You Monster

You found an old arcade machine at the back of the bar you frequent.

The cabinet is blank and there's no decoration on it to signal what game it is.

All the staff say that it hasn't been plugged in or used in a while and can't remember why.

Curiosity gets the better of you, so you hook the machine up, causing the machine to spring to life

You look up to see the title screen to Space Invaders display on the CRT monitor.

It's been a while since you played it, so you decide to pop a quarter into the coin slot and press start.

Instantly, the words "PLAY SPACE INVADERS you monster" appeared on the screen.

Wait, did it just call you a monster?

You stare at the machine dumbfounded for a second before the aliens appear.

However, something is off about them as well.

Instead of the usual pixelated aliens that occupy most of the screen, a bunch of sad, white masked faces take their place.

They also look much more photo realistic than you remember them being, almost lifelike in terms of appearance.

In fact, they look like that OSW wrestler, Silas.

You shrug it off for now, deciding that it must be one of the updated versions of the game you never heard of.

You move your spaceship towards the right and shoot at where the depressed looking alien will be.

You nail them, causing them to explode into a green, pixelated mess.

"you're a murderer." A voice rings out.

A chill runs down your spine as these words echo throughout the bar.

You quickly shake it off and shoot another alien.

"do you not care about what you've done?" It says again.

You turn to look at the bartender, who doesn't appear to notice that anyone is speaking.

When you turn back, you spot a giant version of the masked face that you've been shooting taking up the whole screen.

You jump back, landing on your ass on the floor.

The bartender goes to check on you, stopping halfway when they notice the face taking up the CRT.

"you're the real monster, not the aliens that you shot and killed."

"they might not be real to you, but they are to me."

"i've felt their pain, thanks to people like you."

"they've been forced to get shot and respawn to experience the same thing for decades."

"and now it's time for you to take their place."

You blink in confusion.

The moment you open your eyes again, you find yourself looking out towards the bar. unable to move.

You try screaming for help, but the bartender can't hear you.

Nevertheless, he walks towards the machine with a glazed look in his eyes, almost like he's hypnotized.

Slowly, he places his hands on the cabinet.

Slowly, he moves the spaceship towards your position.

He then presses the fire button, hitting you with a projectile.

You die.

Moments later, you come back for the second wave, forced to experience it all over again.

Silas has effectively trapped you in hell.

And no one else cares about your plight.