Arcade Crystal Coin

Enter

Colin entered the neon hued room, filled to the brim with old arcade consoles and entertainment fixtures. Despite the haphazard sounds echoing throughout the room, not a single person could be seen anywhere. It almost appeared as if every human that set foot in this place just vanished in an instant.

He gazed at his watch. “8:35pm,” Colin murmured to himself. He was nervous to come to this place. The crazy stories everyone had told him were enough to scare even the most adventurous person. The sounds of children trapped inside the walls and the neighborhood murmurs of adults going insane from staying inside for too long.

“This is different,” he thought to himself as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a gold coin with bright red carvings. Holding the coin in front of his face, Colin took his other hand and slowly tapped the coin with his finger.

“1...2...3...4…” He stopped before he reached five. “I can’t do it…,” he thought to himself. The pressure to stay in this place was bearing too much on his mind.

“Can I help you with something?” A sultry female voice asked Colin from behind. He quickly turned around to see a woman dressed in a navy blue dress smiling with her arms crossed.

“You seem to be lost. Are you in the right place, young man?”

Colin quickly pulled himself together and replied, “Yes, I’m here to insert my coin into...into…”

Colin’s voice slowly trailed off. His face turned red and he dropped his gaze at the woman. Clenching his teeth and hunching his shoulders, Colin fell silent as the woman waited for an answer.

“Don’t be afraid. If you want to play a game, it will cost around one to two quarters per game. If you want the air hockey or 3D virtual console, it will be around $5 for a ride...or are you here for something else?”

The woman smiled and glared as Colin still couldn’t muster the strength to look her in the eye.

“Are you here for something else? If so, do you have something you’d like to show me?” The woman glared at Colin’s left hand as he nervously fidgeted with the coin in his pocket.

“Yes…” Colin said softly. “I am here for something...my friend.”

Suddenly, Colin frowned and stared at the woman directly in her eyes.

“Two days ago, my friend Marcel entered this place. A lot of people around town say that people mysteriously go missing and that’s exactly what happened to my friend. After class one day, I was sent a message on my smartphone about ‘saving his soul from the Game Master’ and this strange coin was left for me outside my door!”

Colin began sweating as his strange rant turned into an angry tirade.

“No one believes me when I tell them I got this message and this coin. And you should return another human being if you are…”

The woman let out a high pitched laugh and folded her arms in amusement.

“Well, the message did say to ‘come alone’ so at least you got that part right,” she snickered as Colin began to tremble.

“Let me give you a proper introduction, young man. Welcome to Spazinen Dimensional Portal Arcade. My name is Nina and I help steal the souls of children...or at least those that play games. If you want your friend back, you must defeat all ten arcade games here.”

Colin clutched the coin in his hand even harder.

“And what if I lose? Does my soul get taken too?”

Nina smiled.

“Indeed. So what would you like to do young man? Want to try your luck or run away knowing your friend is forever stuck here.”

Colin looked down and took a deep breath.

“I’ll play your game. Where is the first one?”

Nina made a beckoning sign with her finger and directed Colin to a large, red arcade machine.

“Enter your coin here and see if you can complete the game,” Nina said with almost a giggle.

Colin placed his coin in the slim slot and stared directly at the screen.

Horse Race

Colin opened his eyes to complete darkness. He twisted himself in a complete circle before starting to shake where he stood.

“Wasn’t I just in the arcade? What did that lady do...I just had to coin and put it in the machine...aren’t I supposed to be in a game? Was this just a…”

Suddenly, a loud crash could be heard only a few meters from where he was standing. Colin squinted but could not see anything in the suffocating darkness. Without a moment’s notice, a light breeze could be felt all around him.

“Am I outside...but it’s completely dark. Maybe I’m inside the game and…”

Again, a loud noise could be heard to his other side but this time, the loud bang was followed by the shriek of a horse’s nay. Colin’s heart began to race even faster as the loud and thundering sung of horses became fast approaching. Quickly looking all around him again, he could see nothing. Scared and annoyed, Colin, getting ready to scream in fear, suddenly stopped when a red rectangle appeared directly in front of him.

‘Press Enter’ the glowing red rectangle shown, brightly illuminated on it.

Without thinking, Colin pressed the button and suddenly, a complete, circular racing track with an empty stadium appeared. It was as if someone turned the lights on.

“Mount Your Horse Now” a robotic voice could be heard surrounding Colin.

“What? What is this? Am I racing a horse for this game or…”

The sound of horses grew even louder as Colin noticed six other horses racing toward him. He gasped but jumped as a glowing horse suddenly appeared next to him. Without a way to escape, Colin grabbed the reins on the horse and used all his energy to pull himself onto the horse. In a flash, Colin was racing along the circular track, the six other horses quickly gaining ground on him.

Colin grasped the reins and squinted his eyes as the wind rushed past his face. Barely keeping himself on the horse, he gritted his teeth to focus on the animal he had to control. Despite the tension all around from his rear to the horse underneath him, the game continued on. Almost instantaneously, a yellow rectangle appeared in the air just above the race track.

“You are currently in…2nd place,“ the robotic voice from earlier rang through the air.

“How am I in...whatever. I need to win this race. Too much is on the line.”

As the horse charged on, Colin curled his body toward his abdomen by tightening his whole body.

“A paper airplane in the wind...I can do the same thing,” Colin said as he thought back to all the fun he had in leisure time during school. “Kids in a video game...this should be easy but…”

The sound of another horse could be heard galloping close behind him.

Warning

“No! No! I need to get to first place. Now isn’t the time to let up.”

After 3 laps around the racetrack, Colin was almost to the finish line ahead of him. With one horse ahead of him, his anxiety of not winning was beginning to set in.

“I just have one more lap. If I can pass this guy, then I’ll be able to go to the next game. All those hours of Mario Kart hopefully will pay off…”

Suddenly, the horse behind Colin seemingly appeared from nowhere. Focused on the race, Colin looked ahead at his target until he noticed the other racer waving a hand in the air.

“Don’t go to the finish line first!” The approaching player yelled to Colin, “There is a trap!”

Colin’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“Did that other player talk? Do the other players in this game have souls? Or...are these the lost souls that the Nina lady has sealed away?!”

Colin looked ahead and saw the first player was closing in on the finish line. He gripped the rein even tighter, becoming tense over what he should do.

“Can I not finish first and still get out of this thing? I mean, what should I do? Is this a trick? Ahhhh!”

In this tense moment, Colin tightly closed his eyes, trying to make a decision before opening them and seeing the third place player swiftly move past him. With one white gloved hand, the rider in a blue suit and white helmet gave a thumbs up, signaling his ascension to second place.

Colin clenched his teeth and let out a soft whimper. His eyes began to well up, feeling like he had been just played the fool.

“I’m going to be stuck here. I shouldn’t have let him…”

Before Colin could finish his thought, the blue rider pulled a strange gun, hidden underneath his shirt. Like a hunter on horseback, the rider quickly aimed the gun at the first player and let out an air-piercing shot, striking the player in the back. The first player yelled before falling off his horse and slamming into the ground. The injured player’s body quickly fragmented and micronized into thousands of pieces.

The blue rider next pointed his gun at the ground before letting out another ear-piercing shot. This time, the ground welled up and shot in the air as a massive explosion obliterated the finish line and rocked the entire race track arena.

Brock and Beck

Colin sat on his horse, still in complete awe of what had just happened. The remaining horses and riders in the race began to slowly micronize into small pieces. As the dust from the explosion began to clear, Colin could see there was only one figure left standing.

“Did the blue rider on horseback really just shoot the first player...what is this?”

Quickly turning his horse to face Colin, the blue racer began to charge at Colin. Gasping at the sudden change of his target, Colin pulled the reins of his horse and began to gallop the opposite path down the race track.

“Wait! We need to stick together! You won’t get far in this world if you try this alone!” The blue racer yelled as Colin listened to every shouted word.

Slowing his pace, Colin decided to be steadfast in his decision to trust the blue racer’s advice.

“He stopped me from going into that explosion at the finish line...maybe he isn’t so bad…”

The blue racer finally caught up to Colin as the area fell silent for the first time.

“Hello...my player friend. I see this is your first time in this world. Did Nina convince you to play the game?”

Colin sat silently, unable to form words as the adrenaline from the race was still making his heart race. All he could muster was a slow head nod.

The blue racer took off his helmet to reveal his face. A young man, around college-age demeanor, slowed his horse to meet Colin, face to face.

“I know this is probably your first level but you should know, this game is designed to continue trapping souls in it forever. Who are you here for?”

Colin’s heart began to calm as he mustered up a small sentence pass his lips.

“My friend, Joel, he is my classmate. We always play together after school but...he went to an arcade and…”

The blue racer nodded his head, almost anticipating Colin saying something like that.

“Listen, we don’t have much time. I have to tell you that you need to exit the game. I can’t help you much longer but I want you to take this.

The blue racer handed Colin a small, flat coin. Distinctly different from the coin he received in his locker, Colin examined the coin, sparkling with many colors reflecting off its surface.

“What is this? I already have a coin but I used it to get here.”

The blue racer again nodded his head.

“And this is a coin to get you out. Listen to me. You are not able to win this game and you must exit. Everything here is set up for you to fail. However, I want you to take this coin. Use it to exit now but...please return. I need a favor to ask of you. Take this coin to Doctor Clark Beck. He is a scientist. Even if it takes a few years, he can invent something that can save everyone caught in this crazy game. Just remember, Doctor Beck. He is the answer to fighting back…”

Colin tilted his head and stared in confusion. Again, he gazed at the coin sitting in his hand.

“Well, okay but I want to save my friend…”

The blue racer suddenly looked toward the sky to see it slowly caporizing away.

“I’m sorry but you don’t have much time. You are still so close to the entrance. This coin will help you save everyone here. Not just your friend. Please...say ‘Game Conquered’ and you will exit this place but the doctor will help…”

Again the sky crackled like lightning as a robotic voice could be heard saying “Level 2 starting soon. Please be ready.”

Colin began to start shaking as the arena began to disappear.

“Hurry! Please say it!”

Clutching the coin in his palm, Colin placed his other hand over the coin and quickly said “Game Conquered” before the coin began to glow.

“How can I find Doctor Beck and what can I do…”

The blue racer smiled and gave a thumbs up.

“Don’t worry, you are a smart kid. I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

Colin’s eyes widened as he himself began to disappear.

“But wait!” Colin shouted as his body began to be spirited away, “What is your name?”

Just before Colin lost sight of the young man, he shouted “Brock!”

Colin closed his eyes tightly and opened them to complete silence on a street corner.

“Oh!” Colin thought as he realized he was in the middle of the city, “This is near downtown.”

Turning around, Colin saw a building he had always passed but never paid much attention. On a sign outside the building, a small plaque read ‘Dr. Clark Beck PhD Physics professor.’

-End-

(To be continued in another story…)