Dead Warrants

Dead Warrants

     “Come on, dad. We’re going to be late. They are going to start selling Death Warriors any second now.” Amanda was dragging her father down the street.

     Keith kept stumbling along as his daughter dragged him by the hand. “The video store isn’t about to open. We have plenty of time to get there.”

     “They are opening the store two hours early today because of the demand for this video game.” Amanda rounded a corner. And suddenly stopped. Keith almost ran her over plowing into her.

     Standing at the end of that street stood a line of people. Amanda could only see about twenty of them – with a hint of another one before and after those twenty. After letting go of her father’s hand she ran to the other end of that street. “Thanks a lot dad. We’re too late to get it.”

     Keith was panting out of breath when he caught up to Amanda. “What did you say, baby?”

     Amanda looked up one direction then down the other. Standing in line where so many people Amanda couldn’t see where that line ended. She practically snapped her neck glancing up and down those streets several times. “There must be at least a million people here.”

     “There isn’t that many, baby.” Still having trouble breathing Keith had his hands on his knees. He straightened up. And his eyes bulged out of his head as he looked and the line too. “It’s not that bad, baby. I’d say at the most there are about two hundred people here.”

     “I’m never going to get a copy of Death Warriors. They are going to be sold out by the time I get there. That’s why I wanted to spend the night here. So that I could be one of the first ones here today.”

     “You’re ten. That’s way too young for you to be spending the night on the streets.”

     Amanda looked angry. “I’m twelve. Not ten.”

     “Really! I thought you were ten. That explains the twelve candles on your last birthday cake. And why you thought your party was a kid’s party.”

     Neither spoke for several minutes. They just kept staring up and down that line – in opposite directions. “It’s not just the sleeping her overnight. I still would have been among the first ones if I didn’t have to wait for you to get off work. I thought you were the boss. Why did you have to work on Saturday anyway?”

     “I’m sorry, baby. I had a business call that I had to take. It ended as quickly as I could. We did save some time by meeting here instead of at home.”

     “Stop calling me baby. I’m not a baby anymore. I haven’t been one in years.”

     “You are always going to be my baby. Why did you mother have to go out of town on business this week of all weeks?”

     “I was wondering the same thing while looking at this finally moving line. She would have gotten me here in plenty of time to get my copy because she loves me more than you do.”

     Amanda was practically screaming. “You need to calm down. Everyone is looking at you.”

     “They’re not looking at me. They are laughing at me.”

     “Let’s just get in line. If they do run out of Dead Warrants I’ll find you a copy even if I have to search the world for one.”

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     Amanda and Keith stood in line for four hours. It slowly moved it way up to the front. In fact, Amanda was the next one to get her copy – when a clerk came out to announce they were out of them. The look on her face wasn’t anger. It was sadness.

     All the way home Amanda didn’t say a word. When they got there she went right to her room. Amanda didn’t even eat dinner that night. After dinner Keith went out – to get some cigarettes. “Good, that means you are abandoning us. That’s how it goes when someone goes out for cigarettes in movies and television shows.”
It started looking like Amanda was right about her cigarette comment. Keith was gone almost six hours before he came back – with a copy of Death Warriors. Amanda wouldn’t even let him into her room. “I guess you don’t want this video game I got you?” Keith shouted through the door.

     A second later the door open. “What lame game did you get me?” When she saw it she screamed. She started kissing him and hugging him. Amanda also said, “Thank you,” over and over again to him.

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     About a week later Amanda was playing her new video game – when it suddenly happened. One second she was yelling and screaming at what was going on within the game. The next silence. A few minutes later Keith came running into the room. Amanda wasn’t there anymore.

     “Have you been watching the news. Of course, you haven’t. You’re ten. I mean twelve.”

     After a few seconds he continued. “There’s something wrong with the Dead Warrants game. They are recalling them all. A lot of kids have turned up missing. Running away everyone thinks. I know you are going to be mad at me again. But we have to take that video game back right now.”

     As he spoke Keith was looking around the room. First with his head. Then he physically started looking. He looked under her bed, in the closet and even her bathroom – after knocking. “Amanda, where are you?”

     Keith passed that video monitor several times while looking for Amanda. If only he had looked at it – he would have found her. she was just beyond the glass. Amanda was yelling and screaming at him as she pounded on the glass from within that video game.