Days at the Arcade

Chapter 5: Into the Simulation (Bibi)

She extended her other hand to me and I took it with two, heaving myself up.

"Wh-" I coughed "Where the hell..." I muttered. I pulled my arm up to shield my eyes.

"Hello? Hello, hello? You guys there?" The voice was obviously Jessie's, but I couldn't seem to track where it was coming from. "Oh, I can see you guys! 8-bit, we've made contact!"

I turned my head to look around for Jessie. We appeared to have spawned outside a replica of the arcade, with most of the scenery replaced with bright green diamonds and squares. The inside was brightly lit with flashing green lights, unlike the buildings next to it, which remained dark and out of focus.

Right in front of me was the game UI, the flashy green title, along with other buttons of the same color scheme that said 'Start', 'Tutorial', 'Skins', 'Options', and 'Credits'.

I was just about to press 'Start' when I saw my bat rolling on the ground at the corner of my eye.

Forgetting about everything else I lunged forward to pick it up. "Mr Bat!" I grabbed it from the floor and tightly hugged it to my chest. "Are you okay? Are you scratched?" I began quickly rambling as I closely inspected for damages. Unlike the other digitized props or assets of the video game it thankfully seemed to be normal. I swung it around a few times for good measure. So far it felt pretty realistic. It was properly weighted and the light perfectly reflected off of the barrel as I turned it in the sunlight. I had to admit that Jessie did do a good job with the graphics, although the entry could definitely use a bit of work.

When I turned my head to see Tara, expecting a disgusted expression or at least a stare. She was just looking ahead at the menu, rubbing her chin as she contemplated how it worked.

Either she turned away, didn't notice, or maybe even agreed with how I treat Mr. Bat. I mean I guess she does have the eye and everything. Maybe she was just as anxious about that as her cards and shades. I couldn't really tell. Either way, I was somewhat touched, or at the very least grateful that I didn't get the usual sneer or laugh or whatever.

Jessie tapped her mic, which was evident from the booming thunder-like noise that occurred. "Hey guys! Can you hear me? Say something!" Jessie's voice radiated from the sky, shaking the digital shrubs and vibrating the ground.

"Yeah, we can hear you! Loud and clear!" I confirmed, projecting my voice into the sky.

"What?" She called down, causing a minor earthquake.

"I SAID WE C- cAn HEAR Y-Y-Y-YoU!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. Halfway through my sentence my voice started glitching, cutting off at certain bits and the pitch shifting wildly. I blinked as I took a step back, lightly clutching my throat. That was weird. I knew I already finished puberty and I was pretty certain it wasn't a voice crack.

Tara tried shortly after but she had the same effect. "M- mmHmm. Mh–HHHmmh!" She scowled, looking downwards at herself with disgust. I was pretty sure that we wouldn't have been able to understand what she said anyway, but it was clear enough that there were a few glitches about this game.

"Hmm... that may be a problem. Hang on." Jessie said. And then silence. Me and Tara stared up at the sky, waiting for a response. After a minute or two, electricity started rising from the ground next to us, quick darts of voltage popping up from the green pavement before eventually coiling up to form something.

Jessie started speaking from the heavens again. "I talked with 8-bit and it seems like the coms are glitched. Game cartridge must be too damaged. So I managed get into the code and made a pair of walk-in talkies." Another voice in the background briefly joined in. "Or holdable transceivers, as 8-bit said." Jessie added.