It's Cold

 It's Cold

The Auctorer

Author's note
''I've been writing for a good long while, but this is my first attempt at a creepypasta. Not saying this is an excuse for anything, but if it sucks, I hope that's at least a explanation. Any constructive criticism is welcomed. Thanks.''

I’m not really sure how to start this, I’m only writing it because there’s a blizzard outside right now and I’m pretty sure I nearly got horribly murdered a few minutes ago. I guess I’ll start with some personal information, that makes sense right?

My name is Mia, I live in Colorado, have my entire life. I’m big on video games, once again, have my entire life. My dad bought an NES when I was two, and I grew up around it. I started playing it with him when I was old enough, you know, Mario (all three), Zelda, Contra (never beat it), Metroid, Final Fantasy, all the classics. We got a Super Nintendo the year after it came out, I was about nine, and I played the hell out of that for the next few years. During that time, I got into arcades too, Ghosts and Goblins, Centipede, the great titles of our generation or whatever. Whenever I could I would beg my mom or dad for quarters to go spend on games.

It didn’t occur to me at that age that besides two or three others, I was the only girl there. Well at least not until I hit puberty, when I noticed that saying I liked to play video games got me weird looks from my peers, no matter the gender. Apparently girls who play video games are an elusive species or some bullshit. It didn’t help that genetics were… let’s go with generous. So at age eleven I started wearing a baseball cap and thick sweater or coat whenever I went for fear for being recognized. Yeah, I get that this is really stupid, but I’d just gotten into high school, quite possibly the most judgmental   place on the planet, and there was no way in hell that I was giving up my games, so this was a happy medium.

That is until the arcade moved to the mall. The mall was across town, which meant I would need a ride, since I had just turned sixteen and didn’t have a car or a license. That meant someone could recognize my parent’s car and if that happened it was goodbye popularity and hello freak, nerd, and whatever other insults they would throw my way. I was a girl in high school, I didn’t need any more self-esteem problems.

So for a few months I had to content myself with the N64, not a terrible fate mind you, but there was an atmosphere about the arcade that I loved and missed so much, I felt anti-social sitting in my house and playing. But miracle of miracles, the empty building where the old arcade had been was bought and the new owner set up a new arcade. Finally I could do my gaming a bit more socially.

The first time I went there was the day after it opened, and there was already a crowd. The place was called Adventure Arcade and it was run by a guy named Vince. He was a skinny guy, maybe early twenties, a bit pale, but he looked nice enough. There was already a crowd when I got there. He opened the door and welcomed everyone in, watching us all pass. I was the last one, and he had already turned back to his front counter when I entered, but no sooner had I stepped through the door did I hear “Oy, gamer girl.”

Of course he was talking to me. He was looking at me with a raised eyebrow. “Hat’s off, nothing to obscure the camera.”   I started to protest but he cut me off, “No buts, you wanna play, lose the hat. And you might wanna ditch the coat too, AC’s a bit faulty.” I huffed angrily and took the hat off, letting my hair fall, I hadn’t thought to bring a ponytail since usually I got to keep the hat. I made no move to take off the coat though; that stayed. He shrugged and sat down. “Alright, now you can go.”

I guess I got why he made me do it, but that didn’t stop me from being mad. It didn’t matter too much, most people really didn’t notice, and the few who did didn’t really seem to care. Most of the well-known games were already taken and had lines, so I kept going, weaving through the labyrinth of people and flashing lights until I came to one that wasn’t in use.

The pale blue pallet of the art on it was inviting, depicting a lone warrior in fur-lined armor against a horde of creatures in a snowy wasteland. The biggest of which being something that the blizzard was obscuring and all you could see were the glowing red eyes. My interest was piqued and I walked up to the front. The instant I got to it, I shivered a bit, even in my coat. I thought Vince had said the AC was broken, it was working just fine here. Whatever.

The machine was only one quarter to play, but rather than just “insert one coin” the game said “Ante up (1) piece”. I put in a quarter, and the opening screen came up. The text blurb at the beginning started scrolling.

''If you are reading this, then it is too late for you to turn back, and your life is on the line. It was the moment you entered. I’m here to help you, but you have to help me too. You’re in control, but I’m the one who can fight. So keep me alive, and I’ll do the same for you. ''

Fourth-wall breaking that stayed serious, I liked it. It showed the controls until I hit a button and it sent me to the opening screen. The game wasn’t hugely detailed, but I could definitely tell what everything was, my character was a small sprite on the left, it was kind of Zelda-ish in a way from the controls and view. There was a button for a ranged and melee attack and the joystick moved me as well a third button that gave me a kind of roll. The enemy sprites on the left were pretty good, there was a wolf, and evil looking snowman, and a white spider. All three were moving towards me.

The sound in the game was amazing. There must’ve been speakers all around the area for it, because it seemed like I was in the place of the character. The twang of the bow or the swing of the sword sounded almost real, and the entire time rather than music there was this ambient wind that gave it a really creepy feel, I loved it. As the wolf got closer the speakers in front of me played the sound of it running through the snow. With a twang of the bow it got hit and went down with an obviously simulated whimper. I killed the spider the same way, hearing a squishing sound from it as it died. The snowman got pretty close, and the speaker in front of me played the sound of it sliding pretty loudly. The increase in volume made me jump a little bit and I pressed the melee button, the sword swung out and the snowman went down, giving this weird sighing sound.

With the monsters dead I moved to the next screen. The speakers behind me played a faint roar that sounded like it was a long way in the distance. It made me jump and glare backward, even though I couldn’t see any of the speakers, it was a bit dark. The next screen held a few more wolves, all of which I took out with the bow with three more satisfying yelps. The screen started having little white snow pixels come down and a message appeared.

<p class="MsoNormal">''It’s not heavy now, but the snow can warn of the great beast Gelzin’s approach. Run away from him, as he cannot be killed.''

<p class="MsoNormal">I kept that in mind and continued. After a few more screens I got a new enemy, a yeti. It moved faster and took two arrows rather than one. It also had this heaving sound that it made when it moved that sounded really freaky, it was like these big, lunging steps through the snow. I took it down, and found no other creatures on the screen. I moved on.

<p class="MsoNormal">The next screen had the snow getting a bit thicker, and the terrain was getting more elaborate, it wasn’t just flat snowy ground anymore, there were risen spots, with stairs leading up, reminding me once more of Zelda. There were a few spiders, a wolf, and a yeti, all of which were moving in their normal patterns when they didn’t see me. Before I could do anything, another message popped up.

<p class="MsoNormal">“We need to get away from the mountain fast, Gelzin is coming down and as long as we’re in his territory, we’re not safe.”

<p class="MsoNormal">So the goal was to escape the faceless evil by rushing away from a mountain where it lives, made sense. I moved forward and the wolf came toward me, it got closer this time than before, and I heard the sound of panting from the front speakers. I killed it and smiled, I had no idea who made this game, but they went all out on the sound design, and the combat was pretty fun too, if a bit too Zelda-y.

<p class="MsoNormal">I took out the spiders with the arrows and went to kill the yeti with the sword. I rolled back right afterward and avoided a swipe of its arms pretty narrowly. The wooshing sound in front of me was loud… almost too loud. My ears rang a little from it, and I could almost feel the speaker’s boom, it wasn’t a terrible feeling, it added gravity to the attack. I swung the sword and killed it, and there was a squishing sound with it, probably only programmed to come up when you killed it with the sword, that was cool.

<p class="MsoNormal">Next up was a larger group; three snowmen, two wolves, and three yetis. They all saw me immediately and I started shooting arrows. The wolves went down, but the rest were too close. I hit one of the snowmen with the sword right before it hit me, and I felt the AC kick up for just a second. The cold air shocked me, but didn’t stop me from playing, I muttered a quick complaint and kept soldiering on.

<p class="MsoNormal">I took out the last snowmen and started attacking one of the yetis. While I was doing that the other came up from behind and tried to take a swipe. I rolled and dodged it, but this time something was weird. Maybe it was the AC again, but I felt another blast of air along with the swishing of the claw. Now I’m prone to losing myself in a good game (which this definitely was) but I still feel weird saying that it felt a lot like something just missing a swing at my back. Maybe I was getting too into this. I shrugged it off though, this was way too much fun to stop. The yetis went down and I moved to the next screen.

<p class="MsoNormal">The snow was getting even thicker now, not obscuring my vision though, the wind looked like it was picking up too. The trees in the background were waving. Another text box came up.

<p class="MsoNormal">''Gelzin is getting closer, even the monsters from the mountain are running from him. They might come from behind me, be ready in case that happens, alright partner?''

<p class="MsoNormal">As if to punctuate it, the roar that I heard before sounded again behind me, still faint and distant, but getting closer. I don’t know why, but that sound unnerved me, the sound design in this game was still fantastic, and I know it was supposed to do that, but I wasn’t sure how much I liked it now. It was still fun, don’t get me wrong, but I was getting a weird feeling in my stomach, and it was really cold now. “AC’s a bit faulty” my ass.

<p class="MsoNormal">The next screen introduced me to a polar bear, big son of a bitch with a bloody mouth. I fired arrows at it, hitting it three times, but it still didn’t go down. I rolled to the side to avoid its charge, then hit it with my sword. It finally went down, giving a roar, snow came up from the impact and I got another blast of cold air for my trouble.

<p class="MsoNormal">I looked back at the screen just in time to see a wolf lunge for my guy. I moved him to the side as quickly as I could and just barely dodged it. A woosh brushed passed my side from the front and I shot the thing, cursing under my breath… wait a minute. That had come from the front, from the arcade machine, there wasn’t a fan there, or even a vent for one, at least as far as I could tell. I could’ve just imagined it… maybe? Okay I’m making up excuses by this point, but the game was fun, sue me.

<p class="MsoNormal">I played through the next few screens, occasionally encountering a second wave of enemies from where I just was. Along the way more monsters were set up, I didn’t get a sixth enemy type sadly, and the trees got more animations, showing the wind was picking up. Every once in a while, the ambience would be split by the roar of Gelzin, who was definitely sounding a lot closer. The snow seemed to get darker too; at first it was barely any change, but it was turning gray, along with the environment. Oh, and Vince is a dirty liar, I don’t think I need to say anything more than my coat didn’t feel like enough. I was practically shivering.

<p class="MsoNormal">Another thing this game did really well to build up this Gelzin thing. I barely knew anything about it, but there was this feeling of dread about the way everything changed as it got closer, if that thing caught up to me, I was dead. Just the idea of it getting closer to me was enough to spur me into combat on screen after screen, and the fact that more monsters took longer to kill made me nervous just from lack of progression. Up until the gray snow I had been confident I could beat this game long before it caught up, but now, I wasn’t so sure. Just how many screens were there anyway? Was there an end to this game, or did you just go until you died or he caught up?

<p class="MsoNormal">Then, halfway through the next screen, he stopped. The character just stopped moving, no matter what I did with the control stick, he stayed where he was. He slowly turned pale, and the gray snow got heavier and heavier and heavier, until all I could see was his silhouette in the blizzard. I could hear the wind all around me now, like I was the one in the blizzard, freezing to death. It was not a good feeling, and I wasn’t having fun anymore. I was cold, and I could barely hear anything but the roaring wind from the speakers around me,

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, but I could hear the roar, I could definitely hear the roar. Especially because it sounded like it was right behind me. The thing came onto the screen, ten times the size of the polar bear. All I could see was a silhouette, long, gangly limbs, sharp claws, and two jagged horns. The sound of its huge footsteps came from the back speakers, as did the sound of its breathing. I was so cold that I could barely stand, I brought my arms away from the controls, feeling the hopelessness wash over me. The combination of the sound and cold, it was too well done, it was too real. The feeling of cold breath on the back of my neck, there was something standing behind me, I knew it, Gelzin was behind me, about to kill me, not the character, me. I was a freshman in high school, my whole life supposedly ahead of me, and I was about to die.

<p class="MsoNormal">The huge figure on the screen finally moved again, it had just been standing behind the character, breathing heavily. It reared its head back, took in a huge breath, and let loose the familiar roar at a deafening volume. My ears screamed with pain and the temperature made me feel like I was going to freeze to death. The figure raised its arm like it was going to impale the character, impale me. Just as the claw went through my characters sprite, a hand came down on my shoulder.

<p class="MsoNormal">I screamed, I’m not afraid to say it. I screamed like a (for lack of a better term) little girl. The hand drew back for a second before it and another one grabbed my shoulders tightly and held me. “’Ey, ‘ey! Gamer Girl, calm down, calm down!”   The familiar voice drew me out of my hysterics. It was Vince, the guy who owned the place. He wore a concerned look on his face. “Christ kid, you gave me a heart attack.”   He said with a wry smile, then shivered. “Jesus, what’s with the temperature?”   He looked up at the vents. “Well that would explain why nowhere else was getting any air, it was all over here. Must’ve felt like the freaking tundra.”

<p class="MsoNormal">I looked up at him, tears falling from my eyes. “You have no idea.”   I said shakily. I looked back at the screen. It was a simple game over screen, just showing a big mountain with a cloud around the peak. It was asking for three letters to go with my score.

<p class="MsoNormal">Vince looked at me, “Gonna put something in?”

<p class="MsoNormal">I shook my head. “No thanks.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Then I will.”   He said with a smirk. “Gmg, gamer girl.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah I get it.”   I said shortly.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well then I think you might want to get heading home.”   He suggested, sweeping his hand across the now empty arcade. How long had I been playing that game? Vince and I walked toward the entrance, and I finally piped up.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Hey, what’s with that game, the one I was playing? How much work did it take to set up at that surround sound thing?”

<p class="MsoNormal">He gave me a weird look. “Surround sound, what are you talking about? I don’t have that kind of money.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“But everything in that game, it sounded like it was all around me, like I was there.”   I pressed, there was no way I had imagined all of that there had to be speakers all around me, that’s the only explanation I had.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Kiddo, nothing like that in here.”   I was about to protest, but once more, he cut me off, “Believe me, I would know, I own the place.”   We stopped at the entrance. “How far do you live?”   He asked, suddenly looking stern.

<p class="MsoNormal">“A few blocks, why?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Because you’re walking home alone at about 9:30 at night, and I don’t think that’s a good idea. If it’s alright with you of course, I can walk you home.”

<p class="MsoNormal">After what I had just gone through, I decided I didn’t feel like being alone, so I took his offer and we walked along. I stayed silent, still trying to work out what had happened in my head. It had to be multiple speakers, there was literally no other explanation. Was Vince just trying to freak me out or something? We got to my house pretty quickly, and he stopped on the front walk. I had one last chance, so I tried a final time.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Are you absolutely sure that there is no way that game makes it feel like you’re actually on some freezing mountain being chased by that… thing?”

<p class="MsoNormal">He chuckled and raised an eyebrow at me. “I never said that.”

<p class="MsoNormal">I’m a junior in high school now, and I’ve never gone back to the Adventure Arcade. I also stopped wearing my hat and coat and went to the one at the mall. Sure I get a joke about me now and then, but I don’t care, after whatever the hell had happened that day, I usually just laugh it off without a second thought. I do usually find myself in a bad mood during winter, I have this big abhorrence to the cold now, I think we all know why. The roar stuck with me too, I still hear it sometimes actually. Of course it’s at night, when no one else is around; when else, right? I joke about it, but when it actually happens, I’m sprinting from sheer reflex. Luckily it’s always distant, except for winter of course, when it’s snowing. You know, like it is right now as I’m typing this.

<p class="MsoNormal">Like I said a the start, it's a blizzard, and I got caught outside during the thick of it. I heard, and as I was trudging toward my house as fast as I could, I know, I fucking know, that I saw something out in that haze, something big.