In Beta by Prescott Harvey

Author:Prescott Harvey [Harvey, Prescott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inkshares
Published: 2021-07-05T22:00:00+00:00

second Player

The last of the Chevys peeled out, leaving Liz’s house silent. The only sounds were the wind and Sheriff Jenkins’s car settling to a halt.

Jay looked down the street and saw window shades snap shut. The people of Bickleton, he realized, had been enjoying the high school drama. He watched Elmer haul his fat body out of the driver’s seat. His left eye was twitching mercilessly, and he held a messy sandwich in his left hand, which he must have just grabbed from Golden Flour Bakery. He was scowling.

“What did he say?” Liz repeated, her eyes still focused on Jay.

Jay’s head swam at the surreal conversation he’d just had. “He wants me to make changes. He wants me to . . .” Jay lowered his voice. “Well, he wants me to kill Jeremy.”

Mr. Knight rushed from the house. He was tall and dark-skinned, with Liz’s green eyes and a big mustache plastered across his face. He looked like a guy who’d ridden motorcycles in his youth. Liz stiffened as he approached. Elmer’s sandwich dripped ketchup and mayonnaise as he awkwardly pointed at Jay.

“Let’s talk, Banksman.”

Mr. Knight shook his head. “It wasn’t Jay’s fault. The whole baseball team ganged up on him.”

Sheriff Jenkins’s twitchy eye narrowed. “Yeah, I heard he’s a real fighter now.”

Jay leaned in to Liz.

“It’s okay,” he whispered. “Hal’s going to let you go. It’s me he wants.”

Liz whispered back. “You believe him?”

“He won’t hurt you. He’s downloading your consciousness. It’s gonna take two more days. You’ll be free after prom.”

Liz’s brow crinkled in anger.

“What?!” Jay whispered. “You get to return to nice, sane reality. I’m the one stuck in a computer game.”

Liz stalked over the lawn and went into her house, slamming the front door and puncturing the conversation Sheriff Jenkins and Mr. Knight were having.

Mr. Knight stared at the door mournfully, then murmured, “She’s been like this ever since you picked her up.”

Elmer shrugged. “Teenagers.”

“She won’t even look at me.”

“They say it gets better.” Sheriff Jenkins nodded sympathetically. He waddled over to Jay, scarfing down the last of the sandwich.

“You want to give a statement?” he muttered through a mouthful.

“Not really,” said Jay, in disgust. He was about to speak again when he felt something tug at the edge of his consciousness. A kind of darkness suddenly engulfed him, and the sunlight and sky and sound of Sheriff Jenkins’s voice diminished, as if receding down a tunnel. It was as if his mind were remembering something beyond his control.

He was standing in a small living room. His feet were bare on bristled Persian carpet. His back was to the room, but he knew that if he turned around he’d see a Panasonic television on a small black shelf, next to a Super Nintendo and a Genesis. A stereo was playing one of his favorite songs, “Scarlet” by Lush. His tragic victory song.

He was looking out a window at the street below. It was night, a half-twilight he’d never seen in Bickleton. Streetlamps pumped a purple-orange glow onto the sidewalk.

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