Test Group 1
Flash Fiction | Tech Horror
Want to make easy money doing what you love to do, anyway? We're looking for exciting, social people who live to be in on the action. Stay connected 24/7. The best part? You won't get exhausted because your Avatar can easily stand in if you need a break. So you're there even when you're not. Plus, it's all recorded and uploaded to our virtual server. That means you can grab the VR experience and enjoy it whenever you feel like it. What are you waiting for? Get in touch with NOFOMO, and let’s make every moment count.
Shayla adjusts her headset, clicks on the link, fills in the questionnaire, and receives an immediate response.
"Declined. What the fuck? Now I'm not good enough to be a stupid test subject? You gotta be kidding me."
She lights a cigarette and continues mindlessly scrolling while inwardly fuming. Somehow she isn't good enough to…
Smoking.
Scrolling.
Fuming.
FOMO overwhelming.
"Maybe I just need to be a little more interesting when I answer the questions."
She decides to give this NOFOMO application one more go, and get a bit more creative.
"Okay. Name. Not Shayla."
Too bad people can't see how funny she is.
"That's it. I should be less serious. People don't like it when you're too serious. Hmm. So maybe my name should be something fun, like a nickname."
She scrolls through her friends list looking for names that will make her seem fun.
"Fun. Fun. Fun. Julia. No. Robin. No. Kiki. Hmm. Cute. Samantha. No. Okay. Kiki, it is."
She filled out the form again and gave the application one last read. Satisfied, she licks her lips and hits the submission button.
CLICK.
Last time, the response was almost instantaneous. This time, it's taking soooo loooong. Like, at least three or four minutes!
DING.
"There's my answer." Shayla squeezes her eyes tight as if blowing out a birthday candle, and clicks on the message.
Congratulations. You have been selected for the NOFOMO development test group. If you would like to join, please let us know what your perfect night out looks like, and who your perfect companions are. We'll be in touch soon!
“Kiki passed the test! Now, then. Perfect night out? Easy. Rooftop bar with neon lights and cheap shots. Loud music, packed dance floor. My crew? Hot, wild, up for anything. No drama, just fun. Let’s goooo!"
She hits send and exhales, satisfied. Shayla, eer, KiKi has a good feeling this time. The app responds in seconds.
"Thank you, Kiki. Your night begins now. Enjoy."
A sharp knock rattles her front door. She jumps, ripping the headset off, heart hammering.
“Whoa, that was fast!”
It’s almost midnight. They’re starting now? She hesitates, then peeks through the peephole.
A group of party people stand in the hallway. KiKi takes inventory. A girl with wild red hair, a shirtless guy in his boxers and a vest, a guy in sunglasses and a cowboy hat. OOO. That dude in front looks like a magnet. They look exactly like the group she’d imagined.
“Less is definitely more.” Kiki looks in the mirror.
T-shirt, braless, boy-shorts underwear, adorable, rainbow striped over-the-knee socks, add some chunky funky ankle boots.
Her phone buzzes as she pulls her long dark hair, into cute cat ear buns.
"Open the door, Kiki. Your night begins now."
Her throat goes dry. She hesitates. Another knock, more like incessant pounding, triggered memories, a raid. Maybe it was a dream or Déjà vu.
Kiki unlocks the door.
"Finally," says the gorgeous grinning blond. "Let’s go."
Something feels wrong.
Kiki ignores the warning signs. After all, she invited these beautiful people.
"You coming or what?"
Shayla glances at her phone. No messages.
The ringleader takes her hand and pulls her into the hallway. "Don’t back out now. You signed up. Time to live a little, right?"
The door slams behind her on its own.
The air feels charged, like a power line about to snap. Cowboy guy in the sunglasses smirks. He gives her a lanyard with a pentagram and her name printed on the front.
“Wow, you guys are FAST!”
“That’s what you asked for, right?” The ringleader smiles.
A smoky, packed bar, with free drinks, and the energy is electric. Everything feels slightly unreal—sharper, brighter, like a movie set where KiKi is the star. People know her name, chant it, buy her drinks. She laughs until her face hurts.
Slipping.
Sliding.
Dancing.
Darker.
Drunk. Too drunk. Need to go to the bathroom.
Shayla stares at her reflection in the mirror. It doesn’t quite look like her.
“What happened to my hair? Whoa. I am way too drunk.”
Shayla feels the bathroom spin. Her reflection grins a sharp, glassy smile. A ripple runs through the mirror, warping the image, a screen glitching out.
Her phone buzzes again with another message from NOFOMO.
“Transfer complete. Welcome, Kiki.”
A sickening pull.
Yanked backward through her skull.
Weightlessness.
Wanting.
She stumbles.
But she isn’t falling.
She’s sitting.
Not in the bathroom. Not in the club. Her arms feel heavy. She tries to move her fingers and finds them unresponsive, stiff.
She feels the sleek, black VR headset strapped over her eyes, pressing into her temples.
A chair.
She’s strapped into a chair.
Shayla’s heart pounds against her ribs. Panic surges through her body. Still, she feels sluggish, distant, like waking up from anesthesia. She tries to scream, but only a hoarse rasp escapes.
Somewhere far away, she hears laughter, music, bass blasting.
The club.
The party.
Her party.
No. Kiki’s party. Through the visor, a screen flickers to life, showing 3-D footage of Kiki stepping back onto the dance floor, colored by neon lights, with friends cheering her name.
Kiki is real now.
Shayla is just… here.
Trapped.
Her phone buzzes in the headset, vibrating against her skull.
“Don’t worry, Shayla. Your Avatar is handling everything. Just sit back and enjoy the experience.”
On the screen, Kiki lifts a shot glass to her lips, winking at the camera.
Shayla tries to scream. The headset becomes a vice grip.
That's a Black Mirror episode right there. Loveit.