“Did you ever ask Zane about it?” I asked.
“Sure. Zane said he was at the store to check out the new stock and just happened to run into Kalen. I guess it could have happened that way. I didn’t think a whole lot about it until both friends went missing.”
“What about Trevor?” I asked. “Have you ever seen him at the comic book and video game store?”
“Sure, all the time. Trevor is a geeky kid, and like a lot of geeky kids, he’s totally into fantasy and role-playing.”
“Role-playing?” I asked.
“There are a few games out there. Dungeons and Dragons is a board game that has been around for a long time. Everyone who is into role-playing has played, but there are other board games as well. In addition to the role-playing board games, there are multiplayer video games that are even more popular at the moment.”
“Was Zane involved in any of these games?” I asked.
“Sure. We both are. Kalen and Trevor too. Role-playing games are huge, but I guess you know that.”
“Can you think of a game that utilizes catchphrases such as personal power and one life?” I asked.
He frowned. “Not specifically, although personal power makes me think of being strong and fearless, which is the key to winning most of the games.”
Artie took a few minutes to describe the setup of a few of the games he and Zane had been involved in recently. None of them sounded like the sort of thing that might cause a major shift in behavior, but they all allowed the player to step out of their lives and be someone else. Someone, I realized, in control of their destiny in a way that an average fifteen-year-old boy might not be. Especially a fifteen-year-old boy with life issues being played out within the family dynamic.
“Had Zane been spending more time playing video games lately than he previously did?” Jemma asked.
Artie nodded. “He’s canceled plans with me in favor of just staying home and playing games, so I suspect he got hooked on something. I like playing, but video games aren’t the most important thing to me. I’d rather go out and hang with friends. Zane used to be more like me, but I will admit that lately, he seemed to really be into the whole online thing.”
Artie had plans to meet up with friends, so Jemma and I thanked him and then headed toward the comic book and video game store. When we arrived, the place was packed, but school had just let out, so we decided to go and have lunch and then come back in the hope that some of the after-school crowd would have cleared out by then.
“You know, the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that a role-playing game might be the key we’re looking for,” Jemma said as we nibbled on seafood salads and freshly baked bread. “I’ve participated in a number of online games and have to admit that they can be very addicting. Not only is it hard to stop once you start, but the more invested you become in your character, the stronger the reality of that character becomes in your mind.”
“So, do you think that Zane, Kalen, and Trevor might have been playing the same game?” I asked.
“I think it’s possible. Since you play the game as a character and not as yourself, it opens the door for participants to engage in dialogue as well as quests with people they might not hang out with in another situation. Zane is a popular jock and Trevor is a nerdy science geek, so they don’t really hang out at school, but if Zane’s character and Trevor’s character are allies during the game, then it’s totally possible that the two boys might feel a bond of sorts even if it is a bond that exists primarily within the game.”
“Okay,” I said. “I think the online multiplayer game idea is one worth checking out. I can see how a game that somehow fulfills the needs of a fifteen-year-old boy having a hard time at home or at school might become addicting to the point of providing a brainwashing effect of sorts.”
“Exactly. It sounds like all three boys found themselves in situations where they are suffering from a lack of control in their own lives. Zane’s sister, who had been a buffer of sorts between Zane and their father, went off to college, leaving Zane to deal with the rigid and controlling man on his own. It sounds like Kalen was closer to his father than he was to his mother, and it created a void in his life when his father left. And Trevor seems to be struggling with the challenge of balancing his intellect with new social needs that might be rising to the surface as he matures. I can see where a game which allows all three boys to be in total control of their lives might prove to be addicting.”
“Of course, even if we can prove this theory, and even if we can find the specific game where the term one life is utilized, we’ll still need to figure out how the game led to the disappearance of three of the players and where they might be now.”
Jemma and I agreed that our theory, even if it turned out to be correct, was only a start if we actually wanted to find the boys, which we did; but a start was the first step in any successful investigation, so we finished our lunch and headed toward the comic book and video game store.
“Can I help you?” a tall skinny man who looked to be in his late
