Wretches
Chapter 1 - The Wretch
The night was getting late. A bitter winter chill was slowly consuming the depths of the basement. Kennedy sank into his couch and pulled up an unzipped sleeping bag over his body. In a blind attempt he reached for the Xbox 360 controller under the wooden coffee table. The lack of light, with the exception of a desk lamp being so far away, hindered his ability to see anything. His hand connected with the controller and with his index finger he powered it on. In an instant the Xbox 360 roared to life, its brightness broadening his visual spectrum. Controller in hand, Kennedy scanned the stack of games next to his television. None sounded too fun because he had played them all too much. His mouth felt dry from thirst but he was too lazy to get up, the couch and blanket had brought him comfort and warmth that was too precious to leave. The Xbox dashboard finally appeared and after a few seconds an all too familiar notification sound interrupted his thought as a party invite appeared on the screen. DrCarwash57 wants you to join a party it said. Shrugging his shoulders and positioning his mic, he thought Why not?Kennedy saw from the instant he joined the party that his friend was playing Gears of War 1. Carwash's voice was filled with intent, "Hey remember when Gears of War was free with gold? Well I got it, we should play co-op?"
Kennedy felt over-whelmed by this question. He hadn't even decided on what game to play yet. On the Xbox dashboard he noticed Gears of War was in the trey ready to be played. I don't quite remember playing this game recently, he thought. Whatever, as long as I don't have to get up.
"Yeah sure let me start a private campaign." he replied.
Kennedy skipped through the intro cut scenes and navigated to the co-op campaign menu. Which act should we do? he thought. For some reason his mind was intent on playing act three. Fine, act three it is.
The first scene with the junker breaking down in the stormy weather reminded him greatly of Gears of War 2. He would claim this irony but then remembered Carwash had never played that game. "This level is kind of scary." Carwash said sarcastically.
Kennedy laughed a little "Oh just wait, it gets better."
Marcus and Delta Squad zoomed in on some black Wretches crawling on a large Cylinder tower, and lightning struck the sky which added to the horror aspect. As the level progressed, so did the rain.
From the corner of his right eye, Kennedy caught a glimpse of a striking coincidence developing behind his window.
"Hey Carwash."
"What?"
"The weirdest thing, it's raining both in the game and outside my house."
"Ha. It's not raining where I live!"
"Are you sure? We live like two miles apart."
"Yeah I'm sure. What the hell is that!?"
Kennedy's attention was shattered by the piercing scream of the Lambent Wretch. Though a video game creature, it's glowing yellow eyes, mouth and black body seemed, felt, so real. After what seemed like eternity the Lambent scream ceased. A mild migraine filled his head, sleep weighed down his eyes and cotton mouth began to cultivate. The rain outside his window poured even faster. "Those damned Wretches can give you nightmares." joked Carwash.
Kennedy groaned and rubbed his forehead, the humor wasn't too arousing, "Yeah sure. Look man, Imma go to bed I'm way too tired as it is."
"Uh ok? We just got on!"
A quick jab to the power button guaranteed a bypass to the question. The migraine dissolved as the Xbox slowly died and its humming faded. The desk lamp gave light to his bed which grew ever more desirable. The pillows resembled clouds amongst an infinite warmth that his blankets afforded. Kennedy trembled before his bed and in an instant found himself cloaked in a sea of eternal comfort, warmth. A flick of the lamp switch, darkness devoured the basement, and Kennedy fell into the world of dreams. A dream that would forever change the bindings of his soul and of the world.