For His Heart (formerly Taken)

Chapter 37- Hidden or Hunted

"Let's get ready to rummmmmbbbblllleeeeeee!" Tyler shouts like it's the start of a WWE match stirring a round of cheers from the crowd.

I lose my first life almost immediately as I search for skills that had been buried long ago but they come back and my fingers settle into the feel of the buttons and the shape of the controller as if they had been made for each other. It is almost three hours before I hear the first elimination sounds around me. I can see someone to my right and two people to my left vacate their seats. A quick glance at the main screen reveals screens that have gone dark disappearing from view as victor pairs are synced and their screens appear. Tyler's voice comes over the intercom halting further play. "Players, place your controllers in your seats and head to the common area for lunch. Game time will start back up in precisely 30 minutes."

Rubbing my eyes I stifle a yawn rising from my chair stretching out the stiffness that had settled in. Placing my adorable panda in the chair and the controller in its lap I look around hoping no one would touch him but I'm pretty sure no one was worried about my bear. Most players are flocking to a single line where they grab a stainless-steel bottle from one of 8 bins. Me, I head for the little buffet table that has chicken strips and fries with sweet tea and lemonade. Vic joins me, as does Kia, and a few other vaguely familiar faces.

"I like chicken strips and fries." Vic mouths through her food. "Before you asked about the whole eating thing."

I nod absently looking around for Judas who is nowhere to be found. I'd been hoping to see him during our break. "Don't take it to heart, he usually vanishes during the breaks." Vic says around a chicken strip. I don't offer a response choosing to focus on my food since Tyler had just announced that there were only 15 minutes left in our break. We resume play without me catching sight of Judas which dampens my competitive spirit a little. I'm cruising through the levels gaining 2 to 3 lives for every life I lose. I knew every shortcut and every hidden door and pipe of these levels.

Super Mario had kept me company through some lonely days. I remember living with a woman for about a year or so and I remember her being one of my nicer foster parents. She had been young and pretty and she often worked long hours to make ends meet. She really couldn't afford a babysitter and we both knew it was illegal to leave an underage kid at home but what choice did she have since she refused to return me to state care. She'd bought me a Super Nintendo to keep me company while she worked late into the night. She usually made it in around 09:30 or 10:00pm so I was alone from the time I got out of school until she came home. She always meal prepped so I never had to worry about food and the times that she forgot there was usually something for me to fix.

I was never allowed to go outside and play with the few kids in the neighborhood because that would lead to kids coming over and concerned parents when they came to pick them up. Thankfully, I usually managed to sneak in the house without being noticed which would also raise some red flags with some nosy neighbors. So, I mastered Super Mario to wile away the time. I remembered playing until my hands hurt from gripping the controller so hard. I remembered crying when I couldn't pass a board, getting mad and throwing the controller down, only to pick it up again after 20 or 30 minutes. I'd play a board over and over once I'd passed it taking my time to discover every secret it held or gather every single coin available.

Then one day I came home to find her still in bed which was strange for her. She'd go to work with a limb hanging off because she couldn't afford to miss work. I remember shaking her and a pill bottle tumbling out of hand to the floor. I remembered staring at her lifeless body thinking that it was wrong. She was too driven in her passions so committing suicide by overdoes was completely out of place. I remember walking calmly through the house to call the police. I remember staring out of the kitchen window toward the woods because I had the strangest feeling I was being watched. I remember wanting to cry but not being able to because I was numb. I had become numb to pain a long time ago when I'd first entered the state system. I remember unlocking the door while waiting on the police to arrive then going back to her bedroom and climbing on the bed and staring trying to figure out what I was missing.