Mind Games

Always lost in his own world, he had never been the one to know what happened around him. It was when he was tinkering around with his fathers gadgets that he realized he could look into a world unlike his own. A world created by his imagination. It was through this that he soon realized that a world shaped by him isn’t a world to be lived in. It was a world where no one would survive.

 

It was hell.

 

 

The world he’s creating is slowly becoming a reality. Day by day the littlest things would change around him. The technology he plays with is becoming untamable. It’s slowly peering into his thoughts, altering his thinking. Forcing him to do things he doesn’t want to do. This piece of technology has decided to take over the innocent technology lover.

It’s a mental war between the world-creator and the boy. Where technology meets the mind, and destroys it of its humanity. .

 

 

Lately Vedarix Sykes had been craving love. His father never had truly loved him. He never had time. All Vedarix wanted was some attention, for his father to notice him, spend some time with him. After his dear mother had fallen terribly ill and had passed away, his father, Dr. Sykes, has been trying to bring her back to life. Days and nights of endless researching, designing, and creating. He had always been in that one room, as if he had locked himself from the outside world until he had finished. As if he had forgotten he ever had a son.

 

 

Everyday, Vedarix would be alone. Feel alone. He took care of himself. The house had an abandoned feel to it, as if no one lived inside. Every evening he would talk to the moon, as he felt that only the moon would listen. He had hoped that his mother would be watching upon him. This poor child's mind had been vandalized with abandonment.

Day after day, he would be in his room. Wishing he could have someone that would be there for him. Vedarix never had friends after he stopped attending school, there had been no communication in his life.

 

 

As he grew older he had realized that the only reason for his pain and his suffer was technology. Those contraptions his father had been working on for years had been only technology. He had started to believe that the only reason anything bad happens to anyone is because of technology.

 

 

For years, Vedarix has been watching his father in his study room. How he was always hunched over his desk, consumed in his work. He watched his father slowly become more and more absorbed with technology. Vedarix knew what his father had been trying to make was nearly impossible, for all these years he had discovered nothing. How could his father still believe that he could make such a thing? Vedarix wasn't sure what it was, he just knew it was impractical.

 

 

Vedarix had decided it was time for a change.Just as always, his father locked himself away from the outside world, in deep slumber. Vedarix quietly walked towards his father’s study room. Where his father had kept his machinery, Vedarix had expected it to be packed with technology, considering the many years his father had spent on this one device. It was Saturday night, the only day his father didn’t sleep in his study room. Vedarix watched his father walk out of the gadget room, every step closer to the door made him a little more anxious. As the door creaked to a close, he declared himself alone. Vedarix waited for a while, then sprang to his feet, and started his way to the door, slowly and carefully he walked towards the door of his father’s study room.

 

 

Arriving at his father’s study room, Vedarix was getting jittery. He broke into a cold sweat as he gripped the doorknob and carefully turned it. In order to avoid disturbing his father, Vedarix slowly pushed the door open, an inch at a time.

It was agonizingly slow. But he couldn’t rush. Who knows what kind of horrid contraptions lied between those walls.

 

 

Vedarix entered his father’s study room. The lights were off. He had to try to find the switch. Groping around for a short while, Vedarix found the switch and flicked it on.

His vision was flooded with technology. Everywhere he turned, there was another contraption. Everything was in completely different sizes. Some were smaller than the palm of a child’s hand, and others were taller than a grown man.

 

 

Vedarix’s jaw dropped to the floor. Going deeper into the room, he saw something peculiar. It was a small book labelled “Faulty Inventions.”

 

 

I should probably put this back in father’s bookshelf, Vedarix thought to himself. So he did. Picking up the book, it felt oddly heavy. The book seemed too thin to weigh so much, but Vedarix didn’t mind. He proceeded towards his father’s bookshelf and slipped the book into an empty space.

 

 

It fit perfectly. Then suddenly, there was a sound. Not a typical sound that you’d hear at night, like leaves rustling in the midnight breeze. But more mechanical. Vedarix stepped away from the bookshelf, afraid of what he’s just done.

 

 

However, the sound wasn’t coming from the bookshelf. It was coming from the floor. The large tiles started moving under Vedarix’s feet. Scared and confused, Vedarix dashed to the other side of the room, not caring if it would awake his father.

 

 

The tiles moved very little at first, then the pace quickened. Soon after, there was a large square opening in the floor. Vedarix tiptoed towards the opening, thinking that more tiles would start moving.

 

 

None of the other tiles moved. Vedarix stood at the edge of the large opening and stared into it. All he saw was a stairway. Vedarix had not known of this part of the house. Did my father make this?

 

 

Curious, Vedarix decided to go down the stairs of what seemed to be a small dark basement to see what was at the bottom. Every step creaked. Vedarix tried his best to avoid the creaking, afraid of his father waking up, but it wasn’t possible. The stairs creaked the entire way down.

 

 

Once Vedarix reached the bottom, the room immediately lit up. This basement was huge! Vedarix had never seen something so big in his house before. There was a sign that read “Faulty Inventions” which made Vedarix realize something.

 

 

My father has been creating technology non-stop and hidden the faulty ones here. That book “Faulty Inventions” was his key to enter this room. He has hidden it all this time, thought Vedarix. This made his stomach tingle, a big room of horrid technology. Vedarix felt his blood boil up.

 

 

Most of the inventions were practically radiating “danger” while others seemed harmless. Looking around with wide eyes, Vedarix couldn’t believe what he’s witnessing. He started off by going towards the smaller inventions. Each one of them had little buttons. Vedarix was curious about what they did, but he decided that his curiosity had brought him far enough.

 

 

He moved on the larger devices, all the inventions had labels. “Memory eraser - failed. Time machine- failed”  

 

 

There was a small piece of technology that really attracted Vedarix. It was sphere shaped. It had buttons on one side, and a lens on the other. It looked harmless.

 

 

Maybe it’s just a mini projector, Vedarix thought. He picked it up, it wasn’t heavy. In fact, it was lighter than it looked.

 

 

There was a small button that started glowing the moment Vedarix picked up the sphere. Curiosity took over, and he pushed the button. Suddenly, a flash went over Vedarix. There was a feel of warmth and softness, for a second Vedarix felt as if he had no worries, everything was fine, he felt as if he could just let everything go. It was peaceful and it was great. Before Vedarix knew it, he was in a world unlike his own. It was a dark and gloomy place.

 

 

Where am I? Why am I here? WHERE’S THE LIGHT?! Vedarix screamed in his mind.

 

 

Suddenly, the gloomy place was flooded with light. It took Vedarix a short while to adapt to the light. Once he did, all he saw was empty land. It never ended.

 

 

Vedarix was lost. And alone. Again.

 

 

Lonelier than ever, Vedarix sat down on the ground and wept. All the while he thought of was his family. His mother, his father before the technology obsession, and himself, being loved by both of his parents to no extent.

 

 

Suddenly, he felt a weight on his shoulder. Peeking at his shoulder, he saw a hand. A very familiar hand. Vedarix looked up and saw his father smiling at him.

 

 

His father mouthed something, but Vedarix couldn’t comprehend.

 

 

Trying to speak, Vedarix instead mouthed “What?” and suddenly covered his mouth with his hands.

 

 

I lost my voice! Is this why it’s faulty? Because there’s no audio input or output? Vedarix thought to himself.

 

 

A woman was walking up to Vedarix, she turned him around and started talking. Vedarix was confused for a second. Because he couldn’t hear anything the woman said, it took him awhile to remember who she was.

 

 

Oh lord... Mother?! Vedarix screamed of excitement in his head. He didn’t care about what she was probably saying, Vedarix just hugged her in the tightest hug he could give her. She warmly hugged back.

 

 

He kept smiling and grinning as his parents kept mouthing words at him. Vedarix didn’t care that he couldn’t hear them, he was just happy to be with his mother and his father. Together. As a whole family.

 

 

I am definitely keeping this, Vedarix thought to himself. He felt a sense of achievement for discovering this wonderful world. Sure his father bought him a 4-D video game simulator a few years ago, but that pales in comparison to this wonderland.

 

---

 

 

It’s been weeks. Every night, Vedarix would go to his father’s faulty inventions room, and enter his muted wonderland. It was like a drug, that he needed every night to keep him sane. Yet the weird thing was, that sometimes, the small things in his wonderland, would start appearing in the real world. It amused Vedarix, entertained him really. However, he had to be careful of his father. Other than Saturday, his father slept in the study room. It made it a bit harder for Vedarix to go to his muted world, but it was all worth it.

 

 

Every night, seeing his mother made him feel like the happiest person in the world. Sometimes, throughout the day, he would see home baked cookies fresh from the oven, made by his own mother. It took Vedarix a while to figure it out. But he didn’t remember holding the small device. He blinked for a while, surprised and somewhat amused. It felt like reality, but how could this be? With another blink of an eye, the sweet smell of the home baked cookies were gone. One by one they slowly disappeared, but by the time Vedarix reached out to grab the last cookie, it disappeared.

 

 

Vedarix had not known what had come over him. He was amazed and afraid at the same time. Was this the doing of one of his father’s invention? Had his father figured out that he had been floating off to his own world every night?

 

 

Vedarix had not one idea of what had happened, but he ignored it and went straight to his room thinking it was probably just nothing.

 

 

That night Vedarix got up and headed for his fathers room. But on the way something caught Vedarix’s eye. There was someone standing in the doorway of the kitchen right across from his father's bedroom. The body shape looked quite familiar.

 

 

Vedarix started to get afraid, who could have known we live here? No one lives near us for miles!  Vedarix walked closer, as he got near he started to recognize the face that stood in his house. It was his mother.

 

 

“Hello my son” she mouthed. She looked at Vedarix with twinkling eyes.

 

 

Vedarix’s eyes widened. “Mother! What are you doing here? Never mind that. How did you get here?!” He exclaimed. Suddenly, he ran to hug her. However, instead of hugging his mother, he hit the wall that was behind her. She was gone.

 

 

Stunned from the sudden hit to the head, Vedarix crumpled to the ground. Attempting to get up, Vedarix felt dizzy. He gripped onto a nearby table, and held on for dear life. The house was spinning, but over time the spinning slowed down, everything seemed normal again.

 

 

Vedarix went back to bed as he felt weak. He decided that he would go tomorrow.

 

 

The next night, his mother’s surprise appearance returned. This time, his mother was at the entrance door of his house. She motioned him over. As Vedarix approached her, she kept moving away, as if she wanted him to follow her. But he did as he was told and went after his mother. She led him into the forest, but Vedarix wasn’t afraid as he usually was, this time, he was with family.

 

 

When they stopped, it had been in front of a large tree. His mother motioned toward a small nest full of sparrow eggs on one of the branches of the tree. She proceeded making the X symbol, in indication of destroying it.

 

 

Vedarix did as he was instructed, in no understanding of why, he did as his mother had said for him to do. Vedarix climbed the tree, scraping his knee every time he dragged his legs up and held on tight. When he reached the branch the birds were on, he carefully got on the branch and sat there for a while. When he looked down his mother had given him an approving smile.

 

 

Vedarix reached for the nest, but as he did he lost balance. Before he knew it, Vedarix toppled over the edge of the branch and fell with a large THUMP.

 

 

Vedarix felt a sharp pain in his right arm. He got up to find his mother, but she was gone. How could she have done this!? He ran back the way that his mother had led him. With a throbbing pain in his arm, he entered the house.

 

 

Vedarix had to find out what was going on. He had to find his mother, he felt a great urge to go to his own world. He knew that right now, his father was working on his inventions. But it was as if he couldn’t control his legs. Vedarix could feel himself walking to his father’s door.

 

 

Maybe this is for the good. Maybe this was meant to happen.Vedarix thought to himself. He approached the door and stood in front of it for a while. He could see his father hunched over as always through the small creak of the door. He knew that maybe it was time for his father to know what he had been doing every day. He felt his hand rise up, he pushed the door open. His father didn’t seem to notice. He walked in, and made his way for the faulty inventions part of the room. He could feel the glare of his father as he walked by him.

 

 

Well at least he noticed me. Vedarix struggled to find the positive in what he was doing. He carefully picked it up and he also noticed his father look confused.

 

 

Didn’t know about this old man, now did you? A smirk came across Vedarix’s face, but in addition he felt a little bit of pain. How could he have called his father an old man?

 

 

He quickly walked to the bookshelf and placed the book in it’s correct spot. And as always the tiles began to move and Vedarix moved to the exact spot where the hole would stop expanding. He looked at his father. His father looked amazed and confused at the same time. His mouth opened to talk but nothing came out. He was left speechless, but he knew that if his son knew where and what the faulty inventions room was, he had been there more than one time.

 

 

Vedarix gave his father one last dirty look before he walked down the stairs. Dr.Sykes stood up and thought for a moment. He thought of what his son could have been interested in. What made him act this way? Dr.Sykes figured that Vedarix didn’t have much interest towards the small items, since he didn’t when he was a child. He thought that Vedarix would have sure gone for the time machine, but what could it do? It didn’t even work.

 

 

Dr.Sykes followed Vedarix down the steps, he hadn’t been down here for a few years now. He wasn’t even quite sure what he had stored in his basement of faulty inventions.  When he reached the bottom he saw Vedarix slowly walking along, going deeper into the long abandoned room.

 

 

Vedarix stopped at the shelf where he had put the small sphere object last. He reached for it, but it wasn’t there.

 

 

Huh? I could’ve sworn I put it here last time, Vedarix thought.

 

 

Dr.Sykes walked up to Vedarix, and rested his hand on Vedarix’s shoulder,“Son? What are you looking for?”

 

 

Where is that sphere? Vedarix thought.

 

 

Even though Vedarix was ignoring his father, Dr.Sykes remained calm “Son? Looking for something?”

 

 

Vedarix was about to explode. It has to be here!! Why isn’t it here? He kept thinking to himself. It drove him insane not knowing where that sphere was. It gave him a feeling.

 

 

It was the exact same feeling that he got when his mother left him. His blood boiled, his palms were sweaty. The heat increased tenfold. It was as hot as a desert. His throat itched from the dryness. His tongue as rough as sandpaper.

 

 

“Vedarix? What are you looking for? Answer me, son.”

 

 

Vedarix couldn’t take it anymore. He turned to face his father, and suddenly, the worst voice was produced by his vocal chords.

 

 

“What I’m looking for? I’m looking for my world. I’m looking for someone to finally care. Is there something wrong with looking for love? The love that I’d never gotten from you? MY OWN FATHER? Is there something wrong with trying to be noticed for once? Is it bad for someone to care?”

 

 

Dr.Sykes was taken aback at these words. After all these years, his son had started to show hatred towards him. Just as Dr.Sykes did to his own father many years ago.

 

 

Before Dr.Sykes could say anything more, Vedarix walked away.

 

 

Not another word was spoken.

 

 

What just happened? I didn’t even want to talk to my father, nor did I... Vedarix thought about it for a minute. He thought about how the voice he heard sounded rustic, old, and weak. As if someone, or something, after many years, finally got a chance to speak. He was 100% sure that his own voice wasn’t as unfamiliar as it was.

 

 

Vedarix’s head started throbbing, the rustic voice returned, “Who needs him when you have me?”    

 

 

Unsure about the source of the sound, Vedarix turned around, and saw no one

 

 

He was alone.

 

 

“No, you’re not alone, you have me here. Inside your mind, with you until the end, unlike your father.”

 

 

What are you? Why are inside my head? Where did you come from? Vedarix kept thinking.

 

 

“Just know that I will always be here with you. Always.”  

 

 

Vedarix was starting to get afraid but he also had a feeling of relief. He now knew that someone was there for him. He knew the voice was right.

 

 

Dr.Sykes rushed up the stairs after his son, he seemed relieved that his son was okay. Vedarix was standing there taking the book off the shelf, he took it off just as Dr.Sykes reached the surface.

 

 

He dashed over to Vedarix, grabbed his shoulders, and spun him around.

 

 

“Vedarix! Son! Your own world? Please don’t tell me that you’ve been playing with the imagination simulator.”

 

 

Without thinking about what his father had said, the rustic voice returned and responded for Vedarix.

 

 

“Yes I have, problem?”  Vedarix decided that was the right thing to say. Though he wondered why his father had cared?

 

 

“Son, the section that you took that out of was the ‘Mind Games’ section. Those devices will tamper with your mind, and soon horribly damage it! My father had made that, as he had missed his mother.” Dr.Sykes looked down, he said this with the deep voice of guilt.

 

 

“You never cared about me, what happened now? For all there years I’ve lived alone in my own world, the only reason I had to ever go in that room was because you weren't there for me. I have lived without a father so many years, I have no expectation of gaining one now,” Vedarix was raising his voice. It rose as fast as the blood rushing to his head out of anger.

 

 

Dr.Sykes tried to remain calm, and began explaining, “Son, I know it may have seemed as if I didn’t care, or I just didn’t want you. But I was trying to make our lives better. Without your mother, I just blanked out. When my dad’s mother had died, he sat there for days, months even. I didn’t want you to go through that. Living while your... father was never paying attention.” Dr.Sykes looked at his son, realizing that Vedarix probably didn’t accept that response. That by trying to make something not happen, it was exactly what did happen. Dr.Sykes realized that he ruined his son’s life, just as his father had done with his.

 

 

“I wish you had cared. Maybe things would be different. Maybe you wouldn’t have pushed me away from you. Maybe I could have lived a happy life.” Vedarix felt a tear run down his cheek. Making an icy line down his face, boiling hot from anger. But this was the time to stand up to his coward father, who thought everything was gone just because his wife died.

 

 

Placing the faulty inventions book back in it’s spot on the shelf he started moving toward his father. Staring at him with an evil eye and walking forward causing him to walk backward, yes, this was the perfect plan. Vedarix carefully slipped the book back into it’s place, making sure his father didn’t notice. The large hole started expanding.

 

 

“Well my dear father, this planet wasn’t made for the weak was it? It was made for the strong and those who can fulfill their duties for Earth. Maybe one less feeble will do a favor for this world.” A smirk came across Vedarix’s face. He slowly kept walking forward. His plan was working, soon this father would be gone forever.

 

 

Vedarix took one last step towards his father. His father took one last step back, right before he fell down the steps to the faulty inventions room.

 

 

Vedarix ran towards the bookshelf, he quickly yanked the book out of it’s place, knocking down several other books that were around it.

 

 

He heard moaning under his feet. His father sounded hurt, that was perfect. Though he did wonder what his father was trying to tell him.      

 

 

“Oh forget him, he’s useless. You have me now. Go,” the rustic voice was in Vedarix’s head once again. The moment it said “go,” Vedarix’s feet started moving. He walked out of the study room. Out of the house.

 

 

He kept walking. Walking into oblivion. Unaware of what technology was doing to him.