Cole tried to imagine what it would be like to play the game. He saw himself visiting all the cities and observing the ancient culture as it progressed as if it was real. This made him decide he wasn’t going to do a lot of quests except the basic ones. Or maybe, depending on how the game worked, he could choose a job as a sort of traveler so he could enjoy the sites while also making use of the game.

Yet he wouldn’t know exactly what would happen until his gear arrived. He made sure to alert Frank, via text, the moment his Mother confirmed that Frank could stay. It would be a week later before the headgear showed up at his doorstep. The last time the week dragged on this long was at his first job. But this one seemed longer. As the days passed Cole’s enthusiasm didn’t die, but he did begin to question the effectiveness of his efforts.

The game, he knew, would never replace his reality. He thought it was best to be honest with himself about that before he even logged into the game. He feared it would turn out to be a distraction that would be a big deal at first but would then soon become lackluster. It was a common phenomenon when people are presented with shiny things. He didn’t want that to happen. Yet each day teased the idea. Each day he thought of the bottle of pills and whether Frank should’ve been there. Each day he wondered how he could get his hands on another.

The prospect of disappearing into a limitless new world was enchanting at first. It made his days easier when he looked forward to it. But the more time passed the more he had to face the reality of his situation. The pains of aching limbs and damaged nerves. The helplessness of not being able to move as he liked. The loneliness as the world moved on without him; as if he were never there to begin with. All this held Cole down like shackles and weights. But when his mother announced the package had arrived, those things slowly disappeared.

Frank came with it, as well as the main system. He was slightly bigger than Cole, but not as big as Daniel. They decided to set things up in the guest room since it would make moving around easier for Cole. Susan was moved into Cole’s room and, for now, Frank would be on a blow-up mattress until an actual bed was brought over.

“You gonna lie on the bed or stay in the chair?” Frank asked with the headgear in his hands. His dark eyes scanned it reflectively.

“It’s just a quick test run, so I’ll stay in the chair.”

“Alright fine,” Frank placed the helmet on Cole's head. “Just know that you might wake up with a few aches.”

“And you're sure this is safe?” Cole’s mom said as she watched over them, arms folded.

“For the hundredth time, yes mom.”

“It is Mrs. Shaw,” Frank assured her.

“Please, you can call me Jackie.” She leaned in to inspect the device. “I just wanna make sure it doesn’t… you know… turn his brain to mashed potatoes.”

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“Well, I wouldn’t let it go to waste for sure, if that’s what you’re worried about.” When Frank noticed she wasn’t amused he shifted his eyes back to the device and became more serious. “It’s quite safe. It went through years of testing before the product hit the shelves. And no one has complained about being turned into a side dish so far. Even though no one knows who started the company.”

“If they were turned into one, they wouldn’t be able to complain,” Cole mumbled.

His mom’s anxiousness was making him worried as well.

“What about microwaves and that stuff? Doesn’t that lead to brain tumors?”

“Trust me, Jackie, if it was so simple, we’d all have tumors from cell phones and Wi-Fi,” Frank said as he moved to the main system. “Even so, don’t go overboard with it. Everything in moderation.”

“That’s what I told him,” Jackie sighed. “How does it work anyway?”

Frank left the main console and pointed at the back of the helmet, “Right around here is a neural stimulator. It can shut off all the signals to his limbs when he’s playing.” She looked at him concerned. “Don’t worry, this happens every time we sleep to prevent us from acting out our dreams and hurting ourselves. It’s the same thing here. Once he exits the game the stimulator sends a signal to re-activate motor functions.”

Somehow Frank sounded insanely smart and that made Cole wonder what his major was.

“Wait,” Cole said, “how do I log out if I can’t move.”

“The helmet reads neural patterns and electrical activity and uses that as the basis for understanding what you’re doing. When it constructs the game reality within your mind, it would be reading the sensory input from that reality as if it was happening in real life.”

“So I can just pretend to take the helmet off.”

Frank nodded. “Well that or just hit the log out from the in-game menu. It’s pretty intuitive so you’ll figure it out in no time.”

Jackie plopped down on the bed with another sigh. “Well, I’ll stay here just in case anything happens.”

“Can’t believe you don’t trust me.” Frank shook his head.

“You should.” The words came from an older voice similar to Frank’s. When Cole looked to see where it was coming from, he saw a tall man at the door. He was almost an exact copy of Frank: sharp face, dark eyes, and dark hair. “He might be a screw-up, but when it comes to these things, he always knows what he’s talking about.” The man looked from Jackie to Frank. “I just wish Francis had filled me in on what was going on.” Cole sensed some tension between Frank and the man that was now going to his mother. “Sorry for the unannounced appearance. I was passing by, and Susan let me in. Don’t kill her for it.”

Jackie laughed. “Don’t worry about it. But you should’ve let me know you were coming, Mr. Lockhart. I would have prepared something for you.”

“Again, I’m sorry. And it’s ok you don’t have to.” He extended his hand. “By the way, call me Jason.” Jackie took it. Cole wasn’t sure if it was the angle, but it seemed she blushed a little. “I just have some paperwork to run by you as well as things we need to discuss. I should be out of your hair once that’s done.”

“That’s ok, but I wanted to make sure everything was good here.”

“It’s only going to take a minute. Francis will be here, and he won’t let anything happen to your son. Isn’t that right, Francis?”

Frank grunted. Jason invited Jackie to come with her and they both left the room. For some reason, Jackie giggled the moment they were in the hallway. Frank went back to fiddling with the components. His face was grave as he meddled with the machine and its parts.

“Soooo,” Cole tried to break the silence, “your dad calls you Francis.”

“Shut up.”

“He seems cool.”

“He is,” Frank said and powered everything on. “Don’t trust him.”

After that, another silence followed until Cole spoke again.

“By the way,” he said, “thanks for this. I appreciate it.”

“No prob,” Frank patted the helmet. “Just have fun.”

“All set?”

“All set.” Frank reached the side of the helmet. “Just touch this and—”

The rest of Frank's words disappeared as Cole was swallowed by darkness.