Ow ow ow ow...

The further I ran, the faster the trains moved, and the faster that fat guy ran, so I, of course, had to run faster to avoid them. My feet screamed in agony with every step. But I had to keep going, for as long as that god forsaken finger kept swiping.

At last, I was run over by a train. Now, I believe most people would find this occurrence less than something to celebrate, but for me, it meant the end of my run.

Lucky for me, the player decided to stop restarting and go do something else. I staggered to the side and nearly collapsed before Tricky steadied me.

"Whoa, Jake, take it easy," she said. "No passing out, you hear me? I ain't carrying you back to the start again."

I put my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath. That was about the twentieth time I'd run in the past half hour. And naturally, I was the only one that stupid player ever used, even though Tricky was now unlocked and could run too.

"You... did not... carry me," I managed to get out.

"Did," Tricky said. "Your legs were like two completely useless tentacles."

"You're spot on with what they feel like now," I painted, walking slowly back and fourth in a straight line.

"You keep pacing like that you're gonna faceplant." Tricky reclined on a bench. She pushed stray strands of blond hair out of her face.

"What's the point of that, anyway?" Fresh asked from behind Tricky, where he leaned against the wall and picked his teeth with his fingernail.

"Shut your trap, Fresh, you ain't even had to run," Spike snapped.

"Neither have you," Fresh snapped back. "So don't come talking like you know everything there is to know."

I sat on the ground with my back to a lamppost. Leaning my head back, I shut my eyes and listened to the argument blossom. I had no idea why Fresh and Spike were fighting so much. Maybe not being unlocked got boring.

I must have fallen asleep, but it wasn't very restful, and it only felt like a moment before Tricky was shaking my shoulder. "Jake? The player is back."

Forcing myself to my feet, I staggered back to the start, where I had to pretend to spray paint a train with graffiti. As soon as I felt the screen tapped, I took off at a sprint. Again.

It seemed this living Hell would never end.

At least, that's what I thought.

(A/n) This will continue. I'm planning on lots of chapters. Please tell me what you think!

-Storm