Sonic.EX3: Chapter 1

I can only remember a few things that happened.  What I do remember most prominently is the game I played that can't be explained.

I was idling around at home with my homework.  The topic in question: history and algebra. I wanted to study hard so I could qualify in the future for a shot at a computers oriented college. My biggest hope was going into game designing, and development, so I had a lot to work with.  High expectations wouldn't stop me from trying though.

I heard police cars driving up past my house at the front. I couldn't understand why they were here to begin with – nothing really exciting ever happened in this neighborhood.  I had to pause from my homework to look out the window. What I saw at the front was a rather surprising sight.

A trio of policemen went to the front door of a neighbor's house with an ambulance accompanying it.  Did somebody die there? Was there a robbery; was someone injured? They weren't going to let bystanders near so it was rather pointless to worry about it. But what worried me was if it could've happened to anyone else in the neighborhood … or it could have been my house.

A few days had passed since then. During that time, I saw more officers checking the house with a private detective and an assistant. The detective and assistant came to my home and asked some questions. I didn't know the person next door so I had nothing I could offer.

The guy next door was revealed to be a victim named Kyle.  Apparently his computer was broken and he was left with a slack jawed look in a bloody comatose state. They said something about him being 'alive but dead' but... I don't think they went to a medical college good enough to explain that bullshit.  Dead or comatose... I was rather confused on how he ended up that way.

I wouldn't pay it much mind otherwise. I was just happy that it wasn't me. What I didn't know about were the foreboding events I would end up in later on.

This also came with the fact that I kept hearing about a bizarre group of video game worshipers talking about a weird ass game. Sonic.EXE. God, these guys sounded like the extremists of popular cartoon fans... Me, I didn't want any of those creeps in my neighborhood.  

A few weeks passed since the first victim when more kept popping up on the news. When the holidays rolled around, it was like counting down to Christmas in a tasteless manner. One death per day closer to the holidays at a time no less...  Made me wish for homeland security for Christmas.

I even saw that one of the victims shown was the same assistant the detective had. The name mentioned was 'Chelsea Green'. Poor girl. Guess those murders got to her and the detective rather quickly. I thought I saw one of those Sonic.EXE fans around the neighborhood or something. The outfit he wore was a shirt and jacket with the sonic the hedgehog Sega logo on the front. The way Sonic looked in that picture was just wrong.

It had bloody streaks that ran beneath a pair of obsidian eyes, a beady red dot shining at the center of each eye. It looked like someone’s attempt at a Halloween joke; the way he looked was unsettling. But to see something like that had left me to question the sanity of our current population these days.

Perhaps the police were kept busy with the other murders to the point where they could no longer keep track. I really didn't know how else to explain it. This was just beyond me.

I couldn't really explain how long it was since then. At least the New Year had passed by easily enough without incident. It was not long, however, before worse news arrived.

I saw later on the news that a detective’s apartment was ransacked also. The photo depicted on the screen was that of the same guy last year involving that Kyle kid back in November. The name listed on it was Derek Green. That was enough to make me want to leave the neighborhood.  

However, I went to my closet for something to take my mind off the whole fiasco instead. I went to the closet to pick out something from my box of games and game consoles. I wouldn't imagine giving any of it away. One of the gaming consoles I pulled out was an old Sega Game Gear. I didn't know if it would still work with how old it was by now. However, when I pulled it up, I saw it had a cartridge inserted in the back. I didn't remember putting one in before.

I slid the cartridge out and took a look at any sign of a label. The sticker on it was ripped off and replaced with a strip of tape that said ... Oh God.

Sonic.EX3

I dropped the cartridge in panic. Stumbling back, I gazed at it lying on the floor. I wasn't sure what to think. This game was said to be the banner behind those cultists’ movements. I checked my window to find no signs of anyone breaking in. I also went to my front door and found nothing. I couldn't wrap my head around HOW it ended up there.

This game was shrouded in mystery; said to lead its players to their deaths. In the end, I wasn't stupid enough to play it. Why would an allegedly fatal game be even WORTH playing?

I took the time to gather my nerves after that. This game was better off in police custody. It didn't take me long to get the cartridge in a plastic bag before heading out my bedroom door.  Suddenly, my Game gear started beeping when I just stepped out the door. That didn't make any sense.  

The damn thing was off for one. I didn't even know if I left any batteries in it. I gave it a once over to figure out what was going on. I flipped the on and off switch and it doesn't seem to even want to turn off. What appeared on the screen was what bothers me more than the cartridge.

= Please Insert Cartridge =

Again, this was seriously wrong. First, the game appeared out of nowhere; then my game gear started acting possessed. It seemed like I had something else to take to the police. I took a backpack, put the game gear into it, and went off.

I stood at the police station that afternoon with the cartridge in a plastic bag. Against my better judgment, and regretting it already, I had the haunted game gear with me for further evidence that this 'game' was unnatural. Maybe it would be able to lead to some clues about the murders.

The foyer was like a crossroad during traffic hour, with dozens of people waiting in dozens of lines.  Among the people filing complaints, I thought I saw a mother with her arms around her husband in tears.  I could only guess they were victims of the cult going on, or they lost someone to that stupid video game.  How could one incident like this send everything spiraling out of control so easily?

I had to take a seat somewhere nearby to relax myself. My game gear wouldn't stay silent or switch off. I had to reach in my backpack and pull it out so I could try to smother it – or break it – to make it stop. Then it hit me.

I saw that the cartridge somehow appeared in the back of the game gear. I checked the plastic bag at my hip pocket. Gone! That made no sense! Obviously, the longer I was holding onto this thing, the worse it got for me! I didn't even know why I was still HOLDING THE DAMN THING! The sooner I got rid of it, the sooner I could get my sanity back.  

The game showed a different screen when the game started to play. It showed a small character, a bee, sitting at a rocky looking background.  The background had some parts of machinery put around it to make it look like a mix of Marble zone and Scrap Brain zone. But what I saw around the bee character were small little critters that were hopping up and down.  

The sound effects sounded like they were... crying? The screeching noises were hard to pick up.  Maybe the noises of this room were making me hallucinate. All the people crying and yelling was enough to distract me as it was.

But I couldn't place my finger on it. I think the character in the game looked like Charmy. But what would Charmy be doing in a game-gear game? More to the point, why was this game even running and why was I humoring it?

Well, at least it wasn't doing anything yet that would get me killed. But I took notice of a badnik bug bot rolling on through while I watched it. I didn't give it another thought as I looked up, noticing an officer just passed by with a quiet look on his face. I would probably have the same look if I was him.

I looked back at the game and figured that fiddling with some buttons might break it or something. If it did then it would've been my saving grace. I tried to push some of the buttons, to no effect.  Charmy didn't jump, move, or even make any actions. He just stood there.  

I figured I wasn't going to get my turn in the station anytime soon, so I had to get up and get some water. I took the time to gaze at this stupid game, but I suddenly stop where I was. I noticed that Charmy finally moved.

Was it a cutscene, a glitch, what was it? I still couldn't imagine going on with this but I looked back over where the other people were waiting. I wanted to hand this in so badly. I wanted to get rid of it.  With how packed the waiting room was, I knew I was stuck with this game a while longer.

When I reached the water fountain, I managed to get it working for a while. Honestly, the cold clear liquid running down my throat was enough to calm my nerves. I managed to wipe my mouth clean before taking another look at the game - hoping it either froze or restarted …

It didn't. Charmy was, instead, somewhere else now.

Where he was now was the weirdest thing. He was nearby a marble zone fountain with his sprite animation looking different. It looked like he was taking a drink. This was either a seriously stupid rom hack or - oh fuck this. A game did not just appear out of nowhere and possess your hand held console.  

I could understand hacking a game to play out the way it was. What I couldn't understand was hacking it so that IT WOULD MAKE ITSELF POP IN AND OUT OF EXISTANCE! If anything, I gave up wanting to hand this in to the police. I just threw the game gear in the garbage can and left.

I walked away from the police station and gave myself time to relax. I might have finally lost the game. It had cost me an antique hand-held console, but at least it wasn't bothering me with that creepy ass screen anymore...

Or so I thought.

I heard the familiar Sega tune as it started up again. I looked at my backpack before noticing the noise again. I nervously reached in, grasping what I hope wasn't there … It was.  The damn game gear ended up on me AGAIN! Like I said before, this wasn't possible.

I begrudgingly looked at the screen again after taking a breath. It showed Charmy again, standing in the same scenery of marble zone mixed with Scrap Brain zone. However, the design looked more… urban. I had to give up, thinking this game wouldn't relent until I was dead.

It was no wonder the people probably died. The games must have annoyed them to death or something.

I could only stare on at the screen as I walked down the street. Pushing the buttons, I could only see Charmy moving to the left of the screen. It wasn't until I was too distracted by the damn thing that I almost stepped past a stop light with just one foot.  

As I did, the game gave a sudden screech that made me stop in place. That screech took me by surprise, making me wince in pain. I looked on while noticing some truck size badnik push right past on the screen. When it did, the noise of a screeching truck horn nearly gave me a heart attack. I took a look up to notice a truck speed right past me.

I was almost run over. I begged God in hoping that this was just a coincidence. I didn't think God was listening.

I looked back at the game. It felt like the character was just staring intently at me, as if we were both thinking the same thing.

… This wasn't right …