Physics of Gaming

Sean King

Benjamin Chandler

Michael Stiehl

Diana Tobey

Sam Becker

English

I suddenly stared at her in disbelief, I couldn't tell if this was an illusion or if it was real, I heard no scream, only the sobs of a dead woman.I look at her, her eyes open and red with the dreaded death and my eyes light up, the sobs from her are still going, I was in his ilu

Ilu… illumination? Illustration? Illusion? Ilu, emu? The illustrated emotion? The invigorated Eno? 

What is happening to me? Is this madness?

"Hey you!" a voice cried. "You better start to move your feet to the rockinest, rock-steady beat of Madness! One! Step! Beyond!" At once, the room was filled with the sound of sassy sax, jumpy guitar & the raucous riddims of 2-tone era ska. Was this music real or only in my mind?

"Dis es no dreem. I am de Reggaeton Tyga, da keeper of de riddim," bellowed a deep, all encompassing voice "and I come to put in ya step a spring, 'til ya can hep but shake ya thing. So put way tha frown, cause it time to get down, to the funky, funky sound of de Tyga!"

I felt the medicine start to kick in as my body began to sway to the rhythm, like tremors preceding an earthquake. Tyga looked at me and said, “Dat de way mon, feel da riddim deep in ya, dat way you wun rememba wut come next!”

I locked eyes with Tyga. It was clear that he was my keeper and I his ward. It was his energies coursing through me. I could no longer control my body. It was like a rocket whose fuse was lit. I was simply the crew. The music crescendoed and I was off, not long for this world.

Slave to da Riddim

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A —

Emily J

He Held the cannon to her face, she looked into it and saw the endless void."Daniel don't do this" She protested.Daniel looked at Tanya and said "You shouldn't have killed my daughter".Tanya realizes that forgiveness it off the table and acts quick In a split second Tanya.

kicked the cannon so that its nose pointed up. BOOM! A cannonball rocketed into the sky. "Ain't it coming back down?" Tanya said. "No," Daniel said. "All part of my plan. Soon, it will hit the moon, cracking it, & your favorite heavenly body will be broken. Ha! Revenge is sweet!"

The problem is, a cracked moon doesn’t just stay in 2 pieces. It keeps breaking up, each piece hitting another and another until the planet Earth has rings.

Without the moon, astrologists (and astronomers alike) have gotten quite confused. Turns out it’s difficult to figure out birthcharts when hundreds of fragments block out the stars.

After the initial chaos settled down, NASA decided to give up on the next moon landing. It was only logical since it would be impossible to land on any of the remaining moon fragments. They discussed Mars, but in the end set their sights higher.

NASA had a trick up its sleeve—essentially the opposite of an atom bomb, something that creates micro black holes that could be used to re-fuse the moon’s core—but it had never been tested. After brief deliberation they assembled a team and committed earth to an unknown future.

In Search of a New Moon

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Alex Ramir

"Terry please, don't do this to me, to yourself" Her eyes lit as I held the trigger in my hands tears streaming down my face."R-Ramona if I don't do this we'll never get our child back, You know I love you sweetie". I hold the trigger up to my head and steady my breath"Tell jamie

that they need to build the time tunnel when they are 23 years old and jump back to tomorrow, our time. Wait, that’s confusing.” I pulled out my phone to look at the calendar, accidentally firing the pistol. I heard three ricochets then…

watched the head drop off a marble statue. "Idiot!" screamed a voice, & a bearded man rushed into the room. "I saved that statue from the past so it's head wouldn't be lost, & now you've blown it off anyway!" I nudged some powdery rubble with my feet. "Can't we glue it?" I asked.

“Pfft, glue?!” The bearded man retorted with a snarl. “You have just gone and crunched the remains of it’s neck under your Adidas!” The man pulled a tiny glass jar from his pocket. He quickly swept up the dust with his hands and closed it into the jar with a tiny cork.

The man shoved the jar into my hands. “Glue may not work to restore him, but I’ve an idea what might,” he said. “You’ll need to seek out some pretty rare magic.”

“One step ahead of you,” I replied, pulling out my braided lock of platypus hair dusted with narwhal enamel. I caressed the remains until the jar lit up like a lantern. Just then a faerie burst forth, his face wet with tears. “Thank you lord.” he said. “May you reign supreme!”

Time Pistol

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Logan Pengelly

I smile as every strike hits his body, I could kill guilt knowing that the plan was going correctly I was able to wipe away the guilt I feel for hurting him.The boy gasps out"Why me?" I give him an answer,"Don't worry im not going to kill you, I just need enough of your blood to

extract enough antibodies to start synthesizing a vaccine. The beating and pain brings the strongest ones out, you see. Of course I’m a real scientist! I’m a certified gemologist.

I always add the "certified" bit to really convince the listener. I mean, who would trust an uncertified gemologist? I wouldn't. You shouldn't. They could misidentify your amethyst as fluorite and then you'd really be up schist creek without a paddle. That's a little stone joke.

Covid is now a stone. Anti-vaxxers regret. The CovidChart online chart spiked so high that you needed to scroll up to see it. Covidrock is the new sucide game. And you are out to

As I thought of all the ways our world had changed since 2020, I tried to calm the panic rising in me. It was no use remembering how it used to be and wishing fruitlessly to return to a normalcy that would never again happen. All I can do now is focus on the survival of my kids.

I hugged them close that night, putting all fears of contagion out of mind. Winds and dust swept over our encampment. Air raid sirens whined faintly in the distance. Before drifting off I kissed each kid on top of their head. What has not killed us must make us stronger.

The True Vaccine to Covid

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Sunny Anomaly

I’m perfectly satisfied with half a bagel for breakfast. Put a hearty smear of cream cheese and some capers on it, and I’m ready for the day. Yet I can just as easily eat a whole bagel and not be too full. How is that possible?

Time warps is what you think it is. And you are right! There is a portal in your body that makes a full bagel go into your poop.

"That's going to be hard to pass," says the doctor, looking at an x-ray of your gut. The ghostly blur of the bagel in your pipes looks like a howling phantom zero. "That's what I am," you think, "a big ol' zero. I could've changed history, but instead I have intestinal blockage."

“Not to worry,” he continues. “If we operate soon, we can get the bagel out with minimal long-term damage.” You ponder this for a moment. “And how much worse off will I be if we don’t operate?” You ask. The doctor makes a sound somewhere between a snort and a laugh.

The doctor starts coughing up a purple dust, as he laughs louder and louder the dust becomes thicker and thicker, "If we don't operate then yo-"The doctor starts to cough more rapidly as his joyful face grows bigger and more distorted as blood and sweat drenches down "If we dont

how will you be as strong as me?!" Suddenly realizing this isn't the future I want I leap off the table covering my mouth so I don't gag on the dusty gas—but then the anesthesia kicks in. The last words I hear before everything goes purple: "you'll be a good glitter soldier."

Another One Bites the Purple Dust

Ben Syverson

Macaroni Dots

I Cried as the ignorant and innocent boy lay before me, he had given his life up on a heartbeat so that I could live, My eyes became ember and my mind became crimson. I smiled and nuzzled his hair as I pulled the blade."I give the life of this boy back for my own,Goodbye chestnut

, I liked this body.” He took the bullet for me not knowing what I am. I can’t leave it this way. Not again. I forced the blade between my ribs. I screamed from the pain. As I held the boy, he heaved forward and shook. The room smelled like roses as I fell back to the floor and

let out a thunderous fart. It was frankly impressive. And with that, I left this mortal plane, that mighty blast serving as my last words.

“Did I do that?” I cracked, looking around for someone old enough to remember Urkel. But everyone was so low and far away, including… me? I looked at my feet, dangling in the air translucently, and it hit me: I’m a ghost. Luckily, the afterlife is super dope, as you well know.

I then flew through the astral plane slapping ghost butt as I passed through, and screamed out in the void.

There was a cosmic crash & I awoke on a gray street. I tugged a passerby's arm. "Where am I?" "Little early to be drunk," she muttered. "Please," I insisted. She sighed. "Beloit," she said & pulled her arm from my grasp. "Beloit, Wisconsin? Oh no. I hope I don't run into my ex."

Stuck in Beloit

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Macie M

Leyre Garcia

Her forehead touched the stone as she took a shaky breath. The flowers, clutched in her fists, begged for air as her knuckles turned white.

She knelt on the grave, her head against the tombstone. Once she’d cried herself quiet, she opened her eyes. “It should have been me”, she whispered.

Her tears were as light as raindrops and as heavy as hail as she looked at the tombstone, she knew this was the first but definitely not the last time that she would feel this pain

She felt that everyone was leaving, even the ghost of whoever looked at the tombstone. She felt lost

and completely alone. But, where did everyone go? She looked around & saw a pub across the street. Laughter & music poured from the open windows. "Whiskey sours on the house!" cried a friendly voice. Well, she thought, anywhere's better than here. After a deep breath, she stood &

walked to the bar clutching her purse. She jostled her way in to claim her free drink. She began to feel euphoric, clinking her glass with strangers. Soon she totally escaped her numb existence, feeling again like a part of humanity. “Happy new year,” she whispered through tears.

Without You

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emily wahl

Its eyes were filled with hunger and hatred as I stared into the eyes of the abyss, I could see her eyes illuminating out of the monsters evil snare. "I'll give her back to you, all you have to do is come over here..."My body moves itself without hesitation knowing its a trap.

Suddenly, an overwhelming grip of claw-like pincers grab my waist. Through all the pain and carnage in this journey... I finally knew what I needed to do to get her back to me.

I should have listened to hear when she told me to stop wearing shrimp-scented cologne. I was mad that she tried to control me, but she was trying to prevent me from being eaten by a giant crab. “If I survive this, I owe you an apology!” I said through gritted teeth.

I grabbed a claw full of sea mud and slung it at my gargantuan opponent, whose pointy red shell seemed to tell the tale of many battles, none lost. I was beginning to lose hope when

A green portal opened, and Rick and Morty walked out. “Don’t worry, Diana! We got this freaking jerk man!” Rick pulled out a long wooden stick and poked at the red gargantuan, and it exploded into a blue colored bloody mess!

It was during the cleanup that Diana met Chaz, a street sweeper. He shoveled blue slop, scoured the asphalt, sweaty muscles bulging under his overalls. Diana couldn't resist. "Hey," she said, rolling her fingers over his bicep. Chaz tipped his hat. Their love would become legend.

Dianah Cheats on random dude I guess

LifezVictory

Jordan S

It was there and then, that I had lost the only person that I ever cared about, In that barn, near the door, with the cubblewood fence...

I didn't expect that one day this would happen, I knew that at some point he would have to leave, why did he have to leave on my birthday? I didn't even get to say goodbye to him

But, on the very small bright side, since he's gone it means I won't have to share my birthday cake with anyone anymore. I won't have anyone to play with though either, so it really sucks. Why, why'd he have to go?

They always called him funny names, like "imaginary". But he was as real as a rainbow. And like a rainbow, he has disappeared. So now I had to learn to live without Clowny C. Clownington, Esquire.

Until today when he texted me at 3am saying 'yo u up?'. That was Clowny written all over. Looking for a booty call. But enough was enough. I was not falling for this shit again. Fuck his stupid drunk texts. "Clowny, I hate you!" I screamed. A distant honk could be heard.

Closer and closer it grew, reverberating through the darkness. I felt my skin tighten with goose flesh as I ran to close and lock all the doors and windows. But it was too late. The next honk I heard came from inside the house. All I could do now was hide and pray.

The Honk in the Dark

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Paz Waz

Tracie+L Mauriello

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C. S. Lytal

Lynsie Lucas

Emma Mazzucco

Alice was in trouble. She was floundering. She was sinking. The worst possibilities her friends had suggested were no longer abstract potentials. They were concrete and absolute. Waves of probability had collapsed and now formed the violent landscape she had failed to navigate.

Her TikTok views were in the toilet. She should have paid attention to the algorithms. It was clear to Alice that viewers hadn’t subscribed to watch her makeup tutorials but to see Mr. Fuzzy Bottom upstage her. He was the real social influencer, not her. She ruined it all by

making that video where she talked smack about Mr. Fuzzy Bottom while simultaneously showing off how to do a perfect batwing eyeliner. No one cared about her stupid makeup, she realized. She was being canceled for her remarks about her TikTok nemesis. Why did no one understand?

There was only one thing for it, she would have to frame Mr Fuzzy Bottom. Drag his name through the dirt for all Tik Tokkers to see, then the tables would be turned. All she needed to do was hack into his Tik Tok and

Delete the source code, it was fullproof. Only one problem, Elmo The Mob Boss was in town and might be fustrated if I take out Mr Fuzzy Bottom.I'd need someone to take him out before I frame Mr Fuzzy bottom...

"Sir, this is a Wendy's," fluted the voice of the purple-furred, lemon-nosed cashier. "Do you... want fries with that?" I glared at her, just some dumb college muppet clearly unable to appreciate the genius of my grand plans. "You'll see. Papa Elmo's days are numbered, and then I

will be the new boss in this town,” I said in a hushed voice to the pencil-thin muppet with the orange shock of hair tied up on my floorboard. “No fries, kid.” “You don’t want anything do ya?” I asked my former lab assistant. A muffled, “meep,” was all he could muster.

"I know things got kind of smelly on this one, Beaker, and I'm sorry." He just blinked. "I tried to run a better lab than your former boss, but it's not easy. I guess I failed. You are I are the only ones who know what happened here, and that's one too many." A sad "meep" escaped

his thin lips and for a moment, I considered that what I was about to do might not be necessary. Did he really have to die? He might be able to keep a secret. And even if he spoke the truth, how many people could tell a truthful "meep" from a lie?

I was wrong everyone found out. But how? I asked him but he ignored me. Why would he do this to me?

TikTok tactics

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I felt a hand and my hair sprang from every nook and cranny of my body and when I turned around, my face went from pure fear to unbeatable disappointment. I laughed at the creature"

A seven foot tall dancing teddy bear is physically imposing of course. But it was far from terrifying. Until it started singing...

I started screaming, I was very scared, I didn't expect that thing to be alive, so I grabbed it and threw it on the ground

And it suddenly exploded into hundred of pieces. Small copies of that thing were crawling on the ground, screeching in pain. It was a deafening sound.

The tiny pieces of the monster began to throb in a rhythmic pattern, inching closer and closer together until they reformed into a larger, uglier copy of its previous form.

Bass thundered louder and louder as the hideous form bounded around the room. It had no discernible eyes yet it could clearly see. It aggressively leapt toward the meekest target when a piercing guitar chord rang out and a purple bolt pierced the creature, never to congeal again.

The Night of the living Teddy bear

Mel S

If I’d actually believed it was possible, I never would have done it.

How could I have done that? I feel like the worst person there is, now how will I solve this big problem that I did, she will not forgive me in life

I knew I would have to redeem myself so I decided that I would buy the most lavish and expensive gift I could think of.

I'd realized that giving expensive gifts fixes everything and that if I do this then I will redeem all of my past actions, "Besides, I see people give gifts to random people all the time when they screw up and nobody ever gets mad at them Im sure that this plan will have no rep-

I was wrong all along... There was a reputation. But how? I must have been so dumb to think no rep at all

After a few days of eating nothing but potato and drinking nothing but oj m, she gave in and told me what was wrong with her. She said, "I've got a disorder.“ “When I have no idea what a story is about…well, I just try things. Sometimes it’s ok, but sometimes— ” 

I nodded.

The Gift That Didn't Give Much

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Michael Kennedy

ali yuons

I could watch everything they had done but this, this had crossed a line so far into the dark that the shadows were afraid of it, this heinous act had been so vilifying that the devil himself was ashamed of it, I watched them do it, and.. I let it happen, I grabbed the sword and

rammed it straight into nearest member of the cult. Surprised, they began to charge me. One by One I cut them down, my next attack an overhead swing cleaved a man from collarbone to pelvis. Thirty-three people lay dead at my feet by the time my bloodlust had abated. They deserved

no remorse. Remains of their human victims were now inseparable from the mass of dead cultist flesh. Ironic, I thought. “Thanks for the sacrifice,” I said to the spirits I knew to be lingering above us. My skin began to smoke and char from within. The smell of sulphur filled the

place, I don't know if it was the spirits that were doing something with the human remains. I felt something strange inside of me...

...like I was being commanded by some unseen force. Or maybe it was just gas—hard to tell, honestly. There's a fine line between too much Taco Bell and demonic possession.

Just as I felt that I would bubble over and see a demon emerge from my body, cackling, there came a massive rumbling in my guts which quickly moved downward. I scrambled for the bathroom, not ready for what was coming, but thanking my stars that at least it wasn’t possession.

Revenge to....Taco Bell?

I'd lost him, he was mine, I....needed him, I caused this to him,I just wanted... I just wanted to stop him before- I just-I Hate- I can't be anything to him now since hes dead, I just- I wish he was still with me.

"I understand", she said. "We've all lost people this year. It has been devastating." She placed one hand on your shoulder. "The best we can do is carry on and persevere in our work, knowing that we are doing the important thing. We are helping to make billionaires richer."

At the mention of the word “billionaire,” my mouth began to water uncontrollably. I scrambled to hide it before she could see. If she discovered my taste for the flesh of the rich, my entire mission would be compromised. I moved my entire arm across my face, pretending to wipe

the detritus of grief from my countenance. I was extraordinarily lucky to have stumbled on a likely local so soon. If I wormed my way into her good graces she might become a valuable source of intelligence on my Croesus quarry, my plutocrat prey. Oh, I could scarce keep my hands

still at my sides. A nervous thrill ran through me as I approached the unknown other, hoping to turn a stranger into a friend. Or, at least, an ally.

I could not do it, we will remain strangers, as we always have been, and that will never change whatever I do...

Richeballism

The blade that lit the surface of my skin ablaze sat there as I bled, waiting for the sweet release of death I held her, I was akin to die here so slowed my breathing, I waited for the call of death and as I answered I said to my kin"

“I am but weary and so weary, I hear the call of the sea birds and the tide turns as the snow falls upon the sea. So it has always been. And all you must carry on, ever onward, for that bright new day.” And as my kin stood about me it was tears of only partly sorrow that we wept.

His words became breath alone. His wounds were hidden now beneath the white furs and garland prepared by his daughters. All wept for the king save Alfhild, the queen. She held a hand to his lips until he was gone. I heaved the small craft from the rocks into the icy waters.

Alfhid saw me throwing the rocks into the water, she asked me to leave, I didn't know why, I left the place confused

I hadn't made it far before I stopped and turned on my heels. As I took resolute strides back toward where she remained at the water's edge, I steeled myself. I would not leave again until I had answers.

But as I approached, her image began to dim. With each step she grew fainter. I began to jog but the closer I got, the more she faded until finally, running, I saw her disappear. I stopped and immediately felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and it was her.

The Death of Rulers of the Land

Milo Pittman

Tony Rodriguez

My limbs wen numb as so did her heart, and for once, I cracked a smile she was dead, my killer was dead, The police look at me and hold pistols and shotguns that glimmer in the light,then, my world started to fade black, I laughed that same laugh over and over, The Time loop was

repeating yet again. I quite enjoyed this time loop. It was a fun little groundhog day, getting vengeance on my murderer. As much as I enjoyed it though, one question always remained at the back of my mind:

How would I escape this time loop? If killing my murderer back doesn’t work, what will? I can’t stay here forever....or could I...?

Escape of there, I escaped, my murderer doesn´t see me, I ran very fast but, my murderer ran behind me.

I prayed for something to appear and trip them up—a hole in the ground, a large rock, a small cat...anything that would give me even a few steps ahead. As if my magic, I heard a heavy thump behind me. I was tempted to turn around but didn't dare. I just kept running.

I didn’t look back until the vaguest hints of morning light began to play upon the horizon and I finally stopped, panting and shaking. No one was behind me, thankfully. I was grateful for this, as I couldn’t run another step. I laid down at the base of a large tree and slept.

? Im so confused

Kara S

Dawn Rasmussen

Sade Andre

“I’ll have you know ‘goblins,’ as you unenlightened savages call us, have been allowed to be employed and mingle in daylight hours in this country since the Greater Opportunity Bylaws of ‘78, and I intend to sit right here until I get an application,” I said, quite perturbed.

"I'm afraid you don't understand, ma'am. 'Goblins' do not exist in this dimension. Nor does any distinction between race. What you see before you is merely an illusion to help you in the Office of Fate. Here, applications are earned." The human office worker before me flickered

in and out of existence briefly, and I thought surely if she can do it, so too can goblins. “I STILL BELIEVE IN GOBLINS!” I sang at the top of my lungs. “THEY STILL BELIEVE IN ME!” The human office worker winced at my terrible singing and rolled her eyes, flipping through pages

and studiously ignoring the flickering images of goblins around us. Slowly, as I continued singing, the images became more steady and solidified, until I no longer had to sing to keep them there. "Hi, guys," I grinned. "I suppose you're all wondering why I've called you here."

They all looked reluctant to what was happening as I said calmly "I realize this is my fault its always been my fault but.. but I can fix this like I always do. I grabbed the knife and held it to my chest.

Fait Accompli Nonchalantly

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My partner and I pulled up outside the scene of the crime, annoyed to find the news crew had already beaten us there. It was the third time this week at the same location which was, rather conveniently, just across the street from the news station. “This can’t be coincidence,” I

fumed, nibbling on my fingernail. "The murderer is determined to embarrass the police!" "Or just provide convenient scoops for the news. Come on." We had to brave our way through the crowd of reporters and cameras waving our badges and saying the standard police press lines. Once

we were were out of range of the cameras it was safe to talk about what we’d seen. 

“Double homicide, my ass,” Sgt. Lopez said. “There’s way too much blood.”

And way too many legs, I thought. I counted five surrounding the two dismembered bodies in the foyer.

“When I used to hunt with my dad, the garage would look like this after he cleaned several deer,” Sgt. Lopez continued. “He’d cut down the meat and haul off the waste….” We looked at one another. My stomach turned. Someone was hunting people and doing something with… the meat.

"Cannibals?" I said almost convinced "Sgt.Lopez nodded" and frownedYeah Cannibals"

“Well, that’s fine and dandy,” I said. “Shit Lopez, I eat cannibals. They bring out the animal in me.” He laughed but I could smell his fear.

Too Many Legs

Lauryn Zimmerman

I took two weeks off of work and told everyone I was going to Mexico with my parents. The truth was that I was going to sit in my apartment, stream baking shows, and cry. The helpline I texted said I sound safe since I don’t have a plan.

But I didn’t feel safe. I felt trapped in an endless cycle of anxiety and floods of tears. I could barely get out of bed anymore and the idea of living didn’t seem like the right choice. I texted the Suicide Helpline again, hoping this time I’d have a different person to talk to.

Instead of the customary beeps of a phone line, however, I heard static interrupted by confusing screams and shouts against anarchy or something. I kept shaking it until I heard a shaking voice of a little girl who sobbed as she said-"Hello? C-can you help me? Please anyone. I-"

I froze as I saw the little girl as her eyes went dim and crimson was I hallucinating?, was it real, I started to

powerfully flatulate uncontrollably. "This wasn't the two weeks off I was hoping for!" I exclaimed to nobody in particular, in an even shakier voice - not due to fear but because of the huge vibrations emanating from my trousers. This was all down to that useless suicide helpline

without which I would now have clean underwear. More pressing was the stability of the furniture. The sheer ferocity of the fart has loosened a vital screw in the chair, which collapsed beneath me. Lying in the debris i reflected on the fragility of life and flat pack furniture.

The Last Time We Said Excuse Me

Zoe Becker

Jerry glanced down at the photograph in his hand, then back up again at the woman sitting alone at the back of the cafe.

All at once a blinding light coursed through the space. Jerry and the woman froze. And then a creature appeared, seemingly from the air itself.

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