You shivered as you laid against the couch. Your breath flared outward as you took a glance around the room. A snow storm raged outside, the piling snow visible through a nearby window. The room was dirty and the smell of stale alcohol permeated the air. A row of old bottles and work papers were piled atop the coffee table in front of you. Tonight was one of the few nights you were sober however. Your boss had been cutting back your hours recently and some of the most basic luxuries were now unaffordable. Most noticeable was the alcohol. The booze always made things better. It dulled the pain. Made all the bad thoughts and memories fade away.
Shaking your head, you turned your eyes to the T.V at the center of the room. A generic ‘Please Standby’ message was plastered in bold letters against a blank background. You had managed to scrape by enough money to pay the T.V bill earlier this month, though the same couldn’t be said for the heating bill. You were reminded by this as you pulled your blanket closer to ward off the New England cold. There would be no work tomorrow because of the nor'easter shutting down all the roads, so you decided to follow up on a rumor you had heard about while browsing the computers at work.
On a web forum you browsed while your boss wasn’t looking, members had been talking about this strange television program they had found while browsing the channels. Some kind of mystery game show that could only be accessed at night in certain locations. But as soon as you began investigating it, the post had been deleted and you couldn’t find any reference to it. Upon further research, you could find no mention of it anywhere. Not on the internet, in any T.V guides and even no one at work had ever heard of it. It was most likely some sort of prank or creepy story, but a part of you felt drawn to it. You wanted to solve this mystery. There was no harm in trying, right?
As such you had followed the instructions you were able to remember to the letter. You switched to the exact channel that it was supposed to be on and were awaiting the clock to hit one in the morning. Supposedly then the channel would magically come to life and would switch to a cheery call-in game show. You had your landline phone on standby just for that reason. Even if the mystery was gone, a call in show sounded like it would be a fun activity to entertain you through the night. You peered up at the clock and saw the hands reach 1 A.M. You stared at the screen in anticipation but so no hint of change. The same letter stayed in place. You let out a sigh as you lifted the remote, about to change the channel but paused at the last moment.
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It started with a simple crackling. The ‘Please Standby’ message gave way to a colorful logo of ‘The Game Show’. Various images of skyscrapers were set against a backdrop of flashing neon and a masked man in a business suit stood dead in the center. A loud voice began to chant and sing:
“Wake up, wake up! It's time to play! Get your phones ready, cause it's time for The Game Show!”
An ear-splitting applause was let out followed by thunderous clapping as the screen switched to what appeared to be the main stage. The same man pictured on the logo screen walked out onto the stage with what appeared to be an attendant who was in a frilly black dress and was wearing a mask as well. Around him the stage began an almost magical transformation as the walls lit up with flashing lights, pillars began moving up and down in rhythmic movements while a single podium rose from an opened gap in the floor.
“Welcome everyone to your favorite show of the evening, one that will lay bare your deepest secrets, one that will fulfill or deny every single one of your heart's hidden desires and much more!” the man spoke in a booming voice. You felt mesmerized already by the performance, but something didn’t feel right. What did he mean by your deepest secrets? Hidden desires? And just who was this mysterious man behind the mask? His voice felt oddly familiar but also distant at the same time. Just thinking about it makes your head nauseous.
“But as the saying goes, it takes two to tango! As such, I hope for your sake that you have your telephone at the ready! Without further adieu..” the man raised his hand and the air and let out a cackle.
“... let The Game Show… BEGIN!”