Fun and Games                                                                       By Rick Darr Sherry, what the hell did you do to this segment of the program? The nesting control statements have been locked, the player and master objects are totally out of sync and the pointers have been altered. I’m going to call Jeff and get him back in here." “I just made it…better, Johnny, and I don’t think you will be calling Jeff." On John’s name a strange tone crept into her voice. The way she said mine brought me quickly and silently across the office carpet to the doorway. The next few moments are forever etched in my mind. John must have caught the tone in her voice also because he began a swift turn from the computer screen, just as she slipped a six-inch hunting blade out from under her parka and drew it high. "Holy shit," was all John got out as she brought the blade down towards him. It was lucky for him he spun around when he did. The blade went into his shoulder instead of the back of his neck. I ran into the room, grabbed the arm that held the weapon and pulled it back. When Sherry turned and looked at me I saw an expression on her face that sent chills up my spine. She swung the slippery nylon of her sleeve out of my grip and moved to the wall, waving the bloody blade back and forth. Spit flew from her mouth as she yelled at us. "You stupid bastards, you have no idea what you’re dealing with, do you?" She pointed her finger at me. "You, you have gazed upon his likeness. Now you’re going to meet him in person..."                                                         * * * That was a week ago. What the hell am I talking about? Where do I start? At the beginning, I suppose. My name is Jeff Richards and the company I worked for was New-Adventures in Gaming. We created everything and anything related to computer online gaming, from war and intrigue to myth and horror. Horror. That's where it all started, about two months ago. I was an IT manager not a zealot.  Not a zealot, not before a week ago...                                                        * * * One of my best programmers, John Ridge, was overseeing a new game called "Satan's Lair". It's a 3d extravaganza that takes the player on a surreal journey through seven levels to hell. No, Dante’s Inferno is not the basis for the game, although I am certain comparisons will be made, and that’s fine. Along with John, three others put many hours into the creation of the game: Sherry Adams, Donna Byers and Harvey Philips. All of them except Sherry were just what you and I think computer programmers look and act like. I don’t mean to stereotype here, but a little nerdish, a little given to the extra-cheese pizzas and jolt colas over the keyboard. She on the other hand was more…normal, I suppose. That’s the first word that comes to mind. Sherry had been with us only about three weeks at the game’s inception and was a pretty sort, tall, dressing in the latest fashions and sometimes flirting with John and myself. When I interviewed her she impressed me as a very intelligent woman. On another level I suppose I felt sorry for her; both her parents were dead and she had just moved from Austin, Texas. The bottom line however was that she was good at her job, finishing our standard programming test in record time. After being hired she kept up with her workload, doing everything I asked of her quickly and efficiently. I did not intrude on any of my team when they worked. As long as they did their jobs, and the finished product sold, I was a happy camper-boss. Perhaps I should have been a bit more inquisitive. “Jeff, this is the best thing I've ever worked on. You have to check it out." John sounded like a proud father. We were the only two in the office that afternoon. He was a hard worker and a friend. If he said it was good then I knew it would be. "Sure. Let me finish up this inventory report then I'm up for a trip to hell," I quipped, not realizing the irony of my words. "The only thing I'll need to do is get Sherry to smooth out the seventh level. She is working on that section and there's something not quite right with it. The game seems to have a mind of its own at that spot," he said laughingly. "But don't worry, it’ll be fixed before we toss it out to the beta testers. We have some ready to go, as you know, but it’s no problem. Other than that one little glitch, it's a devil worshipper’s delight." After saving and sending the report I sat down at John’s computer. It had turned into a bit of a ritual for me to give our play modules the first test-drive, and to be honest I enjoyed this part of the job very much.                                                        * * * The game started with me as the adventurer character standing at a cave entrance. It was a first person view with graphics so intense I felt I was looking at a real cave. Equipped with spells, magical weapons, and various types of armor selected at the log in screen, I was ready. Stepping inside the cave I am greeted with hieroglyphics and runes covering most of the walls. The key to the first gate must be deciphered from those symbols so I begin reading. I know from past experience how most of our adventure games work – pick the wrong key and you get transported to a sub-level that tests your gaming skills – so I don't rush it. Fifteen minutes later I have the secret key figured out and enter into a stone tablet that hangs on the wall. With a loud scraping sound the floor begins sliding into a recessed opening, leaving me no choice but to plunge into the depths below. Amidst a kaleidoscope of swirling colors I’m suddenly standing on the shore of a wretched swamp. Turning and looking inland things don't look much better: small fires seem to be erupting randomly across a desert landscape. Off in the distance anguished cries can be heard, tortured souls might be a better description. Looking at the notes I had written while in the cave it seems the desert, not the swamp, is the right direction. Flames erupt around me as I run toward the mountains, the distant screams growing louder. Dark clouds roll in overhead and lightning bolts begin flashing down towards me. Now I have to watch out from above and below. Running as fast as the computer will allow I make it to the rocks, jumping the last five feet to avoid a blast of flame. I am safe for the moment. Wrong. No sooner do I start to climb the hill than the ground opens up directly ahead, an eight-foot monstrosity rising in front of me. Opening a vial of magic potion and casting it on the creature, I marvel as it dissolves into a puddle of gore. After more battles with similar creatures I reach the top of the mountain and approach the next gate. A demon minion stands there daring me to approach him, so I do. Pulling a scroll from my backpack I begin reading the ancient text. As I speak a swirling cloud of smoke forms between us and within seconds I have a horned beast of my own, growling as it stands looking at me. I order it to engage the monster guarding the entrance and then stand back to watch the graphic battle. It is intense, two demons in a struggle to the death. Before long my incarnation has ripped the throat out of the other and the doorway to the second gate opens before me. Without bogging you down in details of the next five levels, I'll condense a bit. Each level got progressively harder, but also had hidden places where the player could heal and add to his equipment and weapons. By the time I reached the seventh gate, buried deep beneath the earth, I had killed more monstrosities than could be counted. Let me toss in here that very few people would have made it through the first six levels as quickly as I did. As I stated earlier, I test-drive all our games. Entering the huge doors I glance around. Things seem to be crawling on the walls but in the purple-blue light it is hard to tell exactly what they are. It doesn't matter because they will be out to stop me. Before moving any farther I put a spell shield around my character; it will suffice to keep the insignificant demons off me. Luckily I put it up when I do because the walls seem to be moving at me. As the mass gets closer I see it for what it is, thousands of foot-long spider-looking creatures. As they hit the barrier surrounding me they explode like bugs on a zapper, pieces of them splattering across the floor. I move into the next room. It was at this point things started to get weird, not only in the game but also in real life. I swear a cold sensation engulfed me; starting in my head it ran through my entire body. At the same time I was getting closer to the final confrontation, deep in the bowels of computer hell. As I move through the next few rooms, large bat-like creatures watch me. But they don't attack. Warily I move into a cavern that glows with the color red. Looking around from left to right I almost get sick. Hanging on the walls, suffering the most horrid things one can imagine are hundreds of people. Some are stuck on meat hooks plunged through their chests, while others are crucified and hanging upside down. How in the world did our developers even think of anything this sick? Gazing in terrible awe at the entire scene, I see that the floor is collapsing in the center of the room, appearing to open into a bottomless pit. Then flames begin to leap and flicker into the air from the hole. What rises from below makes me forget about the rest of the room.   I know I told you this was a game, but… As the figure rises from the pit, sitting on a throne made of screaming human beings lashed and spiked together, I begin to wonder. Something tells me this is a reality, perhaps not in this dimension but a reality nonetheless. What happens next only reinforces that feeling, but first I'll attempt to describe the creature itself. His feet are each wrapped about one of the human chair-beings, three-inch claws buried deep into both male and female flesh. Looking up the body I can see an enormous appendage dangling from between his legs, with a claw-like hand holding it tightly. He is actually urinating on the chair-people prone beneath him. I'm not a prude but, my God, this is disgusting. I look into the face staring back at me. It's almost impossible to describe, but I'll try. Imagine beauty and ugliness combined into one if you can, flashing back and forth between the two with the speed of a strobe light. That description falls short but is the best I can think of. And, no, it doesn’t have horns. With a sneer on his drooling lips, the head tilts back and the beast lets out a loud bellowing laugh. That was it; I could take no more. This game needed to end now. Then I realized I couldn't move a muscle. My hands seemed to be glued to the mouse and keyboard. Suddenly the beast begins speaking in a loud booming voice. "Jeff Richards, another soul for the bone-pile." That one sentence is followed by more laughter. The damned thing knows my name.    It is beyond terrifying, but remembering I have a backpack full of weapons and magic, I pull out the demon scroll. After conjuring my own creature once more, I order him to attack. The Satan figure merely laughs harder as he lazily points towards me. My demon slowly turns towards me and I know whose control it is under. Not mine. I am out of options and in a near panic. "So Jeff, what do you think? This game rocks doesn't it? John’s voice seems to be coming from far off, but it is like a lifeline to me. The devil appears to hear it as well; his laughter turns to a snarl and he stands from his throne, moving towards me. From a distance: "Jeff, you there? Jeff, hello, earth to Jeff." I felt a hand shaking my shoulder. At the same time the creature is running towards me. The last thing I see is a set of gleaming teeth framed by snarling lips and I swear I can smell its foul breath. "Jeff, dude, are you all right? Wow, that's weird. I've never seen that in the game before." It was John speaking and this time his voice was normal. Close by, I mean. God knows what would have happened if he hadn’t grabbed my attention when he did. Quickly reaching out, I clicked off the main power switch, shutting down the computer and monitor simultaneously. The last thing I saw on the screen was the wide-open horrid mouth of the beast fading away. "I told you that seventh level was a bit twitchy," John said. "Holy crap!" At that I looked up and saw he was staring at me. Looking down at myself I was suddenly aware of my condition. My clothes were soaked with sweat and there was a large wet spot at my crotch. My head was swirling and, did I hear voices whispering inside my head? "Johnny, what in the world is this? That is the vilest thing I have ever played in my life. I swear it was communicating with me," I said in what sounded very unlike my voice. "Not sure what you mean, Jeff. I did tell you level seven's a bit unstable. You do look like hell though." I spent the next half hour telling him what I experienced in the game. By the time I finished he was slowly shaking his head as he spoke. "Jeff, that's impossible, the code isn't in there to do what you described, especially saying your name. Even if Sherry made some modifications she neglected to tell me about, that just isn’t possible. Listen, she's off today but I'll see if I can get her to come in for a few hours tonight and we can clean things up." "Ok, John. I really don't feel good. I'm going home and lay down for a while." I left the building feeling disoriented. That evil face was imprinted in my mind, still laughing at me. I barely remember driving home and getting into bed, but I do recall in detail the dreams. They were filled with demons of all types, all chillingly gleeful. When I sat up with a start and looked at the clock, I found only three hours had gone by. I made a coffee and sat around trying to watch some TV, but couldn't get my mind off that damned game. After fidgeting about for another half hour I decided to go back to the office. Since John and Sherry were working on the programming, maybe we could finish it up tonight. The elevator stopped at the fourteenth floor – it occurred to me my office was really on the thirteenth, since no buildings owned up to an unlucky number. Funny, that fact had never bothered me before. As I walked through our main lobby voices could be heard coming from the programmer's section. I stopped just outside the door. Neither of them heard me as I walked in, John sitting at the computer nor Sherry standing a few feet behind him. At this point things spiraled out of control. You remember Sherry stabbed John and I pulled her off him. So there we were, the three of us. John was sitting in the chair bleeding while Sherry was a powder keg backed against the wall waving the knife at me threateningly. "Listen, Sherry, you need some help," I said. "Just put the knife down and let me get John to a hospital." “I wasn’t planning on you two idiots running a final test so soon, but it’s still too late for either of you to stop me. Hasn’t anyone been paying attention to what’s going on in the world around us? Do you think all the chaos and killing is just coincidence? This game as you call it serves two purposes: one is to gather new followers and the other is my little secret.” With a loud scream she lunged at me, the blade coming up towards my throat. I backed away and reached out to grab her arm. At the same time I felt my leg hitting the desk behind me. The two of us rolled over the side of the desk and crashed to the floor with me landing on top of her. Looking into her eyes I knew what had happened – the knife had buried itself in her chest. I pulled it out and she grunted in pain. Blood was seeping out of the corners of her mouth as she spoke to me in a low whisper. "Your descent is just beginning. I’ll be waiting for you in hell.” More blood ran from her lips as she began to laugh. Yes, she was laughing as she died. Just at the end, though, I thought I heard fear creep into the sound of her voice. "Johnny, let's get you to a doctor, " I said, standing up and backing away from her. A bad feeling came over me as I turned towards him. Why hadn't he answered? From closer it was apparent he was dead. The blade had hit something more vital than his shoulder, a lung or the heart. His eyes were wide open and staring up at the ceiling. I looked at the knife in my hand and realization set in: there were two dead bodies in this room and I was holding the murder weapon. Would the police believe the truth?   My first instinct was to get out of there and think, clear my head. But then something told me if any of those beta test games got into the public, man’s time on this planet might come to a brutal end. The feeling was overwhelming. Instead of leaving I went into the storeroom. How to destroy twenty boxes of games was beyond me – burn them? Stomp on them? Sprinkle them with holy water? – But I had to try, even if it was something ludicrous. Unlocking the door and stepping inside I froze. The boxes were gone. They were here yesterday but they sure weren’t here now. I went to Sherry’s desk. It was bare save for one thing, a shipping order. The twenty boxes of “Satan’s Lair” had been sent to four different cities. My signature was on the slip. No, not mine, but close – expertly forged. Just then I heard ominous laughter, and it grew louder by the second. Looking in the direction it was coming from I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. It was the PC on which I had played the game. Somehow, the computer had turned back on and the devil’s face was glaring out at me from the monitor. Saying the laugh was evil doesn't quite describe it. In a panic I picked up a chair and smashed its plastic and chrome wheeled base into the monitor, watching it explode across the table. Then I bashed the tower into a mangled piece of abstract art. The laugh echoed in my head. What to do? Run out the door or wipe the knife clean and put it in Sherry’s hands? Then I remembered the office had video cameras running twenty-four hours a day. I picked up the phone and called the police.                                                        * * * Here I sit in another city, a free man for now. The DA watched the tapes, and unless someone steps forward on Sherry’s behalf the case will be closed. Since she had no family I know of, and whatever cult she belonged to probably doesn’t want to step out of the shadows yet, a jury trial is unlikely. What really scares me is the possibility that there actually is a devil, and he just might be loose on earth. I know that damned game is involved. I can still feel that presence and see the laughing face; it's permanently etched in my mind. Part of me wants to warn the world in some spectacular way, but how do I do that, and who would believe me? I’m not going to mention what city I’m in; that wouldn’t be a smart thing to do right now. All I can say is that five of the “Satan’s Lair” boxes were shipped to this location. One does what one can.