Chapter Four [The Top Score]

Todd often came to the arcade when he just wanted to be alone and think. It was in a mall that was never too crowded, and many of the stores were closing, leaving half the building abandoned. The arcade had almost shut its doors as well, but Todd had ended up buying the place himself. It was not very profitable, and he would probably be better off just taking the machines home, but there was something about the smell and general atmosphere that he loved. Also, another reason he could not bring himself to shut down the place was the mysterious player MIA.

The first time Todd came here, he noticed all the top scores on all the machines were held by the same person. He had tried to beat them but had yet to surpass even one. Todd had been tempted in the past to check the security cameras and discover their identity, but the mystery of it all was part of the fun.   

He headed over to one of his favorite games to play when he needed to blow off some steam: a zombie first-person shooter. Picking up the familiar bright orange plastic rifle in one hand, he reached into his pocket, which he had already filled with tokens earlier, and inserted one into the slot before the large red start button began to flash. He was just reaching up to press it when suddenly someone came up beside him and reached for the other rifle, inserting a coin of their own to initiate co-op mode.

“Mind if I join you?” Asked a surprisingly soft voice.

He was just about to tell them to piss off, not in the mood to deal with people, and wanting to solo his score to beat MIA, who had done it solo themselves, but his words got caught in his throat when he met the other person's large brown eyes. 

He had thought they were just some punk-ass kid at first, since that was the age group that spent any time here other than himself. However, he was positive that this girl was indeed not a girl at all, but a woman in her early twenties. It was hard to make out her figure in the baggy hoodie and sweatpants she was wearing, but her face was what had him tongue-tied.     

It was round but with a defined chin and high cheekbones. Her lips full and her eyes large with a perfectly sculpted nose. Her dark coloring made him think she was not entirely caucasian which was rather common in this city. He was pretty sure she was not wearing any makeup, but her skin still looked like his favorite mocha latte. He started to wonder if she tasted as sweet as she looked.

“Ready?” She asked him, raising one sculpted brow.

He snapped himself out of it, clearing his throat and looking back to the screen, lifting up his rifle. She reached over and pressed the start button, and the familiar first scene began. 

  Two men trapped in what looked like an old European village were trying to reach the next military checkpoint. The camera shifted until both she and he were now looking through the eyes of their characters. Todd had played this so often that he knew where almost every zombie would jump out; the only problem was that he had never really played this one co-op, which changed a few of the locations. They rounded a corner, which usually would be clear, but instead a rabid dog came jumping through a window, taking him by surprise.

“Crouch!” She commanded.

Todd pressed the button on the side of the rifle, causing his character to lower down. She aimed and one-shot the hound, right in the head. He could not deny that it was pretty damn sexy to see how she handled that rifle, and the way she hyper-focused on the screen was doing things to him he could not put into words.

 The characters moved on to the next scene, and this time, Todd tried to be more on his guard. Not wanting to make this woman have to cover for him the whole game. Each of their shots was precise, but he noticed her getting more kill shots, raising her score above his at a much faster rate. 

Bam! In the head.

Bam! In the heart.

Todd, in the meantime, sometimes missed and hit only an arm or shoulder, making him have to take down the zombies two shots at a time. They had reached the end of the first level when the boss arrived, a zombie with speed and super strength. In order to take this one down, there were only certain places you could shoot him, but he moved around quickly, making it hard to aim. It usually took Todd a couple of times before he could even land one shot, and it took about twenty bullets to kill him.    

After seeing her skill through the whole level, he should not have been surprised that after only hitting his vital points successfully three times, he was already down, her shots having landed every time. 

“Jesus…”He breathed, watching the cut scene play out as their characters reached the military checkpoint. 

The top score screen popped up, waiting for them to enter their code names. It seemed MIA had never played this game co-op either, but he noticed their score was far above the last player's. He entered his initials, TLV, Todd Leon Vandenberg.

Then he saw her enter her code name… 

MIA. 

“It's you!” He shouted, startling some girls at a claw machine nearby, causing them to fumble and drop the fuzzy pink bunny they had been trying to win.

“Sorry,” he mumbled before turning back to MIA.

She was staring back at him with a slight grin curving her plump lips. She held out a hand, and he took hold of it, shocked by the strength behind her grip in contrast to the silky softness of her skin, which he stroked with his thumb before she yanked her hand away.

“Good game, maybe I will run into you again.”She said before turning and leaving the arcade.

Todd wanted to stop her, but what could he say? That he had bought this whole arcade just to compete with her? He shook his head at the thought, letting the embarrassment of it roll off him. No, it was better just to keep things the way they were, and maybe he might run into her again. He just had to be satisfied for now that he finally had a face to go along with the three letters that had plagued him these past few months.