“Come on, man.
Its just a game.
So whats the deal?”
God & Man
By
Updated 1 year ago,January 16, 2024
Trigger Warning: The following story is very disturbing.
You know the kind of girl Im talking about.
She looks like life chewed her up and spit her back out.
you’re free to see it in her eyes if you could even see her eyes.
Her loose, tangled hair covers most of her face, and shes always staring at her feet.
you might see it in her hunched shoulders, hear it in her mumbling voice.
Ive said hello to her a few times she always flinches when I talk to her.
I asked her name once, but she said it didnt matter.
What am I supposed to say when I see you?
You dont need to.
Well my name is
But she just kept walking.
I chimed as the door opened to let her in.
I couldnt be sure under the hair, but I think she almost smiled.
Bye somebody, she murmured, disappearing into the doorway.
He nodded sharply at me like a fighter paying insincere respect to his opponent, slamming the door.
I liked watching Nobody from my balcony when she was parking her car.
I wish I could see it too.
A stupid joke, but it always made me smile.
She couldnt have been happy, but I suppose it wasnt any of my business.
That resolution lasted for about two months, but it ended last night.
It was after dark and I was getting home late when I spotted Nobody pressed up against my building.
I honked my car horn at them, and one looked over his shoulder.
I got to go, I heard her say.
Somebody is waiting for me.
Fat-face turned to walk over to my car.
Cool it, asshole, he shouted.
This target only has 11 points left anyway.
Get your own damn girl.
I rolled down my window.
Whats that supposed to mean?
You new or something?
he asked, fishing out his phone.
He showed me the screen which depicted a GPS map of my neighborhood.
Scattered throughout were little targets, each with a name and a life-bar like a video game character has.
The target against my building was named Cillia with 11/100 life remaining.
I dont know what the fuck that is, but Im not playing, I told him.
More like a guffaw really deep and guttural without the slightest hint of mirth.
Youre after that piece of shit and youre not even getting points?
Hey Mark he actually wants this bitch.
The other guy presumably Mark still had the girl against the wall.
He made a half-lunge at her as she wriggled free, but it was just to scare her.
Dont waste your time.
Somebody already broke her.
Fat-face slammed my car with the palm of his hand as he turned to leave.
Lets go, Mark.
Theres two more of them on this street.
I was so relieved to see them go that I didnt have a go at ask more questions.
Nobody had a name.
And something was tracking her location and broadcasting it out to these creeps.
It didnt feel like I was meddling in someone elses business anymore.
I couldnt just play dumb and let her sort this out for herself.
A few minutes later and I was hammering on my neighbors apartment.
Hey Jeff, you in there?
Bug off, came the muffled reply.
Its about the game youre playing with Cillia.
Loud shuffling like someone crossing the room in a hurry and the door opened a moment later.
He was wearing nothing but his boxers and his beanie, skinny body blocking the door.
Yeah, what about the game?
I hesitated, unsure what to say next.
He must have misread my silence because his face became animated and hopeful.
Hey did I win the prize or something?
Jeff threw the door open to welcome me in, practically dancing with excitement.
Holy shit I knew it!
Ive been on the leader-board for weeks it was only a matter of time.
Seriously competitive shit, you know?
Ive got everything ready for you, come on in.
He rushed to a cabinet under the sink and began hauling out cardboard boxes.
How many points are you at now?
723, without hesitation.
19 separate targets, although Ive been getting most of the points from Cillia, as you know.
He plopped two cardboard boxes on the coffee table beside me, flaying them open for inspection.
The greasy smell of stale sex was nauseating.
This ones got all the condoms in it, he said.
Hundreds of them all used neatly tied off into little balloons.
Then this one has all the recordings.
723 is a lot, I said, pretending to be impressed.
Tell me how you were keeping score.
He looked suspicious for a moment, but it passed.
Its legit, I swear.
I used the Break Her rulebook and everything.
10 points for humiliating her.
15 points for taking a personal item or making a big decision for her.
25 for unwanted sex or something physical.
Whats the prize going to be?
Hold on a minute, I got to ask all the questions first.
Standard procedure, you know.
How come you never told me you worked for Break Her?
You must have known that I played, Jeff asked.
Again the suspicion, this time lingering on his face.
I shrugged, making notes on my phone as though I was dutifully recording his answers.
What do you think the purpose of the game was?
And how did you get into it?
You just got to break her.
I started playing when my buddy got dumped by his ex.
I typed as he talked.
My fingers were literally shaking.
Did you ever love her?
It wasnt a pleasant sound.
A pause, then: Oh, are you serious?
Come on, man.
Its just a game.
So whats the deal?
Am I getting the prize today or not?
I didnt look up from my phone.
I was so disgusted that I couldnt even look at him.
The silence was excruciating.
Silence again, as both of us digested what I said.
My cover was blown.
You lying piece of shit, he grunted, protectively ripping his boxes away from me.
You trying to steal my points or something?
He was on me before I even realized what was happening.
Bony arms wrapped around me, the momentum flinging me to the ground.
He got a good hit to my jaw before I flipped him on his back.
I was bigger and stronger than him, but he twisted under me like a feral animal.
You dont know how much work I put into that bitch!
I punched him to shut him up.
He spit blood at me, and I hit him again.
Next, I knew my hands were so soaked in blood that it ran between my knuckles like rivers.
And I was okay with that.
Jeffs phone beeped where it lay on the ground.
Somehow the weight of what Id just done didnt hit until I heard it.
It beeped again, and I lifted it to see what was going on.
It was a notification from Break Her.
I opened the app, and saw a short questionnaire.
Humiliation, abuse, control a daily checklist for him to go through to get his points.
What the hell did I get myself involved in?
At the bottom of the form, it asked: Did you see her smile today?
Numb and overwhelmed, I clickedyes.Immediately Cillias life-bar jumped a point, up to 12/100.
Well, thats some difference at least.
Not much, but its a start.
