WICKED GAMES | COMPLETE

FIVE

Andie

The faux leather clung to her body as Andie walked into GamersUnite. When Evan told her he could get her passes, she was over the moon - until that idiot revealed that his client couldn't actually just hand over free passes. So she had to fill in for a cosplay actor who bailed.

Now, she was expecting something cute, like a schoolgirl's uniform or a warrior princess. She wasn't expecting this revealing black leather bralette and shorts so short they should be called panties.

She glanced over at Evan, who had insisted on tagging along and paying for their business seats on the flight. He didn't have to come, but Andie suspected he just wanted an excuse to wear a sexy badass soldier's uniform.

Ugh, why does he get to be fully clothed? Wrapping a camo coat over her revealing outfit, Andie strutted up to the entrance. Thankfully she didn't have to get in character until after lunch.

My first games con, she thought to herself with a strange mix of excitement and nervousness. This event was a great way to distract her from her breakup with Lucas, but she wasn't sure what she had to be nervous about - it was just a convention for games, and games were supposed to be fun.

As they stepped into the exhibition hall, her anxiety gave way to pure anticipation. To her left, a giant screen blossomed into colour as a series of lively Japanese characters jumped into view. To her right, a huge figure of a human-like wolf towered above a table sprawled with merchandise from a game called Wolf's Bane.

"Hey, doll, I'll head over there," Evan gestured towards a group of Spartan warriors. "For a snack."

Andie rolled her eyes and nodded. I'll start from the right, she decided and approached the giant wolf statue.

She was so wrapped up in the story of Wolf's Bane inscribed into the booth wall that she didn't notice the guy that had appeared next to her.

What she did notice first was the smell.

"Good day, my fair maiden," a voice boomed beside her, and Andie realised she wasn't alone. She turned to regard the source, and saw a boorish man adorned in a black coat with a red shirt beneath. A heavy-looking sword was clumsily tucked into his belt.

"Um, hello?" Andie replied cautiously. "Are you... How can I get this game?"

"Ah, the damsel wishes to know more about Wolf's Bane! We do not say his true name, for he who summons Wolf's Bane shall meet the fury of a thousand hells!"

"Okay... Look, I don't want any trouble. I just want to get this game." Andie slowly backed away, wishing Evan was here to help fend off unwanted attention.

"It is no trouble at all to come to the aid of a stunning mistress like you! Or should I say, Mistress of the Sun?" The man licked his lips and sniffled.

Screw this, Andie thought and bailed, making a beeline to the other end of the hall.

╳◯

Almost out of breath from speeding away from that creep, Andie now found herself before a wall of TV screens, each broadcasting a game that looked like a chilling, fun shooter. Hordes of bloodied faces frozen in screams were plastered on the backdrop of the booth, with big red letters splashed across: Straight To Dawn.

Intrigued, she stepped towards the rightmost screen and a demo assistant popped up beside her.

"Hey there!" He chirped. "I see you're interested in trying out Straight to Dawn. Great choice! It's Golden Vault's latest masterpiece and it's to die for. Haha! Grab a controller and give it a spin!"

Andie smiled at the friendly guy and reached towards the console. But before she could take hold of the controller, another man appeared beside her and interrupted with a low, smooth voice.

"You don't want to do that."

Andie turned to regard the rude interjector. He had ruffled brown hair that trailed off into a peppered stubble, framing an intense face with cold green eyes. His arms were crossed over his chest, the sleeves of his navy sweater bunched up at the elbows to reveal defined muscles in his forearm. Clad in dark denim, his legs stood apart in an aggressively confident stance.

"Excuse me?" Andie scowled.

"This game is entirely linear. There's no chance for exploration. No reward for discovery. No hard choices to make. You're a rat, and you think you're unravelling some grand universe, but you're just trapped in a giant maze."

The demo assistant threw his hands up in exasperation and stalked away, muttering that he wasn't paid enough to deal with snobs. The stranger smirked, seeming to bask in his victory of some imaginary war.

"Wouldn't be surprised if you like it though. If you could master any game, it'd be this one," he remarked.

Andie raised an eyebrow, the veiled insult stoking a competitive fire inside her. "You don't even know me."

He shrugged. "If you're impressed by this, I can't imagine you've played many good games."

The audacity! Between the creep at Wolf's Bane and now this jerk ruining her first game con, Andie had had enough. Rage bubbled to the tip of her tongue, and before she could hold back, she unleashed her full fury.

"Who are you to assume anything about me? And who made you the authority on what a 'good game' is? What about Resident Evil? Silent Hill? Portal? Dead Space? Doom? Tomb Raider? Many classics employed linear gameplay and you are a prick to write off a game just because it doesn't tickle your fancy for mucking around!"

Her chest heaved with vindication, and she wished so fiercely she could smack the smugness from his face. Realising her outburst had attracted stares, Andie hurriedly composed herself, pointedly snapped up a brochure from the counter, and marched out of the hall.

A/N: Well, Miles is a piece of work, isn't he? But Andie isn't going to stand around and take his shit. No matter who's right, sparks were definitely flying...