TOMA
Lights went off in front of me. I could read some text on a screen. ?High Scores?, it read. I was in an arcade, gladly playing my games, trying to beat the top ten. Concentrated on the game, I didn?t notice that a crowd had gathered around me. The lights on the game lit up as I reached the half-way mark. I was next to a wall, looking to my right, I could see the door and windows. They were massive.
Giant pieces of glass, held together by some pieces of metal. Looking back at my game, I saw that I had broken it, sort of. The fighting game had crashed, the opponent was not able to move, and he was losing 1 health point every second or so. He had thousands, so I thought I could just wait that much. Little did I know what was about to happen. The crowd had dispersed, most people calling me, ?Cheater?, ?Hack?. I didn?t mind. After all, it?s the professional gamer?s job to abuse bugs to win easier.
Looking around, I saw that most people even left the arcade, looking at me with a frown through the windows. The arcade was called, ?The flashing lights?. It was a good name for it. The games had so many bulbs stuck on their sides that would just flash on and off, that you could even think you were going to faint. I looked at the windows again. Smoke and dust shot up from the road. I was startled; I jumped up, looking carefully. ?Maybe the games are making me a bit paranoid.?, I thought as I turned to the game. Almost a third of the opponent?s life had disappeared.
I looked at the windows again. I could see a car, but the dust and smoke had risen around it, not letting me see. I saw two people walking out, wearing bandanas, and having a bulk in their pockets. At that time, I knew I had to hide. I witnessed another gang-job like this years back. I was almost shot, but I couldn?t let it happen again. Looking through the corner of my eye at them, I could tell they were looking for someone. I tried to figure out whom, but it was in vain. Strangely enough, one of the guys pointed to the right of me. I was frozen. I couldn?t move any more. My body had become numb. I felt I was going to die.
At my right, a grown-up was playing a very old game, which looked like Mario. I tried to leave, but my legs wouldn?t budge. I tried to say something, but my mouth was frozen in fear. I turned to my left, and started to walk, limping a bit while I went to the window. I looked back at the screen of my game. The opponent?s life had depleted by half already.
Looking to the right, I could see the guys reaching in their pockets. At the entry, there were two couches. I dived through the air, landing behind one. In my pocket, I had my trusty camera. ?An amateur journalist should always be prepared.?, the teachers told me. I lifted my hand, shivering once in a while. I could see them talking, the gang reaching into their pockets deeper and deeper. I looked at them. They frowned once, and then their expression turned to an evil smile as they took out guns from their pockets, shooting the man. I was shocked. The people in the arcade shot to the ground, looking in fear at the attackers. In a moment of fear, my hand shivered as I looked at my game. The life of the opponent was almost gone.
I looked at them leaving, shooting a glass or too, trying to make us scared. As they sped off in their car, I jumped out from under the sofa, lunging at the wounded man. He was shot in the chest multiple times. I knew he was going to die. I was starting to cry. I couldn?t do anything, and he was almost dead. It didn?t matter he was a stranger. If only I could have had the power to do something, if onl-- The man interrupted me. ?Don?t worry, I have no fear of dying, I knew my life was to be taken away today. That?s why I came here, and played the game I loved most.? The man smiled, as he passed away. My game, at this moment, had started yelling and flashing lights. I had made the high-score I was looking for.
I looked at the game, and then turned around. Everyone was on the ground, afraid they might be seen, not knowing they left. ?Get up people, they left. Call an ambulance, now! You, call the police. We need to try to save this man.? I started to wait at his side. I knew he was dead, but the people didn?t know that.
The police and ambulance came. They started questioning me, trying to make me remember if I knew that man. I told them he looked familiar, but I couldn?t tell where I seen him. A police car came, flashing the red and blue lights, letting the siren yell. I looked in the back. There were the two gang members, locked up, and crying. I asked the officer why they did that. ?Because they thought it was fun.?
I was incredibly angry. I couldn?t stand it, because I knew that they killed a man, for pleasure. I turned around, letting the car leave. I looked up, and it hit me. I talked to the police man, or at least, tried to talk. I pointed my hand up towards a bill-board. That man was the head of the local gaming company. They had released the first game many years back, and it was the same the man was playing.
I knew what I had to do. When I returned home, the first thing I did was to open up my old computer, connect to the net and download some programming tutorials. Since then, I?ve learned a lot, and I still am learning. But I can?t forget the man who died that day, sadly.
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