Jose sat in his kitchen on a dirty plastic chair, his hands still shaking.
Just start at the beginning…
“Ok…Came home early and the window was wide open.”
I thought Maybe Ivy left it open before she left for work. Didn’t think much until I walked into the bedroom to find her legs spread for a lunk of a man. So I did what every red-blooded American should do, took the nearest hard object and bashed it over the big ape.
“And then what happened?” asked the slim older gentleman sitting on the plastic seat in front of Jose.
“He passed out and landed on her, and she also passed out”
“That is all that happened?” the man asked again.
Jose quickly shook his head, face pale and hands trembling more than ever.
The room closed in around him, the buzzing fluorescent light above casting elongated shadows that danced menacingly across the floor.
“No, no, that wasn’t all. I panicked, okay? I didn’t know what to do. So, I dragged him off her, and I…” his voice trailed off, failing Jose in this critical moment.
The older gentleman leaned forward, his sharp eyes boring into the young man, urging him to continue.
Jose took a deep breath, trying to steady his hands.
“I tied them up, both of them. I didn’t want them to go to the police or something. I… I don’t know, it was just a reaction, you know?”
The man scribbled something onto the notepad he held, his expression impassive. Jose couldn’t read him, couldn’t tell if he believed him or thought he was just another criminal spinning a story to avoid the consequences.
“You understand, right?” Jose urged, desperate for some kind of affirmation, an indication that he wasn’t completely alone in this nightmarish situation. “It was self-defense, sort of… a crime of passion, maybe?”
The older man nodded slowly, not offering any words of consolation or judgment. He simply observed Jose, as if trying to dissect his soul with his piercing gaze. Every second that ticked by felt like an eternity, amplifying the pounding in Jose’s chest.
Finally, he broke the silence
“This is a serious matter, son. I need to know every detail. What happened next? And please, be truthful. Your future depends on it.”
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Swallowing hard, Jose tried to gather his scattered thoughts, to find some semblance of coherence amidst the swirling chaos in his mind.
“I… I haven’t done anything to the bodies if that’s what you’re asking. They’re still in the apartment, tied up. I just… I just needed time to think, to figure out what to do next.”
The older gentleman leaned back in his chair, regarding Jose with a strange expression. Then, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a cell phone.
“You did the right thing coming to me,” he said, his voice suddenly taking on a stern, authoritative tone.
Jose noticed he wasn’t dressed like a normal police officer, he was wearing a dark blue suit but in the inner pocket was a pin that read “AEON GAMES”
The man spoke on the phone, in what sounded like another language.
He spoke for what felt like days, but time didn’t really mean anything to Jose anymore. After he ended the call he looked at the trembling young man with a cold smile.
“Jose?”
“Yes my name is Jose”
“Jose, what you did was murder and murder is illegal”
No shit, Who was this guy?
“So, let’s get things clear I’m not the cops I’m from Aeon Games, and the two people you killed were wearing our headsets”
“I…Didn’t notice”
“Understandable, it was a crime of passion but here is the thing Aeon Games can’t have this murder leaked, looks bad so we are prepared to offer you a deal…”
“What kind of deal?”
“Don’t interrupt it’s rude, but yes a deal and really the best deal you have”
“What is it”
“Are you familiar with Mythic Realms”
“Sure…I play it all the time I suck at it but I play it”
“You will be an NPC in our newest addition it’s called The Feral Prince”
“A nonplayer character, but what do I have to do”
“All will be explained, but you have to pick quickly”
Iose sat frozen, the words echoing in his mind. A second chance, but at what cost? His body began to feel numb as the surreal proposition hung in the air.
“But I… I mean, what about my life here?” Jose stuttered, unable to grasp the reality that was being laid out in front of him.
The man let out a mirthless chuckle, his cold eyes scanning over my face, gauging my response.
“Jose, from the moment you swung that object, your life here ceased to exist as you know it. Think of this as a way to escape the inevitable consequences, a way to start anew.”
“But how does this even work?” Jose’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion and fear, grappling with the enormity of what was being presented to him.
He leaned forward, placing a small device on the table between them. It was sleek, and black, and emitted a low hum that vibrated through Jose’s bones. “This device will integrate your consciousness into the game. Your physical body will be maintained in a stasis state in one of our facilities. Inside the game, you will be granted a new identity and a new life. Your old life, the crimes you committed, will be erased as if they never happened.”
Jose looked at the device
This was insane, yet strangely tempting. A way out, a way to avoid the crushing weight of the guilt and the punishment that surely awaited me.
“But what’s the catch? There’s always a catch,” Jose said, eyeing the man warily.
He smiled, a chilling, predatory grin that sent shivers down my spine. “The catch, Jose, is that you will be bound to the game, unable to leave. Your life, and your experiences, will all be dictated by the narratives we create. You will no longer be a free agent, but a character in a story, subject to the whims and fancies of the game developers… and the players.”
Jose swallowed hard, feeling the walls closing in on me. The weight of my actions, the gravity of the choice that lay before me, it was all too much.
As the young man hesitated, the older gentleman leaned back in his chair, his expression hardening. “The offer is on the table, my friend. But it won’t be there forever. Make your choice.”