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Chapter 3 - Cheat Code

Cheat Code – 3


“Pshh. YOU help me with the game? You’re kidding right?”

I dismissed her statement without hesitation because I did not believe Little Miss Perfect one bit.

“I know what you’re thinking. How could a newbie like me help a pro like you? Well, let me tell you,” Glenda continued.

“I’m listening.”

Sam crossed his arms and motioned for Glenda to go on.

“So I did some research online, knowing you’re super into the game and all, and came across some cheat codes. Since you’ve been stuck at this one stage for months now I thought I’d give you a helping hand!”

Glenda gave a thumbs-up as she reached for her sandwich and took a huge bite.

At that point I wasn’t sure if I wanted to kill her or thank her. I’d say it was the former.

“Glenda didn’t do all the work. I helped too!” Sam exclaimed proudly.

“Wow, really guys? You managed to not only bruise my ego but suggest I cheat?!” I yelled.

“We never see you any more Maggie. We miss you and want to hang out, just like old times,” Glenda whined.

“Besides, this one cheat code..man..Amasarok wouldn’t stand a chance! Let us help you Maggs!” Sam’s voice cracked, as it always does in excitement.

Maybe Glenda and Sam did have a valid point. I can’t recall the last time we all hung out together – was it that one time we played at the Star Planet Arcades? Or the time we bought sunflower seeds and sat by the local creek?

“Look, I appreciate the concern, but I’m doing just fine. Yeah, I miss you both too, but shit, I really need to beat this game. There’s just one battle standing between victory and me. I promise that after I beat the game we can stay up all night doing whatever, sound good?”

“Fiineeee,” Glenda sighed. “Play your stupid game.”

Sam remained silent and simply shook his head in disapproval.

“Gotta movie to catch so we’re bouncing,” Glenda murmured.

With one last bite, Glenda gave up a quick peace sign and with Sam, made her way to the front door. Mom waved goodbye to them, and the door slammed shut, leaving the whole house in an eerie silence. I’m such an ass to them and yet they put up with my hermit-like tendencies.

“Did you shower Maggie-chan?” Mom asked.

“Umm no but..”

“Take a shower you stink,” Mom said in Japanese.

I grumbled and made my way up the stairs, wishing I could skip the shower and pick up the game where I left off. Even though I was a 21-year old college student, my mom treated me like a high schooler. The summer breaks were always bittersweet: sweet because of time off from school, but bitter because I’d have to deal with mom everyday.

I slipped off my clothes, hopped in the shower, and surrendered myself to the water. My body stood fixed as the drops of water trickled down my curves, my legs, and feet. As I cleansed my body with soap I pictured washing away all of the sweat and blood acquired during my battles with Amasarok as though I was the dwarf himself. Sometimes I pretended to be Ganko and fantasized about possessing ungodly strength. I’d feel such a rush being able to slice off the head of a centaur with a spell in my arsenal. For a moment, I journeyed to the Scorchlands in my mind, where images of wide, open fields and ominous mountains appeared. In my dream, I ran across the fields with Ganko appearing by my side, huffing and gruffing as he tried his best to keep up. I pointed up at the sky as Amasarok stroked its mighty wings downwards, thrusting the dragon higher into the air. The creature wasn’t aware of Ganko and I down below and I knew the chance to strike was now. Come on Amasarok.

Suddenly, a loud roar shook the air as Amasarok quickly dove, wings folded in, as Amasarok readjusted its mid-flight position. Now the dragon was heading in our direction, its wings flapping wildly and with more urgency. I froze in fear and ordered Ganko to prepare for an oncoming attack. The dwarf blinked his eyes at me and stroked his beard, but remained calm even with an impending attack. I need you now Ganko. I mouthed the words, but no sound came out. Amasarok unleashed a guttural sound as his massive body came closer and closer, the spikes along its spine glistening in the sun. I pleaded for Ganko to attack; only I was met with heavy silence. Once more, Amasarok’s wings cut through the air and slowly it began to descend upon my helpless body. The dragon’s jaws unhinged, revealing pointy, curved teeth, as my heart thumped against my chest. This is the end. I closed my eyes slowly, catching Amasarok’s yellow globes piercing through my soul, and awaited my fate.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

“NOOOO.”

I opened my eyes, body trembling, cold-water running, and fingers resembling prunes. No way that was a dream. The dragon, Ganko, the fields, all felt so vivid and real. Amasarok was about to consume me and yet, here I am in the shower. I swear if I don’t defeat Amasarok I’m going to explode like an active volcano.

“Maggie you’ve been in there too long!” Mom shouted through the door.

I shut off the water and pulled back the curtains, a sudden chill creeping down my back. Having wrapped myself with towels, I opened the door and saw Mom staring at me with a slightly open mouth.

“Must have dozed off in the shower. I’m all good now,” I reassured Mom.

She frowned as she crossed her arms and gave me a concerning look. I expected her to give me a stern lecture, but she surprisingly let me slip into the bedroom without a word. A part of me wonders if she’s given up trying to talk me out of video games. “Your eyes will go bad,” she would say to me repeatedly. Luckily my eyesight remained perfect after all these years of playing games.

Mom went into the bathroom and picked up my clothes from the floor while I changed into another V-neck shirt (dark green this time) and shorts. I probably should of showered before rubbing the stink all over fresh clothes, but meh.

The screen remained frozen where I left it: Amasarok’s jaws wide open and aimed at Ganko, who was in the middle of casting the spell. I plopped onto the bed and started making snow angels, which felt nice after the bizarre episode in the shower. As I stared up at the ceiling, I reconsidered Glenda’s offer of using the cheat codes. “Hah, yeah right.” I laughed off the idea for a second and remembered who I was as a gamer. Then again, the idea of finishing this game once and for all was tempting.

I closed my eyes and decided to take a short nap before challenging Amasarok once again. Since the game was still frozen, I was less motivated to tinker with the PlaySphere. My mind drifted and a million images flashed through my head all at once – college, Sam and Glenda, Mom crying, Dad drinking, Amasarok beating my ass. Not one happy memory seemed to come up. They were probably buried underneath all of the crappy ones.

At one point, I felt as if I were floating above ground, darkness beginning to fill my mind. My body relaxed at this moment, letting go of everything around me. I was at peace and I welcomed sleep readily. The hairs on my skin raised as a soft touch pressed on my legs. Soon, I could feel that same sensation all along the small of my back, then my neck, and finally my head. For some reason I felt a cold, sharp wind brush over my face, even though I don’t remember ever opening my window. I picked up a foreign scent, which smelled of rotten fish left out in the sun too long, and knew something was off.

Smrjshrhrsh Girl ahwhrjammr

A low, mumbling noise could be heard in the distance, but I was unable to discern the words. Panic started to set in and I started to move my arms and legs around on the bed. Funny thing was, the bed was no longer underneath me. Instead, I felt prickly grass every time I patted around me. I tried to open my eyes, but some invisible glue was holding my eyelids shut. If this was some cheap, fucked up prank I wasn’t a fan. Was it Sam? Glenda?

Mhrrhmshhn No time rhhrrhrmrmn

The mumbling continued on in the background and I tried once again to open my eyes. Why was I unable to open my eyes?

Can you hear me

A gentle voice broke through the mumbling and soothed my ears. That didn’t sound like Glenda at all, but the voice was definitely feminine in nature. Afraid to answer, I remained utterly still on the ground (not that I had much of a choice).

The gal can’t her ya. She’s mer stubborn than I thought.

This time, the voice was coarse, as if some hot coals were rubbed against the vocal chords.

“Who you calling stubborn? Where the hell am I?” I demanded.

Heavy footsteps shook the ground, inching closer to where I remained on the grass. I wasn’t armed with anything so at this point, I felt defenseless and vulnerable. Usually I weaseled my way out of sticky situations, but right now I was at a disadvantage.

Listen to me. You have to beat Amasarok. I believe in you.

I dern’t but prove me wrong gal!

Two different voices, two conflicting statements. Damn. I must have been in that shower way too long.

“Okay, this isn’t funny anymore. Who are you and what do you want with me?”

I dern’t think she’s ready Misharya. Send her back.

We don’t have much time Makum.

SHE’S NOT READY

Suddenly, the ground shook and the earth around me ripped apart as my heart pounded against my chest. I frantically grabbed for the nearest rock, anything, but all I felt was the air. The ground beneath me disappeared, my body hurtling down a never-ending space vacuum. I could sense the darkness consuming me, eating away at my heart. This place was cold and unwelcoming, and I wanted to get the hell out of this nightmare. I concentrated hard and uttered the words There’s no place like home there’s no place like home. If it worked for Dorothy why wouldn’t it work for me? I sensed a warm glow pulsing in front of my face and realized that I was falling at a reduced speed. The air wasn’t suffocating me anymore and my eyelids didn’t feel as heavy. Now, I was suspended in mid-air, an imaginary force holding me still. Okay, I have to open my eyes.

I hesitated because I imagined my eyelids peeling off from my face if I tried to open my eyes. I had no choice at this point. Gently, I allowed my eyelids to pull apart, bright light flooding my eyes instantly. Above me was the familiar plain, white ceiling in my bedroom and I found myself lying on the bed where I started. I don’t know how I ended up back in my room, but I didn’t care. A huge wave of relief rushed through me as I attempted to piece together the events leading to this point. Let’s see…what did I do before I went all crazy? I thought hard about my timeline, but I soon became distracted with the scene outside my window. Instead of seeing a bright, blue sky I saw nighttime cloaking the outside in its shroud. Was I really out for that long? Sure enough, when I checked my phone, the clock read 7:00 PM. Holy dragon bile! I’ve never napped 6 hours straight, let alone been knocked out cold like that. Everything past the shower was a blur in my head. I wondered if blacking out after a few shots of Liquid Cocaine felt like this.

I mustered the strength to sit up in bed and looked for more signs of familiarity: my dragon statues, my Playstation 4, and my paintings were all there, untouched. A bright, yellow square underneath the bedroom door caught my attention and so I walked over to investigate. A post-it note from my mom. The note read:

Maggie-chan,

You were fast asleep and so I didn’t want to disturb you. I saved some sausage pizza from Rico’s for you in the fridge. Two minutes on High should do the trick.

- MOM

I guess dad is coming home late again. My mom stopped cooking after dad became swamped with work (he’s a biology professor at UW-Madison) and started to come home past bedtime. Goodbye home cooked meals, hello frozen pizza and Chinese take-out.

I crumpled up the post-it and watched it land in the wastebasket as I followed through with my wrist. Before I headed downstairs, I turned back to the television screen and saw Are you sure you want to quit? flashing back at me. Funny, I don’t remember the game becoming un-frozen at any point. I shrugged it off and headed downstairs, the hunger overtaking my curiosity.