The V.R. Arcade

"Dude, these things are nuts!" Mikey grinned. Toby couldn't see his eyes through the V.R. helmet on his head, but he could imagine them boggling out of his skull. Honestly, Toby couldn't blame him for being excited. Who'd have thought a small town like theirs would be lucky enough to get a brand new arcade, let alone one packed to the gills with top-of-the-line virtual reality games? It was every thirteen-year-old boy's dream come true. They'd spent all day - and most of their allowance - with those beautiful immersive games, but the fun would have to end soon.

"C'mon, Mikey, we gotta go," Toby sighed. "This place is gonna close in a few minutes, and I promised Mom we'd be home in time for dinner."

"Aww, Toby," Mikey groaned, pushing up his visor with a frown. "I don't wanna go yet! Just one more game! Please?!"

Toby sighed and looked around the joint, positive the owner would come by any minute and kick them out. They were the last two stragglers left, and he didn't want them getting banned for refusing to leave the same day the place opened.

"We've played every game in here already," Toby argued, popping the helmet off his younger brother's head gently.

"We haven't played that one," Mikey insisted, pointing past Toby's shoulder. "C'mon, let's check it out!"

Toby turned to follow Mikey's finger to a large, brightly-painted V.R. platform in the back corner. His eyes narrowed in confusion, as he was sure that game wasn't there a few minutes ago. A moment later, he realized why: it was on the other side of a doorway marked "employees only", which had been closed until now.

Before he could tell Mikey to stop, the thirteen-year-old was already on the platform with the built-in helmet on his head. "Hey, it's a two-player!" Mikey said, offering the second helmet to Toby. "C'mon, Dude!"

It was too late to talk Mikey out of it, so the fifteen-year-old rolled his eyes and put the helmet on. As soon as he did, a man in a red suit, bowtie, and top hat filled his visor. "Dance, Dance, Survival!" the character crowed. "Move your feet to the beat! Ready? Let's boogie!"

Toby groaned as colorful arrows scrolled up from the bottom of the screen. He was never very good at rhythm games. Following the beat of the EDM song pounding in his ears, Toby stomped on the dance pad under his shoes to match the flying arrows. He was doing pretty good at first, until suddenly the music got faster. When he missed an arrow, Toby gasped at a sharp, unexplainable pain in his left temple. It made him miss another arrow, and another. The more arrows he missed, the more agony he felt. Dizzy from pain, Toby yanked on his helmet, but it wouldn't budge. Like it was welded to his head.

"Wh-What's going on?!" he demanded.

"Did you think this was a game?" Mr. Top hat asked, grinning sinisterly.