Hello. Welcome.
I will show you the way to a world that you've never experienced before.
It's another world that is waiting with its mouth wide open in everyday life…
…And it's just about to start. Well then, have a good time…
1st Period: "The Devil's Game""Yes! I cleared it!"
"Let's do one more round before the teacher comes!"
"Hey, show me how to clear this level."
Maddie sighed.
"What's wrong, Maddie?" Her friend Yasmine asked.
"It's just that everyone's into video games these days…" Maddie replied.
"Huh? Don't you have one, too?"
"My mom won't buy me one because she thinks I'll spend too much time gaming and won't study."
It's a hand held video game device that's really popular now. In my school, everyone has at least one. It's not fair! Maddie thought.
"Yasmine! Let's connect and start a round!" A girl called.
"'Kay!" Yasmine replied.
A handsome boy went up to them. "Can we join?" said Adam, the most popular guy in the class.
Even Adam! Maddie thought. I feel so jealous of Yasmine!
Yasmine and the others started playing.
It's not fair… I want one, too!
"…but it's not as if mom will buy me one," Maddie said to herself while walking home from school. "Even if I save my allowance, it'll be months before I have enough money…" At this rate, my friends will start to think I'm a boring loser! She thought.
That moment, Maddie tripped over something. She looked down.
"…Whoa, it's the game device! Someone probably dropped it, though." She muttered.
She held the game in her hands. I never saw this version before, maybe it's new. But it looks really dirty…
Maddie kept on staring at the game. Suddenly, it flashed, and the starting scene of a game called "Animal Life Story" popped up.
"Huh! I didn't press anything…" Maddie mumbled. …Aw, it's n t a fighting game, apparently, She thought, disappointed.
"Let's see… 'Before starting this game'…"
'In this game, you will be an ordinary animal at first, and you will have to grow it into the King of Animal Kingdom throughout various events.'
Maddie snickered. "Sounds easy."
'In addition, in order to finish this game, you will need to clear the game by making your food and money level to MAX and become the king; OR, you will need to reset.'
The background suddenly turned black.
'To reset the game: by resetting, your events, your memory, and your existence in the game will be completely erased. Now do you wish to start the game?'
There was an option between 'Go Back' or 'Start'.
Maddie paused. It's not as if… anyone's watching. She thought, looking around. I don't think anyone will mind if I just play for a little bit…
Maddie clicked 'Start'. A small rabbit appeared.
'Please enter your name.'
"Oh, this must be me in this game. 'Kay… 'Maddie'." She entered.
The rabbit walked into the forest.
'Maddie is taking a walk in the forest. Then, she found an acorn! It might belong to someone though. What to do?'
There was a selection between A) Take it for yourself, or B) Give it to the nearby dog police officer.
So this is the 'event'…Maddie thought. I'll need to choose between A or B… I'll just choose B for now.
She clicked B.
As soon as she pressed the button, Maddie saw something on the ground. When she looked closely, it was a wallet. Whoa! It's a wallet! She thought, gleefully. I'm picking up lots of things today! Just when she was about to look inside, she felt a couple of people's eyes looking at her.
She sighed. I better bring this to the police before anyone misunderstands.
Maddie saw a police officer talking to a middle-aged man three blocks later. They seemed to be discussing about something that the man lost.
"Excuse me… I found this on the street, just now." Maddie said, raising the wallet.
The middle-aged man looked astonished. "Hey! That's my wallet!" He exclaimed happily. "Thank you for picking it up! Really, thanks!" He said to Maddie.
"No problem…"
The officer chuckled. "That's great, normally things like this doesn't happen."
The man opened his wallet. He game a bill to Maddie. It was a $100 bill.
"Here's my thanks," The man said, and turned to leave.
"A-a hundred dollars! Wait…!" Maddie called out.
"See you." The man left, smiling.
The officer turned to Maddie. "Are you okay? Can you walk home alone?"
"Oh, yes…" Maddie said.
"Be careful when you walk home. They say a street attacker's been harming people in the town next to ours."
"'Kay…"
As Maddie walked away, she thought, Lucky! I got $100! What should I spend it on?
The game in her pocket beeped. She opened it. It said,
'The acorn belonged to Mr. Raccoon. Maddie got 100 acorn seeds as thanks from Mr. Raccoon. Food level up!'
"The 'Maddie' in the game is lucky, too." Maddie paused, looking at the game. I don't think it'll be a problem if I take this game. Whosever it is, he or she shouldn't have been so careless. She thought, as she put it in her pocket again. As they say, 'Finders Keepers!' Now I won't be left out in school.
The next day, Maddie was playing her game while walking to school.
"Hmm…the characters in the game go to school, too, apparently. It's not so different from our everyday lives… huh?" Maddie looked closely. There was a bar with a heart, next to the food bar and the money bar. I wonder what this is, I didn't notice yesterday… Maybe it's the energy level?
Maddie heard laughter. She looked up. Adam and his friends were walking by, laughing about some joke.
Oh! It's Adam! Maddie thought, blushing a bit. 'Morning Adam! Look, I bought a game too.' … is what I want to say, but I'm too scared to speak in front of him…
The game beeped. "Hm?" She looked down.
'Maddie's crush Tiger is standing in front of her! What to do?
Talk to him, of course.
Just walk by without interaction.
Maddie smiled ruefully. At least I want the Maddie in this game to be brave. She clicked A.
She sighed. It's so easy to make decisions in a game…
All of a sudden, Adam turned around. "Morning, Maddie." He said to her, smiling.
Maddie was stunned. What!
"Let's walk to class together." Adam said.
"O…Okay." She whispered.
What's happening? Adam never spoke to me before… A sudden thought came to her. The exact same thing happened in the game… She gasped silently. Now that I think of it, yesterday, too… Wait a second, yesterday and just now, it's too strange to be considered as a coincidence… What does this mean…!
A creeping realization made her heart thump. Maybe it's that… what happens in the game will occur in reality! B-But that can't be possible… But, if it were true… school, sports, and even love; I can control all of them just by using my fingers! She began to grin. This is amazing… it's real… This game is supernatural…!
Maddie tried out lots of things that day and the day after that. The 'Maddie' in the game got 1st place in a running competition; the real Maddie got 1st place in Track. The game 'Maddie' earned math skill points; the real Maddie aced a math test. The game 'Maddie' went on a date with Tiger; the real Maddie got tickets for a concert from Adam.
Maddie had a huge smile on her face as she was walking home that afternoon, while checking on her animal self.
Yasmine walked over from across the street with one of her friends. "Hey Maddie, what's that?"
Maddie flinched. "T-this? Uh…nothing." She quickly hid the game behind her back. "Oh yeah, I have to go home now, so bye." She turned and left hurriedly.
Yasmine looked mystified. "What's wrong with her…?"
Maddie sighed in relief after she was a few blocks away. "That was close. If anyone saw this fabulous game, they would want it for sure! I have to keep this a secret!"
The game beeped. "I wonder what event it is this time?"
'Something is coming towards Maddie from behind the trees! What to do?
Keep walking and bump into it.
Stop and wait for a moment.'
Maddie licked her lips. "I wonder what 'something' is… Alright, I'm going to become the King fast and become incredibly rich!" She turned back to the game. "I'll go carefully right now…" She chose B.
Maddie stopped her steps in real life at the street corner. Her heart started beating. I wonder what will happen…
But as she stopped, a little boy came and ran past her first.
"Hey- he went first…" Maddie said.
To her shock and horror, a truck came speeding down the corner and within a second, the little boy was run over.
Maddie stood paralyzed. She stared at the bloody mess of the boy. A woman screamed behind her.
"A child was run over by a truck!"
"Someone call the ambulance!"
Maddie began to shake. "What…" W-What happened!This is completely different from the previous 'events'… If I had chosen A…
She looked at the game. She saw that the bar marked by a heart had its level decreased. …It decreased since last time?
The next day in school, Maddie couldn't focus on all her classes.
"By the way, there were rumors that there was a street attacker harming people in the town next to ours," The teacher was saying. "It was reported yesterday that a high school student nearby a couple of streets away was chased by the attacker. Everyone, when you go home, please go straight home and with friends, not alone."
I feel so sickened right now… She thought, looking at the game. …My body seems heavy, too. Maybe it's because I didn't sleep much last night, I was too busy playing games…
She noticed something again. The 'heart' bar had shrunk. Again…! Why is it decreasing so fast! It's eating food, its energy should be great…
She looked at Yasmine and the others taking. Oh yeah… I'll ask Yasmine… She likes games; she might now something about it.
"I heard that if you get caught by the street killer, he'll slice your stomach open with a scythe!" A girl was saying.
"Argh, are you serious!" Yasmine said, shaking her head disgustedly.
Maddie went over to them. "Hey guys…"
The other girls stopped talking, and all at once, they walked away, ignoring Maddie. Except for Yasmine.
What… Maddie thought.
Yasmine looked at Maddie straight in the eyes. "Maddie, I have to talk to you after school, is that ok?"
Maddie nodded.
After class, Maddie and Yasmine met up behind the school.
"Lately, when we try to talk to you, Maddie, you've just been unresponsive. You just go home quickly after school, even though we used to go home together before. That's why everyone's kinda angry…" Yasmine explained.
Maddie remembered the times when she just flat-out ignored her friends, too focused on her game. Oh… Now that I think about it…
"Maddie," Yasmine continued. "You should just apologize to everyone."
Maddie scowled. Apologize!
"Isn't that kind of selfish?" Maddie shot back, turning her head away. "It's not even just me. Everyone's been talking about games in front of me, when they know that I don't have one. They left me out on purpose."
"But Maddie, you bought a game too, right?" Yasmine asked. "But you don't even try to talk with us; you're too focused on something."
"That's…" Maddie gritted her teeth.
"Is it something you can't tell us?" Yasmine continued. "If you're continuing to be like this, no one's going want to speak to you anymore."
Maddie clenched her teeth even tighter. What's wrong with everyone… Why are they all ganging up against me?
"…Whatever, I don't care." Maddie spit out. "It's so much more fun playing games then talking to you guys anyway!"
Yasmine paused, shocked, rocking back on her heels at the outburst.
"I don't need friends anymore!" Maddie yelled, and turned and ran away.
"Maddie!" Yasmine called after her.
As If I will tell Yasmine and the others! Maddie thought, while running with tears in her eyes. This game is mine… I'll never give it to anyone else!
She came to the school playground. It was already getting dark. Maddie sat on a bench, trying to wipe her tears off. "…I should go home…" She muttered to herself, sniffing. I'm alone now… I wish that I can control friends using my game…
The game beeped inside her bag. She took it out.
'A bloodthirsty wolf appeared!'
"…! Why… I know I turned off the power…" Then Maddie got the full meaning. She looked at the wolf. What… A cold shiver ran up her spine. She sensed someone behind her. She turned around.
There was a man with a hat pulled down so you can't see his face wearing a white jacket with red smears on it, holding a scythe.
Maddie froze. She stopped breathing.
"They say a street attacker's been harming people."
"He'll slice your stomach open with a scythe."
An abnormal amount of cold sweat dripped down Maddie's forehead.
The moment later, she turned and dashed away from the man for her life. She could hear the man's footsteps racing after her.
This isn't real. Someone! Help me!
She went inside the school, past the lockers, and ran into the hallway. He's going to catch up to me! She thought, almost delirious. Her eyes stopped on a girls' bathroom sign. She dashed in, went into one of the stalls, and locked herself in. She panted, her back against the door, shaking. Her heart was thumping so hard that the she felt her veins moving with each pulse.
She heard the man open the door the bathroom. Then she heard a horrible screeching sound. It was the sound of the scythe clawing against the door to each of the stalls.
Maddie covered her ears and closed her eyes, beyond frightened. The screeching sound got closer. What should I do, he's almost here! She felt tears in her eyes again. Yasmine…! That time… If only I had apologized and went home together… and then reveal everything about the game and ask for help…!
The game beeped. Maddie gasped. An option! If I choose the right now, m-maybe I'll be saved! She thought.
'Maddie escaped into her house. The wolf is right in front of the door. What to do?
Open the door from inside
The door's lock will be broken open by the wolf
The blood froze in Maddie. The man was right outside her stall.
The man kicked the stall door, nearly opening it. Maddie jumped back.
"T-these options, either way…!" Maddie said, almost blubbering.
The game beeped once more. The heart bar was decreasing, and was still decreasing. It was nearly gone. The level is disappearing! Why! What does this mean…! Maddie gasped. Maybe this… isn't an energy bar… it was a countdown for my life…!
Maddie's knees gave up on her. She dropped to the floor. "No… No way… I'm really going to…"
Just as she was about to say 'die', she remembered something.
'In order to finish this game, you will need to clear the game; OR, you will need to reset'
Right, reset! Then I can just quit this entire game! She started clicking buttons. All the while, the man kept on kicking the door. "Hurry… Hurry up!"
The door gave away just as she finally clicked the reset button.
Maddie thought the game flashed brilliantly. Then, all she saw was white. Then, it turned pitch dark.
"Ta-da!" The 'man' said, as he took off his hat and the shoes that made him look much taller than he really was. Of course, the man wasn't a man at all; it was one of Maddie's classmates. "Soooory! Did we take it too far!"
"It's because Maddie's been ignoring us lately, you know, we thought it'll be fun to scare you a little." said one of Yasmine's friends, as she poked her head inside the stall.
There was no one inside the stall. "Huh?"
Yasmine barged into the bathroom. "What are you all doing!" she yelled.
"Oh… umm, just playing around…" a girl answered.
"You guys took it too far! What are you all thinking!" Yasmine yelled, angrily. She pushed aside the girls, making her way to the stall. "Wait, but…" A girl started to stop her.
"Maddie, are you okay? The street attacker's been captured a few hours go; it was on the news…"
Yasmine looked inside the stall. There was, indeed, nothing there, except for the game that Maddie always played with.
"…Maddie?" said Yasmine, as she bent down to pick up the game.
'…-lp me… help me… let me get out of here! Nooooooo…!'
Life is always composed of events and options. If only she was able to look around more…If only she asked for her friend's advice that time…
A third option would have existed, and she could've been saved.
This terrifying world where people can wander into by taking one step wrong…
It's a world where whoever can enter whenever…
Next time, you might be the hero or the heroine of this world.