[ WP ] Instead of `` multiplayer '' mode , you are trying out life in `` single player '' .

The supermarket was scarce. The only other customers wandering about seemed to be fixed to only certain aisles. Travis passed by the electronics and there were three customers there along with a worker. They had been standing there for the past thirty minutes, and every time he circled back, they were still standing in the same place, still talking about the same product. He was sure that if he got close enough to hear them, he'd hear that they were talking in circles, repeating phrases and cycling words. 
 
 There was a lone woman standing in the produce section. She'd grab an apple, inspect it, set it down, and then grab another. Travis sauntered over to her, carton of soy milk in hand; it was the only thing he came to the store for. 
 
 `` Hi,'' he said, eyeing her from foot to head. She was wearing blue flats, black tights, a white skirt, and a black t-shirt. In Travis' eyes, she was beautiful. A lock of red hair fell in front of her eyes and she pushed it back behind her ear with her free hand. `` Ca n't find a good one?'' 
 
 She looked at him and smiled, then went back to inspecting the apples. 
 
 He stood there and watched her repeat the same process for almost five minutes until he said `` I do n't think they're going to get any better, might as well just pick one.'' 
 
 She looked at him and smiled, repeating the same exact movements she did when he first addressed her. 
 
 Travis walked to the oranges, grabbed one, and stood closer to the woman. He waited for her to reach out and grab an apple, and when she did, he placed the orange in front of the targeted apple. She grabbed it, pulled it close, inspected it, and she froze. She just stood there, eyes locked on the orange. 
 
 `` It's an orange,'' Travis said. 
 
 She continued to stare at the orange. She did n't move at all. 
 
 `` Just wanted to see how you would react, you know? Here, I'll take it back,'' he said, reaching for her hand. When he grabbed the orange and tried to pull, he found that she would n't budge. She would n't relinquish her grip on the orange. `` Come on now, let go.'' 
 
 He pulled harder, fingernails digging into the skin of the orange, ripping away bits of peel and causing juice to spurt. He cringed and continued digging the orange out of her hand, until there was nothing left in her palm except for orange juice and small bits of peel and pulp. And yet, she still stood frozen. 
 
 `` Here, maybe this will fix you,'' he said, grabbing an apple, and then forcing it into her fingers. The way her fingers stayed stiff as he worked the apple in reminded him of the action figures he used to play with as a child. He had a GI Joe with a hand that was perpetually locked in a C shape, and there was a handgun that you could fit into it. Now that he thought about it, he had lost the gun not too long after getting the toy. 
 
 Her fingers immediately tightened around the apple, startling Travis. She brought the apple close to her face, checked it, then placed it back. Then she continued her cycle of inspecting the apples. 
 
 `` Whoo, I thought I broke you there for a second,'' he said. She turned to look at him, and she smiled, that same smile. It made his stomach go sour. 
 
 Travis raised the carton of soy milk he had high above his head, and he brought it down hard in an arcing motion. He slammed it on the woman's head. It exploded and sent white liquid everywhere. All over her, all over him, and all over the apples. 
 
 She did n't budge. She picked up another apple, one that was soaked in soy milk, and she inspected it. 
 
 Travis threw up there on the other apples, and then stumbled out of the store. 
 
 *** 
 
 Back at his apartment, he was standing in the bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror. 
 
 `` Oh oh oh okay, I'm fucking done. Get me out of here goddamn it. I'm done. I ca n't do this shit anymore. Get me the fuck out of here.'' 
 
 He waited, wondering when they would pull him out. Nothing happened. 
 
 `` I know you're fucking in there, get me the fuck out of here.'' 
 
 Still nothing. 
 
 `` **GET ME OUT! **'' he screamed. He slammed a fist into the mirror, shattering it and slicing his hand. He punched and punched the mirror again, ignoring the artificial pain signals his brain was sending up his arm and into his brain. `` Get. Me. Out. Get. Me. Out.'' 
 
 Blood pooled into the sink, coating the broken shards of mirror that happened to collect there. He looked into the sink, seeing a broken reflection looking back up. *I know how to get out. Oh, I know how to get out. * 
 
 He grabbed the longest shard of broken mirror and held it out at arms-length, neck level. He gripped the shard tightly, feeling it slice into his thumb and index finger, and he brought the shard in hard and fast into his own throat. 
 
 He pulled the shard out, and brought it back in. He brought it out, and then back in. Out, and then back in. 
 
 *** 
 
 Damon was in the break room trying to decide what kind of chips he should get from the vending machine when he heard the alarms go off from the terminal. He dropped his coins and ran back into the monitoring room. 
 
 There the pod had already opened, and on the edge of it, he saw Travis sitting, hands jabbing at his own throat. 
 
 `` Travis! Fuck!'' 
 
 Damon sprinted forth and tackled Travis, sending the two straight to the floor. There, Damon straddled Travis and pinned his arms to his side. 
 
 `` *Get, me, out. Get, me, out. *'' 
 
 `` You're out buddy, you're out, it's okay, you're out.'' 
 
 

