《Jeff the Killer and Ryan the Gamer》 1. Multiplayer Games After working a long second shift at McDonald''s, my legs felt as if they had been through a boot camp, and my arms felt as if I had been working out for an entire day. My eyes were closing the moment I got home, but I knew that feeling would go away the moment I laid my head on my bed''s pillow. After working for so many hours, my body was drenched in sweat. I guess it''s not easy being forced to cook up to 1500 hamburgers in just a single day; it can drain your energy from your body. I went to take a shower. When I got there, I decided to go with a hot one. Usually, I like to have cold showers as they do wonders for the stress life throws at me, plus they cool me down since it''s summer. But this time, I wanted to have a hot one. I luxuriated in the sensation as the steaming cascade of hot water caressed and enveloped my weary muscles. Every stiff joint in my body felt released from the pressure of my job. After I was done, I no longer felt exhausted nor sore. I put on a black pair of boxer briefs and checked myself in the mirror. I flexed my abs, admiring my well-built physique. I go to the gym at least four times a week, and every time I''m there, I try to push my limits. With my defined muscles on my chest, stomach, back, hands, and legs, together with my sharp jawline and perfect nose, you''d think I''d be surrounded by people who like me. But that was far from the case. So many girls have approached me and tried to talk to me, but my shy persona has prevented me from building a connection with anybody. They''re usually the ones who speak more, and since I usually don''t talk a lot, they get the impression that I''m just not interested, which is far from the truth. The guys don''t like me either, as I can only assume they''re jealous because of my appearance. So many of them have thrown me death glares, which I always try to ignore. It''s not my fault genetics have blessed me, and I''m not lazy to work out. Still, being early, I decided to turn on my computer to play some video games. I''m a skilled gamer. I pour my sweat and tears into perfecting my shooting skills. I strive to be the best of the best when it comes to shooter games. It inflates my big ego and fills me up with dopamine and serotonin. It makes me feel good knowing that I''m good at something, even if that something brings no value to anything whatsoever. Who doesn''t love to play some FSP games after a long day working at McDonald''s?A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I decided to join a co-op server, as there aren''t many players in the FFA ones, and I didn''t have the nerves today to wait ten whole minutes for them to start. Most people are cautious. I suppose nobody wants to be the first one to die and feel shame afterward. The game consisted of five players against another five. There was the option to voice-chat with the other participants, but usually, nobody used that. However, with luck working on my side, there was one player who had his microphone turned on. Being the lonely guy I am, I gladly joined him. It felt good to talk to somebody for once, even if it was just online. Actually, when it comes to online conversations, I''m not as nervous because I know that even if I embarrass myself or say something stupid or weird, I can just ghost the person I was talking to and never have to face them again. That''s not the case in real life. "Hey there," I said with a friendly tone. The other players wouldn''t be able to hear our conversation, which was a great thing, as to do that, they needed to have their microphones on too. The fewer people I had to talk to, the better. "Hello," replied a deep voice through the speakers of my headset. It''s fascinating how thanks to geniuses, we''re now able to talk to people who may be on the other side of the world just through a cable. "Are you geared up to rack up those frags?" It''s not every day you hear somebody use a line like that. You need to have been in the gaming community for a while to understand what that means. "Yea, I am," I replied back. "Great. Good luck and have fun!" the deep voice said. ~ Author''s Note: Hey there, I hope you''re enjoying the story so far. As I''ve written in the synopsis, the fanart that''s on the cover of this book was created by ASH''s Whiz and can be found here!
2. An Online Friend The guys we were up against were quite a struggle. At the beginning, everything was alright, so to say. In the first 15 minutes, somebody from our team managed to kill one of our opponents, after which they were done for. In this game, once you get killed, you are eliminated from that game. There¡¯s no respawn. The only thing you can do is spectate. Shit hit the fan from there. Five minutes after, I saw with my own eyes how our enemies blew our allies'' brains out. I hid behind one of the crumbled walls, hoping that they hadn¡¯t seen me. Either my group was useless, or these guys were stronger than usual. I had to step up my game. It was the guy with the deep voice now, and I against four other guys who I assumed were all skilled. ¡°Hey,¡± I said to the microphone of my headset, ¡°These guys have offed pretty much our entire gang. They¡¯re good.¡± ¡°I know,¡± user J3ff replied. ¡°No sweat, we''ve got what it takes to take ''em down.¡± There was this confidence in his tone that I hadn¡¯t quite heard before. It was as if he knew what he was talking about, and he knew what he had to do to get us out of the mess we were in. I¡¯ve never heard a voice as intimidating as his. He could bring me to my knees with just a word, and this is coming out from the mouth of a straight gym rat. ¡®What the fuck am I actually thinking?¡¯, I asked myself. Lost in the train of my thoughts, I didn¡¯t have the time to react to the shooter that appeared next to me. He shot me twice, which decreased my health from 100 to 15 in less than a second. ¡®This is the end of me. Maybe you should have focused on the actual game instead of J3ff¡¯s booming voice.¡¯ Like thunder from a clear sky, three gunshots pierced my eardrums. The guy was now down, crawling like me on all fours. ¡°Go to sleep.¡± said J3ff. I turned to my right side, and there he was like an angel guardian. He approached me and healed me using a health kit he¡¯d found. Now my health was 50. ¡°T-thanks, man,¡±, I said ¡°You¡¯re like a miracle. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I¡¯d be a goner now.¡± ¡°Heh, I told you we¡¯ve got this, didn¡¯t I?¡± "The safe zone''s getting tight. We managed to down one, but it''s still 3v2. Let''s drop one more before we all have to converge in the map''s center.", he commanded, which I gladly agreed to without asking any questions. It was clear that they had scattered up to find us, which was a bad idea from them, as we found one and easily put him down. Two more left, and we¡¯re the ones that are going to save the team from the embarrassment of losing. After the red zone filled out the entire map, we had no choice but to confront each other. The two of them tried to take J3ff down, and they almost succeeded. Now he was in the same position I was in before. But not before he severely damaged one of them, which gave me the full advantage to take him down. Somehow, by luck, I managed to get the other guy too. I guess they got too stuck up their own asses. I got the last kill, which gave me a sense of accomplishment in J3ff¡¯s eyes.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Victory¡±, the announcer triumphantly exclaimed. Glory to me and J3ff, I guess. Mostly to J3ff. I only had one kill, and that by a miracle. ¡°I¡¯d love to say I told you so, Ryan.¡±, said J3ff. I started to panic. My breathing got heavier, and my chest tightened as my heart skipped a beat. Where does he know my name from? ¡°H-How d-do you know my n-name?¡±, I asked, trying to sound stern. However, I failed miserably, coming across more like a child whose mother had left him by the cashier checkout while she ventured to the farthest aisle in the store. ¡°It''s right there in your username, dude. ¡®R¡¯, ¡®7¡¯, ¡®@¡¯, ¡®N¡¯.¡± Blood ran up my face from embarrassment. My cheeks were burning. It¡¯s a good thing he can¡¯t see me right now. I always have to say something stupid like this, don¡¯t I? The guy thinks that I¡¯m probably a weirdo by freaking out like that. I mean how could I forget that I based my actual username on my real name? All of my instincts were telling me to just log off and maybe even block him, hoping to never hear from him again. If I did that, though, he¡¯s bound to remember me forever. I should just play it cool. ¡°O-oh, y-yeah, I totally forgot about that.¡±, I was still stuttering. I needed to slow down my speaking. I don¡¯t want him to think that I¡¯m some loner loser with social anxiety that can¡¯t utter a single hello without tripping on his words. ¡°And yours is Jeff, right?¡± ¡°You got it. So, where are you from?¡±, I can only assume he was talking about the state I was in because I think that it was obvious from our accents that we were both Americans. His accent was very similar to mine, just in a ¡®gamer style¡¯ if that makes sense. I didn¡¯t feel comfortable telling anybody my personal information, even if that meant just revealing the state I was in, but when it came to this guy, I decided to make an exception. ¡°I¡¯m from Texas. And you?¡±, I asked back. ¡°Texas too. You happen to be in Austin?¡±, okay, guessing my name because I literally had it spelled out in my username is one thing. Him asking me what state I¡¯m in is another. But him guessing the city I¡¯ve lived in my whole life is creepy. Am I allowed to freak out now? ¡°Guessin'' ''cause our accents match up.¡± Oh. That makes more sense. Well, it was no use denying where I¡¯m from at this point, I guess. I mean what are the chances of the guy behind the screen being a serial killer or something? He already knows the state I¡¯m in and the city, and so if he really wanted to he¡¯d easily track me down to kidnap me or I don¡¯t know whatever horrors pass through psychopaths'' brains. I have no need to run away now, plus I have the muscles to defend myself. ¡°Wait¡­ ¡®our accents match up¡¯¡­ are you from Austin too?¡±, I asked eagerly. I know it¡¯s a long shot, but what if we can meet in real life? I know I don¡¯t even know him yet, but I think he¡¯s a really cool guy. I can hopefully have a friend for once in my miserable life that¡¯s void of any meaningful relationships. ¡°Got that right too.¡±, I noticed a friend request from J3ff pop up, which I gladly accepted. I have a lot of ¡®friends¡¯ on this game with whom I was supposed to play later again but we somehow never got in touch. I can only hope Jeff is going to be different from them. ¡°I see you accepted my friend request. Sweet!¡± ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re officially friends now, I guess.¡±, the more effort I put into sounding as laid back as he was, the worse I sounded. I know I should just try to sound natural, but even online I can get nervous. Nervous is my natural. ¡°So¡­ why do you play this game?¡±, he asked curiously. ¡°Do you like¡­ blood?¡± That was a weird thing to ask. ¡°N-no, I just like playing games for fun.¡± ¡°Oh. I play it ''cause I get to nail headshots and watch ''em bleed out.¡±, he said bluntly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. I know I¡¯m not the best at communicating with other people, but even I know saying something like that is strange. Especially after you found out that you were living in the same city, possibly just a few miles away. 3. Weirded Out Any normal and sane human would have left the chat by now, but I was already forming a friendship with this dude. I didn¡¯t want to let it go to waste like that. I know that he might seem a tad bit strange, but I¡¯d say that he¡¯s just somebody that¡¯s not that good at communicating, despite him sounding so confident, his interpersonal skills might need a bit of work. And I¡¯d know because I¡¯m one of those people. ¡°W-why do you like blood?¡±, I asked, trying to sound interested. I was actually interested, but the way I stuttered made it sound otherwise. ¡°I dunno. I just like watching people die.¡±, he said as if it was the most usual hobby in the world. ¡°C-cool, I guess. I play video games to unwind after a long day of working at McDonald''s.¡± ¡°Ah, well, we''ve all got our motivations, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡±, I replied back. I wanted to keep the conversation flowing, but as if my mind was blank I could add nothing new to our convo, despite me not wishing it to end so soon. ¡°So, what are your hobbies, man?¡± ¡°Well,¡± I started, ¡°apart from playing video games I work out at the gym and listen to music I guess.¡± ¡°What kind of music?¡±, Jeff asked with a curious intonation. ¡°Mostly country music.¡± ¡°Hmm, didn''t figure you for a country music fan.¡± I smirked, not taking offense. "Well, not all of us are riding horses to work, but the music''s got its charm. But enough about me. What are your hobbies?¡±, I genuinely wanted to know about this guy. What does he like? What doesn¡¯t he like? What¡¯s his life like? What does he look like? If only I could ask these questions and get an answer to them at a moment. ¡°Well, aside from gaming like you, I''m also into movies.¡±, Jeff exclaimed with fervor. ¡°Hmm, are they horror by any chance? Or at least thriller?¡± ¡°Haha, nailed it!¡± ¡°Of course I did, haha¡±, A laugh I''d never experienced before bubbled up within me. It was this excitement in my chest that I couldn¡¯t quite word. ¡°What¡¯s your favorite scary movie?¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°That sounded like a line from Scream. But yeah, Friday the 13th is my jam. You into movies at all?¡± ¡°Not really, but I can make an exception if we were to watch one together.¡± I thought about what I said for a moment and the only word that came to my mind was ¡®fuck¡¯. Fuck, what did I just say to him? He was quiet for a second or two there, and I thought I ruined my chances of winning a friend. ¡°Sure thing. But I only enjoy horror, just so you know.¡± Or maybe not. ¡°O-okay, s-sure thing. We can watch whatever you want.¡± I hate horror. I hate it from the bottom of my heart. But for whatever¡¯s sake I decided to agree. I can¡¯t watch horror. It scares me. I despise all of those cheap jumpscares and stupid gore scenes. The producers use our own biology to draw a negative reaction out of us. The people that watch horror just so that they can scare themselves are masochists and need help. The only way I can actually somewhat enjoy horror is if I had somebody beside me to snuggle with. It gives me a sense of protection from the fake scariness of the screen. ¡°Alright, I can start streaming a movie right now?¡±, he asked. ¡°A-alright, go for it.¡±, I said, trying to sound natural and not as if I knew I was going to be pissing my pants. ¡°You don''t sound too excited. Are you really up for watching one?¡± No, because I fucking hate horror from the bottom of my heart. But I can¡¯t tell you that now, can I? You¡¯re gonna think I¡¯m a coward. ¡°Huh, no. Everything¡¯s fine.¡±, I lied. ¡°Alright.¡±, he started streaming a horror movie that was about a monster hiding under the beds in an orphanage. The monster was black and had these claws. The thing was definitely going to haunt my dreams tonight. I regret ever agreeing to this. The line got quiet as Jeff was enjoying seeing the film, while I was here with my heart pounding like a drum under my brown fluffy blanket scared like the little children in the movie. ¡°You still here?¡±, the deep voice out of the blue asked. ¡°Oh, y-yeah. I¡¯m just¡­ enjoying the movie, I guess.¡±, he¡¯d have to be oblivious to not notice that I actually hated every single second of it. He¡¯s probably realized by now what a little bitch I am. ¡°You''re a terrible liar. If you''d rather do something else, just say the word.¡± I know how much he enjoyed the movie, and I didn¡¯t want to disappoint him, especially since there were only like 20 minutes left until the credits. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I just wish I wasn¡¯t alone in my room right now.¡± ¡°Well, I''m here, right?¡±, he asked, almost offended, as if I didn¡¯t acknowledge his existence. ¡°N-no, that¡¯s not what I mean. I wish there was somebody here, physically, in my room.¡± ¡°Hmm... if I were there, I''d let you nestle up, just so you wouldn''t be scared.¡± Woah, I was not expecting for him to say that. I mean I wouldn¡¯t really mind it, I guess, but his words took me aback. I tried to gather my thoughts and say something, anything, in a way that sounds chill too. ¡°O-oh, is that so? If that¡¯s the case, I might start to actually want to watch horror.¡±, basically in other words, I actually want you to cuddle me, which was not what I wanted to say. As if he could see my face going a bright red color, he laughed. But it wasn¡¯t that type of laughter that indicated he was making fun of me, instead there was sweetness I could hear despite the depth of his voice. 4. Jeff’s True Intentions Jeff''s POV I found my target, and that while playing video games as well. Some people are so gullible. The fact that Ryan¡¯s implying that we should meet in real life after I told him that death and blood fascinate me makes me astonished about how low human¡¯s IQ could be. He¡¯s nice, for sure, but I bet that he¡¯s lonely. He wouldn¡¯t have chatted with me for so long if that wasn¡¯t the case, unless he¡¯s a serial killer with my motive. But then again, what are the chances? Not a lot are that (un)fortunate. Just like Ryan. ¡°Hmm... how ''bout hitting up a movie theater sometime?¡±, I asked. I didn¡¯t want to immediately ask him to come over to my place or something. I need to be careful as I don¡¯t want to push my boundaries and creep him out. We need to start off small first. Remember, baby steps. ¡°T-that sounds good. We can meet up sometime,¡± there was a bit of stutter in his voice. It was obvious he wanted to sound confident, but he¡¯s nervous. He¡¯s been pretending our whole call. Maybe it was my voice that was imitating him. Or is he like that around other people? Probably he¡¯s nervous around everybody, as if he wasn¡¯t he wouldn¡¯t be lonely and he¡¯d actually have real life non serial killer friends and not chatting with somebody he¡¯s never seen or even heard of in his entire life. He¡¯d wish he¡¯d never met me if he actually knew who I was. ¡°Absolutely! When are you up for that?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m free tomorrow actually. We can go to The Starlight Enigma Theater if you want. I know they have some good horror movies there.¡± Damn. Now he was making sure I was having a good time too, despite the fact that horror films chill him to the bone to the point he wants somebody to hold him while he¡¯s watching them. I wonder, would he cover his eyes once we got there? Maybe he¡¯ll even want for me to hold his hand. I know we can¡¯t cuddle in theaters, can we? Maybe I¡¯ll like holding his warm hands, before I carry out my initial plan that is. Are his hands warm, or are they cold like the dead like mine are? My body is as cold as my stone heart. Maybe I don¡¯t even have a heart. Am I even human? I don¡¯t know at this point. The guy I was chatting with right now is the complete opposite of me. He sounds so warm, kind, genuine. There¡¯s no way this can be chilly. Both physically and emotionally.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Yeah, we can switch it up this time, no horror. What genre are you feelin''?¡±, I asked, trying to be at least somewhat nice. ¡°R-really? Okay, are you into comedy?¡± Not really. I can¡¯t laugh. The only thing that¡¯s funny to me is watching people scream in terror and/or in pain. It draws a smile on my face seeing people suffer in pain. It¡¯s a good feeling I can¡¯t explain. But I there¡¯s no gore videos in theaters like that, are there? Sadly. ¡°Sure thing. We can go for that. Comedy isn''t usually my thing, but I''ll make an exception for you.¡± ¡°O-okay, great. Are you free tomorrow? It¡¯s a Friday night, so I¡¯d be fun to spend it that way.¡± ¡°Yeah, sounds good.¡±, I wanted to sound as chill as laid back as possible, but even I have to admit knowing that I¡¯ll be spending time with this guy gave me this weird feeling of¡­ ¡°good¡±? I can¡¯t describe it, but I guess it just made me feel nice knowing that I¡¯m going to be spending time with him. Even if it¡¯s doing something I have no interest in whatsoever. ¡°It¡¯s a deal then. I¡¯ll pay for the tickets. It¡¯s my treat. It¡¯s only fair since I chose what we¡¯re watching.¡± ¡°Alright, but I''ve got the next one.¡±, if there is going to be a next one. ¡°Alright. Okay, it¡¯s getting pretty late now, and I have to go to bed if I want to wake up on time for my job tomorrow.¡±, he said as if it was the last thing he wanted to do on this world. ¡°What''s your day job?¡±, I asked. I wanted to know where this guy worked, as it¡¯d be easier to stalk him if he just told me, making my own job easier by not having to research about him. ¡°Oh, I work at McDonald''s actually.¡±, he said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. It¡¯s as if he didn¡¯t wish to be there, but instead had no choice. ¡°What about you?¡±, he asked, to which I have no idea how to answer him. What do I say? I kill people and steal their jewelry and wallets? It¡¯s a rare situation like this when I don¡¯t know what lie I should spit. ¡°I''m, uh, a freelancer. Yeah, that''s it.¡±, fuck. He might notice I¡¯m lying. ¡°Oh, cool. But what do you do?¡± This guy was asking too much. You know the saying curiosity killed the cat? I need to tell him something believable. I can¡¯t tell him I do art as a freelancer. Who even makes money out of art? Plus he might ask to see something I¡¯ve made, which I don¡¯t have. ¡°I¡¯m a¡­¡±, I was stuck. Shit. ¡°I''m, like, one of those data organizing pros, you know?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. But what were they called?¡±, he asked. You know, you little fucker, if I actually knew maybe I¡¯d tell you, but I don¡¯t because I¡¯m lying. ¡°I, uh, totally blanked on the name right now.¡± It was obvious that I was not telling the truth. ¡°You don¡¯t know what your job title is?¡±, he lauched. ¡°Okay man. I guess as long as you make money to survive, does it really matter?¡± ¡°True.¡±, I didn¡¯t know what else to say. The less you say when you¡¯re lying, the better, as there¡¯s less chance for your lies to be exposed on broad daylight. We don¡¯t want that now, do we?