"13 Years."
"That is how long I've worked on New Dawn"
Grant stood confidently in front of the crowd. Cameras flashed within the darkness, a bright spotlight made the crowd become shadowed. His long blond hair blended perfectly with his black tuxedo. The camera flashes sharpened his green eyes.
He had done this many times before, as every 2 years a new season of New Dawn would release, but this time it was different.
He continued, "Through many, many trials and tribulations, we have finally completed the final season of New Dawn and plan to release it tomorrow!"
The crowd erupted, collectively jumping up and down in excitement, the long wait was finally over.
"But! I couldn't have done it alone. I want to give a special thanks to my dearest friend, Zane!"
The spotlight shifted off of Grant and to a taller, thinner man, whose eyes seemed tired. He had long black hair, and a cowardly posture, the complete opposite of Grant. Seeing his appearance, the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves.
A bit disturbed, the crowd gave him a calm considerate clap, incomparable to the roar that had just occurred.
Upon seeing the reaction from the crowd, Grant waved his hand for Zane to come closer. Hesitantly, he shuffled toward the center of the stage and the spotlight slowly followed.
A nervous chuckle escaped Grant as he looked into the crowd once more, wrapping his arm around Zane.
"He! Is the backbone of the operation, along with 6 members of our small studio."
A large board behind them displayed a casual picture of the group which showed all 7 members of the play testing team, they all smiled brightly while Zane was covered, seemingly pushed behind the 6.
Again, the crowd gave a calm clap.
The flashing from the darkness became brighter. Zane looked toward the floor, his hands glued to his side. Grant continued speaking, but to Zane it all came out as gibberish.
He was overwhelmed and did the only thing he could think of. He shrugged his shoulders twice, a secret signal that He and Grant developed to get them out of awkward situations.
Feeling the signal, Grant glanced over at Zane, and continued speaking toward the crowd, tapping Zane's shoulder twice before removing his arm.
It was another code for "Soon."
Grant's voice picked up rhythm and smoothly continued the announcement, a skill only someone who has done this many times before can acquire.
He spoke about new characters, a new world, a new AI system and years worth of balancing. Everything he said came out like gold, every sentence was worthy of a headline.
Zane stood slightly behind Grant with his eyes glued to the floor, the bright spotlight cast a shadow over him.
"Any questions?"
The media erupted,
"Grant! Grant! Over Here!"
"Players want to know why you removed the character Zelina from the mercenary board!"
"What is the secret to your perfect skin?"
Grant calmly smiled, the kind of smile that would make girls fall head over heels, he raised his hand to quell the abundance of questions. He pointed at a female journalist who sat patiently, while the rest crowded the gate.
"You." He said.
She stood confidently, "Grant, You first started the production of New Dawn in your mothers basement by yourself, and since then, you've been called a "One Man Team." based on your integrity and ability to produce updates efficiently. How does it feel to know that something so personal is coming to an end?"
He chuckled, "It is indeed a momentous occasion, and 13 years is nothing to scoff at. But I feel.." He paused, reliving the stress and pain that it took to release the game.
"I feel relieved.. and pleased that I can make something so impactful. With people whom I treasure dearly."
"Next Question?"
The media flooded the Grant, cameras flashed brighter than ever, and the crowd began to disperse. Zane stepped behind the curtains and faded into the shadows.
Zane sat in the dark dressing room, alone. Pictures of Grant strewn across the wall. A dimly lit makeup vanity mirror at the opposite side of the room.
Boom!
The door burst open and shut. Grant tumbled into the room.
"Man, that was exciting! The media always knows how to ask the right questions" He laughed heartily.
"Easy for you to say." Zane mumbled.
"Come on, man! We've been doing this for how long? And you still get media shy?" He bellowed, sitting in his chair in front of the mirror.
"Honestly, I should have stalled this update for longer i still have some interesting characters i want to-" He was interrupted
"Do you ever think about what you want to do after you finish the game? Maybe go out to eat…?"
"Haha! After we release this final chapter , I'll probably sleep for 10 days straight! Or maybe take a trip to somewhere far away." He humored, making light of the question.
"What about you, what do you plan to do?"
Zane remained silent.
"You probably plan to go see that girl you were talking about!" he giggled, "I'm proud of you man, really!"
Zane chuckled quietly, his mind had drifted elsewhere during Grant's answer, because the girl Grant mentioned, dumped him 6 months ago.
"I guess.." he muttered
Grant popped up from his chair, like a spring. "Welp! It's time to go." He walked toward the door and patted Zane on the shoulder, "Meet me at the car when you're ready."
CLICK
The door shut behind him. Now alone, Zane sat in the dimly lit room, staring into the darkness with the same tired eyes he wore during the conference. He glanced over at the pictures of Grant strewn across the wall, particularly, the picture of Grant and his wife smiling gleefully on a picnic date.
Then his eyes drifted to the only picture of him and Grant on the wall, it was of him and Grant holding a trophy they had won, but in the picture Zane was pushed off to the side. He gritted his teeth as his eyes fell to the floor. He sat in that room for another hour before leaving.
Hours flew by, the golden hue of the sun bled into the night and the day was coming to an end. The city was beginning to rest from its busy day, all except for two. They chose to stay late to fix a few bugs that appeared last minute. Each in their own world.
Grant sat at his desk, typing away. Zane sat on the couch, sitting upright, alert. Grant doesn't notice as he is fully enveloped in his computer.
The clock ticks 11:57 PM.
The moon shines through the glass window behind Grant illuminating the room along with a table lamp.
Tick, 11:58.
Grant's fingers flew across his keyboard, seemingly dancing across every letter, it's the only noise that fills the silent room.
Zane's leg begins to bounce, every click of the keyboard makes his leg bounce harder.
Tick, 11:59.
Every second the clock grew louder and the typing got faster, Zane is overwhelmed his vision begins to blur and spin, the two noises become unbearable for him, every tick, every click. His eyes grew wider.
Tick. Silence.
12 AM, Grant's fingers froze, hovering over the keyboard. The clicking stops, and the clock ticks seem to slow.
Grant breathes a sigh of relief and smiles. After 13 hard years he can finally relax. Zane stands, but Grant doesn't look up.
"Finally, the rush is over. My best work is completed." Grant exhaled.
Click. He submits the update and waits to hear the final ping.
"I hope my wife isn't too mad at me for staying so late. You know how she gets.."
"Anyway, Zane.. We did it! We can finally-"
BANG! thud.
Grant's head slammed on his computer, blood bled from his head and seeped into the keyboard beneath it.
"What..?" Grant thought.
"What happened..?"
Zane stood over Grant's lifeless body, motionless. His expression, masked by the shadow cast by the moon's illumination. He turned away from his body, and made his way toward the door.
"Z-Zane..? Why..?"
Zane turned to look at Grant's body once more. Then shut the door.
"Is.. this... how it ends?" Grant's consciousness began to fade, his vision left him.
[Ping!]
[Final update Inititalized.]
"Was.. it all.. for nothing...?"
His last thought echoed through his fading mind. The embers of what was once Grant Numen has died.
[Spark.. ZAP! BRRRRR..]
"What is that sound..?"
[Error. Reinitializing...]
[Ding!]
[Welcome to New Dawn!]
GASP!
[Author Note - This book is NOT a slow burner. Though, it isn't all that fast either. I am a novice author so please expect some pacing errors, minor spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.. Thanks for reading!]