Where Gamers Go

Twelve

Jack

Everything was red. The colour of anger splashed around him as he made his way through the hallway. Human no more, void of emotion. Every face he saw, even those of his allies, were contorted with fear and petrification. And he enjoyed it.

A girl with purple hair and another with a single red eye begging for their lives. He thought he recognised them, and inside of him something stirred. Not enough, as he cast them sobbing into the cells along with the others. What should he care if he knew them once? They were all just faces to him now, pawns and cogs working together to form something much bigger than emotion. They were all just a part of the game.

~

"Twenty-Six, is the loading bay prepared? We're using the big one as bait".

"Yes. There's still one in the town, though. She managed to escape us".

"She will be easy to capture. But don't worry about her, she is the least of our problems. There are three still unaccounted for, three still running around inside here like infuriating rats. Sniff them out, twenty-six. Disguise yourself. Find first the one who still cares for you. Find Markiplier."

~

Jack could see him. He was crouching behind a box, cradling another man's head in his arms. Faces meant nothing anymore. Jack had watched him think he was safe, Jack had watched him fool himself into the lull of self-security.

Jack had watched him drag the man out of the room, the effort showing just how much he cared. How sweet. The other one was there too, fear carving out a nervous expression on his face.

Jack could see them through the wall, but they couldn't see him. Standard procedure. Grab the dying one, dispose of the crying one. If Jack had any emotion, he might've chuckled. Instead, he walked calmly forward, the stupid flat-cap on his head tilted downward to disguise the hate crawling across his face.

"Hello, Mark" Jack spoke clearly, emerging from behind the corner.

"Jack!" Mark yelled, running towards him. Startled, Jack flinched as Mark clapped him on the back. Mark didn't notice. "I thought you were dead".

"Luck of the Irish" Jack replied sullenly, his eyes on Aaron. Ze looked up and gasped.

"Mark, no! He's evil! He tried to kill me!" Mark frowned, shoving Ze away as he tried to punch the imposter. Jack hesitated, his hand on the trigger of the gun in his pocket. Not yet.

"Ze, what are you talking about? Jack's back, just calm down".

"He...he-" Ze stuttered, then cast Jack a dirty look before returning to Aaron. "Don't touch any of us, you hear?"

Dispose of Ze, Jack's mind whispered. Kill him. He's useless. Mark too. You need Aaron, so don't get too trigger-happy. But Ze and Mark are worthless. They are nothing to you.

"NO!" Jack yelled suddenly. He tore the cap from his head and sent it spiralling to the ground.

"Jack, wha-"

"GO AWAY!" Jack cried. "THEY. ARE. MY. FRIENDS!" A loud crackling noise flooded the hallway as the gun in Jack's pocket aimed for Mark, but Jack smashed it with his fist and it exploded, electricity rushing past him.

"That was awesome" beamed Aaron, his eyes wide open. "I'm glad I woke up to that".

~

Silence, and an awkward one at that. Jack could feel now, and it hurt. He'd been ordered to kill his friends and the guilt was weighing him down. It was a relief to have his emotions back, and even more so to discover his cap was relatively unharmed.

"So you're sure you're alright now?" Mark asked Aaron, who was shaking his arms to make sure they worked.

"Positive. I don't even remember what I did."

"You saved our lives, that's what you did" Ze muttered. "Which was epic, but too much of a close call. We need to be more careful".

"You're telling me" Jack replied, munching on a cookie he'd found in the secret pocket in his cap. Mark looked at it longingly

"Chilled is one of those things, Adam's dying and Lizzie's in a police station. We have to do something" continued Ze. Mark sighed, prompting Jack to pass him half the cookie.

"Of course we need to do something, but do what? We're practically prisoners. The others could be-" angry glares shot at Mark as he stumbled mid-sentence. "Prisoners too" he decided. "We need to get them out, then get ourselves out."

"And not discover what's going on?" Aaron asked. "That's like ripping a page from the end of a book".

"Alright, we'll try to get information. Ze, you and I will go after Chilled and Adam" said Jack. "Aaron and Mark will try to rescue Lizzie, then we'll rendezvous here before trying to find the others. Agreed?"

Four heads nodded, and the real adventure began.

~

Sorry this is so late! I'm starting school on Monday and making a desperate bid to be organised. Next chapter has a two week window so if by the end of that I haven't uploaded then feel free to poke me.

Stay magical :)