Children’s laughter and giggles filled the buzzing arcade on Saturday night as I silently mopped the floors. “_When will somebody take their kids home?” _I thought, ears ringing from the deafening music of Pac-Man and Donkey Kong playing in the background. Just then, however, an unsettling silence fell upon the room, and a weight of my shoulders had been lifted. Looking around, my eye widened, realizing the everyone disappeared with the clamor. _Bang! _My mop met the hardwood floor. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe anymore. What should I do? Is this normal? I regained power in my legs and immediately dashed towards the staff room. My hands trembled attempting to unlock my locker. I snatched my bag and car keys, not even bothering to reclose the locker, and stumbled towards the staff door. To my horror though, darkness had engulfed the main arcade room. The window blinds and exits were sealed shut, preventing any sliver of moonlight to peek through. My breathing labored, I held my throat and fell to my knees, allowing my belongings to spill out of my backpack. “Why? Why me?” I asked myself over and over, replaying it in my mind like a broken record. But then, more words started echoing in my head, this time being spoken by someone—no, _something_ else. “Game over,” it buzzed. The noise grew louder, until it sounded like it was right in front of me. At that moment, every game in the arcade faced towards me, their red lights flickering before my eyes, illuminating the words, “Game over.” Still struggling to move, I instinctly shielded my eyes from the blinding lights. Soon, however, I subconsciously moved my hands back to my sides and stared hypnoticly at the games screens. My eyes failed to advert its gaze, and my eyelids slowly widened. No longer did I have control, and my head grew heavy. My brain felt stifled in its own skull, and tears dropped from my eyes. Gradually, my whole body sunk into the floor, the tiles dipping like cushions. The words looked as if they were now above me, yet my eyes stayed on them. A string of drool now hung from my lips as the floor continued to envelop me. “Why is this happening to me?” I wondered. The lights were gone, the floor closed above me, and before I knew it, I was completely underneath the arcade. I finally blinked after what seemed like hours of intense staring, but what now? I am now stuck in a dark abyss with nowhere to go. At least, that’s what I thought was my situation…until…

(Up Next) Chapter Two of Heavy Lights: Nowhere to go, right?