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“Dad! Dad! Can we do lazer tag, too?!” Joshua asked as he dragged his father to the corner of the Lazerport Arcade. As the name would imply, Lazerport was a combination lazer tag and arcade, and Joshua had been wanting to go for a while. Gordon’s plans always seemed to fall through before the resonance cascade, but since making it out of the hellhole that was Black Mesa, he was determined to put more effort into spending time with Joshua. Funny how life or death situations really put what’s important into a whole new perspective. Gordon was determined to have the best father and son day ever for Joshie.
“Bro… I almost got the squashmallow out the crane this time.”
Oh yeah. Benrey was there too.
Since Black Mesa, Benrey had come back ( of course he did, he never stays dead ) and had wiggled his way back into Gordon’s life, specifically crashing onto the couch in his apartment. Gordon would have thrown Benrey out in a heartbeat, but with nowhere else to go, and Joshua getting attached to them, Benrey ended up becoming a new member of the family. Funny how Gordon was hesitant to get a cat, but would keep an entire alien in his home. Whatever, luckily, Benrey was really good with kids. Guess it takes a child to know one . The thought made Gordon chuckle.
“Don’t you wanna play a few more arcade games first, buddy?” Gordon asked. “We still don’t have enough tickets for the kitty you want.” “The kitty” being the oversized stuffed kitten plush behind the prize corner that looked like it cost 50 cents and the scratchy fur texture could exfoliate you better than a pumice stone. Not that it matters, if Joshie wanted it, then Gordon would try his best to get it.
“It’s okay, daddy, Benrey can win it for me after.”
“ Benrey can?”
Joshua smiled a genuine smile. “Yeah, dad, Benrey is better at games than you.” Okay, ouch, not true. …Okay, maybe a little true.
“What?” Gordon chuckled. “Don’t think your old man can win it himself?” He started to tickle Joshua playfully, and Joshua started to laugh loudly. Joshua wormed around for a bit before protesting.
“Haha, stop dad, stop!” Gordon immediately stopped tickling Joshua. Gotta establish proper boundaries with kids when they’re young and all.
“Okay buddy, we can do a few rounds of lazer tag, then get back to some games. That sound good?”
“Yeah!” Joshua bounced and ran off to grab a vest that was way too big for him.
“Woah there, cowboy, that one’s more of your dad’s size. And we gotta insert our game names first.” Gordon picked Joshua up and held him to his body, Joshua rested against Gordon’s hips. The pair walked to the row of computers near the lazer tag area entrance.
“Yooo, lazer tag. Alright.” Benrey said as he scooped up a spot right next to Gordon and Joshua. Benrey started typing in his username by poking the keyboard with his pointer fingers. Johnwicklover1994 . Of course.
“You know what lazer tag is?” Gordon inquired. He doubted Black Mesa had any lazer tag ranges. Though a shooting range isn’t much different, he thought.
“Yeah, bro, I’ve played video games before.”
“What games have you played about lazer-” Gordon was interrupted by the sudden noise of the computer.
“GAME STARTING IN ONE MINUTE.”
“Oh dang!” Gordon shouted in a hushed voice as he quickly typed Gordon with his free hand. He wasn’t known for his creativity. “Joshie, what do you want your name as?”
“Cowboys!”
“Cowboys it is.” Gordon typed then set Joshua down. “Okay now we can pick vests. Don’t go in until the lady by the front says you can, okay?”
“Okay!” Joshua skipped off to the vests lined up on the other side of the wall.
“Gordon? Not even Feetman? That’s not even a nickname, bro, just like… your name,” Benrey antagonized.
“Yeah okay John Wick Lover . Hurry up, the game is about to start.”
Gordon quickly picked out a vest for Joshua, fastening it up, and then moved on to putting one on for himself. When he turned around, Benrey was already suited up. Gordon unclipped his lazer gun from his vest and went to playfully shoot at Benrey, but the guns weren’t activated yet.
“Haha, loser.” Benrey stuck his tongue out at Gordon as Gordon rolled his eyes. The three of them lined up by the entrance, surrounded by a few other people. Gordon turned to the employee standing near him and attempted to crack a joke.
“Wow, it’s dead in here, huh?”
The glass eyed employee blinked slowly. “Sir, it’s 2pm on a Wednesday.” Gordon pressed his lips together in a strained smile.
“Yeah.”
“Okay everyone,” the employee said in a monotone voice. “No running, no horseplay, you have 3 minutes. Go.” Gordon didn’t move at first, not registering the “go” as an actual signal due to the employee’s toneless voice.
“Let’s frikin’ goooooooo!” Benrey yelled as he ran into the lazer maze, arms holding the gun above his head. The employee did nothing to stop his running, Gordon noticed.
“Wait, Benny, wait up!” Joshua called out, following Benrey in. A couple of other people started to enter, and by the time Gordon’s brain kicked back into gear, he was the last one in. Great.
The lazer maze was a lot… darker than Gordon remembered, despite the blacklight illuminating the neon paint splattered around the obstacles. He hadn’t played lazer tag since he was a teenager, and the sounds of people shuffling in the dark made his heart start to race. It eerily reminded him of… oh no. He should have thought this through.
A loud beep from his vest made him jump, and he looked around only to see a figure dash off back into the darkness. Gordon looked at the miniature screen on his gun. He’d been shot, his gun was going to power down for a few seconds. A wave of defenselessness suddenly overcame him.
It’s not real, Gordon. It’s not real. Just a game. Just play the game.
Gordon’s gun powered back up and a rush of adrenaline shot through him. Alright, it’s go time. Gordon swiftly weaved his way through the obstacles, staying low and peeking out to unload a few shots at the other unsuspecting players. He was met with various “Ugh”s and “Oh god dammit”s as his points started to rack up. He started to feel his mood change from anxious to exhilarated. Gordon even fired off a shot at Joshua, which was immediately followed by Joshua whining.
“No, dad, you’re supposed to let me win!” he cried.
“Sorry Joshie, your dad is getting a little too excited.” Gordon laughed before darting off again. He ran down a corridor he didn’t recognize, keeping eyes peeled for any lurking enemies.
“Ugh! Dead end!” Gordon hissed. Gordon tapped at the wall a little to make sure there weren’t any secret hiding spots, as if Lazerport would have the budget for that. This is not Black Mesa, Gordon . Gordon turned around to rush back out of the corridor, and his heart sank.
Speak of the devil.
At the end of the hallway, shrouded in darkness, there was a glowing neon skeleton. The bright outlines of the bones were ghostly against the darkened room. All of Gordon’s confidence shattered instantly. He swallowed thickly and pressed his back against the wall. The figure started to move in closer.
“D-don’t-” Gordon tried to yell, but his voice failed him. This was too familiar in the worst of ways. The darkness and uncertainty, the shooting, the skeletons haunting him - it was all too much. His vision started to blur and tears started to prick his eyes. Gordon slid to the floor and pulled his legs to his chest, pressing his face into his knees. It’s too much, it’s all too much -
“Bro? Gordon? Gordon look at me please? Please and thank you?”
“B-benrey?” Gordon choked without looking up, voice muffled in his pants.
“Yeah dude. It’s your bestest friend Benrey. Look at me please?” Gordon peeked up a bit from his legs. The ghastly skeleton was just… Benrey. But it wasn’t like the other skeletons Gordon had seen before. It looked like the pattern was drawn directly onto Benrey’s skin. Aside from that, Benrey looked almost normal.
“The hell? Did you put face paint on or something?” Gordon coughed.
“Wuh?” Benrey blinked, turning his head to the side much like a puppy would.
“You scared the heck outta me, you look like a skeleton for God’s sake!” Gordon complained. Benrey scrunched his eyebrows together for a few moments, then he looked down at his hands.
“Oh. I guess the light in here is like my planet,” they remarked flatly. Gordon sat up straighter.
“Your planet? What does that even mean?”
Benrey smacked his lips. “Can we uh… worry about that later? We gotta go help our little buddy out. Keep him from getting shot at, huh?” Right! Joshua was alone in there with no one to help him out. Gordon pushed himself off the floor and wiped his eyes.
“Fine, but you owe me an explanation later.”
“Uh huh, yeah sure.”
“I’m serious, you can’t go around scaring the crap out of me like that for fun. What is that, another one of your messed up powers or something?”
“It’s not…” Benrey bit his lip. He looked upset for just a moment, which was then replaced by a smug look. “Whatever. Later, Feetman.” Benrey flicked Gordon’s forehead and ran off back to the game.
“Ouch! Hey, get back here you imp!” And just like that, Gordon gave chase.
-----
“Gosh, I never thought I’d get Joshie to bed.” Gordon collapsed onto the couch, utterly exhausted. Today was a lot to handle, but he was proud of himself for pushing through, especially since Joshua had so much fun. Gordon bowed out of the next few rounds of lazer tag, but Joshua insisted that Benrey play with him instead. It was fine by Gordon, it gave him time to calm back down and even win just enough tickets for Joshua’s scratchy cat plush he so desperately wanted. He had even tucked Joshua in with the new toy, despite being nervous it may give his son a rash from the coarseness of the “fur”. Gordon had never been the kind of guy to tolerate bad textures, but Joshua seemed fine with it, so he tried not to worry.
“Mmmm, yeah, he’s like me. His epic thoughts keep him up. Makes it hard to sleep,” Benrey replied, eyes focused on some show on the television.
“What are you watching?” Gordon asked, not making any effort to move his head to see the tv.
Benrey hummed. “No idea. Wasn’t actually paying attention.” Gordon started to laugh, and Benrey chuckled along with him.
“So. About earlier.”
“Oh shoot…” Benrey tugged at his beanie. “I was kinda. Banking on the fact you wouldn’t remember to bring it up.”
Gordon snickered. “Kinda hard to forget when your friend scares you with their glowey skeleton pattern.”
“Yooo, we’re friends?”
“Shut up, you know what I mean.”
“Oh we’re totally friends.” Benrey leaned into the couch, cheek propped onto his hand. “I guess since we’re friends I can go ahead and tell you my top secret best friend level information.” Gordon turned his head to look at Benrey.
“Best friend?”
“Yeah well. Besides Tommy of course.”
“Of course.” Gordon chuckled. “Go ahead and explain your weird alien thing then.”
"There's not really much to explain." Benrey scratched at his face a little. "Where I come from uh… the light is weird. Really weird and dark but also bright?"
"Like blacklight?"
"Yeaaaaah. That's it. The sun is like that. Funky lighting. And it's hard to see so all of us have these uh, patterns. Helps us see each other."
"Are you all skeletons?"
"We're not skeletons, bro," Benrey teased.
"I-" Gordon's face scrunched in annoyance. "You know what I mean! Do you all have skeleton patterns?"
"Mmmmmmmm… nope! That's a certified Benrey thing. Everyone has different patterns. Your powers kinda… are related to them? Sorta?" The gears in Gordon's brain started to turn.
"So… the skeletons you can make?"
"Yup."
"The respawning?"
"Mmm, yep."
"The sweet voice?"
"Nah, everyone can do that, doofus." Benrey smiled. "Hard to see in the dark. Sweet voice makes it easy to uh, talk to each other."
"I guess you can't really miss giant balls of light, huh?" Gordon laughed.
"Nope. But uh. Now you know so. Uh. The blood pact is sealed." Gordon bolted up.
"What?!"
"I'm just messin', haha. Got you good."
"You're insufferable," Gordon said, lightly smacking Benrey's beanie. Benrey stuck his tongue out at Gordon.
"But uh. Now you know I wasn't trying to scare you on purpose. Just bad timing. Wouldn't do that to my bestest buddy." Gordon raised his eyebrow in disbelief.
"Right, yeah. Well, that's actually really cool. Your blacklight stuff, I mean."
"You think so?"
"Yeah! I've never really heard of anything like that before. It's very unique."
"Unique…" Benrey's eyes widened then dropped down as he flashed a flirty smile. "Broooo that's so gay. You're like so in love with me right now, huh? Wanna uh, give your blacklight Benrey a smooch? Hm?"
"Ha! In your dreams, maybe." Gordon's face heated up a little from the request. "I'm going to bed, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Nooooo, please don't leaaaave," Benrey whined, but Gordon was already down the hall.
"Goodnight Benrey, sleep well!"
"Goodnight, Gordon."
Benrey laid down on the couch and bundled himself in a cover. Gordon thought he was cool. Gordon thought he was unique . He smiled as he drifted off to sleep.