Passersby glanced over the Air Hockey table. Some guardians covered their children’s ears and searched for the source to reprimand. Jae’s shoulders shook as he buried his face in one hand. The elbow rested on the table and his upper body hunched over.

He didn’t even care about losing. He couldn’t have made a better speech.

Emily held her hands behind her back. She skipped over to his side, humming a tune. Her entire face glowed in happiness. Her shoulders even wiggled a bit. Now that she got her mojo back, she had the confidence to win the next two games.

“And what death machine will you pick for your redemption, mister? I’ll have you know that basketball is forbidden.“.

Jae straightened his spine and held her elbow. They walked away from the table, returning to the cramped aisles and the crowd. He led her to the other side where a series of RPG machines leaned against a wall. They skipped most of the slender ones and chose the last machine.

This RPG had a yellow two-seater bench. The front of it mimicked the tip of a speedboat. Two handles of guns, pink and blue, peeked out of the slots. A wide screen with the same length as the bench faced the players. Scenes of different famous vacation spots played on it.

Jae let Emily sit first. She took the left side of the bench while he took the right one. Since the bench was made of plaster and plastic, it felt stiff and cold. Jae’s legs packed on the narrow space. If he had Max with him instead of Emily, they would have hardly fit.

“So this game is pretty basic” he began to explain, “It’s an imaginary island getaway. We’d be able to pick which part to go and a series of obstacles will come. The winner would be decided when we finish the entire game. Even if we lost our characters’ lives, I’ll keep adding a token until the story ends.”

Emily raised an eyebrow, “That sounds like a lot.”

Jae wrinkled his nose, “It’s easier than it sounds. Kids can win in this game.”

She picked up the pink gun and tested its weight. It was as long as her lower arm. The weight felt neither too light or too heavy. She hooked her finger on the trigger and lifted the barrel. How could kids find this easy was beyond her understanding.

Jae took his gun and inserted the tokens.

The bench vibrated under them. Emily yelped. It rose up and down from different sides. The feeling seemed similar to an actual boat. At least, the machine tried to mimic it.

A brief introduction appeared and the narrator’s voice floated out of the speakers behind them. The couple in the game had flown to an island for their honeymoon. Their tourguide had a series of activities planned out for them. What they didn’t expect was that the island had troublesome creatures.

The main story began on a speedboat.

Then, a giant squid sprouted out of the water. Its yellow eyes squinted at the intruding sea vehicle. It swimmed towards the tail of their boat. Other small sea creatures also attacked from the sides. They jumped and bit at the rails. Some of them even landed on the boat.

The pilot turned to the couple and handed them guns, “You both can shoot, right? Come and help us!”

Two target pointers appeared on the screen, each a different color. The number of bullets lined up at the bottom corners. When the squid hit the boat and made it bounce, the bench jumped along with it. It moved side to side. The passengers bumped into each other from time to time.

Emily locked her jaw. She aimed for the mutant crabs, not allowing any of them near her. One by one, they flew back into the sea with a bullet hole. Jae did the same thing beside her. The other characters dealt with the squid.

Then, they hit a boulder.

The boat tipped over. The characters splashed into the sea. A spray of water hit the players’s faces. Underwater, more sea creatures appeared. Fishes and crustaceans crowded around the couple.

Jae and Emily shot the ones nearest to them, making their way through the masses. The screen naturally faced them where they should shoot. The guns have buttons for the reload of bullets. Bubbles surfaced whenever they fired.

The couple swam when the reef cleared. The boat had been rolled back into position. The passengers helped them up but this chapter of the story wasn’t over yet.

At a spot in the island that was curved inwards, the squid trapped them in place. A series of target points appeared at various parts of its body. They flashed green in color. Slowly their rims faded into red and vanished. The players needed to make the appropriate amount of shots before they could disappear.

Emily took over the left while Jae aimed for the right.

Once the points all vanished, a new set of them emerged in other areas. Their fingers hastily pulled the trigger. The button for the reload hadn’t been spared either. Emily failed to finish all the circles in a set. The tentacle came down and took some of her points.

“Damn it!” She hissed. Not one to make the same mistake, she let her virtual bullets fly at five of them at the same time. An explosion appeared and the tentacle dropped on the water.

“Nice one,” Jae remarked, his eyes never leaving the screen.

Emily exhaled sharply, “Thanks.”

The targets moved closer to the center of the body.

The squid had enough.

Its tentacles had been cut in half. It yelled. Then, it thrusted into the air, jumping towards the boat. Its head aimed to land first with its mouth open. The creature craved to bite off its enemies.

Massive target rings alerted the players to finish off the sea creature.

Emily and Jae combined their firepower. Emily followed Jae’s target pointer. Together, they took down each ring. Their survival relied on both of their speeds. The timer also moved faster, showcasing the urgency.

The squid flew backwards. Tidal waves pushed the boat into the island’s cliff. The bench rattled as if it abruptly hit something behind. The pink sea creature slowly sank into the sea. The tour guide and island residents thanked the couple for their help.

Emily lowered the gun. She shook her right hand, releasing the muscle cramp.

“Man, no way in hell would I have expected that” she said. The screen congratulated them for passing the first chapter. A map of the island appeared and asked for their next place to visit.

“Are you having fun though?” Jae chuckled. He leaned on the backrest. He arched his back a bit. If he remembered right, they needed to visit 5 places before the game would conclude their vacation.

“Oh, yeah” Emily nodded with a snort, “I don’t think I ever scored this high in a shooting game. Somehow I find my character dies easily.”

“Is it really the character or is it you?”

An elbow nudged Jae in his ribs. He immediately touched the spot, rubbing it.

“You’re so violent. Are you really a girl?” He pouted.

“It’s one of my most endearing qualities” she answered in high pitch. Then, Emily giggled at the frown on his face. She pointed her to the screen, “So? Where do we go next?”

Jae’s gun acted as the mouse pointer. There were three boxes that showed the activities for each spot. He pursed his lips and surveyed each of them. He settled for the middle, saying. “How about we take a stroll in the jungle?”

“The jungle after a boat ride?” Emily asked. She shrugged her shoulders, raising her gun in place, “Sounds like a good plan.”

The next chapter for the Island Vacation started with the couple in a jeep. The driver roamed around the jungle at ease. None of the wild animals came to disturb them. A river came in sight and they changed their course. They entered a dense part of the jungle, rolling on tree roots.

The bench moved accordingly.

Large leaves blocked their view as they passed.

When they reached the other side, the wheels of the jeep rocked. The driver told them the steering wheel had been jammed. Something blocked them from switching directions. He kept his foot on the gas pedal and they continued to move forward.

Then, their view had been cleared.

Azure blue sky greeted their eyes.

They stood at the edge of a mountain.

The bench’s backrest rose higher.

The jeep had stumbled on rail tracks.

The track dipped down the mountain like a rollercoaster. It moved at an alarming speed. Hot air puffed out, mimicking the wind in the game. Insects loitered in the air. They smashed against the screen as if they crawled over the players’s faces.

“OH MY—AAAH!” Emily screamed. Her gun drifted into action. She fired at all the brown critters that blocked her vision. She showed now mercy, “Die, cockroach! Die! Ew! Go away!”

Jae shot the roaches at a calmer demeanor next to her. He didn’t like them either but the ones in front of them looked clearly fake. He didn’t see the need to be so worked up.

“Not a fan of cockroaches?” He couldn’t help but tease.

“Uh huh. Mhm. I will never like them” she replied through gritted teeth. Reloading the bullets, she moved to target the ones on his side of the screen, “Nevah!”

The jeep crashed when it reached the bottom. It continued on a horizontal path. The speed was still too fast even when the driver already stepped on the break. Jae licked his lips. He could see another drop coming in. A speck in the middle grew bigger and bigger.

“Then, what about spiders?”

On cue, they hit a spider web and a giant tarantula crashed on the screen.

“MOTHERF—”