Page 9 of Sparks Flying

“Now this becomes a bit trickier and we haven’t exactly done well with a full team. Could be a total flop, but you’re now playing as two people,” JH explained.

“How does that work?”

“Duck,” he yelled.

So I did. And the lag between me and my clone saved me while killing him.

“Now what?”

“Now your clone will respawn back at base in a safe zone so you can play out the game,” he said.

“But that’s like three on six then.”

“Right. So if you’re as good as you think you are, we can still take them,” he said in the most cocky tone I’d ever heard.

“That’s insinuating you two don’t suck.”

“We don’t,” Wolfhunter chimed in confidently.

True to their word, they stuck by me and we defeated that level, and then the next, and the next.

“You’re pretty good,” Wolfhunter finally conceded.

“Thanks. You guys aren’t so bad yourselves.”

“Well, we should be. I mean, we did create the game,” she said.

“Tobi!”

“What? Oh right. We don’t know this kid. Forget I said anything.”

“Y’all are just playing me anyway,” I said. There was no way I was playing with the creators of Chaos.

Jackson Holt had created this game. He was famous in the gaming world and, as far as I knew, he didn’t work with a partner.

“You caught us,” JH admitted. “Want to keep going?”

“Yes, but I have a ridiculously early meeting, so I shouldn’t.”

“Told ya he really wasn’t a kid,” Wolfhunter said.

“I’ll give you your reward later tonight.”

“Oh, you better, big boy.”

I was starting to get a little weirded out imagining these two having video sex or something later. Lord knew I’d crossed paths with a whole lot worse than that on some of these games.

“Uh, have fun with that. I’ll maybe catch you guys again sometime.”

As I was ending my game, I could have sworn I heard her say, “Jackson. I can’t believe you just ran off our new friend. And stop cheating in your own game.”

Jackson? JH. Could it really be Jackson Holt?

Nah! They were just messing with me.

I yawned and stretched. Then I cleaned up, set my tray out into the hallway, and then made my way to bed. When I noted the late hour, I knew I was going to regret staying up with those two so late.

*****

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