Disconnected

Section 2

        Full immersion has made gaming better. So many games started transferring to the virtual environment. My thoughts start drifting towards my favorite one. It hasn’t become an immensely popular game, but I find it enjoyable. The battle fields are based on historic ones. They can be from any time period, and are always interesting. The battles progress differently, but the battle fields remain the same. Many players play at once, and they are all split into two teams. I have played with the same team for a while now.  

        The battles are set to a specific time, and each side has a chance to practice. It consumes every second of the day. I practice with my teammates, and study specifics in reality.

        One battle stands out in my mind. It was a Civil War battle. Even our practice was tough. After it finished, our commander was talking to some of my teammates. We politely waited for them to finish their conversation. After he was done, he turned to everyone, and gave a speech about tomorrow’s battle. He finished with a recommendation for rest.

        I opened my menu and logged out. I couldn’t focus for the rest of the night, and the next day. I had tunnel vision, and the only thing I could see clearly was the game. Not even my family’s dinner conversation penetrated my focus. Not that I would have mattered. My parents have long since given up their desire to hold conversations with me. They realized I didn’t want it, got frustrated, and gave up. I don’t care. Tonight, it keeps me focused.

        By the time I logged back in, I was completely pumped. I am automatically positioned on top of a hill with some teammates. A timer is up in the air counting down. I pulled my gun from my back, and loaded it. The whole ordeal only takes me twenty seconds. It requires practice, but I get some help from the computer. The clock has run down to its final minute. I take my place behind the barrier.

        We can’t see beyond our little hill yet. Everything else appears as an extension of the sky. The light blue covers everything. As the clock ticked down to the final seconds, I positioned my rifle, cocked the hammer, and looked down the barrel. Three, two, one…

        The sky started to recede and as it moved grass appeared to take its place. Trees appeared in an instant as the ground beneath them is revealed. The game became chaotic when the enemy appeared. The bullets began to fly. I waited until the initial shock receded. Within seconds, I was looking down my barrel at an enemy. I squeeze the trigger until I am on the edge of firing. Slowly exhaling, I pull the trigger the rest of the way. I couldn’t see well enough to know what happened to my bullet after it left the barrel.

        Kneeling down behind the barrier I had to load my gun all over again. Reloading took a couple of seconds. I took a position along the barrier, aimed, and fired a second time. As I reloaded again, I took a chance to examine my own forces. There were some injuries on our side, but at a quick glance, nothing looked fatal. I retook my position, but before I could fire something went wrong. A sudden pain stabbed my shoulder.  

        I dropped down to the ground. The pain fades soon after starting. It feels like I have been hit by a paintball. One thing seems to stand out to me: a lack of information. I feel the pain, but there are gaps. The computer which is relaying the virtual information to my brain can’t relay as much information as my body can.

        The pain was nearly gone, but I have to wait for a nurse. Until one comes, I can’t move my arm. Afterwards, I can move my arm with restricted movement. There is no pain. It is just slow. This is my handicap for being shot.

        Reloading takes longer now, but I still get it done. I kept going through the process: reloading, shooting, reloading, shooting, reloading, and shooting. It was mainly luck when I hit anyone. The bullets don’t listen to me. They like to go wherever they want.

        The commander came up behind me and tapped my shoulder. I have to get going. Down on my hands and knees, I crawled to the side of the barrier. Most soldiers were still at their firing positions. Others were waiting by the edge when I reached it. Soldiers were lining up on the other barriers as well.

        When we are all in position the commander gave the signal, and we all charged forward together. We charged right into the valley which separates the two sides. I pushed my virtual legs as far as they will go. The enemies concentrate their fire on us. Friends dropped on either side. I didn’t look back. The bullets must be close to killing me, because the air licks at me as they fly by.   

        I reached their barrier with what was left of our charge. I jumped over without hesitation. We were outnumbered, but our plan was not to kill them all. We needed to wreak as much havoc as we could. I pulled out my sword and went berserk. I spun in a circle, with my sword extended in front of me. I killed all I could with that first strike. Everyone else backed up. The few with loaded guns, aimed them at me. Those without didn’t want to risk the reload time.

        They had given me enough space to move around. These guns have a hard time hitting a moving target, so I charged at one of them. As I got close I ducked under his muzzle and the bullet shot out above me. I gripped my sword with two hands and plunged it into the man’s body. My left hand was only able to provide support. Its movement was still restricted. I pulled the sword out of him, and using his body as cover, I swung wildly at those around me. After killing a few around me I took off running. My sword cut into anyone who was too close.

        Their initial surprise is wearing off. My luck is going to run out if this keeps up. A loud noise deafened me before I could be taken out. My teammates were in a line directly behind the enemy’s barrier. They were lined up with their guns pointed at us. After a few seconds they all fired and dropped behind the barrier. Another group stood up to take their place. They had been reloading after the initial shot. They did this over and over again. The enemy doesn’t stand a chance, but neither do I.

        I fell to the floor dead. A big sign saying “dead” flashed in my eyes for a few seconds. My viewpoint changed to a bird’s eye view of the battle field. I only had the chance to watch my forces cleaned up the remaining enemy forces.  

        When the last enemy was killed white covered my entire vision. It would be blinding if my real eyes were seeing this. The white dissipated to reveal a clearing with a forest at the edge. I was surrounded by friends.

        They ran up to congratulate me. They told me I had been awarded the “most kills” medal. Pride washed over me. The excitement buzzed through the clearing. The largest sense of belonging I have ever felt washed over me.

        The party started to die down, but the great feelings stayed in my heart. The commander stood and gave a nice speech to wrap up the win. I said goodbye to friends, and logged out. I opened my eyes to see the ceiling of my room. I took off my helmet and sat up. I was sitting in my lonely bedroom, and the feeling of belonging had disappeared.

        The only light in the room came from the alarm clock sitting on my desk. After my eyes adjusted, the room seemed to be filled with the bright red it gave off. On its face, it told me that it is four in the morning. I can’t feel tired in the games, but as soon as I came out, the tiredness flooded my body with the strength of a tsunami. I have to go to sleep before it is too late. My mom is going to wake me up at six tomorrow for school.