EPIC: THE GAME

Michael and Pablo sat on the rust-colored, Scotch-guarded couch in John’s living room, with curious expressions on their faces. “Can I ask what this is about?” said Michael, as he picked at the cuticles above his bitten nails. Pablo parted his thick black hair and asked, “Are we in trouble?” “I don’t know – ARE you?” said John in a stern tone. Sarah spoke softly, “Billy is dead.” “What?!” sputtered Michael before bursting into tears. The top of his curly-reddish hair fell into his eyes. “How?” asked Pablo, with incredulous big brown eyes. “We don’t know how or why, Pablo” answered John. “That is why you are here.” Michael stopped his crying to ask, “How can we help?” “Well, boys. I need to know more about this game,” said John. “Epic.” “A game?!” said Pablo. “Why would you care about a game at a time like this? You just said my best friend is DEAD!” John darted a sharp glance at Pablo and said, “Because the logo for the game was tattooed to Billy’s pupils when he died.” “Omigod!” cried Michael. Michael and Pablo squirmed in their seats. Michael put his hands over his face and wiped the tears pouring out of his eyes with his mouth in a grimace. Pablo said, “No way!” and tears welled up in his eyes. John looked at Pablo and said, “Billy was found last night in his room. Blood was dripping from his eyes and ears. He was pale. He was dead when Sarah found him.” “Was he on drugs?” asked Sarah. “I don’t think so. Billy wasn’t into drugs as far as I know” answered Michael. “Pablo? Do YOU know something I don’t know?” asked John. Pablo said, “I know Billy tried DMT once. “DMT?” said Sarah. “Yes, it’s a psychedelic,” answered Pablo. “And he only tried it once?” asked John. “As far as I know,” said Pablo. “It was a few months ago. He described it as the best trip ever.” “I can’t believe this,” said John, wiping his sweating brow. “You think you’re a good parent, y’know? You clothe them. You give them good things to eat. Make sure they get to school. Encourage them to make friends. And then what? Something like THIS happens. It shakes up your whole world.” Sarah said, “Dad? We are here for you. Just tell us what you need. We’ll help in any way we can.” “Yes!” cried Michael. Pablo volunteered, “Billy was no druggie. He might have tried DMT before, but I know he wasn’t using drugs regularly, or anything like that.” “Well, that is a relief and nice to hear,” said John. “But, right now, my kid is dead. And I have no cause for the death. He was healthy. He was fine, up to the day it happened.” “You say the Epic logo was tattooed to his pupils?” said Michael. “Yes,” said John who started crying. “Boys, I need to know about this game.” “It’s really fun,” said Pablo. “Yeah, it’s like no game I’ve ever seen before,” said Michael. “Well, what is the object of the game?” “Should we show him?” said Pablo, nudging Michael. “Uh huh,” answered Michael. “We play it in your basement.” “My basement – why that hasn’t been used for years!” answered John. “Let’s go take a look,” said Sarah. “Yeah, let’s go boys. I’m all ears,” said John. As John descended the stairs to his basement, he was amazed. The entire basement had been converted into a game room. There were Epic wrappers scattered everywhere. There was a pool table in the corner. There were Epic posters on all the walls with the Symbol printed on them. There was a mask of something looking like a demon on the wall. It had a label on it that said, L17. “Omigod,” remarked Sarah. “Just LOOK at this!” cried John, pointing to an oversized chair in front of the wall with straps on it that was in front of a Sony 100” Class 4K HDR Ultra HD TV screen mounted to the wall. “What IS it?” asked Sarah, pointing to the contraption. “It’s the game,” said Pablo. “Yeah,” said Michael. “It’s a virtual reality game,” he said picking up Billy’s goggles. “Look!” said John. “There’s traces of blood on these, he WAS playing the game!” he said, taking the goggles from Michael. “Yeah,” said Pablo. “There’s some blood on the VR gloves as well. Look here, at the fingertips.” John cried, “Nnnnnoooo. This ISN’T happening. Not my boy!” “Dad! Look” said Sarah, as she pointed to the TV monitor for the game. “Billy is the highest scoring player.” The HDTV showed 3 gamers. Billy’s photo was next to a font that read “L20”. Two other players were featured next to labels that said “L18” and “L17”. “Omigod,” said Pablo. “He did it! He cracked the game.”