Chapter 12: Just Play and Forget Your Problems

There was blood everywhere. The walls and floor was stained with the murky red liquid color.

Hank looked around. He stared in front of him. It was a one-way hallway. He couldn't go back because he found himself right in front of a wall.

There were bodies hanging from the ceiling by ropes. Hank recognized them all as A.A.H.W. members. They were dripping with blood. Whatever had done this wasn't human.

Hank looked in front of him. The lights flickered off and went back on. It happened again. Hank saw a door at the other side.

"Well...I guess I don't have much of a choice do I?" he said to himself.

Hank started walking. The lights flickered again. When they turned back on, Hank saw a cloaked figure in front of him.

Hank walked a few steps backwards and took a defensive position. But then, the lights flickered off, went back on, and it was gone.

Hank got out of his stance, and kept walking. Then he heard something that sounded like...static?

His right boot stepped on a puddle of blood. Suddenly, the lights went off and on and the figure was right in front of his face. It gave him a smile with something that looked like zombie teeth.

Hank stumbled backwards. He blinked and it was gone.

Hank decided to move back, but just as he turned, he found the wall right in front of him. Whatever this thing was, it wanted him to keep moving forward.

Hank turned back around and sighed. He kept walking and finally reached the front of the door. He opened it and saw something he would never forget.

Zombies. Lots of them. About a hundred of them were crawling in the room. Luckily, Hank was high above their heads. It was as if the doorway he was looking from was floating in mid-air.

Hank looked down. The zombies had spotted him and were trying to reach his flesh. But Hank was 20 feet above them and there was no way they could get him. Hank saw the room below him. It looked like a torture chamber of some sort where they would throw bodies for the zombies to feast on. There was blood and body parts scattered all over the place. But the undead were still hungry.

"What the hell happened there?" Hank asked to himself.

"Why don't you go and see for yourself?"

Hank turned around and found the cloaked figure right behind him. Before he could react, Hank was pushed by the man down to the zombie pit. He laughed as Hank fell to his doom and the zombies ready to rip him apart...

Hank woke in a sweat and found himself shaking violently. He was relieved it was just another nightmare, but he realized he couldn't stop shaking. It was as if all the muscles in his body were vibrating uncontrollably. Hank felt himself ready to explode.

Having no other option, he screamed: "Sanford! Deimos!"

Sanford and Deimos immediately woke up from their sleep and ran to Hank's room. They saw Hank shaking in his bed as if he was having a seizure.

"Holy shit! Hank! Deimos, make something hot for him!" Sanford yelled.

Deimos dashed to the kitchen and turned on the hot water. He poured some into a large glass and ran back to Hank. Sanford took the glass from him and gave it to Hank. Hank grabbed it and drank the whole blistering hot glass in one gulp.

He gasped for air as he felt himself regaining control again. The muscles in his body had relaxed from the warm water. Sanford was holding him upright to allow the water to flow through his body.

"Hank! Are you alright?" Sanford asked.

"I-I don't know Sanford. I felt like my heart was going to explode. Literally. I think you two saved my life." Hank replied.

Deimos and Sanford looked at each other. They looked back at Hank still breathing heavily to calm down.

"You think you're okay now?" Deimos questioned.

"Yeah...you two can go back to sleep now." Hank answered.

"Hank, you scared the crap out of us. Is this some kind of joke?" Sanford said.

Hank looked at him. "Do I look like the type of person that wakes up in the middle of the night and pretends to have something like a heart-attack just for a good laugh?"

Deimos shook his head. "Hank, you've changed lately. We feel as if you became a completely different person nowadays."

"Look, I'm fine, alright? Quit worrying. Thank you for waking up and helping me stop shaking." Hank assured them. Hank didn't want them to be worried although Deimos was still right. But if they stressed over him, he would only be an obstacle from living their daily lives.

They watched Hank for a while, making sure he was totally normal. After realizing that they could do nothing else to help him, they told him goodnight and went back to their rooms to fall asleep.

Meanwhile, Hank kept sitting upright. It was the second nightmare he had in the week and this one had somehow almost killed him if Sanford and Deimos didn't wake up. He let his head rest on his pillow. It was 5 in the morning and Hank was tired.

But he didn't allow himself to sleep. There was no way he was going to rest again that night after what he just experienced.

Hank stared at the ceiling for the next two to three hours. He heard Sanford wake up and get out of his room. Sanford walked over to check on Hank and saw him staring.

"Hank, you didn't sleep did you?" he asked.

Hank nodded.

Sanford sighed again. "I know a lot of shit is going on lately and your head might be going nuts, but listen, we're here to help you if you need it. So just stop killing yourself like this. People have the occasional nightmares Hank and you need to calm down. The A.A.H.W. is gone and we don't need to worry anymore."

Hank said nothing. Sanford went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Of course he was worried about Hank. Hank J. Wimbleton was afraid of nothing 3 years ago as he took down some of the most vicious men who lived. And now, he was afraid of the only thing that he has the power to control:

Himself.

Back at Hank's room, Hank decided to get up from his bed. Just like in his dream, he had no other choice. The only problem was; he had no idea what waited for him as he opened the door to the future.

Hank didn't know what was wrong with him. He was changing all of a sudden from a cold-blooded killer to...something strange.

Hank walked to the kitchen. He turned on the TV and waited for Sanford to finish cooking.

Sanford took out three plates for the three of them. He put the scrambled eggs and pancakes onto Hank's plate first. Hank ate slowly since his appetite was affected by his sudden-death moment. He looked at the TV for the news. When he found the channel, he nearly dropped his whole plate onto the ground. There was a picture of him and Cathy at the bench as he was hugging her.

Sanford saw that too and chuckled. "Looks like the paparazzi gotcha' Hank."

Hank shook his head. "Son of a bitch..." he muttered.

The reporter was speaking as the headline said: "Hank J. Wimbleton on a Date?"

"Yesterday evening, local residents spotted Hank J. Wimbleton at the park with Cathy Richards: the woman he had saved from the raping that had occurred 3 to 4 days ago. It seems as if they are in a relationship as shown in this picture taken by a witness. Reports say, however, that Cathy had suddenly begun crying as she was with Hank, who seemed to be comforting her. Many who have seen the picture believe that Hank had finally found his 'soul mate' or his 'true love'. In addition-"

Hank turned off the TV. He couldn't bear the stupidity of the media anymore.

Sanford looked at him quizzically. "Hey! I was watching!"

Hank threw the remote to Sanford's hands. "Watch it on your own then."

Sanford suddenly realized Hank was upset. "Oh. Hank I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insul-"

"Yeah, yeah Sanford, I hear you. It's not your fault anyways. Fucking media cast can't keep their mouths shut. Now I know how those Hollywood celebrities feel." Hank responded as he walked out of the kitchen and through the front door again.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sanford asked him as he noticed Hank didn't finish his breakfast.

Hank shrugged. "The gym, I guess."

"Again? Didn't you just go yesterday?" Sanford asked again.

Hank shook his head. "It's not like I have anything to do here, and we both know that as a fact. That's what I did yesterday when I went on that date with Cathy."

Hank walked out and met faces with Deimos.

"Oh hey Hank. If you're going out can you buy some smo-"

But Hank had already left the house.

Deimos looked at the closed door, confused, and then turned to Sanford. "What's up with him? All I wanted was a pack of cigarettes."

Sanford put food on Deimos's plate and turned on the TV. "Watch." he told him.

Deimos sat down and watched the news. After a while, he finally spoke: "Is that why Hank's upset?"

"Yeah." Sanford told him.

"But I don't get it, isn't it a good thing?" Deimos questioned.

Sanford looked at him, shocked. "No you retard! It isn't! People are starting to take Hank as a fool now because of what happened last night!"

"Sanford?"

"What."

"Are you sure you and I are talking about the same thing?"

"Huh?"

"I don't get how Hank would be upset that hot dog prices are lowered."

Sanford looked up to the TV and saw the report had changed. All this time he was talking about Cathy and Deimos was focused on hot dogs.

He sighed and told Deimos the situation himself as he sat across from him and ate.

"Ohhhh. Okay. You could've just told me from the start you know." Deimos stated.

"I'm sooo sorry Deimos that I couldn't control the news channel." Sanford mocked him.

"Well, maybe we should get something to cheer him up." Deimos suggested, ignoring the sarcasm.

"Like?" Sanford asked.

"I don't know. Something simple."

"Deimos, I'm not buying Hank another gun or a giant blender. We already have enough of those." Sanford said, staring at the giant blender and their gun collection.

"No, and hell no on the blender. One is fucking enough for that guy. I was thinking maybe something we can all enjoy indoors." Deimos confirmed.

"Well, you came up with the idea so you should figure something out." Sanford explained as he washed both their dishes.

Deimos sat thinking. Then, his face lit up as he found a solution. "I got it."

"What?"

Hank came back 2 hours later. He was attacked by the news again and he didn't feel like exercising much. But he was pretty surprised to find Sanford and Deimos on the floor.

"Deimos, I think you stick this in there."

"No Sanford, that won't fit. The hole's not shaped this way."

"God, don't you remember how to do this? We used to play with this thing tons of times before at the Anti-A.A.H.W.!"

"That was 3 years ago man! Some of the stuff here changed."

Hank looked closer, and to his relief, they were trying to set up some kind of electronic device. If he hadn't seen what they were doing as he was entering, he would've taken the whole situation into a COMPLETELY different scenario.

"Gay." Hank said, trying to get their attention.

"Shut the fuck up Hank." they both said at the same time. Then, their eyes widened.

"Hank! Why did you come back so early?" Sanford asked when he looked up.

"I didn't feel like staying at the gym after a while. Fucking news crews pissed me off even more than they did yesterday. Couldn't get through or go back into the house without answering their damn questions. Also, everyone I met while I was walking down the street was congratulating me for having a hot girlfriend, which just ticked me off even more. What the hell are you two doing on the floor?" Hank questioned.

Sanford watched Deimos plug in the last few plugs into the living room TV. "We thought that we should have something besides a TV or a computer to entertain us when we have nothing to do. So we bought a game system."

"And it helps kill my boredom since my computer was raped yesterday." Deimos added.

"Right." Sanford confirmed.

Hank looked at the rectangular electronic box. "Game system? You mean like the one we had at the Anti-A.A.H.W.?"

Sanford nodded. "You used to play with yours?"

Hank shook his head. "Yeah, I used it once or twice, but I wasn't really a fan of playing video games."

"Done!" Deimos yelled as the game appeared on the screen.

Hank looked at the TV as the introduction to the game popped out. Sanford and Deimos used to play against each other all the time when they were bored, and they gained experience in using the system. They found the exact same game they had played long ago and tossed it to Hank.

"Burst Kill 3?" Hank said as he read the title.

"Yeah! We used to play it all the time!" Deimos told him.

Hank shrugged. He saw it was a first-person shooting game from the pictures on the back. If Sanford and Deimos wanted to play this with him, then he supposed he could. After all, it wouldn't really harm him if he played one or two times with his roommates.

"Okay then. So you got three controllers?" Hank asked.

Deimos pulled out three controllers from a plastic bag.

Hank nodded. "Alright then, let's start."

Sanford tossed the control manual to Hank in case if he forgot how to play. Hank caught it and started reading it.

"It's okay if it'll take you 10 or 20 minutes to get the controls Hank. After all, Deimos and I already worked with this game before so-"

"Done." Hank said as he tossed the manual to the floor.

Deimos and Sanford looked at each other. Sure Hank had an IQ of 200, but nobody can figure out how to work a game after skimming through the whole control manual 10 to 15 seconds!

"Hank, you don't need to be so impatient, we want you to enjoy this with us." Deimos told him.

"Trust me. I got this." Hank told him.

Deimos sighed. "If you say so."

Sanford connected each controller into the system and set up the match.

They each took a controller and sat down with their legs crossed.

"It's 2 versus 1. If we kill you 20 times Hank, we win, but if you get 10 kills out of us, you win."

Hank shook his head. "Make that 20 into 10 Deimos."

Deimos looked at Hank with the 'Are-You-Fucking-Serious?' look.

"Hank, are you sure? I mean we both played the game and this is your third time! You'll get destroyed!" Deimos warned.

Hank looked at Deimos with the 'Yes-I'm-Fucking-Serious-So-Shut-The-Fuck-Up-And-Start' look. "Deimos, I don't give a shit if I win or lose. It's just a game."

Deimos looked at Sanford who was focused on the screen. Sanford shrugged. "If he wants to play that way, let him Deimos."

Deimos took a controller. "Alright Hank."

Hank took the last one for himself. He turned the controller around to see the back. Deimos grinned in the back of his head at how naïve Hank looked. To be honest, Deimos and Sanford bought the game not only to enjoy themselves, but to finally show off and beat Hank at something. This was the perfect opportunity to do so.

"Let's go." Sanford said as he picked up his controller and started.

(Later)

Deimos and Sanford were left gaping at the screen at the final score. Hank had killed them both 10 times and died only twice.

Hank put the controller down and sighed. "That was okay I guess. It did help keep my mind off of some stuff." he told the both of them.

But they still gaped. "Hank, are you sure this is your third time playing this?" Sanford asked him.

"Yeah. You guys sucked." Hank smirked.

Deimos put his hands on the sides of his head and grabbed his hair in disbelief. They had both tried their hardest to beat Hank. Sanford and Deimos played this same game on the same system hundreds of times, and Hank had owned them with only 2 times' worth of experience. There was just no way! They must've gone easy on him...or forgot how to use the controls.

But that still doesn't explain how Hank was able to destroy them so easily.

"R-rematch Hank! We were going easy on you, that's all!" Deimos said desperately.

Hank chuckled. "Fine. One more."

But it wouldn't be only one more. It would be A LOT more rounds.

(MUCH Later)

Deimos threw down his controller in disappointment. "Well, there goes the rest of my self-esteem for this game." he said.

Hank had defeated them both again for the 8th time in a row. Sanford face-palmed himself.

"Hank?" Sanford asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can't you ever let us win at least SOMETHING over you?"

Hank laughed. "Not until I'm dead Sanford."

Sanford sighed as Hank went to go take a shower. Deimos shook his head.

"Unbelievable. That bastard's always showing off." Deimos told Sanford as he cleaned up the system.

"Well. He IS Hank J. Wimbleton, Deimos. And he does tend to surprise people from time to time." Sanford answered with his arms crossed, laying on the couch on his back.

Deimos said nothing as he changed the channel to watch some TV. Hank really was just something else.

Hank wore his clothes and sprayed some cologne. The three of them had been playing for so long that it was already evening.

'So much for just one or two games.' Hank thought. He began walking out of the house until Deimos asked him something.

"Where are you going now Hank?"

Hank turned around. "To Cathy. Where else?"

Deimos looked at him with an astonished look. "Cathy? Aren't you already humiliated enough Hank?"

Hank exhaled deeply. "Look, I made a promise with her and I have to keep it. After all, Hank J. Wimbleton does keep his promises."

Deimos nodded slowly. Hank turned to walk out of the front door.

"Hank?" Deimos called out.

"Yeah?"

"You're a real good guy, you know that?"

Hank grinned. "Thanks." he said as he left.

Deimos waited until Hank was gone, and then quickly started setting up the game again.

"What are you doing Deimos?" he heard Sanford say.

"You don't remember do you?"

"Remember what?"

"We had a score to settle from the Anti-A.A.H.W."

Sanford went through his head and then finally remembered him and Deimos being in a tie after playing 20 rounds. Of course the master of memory would remember something like that from 3 years ago.

"For God's sake Deimos, now? We just played hours of this same crap with Hank."

Deimos laughed shortly. "Come on Sanford. For old times' sake, let's end this tie. Unless you're chicken."

Sanford rolled his eyes. Deimos may be a grown man, but he's still a kid in the head. Sanford came down from the couch to the floor in front of the television. "Watch how the master does it."

They started the game up and began their match.

Just like the good old days.

A/N: Another comedy/bonding chapter. I just did this one to connect with some of the readers out there, you know, those gamer fans. But it's getting extremely difficult to organize this story. I mean, I have all the events planned out in my head, but when and where these things take place is the real problem. Plus, what happens before and afterwards is also a critical factor. Oh well. The next chapter should be up soon. I hope you enjoy this story so far, and I'll see you later.

~Spirit9871