By Greg
Meyer
If
you are the type of thrill seeker who isn’t afraid to put more than money on
the line, there is a place you can go that will change your life forever. In
the downtown of Chicago, there is an arcade forgotten by time. You won’t see it
during the day, as in its place is a large dirt field with chain-link fence.
You can only see this place once the sun starts to set over the horizon. Graffiti
and decades old posters for movies cover the dilapidated brick building. The chain
on the doorway gives the illusion that it’s locked, but this is to prevent
people who don’t belong from getting inside on accident. You should be able to
slip in without any issues.
Once inside, you must make your way
to the front counter. The arcade will appear run down, with arcade games and
pinball machines that all date before the mid 80’s. The smell of decay and
stale smoke will hang over the place like fog. Go immediately to the front
counter and wait, don’t go into the arcade floor just yet. You haven’t paid
your entrance fee, and you’re not welcome until you do. As you wait, don’t
stare too long in the blackness of the arcade, or you’ll start to see shadows
moving. Ignore them, or they might take your courage to play.
Eventually, the Attendant will open
the door of his office and shuffle to the counter. He’s an older gentleman,
wearing a red striped shirt and bowtie. He will request payment for you to play
in the arcade. You must bring with you an object that holds special meaning to
you. This is a cherished item, like a photograph of a loved one or a favorite
toy. You’ll know the right one, because the moment you think it you’ll try to
pick something else, so you won’t have to give it up. Before you give The
Attendant your payment, understand this: This is your last chance to escape the
arcade without doing the task. Should you feel like you are unprepared, do not
have the necessary skill, or care too much for your life to continue, leave the
arcade without paying and don’t turn back. If you leave after giving your
payment, you won’t make it to the entrance before the lurking shadows catch and
drag you into the darkness, never to be seen again.
Hand The Attendant your prized
possession and he will judge to see if the item is worthy. If you brought the
wrong item, he will declare that your payment is insufficient and kick you out.
You will find yourself back in the dirt field, never to see the arcade again..
If you brought the correct item, The Attendant will take the item and state
that you are welcome to play. He will take the item for himself, and then hand
you a brass token, good for one game in the arcade. Do not lose this token, as you’re
literally holding your very life in your hands. He will then ask you to hold
out your right hand. Do it, and he will stamp it with the number “3”.
At this point, you’ll faintly hear
the bleeps and bloops of the arcade machines, and the rattling of pinballs
hitting pop bumpers flippers. The Attendant will call you forward and tell you that
you’re free to play. Do as he says and
walk into the dark arcade. As you enter, you’ll realize that the machines are
lined up in the manner of a maze. Follow your instincts, and go reach the
center of the maze of broken machines with flickering screens. If you come
across a machine that’s working, but no one is playing it, do not put your
token in the game. The game is not for you, and you’ve essentially thrown your
very life away. Don’t be surprised if you hear whispers barely audible from
behind you, or see a shadow in the corner of your eye. Just keep going forward
no matter what you see or what the voices tell you.
If you travel the maze and find an
arcade machine being played by a small boy with curly red hair, then breath a
sigh of relief, for you’ve found the correct machine. Go up to the machine and
observe the child as he plays the machine. No one knows what the game is
called, as the machine has no name, and the title screen is bare. There will be
a set of red and blue joysticks and buttons, and the boy will be playing the
blue set. Watch the boy play to get an understanding on how the game works and
observe his strategies.
When you are ready to play, place the
token on the cabinet to queue your turn. The boy will turn to you, and you’ll
see his pure white eyes. He will ask in a hopeful voice, “Will you play the
game with me?” Say yes, or you will understand true hopelessness. The boy will
stop playing, and will let you finish his turn. This allows you to get a feel
for the controls and how the game plays. The boy will explain the rules to you
as you finish out his turns. Listen to him, but don’t confuse his helpfulness
as kindness or weakness. He wants a good challenge out of you; it’s more fun
that way. Once the turns are over, the boy will tell you to place the token in
the coin slot. Take a deep breath and prepare yourself, because you are
literally playing for your life. Insert your token into the coin slot, and the
boy will do likewise in the second player slot. The boy will then press the
two-player game button and hit start.
As far as people have researched and
guess, the arcade game does not exist in our world, so you can’t play it to
prepare. From what former players have reported, it’s an early arcade game that
plays something like Pac-Man and Pitfall. The player must navigate a large
maze, while being pursued by a rival player and computer opponents. There are
obstacles to avoid and holes to jump over in the maze, which will drain your
lifebar. Falling down a hole, or getting caught by the player will cost you a
life. Collecting the tools to escape the maze will both refill health and
increase your points. If you collect enough points, you will earn extra lives.
The amount of lives you have left are based on the number on the back of your
right hand. Everyone starts off with three lives, and losing or gaining lives
will change the number on your hand.
You must now escape the maze with at
least one life left. I cannot give any other advice on the game other than this.
Use the arcade skills you’ve developed in your life, in addition to any tricks
the boy performed while you watched him play. He’s hunting you now, and he
won’t hold back. Keep an eye on how many lives you have left on the back of
your hand. Should you lose a round without a number left on your hand, you’ve
lost the game. One word of warning: do not trash talk the boy during the game,
or you will find the game impossible to win. Do your best to block out of your
vision the shadows that have gathered behind you to watch you play the game.
Don’t let the glowing red eyes reflecting from the screen cause your confidence
to waver. Remember, this is the moment you’ve prepared for since the day you
first held a game controller in your hands.
If you are able to escape the maze,
then you’ve won the game. Do not gloat your victory over him, or you will be
forced to play a rematch with whatever lives you have left. The Attendant will
come and lead you out of the maze. The number on the back of your right hand
will determine your reward for playing the game of the Abandoned Arcade. If
there are no numbers on the back of your hand, then no reward is given other
than the knowledge that you’ve left with your life and soul intact. While this
might be a disappointment, I can tell you it’s much better than the
alternative.
If you have won the game with a
number on your hand, then you’ve earned a prize: extra life in the real world.
The amount of extra life is based on the number on the back of your hand. The
number will stay on your hand after you leave the arcade, but only you can see
that number. When you have extra life, you will not age a day, and your body
will never get sick. If you are killed in any fashion, you will wake up moments
later with your wounds healed, but at the cost of one of your extra lives. Once
the numbers are gone, you will age again, and you can be killed for good.
Should you lose the game, your soul
will be violently stripped from your body. Your body will rapidly decay and
turn to dust, your soul robbed of its essence, and what’s left of you will be
forced to remain at the abandoned arcade as a shadow for all eternity. It’s a
harsh punishment for death, but where do you think the extra lives come from?
