The man, presumably the owner, stands behind me. I feel his eager breath on my shoulder. His hands tremble in his pockets, shaking the quarters there.
“Go on,” he says, “This machine is one-of-a-kind. A game unlike any other.”
The machine, an arcade cabinet called ‘ESCAPE!,’ beeps innocently and runs a small, pixeled man through a variety of trap-filled rooms.
“You’re sure,” I say again, “You’re sure I’m not going to get pulled into this thing? Like, pulled in to a real-life situation where I’m that guy on the screen.”
A speech bubble appears above ‘ESCAPE!’s’ character.
“Help!” it says.
The owner coughs and looks nervously around the empty room.
“First game’s on me,” he says, handing me a sweaty coin, “With a little skill you might be able to play on that for a long time.”
This is a man that can’t help himself.
I balance the coin in the slot and hear the man’s breath catch- almost a squeal. I brace myself and the quarter drops. The machine beeps wildly and then beckons me to start.
The man taps his foot and scratches wildly at his scalp for half an instant.
“Now,” he says, “Just press that red button. That’s when the real fun begins.”
This, like so much of what I do, will end badly.
-traveler
