Radical-9

Intermission:

February 21^st, 2022

7:49 am

It’s a quiet morning. That usually means that Andy is still asleep. My walls are so thin I can usually hear what is going on in both his and my mom's room. My bed rests right up against the corner of the room, right behind my bed lies Andy's room, and to my left is my mom's. I walk to the window and pull back the curtains, sunlight fills into the room and it instantly feels ten times more comfortable.

Outside I can see the blinding whiteness fill my yard. It's a weird sight how it can go from completely clear outside to blanketed front yard in mere hours. I shudder at the thought playing yesterday's game with all of this snow out there. Heck, if it keeps going there might not be any school, but I better not get my hopes up.

I walk out of my room and when I pass by Andy's room I knock twice, “C'mon, doofus! It's time to get up.” I continue on. I might have the added responsibility of waking Andy up, but the one perk is that I get first crack at the bathroom. There isn't a feeling any greater than being the first one in the bathroom, nobody else knocking on the door or hurrying you up.

Once I finish I knock on Andy's door once more, I usually have to do it a couple of times to get the lazy bum up. Downstairs I can hear the television turn on, mom must be up, she usually is pretty early for work. I begin heading downstairs, I greet my mom as I pass.

“Is Andrew up yet?” She asks.

“I knocked on his door twice and he didn't respond. I think he might have been on that game all night,” I say, walking closer towards her.

“Boys and their games,” my mom says, shaking her head. “You go get some food and I'll go wake him.”

“Okay. If he doesn't get up right away can we do the water trick?” I ask.

“No, you cannot do the water trick,” she says.

“Aw, come on.”

“No.”

“Ugh, fine. Go get him already,” I say, walking into the kitchen.

The water trick is a classic. It is so simple all you need is a lazy brother, he can be older or younger, it doesn't matter. When he doesn't wake up after the first knock, which, let's be honest, they never do, you get some nice warm water and stick his hand inside. They'll wake up to a nice surprise right away.

I take out some cereal from the cupboard and pour myself a bowl. I take a bite and walk into the living room, eyeing the television. The reporter lady is on the screen, I can't remember her name. She's muted on screen, speaking silent words about a building behind her. She's on the scene of a familiar place, I think I saw her there on yesterday's news as well. I look at the headline on the bottom, “4,000 dead in Virtual Reality Video Game?!” My eyes go wide.

“Mom? Mom?!” I call out, scrambling for the remote.

“What is it-”

“GET DOWN HERE NOW.”

I unmute the television as she comes down the steps, “-line. It is developed by Technodome Incorporated and Produced by Adata, both of which have not responded to the claims that the ever so popular virtual reality video game, Elysium, has had a casualty count of over 4,000. Players of this game are unable to log out or exit the game, our reporters are working hard to figure out why this is, but we have no information to report as of this time. We suggest all of those who know anybody who is currently inside of this game to make sure they are still breathing, and do not try to remove the helmets that they are wearing. The helmets seem to form some sort of cerebral connection to the players' subconscious during gameplay. It is unknown exactly how long into gameplay that the connection is made, but we do know that interrupting this connection can be fatal to those inside of the game.”

“Mom, please tell me Andy's okay up there,” I say.

She doesn't say anything, she's frozen in terror.

“Mom...” I say, but I begin running up the stairs.

He can't be gone. He...he's good at these kinds of games, right? Oh no, what if mom unplugged it while she went up?! Shit! Why couldn't he just go back to the debate club and leave this stupid hobby behind? He was himself then.

I run past my door and throw open Andy's door. I see him lying down in his bed, uncovered. I rest when I see his chest moving up and down slowly. I run to his side and stare at the helmet attached to his head like a leech. I move his body over slightly, and I see a cord from the helmet running into his neck. There seems to be a sort of burn mark where it enters the skin, it looks like it connects all the way down to his spine. I have to step back, I feel like I am going to puke.

“Mom...call the police, now!” I scream.

I fall to my knees and lean myself against Andy's dresser, the tears come and I don't stop them. I'm out of breath and I hear my mom coming up the stairs. She walks into the room and picks me up in her arms.

“It'll be okay, hush now,” she says, trying to keep her voice firm.

“Mom...that thing is stuck in his neck.” I say in between breaths.

She nods, pulling me closer, wrapping her arms around me, “It's okay, the police are going to be here soon. There's been a lot of calls in the area so they're doing they're best. It's going to be okay,” she whispers to me.

I let myself break in her arms.