You could hear the steps through the thudding echoes of the cavernous hallway. The building, which was designed to look industrial, now looked little more than a looted shell of lost humanity. Joanna supposed that was exactly what it was.
There were few machines that hadn't been broken open, and the smell of spoiled food permeated the air. A trail of quarters pooled around a dried puddle of blood on the floor. You hardly found anyone who cared about money anyhow. Comfort and safety were currency now.
A metallic melody echoed off the ceiling, causing Joanna to jump. Her eyes grew wide as she recognized the song. She knelt by the gore picking up a heaping fist-full of change. Her eyes washed over with tears as she found the machine. Bright colors hopped in front of her as the familiar tune carried on. Dropping a coin in the slot the entire world vanished around her. The past wrapped around her like a warm blanket, and the controls came back to her instantly.
After a longer time than she had spent still in a year, there were no quarters left. Her score was monumental. "STLALV" she typed slowly into the High Score screen. The date mocked her. Happy Birthday to you...
 And that was when everything went dark.Â
The Reality of this after the jump... My best friend turns 30 tomorrow. Honey and I brought her to Dave and Busters to celebrate. Bestie and I must have played 15 games of skee ball each. We decided Palisades Mall is a parallel universe that devours all in its path.
I have a head cold, it’s clouding everything.
That part was written on my phone while I tried to curl up and fall asleep in my own back seat. It still sounds like a fire pit when I breathe, all the rush-and-crackling.Â