It’s to be expected though. If there is one thing I’ve learned about Jackson Lau, it is that he hates losing and has no issue blaming others instead of himself whenever it happens. Not that it stops me from playing with him time and time again.
“Are we playing another round?” Lee chimes in.
“Totally. I need to redeem myself.” I give my wrists a quick roll.
“Yeah, I can knock another out,” Jackson agrees.
We let the game randomize the city we land in and wait for our characters to spawn at the new base camp. It’s almost pitch black when the screen loads, and my lips purse momentarily when I realize we’ve ended up in one of the cities with a higher difficulty level.
“Whoever dies last is the chosen one.”
“Not funny, Deer,” Lee huffs. “I hate this map.”
“I mean, if you think about it, this game really helps you get over your fear of the dark.”
“Or you could just bump up your gamma,” Jackson drolls. “So the dark isn’t that dark.”
“You always take the fun out of things, Shield.”
We each grab a flashlight from the base camp and start to make our way to the main entrance of the derelict building. Jackson and Lee make idle talk, but my eyes stray back to my second monitor where my chat seems to be glitching.
Scratch that.
It’s being spammed.
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
DeerHunter19384099:I kn0w where u L1v3
I blink and they are gone, deleted by one of my mods. The user, no doubt, blocked as well.
I’m careful to keep my smile on my face and even let out a short giggle as I force myself to breathe steady breaths and not freak out. There are over forty thousand people watching me right now. I will not have another panic attack.
I force myself to remain calm even though nausea roils in my gut and my heart beats with the force of a thousand elephants in my ear.