Pentagram

The Gamer

               After dealing with the automatic doors at the entrance, I found myself standing on the side of the road. I looked at the map Anderson had given me and blinked. "I wonder where I should go."

                I walked to the left, holding the paper in front of me. The closest thing Anderson had circled was labeled "Arcade." Blinking again, I pulled my portable screen out of my pouch and searched the word "arcade."  I found myself grinning at the idea of so many screens in one place, and more then slightly excited to try out the games.

                I began to make my way to the building. My eyes were darting everywhere as I walked, taking in the city. There was so much life to it! Vehicles I had never seen, strange people, and huge buildings. Not only that, but the population was not only comprised of humans. I saw several other races as well.

                Menequil are humanoids with olive-green skin. Spines grow on their cheeks, and on their elbows and knees as well. Some of them had almost see-through wings, while others lacked them entirely.  Other than that, they looked completely human. I could go on for hours about how many different races there were! But I was too busy taking in everything else. So much to see! So, so much!

                Finally, I arrived at the arcade. I paused at the automatic doors, but decided to just take it slowly. I walked straight through them, wincing as they shut behind me.  Then, I was absolutely stunned by the arcade.

                I had read about them on the network, so I knew more or less what I was getting into. But I was stunned nonetheless. Firstly, the place was well-decorated. The floor was tile, and there were framed pictured on the walls. But that's not what caught your eye. What caught your eye were the hundreds of small rectangular machines lined up against the walls, with people standing at them while shouting or cheering. Some seemed legitimately angered as well. But the generally vibe was cheerful and teasing.

On the left was a staircase leading to a second level with a clear floor- you could see the people walking above you!

                "That's a lot of screens." I breathed, looking around. Then, I walked over to the nearest game. On it was a picture of what I thought was a space ship, shooting what appeared to be space debris. The game was labeled; Debris Blast.

                There was a picture of how to play the game on the bottom corner of the controls. One hand on the strange stick-shaped object, and another on a pair of buttons. But I looked down at my hand and frowned. I only had one working arm. All of the games looked like they had to be played with two hands.

                Sighing, I turned away from the screen.

                "Hey!" Came a shout from my left.         

                I glanced in the voice's direction. Were they talking to me?         

                "You're seriously just gonna walk away from a game like that?" Came the voice again. A boy skidded to a stop beside me. He had messy brown hair and eyes that shimmered with mischief. They were colored green-blue, and with daggers of yellow piercing through the main coloration. He wore a vest, and a short sleeved shirt with leather pants.  He wore two coin pouches on his belt, and as he walked his pockets made jingling sounds. On his left leg, there was a pouch with a target on it.

                "I can't..." I motioned towards the game, "With one hand, it doesn't..."

                "Sure you can." He grinned, tossing a into the air and catching it, "You don't look like you're from around here? You an adventurer?"