Do you Like Playing Chess?

Do you like playing Chess?

Do you like playing chess? Yes, of course I do, it is one of my favorite games. You have to think before you move a piece, think ahead and plan your next move. But this has changed though as I have been through a hell due to this game!

What? A game of chess can’t possibly be bad, now can it? That is what I thought to until I saw a frightening story on the internet two weeks ago. It still sends the shivers up my spine as I am thinking about it. Lying awake at night and I cannot sleep at all.

Even now it still goes through my head like a runaway train. How could it happen?

Okay… Let me start at the beginning of what had happened in the story. It is quite freaky and I am still afraid it might happen to anyone else. Really, the game chess is so beautiful but after the story I saw online and read through, I have my doubts now about chess.

The story is about a man named Jake. Unfortunately I could not remember where he was exactly from, but it was somewhere from the United States. He liked playing chess and even was a great player. His story was posted online and he told that he read a story online to, before it happened to him as well. It starts all with an innocent looking game.

At first Jake was browsing the internet and searching for sites to play chess on. He came across sites like chess.com or gameknot.com and chessgames.com. It was all fun and games and he started playing on the sites. Nothing really happened, although he had some very interesting chess matches against other players.

Sometimes he lost, mostly he won though and sometimes it ended in a draw. Nonetheless, he was enjoying the games. But it always was just fun and games, until he saw an innocent looking popup appearing on the site. Just wanting to click it away, trying to get rid of it, but it would not go away. Annoyed as Jake was, he then closed the browser, or tried to.

Poof, the popup instead went full screen and engulfed his entire monitor. Before it could do damage to his computer, he shut it down and restarted it. Afterwards he scanned the computer and it was all clean. So, a bit annoyed as he was, restarted the browser.

“What the…” was his first reaction as he saw the same popup again, full screen.

Immediately he shutdown the computer, restarted and scanned it. This time though he ran task manager and checked for suspicious processes. Nothing found out of the ordinary. He wanted to return to the online chess games, he just was too tired of it all.

The whole popup thing was just too much for him and he shutdown the computer. He only wanted to do other things, like watching the television. One of his favorite game shows was on, namely the Wheel of Fortune. He liked solving the puzzles as it kept his mind sharp and focused. Also watching series like Twilight, one of the series he liked very much.

When he wanted to go to the television, all of the sudden the computer restarted it. Shocked he watched as the Windows operating system popped up again and everything went through the startup ritual. Then on his computer, on his desktop to his shock he saw the popup.

Startled he looked at it and said: “What is going on here?”

Unbelievable was what he saw. On the desktop was that same text as in the popup. It was black with white letters, like normal chess pieces were white and black. In white letters against a black background he read the sentence: “Do you like playing chess?”

Underneath there were two options. He could answer with “yes” or “no.” Of course he liked playing chess and he clicked on “yes” in the desktop. Before he knew it, an internet page opened up and it went to a site called bajoscar.com. He had never heard of it before.

Then he heard a laughter, that of some clown in the background. The website was just a black background and in white letters a sentence appeared. Slowly but steadily he could read what it said. “Welcome to the chess game of your life,” was spelled in white letters.

Very shortly after the letters turned to red and it looked like blood was dripping from them. He was shocked to see the site and wanted to close it, until he was greeted by an opponent. It was a normal sounding man simply called Mr.

“Hello there, you will play with white,” said the man. “It’s your move.”

Unexpectedly the site was now like a normal online chessboard. Confused as he was to see this, he thought it was probably some kind of online promotion tool. Maybe a way to make this new site known to the public as an online chess site?

Calmly Jake set down again and made the first move.

After that Mr. went and again Jake. For the first moves it appeared to be a normal chess game and Jake had to admit he enjoyed playing against this new opponent. Every move he made showed he knew a lot about chess. No longer had Jake felt threatened by the popup.

No, he started playing the game along. Time passed as they both made their move. That was until the midgame. A question popped up again. “Do you like playing chess?”

Only the option “yes” was available to click on. Strangely that this happened, but it was fine until Jake made his move. All off the sudden the site crashed and the computer got a blue screen of death. It restarted moments afterwards.

But when everything was booted up again, Jake saw his desktop. Completely in shock at what he saw, he stood up and stepped back from his computer. He wanted to scream, but he couldn’t as the shock was too severe as what he saw written.

In bloody font letters was written: “Welcome to the game of your life.”

Wildly shaking his head and in shock, he stepped backwards. It was the same as in the story he read earlier, warning what had happened after that popup. Impossible it seemed to be, but it happened to him and he was completely baffled by it.

After the shock he pulled the internet cable from the computer and tried to do something, but the computer shutdown completely on its own accord. Before the screen went completely black, there was one sentence Jake could make out. “My move” it said.

When he tried to restart the computer, it wouldn’t do anything. The whole machine was completely destroyed and nothing could bring it back online again. Too much shock though for Jake and he went to bed early, so he could bring the computer to the store next morning for repairs. It was better not to dwell on that chess game was what Jake thought.

In the night Jake couldn’t sleep at all. His thoughts kept dwelling back to the story he read and to the things that happened to the author. In the story the author clicked on the “no” option when the popup appeared. This didn’t help the author at all.

No, instead he got the message: “I know where you are and I am coming for you.”

Shortly afterwards the computer of the author had crashed to and could not start up in anyway. After a week in that story the author went missing. Completely vanished from the bottom of the earth without anyone knowing what happened to him.

The author was a fit man in mid thirties and could vent of any vicious attack on him. Yet he went missing, while all his stuff was still in his home. His car, bike and all his money were accounted for. Yet the man self was gone for months now.

As much as Jake tried to comfort himself with the thought that the story was posted online a few years ago, he couldn’t help to think about the author. What had happened to him? Why didn’t the police find any trace of foul play in his home?

Or could the author be behind it all? That this was his sick and twisted game of making the story drag on and getting attention for himself? All kinds of questions spooked through Jake’s head but no answer to them. No, it had to be a stupid game, it had to be!

He couldn’t sleep the whole night and in the middle of the night decided to get up. He went to the bathroom to drink a glass of water. Just as he got up from his bed, he heard his phone ring. Weird was that, as he thought he had turned it off before going to bed.

It could be an emergency in the family, so he decided to check it out. Back to the night stand where the phone was. He opened up the loading screen and there his shock was again realized. In blood font written was the sentence: “You haven’t forgotten our game, have you?”

Immediately he dropped the phone and was in complete shock. Faint laughter sounded in the background and slowly but steadily became louder.

Jake decided enough was enough. He picked up the phone. “Listen, you sick bastard!” was what Jake yelled into the phone. “You’re stupid mind games won’t work on me!”

“I will make my move,” was the reply on the other end of the phone.

A real, calm man’s voice that just said that and hung up. No more laughter or anything, he just hang up.

This time though Jake decided to call him back so he could give him a piece of his mind. As soon as he heard that the phone was picked up, he said what he wanted to say to the person on the other end of the line. “You won’t intimidate me with this stupid shit!” was what Jake said. “I will call the police and they will find you and arrest you!”

“Sorry Jake, but the game ends when I want it to end,” was the reply.

“No, the game ends right now, you understand?!”

“The game is still on and it is my move,” said the man in a very calmly way.

Before Jake could reply, he hung up. But again Jake dialed the number, but only this time to be greeted with a peeping tone and a robotic voice saying that the number didn’t exist. A few more attempts were done by Jake, but to no result.

Mad as he was, he decided to go back to the living room and watch some television. His anger made it impossible to get some sleep. Maybe he could doze off in front of the television. He went downstairs and took his phone along with him.

When downstairs, he put the phone on the table and turned it off. Afterwards got the remote, sat down on the couch and got comfortable. He pressed the remote and browsed through the channels. Mostly were either midnight shopping commercials or reruns of shows from last night. It didn’t matter what he watched, he just wanted to calm down.

He put the channel on reruns of a show and just watched. Slowly but steadily, after an hour and a half he dozed off. The television was still on as he fell asleep. It was not the most comfortable way to get a good night sleep, but at least he could sleep.

Around eight o clock he woke up and stretched himself. Made his breakfast, mainly a few sandwiches and a baked egg. He was completely calm again after midnight. Perhaps the author of the story was not so amused by Jake showing he was not afraid and that the author gave up.

First he ate his breakfast, made coffee afterwards and drank it. Washed himself, shaved and then got dressed to take the computer to the store. Already to go but again his mobile phone rang. It was weird as he didn’t remember turning the phone on.

He looked at it and saw that it was again the same caller as last night. This time he saw it said Mr., the same opponent as in his chess game before his computer completely crashed. With a lot of hesitation he picked up and listened. Shaking from fear as he didn’t know what to expect, nor to what Mr. mend by that it was his move from last night.

“I took your Queen’s pawn on D four,” was what Mr. said in a chilling but calm way.

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Jake replied.

“You will soon find out, Jake,” Mr. said and then again hung up.

Confused by this, Jake decided that enough was enough. Maybe the police could do something about it. Or he could first change his number. In the computer store the employees knew also how to change numbers.

They would surely help Jake out with this request also. He stood up to go, but then again the phone rang. If it was Mr. then Jake would this time say a lot more than he would as he was getting very frustrated by all this. But instead of Mr. it was his father calling.

Relieved as Jake was, he picked up and greeted his dad. “Son, your sister!...” shouted his father in panic. “Her house was burned to the ground down!”

“Dad, calm down,” Jake replied. “Is she… Is she?”

“Yes, she is okay, son,” was the reply. “But her house burned down all of the sudden.”

“How?” asked Jake. “How could that happen, dad?”

“Till now there has been no conclusion of what started the fire,” replied his father. “But one of the firemen found a white pawn at the ruins of the house.”

“A white?...” but Jake couldn’t finish his sentence as the shock was too much for him.

Mr. told he took the Queen’s pawn and there was a white pawn found at the ruins of the house. Impossible, was what Jake thought. Still it happened and his sister had no chess pieces at her house. This couldn’t be, or could it?

Enough was enough, was the first thing that popped in Jake’s head. “Dad, tell the police that I have more information,” was what Jake said to his dad. “I must give them the information I have. First I have to go to the store and afterwards I’ll meet up with you, mum and my sister.”

“Son, what do you mean?” asked his dead and didn’t understand it at all.

“Just do what I say, dad, please,” was the answer of Jake.

“Okay, son, I’ll do that,” and after that his father hung up the phone.

This time Jake was no longer frustrated, he was straight out mad at Mr. For this was more than a sick joke. Burning down a house was not a move in chess, but it was what perhaps a pyromaniac would do just to see it burn and to enjoy it.

Was Mr. a pyromaniac who loved chess and fire so much that he decided to combine both in a sick, twisted game? No, Jake didn’t want to think about it anymore. Enough was enough for him. The burning of his sister’s house was an attack on his own family, which mend war.

It was a short drive for Jake to the store. Notifying the employee behind the counter, telling about the strange popup and how the computer got destroyed by it. The employee dismissed it as malware that destroyed his computer, but Jake told more about what happened.

How his phone received the same popup and the call from one person called Mr. When the employee heard it all, she was quite surprised about it and didn’t know what to say. But she helped him to get a new number, a secret phone number.

“Thank you, this should solve the problem with that Mr.,” said Jake. “I must go now, it is an emergency in the family. I will come back for my PC later.”

Immediately he left the store, started the car and drove to where his sister used to live. The police – notified by his father – were waiting for him. No time was wasted in getting the statement from Jake and he told the officers everything that had happened.

About the popup, about the computer that crashed, about Mr. and the chess game. Also that the game was a chess game of his lifetime or so, but Jake dismissed it as a cruel and sick attempt from Mr. When the officer heard about Mr., he looked at Jake with his jar open and with big eyes. Flabbergasted as the officer was, he didn’t know how to respond.

The other colleague in the room had to take over. It was if his partner had heard about a ghost and didn’t dare to speak anymore. “Mr. you say? We have many cases about him and his games,” is what the officer told to Jake. “This individual is very dangerous and we are going to take you and your family in protective custody.”

“What, why?” asked Jake to the officer. “How dangerous is this Mr.?”

“Very dangerous,” answered the officer. “Has he called you?”

“Yes, that is what I told you,” was what Jake replied.

The officers looked at him and asked if he still had his phone with him. He remembered he had it with him and gave it to the police. They browsed through the caller history and found that there was one strange number. It was unbelievable for them to see the number.

Both of them knew that this number was the same as in their own file about Mr. Very fast it was confirmed as the number consisted of a zero and then a six. Strangely after that there followed eight digits and all of them were sixes as well.

This was the number that Mr. used to call Jake and other victims of his game. When the phone rang, Jake didn’t want to answer it. For the officers it was clear that they had to track down the number. Normally they couldn’t get a chance like this, so this time they let the phone ring until the equipment was setup to track down the number.

Again the phone rang several times. When the officers gave the sign, Jake had to pick it up and pretend that he wasn’t with the police. Carefully he answered and waited what Mr. had to say. He felt his own heart throbbing in his throat.

It was hard to keep calm as his nerves were getting to him. He started to sweat as he didn’t hear anything on the other side. It was silent for a little while, until a soft laughter sounded, as of someone laughed at him and enjoyed him being scared.

Although it was silent again on the other side of the line, the officers had luck in tracking down this number. They had the location and Jake was able to hang up. Strangely though he didn’t hang up.

“Check,” was what he said to Mr. and after that he hung up.

With a big relieve he sat down on his chair. Soon, he thought, it will be over. Mr. will be caught and he or she will pay for the crimes that were committed. This person would finally be behind bars and everything would be returning to normal.

While Jake gave his statement and was completely honest, it was after a half hour he could return home. First he went to his parents and his sister, to checkup on them. Fortunately they were safe and sound. Afterwards he drove back to the store.

The employee said the computer was repaired and a whole new hard drive was put on it, plus a whole, updated Windows version. The latest software was installed plus there free anti-virus software. That way the popup should not be coming back.

Also he got a new number and felt safe again. No moment was spend when he got out of the store. Returning home would be possible, but he didn’t know if that would be wise. Not until he had certainty that Mr. was caught and behind bars.

With a deep sigh, he decided to drive back to his parents. There he stayed for the night and got some goodnight sleep. At least he was together with his family again.

Next morning, after a goodnight sleep, he received a phone call from the police. Good news as they had a suspect in custody. Thrilled about this good news, Jake told his parents and his sister. He explained everything that happened to him.

“Glad that this is finally over,” was what his sister said. “I lost my house, but I have to glad that I am still alive. If I was asleep then, I wouldn’t be here.”

“True, but I want to see what this Mr. looks like and what he or she is all about,” was what Jake said. “Maybe I can get some answers from his interrogation.”

Saying goodbye to his parents and sister, as he went to the police station. Finally he would see whom it was that did all the horrible things. From what was told to him by the officers, Mr. was capable of more than putting things on fire. His game was truly a dangerous game, but it seemed that finally this game had come to an end.

As soon as Jake arrived at the police station, the officers at first didn’t want him to see the one called Mr. Yet after keeping on insisting, it was clear that he needed this for his own personal closure. He went to see the suspect in custody.

From behind a class mirror he was able to see the suspect, but the suspect couldn’t see him though. The one person sitting there was a deranged man, unshaven and with grey hair. His hair was all filthy and he wore an orange blouse with orange pants.

But his face… Jake looked closer and remembered the pictures from the author of the story about Mr. on the internet. The person in the room was a frightened and frail man whom didn’t say much, except he whispered one sentence over and over.

At first the officers couldn’t hear him. When Jake looked closer and saw the facial expression of this man, he couldn’t believe it. The person in the room was the author of the story! This made Jake so furious, that he wanted to bust in the door and demand the man to tell why he did all this. Why this game and why the burning of his sister’s house!

For short it was that the man whispered, until he looked to his right. Directly into the eyes of Jake, who was shocked to see the man in custody staring at him. His unshaven, dirty skin and his eyes filled with madness in them. The way he stared at Jake was unsettling.

This was not the man anymore from the story online, whom was fit and mid thirties. No, this man was a deranged figure from his former self. He started to laugh maniacal, got up and ran to the glass. Before the officers could restrain him, he jumped at the glass and stared directly into the eyes of Jake. It was as of this man could see Jake standing there, being afraid.

“I am a pawn!” he shouted and a black pawn fell out of his clothes. “I am a pawn!”

Although the officers could restrain him afterwards, they couldn’t foresee what happened next. As the man started laughing like a deranged mad man, he started to choke. Bubbles formed from his mouth as if he had rabies. His muscles started to contort in uncontrollable ways and he still laughed, while e died there in the room.

Despite the medical staff coming in fast, there was nothing that they could do for the suspect anymore. Nothing could save him and again Jake was left with a feeling of dread and fear, as he still remembered what the man shouted. All his hopeful feelings sank away as he started to realize what just happened. There was no way he wanted to believe it though.

Around him were officers that saw it happening and were shocked to the core. A man in their custody just died in a weird and mysterious way. For Jake there was nothing more to do then to go into protective custody. His family and his friends also.

No time was spared to put up this program, as it was clear that Mr. was too dangerous. Special agents were put on the case to track down Mr. and put a stop to him. Every effort had to be put into this, but it was clear that Mr. was real good at hiding.

As days past, Jake and his family got a new identity, a whole new place to live and a new house. Away from their old lives that they were so used to. This was for the best and they had to leave everything behind, except a few items that they could bring.

The old phone that Jake had, had to be given to one of the special agents. He got a new one, also did his whole family. There were computers in their new apartments, but they were secured by the special agency that took them in protective custody.

Finally Jake started to feel safe again and started to enjoy his new life. It was finally looking better for him and his family. Mr. could not harm him, was what he thought. A week or two had past and on an evening Jake received a phone call. Perhaps it was his mother or father that wanted to talk to him or his sister calling to say hi.

With delight he looked at the phone, but he saw that the number calling was one he almost had forgotten about. Zero, six and followed by eight sixes. The number that spooked him so long ago. Everything started to come back to him.

No way would he answer the phone anymore. The Jake that Mr. had played with was long gone and would not return. Just shutting down the phone was what he did. After that he put it away in a drawer. Strangely though it started to ring again and again. Over and over, even after several minutes of Jake ignoring the incoming call.

Then the familiar calm voice of Mr. could be heard. “Very well done, Jake,” was what Mr. said and he applauded Jake. “I had to sacrifice one of my pawns to prevent checkmate. Although for me the danger has past, I am afraid that for you it hasn’t.”

Jake stood there in the room, could not move. Again he was called by the same person from his nightmarish game. “Okay, I’ll tell you that I am a male and speak in my genuine voice,” was what Mr. said. “No one has been such a great opponent as you are.”

This time Jake decided that enough was enough. Without hesitating any further, he went to the drawer and wanted to get the phone to take the battery out of it. Only to his surprise as he got the phone out, he saw that it was still completely shutdown.

“Dear Jake, my opponent. I am everywhere and I am nowhere.”

Jake’s heart started to throb in his throat and he started to shake his head violently. This had to be a nightmare and he had to wake up. It was all just a bad dream.

“Ha, had you there, didn’t I?” was what Mr. asked to Jake. “I am somewhere, but I am not to be found though. Wanted to see your reaction as I bluffed about being everywhere and nowhere. Love to see your face when you are in complete shock.”

Loud and maniacal laughter was to be heard from Mr. He enjoyed himself as he saw the look on Jake’s face. The mere shock of his opponent. “Still, I do respect you, Jake.”

“You have won!” was what Jake yelled back to Mr. “I give up on this game! You are a much, much better opponent than me and I have to admit that and be an adult about it!”

This time Mr. started to laugh softly, after he went silent. Even when Jake looked around him, he could not find any hidden camera. Nothing was there that would indicate that he was being watched. It had to be a bluff, was what Jake thought.

But then he realized that it could not be, as Mr. should not have been able to know where he was. Again he denied it, but the truth was clear. Shortly after Jake had a revelation about Mr. and he knew what to do. First he got out of his home, without speaking.

“Jake, oh Jake,” was what Mr. said. “Do you think you can unmask me that simply?”

For a short time there was a silence. When Jake got out of his new apartment and into his car, the car radio jumped on. “I am not one of the special agents and don’t think I am close to you,” was what Mr. said. “I am all across the board, far away from you.”

As if talking to a phone, Jake decided to answer to Mr. for this time. “It’s my move and it is time that I put you checkmate,” Jake said. “It is all over, Mr.”

“Wrong, Jake,” said Mr. and started to laugh softly. “It is my move and I can take your rook, so that you will see that this game is not over until I say it is over.”

“My rook?” Jake replied and didn’t understand what it mend.

Then all of a sudden he heard an explosion near him. Complete shock and fear fell over him as he got out of the car. Smoke plumes were to be seen from a short distance. Horrified as he was, he ran to the place of where the explosion had taken place.

Completely overrun by shear fear, he saw that the new apartment of his parents had blown up. In tears he fell down on his knees and didn’t know what to do anymore for a short while. Disbelieve fell over him. He got up and ran towards the burning building.

In the middle of the rubble he started to search and threw everything away. While the fire department was on his way, Jake kept on throwing rubble away till he found both of his parents. Both were heavily wounded due to the explosion.

Firemen started to put out the remaining fire, while the ambulance personnel got the parents out of the rubble. Critically wounded but nonetheless alive. Jake stared at the rubble and saw it again: A white chess piece. This time it was a white rook.

He didn’t touch it as it was evidence in the case against Mr. Instead of that he decided to go with the ambulance, along with his parents. Both him and his sister stayed with their parents until they went into surgery. It was for the first time Jake felt completely powerless.

It was for the very first time in his life that Jake knew how it felt to be powerless. Someone was doing horrible things to his family and for that man it was just a chess game! However for Jake it was not and he just wanted one thing: To make it all stop.

Every time Mr. was calling, it was just to make certain Jake would know he made his move or that it was Jake’s move. Nonetheless for Jake this was no longer a game but an attack on his family. For him this had gone way too far and he wanted to get Mr. to justice, but that proved to be more difficult than it looked. How could that Mr. be stopped?

Why was Mr. doing all this? Just to create a sick and twisted game? Was it as simple as that or was there more? The author of the story who said he was just a pawn, was he just a pawn in the game of Mr.? His life was taken away due to Mr.

“What is going on, Jake?” was what his sister asked him.

He didn’t respond as he was thinking about Mr. The disparity game to Jake as he knew he was completely powerless. His sister tapped him on the shoulder. “What is going on, Jake?” she asked him, but this time spoke up a bit so he could hear her.

“We’re all the victims of a sick and twisted game,” he replied and looked at his sister.

As time passed, the tensions rose. After what seemed forever the doctors game out of the operating room. Both Jake and his sister wanted to know more, but no one answered them as the doctors passed by. They waited till one of the doctors approached them.

“Your parents are still asleep, but they will survive,” is what the doctor told them. “Although I don’t think your mother will ever walk again. I am sorry we couldn’t do more.”

Jake’s sister looked at the doctor and found it terrible for her mother. She asked if they could go in and the doctor gave them the approval for going in. Not a moment was spared as his sister went inside, but not before Jake received a phone call.

This time he went outside and told his sister he would join them very soon. Before any equipment would be messed up due to the phone, he decided to go outside and answer the phone there. It was more than enough with this ridiculous game.

Once outside the hospital, he picked up the phone. It was indeed the number zero, six and followed by eight more sixes. Angry as he was, he answered the phone and came immediately to the point. “Why do you do this, freak?!” yelled Jake.

“My move is over, it is your move now, Jake,” answered Mr. in a calmly way.

“You want to see my move, you shit?!” was what Jake replied in an angry way. “Do you want to see my move? I will be the one that will take you down!”

“I must admit that I enjoy this game of chess a lot,” said Mr. in a calmly way, but he didn’t laugh nor there was any laughter to be heard on the background. “But as every good game of chess goes, there can only be one winner. Unless it’s a draw though.”

“Stop!” yelled Jake back at him. “Just stop, you sick freak!”

As angry he was, it was Mr. that remained chillingly calm and enjoyed it very much. It would normally make him laugh, but this time he was very calm. “You can better make a very strong move,” told Mr. him. “This game is truly a joy to play, Jake.”

“Okay… Please, just stop it, okay?” was what Jake replied and tried to plea desperately.

“Sorry, but the game ends when I want it to end,” said Mr. calmly. “Your move, Jake.”

“Enough!” yelled Jake. “You want to see my move?! You want me to make my move and progress this sick and twisted game?! Do you, you prick?!”

“Yes, please,” was what Mr. answered and he started to chuckle a bit. “Your move.”

“Just call me back later, Mr.,” was what Jake replied in a threatening way.

“Very good, Jake,” replied Mr. in a very calm manner. “I wish you a good day and will call you back in one hour, okay? Must be enough time for you to plan your move, right?”

“You bet it will be,” was the answer of Jake and then he hung up the phone.

Without letting his parents or his sister know what he was up to, he got back to his car. He started it and drove away from the hospital. If all went accordingly, he would be back before his parents were out of surgery. It just had all to end, was what Jake thought.

Furious as he was, he drove as fast as he could back home, to the apartment. Special agents were out to do research on how it could be that the apartment of Jake’s parents exploded. The research was ongoing and they checked every clue there was.

Not much was to be found in the rubble. Even the white rook found didn’t provide any fingerprints or any other kind of DNA results.

In the meanwhile Jake went into his apartment, got his gun and a special USB stick. He loaded the gun. No more games, was what he thought as he went back to the car. He started it and got back on the road. In his mind there was one plan: Justice by his own hands!

When he got to the shop where he brought his computer for repairs, he asked if he may use theirs for checking his email. The manager heard his request and offered a computer for temporary use. Jake was grateful and started working.

Without anyone else noticing he hooked up the phone to the computer. Exactly in time when Mr. called him back. Secretly he started up the tracking software on his USB stick and waited to all was set up properly. When all was done, answered the phone.

“Hello?” was what Jake said very calmly, but he knew that it was Mr.

It was the phone number zero, six and followed by eight sixes that called him. Mr. was on the other end and was glad to hear Jake. “Why hello, Jake,” was his reply. “Are you ready to make your move? I hope that our game won’t end though, you are fun to play with.”

“Oh, our game is not over till it is over,” was the reply from Jake.

“Glad you know that this is a fun game, right?” and Mr. started to chuckle softly.

“We have our fun in this game,” Jake said with a calm tone. “Like you said, only one can win the game. Sometimes though a game of chess ends in a draw.”

“Dear Jake, I can assure you that in this game there can only be one winner,” Mr. replied.

For a short time Jake went silently as he checked the tracking software. It found a location of a Mexican server, and then bounced to a Japanese server. There it calculated the signal from the phone number again. It had a little bit of trouble of tracking the number.

In the meanwhile Mr. awaited an answer from Jake. While Jake was furious and hoped to take matters in his own hands, he had to play this little game along. To his surprise the signal was tracked again. This time it went to a server somewhere in Germany.

From the server in Germany the signal traveled to a server in China and then over a server in the Netherlands. Shortly after that it went over to a server somewhere in Canada, over to Russia and finally to a server in the United States. A location was found, only a few minutes away from the store where Jake was at. His move was now planned out.

This time it was in an old mansion up the road, only a mile away. Nervously Jake looked at the location as a red dot on the map. With Google Maps he opened up and saw the exact location where the signal was leading to. It seemed he had to make his move.

“It is still my move, right?” was what Jake then suddenly asked to Mr.

“Yes, my dear Jake,” was the answer of Mr. and he chuckled.

“Good, my move will be made shortly,” was what Jake replied and he hung up the phone.

Without shutting down the computer, he left the store. Back to his car, got in and prepared himself for this. Sweating like an otter as the nerves were hard to control, but he took a few deep breaths and looked in front of him. It had to be done.

The store manager and the employees didn’t know what exactly was going on, but that could be better. No one else needed to be dragged into this mad game. No more victims of Mr. as it was time that he paid for his crimes. Jake started the car.

Back on the road he looked around and accelerated to a legally speed to drive on said road. He arrived at the mansion, an abandoned one that would be great for Halloween spooks. It was a long while that anyone lived in this mansion, as the wood was rotten and the door was half open. Even the floor was covered with cockroaches, rats and some dead cats.

For a short while Jake had to cover his mouth in order not to throw up. He had to gather his courage and went inside. Through the door, that almost fell out of its own. Without making a noise he sneaked through the great hall and went up to the stairs.

Closely listening to any sounds that were made, he could only hear someone typing. Then it went all very quiet. Again he waited and saw that there was a light turned on in one of the rooms. The electricity had to tapped off from somewhere in order to get it.

Nonetheless there was light in the room and that is where Jake went up to. Carefully he took the steps and went up, one by one. His gun was in his hands firmly and ready to be shot. When he was almost ready, he took the safety pin of and went further.

The person in the room with light didn’t notice a thing and went back to typing. Faintly there was a chuckle to be heard as the person enjoyed what he did. Then there was a silence in the house and that was the moment that Jake stood still on the stairs.

If he had been noticed, all would be for nothing. Nervously he waited again. Almost there, but he had to wait. His waiting was rewarded though as the person in the room went back to typing. When he heard a loud laughter, Jake knew he wasn’t noticed by the person.

Again he sneaked up to the stairs and was at the room where the light was. On a mattress on the ground there was an old man sitting, dressed in rags and with an unshaven face. He was dirty from top to toe and was very skinny. He had a laptop and a bottle of bear next to him. As he looked up, he was shocked to see Jake standing there with the gun.

“Checkmate, you freak!!” was what Jake shouted to the man.

Then he pulled the trigger without any hesitation. Again and again he shot, until his gun was almost empty. In total he thought he shot three times, but he had shot five bullets. The man before him on the bead dropped down, dead. Right on the keyboard of his laptop which resulted in strange sentences to be typed in to the program he had open.

With relieve Jake looked to the man and saw he was indeed dead. Two shots to the chest, one through his left arm and two through the head. At last the game is over was and Jake was ready to go home. But to his surprise he saw he was not alone.

In the doorway there was a shadowy figure standing. The eyes of the figure seemed to be yellow, although that could be due to the light in the room. No mercy was what the figure showed as he pulled out a gun and aimed it at Jake.

“You are in check, dear Jake,” said the man, who was clearly Mr.

However before he could shoot, Jake fired his gun and fired it again. It had all to end and he didn’t care about the consequences to come. When the police would investigate this crime scene, they would find out that the notorious Mr. was finally shot.

Only the bullets didn’t hit the shadow, but a glass mirror. It was not where Mr. stood as the mirror shattered and the shady figure disappeared. Soft chuckle was heard by Jake. He turned around and wanted to shoot, but his gun was empty.

Right in front of him, there stood Mr. Before Jake could make out any details of the mysterious man, the lights shattered and a gun was fired. Exactly as the light bulb shattered, Mr. fired one bullet and that went right through Jake’s head.

Before he could realize what happened, he was shot and fell down on the ground. Blood poured out of the hole in his head. That’s where he fell and lost his life, while again Mr. chuckled. “You just took down my knight, dear Jake,” was what Mr. said and looked down upon the dead body of Jake, still with the shock on his face. “Checkmate.”

Very calmly Mr. put away his gun and walked away from the dead bodies. When he went out of the room, he disappeared again. As shady as he was, no one could ever truly track him down. Once outside he got in his own car and drove off.

Police reports later stated that Jake and the homeless man shot each other. While one bullet got Jake in the head, it was apparently Jake who shot multiple times. The police got the witness reports from the store manager and the employee.

They told what had happened to Jake and what they knew. Their statements provided the police with enough evidence to think that the homeless man was the notorious Mr., but that changed until they found a black knight on the bed lying besides the homeless man.

Yes, this story was once written online. Unfortunately it was taken down shortly after. I got this story and needed it to be told, because it had to be made clear why. The reason why I couldn’t sleep in the last two weeks was because I also got a popup on the internet.

Like Jake I was searching for a site to play chess and find opponents. But the down part was that popup. And if you are reading this, dear reader, it might be that I have vanished from the bottom of the earth or that my fate is a lot worse.

All because of the popup that said: “Do you like playing chess?”