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“Mom has been texting me for the last twenty minutes. She wants me to come home. It’s a four hour drive, when the roads are clear, and from what I hear everybody is trying to get somewhere right now. There’s no telling if I’d even-”

“Everybody else has left. All the other kids were picked up, the other staff left. They gave me all the keys. I promised to stay and wait for as long as- well. Even if some of the parents show up, I guess some of them won’t, so I’m just waiting. Until.”

[Clears throat.]

“A couple of people came after everybody left. Peter, one of Aidan’s fathers, gave me three hundred dollars for staying. What am I going to do with money? It’s- anyway. I kind of get it. He wanted to give me something.”

[Audio ends]

[Audio starts]

“They’re all between 2 and 4.” Sniff. “They’re so little. Too little to really- maybe if they were older, I’d have to tell them something. But um. I’m just- trying to stay calm and keep them happy and occupied. I think that’s the best thing, right now.”

[Heaving breaths.]

“I normally use this recorder to help me remember stuff. It’s just, uh, habit to talk to it. I don’t know. They’re napping, right now. I’ve got the baby monitor, they know that if they talk into it, I’ll come, so-”

[Sobbing.]

[Audio ends]

[Audio starts]

“Mom keeps texting, so I blocked her. I sent her a text telling her goodbye, first, but. I do. But these kids need me.”

[Sniff.]

“I tried calling their parents again, but I can’t get anybody. It’s just busy signals. I called the firefighter station, 911. I can’t get through to anybody.”

[Shaky breath.]

“I went out into the yard. Um, I think they can play. It’s nice out, and you can’t really see it yet. Little bit of a glimmer, if they ask I’ll just tell them it’s a plane, but it’s nice out and we’ve got hours before-”

[Murmuring child’s voice, indistinguishable.]

[Audio ends]

@whumptober2020

Newsie laughed, “Have I ever told you about one of the worst days of my life?”

~

Whumptober Day 20 - Lost 

He was... well. Clueless is an understatement. When I say he has no idea what was going on, I mean the second round he was in he SLAMMED the alarm button and said “my screen said imposter what does that mean”

“It means you’re the bad guy this time, dad,” We explained. “But next time try and keep it secret, okay?”

“Okay”

The next round, he killed another player right in front of me and immediately self-reported.

“I got my first kill,” he said.

“Good job, dad!” we all replied. “You’re getting it”

He was so proud, next round, when he helped us catch the killer. And we were proud for him. He was trying so hard.

His kids showed him the game, he said — “Look dad a meme” — so he was playing it for them.

“What’s sus” he had to ask. “Is it inappropriate?” “No dad. It’s short for suspicious, because suspicious is a lot to type.” “What’s gg?” “It means good game” “ok. Thank u. gg”

Two rounds later, he slammed the alarm again. “My map looks different,” he said. “There are buttons on it”

“That means you’re the bad guy again, dad. You push them to sabotage us. Try it out”

We spent that round watching Dad of 3 gleefully pop in and out of vents at random and press all the buttons just to see what they did

“Have you killed anyone yet dad?” “No. It feels strange.” “It’s okay. It’s just a game. You can kill us if you want to practice.”

He was trying so hard. I don’t know if he’d ever even played a video game before, but he was trying so hard to understand this thing his kids enjoyed, and my little group of strangers was doing our best to help him get there.

I’m so proud of that random father’s effort, and I’m proud of all the other players who were so willing to help him learn.

Then out of nowhere he was gone. Mid-round, Dad of 3 vanished to a bad connection, and I’m legitimately sad. I’d hoped we’d get the chance to play a round for real, and I’d have liked the chance to wish him luck and say goodbye.

But since I can’t do that, I’m throwing this into the void: I hope you have a nice time, Dad of 3, and I hope we were able to help you learn so you can have fun with your kids.

Good luck out there, buddy.