Short horror stories: Urban Legend edition

Polybius

The local arcade was brand new and so it made sense it was the upcoming hotspot in town. Every teenager in town went there. Some adults would visit too, playing their games all day long for hours on end. I thought it was such a waste of time spent until my friend Logan, brought up a game at the arcade. One that nobody has even touched yet, Polybius.

"What's it about?" I asked him while we walk throughout the crowded arcade.
He scoffed when a guy bumped into his shoulder and then turned to me. "Well I don't know. That's why I think you should play it. Nobody else has yet, and you would be the first." He stated. That would be cool to be the very first player, but it made me curious as to why nobody else has played it. I looked to my right and realized he had walked me right to it. On the top, it read in bold mint green lettering; Polybius. The screen was black, not revealing anything about what was going on inside. I inserted the coins into the slot and the screen went from black to a green spiral that moved very slowly, yet no directions to tell you what to do.
I looked back at Logan who shrugged his shoulders. "What do I do?" I asked him.
"Uh, maybe just move that red joystick. It's the only thing you can do." He suggested. I looked down at the baseboard and he was right. No left or right buttons, absolutely nothing but a stick. I grabbed ahold and moved it up, and then down, nothing. So, I moved it around in circular motions and the spiral on the screen began moving slightly quicker. Then I swirled the stick around even faster which caused the spiral on the screen to speed up. Faster, faster, and faster. At first, it was sickening to keep my eyes on but after a few seconds, my eyes became accustomed to the movement. I continued moving it around and around while my eyes were glued to the screen of the spiral growing bigger and moving at rapid speed. It felt like I were in a race with the spiral on the game and I wanted to beat it, somehow.
"Yo, you okay?" Logan asked me, nudging my shoulder gently but I couldn't find the words to speak. All that mattered to me in that moment was Polybius.
Logan sighs heavily from behind me. "Alright, I'm just gonna go play around. I'll catch up with you later." His footsteps depart, but I couldn't find it in me to care.

After what felt like only thirty minutes, the black screen came back. I didn't know what to do with myself, my eyes widened like I was just told the worst news of my life.
"No." I say and tighten my grip around the joystick on the machine. Then, a new screen appeared. It was similar to the spiral but this time it had a purple star in the middle of the screen. I wondered; what motion do I have to do to beat this game? I moved it up and down, nothing. Circular motions, still nothing. Then I tried only moving it up and it worked. I sighed with a breath of relief and a smile at the fact it was actually working. It felt disorienting at first, but after awhile it's like I were levitating through the screen. I could see that my new goal was to reach for the purple glowing star right in the middle and although it seemed so far away, it was yet so close to me. I kept the joystick pointing upward, my fingers gripping around it tighter. At some point, a tingle spread throughout my fingertips but I couldn't stop now. I could feel that I was close to beating another level, I couldn't give up now.

"Hey man, you're still at this game?" I hear Logan's voice come up beside me, but I didn't even pay him a glance. If I tore my burning eyes away from the game for just a split second, I just knew it'd be game over for me and I wasn't sure if I could handle that defeat all because of my friend.
"Yeah." I haphazardly responded to him.
"I see you've got yourself quite a gang of friends now." He commented. I had no clue what he was talking about considering I'd only paid close attention to Polybius since we first arrived today.
He scoffed. "Really? You think just because you're the first player of a new arcade game, you're suddenly popular? Whatever man. I'll see you tomorrow." I hear his footsteps depart and although deep down I felt guilty for mistreating him, I didn't care at all. And then, there it was again. A new black screen and this time, I wasn't concerned as for this was just their loading screen of some sort. It was a strange one though, It was like the game wanted to show you a reflection of yourself throughout your progression through it. The reflection from earlier, I looked healthy and happy. Now, my green eyes were filled with redness and strikingly red veins. My brows were tightened with fixation, I barely recognized myself. And the worst part about this whole thing? Closing time was soon.

"Come on pal, you gotta get out." The worker pulled me away from the game and continued shoving me throughout the arcade.
"No! I need to beat the game." I argued with the man, attempting to push him away but his grasp only tightened around my arm.
"It'll be here tomorrow. Now..." He pauses before throwing me out of the front doors. "Out you go!" He yelled and I stumbled out, almost falling over my own feet. Instead of returning home, I slept in the alleyway that sat by the building. I was going to make sure I'd be the first one back and ready for more.

I opened my eyes to see a younger boy, poking me in the side.
"Hey, are you homeless or something?" He questioned.
I furrowed my brows, "What? No..." I paused, "Wait, what time is it?"
"It's time for me to go back home." He says and hurried away with a backpack on. I ran out of the alleyway and up to the arcade doors seeing the inside packed with teenagers. I must've slept through the entire morning. Rushing inside and pushing people aside, I located where the game was. Or, where it should've been.
I turned to the girl next to me. "Hey, where's Polybius?"
"I don't know, some guys in black coats came in here today and took it out." She replied.
I looked back to the spot where it'd been standing to find a small note on the floor and as I read it, it gave me chills.

Polybius test #1.
Subject was tricked successfully.
This game plays you, as much as you play it.