The Game
(233)
He played the game incessantly. He played upon awaking, played on the toilet and at breakfast and on his computer at work and his phone at lunch. He played again when he arrived home until he fell asleep.
Asleep he dreamed of playing the game.
He lived alone and played all day on the weekend and dreamed of playing all night.
His employer had the police do a wellness check when he failed to appear for work on Monday and Tuesday and did not respond to calls, text emails, or answer the door.
The police found no signs of forced entry or foul play, but they did not find him.
They did observe the game playing on his three televisions, desktop and laptop computers, and his two tablets and his phone.
The detectives came and left instructing the young patrol woman to turn off the televisions and lock up the residence.
The officer switched off a television with the remote. There was a black flash on the screen for an instant, and the game returned. She tried three more times with the same results. Frustrated, she pulled the cord from the wall socket. The same results. The game played on.
She backed out of the front door locking the door as she exited.
She did not mention the problem with the persistent game in her reports or to anyone else, ever.