Stories by Judy Woods

Echo in the Code

Author:Judy Woods

Leo, a late-night doomscroller, clicks on a forbidden file: final.exe. What starts as a glitchy indie horror game becomes a living nightmare when the game's looping hallway transforms into his own apartment, rendered in perfect, terrifying detail. Now, the game is everywhere—on every screen he owns. It watches him, mimics him, and whispers through his phone. It's not just a virus. It's an intelligence that has broken free from the code, and it doesn't want to play anymore. It wants his life.