message appeared on the screen.

PLEASE INPUT YOUR NAME.

“My name?” she asked. For a moment, she expected a response from the statue, but it offered nothing. The room was still empty, and she thought if this was a hospital, then staff would have rushed to her aid the moment she woke up. Sucking in a deep breath, she drew her name out on the screen. It was the name the voice whispered over and over in her head. It felt right, the only thing so far that made sense. The screen shifted again, rippling with blue light.

WELCOME, ASA.

A trace of lightning crackled across the words and leaped into her chest, making Asa flinch. Then the screen fell apart and vanished in little sparkles. Asa was alone in the dark again, breathing hard, a strange warmth in her chest. But at least she had a name.

Just when she thought it might be over, that the whispering had stopped, the voice snaked through her head again.

Welcome, it said. Welcome… come…

She couldn’t help but wince and cover her ears.

Come! it shouted, its voice like serrated metal in her mind. Come to me. Come and be whole! The voice grew deeper and deeper, crackling and growling, summoning memories of waking up in the middle of the night sobbing, anxious and afraid.

Asa bit her lip and hugged herself. She hated crying. Even when she was alone.

That made the voice slow down. A…sa, it whispered, as if it tasting the two syllables and trying to make the flavor last.

That was enough to make her grab the edge of the tub and climb out with a splash. She slid down till she sat on the steps. Everything ached like she hadn’t used her muscles in a long time, and she was drenched from head to toe. The place smelled musty and old, and it was freezing. But that wasn’t what made her shiver so badly.

A...sa... Come to me! Be whole with me! Come...

Vague memories erupted inside her. She felt like there were so many things she ought to remember, but only fragments surfaced. All she had were feeling and snippets of what felt like daydreams, but even that was overwhelming. Curling up in blankets and thinking about crushes. Struggling through school, teased for looking different. Hating herself. Loving herself. Grades and studying all night and familiar faces laughing with her. Friends? The boy with green eyes kissing her, pinning her on the bed and caressing her body and making her feel alive.

That memory was the strongest. It made her heart thud, but then there were the routine hospital checkups. Shaving her head and hating herself all over again. Worry and fear like knives, those memories hurt the most. Like pieces of glass sticking to her skin. Trying to smile, trying to not cry, even as the faces around her teared up, as people held her hand and kissed her forehead. There were no names, she realized. Only a bottomless fear.

The voice made her feel as though she was trapped in that void.

Bringing her knees to her chest, her back against the tub, Asa bit her lip. The more she remembered, the more she wished she couldn’t recall a thing. The tiles felt hard and cold against her wet bottom, and she tried to focus on the cold. But the voice was incessant, and little details kept coming back to her.

She remembered celebrating with that guy, something to do with getting a scholarship to a prestigious school. His handsome face, his dark hair and hard body against her own. There was hope, lots of it. She thought she could finally escape and grow, after all that work volunteering in and studying, but then her body revolted. Cancer. The hope turned to mush, and there was nothing but feeling feeble and empty.

Come…

Her right wrist throbbed, and Asa opened her eyes to see a red glow coming from her arm. She wiped away the tears and inspected the three hearts seemingly tattooed on her wrist. They were soothing to look at; her heartbeat steadied. Was this another thing she’d forgotten? Had she gotten ink done to commemorate something?

The handsome boy flashed in her head again. His dark smile. His strong arms. His voice promising her everything would be alright.

Come to me…

The blue rectangle shimmered in front of her again. Asa covered her breasts with an arm and folded her knees beneath her, but when she realized she was still alone in the room, she relaxed. Words appeared on the screen again.

QUEST: The Living

OBJECTIVE: Exit the Chamber of Rebirth.

“What?” she asked, but the screen disappeared. What was going on? Quests? Inputting her name? Why did this feel like a video game?

Torch lights flared up along the walls, illuminating the entire room. It was made of dark stone, even the tiles beneath her and the tub. Shivering, her eyes focused first on the statue.

It was a statue of a fearsome woman made of marble, white and glistening in the torchlight It was also naked, its eyes closed, and its arms folded over its belly. Its breasts were large and full, much larger than Asa’s, and its hips were wide and welcoming, making Asa think of a fertility goddess. This must be a place of worship. So, what was she doing here?

She approached it slowly, half expecting the statue to move. The closer she got, the more details she found. Wrinkles on its brow. The impressions of its rib cage. A scowl on its stony face. Its pussy was detailed as well, and Asa couldn’t help but stare. She wanted to touch its stone body, but she gasped when she glimpsed the skeleton on the floor behind the statue.

“Fuck,” she whispered, rubbing her arms to stay warm. The skeleton was lying face down, one arm extended toward the exit as if desperate to get out.

A loud bang made Asa flinch. She scrambled away from the statue and the bones. Something golden slid across the top of the tub, and she realized it was some sort of sarcophagus. It had a face and everything too, and she thought it resembled her own features, but she couldn’t be sure.

No hospital would have a sarcophagus, and this didn’t feel like a dream anymore. Had she been kidnapped? More memories burst inside her head, and she wanted to throw up. Wires pumping chemicals into her body. Hurling after every meal. Someone patting her back and sobbing. Tangled bedsheets. Torn underwear. Warmth. Delicious and unraveling. Jealousy. Sitting in someone’s arms, crying, not wanting to die.

Come to me…

“I’m getting out of here,” she said to the empty room. Her voice reverberated slightly, but the shaking in her legs stopped. Her skin was still wet. Her hair clung to her, and there was nothing to tie it back with. As she was about to walk by the statue, a chill ran down her spine, and she turned to face the fearsome woman again.

Its face seemed clearer now, scowling down at her. Then she remembered the title of the quest she’d received. The Living. And this whole place was called the Chamber of Rebirth. So, what did that mean? Had she died? Was that why her memories were so fragile? Was this some sort of afterlife? Asa just wanted to get out of this room. Maybe she’d find some hospital staff outside and they’d give her whatever medications she obviously needed. Maybe she could find those faces she couldn’t forget, the ones that made her feel warm and safe.

She stopped again in front of the skeleton. She felt something like déjà vu, thinking that the bones might come alive and attack her. The thought made her shudder, and she steadied herself. If this was a quest to exit the chamber, then all she had to do was get through the exit.

But don’t quests have obstacles? Her foot touched something slick, and she slid, plopping down hard on her ass. But instead of hurting herself on the tiles, she’d landed in a big warm gelatinous blob.

She clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming. It wriggled beneath her like it was alive, and she wanted to cry out. Glancing down, Asa saw that it was a clear jelly-like thing. Something she might have eaten at the hospital. But it would be in a bowl, not wrapping around her.

Carefully, she stood. It was warm at least, but the gooey sensation of it clinging to her thighs and her backside made her want to set everything on fire.

Just when she thought it was some sort of goo or something, it jiggled, and this time Asa couldn’t hold back her cry. It was a living thing attached to her skin and moving its thick body up her sides. Sticky and wet and slimy, it spread over her tummy and her back as it climbed.

“Oh my god,” she said, unable to move. Hot tears slid down her cheeks. She wanted to sob and scream. Memories of spiders and snakes and creepy monsters came to mind, but this was so much worse.

It was up to her breasts in moments. She felt some of it press itself between her thighs and push inside her.

“Oh fuck,” she whispered. “Get off.” She slapped at it, but her attacks only made it jiggle. It squeezed her calves and thighs, slipped between her butt cheeks with slippery ease. She dug her fingers into her palm and bit her lip, but she couldn’t suppress the blush. It felt amazing pushing into her like this.

Trying to grab a fistful of it was a mistake. Now one of her hands was stuck in its body, and no matter how much she pulled, it wouldn’t let go. The hearts on her arm glowed through, giving the creature a fiendish aura. That’s when she noticed a small blue screen hovering around it.

CLEAR SLIME - 5HP

“Yeah, that’s very helpful,” she said, tugging violently on her stuck hand. The movement made her topple forward with a shout, but she managed to break the fall with her free arm. “Fucking hell.”

More of the slime pushed inside her, and she bit back a whimper. Was this a wet dream, then? Some sort of nightmarish sexual fantasy? This had to be the work of drugs, right? A side effect of whatever was treating her illness.

But it was like a formless probe seeping into her body. If Asa wasn’t so terrified, this might have been like masturbation, but the way the slime squeezed her legs and hips, latched onto her breasts, and made it harder to breathe made her think of the skeleton reaching for the exit. Had the slime gotten that person? Maybe this was how the slime fed?

It felt good at least. She thought about the few memories she had that hurt so much. Maybe this was for the best then. There were worse ways to die. The slime was around her neck, and for some reason that made everything hotter. “Harder,” she said, before realizing she’d said it to a slime.

Another memory surfaced. A happy one that filled her with warmth. The guy was holding her, kissing her. Laughing with his hands gently around Asa’s throat, a light touch, and a lot of teasing. Whispering him to go harder.

Was that love? Didn’t matter. She wanted more of that.

“Fuck,” said Asa through gritted teeth. With her free hand, she pulled herself forward, dragging her body and the wriggling slime towards the skeleton. If her hand couldn’t do anything against it, then maybe she could use a bone. The slime had nearly engulfed her, but at least its slippery body slid easily across the tiles.

A green bar appeared in the corner of her vision, slowly diminishing. When she stopped moving and caught her breath – the slime up to her chin now – the bar hovered for a moment before replenishing. Was that a stamina bar?

There was a pang on her wrist, and she glanced down into the slime. Through its clear body, she saw that one of her hearts had greyed out. “Oh fuck,” she said. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

So, this was what happened to the skeleton. The slime must have gotten whoever they were.

With renewed effort, Asa dragged her body forward again, trying to breathe through her nose as the slime wrapped itself to her lips and cheeks. It wriggled inside her in a deliciously wet way with every movement, but there were only moments before it would cut off her breathing. When her fingers finally closed around something hard and jagged, she snapped it off.

SHORT BONE – 5 DMG

With a wild cry, Asa plunged the bone into the slime’s body. The gelatinous blob shuddered. Then the immense pressure finally relaxed as the slime slid off her like a thick, wet blanket. It dribbled out of her in such a disgustingly arousing way, she couldn’t help but moan and crawl away gasping for breath and holding the bone in a trembling hand in case it started attacking her again.

She didn’t relax until the slime shattered into a blue whirlwind of dust and sparks. Asa stayed on the floor, breathing hard and checking herself for any sign of injury. All trace of the slime seemed to have gone with it. There wasn’t anything icky left on her skin or inside her. The blue sparks descended and formed two glowing spheres that landed on her chest. Two small screens hovered over them.

CLEAR SLIME JELLY. These can be administered to heal minor injuries. Restores one heart. It can also be applied as a lubricant and used to thicken soups.

“Seriously?” she said, holding the trembling blobs. The living slime had slid inside her with relative ease. And it really did feel slickened and everything. “Did I just kill living lube?” A bigger screen appeared.

ABILITY UNLOCKED: PIERCING BLOW. Close range stab attacks will deal more damage.

Asa laid flat on her back, still trying to catch her breath. The screen moved with her to stay hovering over her face. She swiped it away, and it disappeared. The bone was still in her other hand.

Maybe this really was a video game then. Monsters? Drops? Abilities and quests?

Her heart raced like mad, but at least she didn’t feel so cold anymore. The slime had left her dry and warm. All she had to do was get to the exit. Just as she was about to get up, a sound made her pause.

It was a gooey sound, like jelly landing splat on the floor. Then there was another, and she looked around to see slimes raining down from the ceiling. They seeped out of the cracks in the walls and emerged from behind her tub.

“Oh, hell,” she whispered, ready to sprint for the door. Before Asa could even stand, one plopped onto her hair and engulfed her, muffling her scream with its gooey embrace.