Video Games

Chapter Eleven

"Kynos and I ended up with different game preferences; he liked shoot-em-up games and I liked horror games, such as Slenderman and Eyes. In fact, that's where my record is: I hold the record for the one hundred percentage completion of Eyes II, where you have to collect all fifty bags on extreme mode. I also used to hold the record for the third and most recent Eyes game, but some guy in Korea managed to take that title from me." Nysan continues to talk, reminiscing over the times he spent playing games and how his brother would always support him. "Kynos played the very original Grand Theft Auto game continuously - his record was for the all mission completion on the original GTA game."

"I played the seventh one, but I never really enjoyed eight or nine. Nine has amazing graphics, I'll give it that, but it isn't really my forte. Nostalgic games are my favourite by a long shot," I say, thinking of how long it's been since my hands have rested on a Nintendo console. "Did Kynos or you ever enjoy the old games for Nintendo consoles or the SEGA console or anything?" This isn't in any way about me, why did I even bring my own childhood up? Is this place turning me into a selfish person?

"As kids, we loved old web browser games. Nothing that really gets sped run, but we enjoyed the simple flash games that the internet provided for us," Nysan replies. His eyes have dried slightly and his head is listed now, revealing his face to me. "My favourite one had this penguin and you had to feed all of the customers before closing time. It was just so addictive! You could buy upgrades and collect amazing roller skates and a television and stuff. There wasn't a save file though so we'd have to start fresh every single time we wanted to play."

Nysan finally swallows a whole forkful of chicken and rice, looking as if he mildly enjoyed the tastes and textures of the food inside of his mouth. Seeing anyone eat something after they've been sad gives me this feeling of satisfaction because they've finally found the will power to lift their hands to their mouths and take a bite of whatever is in front of them. Nysan looks content as he chews the forkful; I do the same with the load currently on my fork. It enters my mouth and I close my lips around the metal, pulling the rice and chicken off with my lips.

"Did I ever tell you that Kynos had a fear of clowns?" Nysan says, starting back up again after swallowing his food. "Ever since we played this horror game and this really realistic clown kills you - extremely brutally and graphically - he's had this fear of clowns. That was a fun game, but I didn't dare to play it more than once or twice. I like it when my games can be sped run." He looks up at the ceiling of his house and sighs. "The only fear I ever had was the fear of losing my mind, and I think that's slowly happening. Sometimes, the world forces you to lose your sanity and you end up submitting yourself to the darkness, succumbing to the unknown that compels you to want to die."

He looks at me with a hurt look on his face, as if to suggest that I'm losing my mind, even if I don't really know it yet. He's certainly going to lose his mind soon, and he knows it. He also knows that only one person can escape this hell - and Kynos is already gone. "Ryota, I'm going to help you." His voice is monotonous, robotic-like as his eyes are ridden of their tears. "I can't go home. I'm going to help you get home so that you can see everyone back there. I'm fighting to help you. However, if it's between me and someone you love - like Tynoco - I shall let myself die to allow you the chance to live."

Looking into his eyes is harder than ever. Yes, it's true that I love Tynoco and that I don't want him to die, but I also don't wish death to take Nysan. If anything, I want Baiyou to escape this place alive. Baiyou has people to look after and his life is just about to really start - at the age of eighteen, he could study gaming procedures at a university of some sorts. That, or one of the younger kids escape, because they have forever to live their lives and some cruel games has no right to take their lives away from them at such a young age. I also want Tynoco to live, but we all know that he'd die to give me the chance to live.

"Look, Ryota, thanks for listening and caring about my problems, my brother, everything. Not many people on this planet exist that are as kind-hearted and motivating as you. When you get home, I want you to tell the world what they really did to you. They will omit half of the stuff shown, such as these words - I'm sure of it. Tell the world what they've left unseen over here, they all deserve to know." Nysan looks up at me, almost sobbing again, before he shoves a load of rice into his mouth and sympathetically smiles at me. "I'm gonna finish this and get to bed, if you don't mind."

I take one last forkful of the food and decide that I'm going to use the last of that turkey tonight, whether I feel hungry enough to eat it or not. Just nodding at the kind boy, I swallow the food and slide out of the doorway, wishing him a safe and peaceful night. Even I'm going to have nightmares tonight, and I'm not exactly close to Kynos like that. Kynos is a background figure compared to Tynoco and Baiyou and Dexio. Well, now he's nothing but a deceased character, only to be remembered in the name of video games.

Slipping into the elevator, I type in my number and swiftly arrive back at my farm. As I step out of the lift, I resist the urge to break down and cry. If we had actual sharp objects, I'd attempt some kind of suicide right now - only if it was guaranteed to work though. Kynos' headless body flashes in my mind; the image of his head rolling along the floor is like a GIF, replaying over and over again without any sound to support the sight I see. Finally, I let out a massive roar and collapse onto the floor, not wanting to see anyone or anything again.

Screw Tynoco and the other guys, screw the games, and screw my life. This isn't even going to be the worst death; I'm going to be affected in worse ways further down the line. My mind is saying to end it all now though; maybe it is warning me to die before things become too unbearable and things aren't in my control any longer. Staring down at the ground and my sodden hands from where my tears have splashed them, I can only imagine the horrific and agonising deaths planned for everyone I love.

Either I die first and never think about any of this again, or I have to pray that none of my friends are killed so slowly that I can hear their screams.