Del drove his beat-up Honda Accord to his motel room in the bad area of San Pedro. The place was called Budget Maui Gardens. Before he went home, he went to a liquor store and bought a pint of rum, a six-pack of Diet Coke and a packet of Twinkies. He didn’t care about his waistline or trying to be healthy. Marion, his soon to be ex-wife, was not here to nag him. He had been living here for the last six months since he separated from her.

The motel room which he could barely pay was dirty and dingy. Any hotel named Maui or Budget was always grimy and old. When he opened the door to his room, he saw the scraps of paper wrappers and takeout food on his desk table and floor. The maid service was spotty at best. The cleaning crew came once a month and when they did vacuum and pickup, it was lackluster. He tried to tidy up the best he could, but he gave up. His keys jingle as he closed the door.

Del knelt and place his hand underneath the bed. His stomach lurched a little, and he had to wait a few seconds. But he was relieved to find the box was still hidden there. His laptop was inside the nondescript box. He had placed biohazard stickers and tape all over the container to ward off any thief. He took it out and placed it on his bed. He opened it and took out his laptop.

Del could have kept his computer inside the trunk of his accord but he didn’t want it sitting inside his car with the heat of the LA sun beating against his automobile.

Del placed the laptop on the table next to the bed. He had Wi-Fi service because he paid premium service through his cell phone provider so he could play his video games. It was the only thing he splurged his money on besides a subscription to his games. He had played games since he was a kid. He played everything from Final Fantasy to World of Warcraft to Halo. He especially like the games that were role-playing as well shooting games. His wife, Marion, never liked his side hobby. She would always tell him that it was childish and he should stop since he was a dad. His daughter, Jenny, like playing games with him, video games, board games anything that had puzzles and action.

Del took out a plastic cup that he had on his table poured himself some diet soda and mixed it with a good amount of rum. He took a drink, and he instantly felt a better. He heard the best thing for hangovers was to drink alcohol. He was not sure about that but drank.

Del wished he had a bottle of aspirin but he forgot to buy it. He plugged in his laptop booted it up. His laptop was state-of-the-art with all the bells and whistles with the fastest GPU and CPU. He placed the gaming mouse and keyboard on the table next to the laptop. He typed in his password at the prompt.

His avatar in the game, Strike Blast, was a big muscular Marine who took no shit from anybody. He was about to log-in and play another round of games but the stomach convulsed and he had to rush to the restroom. He vomited into the toilet.

Del shook his head. He cannot play like this. He was still hung over. Del looked to the table next to the TV. He saw the divorce papers inside a yellow envelope. He shook his head. He should sign the papers and get it over. His wife was not going back to him.

Del was so exhausted he went to his bed and without taking his clothes off fell down on his bed and fell asleep. He heard a buzzing sound in his head. He didn’t want to wake up. He was dreaming about old times with his wife and daughter, good times when they went to dinner and watch a movie together. He missed those times.

Del wondered what happened. Why did everything had to change? It was like when he was a kid and his parents were having problems. His parents got divorced when he was only thirteen. He always hated going back and forth from his divorced parents homes.

The buzzing noise kept going. He opened his eyes and saw his cell phone on the table next to him vibrating like a mad hornet. He shook his head. He didn’t remember placing his cell phone on the table or even having it on vibrate. He should have turned it off altogether.

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His head pounded and moaned as he looked at his cell phone. It stopped vibrating. Del always had a problem with his drinking but last night was the worst. The divorce paperwork was stuck in his motel room door jamb when he came home from work the night before. He broke opened the seal with a plastic knife and peered inside looking at the papers slowly one by one. He thrusted it back into the envelope and placed it on his drawer next to the TV.

His marriage was over; he knew it. He wanted to see his daughter again and tell her how sorry he was. He promised her that he would be back home. This was not right. He wasn’t going to be like his own parents. He grabbed the phone and was about to turn it off when he looked at the screen. He saw several text messages. One message was from his best friend, John. The other message he couldn’t recognize and hope it was not the girl he was with last night. The last text was from Marion. She wanted to know if he received the divorce paperwork. He turned off his cell phone and went back to sleep.

Yet, sleep eluded him. Images of his wife and his daughter going to Disneyland with him and having fun came to him in torrents of old memories. He wished he knew when things changed. He knew his drinking didn’t help. He knew he should have worked on his marriage before he got separated instead of going to the nearest bar and drinking the next beer. His dad was an alcoholic as well as his mom. It was inevitable that he would become an alcoholic. He should have gone into Alcoholics Anonymous as soon as got separated but he didn’t. He now regretted that decision.

He opened his eyes and stumbled into the restroom and took a leak. Del kept pissing, going like a flood; it was odd that he didn’t realize he had to go so bad. His kidneys must be screaming at him and his body probably hated him as well.

Del finished up in the restroom. He washed his hands vigorously in the sink. He was mad at himself and looked at his reflection again in the mirror and all he saw was an angry man turning gray.

Del was only 30 years old. But he felt like 65. The only thing that made him feel good was drinking alcohol or playing games. He was somebody else when he did those things he was super Del he was a man who had his life together. Drinking made him think he could do anything like being a being a millionaire. And playing games made him see himself as a badass, a man who could get things done. He was unstoppable. He was a fighter.

Del was still dressed in his work clothes and he changed into shorts and a T-shirt. His breath smelt like garbage. He grabbed his soda and was about to drink it but knew it was warm but he didn’t care. He opened it and chugged half the can and then belched. It didn’t taste good. It was awful.

He should get some ice but all he wanted to do was get to his computer to play a few rounds of Strike Blast. He had a makeshift gaming table and chair that he had from the hotel which was workable but not the greatest. At his home he had the best of everything: a leather chair, a mahogany red table, a fast desktop and flashy computer lights.

He sat on the rickety chair. He realized he left his laptop on and at screen was already at the log-in prompt; it was just in hibernation mode..

Del typed in his password. He was about to click on the icon for the game then he realized he didn’t check the Internet for Archie. Archie Wickham was the game’s creator of Strike Blast. He had been missing for almost 2 years. He wondered why the Billionaire would leave if he had the number one game in North America and Europe. Millions of people logged all over the world to play this game.

He clicked on the Internet icon and searched on any news on Archie’s disappearance to see if there was any new developments. He also checked all the computer gaming Internet sites and there was nothing. Del wondered where Archie could have gone too. He could get lost wherever he wanted too. Del wished he was Archie with all his wealth and knowledge. He found a site which showed Archie’s office desk. He saw pictures of his office—it showed a mahogany desk table like the one he had at home and a gigantic computer screen. The police report said that everything was on when they got there from Archie’s computer and his lights. It was as if he just left to go to the bathroom.

The police did a thorough search of Archie’s home and business. He had disappeared without anybody noticing. Del shook his head sat back in cheap rickety chair that he’s in now. He had two weeks off and he had a crazy idea he could find Archie and they would play a game or work on a new game together. Del smiled. He he shook his head and click on the icon for the Strike Blast.