The text on Leo’s screen refreshed: “You coming down, or do I have to climb another chain?”
Leo’s thumbs trembled over the buttons. “This isn’t real. You’re a ghost in a ROM.”
He opened the battery compartment. The memory stick was gone. Not erased. Gone. The slot was empty, clean as a bone.
He pressed START.
Outside, a car honked. Leo looked out the window. A silver Honda Civic was parked at the curb. The driver’s side window rolled down. The man inside was twenty-nine, tired, with faint crow’s feet. He held up his own phone and smiled.
For a long moment, Leo sat in the dark of his room. Then his phone buzzed.
Kratos climbed the Chain of Balance. The world inverted. Leo’s thumbs ached. The battery bar turned red. -PSP- God Of War Chains Of Olympus - Full ISO -
The screen went white. The PSP vibrated once, violently, then went silent. The green light died.
Leo looked at the charger. The green light pulsed like a heartbeat.
“Evan?” Leo whispered.
He played for three hours. He watched Kratos tear through Persian beasts and basilisk fangs. He saved the captured Sun God, Helios, from the Underworld. But something was wrong. The game didn't feel like a game.
“Leo? Leo, can you hear me?”