Flynn's Arcade

Click! “If I could turn back ti-ime!” Sang Alan’s clock radio. “If I could find a way…” The man groaned and turned over as he pulled the pillow over his head. “I’d take back those words that‘ve hurt you, and you’d stay,” the clock dutifully continued. Turning over, Alan slowly uncovered his head and switched off the alarm. He sighed, staring at the clock for a while. There was a time when he wasn’t so tired in the morning. In those days, he was an early bird, getting up and catching the worm before most people had even warmed their first cup of coffee. Those, however, were his pre-Flynn days.

In the beginning of his friendship with Flynn, Alan managed to get up early on most days. However, it had become increasingly difficult, especially the more he became acquainted with ENCOM’s C.E.O. Not that Alan minded anymore. Not really. He missed the quiet of the early morning, but he’d long-since traded it for the boisterous, yet rewarding, relationship he had with his friend. Flynn hadn’t always been easy to get along with, but Alan had come to appreciate him. Now, he couldn’t imagine a day without the influence of his charismatic boss. The man was always working on something. Many things, actually.

In fact, a couple of nights ago, he’d come to Alan, practically dancing with delight. In fact, he was so excited that Alan had to calm him down before Alan could even understand what he was trying to say.

*

“What am I doing?” Flynn grinned and rocked the chair slightly, squeaking it, knowing it would probably irritate his straight-laced conversation partner.

“Well, that is the question, isn’t it?” he tilted his head slightly, thinking. It would be very complicated to explain. “You know what, it would be easier just to show you. Why not stop by the old place after work? You can bring Tron, maybe get in a few rounds on the new machines.” He grinned, “and I’ll show you what I’ve been working on. It’s just in the beginning stages, but I think you’ll love it!”

Alan tried to ignore the squeaky chair and focus solely on the conversation. He also tried to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Alan wasn’t the video game type and he’d taken many an opportunity to express this. Flynn should have known that by now despite their relatively short acquaintance.

“Uh,” Flynn rubbed the back of his neck. Yeah, you’re probably better off not knowing all the details.

“I drove you. Don’t worry about it, man. Just get your rest and get better, okay? Do you need anything?”

Alan slowly nodded in acknowledgment as Flynn spoke, afraid sudden movements would increase his dizziness. The ever-present headache clouded his mind, but he fought to remain focused on Flynn.

“Don’t know,” he replied.

Just then, the nurse returned, asking to speak with Flynn. Once they were away from the room, she spoke.

“Ugh… w-what?”

Ram couldn’t remember much of anything at the moment, and only half of the stranger’s syllables had reached him. He’d been… in a building? Or outside of one? It’d collapsed, in any event, and he could blearily recall trying to usher another program out of the way and getting hit by debris in the process.

Another breathy laugh to keep from getting overwhelmed, and then he pulled away with an almost sheepish smile.

“Hey, Bradley.”

For the second time that night, Flynn felt his insides tightening. Seeing his friend that way was jarring. He cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to keep air moving to his lungs and space for words to move out.

“I… I’m not sure,” Alan replied, gently placing his head in his free hand. “I wish I could understand what’s going on here. Unfortunately, I don’t even know where here is.” Alan looked around, trying to understand the strange room and all its furniture. His eyes once again made their way to the “television.”

As Alan stared at the wall with the strange television, things began to make sense.

Hospital.

He was in a hospital. Why?

He continued looking around until he once again saw the man standing.

This is not what I’m good at. Give me a busted car radio or bugged code. Something I can solve. I don’t know what to do here.

“I don’t know. I’ve got to…figure something out. Maybe keep watch, in case the others come back.” Flynn undocked his disc and activated the readout. There wasn’t much he could do to repair himself but it would help to at least know the extent of the damage. Self-diagnostic was one advantage of living a digital life. 

With a quick glance at Flynn, he kept his eye on the beam of light in the distance. Was the Admin waiting for him? Had he let him down by crashing? Maybe he’d been written off as loss by Clu… The better question was what to do with the flood of memories he’d gained by seeing Flynn again. He couldn’t go back to serving his luminary, not after he knew what had been done to h-… to Tron. He wasn’t Tron, Tron was dead, that was a fact…