As before, I had 48 hours to write a maximum of 1,000 words in the given prompts below. :)
Group: 11
Genre: Ghost Story
Location: Video Arcade
Object: Chocolate Bar
Summary: Three minors enter the charred remains of a video arcade in hopes of relieving it of a large quantity of small change, but what they find instead is a malevolent force. Can they make it out alive or will the ghosts have the last say?
8-Bit Folly
Rachel’s stomach churned as the
acrid stench filled her lungs. Tossing what remained of her chocolate bar
aside, she steeled herself forward through the recently opened door, blinking
regularly to reduce the stinging in her eyes. Coughing, she tried to expel the
ash and dust from her throat as the air cleared inside. Faintly, she thought
she could hear hissing resounding through the room, but she immediately dismissed
it.
It was well past midnight and well past her bedtime too. Her big brother, Vinnie, had coerced her to tag along with temptations of wholesome fun. So far she had learned his version of excitement was breaking curfew, trespassing, and smoking.
For the first time in her life, she
was intruding on private property, with her brother and his best friend,
Prince. Tonight’s adventure was going to the abandoned video arcade that had
been condemned no more than 2 weeks ago and now was set for demolition.
Vinnie had regaled her with a story
of woe within the walls of the arcade. There had been a time when it was the place to be for local kids and
adults alike. Poor safety standards plagued the building, and it had twice
succumbed to fire. The first fire broke out during the busiest night of the
week, and many people met their untimely demise in it. Fortunately with the
second fire, only the owner and his daughter were there and managed to escape.
The owner decided to not open it
again, stating only that he was too old to start over, but his daughter wove
tales of whispers and laughter the night it burned. Her words echoed throughout
the town and soon no one entered the property, not even to remove what lies
within its walls.
“This is amazing!” Prince said as
he pushed his way through.
“Doesn’t look like anyone has had
our idea,” Vinnie snickered. “Rach, throw me the bag.”
Across her back was a backpack with
a bag of tools that she had somehow been roped into carrying. One of the boys
would have to carry it home, though. There was no way she could carry all those
coins. Rachel tossed him the backpack.
The temperature was dropping
inside, but Rachel tried to ignore it. Her nerves were already frayed. This was
not her idea of fun.
The video arcade was a shell of its
former self. The pinball machines and arcade games still stood, but there was
not much left to them. The marquees, sides and bezels were either blackened or destroyed.
The perimeter of the room was lined
with varying pinball machines while the middle had three rows of arcade
machines backs facing each other – six deep. There were more than 30 arcade games
here.
Rachel started her walk around the
arcade to try and settle down. She had barely made it past the second row of
machines, when she thought she saw movement around the furthest end of the row.
With a start, she glanced around to see if anyone else had seen it.
Prince and Vinnie were pulling out
screwdrivers from the bag. She sighed anxiously and walked down the row, heart
in her throat, but nothing was there. Just as she was getting ready to walk
back, she saw it again heading towards Vinnie and Prince.
Rachel attempted to cry out, but
suddenly she felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Her vision
blurred, and she felt instantly cold.
A light breath touched her ear,
with words whispered, “You should not be here!”
The hairs on the back of her neck
stood up, and her terror intensified. With an internal cry, Rachel ran over to
warn the others. Just as she did, the arcade sprung to life. 8-bit sounds
echoed throughout, and the machines flashed shades of green, blue, red, and
yellow.
Vinnie stood over the first pinball
machine in the arcade, playing instead of thieving.
“Vinnie!” she yelled at him, but he
just ignored her.
Rachel caught just a glimpse of
Prince walking mechanically into the second row of machines. She rushed over to
him to try and bring him back.
“We have to leave!” she screamed,
but his hands dropped to the joystick of the Centipede arcade game.
She pulled at him, but he didn’t
budge. His skin was ice cold. Rachel screamed, shaking her head in disbelief.
She pinched herself and rubbed her eyes to make sure it was real. All around
her the arcade games were playing themselves. The sounds of the buttons being
pressed and sticks being moved up, down, left and right overwhelmed her senses.
Panicked, she quickly ran back to
Vinnie. His game of pinball had racked up quite the score, and he was high
fiving the air. She rushed forward to pull at him, but before she could even
reach him, she was pushed backwards. She blinks; a group of kids are surrounding
her brother. Their heads turned toward her with toothy grins and villainous
eyes.
Startled, she stepped back, her
hand inadvertently touching the closest machine. She felt a sudden, unnatural
jolt resonate through her body.
“Play,” she heard.
Pulling away, she called out to
Vinnie. His eyes caught hers, but she was met with a soulless gaze.
“Play,” he said.
Her mind felt foggy and her chest
tight. Her fingers touched the machine, and all she could feel was a cold
invitation.
“Join us,” the voices echoed.
Mesmerised, she turned her gaze toward
the game of Karate Champ. She faltered for only a second as her hands
unconsciously moved onto the joysticks.
“You’re mine,” a single voice
whispered.
She felt it as it happened -
something pulled on her soul. The embrace was cold at first, but whatever
resistance she had in her was gone. She let go, and death enveloped her as
flames erupted all around.
The door slammed shut, but no one
seemed to care. She didn’t care. She
belonged here. She had a game to play.
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