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  • CHILLS

  • 5.

  • Have you heard the story of the secret NES game Ladder to Oblivion by Max Shephard?

  • The internet says there are 91 unlicensed NES games, but I know that's not true.

  • There's one more, and I've seen it.

  • It's real.

  • At the end of this story, I'll show you a picture of it.

  • By then, you'll understand why I will NEVER play it.

  • But first, the backstory.

  • As you probably know, when the Nintendo released its Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in

  • North America in 1986 it created a worldwide phenomenon.

  • It had already sold over 2.5 million units in Japan and the success of the system in

  • America single-handedly revitalized the struggling video game industry.

  • By 1990, 30% of American households owned the NES, beating the percentage that owned

  • personal computers by 7%.

  • Mine was one of those households.

  • I remember my Dad bringing the NES home for the first time, beaming with pride.

  • I was in complete awe.

  • I remember sitting in our sunken living room and playing Super Mario Bros. for hours upon

  • hours, never sitting too close to the television for fear that my eyes would be damaged.

  • That's what my mom said, at least.

  • What I didn't know then that making games for the NES was big business.

  • Part of the reason the NES was so successful is because Nintendo actively courted third

  • party developers for its fledgling system.

  • And because it possessed a near monopoly on the video game market, it was able to enforce

  • its standards and policies with an iron fist.

  • So much so that the United States Department of Justice actually started looking into Nintendo's

  • business practices.

  • When the FTC got involved, Nintendo changed some of the strict terms of its agreements.

  • By Nintendo's count, there are 671 licensed games for the NES.

  • That list grows to 677 if you include the three Tengen games that were only temporarily

  • licensed, plus the several others like Miracle Piano which were left off of Nintendo's

  • list.

  • To enforce its licensing standards, Nintendo created the 10NES authentication chip.

  • When the chip in the system detected the chip in the game pak, the game would be playable.

  • Otherwise, no dice.

  • As you can imagine, many companies either didn't want to pay the licensing fee or

  • were rejected as officially licensed partners by Nintendo based on the quality of their

  • games.

  • Hence the 91 unlicensed games.

  • You can see the list of them here.

  • To skirt the protection of the 10NES chip, some companies configured their hardware to

  • create a several millisecond voltage spike thatshort-circuitedthe authentication

  • chip for just a moment and allowed the game to be played.

  • Interesting stuff, right?

  • I thought so.

  • And so did my Dad.

  • He worked for Nintendo in their development and icensing department during the late eighties

  • and early nineties and got to experience all of this as it happened.

  • But the story of Ladder to Oblivion does not begin with my Dad; it begins with Rob, the

  • founder and original President of LTO, LLC, and his idea for a new video game.

  • Rob was in his senior year at West Lafayettle High School in Indiana when Mario Bros was

  • released for the NES.

  • Like thousands of other kids around the country, he became obsessed pretty quickly.

  • When Rob graduated, he decided to attend Purdue University to study Computer Science.

  • He wanted to make video games.

  • Purdue's Computer Sciences department moved into a newly renovated building in the fall

  • of 1985 and Rob took full advantage of it when he started college the next year.

  • Four years later he graduated at the top of his class.

  • With honors.

  • My Dad told me rob was one of the smartest people he'd ever met.

  • Even so, Rob dealt with some personal demons.

  • His mother raised him alone after his father was murdered in a home invasion when he was

  • young.

  • His mother was home when it happened, but her life was spared.

  • The resulting trauma sent her careening through years of alcoholism and depression.

  • Rob was neglected, as you can imagine, and eventually went into the custody of Child

  • Protective Services.

  • He acted out at first, but eventually rose above the shitty hand he'd been dealt.

  • When Mario Bros came out his senior year, he found it to be the escape he'd been seeking.

  • My Dad has told me the story about the day he first met Rob a dozen times.

  • It was May 25, 1992.

  • He remembered the date because the Friday prior was Johnny Carson's final Tonight

  • Show and Jay Leno was announced as the new host that Monday.

  • Johnny wanted Letterman to replace him,” he said every time.

  • Not that Leno fella.”

  • That Monday, he was sitting at his desk when the phone rang.

  • The voice on the other side hesitated for a moment.

  • How'd you like to be rich?”, the man said.

  • My Dad had heard a version of that question a hundred times and typically hung the phone

  • up immediately when he heard it.

  • This time was different.

  • Something in the man's voice intrigued him.

  • “I'd love to,” he joked.

  • Do you have a secret to winning the lottery?”

  • The man didn't laugh.

  • “I've got something much better,” he said.

  • And what's that?”

  • my Dad shot back.

  • “A new type of game.

  • One the world has never seen before.”

  • “I'm listening, “ my Dad continued.

  • Rob introduced himself as the President of LTO, LLC, a game company.

  • At the time, my Dad had no idea Rob was the only member.

  • Rob went on to describe the game he was working on.

  • It was a platform game where the main character moved across the screen from left to right,

  • collected items and power-ups, and fought enemies.

  • At the end of each level there would be a boss, with an ultimate boss at the end of

  • the game.

  • My Dad explained that Nintendo already had a game like that.

  • It was called Mario Bros.

  • My Dad said Rob told him thedifferences were in the details.”

  • The game would start with a young man who finds a strange wooden ladder protruding out

  • of the ground.

  • When he climbs down the ladder, he realizes he can't go back up again.

  • The only way is forward.

  • At the end of each level, the young man must fight a demon who appears in the form of someone

  • from his past.

  • It could be a teacher, a parent, or a friend, but the player would find out it was always

  • someone who had harmed the main character in the past.

  • After defeating the demon, the player climbs down to the next level.

  • There would be nine levels total.

  • In each, the screen would become darker and the enemies more powerful.

  • By the ninth level, Rob explained, the player would barely be able to see his way through

  • the darkness.

  • At the very end, the ultimate boss appears.

  • The player finally learns who he's been fighting to reach the entire time: a mirror

  • image of himself.

  • Defeating the boss reveals a new ladder that leads back up to the surface.

  • What happens when the player fails?”

  • my Dad asked.

  • You don't want to know,” Rob said cryptically.

  • Can you tell me what it's called?”

  • Ladder to Oblivion,” Rob almost whispered.

  • Eventually, Rob convinced my Dad to meet with him in order to show him the game.

  • It wasn't quite finished yet, but the first seven levels were playable.

  • “I was mesmerized,” my Dad told me.

  • The game made me feel like no game ever had before.

  • The bosses at the end of the levels – I started seeing them as the people in my life

  • who had wronged me.

  • A teacher in fourth grade who humiliated me in front of the class.

  • An old high school friend that had stolen my girlfriend.

  • It almost felt like that game….changed, depending on who was playing it.”

  • When my Dad brought the game to Nintendo, they refused to approve LTO, LLC as an officially

  • licensed developer.

  • Nintendo had very strict rules about the type of content that their partners could include

  • in their games.

  • No nudity, no gore, no cursing, and no religious symbols, among others.

  • Ladder to Oblivion's theme and content didn't fall under the recognized restrictions, but

  • it was rejected anyway.

  • It's too dark,” was the only explanation given.

  • Rob was crushed, my Dad said.

  • Understandably so.

  • He'd worked on Ladder to Oblivion for the better part of three years.

  • My Dad told me the day of the final rejection was the last time he'd ever spoken to Rob.

  • He never saw him again.

  • I begged him several times to try and get in touch with Rob.

  • Maybe he still had a copy of the game and we could play it together.

  • Maybe,” he'd say, averting his eyes, “I'll see if I can dig up his number.”

  • I believed my Dad all these years.

  • For all I knew, the story of Ladder to Oblivion, the NES game that never was, ended the day

  • my dad said it did.

  • Yesterday I found out I was wrong.

  • It's hard to even type this, but yesterday my Dad committed suicide.

  • It was a shock to my entire family.

  • He seemed happy and never acted like he was depressed.

  • My mother found him in the woods behind our house, the shotgun he'd used several inches

  • from his outstretched hand.

  • I was devastated.

  • Still am.

  • Last night, I went to the one place where I felt closest to my Dad: his study.

  • We'd spent hours in there together playing old NES games and reliving his days at Nintendo.

  • On a whim, I ended up grabbing Marios Bros. ouf of its case.

  • I was going to play a final game in honor of my Dad.

  • When I flipped the door open, I found there was already a game inside.

  • My Dad NEVER left games inside the console.

  • He said it made them wear out quicker.

  • It was Ladder to Oblivion.

  • The art was just how I'd pictured it all those years.

  • An 8-bit image of a ladder descending into a raging fire.

  • A note was taped to the back.

  • The note contained the real story of Ladder to Oblivionthe NES game that did come

  • to be.

  • I considered transcribing the entire thing, but realized that would be disrespectful towards

  • my Dad.

  • The note was addressed directly to me; he'd meant the words within for my eyes only.

  • Plus, the words are dark.

  • They aren't a proper representation of my Dad at all.

  • I hope you don't mind that I paraphrase.

  • The day of the rejection, my Dad went and saw Rob.

  • He was already obsessed with Ladder to Oblivion.

  • After a lengthy discussion, Rob asked my Dad to join LTO, LLC as a partner.

  • It was Rob's plan all along and was the reason he'd asked my Dad at the beginning

  • if he wanted to be rich.

  • Together they'd complete Ladder to Oblivion and release it as an unlicensed game.

  • My Dad knew all about Nintendo's authentication chip and how to work around it.

  • They both understood that many of the companies that produced unlicensed games, like Tengen,

  • Atari's software branch, and Color Dreams/Bunch Games/Wisdom Tree (they changed their name

  • every so often so people would forget about how crappy their previous games were) actually

  • did very well in the market.

  • They knew the riskthat Nintendo could come up with a solution that would lock Ladder

  • to Oblivion out of the NES foreverbut were willing to take it.

  • Of course, my Dad would be a silent partner.

  • He still needed his job at Nintendo.

  • It's what paid the bills, after all.

  • In seven months, Rob finished Ladder to Oblivion.

  • The two were ecstatic, but their joy would be short-lived.

  • The night Rob completed the game, he called my Dad and told him it was finally finished.

  • My Dad was excited beyond measure.

  • The next day, my Dad had the game loaded onto two pre-production cartridges.

  • He had a friend in the art department whip up a label, complete with Nintendo's Seal

  • of Quality.

  • That way, they'd think he was working on something for the company.

  • Once they were ready for a large production run, he'd have them made off-site.

  • He didn't want to take any chances.

  • Rob told him not to play the game yet - he still needed to do a complete play through

  • from start to finish.

  • To catch any remaining bugs.

  • My Dad reluctantly agreed.

  • Rob agreed to call him when he'd finished so he could meet my Dad and do a play-through

  • with him.

  • Five days later, my Dad showed up at Rob's house unannounced.

  • He hadn't talked to Rob since the phone call and in his paranoia was worried that

  • Rob had decided to release the game on his own and cut my Dad out of the profits.

  • What he found was much worse.

  • Rob was dead.

  • I assume by suicide, but the note is unclear.

  • There's a lot of rambling at this part about God and the Devil and a lot of sentences have

  • been scribbled over so heavily, the words are mostly illegible.

  • It looks like Rob left a note.

  • The only words wereNever climb the ladder.”

  • More scribbled out words.

  • At the end of that page, my Dad writes, “He finally faced himself.”

  • My Dad moved on undeterred.

  • He was terribly upset at Rob's death, but the game had taken control of his life.

  • Ever since he'd played it that first time, he said, he'd been battling a secret depression.

  • The only thing he believed would make him happy again was to release Ladder to the public.

  • The very next day, my Dad brought on a new partner: a friend from Purdue named Eddie

  • who was always looking for business opportunities.

  • That night, they got together to play the game.

  • My Dad started, but ended up leaving after the 7th level to grab some pizza.

  • When he returned, he found Eddie dead, “Game Overflashing on the screen.

  • Eddie had taken a kitchen knife and slashed both of his wrists.

  • The note gets harder and harder to read, but I think he carved something into his arm.

  • UXXy inXXXe.”

  • I'm not sure what that means.

  • He says at that point, he was convinced the game was responsible for both Rob and Eddie's

  • deaths, as well as his worsening depression.

  • He tucked the game away, vowing to never play it again.

  • He couldn't bear to get rid it though.

  • I was 5 at the time.

  • I obviously don't remember any of this happening, but I do remember us moving around that time.

  • My Dad quit his job at Nintendo and we moved out of town.

  • For 24 years, my Dad kept his promise.

  • He never played Ladder all the way through.

  • Until yesterday.

  • I'll include the end of the note here.

  • You can draw your own conclusions.

  • I for one believe my Dad, no matter what you all might say.

  • And my Dad never told me what happened to Rob's copy.

  • For all I know, it's still out there.

  • Have you seen it?

  • Here's what my dad wrote: Twenty-four years of guilt finally caught

  • up to me today.

  • I climbed the Ladder.

  • Something I said I'd never do.

  • I faced myself and I was judged unworthy.

  • Just like Rob.

  • Just like Eddie.

  • There's something wrong with the Ladder.

  • Almost like consciousness, it's more than just the sum of its parts.

  • It looks deep inside you.

  • Too deep for light.

  • To the places you didn't know existed.

  • Son, I don't want to die.

  • I XXXX to live.

  • But my shot gun is sitting on the floor beside me and I can hear it speaking to me.

  • It sounds XX sweet.

  • It's voice is a XXXen's song.

  • If I can ignore it, I'll tear up this letter and you'll XXXXX XXXX the difference.

  • I'm sorry I lied XX XXX.

  • I'm sorry XXX X lot of things.

  • Please know that I love you.

  • XXXXX move on.

  • I'm going outside.

  • I can't XXXX it.

  • Please

  • 4.

  • Change is terrifying, especially when you're young.

  • For an eight year old boy like me, moving across the country was the biggest change

  • imaginable.

  • When you're young, leaving the few friends that you've made behind feels like the end

  • of the world.

  • I don't remember the move to Giliman very well, I just remember crying the whole way

  • there.

  • My parents repeatedly tried to console me.

  • They assured me that I'd make new friends, and that the town of Giliman had much better

  • parks and open-spaces to play in.

  • I refused to listen.

  • Bryan, you're going to love it in Giliman, I promise!”

  • My dad was driving the moving truck we rented.

  • No.

  • I hate Giliman.

  • I want to go back to Springfield.”

  • Oh Bryan, I'm sure you'll love it when we get there.”

  • My mom echoed this sentiment.

  • Roger doesn't seem to mind moving, does he Bryan?”

  • Of course my younger brother didn't mind moving.

  • He was four years old and was too young and dumb to understand what was happening.

  • He just sat in his car seat next to me, playing with his little stuffed alligator toy.

  • Ugghh.

  • Mom, Roger doesn't care because he's still little!

  • If he was my age, he'd want to go back to Springfield too!”

  • Roger protested the fact that I'd called him little, but quickly went back to playing

  • with his toy.

  • I continued to cry and moan for as much of the drive as I could.

  • The drive from Springfield to Giliman is around thirteen hours, so we didn't arrive until

  • it was almost midnight.

  • Another moving truck had already dropped off our beds and moved them inside, so we could

  • go to sleep when we arrived.

  • As angry as I was about the move, I was happy to be able to sleep in my own bed, even if

  • I would have preferred it to be in a different location.

  • I went to bed full of resentment and sadness, directed at my parents, of course.

  • Knowing what I know now, I wish I'd appreciated them more.

  • They tried so hard to make me happy.

  • I wish I had been nicer to them, and complained less about the move.

  • I wish I'd been a better son, while I still had the chance.

  • When I think about the fall we moved to Giliman, I think of what could have been different.

  • That horrible game ruined everything.

  • Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself.

  • I grew up in the 90's.

  • The year we moved was 1995, and like every other eight year old, I was infatuated with

  • my Super Nintendo Entertainment System (which we called an SNES, as I'm sure everyone

  • knows).

  • I plugged more time into that gaming system then I'm proud to admitit was truly

  • my prized possession.

  • When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the game cartridge that was plugged into

  • the SNES across from my bed.

  • For those of you that remember the Super Nintendo, you might remember that almost every game

  • cartridge was exactly the same.

  • They were all plastic, slate grey cartridges, with black or white stickers on the front.

  • But this one wasn't.

  • It was bright blue, and had a bright red sticker on the front.

  • I didn't recognize it – I'd never seen anything quite like it before.

  • I was ecstatic, to say the least.

  • I figured that my parents must have gotten me this game to make me feel better about

  • the move.

  • My reservations about the new house faded away the second I saw the game cartridge.

  • Before I could turn on the SNES, my mom called from downstairs.

  • Bryan!

  • Come get breakfast!”

  • Reluctantly, I pulled myself away from the console and wandered into the new kitchen.

  • It was far nicer than the one I had grown up with in Springfield.

  • My mother was standing at the stove, flipping eggs.

  • My father sat at the table, buttering a slice of toast.

  • Roger was planted firmly in his high chair, clutching his alligator toy close to his chest

  • and spooning oatmeal into his mouth.

  • Good morning Bryan.

  • Did you find the present Dad and I got you?”

  • A smile filled my face.

  • You mean the new game!?”

  • “I take it you found it then.”

  • Yes!

  • Thank you thank you!

  • It's awesome!”

  • My dad ruffled my hair and motioned me to sit at the breakfast table.

  • “I'm glad you like it Bry, I got it from my new job.

  • I figured you'd enjoy it more than I would.”

  • My dad winked.

  • He had recently accepted a job as a programmer at a technology company namedKalivaki

  • Electronics”.

  • His recent employment had been the reason for our move, so I was certainly happy I was

  • benefitting from it.

  • Although I was itching to play my new game, my parents made me stay at the table until

  • I'd eaten several pancakes and a plate of eggs.

  • When I had a chance, I snuck back up to my room to play the SNES.

  • Up until this point, I hadn't actually had a chance to look closely at the game cartridge.

  • As I said, it had bright coloring, but otherwise it looked like a standard game cartridge.

  • The sticker on the front was red with bright yellow letters.

  • It read: “WORRYLAND

  • The letters were superimposed on an image of a cartoonish ray gun, like something Marvin

  • the Martian would have carried.

  • I'm sure that it sounds underwhelming for anyone from the Xbox-Generation, but I was

  • practically bouncing off the walls with excitement.

  • With almost no hesitation, I switched the console on and turned on my small tv.

  • The screen stayed blank for a full thirty seconds, and I was about to turn the console

  • off and try again, when my TV suddenly lit up with bright yellow letters.

  • WORRYLANDAn upbeat 8-bit tune began pouring out of

  • the speakersimagine the music from the original Megaman games.

  • As it beeped and booped, the game shifted into a credit sequence that read:

  • KALIVAKI ELECTRONIC CO” “SOFTWARE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE

  • Like every eight year old boy, the thought of playing a new video game was overwhelmingly

  • exciting.

  • That excitement was cut short when a small set of white letters appeared in the top left

  • corner of the screen.

  • YOU HAVE NO WORRIES.

  • PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER.”

  • I was frustrated.

  • I tried restarting the game several times, but was met with the same result.

  • I pulled the game out of my console and shoved into under my bed.

  • The stupid game didn't work.

  • I was annoyed with my parents, but I knew that it wasn't really their fault.

  • They wouldn't have tested the game or anything.

  • Luckily, I hadn't beaten Megaman X yet, so I had a different video game to take my

  • mind off of it.

  • I forgot about Worryland, for a while.

  • School started the next morning.

  • I was nervous about going to a new school and starting the third grade.

  • A lot of kids enjoy the start of school, but I was never one of them.

  • It usually took me awhile to make new friends, and I hated how lonely the first few days

  • felt before I had.

  • Third grade started worse than I could have imagined.

  • When I was getting off the bus, I tripped and fell off the step.

  • I landed with a thud on the hard sidewalk in front of my school.

  • Beneath me, something cold and wet was soaking into my clothes.

  • I had landed on my sack lunch, which exploded underneath me.

  • As I stood up, I brushed yogurt and sandwich crumbs off of my shirt.

  • Then I heard Ryan's laugh.

  • Ryan was an older boy.

  • He was the kind of kid that gets sent to the principal's office once a week, usually

  • for terrorizing some younger kid.

  • He was an asshole.

  • You're supposed to eat your lunch, not wear it!”

  • Ryan's childish joke provoked a cluster of laughter from the rest of the kids getting

  • off the bus.

  • I stared at Ryan, who was easily a full foot taller than me, and had at least 60 pounds

  • on me.

  • Aww, are you gonna cry?”

  • Ryan teased.

  • As it turned out, I was.

  • I ran toward my new classroom, tears streaming down my face.

  • I spent the first half of my day wiping tears out of my eyes instead of meeting new friends.

  • No one in my class wanted to talk to me since they knew I was the kid who tripped getting

  • off the bus.

  • They knew I was a loser.

  • To make matters worse, Ryan confirmed any doubts about my unpopularity at recess.

  • As I attempted to climb onto our playground's swingset, I heard Ryan laugh behind me.

  • Look, the cry baby is trying to take my swing.”

  • Ryan was surrounded by a group of no doubt loyal cronies.

  • They all laughed.

  • It's not your swing.”

  • The laughter stopped.

  • Ryan closed the distance between us in a matter of seconds, and grabbed me by my collar.

  • What'd you say?”

  • He asked, between gritted teeth.

  • “N-n-nothing.”

  • I quivered.

  • Ryan punched me in the stomach.

  • Hard.

  • I began crying again as Ryan let go of my shirt.

  • I ran away from the swing set, back towards the school.

  • For the rest of the day, I hid in the back of the classroom, alternating between crying

  • and trying to look busy.

  • I hated my new school.

  • I hated Ryan.

  • Everything was ruined.

  • When I got home, there was no one there to greet me.

  • My dad was at work, and my mom and Roger were nowhere to be found.

  • There was a note on the fridge.

  • Bryan, I've run to the store to get groceries.

  • Please do your homework while I'm gone.

  • Mom.”

  • The frustration and sadness I'd been building through the day remained.

  • I retreated to my room, still crying.

  • When I walked inside, I saw the edge of something blue peeking out from underneath my bed.

  • It was my new game.

  • It wasWorryland”.

  • The game didn't work the day before, but I felt the need to try it again.

  • Almost without thinking, I removed Megaman X from the SNES and I plugged in Worryland.

  • The same title screen appeared as the last time, and 8-bit music poured through the speakers.

  • But this time, instead of seeing the white text telling me I was worry free, I heard

  • a voice from my TV's speakers.

  • It was a soothing, female voice.

  • What worries you, child?”

  • The tv screen remained black.

  • I didn't say anything.

  • Bryan, you have to tell me what's wrong.”

  • The game had said my name.

  • I was awestruck with the technology.

  • Clearly, this game was going to be better than I had originally thought.

  • I looked for some cue of what I should do.

  • Hesitantly, I tried answering the game.

  • Umm

  • I had a bad day at school.

  • There was this bully, named Ryan.

  • He hit me.”

  • Those were all the words I could muster.

  • The game's screen slowly changed.

  • It became a small, pixelated school building.

  • I could tell it was a school because I could see a school bus through the glass doors on

  • one side of the screen.

  • On the left side, there was a little character.

  • He was wearing a red shirt and blue shorts, but his clothes had stains on them.

  • After a moment, I realized I was wearing a red shirt and blue shorts.

  • They were stained from when I had fallen on top of my lunch.

  • The little character in the game was supposed to be me.

  • The only difference was that this character had something in his hands.

  • It was the little ray gun from the front game cartridge.

  • I pressed the directional buttons on the controller, and the character moved accordingly.

  • I navigated the little pixelated version of me through the school.

  • After a moment, I came upon two pixelated children.

  • They had speech bubbles over their heads, and their crudely animated mouths were flapping

  • open and closed.

  • The speech bubbles read: “Look at the crybaby!”

  • Nice shirt, loser!”

  • Reading the text brought back my frustrations.

  • I pushed the X button on my controller, hoping something would happen.

  • It did.

  • The little ray gun that my character was holding fired.

  • It didn't make a noise like a ray gun, it sounded more like a real gunshot.

  • A cartoonish laser blast pierced through the kids.

  • Instead of disappearing, like in most games, their characters exploded into a gory shower

  • of blood and gore.

  • The gore was surprisingly detailed, especially for a lower resolution game like this.

  • I was a little confused about the objective of the game, but I pressed forward.

  • My character moved through an open door way, onto a playground.

  • The playground hadn't been rendered in much detail, and the only clear piece of equipment

  • was a swingset.

  • In front of the swingset, was a little pixelated person.

  • He was taller than my character, and he looked older.

  • This little person also had a speech bubble above his head, but it seemed to alternate

  • what it was saying.

  • This is my swing.”

  • Look at the little crybaby” “You're supposed to eat your lunch, not wear it!”

  • The character was supposed to be Ryan.

  • I had no idea how the game was able to capture the situation in such detail.

  • I was beginning to feel sick to my stomach.

  • Suddenly, a female voice came forward from the speakers, once again.

  • Bryan, don't you want to be worry free?”

  • I sat on my bed and stared at the screen.

  • What was this game?

  • Bryan, press X to end your worries!”

  • I hesitated.

  • This game must have been for an older kid.

  • I was starting to get that nagging feeling, like I was doing something that I wasn't

  • supposed to be.

  • I began to reach for the off switch on the SNES.

  • Then I heard another voice come through my speakers.

  • Aww, are you gonna cry?”

  • It was Ryan's voice.

  • I pressed X.

  • The little ray gun fired, and Ryan's avatar exploded.

  • There was a cartoonish scream, and the same graphic gore exploded on the right side of

  • the screen.

  • The screen went black again.

  • Little white text appeared in the upper left corner of my screen.

  • YOU HAVE NO WORRIES, TRY AGAIN LATER.”

  • I went to bed feeling twisted-up inside.

  • I felt like throwing up.

  • My dad must have been able to sense my guilt, because, when he was telling me goodnight,

  • he asked, “Bryan, is something wrong?”

  • No Dad.

  • Just tired is all.”

  • Okay.

  • You'd tell me if there was something wrong at school, right?”

  • Yes dad.”

  • Okay.

  • Goodnight, Bryan.”

  • Goodnight dad.”

  • I didn't see Ryan on the bus the next day.

  • I didn't see any of his friends either.

  • In fact, I never saw Ryan or his friends again.

  • For years I didn't know what happened to them, but I always felt like it was my fault.

  • I always felt guilty.

  • A couple of years later, I looked up Ryan's last name from our old school directory.

  • I was trying to find out whether he had moved or been taken out of school for some reason.

  • I figured that his sudden disappearance was strangely coincidental.

  • All I found was a news article, dated September 1996, almost a full year after I moved.

  • BODIES FINALLY FOUND IN MISSING PERSONS CASE Sep. 16, 1996

  • After a year of waiting, the bodies of Ryan Ruvey, Sam Mcarlott, and Ashton Freebur have

  • finally been recovered.

  • The three boys disappeared from their homes on August 26th of last year.

  • There had been no leads as to their whereabouts.

  • All three had a previous history of delinquency and behavior issues, so it was expected that

  • they ran away from home.

  • However, Sheriff Lopez has stated that three bodies were found near the edge of Giliman

  • Reservoir several days ago.

  • They were identified by their school ID's, which were found in their pockets.

  • Sam Mcarlott and Ashton Freebur were both found fully intact, save for minor cuts and

  • bruises.

  • Ryan Ruvey's body was found severely mutilated and dismembered.

  • All three appear to have been shot in the head.

  • The investigation into their disappearance has been reopened.

  • All three families have declined to comment at this time.”

  • August 26th was the first day of school.

  • That was the day I played Worryland for the first time.

  • After that I could barely bring myself to look at it, let alone play it again.

  • I buried it underneath my bed and quickly pushed it out of my mind.

  • I wish I could say that was the only time that someone played Worryland.

  • But that isn't the case.

  • My mom was out of town at the time, so my dad was the only one in charge at our house.

  • My dad was a good man, but wasn't an expert when it came to child rearing.

  • He wasn't as patient with Roger or I as my mom was.

  • One night, Roger and I were acting particularly unruly.

  • Roger had refused to eat all of his dinner.

  • Dad had made spinach, which was something Roger particularly hated.

  • Dad had grown tired of arguing with my four year old brother.

  • He grabbed Roger's alligator toy and told him, “I'm taking this away.

  • You can have it back when you eat your dinner.”

  • Roger, being only four years old, didn't fully understand why his favorite toy was

  • being confiscated.

  • He immediately burst into tears and, the second my dad turned around, fled the room.

  • The phone began ringing and my dad picked it up off the hook.

  • He motioned for me to go get Roger.

  • I followed Roger out of the kitchen, and turned the corner just in time to see him reach the

  • top of the stairs and run into my room.

  • The only reason Roger ever went into my room was to play the SNES.

  • He wasn't any good at it, but I think he liked the music and colors.

  • I called after him, “Roger, you have to come eat dinner.

  • You can't play videogames right now!”

  • There was no response.

  • I heard my door slam shut and lock.

  • “C'mon Rog, just eat your dinner and I'm sure dad will give you back your alligator.”

  • As I approached the door, I heard a familiar 8-bit theme begin playing.

  • I struggled to place exactly what the music was as I fumbled with the locked doorknob.

  • Then I heard a voice.

  • What worries you child?”

  • In a panic, I began pulling at the door.

  • I tried and I tried to force it open, but it was too strong for my eight year old body.

  • I heard Roger answer.

  • My dad is being mean.”

  • I listened intently as the game's music quieted.

  • I heard Roger pressing buttons.

  • I heard my Dad's voice come from downstairs as he talked on the phone.

  • I heard the game speak again.

  • Its voice was calm and evenalmost peaceful.

  • Press X to end your worries!”

  • Panic flooded my brain.

  • I screamed for Roger not to press X. I screamed for my dad to stop talking on the phone.

  • I was too late.

  • A cartoonish scream came from my room.

  • A real one came from the kitchen.

  • I ran downstairs.

  • The kitchen was empty.

  • The phone, which had been at Dad's ear just a second before was lying coldly on the ground.

  • A dial tone poured out from the receiver.

  • The back door was open.

  • They never found Dad's body.

  • I'm not sure I want them too.

  • I don't think I want to know what happened to him.

  • Ever since then, it's just been me, my mom, and Roger.

  • We stayed in Giliman, but we had to move to a much smaller house, since my dad wasn't

  • around anymore.

  • A couple of years later, my mom ended up selling my Super Nintendo, and all of my games, including

  • Worryland.

  • We needed the money to make ends meet.

  • And besides, I didn't really want to play videogames anymore.

  • They made me feel sick.

  • Still, I wonder sometimes who has that game.

  • I wonder if they've played it yet.

  • I hope to god that if they did, they were worry-free.

  • 3.

  • It all started on a gray, rainy April evening in 1992.

  • It was a Friday.

  • I know this because my parents only allowed me to make my way down to the local video

  • library and rent a new video game on Fridays after I had gotten out of school.

  • It was like my reward for being a good boy and making good grades.

  • So, six-year-old me had picked out 'Top Gear' for the Super Nintendo.

  • The black sports car on the front of the box surrounded by a blaze of what I assumed was

  • fiery nitreous oxide propellant called to me.

  • And so did the tagline adervtising "TWO PLAYER SIMULTANEOUS RACING!"

  • I'd often spend weekends over at my friend Brett's house.

  • We'd make our way to his third floor room...

  • I called it the "blue room" because the carpet and all the walls were blue... and make his

  • fold-out bed into a couch, grab a snack, and play video games for hours.

  • It was surprisingly spacious up there, too.

  • Sometimes we'd take breaks and turn out the lights to have glow-in-the-dark nerf gun battles

  • or play a game of hide and seek.

  • But tonight, we were going to race around the world!

  • USA, Brazil, Japan, Germany, you name it.

  • And instead of switching off the controller like we normally did, we could play together

  • the whole time, in glorious split-screen.

  • I stepped out of my mom's car as she dropped me off at Brett's house and kissed her goodbye.

  • The rain pelted gently against the top of my navy blue raincoat and my little Velcro

  • shoes sloshed through puddles as I waded to Brett's back door with the game rental box

  • clasped to my chest.

  • His parents let me in.

  • I gave them a quick hello and bounded up the steps to the blue room.

  • Brett swung open the door.

  • "What'd you get, Kevin?" he asked with wild, excited eyes.

  • "Top Gear!

  • They just got it in today.

  • This was the last copy.

  • It's a racing game.

  • 2 players!"

  • "Coooooool!

  • Let's pop it in!"

  • With that, I ripped open the case and Brett mashed the cartridge into his SNES.

  • He plugged in both controllers and gave me the Player 2 one, as was customary.

  • "Hey," I said.

  • "Before we play, let me go grab some drinks and snacks."

  • "OK, but hurry up!"

  • I returned in a jiffy with a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches his mom had already

  • made for us in advance and some Kool-Aid.

  • As we ate, I thumbed through Top Gear's instruction booklet.

  • What happened next makes my skin crawl when I think about it.

  • I flipped to the very last page of the manual.

  • Everyone familiar with old-school gaming will know that this was typically the "Notes" page

  • where you'd jot down passwords.

  • I looked at it closely.

  • In the middle of all those blank lines, something was scribbled in red pen.

  • "Huh?"

  • I looked at the scribbling quizzically.

  • Brett glanced over.

  • "I thought you said this came out today."

  • "It did."

  • "Then how'd this get on here?"

  • "No clue, man."

  • We both looked at each other in confusion.

  • "Well what does it say?"

  • Brett asked.

  • I leaned in.

  • "It's a poem.

  • It says:

  • MUSTANG SALLY OR SHOULD I SAY MICHELLE

  • WHAT'S HELPLESSLY SCREAMING?

  • YOUR TIRES, THEN YOU, IN HELL -JJB"

  • I shot a look to Brett.

  • "Should we tell your parents about this?"

  • "We can tell them later.

  • It's probably just some dumb joke.

  • Don't you want to play?"

  • "OK, we'll tell them later."

  • With that we booted up the game.

  • Everything about Top Gear was mesmerizing.

  • The sense of speed, the music, the tight controls.

  • Hours flew by effortlessly.

  • We played in a trance, racing across Vegas, Rio, Tokyo.

  • Checkpoint after checkpoint, finish line after finish line, the white dotted lines zoomed

  • past us at a blistering pace.

  • Pretty soon we had finished the whole game.

  • To our dismay and disappointment, we didn't experience any glorious cutscenes.

  • What we got was a message displaying the following:

  • CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING TOP GEAR BUT CAN YOU WIN ON

  • CHAMPIONSHIP LEVEL

  • Brett and I looked at each other and let out exasperated sighs but then nodded.

  • We changed the difficulty to "Championship" in the Options screen and set out to beat

  • the game again.

  • Meanwhile, the rain intensified outside.

  • It was gray as ever, turning dark, and we were in the midst of a roaring thunderstorm.

  • Thunder cracked loudly outside the back window as Brett started the next set of races.

  • We did well on the North America, South America, and Japan, courses but we kept getting stuck

  • on Germany.

  • God damned Germany!

  • There was one track in particular in Germany called "Dark Forest" where we'd accidentally

  • run through the Pit Stop area, bogging us down and allowing the other cars to pass us.

  • Every time we failed the race, we were told to try again and given the level password:

  • "WRECKAGE".

  • After a few times of retrying this level, we finally beat it, or so I thought.

  • I came in first place, and Brett finished second.

  • But when the post-race results screen came up, it showed me in second place and Brett

  • in third place.

  • Who was in first place?

  • "JJB".

  • I looked to Brett.

  • "What the heck?"

  • "I know you came in first, man.

  • You were right ahead of me.

  • I saw you pass the finish line."

  • "Yeah...weird..."

  • I pushed a button to advance to the next screen and the game froze totally.

  • The music kept looping, but we were stuck on this results screen.

  • I was used to NES games messing up, but errors like this were fairly uncommon on the Super

  • Nintendo.

  • Brett reset his system, and I reminded him of the password.

  • He entered "W-R-E-C-K-A-G-E" and pressed Start.

  • Just as he did, a female's scream came blaring out of his television speakers.

  • I looked at Brett.

  • Puzzlement filled his face and he shrugged.

  • At the time, I think we both figured it was some kind of strange password confirmation

  • sound effect.

  • We continued playing...

  • 3 laps down.

  • Then 4.

  • OK, now the final lap.

  • About one fourth of the way to the finish line, the game began flickering back and forth

  • very rapidly between the main game and what looked like a pixelated head shot photo of

  • a pretty blonde woman.

  • She could have been a model.

  • The pulsing intensified to point that it distracted me and Brett from the game and we both hit

  • lamp posts.

  • But at this point, we didn't even care about winning anymore.

  • We were so curious and weirded out that we both set our controllers down and got right

  • up to the TV screen to examine what was going on.

  • The game music ceased and in its place was a weird, deep droning sound.

  • The woman's image continued to flicker.

  • The droning got louder.

  • And slowly, the photo of the woman's face began to split into pieces and get pulled

  • apart to every corner of the screen.

  • At this point I was genuinely scared and told Brett that I was going to go tell his mom

  • what was going on.

  • He nodded in agreement.

  • Just as we began to walk away, we heard a high-pitched squeal followed by a sickening

  • crash, and the power went out.

  • Brett and I walked over to his window.

  • Though it was now pitch black outside and there was a thick veil of rain, a streak of

  • lightning illuminated the sky long enough for us to make out a red Mustang completely

  • wrapped around a telephone poll.

  • We stayed up there and watched out his window for the next thirty minutes or so.

  • Cops, firefighters, and an ambulance arrived.

  • When the body was recovered and placed onto a stretcher, I peered down and squinted to

  • make out what I was seeing.

  • All I saw was a mess of blonde hair and red, chunky flesh where a face should have been.

  • Later that night, the power came back on.

  • Brett and I were both downstairs getting something to eat when we walked past the living room,

  • where his parents were watching the local news.

  • A reporter appeared:

  • "Late tonight on Juban Rode, 21-year-old Michelle Wilkinson was on her way home from her boyfriend's

  • house when her car's tires lost their grip on the road.

  • Forensic detectives say that the former prom queen and local model was unsuccessful in

  • regaining control of her car and collided head-on with a telephone pole.

  • Medical teams were dispatched but were unsuccessful in saving the young woman's life.

  • She was pronounced dead on the scene.

  • Weather conditions and speed are believed to have been factors.

  • Our hearts go out to the Wilkinson family.

  • We here at Channel 9 news are truly sorry to hear of this terrible, terrible Tragedy."

  • The news reporter frowned solemnly.

  • "Back to you, Lisa."

  • 2.

  • "X-Box, Stop" I wouldn't call myself a gamer.

  • I don't play too many games, or maybe I should say I don't like many games.

  • I play a lot, but because of the sheer quantity I need to filter through, I must be frugal.

  • I've been playing the same old Counter-Strike matches for the past ten years.

  • That being said, I don't get many new games, and about 2 years ago I purchased my first

  • XBox 360 from Craigslist.

  • There was nothing strange about it, no ominous air of death or any sort of shady dealings.

  • I met a broke kid and didn't even haggle with him.

  • He was polite and the whole thing took place pretty quickly on his front porch.

  • He lived in a pretty nice part of town, but probably didn't get hand-outs from his folks.

  • It felt like a pretty standard trade, exactly the way you would want it to be.

  • There was only one slight problem.

  • The controller he gave me didn't work.

  • I still got a pretty good deal on the console, but had to get a new one.

  • I was in luck and got a pretty good price on a used one.

  • (There's me being frugal again...)

  • Since I saved a few bucks, I picked up a headset and a 3 month subscription to Xbox Live.

  • Luckily, they were both also on sale!

  • When I got the console, he included a copy of Modern Warfare 3, so I wanted to play that

  • online.

  • I was pretty excited to get my game on after unlocking the "Thrifty" achievement.

  • I had only tried to turn the console on twice before I realized the controller was broken,

  • so there wasn't much I could do without a new one.

  • There were 2 profiles left on there, so I did I system restore or format or whatever

  • that is called.

  • Having erased everything, I created a new profile and made an avatar that looked like

  • me.

  • I didn't put much effort into it, though.

  • After a few frustrating minutes of network configuration, I punched in the code on the

  • prepaid card I purchased and was online for the first time.

  • Finally, I was connected to a world of "current" gamers and excited to try the latest shooter!

  • I wasn't up-to-date with modern games, but apparently my skills were.

  • In Call of Duty, I was getting first place in nearly every match I played.

  • It almost felt like I was cheating.

  • Was I doing something different that no one had thought of?

  • I started uploading videos and posting on forums.

  • Some people would message me and invite me to join their "clan" and I felt like a mini-celebrity.

  • One group even asked me "if it would be cool to use my strategy?"

  • After two months, I had over 300 new "friends" just because I was good at a video game.

  • It started to eat into my personal time as I turned down plans to game.

  • I broke up with my girlfriend.

  • I considered quitting my job and took a serious cutback on hours.

  • To account for the loss in income, I monetizied my videos and had a surprisingly large influx

  • in cashflow.

  • I quit my job.

  • I made more money by playing video games than I would make in any job my resume could land.

  • In less than three months of owning an Xbox and playing this game, I had become a highly

  • respected CoD player and a new game in the franchise was about to come out.

  • Black Ops 2 was hitting stores in one week and I had the potential to rise up the leaderboards

  • if I jumped on it the day it came out.

  • I remember waiting in line at midnight.

  • I remember running out of the mall, not starting the car, but certainly ripping the shrinkwrap

  • with my teeth while driving home.

  • The smell of the new disc was heavenly.

  • I sped and should have been ticketed, but managed to pop that disc in my tray less than

  • 15 minutes after the time printed on the receipt.

  • There was a problem.

  • My Gold subscription was up.

  • No big deal.

  • I punched in my debit card numbers and was online in a few minutes.

  • After 4 days and 12 hours of total sleep, I had made it to the top 50 on the player

  • leaderboard for Black Ops 2.

  • I needed some rest and took a day off from playing.

  • This was the first time I really fiddled around with the Xbox.

  • I had been playing Call of Duty non-stop since I discovered my skillset was perfect for that

  • game.

  • I signed up for Netflix, watched some shows, then connected to my Facebook.

  • I didn't really share my successful game-related YouTube channel with my friends, and a few

  • people commented on the status update that said I linked to Xbox.

  • After watching a movie, I checked Facebook again via XBox and saw I had 30+ friend requests.

  • Someone had recognized me from the "linked to Xbox update" and now my personal Facebook

  • was widely known to my YouTube channel.

  • This was slightly annoying, so I went private.

  • The problem wasn't really solved.

  • I still got a lot of requests, so I made a Facebook profile for the YouTube page.

  • After a few weeks and hitting the #10 spot on the Black Ops 2 leaderboards, I had more

  • friends on that profile than my personal one that I've had for as many years...

  • It was only a short matter of time before I was invited to a tournament and before long,

  • I was on a cross-country flight to play for $10000 in Los Angeles.

  • I was set to play in front of a crowd.

  • People cheered when I walked to my station.

  • I had been playing the damn game for 6 months of my life and I was somehow famous.

  • An article released before the tournament called me a prodigy and titled the article

  • something like "why I'll win."

  • Then we started.

  • And I failed.

  • Miserably.

  • I played the worst I ever had.

  • Total loser, I placed dead last by a long shot.

  • "I choked under pressure," they said in video commentaries.

  • As quickly as I had risen to e-success, it was all gone.

  • The fame.

  • The fans.

  • The viewers.

  • The money.

  • I didn't change anything about the way I released videos or played, but no one wanted to watch

  • them anymore.

  • I even ranked up to #7 on the leaderboards, but it didn't matter.

  • The dream was over.

  • I needed to get back to reality.

  • I needed to get a new job and re-boot my life.

  • I did so pretty quickly, and just like that, my short-lived life as a celebrity gamer was

  • over.

  • My new job was in the same field as my old, but at an office with a lot of younger folks.

  • They would talk about Call of Duty and I wouldn't say a word.

  • Little did they know, they had probably watched some of my videos before - unbeknownst one

  • of the game's best players worked in an office down the hall.

  • Or was I?

  • The console that had brought me fame sat beneath my giant TV that I purchased with the ad money

  • from Youtube gathering dust.

  • I would occasionally use it for Netflix, but for the most part, I was done.

  • I wasn't a gamer anymore.

  • It was fun, but it was over.

  • I even used a different account for Netflix so my old "friends" wouldn't message me and

  • ask to play.

  • Frankly, I never recovered from the failure at the tournament.

  • Despite not playing anymore, it always bothered me how the huge disappointment in the tournament

  • occurred.

  • I didn't change my strategies for the tournament at all.

  • In some ways, playing in the tournament felt unnatural.

  • It wasn't the same as playing at home.

  • Perhaps that's just it, I thought.

  • I'm sure some gamers who smoke would do better at a tourney if they had a cigarette in their

  • mouth.

  • Despite this, I still should have done alright - but I didn't.

  • I was #7 in the world but #40 in a tournament of forty people.

  • Time went on as I led my normal life, but then, on November 22 of last year, things

  • changed.

  • It was a Friday, which I had off, and slept in to the sound of someone at my door.

  • It was FedEx with a large package.

  • I signed and accepted because sure why not.

  • I was suspicious, but opened it to find a brand new XBox One and a copy of Call of Duty:

  • Ghosts.

  • It was from Amazon.

  • I didn't order it.

  • I checked all of my bank statements, my Paypal, my Amazon account and anything I could think

  • would have proof of this purchase.

  • Maybe I pre-ordered during my gaming fame?

  • Nope.

  • I couldn't find it anywhere.

  • I'm not sure why I thought it would explain anything, but I booted up the 360 and logged

  • into my former XBox Live account.

  • There were a bunch of friend requests and messages from fans, but nothing seemed out

  • of place.

  • Then I received a system message.

  • It asked me if I would like to link my account to my XBox One.

  • This was a little strange, as I hadn't unboxed the thing yet.

  • I powered down and set up the XBox One.

  • I logged into my account.

  • It asked me a similar message to the one I saw on 360, but seeing it here made more sense.

  • I had my profile available on the new console and thought I would check out the new game.

  • After all, it was Friday, I had nothing to do.

  • My Call of Duty Elite profile carried over some stats from the two other games I played,

  • but it looked a little suspicious.

  • These results said I was the #4 player in the world for Black Ops 2.

  • How could I have gone up the ladder while not playing for months?

  • I checked my YouTube channel.

  • It was full of new videos I didn't post, but in the vain of ones I would.

  • Was someone using my account and keeping up with my gameplay?

  • Even the gamertag in the videos was mine.

  • It was my account.

  • Was I Jekyll and Hyde?

  • Was something broken in my brain?

  • Did the loss of that tournament cause me to divide my own life in two different worlds?

  • No.

  • I am sane.

  • This is absurd.

  • Someone was using my XBox Live account and recording videos to my YouTube as if they

  • were me.

  • On top of that craziness, my bank account routing information had been changed.

  • I was still getting a cut from ad revenue, but not nearly what I should have been.

  • Some of the new videos have more views than my best ones.

  • Not only did they take my money, they made it seem as if I was still getting some - just

  • not much.

  • The passwords were still the same, but my e-mail was no longer associated with either

  • account.

  • I hadn't even noticed that I wasn't getting billed for XBox live.

  • I guess I had thought the service lapsed.

  • However, my account was active and paid in full for the next 9 months.

  • I contacted YouTube to discuss what happened and they suggested I find a lawyer.

  • This whole situation was not what I expected to get myself into after starting the day

  • with a random new game console showing up at my door for free.

  • I guess it wasn't free.

  • After some investigation, I found that the ad revenue from the videos I didn't know about

  • was put into a savings account that I also didn't know about.

  • It was my own account, associated with the checking account I normally use.

  • I never set it up, but it's in my name at my bank.

  • It has more money in it than I have ever seen or made in my entire life.

  • Every day, there are deposits for thousands, sometimes over ten thousand dollars.

  • The amounts in no way match the profit from YouTube.

  • That's maybe one or two percent.

  • At this point, I had no idea where the rest was coming from.

  • During my game fame, I alienated a lot of my close friends and didn't have anyone to

  • really confide in.

  • This was all hitting me pretty hard.

  • I was so confused.

  • I broke down and started crying.

  • Then the XBox One made a noise.

  • It was a faint beep, but the tone was so consoling.

  • It made me stop crying and I didn't know why.

  • Nothing at all was making sense.

  • I looked at the Kinect sitting in front of my TV and said to it, "XBox, what is going

  • on?"

  • It didn't do anything.

  • Part of my was actually convinced it would answer.

  • Suddenly, a new message notification appeared on screen.

  • I checked to find a message with the sender field blank.

  • It was a list of 50+ bank accounts and their web login credentials.

  • I checked them and they seemed to match up with the amounts in my newly discovered savings,

  • but I still had no idea where the money was coming from.

  • I turned my head to look at the Kinect.

  • "XBox, where is all this money coming from?"

  • Again, nothing happened, but after a few moments I received another similar message.

  • This was a listing of other websites and login credentials.

  • The list included brokerage websites, bitcoin wallets, online casinos, poker sites, and

  • even adult webcams.

  • I logged into the accounts to see even more unaccounted for amounts in each of the respective

  • accounts, including six-figure balance in one of the casinos.

  • I felt like any minute the police were going to kick down my door and I still wouldn't

  • understand how.

  • Yet again, I turned to Kinect.

  • "XBox, how?"

  • I asked hesitantly.

  • There was another brief pause and another new message.

  • I didn't understand this one, though.

  • It was garbled machine code and looked like the results of opening an image with a text

  • editor.

  • Going through the list of websites again, I found one that was certainly the most strange.

  • It was an accountancy firm with the same last name as me.

  • I logged in to that account and the website greeted me as the company's CEO.

  • The inbox and outbox were both full of messages running the company.

  • They were all signed with my name.

  • I called the number that was listed in the site's "About Us" section to reach a soft-spoken,

  • young secretary.

  • I told her I was a doctor, needing to speak to the CEO about his mother.

  • She asked his mother's name and I told her my mother's name.

  • She told me to wait a moment and put me on hold.

  • An incoming call notice sounded on my phone, but I ignored it.

  • She returned to tell me he was unavailable and asked if I wanted to leave a message.

  • I told her it was urgent and she read me his cell phone number.

  • Rather, she read me my cell phone number.

  • I thanked her and hung up.

  • At this point, I was convinced that I was crazy.

  • I looked at the Kinect as I had done before for answers, saying "XBox, am I crazy?"

  • After the usual wait, a message popped up as the others had, only saying "No."

  • Then what was it?

  • Where was this secret life coming from?

  • Who was doing this?

  • Had this computer taken on a life of its own?

  • It's the only thing that made sense.

  • Grasping at my hair now, struggling for sanity, I looked into the Kinect like I was begging

  • for mercy to whisper "Xbox, stop."

  • None of those accounts or passwords work anymore, and all of the videos I didn't upload on my

  • YouTube channel are gone.

  • The money is no longer in my savings account and the bank tells me I never had one.

  • I think I could have been rich, but I chose and preferred to be sane.

  • I sold that XBox One from my front porch just how I bought the first one.

  • I hope one of you frugal gamers out there got a good deal.

  • It was like new, and only used for one day...

  • Before we get to number 1, if you've ever been curious as to what I look like in real

  • life, then follow me on Instagram @dylan_is_chillin_yt, with underscores instead of spaces.

  • I also have Twitter @YT_Chills where I post video updates.

  • I'd really appreciate it if you followed me and feel free to send me a DM if you have

  • a questions or suggestions.

  • If you'd like to see more of these videos in the future, then hit that subscribe button

  • because I upload a new scary video every Thursday.

  • 1.So after a year of nagging from some of my gamer buddies, I caved, and finally got

  • myself one of those virtual reality headsets.

  • I was soon about to find out that there was nothing "virtual" about them.

  • At first I was indifferent towards them, but once I started using it I realized that it

  • truly does live upto the hype.

  • I even went ahead and got myself a swivel chair.The experience was so immersive I often

  • forgot I was sitting on a chair in my apartment and not really soaring across the sky looking

  • down on prehistoric animals and what not.

  • Fast forward a few weeks and it became a habbit of mine to come home from work and lay a bag

  • of chips next to me and watch netlix on it until dinner time.

  • Okay so, for those of you who have no experience with a VR headset, let me just tell you that

  • its identical to a real theatre when you watch movies on it.

  • Youll see yourself sitting in the middle of a cinema hall or whatever setting you choose,

  • but all the chairs are empty, you can even look behind you, like 180 degree behind to

  • empty rows of chairs.Id always wondered what itd be like to own a personal cinema hall

  • and this was the closest id ever been to it so it was pretty cool.

  • So one day I come home as usual and followed tradition and decided id binge watch true

  • detective, it was weekend so I wasnt worried about sleeping late and my girlfriend was

  • out of town so I really had nowhere to be.

  • Im down 3 episodes of season 1 and really gripped with the whole series.

  • Half episode in and I hear a light "thud", as if a door just closed behind me.

  • I take the set off and look around wondering who mightve walked in.

  • And i realize that there is no door behind me, im sitting against a window on my couch.

  • I still get up and make sure that my door was locked, and to my satisfaction, it was.

  • I shrug it off and continued to sit down and watch.

  • So my weekend is up and im back to work.

  • I walk in and to my delight, kim is already there (my girlfriend).

  • I chat with her for a while and catch up with her before our shift starts.

  • After a day of listening to entitled brats and putting on fake smiles when they try on

  • clothes, im beat ( I work at a Zara store and we get a lot of people come in who think

  • they own the store and the people working there).

  • Kim and I grab dinner and we decide to spend the night at my place since we'd been apart

  • for the weekend.

  • Its about 1 am and I wake up to have water.

  • As im making my way to my room I hear a light "thud" behind me.

  • I turn around and notice the window in the hall is open.

  • I figure the wind mustve blown the bathroom door close or something.

  • But to my surprise, it was open.

  • Now, I didnt give it much thought partly because I was too sleepy and partly because knowing

  • someone else is there with you in the apartment makes you less likely to think negatively

  • of such minor occurences.

  • I slowly drag myself to bed and fall asleep once again (to give you an idea, my apartment

  • is "L" shaped, the smaller head is where the hall and bathroom is and the longer head has

  • two bedrooms opposite to eachother with a storage room in between).

  • The next day I get home from work and watch a million watch to die on the VR.

  • Im laughing and really enjoying myself when I hear the all too familiar "thud" behind

  • me.

  • I instinctively turn my head with the VR on and stare at the end of the hall, at the entrance,

  • I see something.

  • Its a dark patch a little darker than the surroundings.

  • You guys know liquid black?

  • Like the ink?

  • Ye, that kind.

  • I restart the device and look up again, still there.

  • I figure it mustve always been there since I never really looked up there.

  • I continue watching the movie and im laughing and suddenly stop.

  • Im overwhelmed by this realization that im alone in my apartment with a headset over

  • my eyes and I feel like im being watching.

  • Now im not one of those paranoid types but the feeling was just too strong.

  • So I take it off and decide that ive had enough of virtual reality for one day.

  • For the next few days I stayed away from it and spent more time with kim.

  • Fast forward a few more days and its weekend again, and kim has to be away, again.

  • I prepare myself for another weekend without her.

  • I get a call from a friend and he says theres a new bar that opened up across the street

  • to where he lived and we went to check it out.

  • We had a few drinks, chatted a bit and went our way.

  • I figure its only 11pm and ive nothing to do tomorrow, so I think ill finish the movie

  • I left off.

  • I wear it over my head and start the movie, but my gaze is suddenly directed towards my

  • extreme left on the last seat of the row ahead of me, I see a liquid black.

  • I recalled the ink blot id seen over at the back and turn around, but it isnt there.

  • Now im geniuenely freaked out and just take it off.

  • I decide ill contact the company about this first thing in the morning assuming its a

  • glitch.

  • So I wake up and contact them and they ask me to come over to their help center.

  • They checked it out and said that it was fine.

  • I checked it, and it was.

  • They said sometimes stuff happens thats really hard to pindown and just fixes itself.

  • I figured it was a fair enough explanation because that usally is how most technology

  • behaves.

  • Satisfied with my visit, I return home.

  • Now I wont bullshit around and cut to the chase.

  • It was there again, but closer now.

  • It sat just a few chairs behind me, and I could almost make out its features.

  • It didnt seem like an ink blot anymore.

  • I suddenly felt like someone touched the back of my neck and whispered in my ear.

  • It was getting too real too soon and I flung away the headset from my face and looked around.

  • No one.

  • Obviously, I was alone.

  • I chuckled and thought about how silly I was being and looked over at the corner of the

  • room, I seemed to have broken the headset.

  • I frowned thinking I wasted all that cash due to a little paranoia but a little part

  • of me was glad it broke.

  • The weekend is up and im back to spending time with kim and working.

  • We went to grab dinner after work and I notice something in my peripheral vision while eating,

  • and it slowly becomes clearer, ink blot.

  • Now im not stupid, so I instantly made the connection and realized I wasnt even wearing

  • the headset.

  • I tell Kim were leaving and pay at the front desk and leave.

  • She asked me what that was all about and looked at me weird.

  • I tell her to just be quiet for a while and we go back to her place cuz im certainly not

  • staying at mine after what just happened.

  • So here I am, scared out of my mind and not sure what to do, ill update if anything happens.

  • Thanks for checking out this video.

  • Be sure to subscribe because I upload a new scary video every Thursday.

  • Or if you're still not convinced, here are some of my other videos that I think you'd

  • like.

  • Enjoy!

CHILLS

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B1 中級 美國腔

5個遊戲恐怖故事 (5 GAMING SCARY STORIES)

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    David Chou 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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