Page 5 of Fake Game

“Three—”

“I GET IT.” Lee’s character leaps across the bridge and barely lands on the side Jackson and I are on. “Seriously.”

“Come on. Let’s keep moving. Did you get any loot, Deer?”

“Mm. I got a stop sign.” I whip out the giant red sign I snagged on my way over and wave it around.

“Oh hey. Good shit.”

I smile at his praise. “Thanks.”

We start moving back down the corridor I passed through earlier, and Jackson stops in front of a locked door.

“Anyone have a key?”

“Yeah, I have one.” Lee pulls out a silver key. “Good thing I’m not dead, huh?”

The door swings open, and we are immediately greeted by three turrets.

Fuck.

So not good.

“Close the door!” I yell.

“Crap, crap, crap,” she chants as she scrambles to shut it right before the first bullet shoots out.

“Shit, that was close.”

Light suddenly pours into my streaming room, drowning out the pink ambient glow I’ve been basking in. My arms jerk in shock, and confusion washes over me at the deafening noises shouting over my headset.

“What the—” The words become stuck in my throat as I crane my neck to look behind me.

My breathing stutters. Sheer, unbridled panic lances through my frozen body as my eyes bounce between the guns pointed at me.

So many guns.

“Deer? What’s going on?”

I don’t risk answering Lee.

“What’s all that noise?”

Or Jackson.

Instead, I quickly raise my hands, careful not to spook the army of men filtering into my streaming room.

“Get on the ground,” they start shouting.

“Face on the ground!”

I practically throw myself off my gaming chair. My bare knees crash on the floor, and I bite back a wince. My headset slips off as I crush my chest against my rug.

Everything gets louder.

All the yelling.

So much yelling.

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