Game-Lock

Chapter One: Game-Lock Terms and Conditions

POV: Vera

"Game-Lock?" I stared at the game on my computer. It was a decent price, ten dollars–with a catchy green image of a haunted house, followed by a corridor with many many doors. I sat back against my chair as Talia nodded, her face enlarged on my other monitor.

"It's perfect for your next stream! And it's gonna be trending! Everyone's going to be watching!"

"I don't know," I muttered as I started reading the description. "It says right here that there is literally no quit button."

"Yeah, you can only stop once you beat the game."

"It's got 100 levels."

"You said you had a sub-a-thon coming up, didn't you? Wouldn't it be perfect to stream it then?"

I pursed my lips and kept reading the description. Essentially, it seemed to be a mix of different horror games all mixed together. Every door unlocked a level, and once a person beat it, they would unlock a secret–or the story behind the large house. I was looking for games to play, but at the same time, I had a whole stash that I needed to get to as well.

"Look, I really want to play this with you! It'll be fun! We don't even have to really finish it! But I think every level should be pretty short."

"I guess you could be right, but damn, ten dollars for one hundred levels? The developer must have a lot of confidence that this game is going to work–"

"Everyone's getting hyped up to play this. I think all the biggest streamers are going to play this tonight."

"They haven't yet? I thought they would get early access or something like that?"

"No, not really, everyone's gonna be getting a hold of this on the same day, I think," Thalia muttered.

I nodded. Now that was tempting. Streaming games that were going to go viral was crucial for getting views. As shallow as that made me sound, it was always helpful to pick on the trends early on. I liked to be on top of these things, and Thalia tried her utmost best to give me a helping hand–and find any excuse to play with me on the stream. It made her feel famous, even though it was an average of 50 viewers watching.

It was a solid amount of people, though, and I worked a good two years to get to that point.

I jumped as there was a knock on the door.

"Vera! Get out of your rotten cave for once and come help your mother with the groceries!"

I took a deep breath in and out. It was Alex, my stepdad, who had just decided that even though I was twenty-six, an independent adult, he would treat me like I was his 16-year-old rebel daughter.

I needed to get out of this house for good.

"Vera!"

"I'm coming!" I called out and sighed. "OK, put Game-Lock on the agenda for tomorrow.

I'll post some announcements on the Discord server. Could you make a design or something?"

"So, you'll do it?"

"Nooo.... Just an extended stream." I shook my head. I needed at least a week to plan for a sub-a-thon, and to basically persuade my mom and Alex not to interfere during my extended streams. Usually, when I explained how much I would make, and that I would tone things down at specific points in the day, they usually backed off–for a percentage of the money that I made, of course.