Walking down the street with a hop in his step, Zain couldn’t help but smile. Although he loved playing video games, he would not usually skip classes. However, there was an exception to this rule on the first day of a big release.

That way, he could enjoy the game for a full day uninterrupted by anyone, and today had been a long time coming.

Walking past the shop windows, he could see a large poster. It had a bloody main character on the front with a shipwreck behind him and the font with the game’s name: Allies.

The game was based on a world where the ice caps have melted, causing sea levels to rise. And because of this, the land was now limited, and nuclear waste fell into the sea, creating deadly sea creatures.

“You must create your raft ships and hop island to island while fighting the deadly mutant sea creatures. I can’t wait to play it!” Zain said, holding the box in his hand.

“I know, Zain. I work here. I know just as much about the game as you do, so why are you telling me all this.” The store clerk replied, who had a name tag that read Ben.

“Sorry, I was just reading it aloud,” Zain replied. “Where is everyone anyway? Isn’t it a big release day? Don’t tell me nobody’s hyped for the game? How can that be? It was all over the game forums.”

“HA!” Ben rolled his eyes, “I don’t know what cave you’re living in and what you’re smoking these days. Bring some for me the next time you come. Also, people don’t line up to collect their games anymore. Instead, they order it online or download it. Long gone are the days of queues and large events. Sometimes… I just wish the whole world would change, and I hope everyone around me burns.” He mumbled._.

Now it looked like Ben was the one to speak his mind. As he realised this, he stood up straight.

“Just go and enjoy your game.”

Walking out of the store, Zain found himself with a weird feeling. Today is a big day, but the interaction spoilt his mood quite a bit.

“What got shoved up his arse?” Zain said, turning around. “Maybe he’s just having a bad day, but still, what he said was strange.”

Walking back down the street, Zain held the box tightly. He brought it in and started to sniff the new plastic, and then it was time for his favourite bit: the unboxing.

As he heard the clicking noise, the box opened, and the smell of the disk and foam wafted into his nose.

‘Man, if anyone saw the look on my face right now, they would think I’m some kinda weirdo, but who cares? The streets are quite empty today anyway.’ Zain thought.

In the middle of admiring the artwork that was imprinted on the disk, for a second, he could see a shadow cast over it, but it was too late to do anything, as the person had run straight into him.

The two collided, the momentum of that person pushed Zayn back, and his stomach winded a little, but he made sure not to let go of the box as he firmly held it in his right hand. At the last second, he had pulled the box away, taking the hit rather than crushing the game below his weight.

‘Damn it, that hurts. Who the f*ck is running in this heat?’ Zain squinted and opened his eyes to see a pair of long thin, slender legs on the ground.

“I’m sorry.” The woman said, “I’m in a rush!” She had gotten up before Zain could do anything, ran right past him, and continued sprinting forward.

‘I never got to see her face, but she had beautiful blonde hair and long legs. Damn it! she was totally my type!’ Zain thought and felt he was stuck ten years in the past.

Looking down at the ground, Zain noticed something on the floor. It was clearly a pendant but not one he had seen people wear before. On closer inspection, he noticed it was silver with a blue gem in the middle. As for the design, it had several feathers all over, leading to the top.

‘This looks like a game item.’ Zain picked it up. ‘I’ll just give it back to the woman if I see her again, even though I don’t know what her face looks like..this isn’t stealing, right?’

Finally, the university student had returned to his room, and with how the day had gone for him until now, he really needed to get the game in as soon as possible. So he loaded it up into his PC, which still had a disk drive just for these moments. Then, after finishing the necessary long updates, it was finally time to enjoy the game.

Placing his headphones over his head, Zain got to work and started exploring the game. Whenever playing, he truly imagined being in that world and ignored everyone around him. Although it was often hard with his two noisy friends, no one was here to disturb him today. This was also why he had been looking forward to this day for a long time.

Zain’s fingers were moving fast, his mouse was clicking away, and he had already set up all his macro buttons so he could play in the most optimal way. Everything was a new experience, and when entering a new world, one had to be prepared as much as possible to avoid dying too early.

*BANG

*BANG

*BANG

‘What is that? Is that in the game?’

*BANG

*BANG

After removing his headphones from one ear, he could hear someone banging on the door. Zain had the volume turned up while playing to immerse himself more, but the banging disturbed his whole immersion.

“What the hell? Who is it at this time!”

*BANG

*BANG

“Alright, cut it out, Buke! And if it’s not you, then whoever it is, can just f*ck off!” Zain swung the door open ready to give whoever it was an earful, and almost instantly, a person fell onto him.

Zain held them up hands for a bit, but a rustic smell entered his nose.

‘What the..’

Before he could do anything else, the head that rested on his shoulder moved, and its mouth opened wide before sinking its teeth into his skin. The next instant, he felt heart-wrenching pain around his shoulder and neck.

“You F*cking bit me!” Zain then lifted his leg and kicked the person right in the stomach as hard as he could, sending them back and hitting the hallway wall.

“I’m going to give you a new face today.” Zain clenched his fist, but that’s when he noticed he felt weak, his legs were giving in, and he tumbled to the floor as his body slowly lost all strength. Looking at the person he had just hit, he now noticed the latter was covered in blood.

‘Wait a sec…is that…am I…am I dreaming?…were those videos on the dark web real? Damn it! I guess you were wrong, Buke. I wasn’t the one to survive the longest after all.’

Just as he finished his words, something fell out of his pocket and began to shine, illuminating the whole hallway.