PENNED PAGES

7 | MVP

I spent hours sitting in front of my desktop, trying to write a speech for my father's funeral. Being orphaned at 21 had taken a huge toll on me. It hadn't even been two years since I mourned the loss of my mother, and now my father was dying untimely due to natural causes, and not his game like I expected. My father had devoted so much time to creating this game, using it as a way to cope with the grief of losing my mother. He had immersed himself in it, rather than processing the trauma. I had to handle everything on my own, and now I found myself in the position of having to do it again.

My father meant the world to me, but I struggled to find the right words on the desktop. So, I turned to the internet, searching for what others had to say about him and his game. Multiple results showed up, indicating his popularity. I clicked on several websites, hoping to find inspiration, but none of them resonated with me. I couldn't simply steal someone else's thoughts about him.

Feeling tired of researching his game, I stumbled upon an ad for "The Complete Levels of 'Among Us'." Although I wasn't a fan of my father's game and hadn't really played it myself, I decided to explore this. After all, my father had never managed to finish the final level before he passed away.

It was disheartening to see scammers attempting to profit from my father's hard work. Intrigued, I clicked the ad, which redirected me to the mysterious "dark web." The experience was obscure, and nothing seemed to make sense. As I tried to exit, multiple webpages started opening, bombarding me with strange visuals and encrypted messages before everything went blank.

...

When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a filling station that resembled the one from my father's game, 'Among Us,' but it appeared more advanced, possibly an updated version as I hadn't played the game in years. The station was enclosed and isolated, with only one exit door. There was no smell of fuel in the air, and everything felt peculiar.

I noticed holographic symbols on various objects, flashing their names, purposes, and instructions in comic book quotation boxes. A timer displayed on top indicated 30 minutes remaining, though I wasn't sure what it was for. I realized I was wearing a different outfit, similar to that of a petrol station attendant—a red shirt and black trousers with a "Crewmate" tag.

Understanding that I was a crewmate, I assumed it was up to me to fill the keg that requested fuel. I grabbed the nozzle, opened the keg, and attempted to fill it with 10 liters, but it emitted a harsh sound, indicating the need for money to purchase the fuel.

The ATM glowed brightly, suggesting its purpose. I approached the ATM, and without a card, it lit up, asking how much I wanted. To continue, I needed to know the price per liter. Glancing at a tiny signboard that read, 'Fuel 650/L, Diesel 700/L, Kerosene 400/L,' I calculated that I required a total of 6,500 naira to fill the keg. I withdrew a rounded figure of 10,000 naira.

As I filled the 10-liter keg and returned it to the store compartment, I discovered a 25-liter keg waiting for me. I hurriedly withdrew more money and continued filling kegs. It seemed like I was leveling up as I completed each task, but the timer continued to count down.

Finally, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and leave the station through the door. To my surprise, I found myself in a labyrinthine compartment. There were no visible directions or maps, and I realized I had made a grave mistake. The situation worsened when I spotted a suspicious person dressed in a blue shirt, seemingly trying to hide. With the limited knowledge I had of my father's game and what I had read, I understood that I, as a "crewmate," could be killed by an "imposter." And the person in blue appeared highly suspicious, potentially fitting the profile of an imposter.

Without hesitation, I started running in the opposite direction, taking left and right turns in the hope of finding another crewmate completing a task. The timer turned red as it crossed less than 90 seconds. Panic gripped me, and I raced toward another glowing red object in a small compartment. It turned out to be a horn, and although I didn't know its purpose, I remembered that it could bring the crewmates together, at least.
Four people came running in my direction, including the person in blue. Each of them was dressed in different colors but wore the same pair of black jeans. Their tags displayed their names instead of their roles. The person in blue was AJB, while the others were TeeJay in yellow, Lamlam in purple, and Ify in green. It wasn't surprising that they all used nicknames. It was a video game after all.