Skip to main content

"Checkmate"

When my best friend and I got into a small disagreement, I didn't think all that much of it afterward. When he and I fought, it didn't really end in much besides us stepping away from each other for a few hours before reuniting as if nothing had previously taken place. I knew it meant we had a strong friendship. The argument we just had, however, was completely different from the small disagreements we usually had. Instead of it being about videogames of films, this one got a little personal.
Pretty much, I had deeply judged the guy because he wasn't a fan of my speedrun tournament. He swore that I had agreed to hang out with him just before going live with my greatest world record speedrun attempt yet, one I had been spending three weeks practicing for. Before we went our separate ways, instead of wishing me luck or doing our usually angred goodbyes, he snickered at me, saying "Good luck with your stream."
Before I could ask him what that was about, he left the room and refused to turn around when I called for him. Was he seriously planning on sabatoging my stream somehow?
***
Later on that day, I began my stream with my usual greeting. I interacted with some of the viewers and patiently waited for more and more people to join. It was enjoyable, seeing how everyone was doing, telling jokes to each other, giving me suggestions for future streams and tips for the speedrun, all of which I'd greatly appreciated.
After a pretty decent chunk of people joined in, I started up the game. Before I went in to start the timer, I went to my kitchen and grabbed my water bottle from the fridge in the kitchen. I hurried back, sat down, and started the timer, controller in hand.
The game booted up, leaving me feeling nervous and anxious, just as I am when I'm feeling the pressure of making sure every second counts. I got into speedrunning because I love the high you get when you apply so much pressure to yourself over a task that you must never make a false move, then completing the task doing better than you originally thought you'd do.
It had been roughly five minutes into the game, I had performed out of bounds tricks to skip cutscenes, clipped through walls using very precise tricks, and even successfully pulled off a glitch that allowed me to completely skip two back-to-back boss fights. I was doing far better and making great time. I might now be making world record pace quite yet, but I figured somewhere further on I might get lucky and get a massive time save.
When I made it to the point of the unskippable cutscene, I sat my controller down for a second to take a drink. Cold and refreshing water slid down my throat. It felt so good to finally clear my throat after all my talking during gameplay.
Not too long after drinking it I knew I'd made a mistake. I instantly felt like throwing up. I paused the game, stopped the timer, and ran to the bathroom to throw up. To my horror, when I looked in the toilet after vomiting, I saw nothing but dark blood. It continued to pour out of my mouth. I continued throwing up until I felt myself black out. My last thought was that my so-called "friend" had done this to me.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

01 "A Monstrous Storm"

  The shadows crept in through the window is the dark clouds overtook the mid-afternoon sky. A feeling of dread and hopelessness flooded me, tying my stomach into a knot. Looking at the clouds, I saw a streak of purple lightning streaking across the sky until it crashed down somewhere along the skyline with a thunderous boom, followed shortly by the ground rumbling beneath my feet. It was jarring. what started as a regular summer afternoon was quickly turning into something dreadful. The nearby trees were all swaying lightly in the breeze as rain gradually started pouring down, eventually creating a curtain of turrential downpour that threatened to flood the streets. Another flash of light followed by another thunderous boom forced me to look away from the window. It was becoming far too real for me. The oncoming storm was becoming too much to bear. I walked back into my bedroom and sat in front of my television. There was a news guy standing before a weather map. He was po...

"Hooked"

T he summer can be the perfect time to get away, to unwind while kicking your feet into the cool water while the hot sun is beaming down on you. But what if the bright summer sky was hiding behind it something even darker? I had been waiting for today all week. They'd finally opened the stream up for fishing. I was a little upset at the fact they'd decided to raise prices, but I didn't care, it was a nice day outside and I wasn't about to waste it sitting inside when I could be fishing. With my tacklebox in hand and my fishing pole in the other, I made my way to my truck. I threw everything in the back seat. I was about to head to the driver's seat but hesitated when I thought about bringing my cooler. I had one in the back ready for fish, as well as housing some canisters of worms. But what if I brought one along for some drinks? After a few moments I decided it might not be the greatest idea. It would be too much to carry and I didn't trust anyone that...

"Tapping"

T here are some things we are all afraid of, whether or not we choose to admit it to ourselves. Perhaps you feel that the ocean is a safe place, yet when you arrive you find yourself fearing what may be swimming below you. What brushed up against your leg? Can they feel you trembling? Can they smell your fear? There I lay, in bed in an attempt to fall asleep. My television was sitting at a low volume as to not awaken me by surprise as I drift to sleep. I've had the unpleasant experience before. Tonight, I turned to my side, facing away from the harsh light of the television, yet still able to make out almost perfectly what they were saying. What was on right now was a couple arguing in a sitcom. I didn't care much for what they were saying, but the roar of the laugh track after every line or two was somewhat soothing to me. I was so close to drifting to sleep, when across the room there came a tapping on my window. I sat up and turned toward the window. It was pitch black...