Chapter Text
“Ju-mahn-jee.”
A pair of hands brushed the dust off of the wooden box, hands pulling the lid open. It was a board game.
“Who even plays board games anyway? No time for that.”
The box was thrown into the corner of a room.
And ignored.
A desk chair was pulled out from under a table with a thump as it hit a bump on the wood floor. Someone sat down, accompanied by the sound of rustling paper.
Pencil against paper, scratching down notes, thoughts, ideas, and—
Dum dum dum… dum dum dum
Drumming, muffled from across the room.
Dum dum dum… dum dum dum
Drumming, again. Louder this time.
Dum dum dum… dum dum dum
Louder.
Dum dum dum… dum dum dum
Louder.
Dum dum dum… dum dum dum
Louder louder louder—
Silence.
Someone was standing up.
Crossing the room and reaching for the box, opening it to reveal—
A video game cartridge.
“Huh.” Footsteps crossed the room, placing the cartridge into the console and powering it on.
It didn’t take long for green light to fill the room, pouring out of the windows and under the door and into the hall and with it the sound of drumming, drumming, drumming, louder and louder and louder and louder.
Dum dum dum… dum dum dum
—
The room was empty.