Work Text:
Michael tapped away on his keyboard, the computer glow being the only light in the dark room. The night was in full swing, but there was always work to be done. A slight snore came from below, next to the man’s desk. He turned towards the noise only to find Gregory slumped over, back against the wooden furniture, huddled tightly in a large blanket. The kid had moved closer throughout the night, slowly shifting from the corner of the room, to the floor, to finally the side of the desk.
The man stopped his typing. Michael shifted the white bear mask to get a better look at the boy’s sleeping form. He had to stifle a small chuckle that threatened to leave his ripped throat. Gregory was half-sitting in an awkward position that left Michael wondering how anyone could fall asleep like that. The man pulled away from the desk, head no longer wrapped up about work. He knelt next to the boy and tried his best to shift Gregory to lay on the floor without waking him. Michael sat next to Gregory and leaned back onto his thin arms. The boy continued to snore into the dark.
The time on the computer clock read 3:18am. Michael watched as it blinked every few seconds, then shifted to 3:19am. It was late, but he didn’t feel tired. Well, he’s been stuck in a constant state of feeling like he needs to take a nap, but every time he closes his eyes there is no dream to greet him, no reprieve from his constant state of living. Michael checked the date next to the time and groaned. 58 days. He has been awake for 58 days straight with no attempt to sleep.
Grabbing a blanket from the pile in the nearest corner, the man raised it up to his chest and fell backward – hitting the floor lightly. He fiddled with the strap of his mask, making sure it would not roll off in the slight chance he did manage to fall asleep. Once convinced it was 100% secure, Michael closed what remained of his eyelids and tried to focus on the snoring from the boy laying next to him.
_____________
Michael stirred lightly. The floor beneath no longer felt hard and cold, now it felt… soft?
“Mhhuk”
Surrounding sounds muffled together. Somewhere in the distance there was a bird singing. Weird for a basement room.
“Muuk.”
None of the sounds made sense. Michael felt groggy as he stirred more. Sunlight shone through his eyelids, forcing him to turn away and– Wait, sunlight?
“MIKE!”
Michael jumped awake, struggling onto his feet, looking this way and that. The first thing he registered was that he was outside, the second thing was that Gregory was standing next to him, staring intently. Michael flinched away in surprise, quickly bringing a hand up to make sure the mask was still on.
“Mike, um, do you know where we are?”
His hand slid down the white mask as Michael gazed at their surroundings. They were outside, that’s for sure. There were sparse trees and bushes, all a bright green unseen in the state of Utah. They appear to be on a small hill. Looking towards the horizon they could see a small town in the distance. Michael straightened his posture.
Okay, that’s where we’re going first.
He reached for the keypad at his hip, but met only air. Michael grabbed around his belt before looking down. All of his utility equipment had vanished. And most importantly – his keypad. He deflated in defeat. Once Gregory turned his attention back on Michael, the man waved him over and pointed to the town.
Gregory squinted. “Looks a bit far. Do we need to go there?’
Michael nodded.
“Okay then.” The boy gave a thumbs up with a smile.
**********
The town was quiet. It looked lived in, but no one was there, not even a rat. Gregory trailed behind the man, taking in every street they passed by. The two stopped at an intersection where cars were parked at the lights. Michael cupped his hands to the glass and peered in. Nothing. When he turned to Gregory, the boy looked deep in thought. Gregory’s eyes flickered up to a billboard on top of a building, then to the stores lining the street.
“I think I know where we are.” A sly smirk started to creep onto the kid’s face as recognition dawned on him.
What?
Michael tilted his head to the side, urging Gregory to continue.
“I’ll tell you later. First, we need to get out of this town!”
Gregory ran in front of the man, his smile growing bigger by the second, yelling at Michael for him to hurry. Michael looked at the bill board and stores. They all looked normal. Without any other choice, the man followed Gregory out of the town.
The door to the gas station opened with a hiss. Gregory bolted in and ran through the isles in a frantic search. Michael lagged behind, still looking out for any sign of life.
“Aha! Yes! I knew one would be here!”
Rounding the corner of an isle, Michael came into view of a Gregory standing in front of a glowing gold chest. The boy looked like he was ready to pounce on it. Before he had the opportunity, Michael laid a hand on top of the chest and tilted his head. He looked at the chest then to Gregory, bringing a hand up and tapping the wood lightly.
“I guess I did say I’d tell you.” The boy grumbled. “Mike, we’re in a game. It’s this really popular game that my friend Cassie was always talking about! I’ve played it a few times too, so I know where we are in th– Hey! I know it sounds crazy but there’s no need to look at me like that!”
Gregory swatted away Michael’s hand as he knelt to open the chest.
“You’ll believe me when I open this! Just watch!”
Raising his hands and stepping away, Michael cleared the space for Gregory. He watched from behind as the boy struggled to get the lock to open.
This can’t be real.
Looking around, everything felt real. They couldn’t be in a game, but then again, there’s a first for everything.
“And– hhgn– THERE! Opened it.”
The two watched as glowing items jumped from inside the chest to the floor. There was what looks to be a few bandages, a blue liquid in a corked fishbowl, and an orange soda. Next to those there were small stacks of bullets and… wow, that's a large gun.
“Ooooh, it’s a purple one too!” Gregory reached for the rifle laying on the floor.
Nonononononononononoooo!
Alarm bells rang and Michael rushed to grab the rifle before the boy could lay a finger on it. Gregory backed away as Michael practically flung his body over the metal. He crossed his arms in a giant ‘X’ and shook his head fiercely, blocking the boy. Gregory looked at the weird demonstration and pouted.
“Okay, Mike. You can keep the gun, I guess.” Gregory huffed, picking up the scattered items from the floor.
Looking at the rifle behind him, Michael finally noticed the fine purple sheen encapsulating the item. He picked it up, careful to not touch the trigger as he maneuvered it into his grip. It was a hefty thing, more weight than he was used to holding. Michael grabbed the ammo off the floor, stuffing it haphazardly into his pocket.
“Here, drink some of this.” Gregory called, rolling the fishbowl of blue liquid across the floor. It stopped at Michael’s feet. “It’s a shield potion! I already had some, you take the rest.”
Michael picked the bowl up and watched the blue liquid slosh around. There appeared to be glitter floating through it, but that wasn’t the main problem. The man looked at Gregory and tapped where the painted smile on his mask laid. He held out the bowl as the kid came closer to take it back.
“Oops, forgot you always have that thing on.” Gregory grabbed the bowl and put the bandages in its place. “There. You can hold these instead.”
A sudden noise came from outside the gas station. Gregory grabbed onto the man’s sleeve and pulled him outside towards the noise. As they exited the building the boy pointed up with a smile. Michael squinted, trying to find what exactly was so important about a few clouds. As his eyes focused they landed on something unbelievable. A blue school bus was flying through the sky attached to what looked like a hot air balloon. Figures were jumping from the bus and in the distance Michael could see them gliding down.
Bloody Hell. This can’t be real.
Gregory shook with excitement and pulled the man to the street.
“C’mon Mike! We need to find more of those chests!”
The only thing Michael could do was nod along and follow after the running boy. If Gregory said he knew what was happening, he might as well trust him.
**********
They had been hiding in a bush for a while. Gregory sat bored under the leaves, counting and recounting the items they managed to grab from other chests. Michael laid prone, peering out of the bush. From their position at the top of a hill, they were able to look at a small road as people rushed through. Sounds of gunfire rang from below as a four person shootout rolled in and out of view. Michael pushed back into the bush and looked at their weaponry. They had a rifle, shotgun, and two pistols with more than enough ammo for each.
“Can I at least hold one of the small guns?” Gregory whispered, pointing to the nearest pistol.
The sounds from the road started to get louder, punctuating the question. Michael had hoarded the weaponry away from Gregory, they were too dangerous even to hold. However, in this one scenario it would probably be a good idea for the boy to have something to fight back. Michael covered the eyes of his mask with his hand and sent a small nod in response to the question. Gregory didn’t hesitate in grabbing the pistol.
Ohhh, I'm going to regret this. He’s going to blow his foot off. Does he even know how to hold it properly? Oh my goodness, what am I doing.
A bullet flew past the bush. That was all Michael needed to start packing their stuff. He waved his arm for Gregory to follow as the two rushed away from the road and down the other side of the hill.
“This isn’t how we’re supposed to play!” Gregory shouted over the bangs of bullets. “We are supposed to go towards the shooting! Why are we running away!?”
Michael just shook his head.
That’s just the dumbest way to get yourself killed.
“Mike! Hey– look where you’re going!”
Gregory had stopped a few paces behind. When Michael looked over his shoulder, Gregory was pointing to the sky in front of them. He turned his attention to where the boy was pointing. Where there once were clear blue skies had turned dark and ominous. A deep purple had fallen over the horizon as what looked like a wall of rain had encircled the area they were in. Michael took a step back as the wall slid closer to them. Thunder rumbled out of the storm as brilliant flashes of lightning crashed against each other in the air. Gregory grabbed the sleeve of his uniform and pulled them both to safety.
“We need to go this way!” Gregory pointed towards the road just beyond the hill. “Just- trust me on this!”
The child’s eyes were determined as he stared up at Michael. The man gave a sharp nod and the two raced around the hill. The sounds of battle had died as they ran past the bend of the road. The survivors of the shootout were picking up the remaining loot. One of them noticed the pair running their way and raised their gun, shouting something at their teammate for their attention. Michael got between Gregory and the line of fire as the two weapons turned towards them. Bullets flew past as the man did his best to fully cover the child behind him. Using the cover provided, Gregory loaded his pistol and fired from under Michael’s arm. The man watched in awe as the bullets struck and colored numbers emanated where blood should have been spilt. Gregory kept shooting and the numbers changed from a cool blue to a striking green.
The other adversary shot a round that landed square in Michael’s shoulder. He braced for the impact, but nothing came. It was as if he was never shot in the first place. In place of the expected pain were the numbers next to the area he got hit. With this newfound knowledge, Michael raised the shotgun and pulled the trigger. The scuffle didn’t last long, their enemies were already low on health. The two fell to the floor and tried to crawl away, but Gregory sent a last bullet to each of them. Instead of simply falling to the ground, their bodies disappeared as if they were holograms.
Finally, Gregory moved out from behind Michael and raced to the piles of loot left where the bodies once were. The boy smiled as he shifted through the different items. He picked up the enemy’s rifle and held it high. Michael rotated his shoulder where he was hit. Nothing was broken or out of place.
Hmm, like laser tag.
**********
This is it. The final few. Thanks to Gregory’s knowledge the pair was able to evade the storm and survive to be in the top six. Now, as Michael looks through the scope of his sniper rifle, the final six dwindled to the final five. Gregory was busy preparing for the final attack as Michael held down their little fort. A short distance away a 2v1 was transpiring. Within the minute a flash of blue indicated the unfortunate loss of the third duo. Now only the final two teams remain.
Michael slapped the ground to get Gregory’s attention then raised a thumbs-up. Gregory responded in kind. The boy moved closer to the ledge of their vantage point to see the final team. They started moving to the new eye of the storm, Michael and Gregory followed suit. The storm was moving in faster now, forcing the two teams into close proximity.
One of the adversaries was covered head-to-toe in armor and the other one was… dressed as a banana. Gregory wasn’t phased by the choice of costume, and at this point neither was Michael. The both of them closed the distance before their costumed enemies took notice. Gregory threw a grenade that detonated between them, forcing them in different directions. Michael tore away to face the armored one alone while Gregory chased after the fleeing banana. As he got closer, Michael switched from his rifle to the shotgun. He sent blast after blast of buckshot into the metal plated armor. With a final shot, the armored man turned into blue light and dropped his precious items.
After collecting the dead man’s ammo, Michael returned his attention onto Gregory. To his surprise, the banana was jumping around sporadically, evading the boy’s shots and grenades. Carefully, the man lined up his scope to the trajectory of the banana. At the perfect moment Michael sent one shot, two, and the jumping banana went down to their knees. Gregory pulled his pistol and took the last shot, grinning as the hologram disappeared.
Without warning, a loud noise played right in their ears, echoing through their brains. Large letters emerged from nowhere in front of their eyes as gold crowns adorned their heads. Michael reached up to touch the crown, feeling the heavy metal in his hands. Gregory beamed as he turned to the man.
“We did it! We got a Victory Royale!” The boy was positively shaking with joy as he ran up and hugged around Michael’s waist. “We won!”
Michael didn’t quite understand what any of this meant, but as Gregory’s smile grew brighter, he knew it didn’t really matter.
_____________
The alarm on the desk buzzed incessantly like fly over fruit. Michael turned to turn it off, only to realize he was still on the floor. Picking himself up he finally reached over the table to silence the alarm. 6am. It was already 6:00 am. Gregory was still asleep, happily snoring while his face was contorted into a lazy smile. Michael pulled a hand up to run under his mask, rubbing at the bottoms of his eyes. For the first time in what feels like ever, he actually fell asleep. The details of his dream came back in confusing blurs. Michael continued to rub his eyes, still feeling as tired as before. Of course it wouldn’t work, but it was better than nothing.
Good work kid.
Michael reached over to the sleeping boy and pat his head lightly.
… But I’m never letting you hold a gun again.