Aiden. An athletic young man, blond hair, blue eyes, he wasn't a prodigy, he wasn't a champion, but he wasn't a slacker either. In the eyes of who knew him, he was just another unremarkable average person. Cradling a worn-out backpack with his shoulder, he walked through the terminal like it was just another Tuesday, he handed the ticket to the flight attendant. Polite but lacking emotion.
"Basic"
That was his norm, and the most he could afford with his measly paycheck.
Aiden boarded the plane.
The tremors of the plane shook beneath his feet.
The faces of the other passengers were fuzzy in the dim light.
Not a single soul stood out from the rest, a business woman frantically checking her purse for the missing papers, a lousy teenager smacking his lips while munching on gum, an elderly man, already asleep, with saliva coming down his lips, they held no significance in the real world.
The following announcement came through the speakers installed throughout the plane.
"Welcome aboard Flight 1000, destined towards Canada. The estimated flight time is approximately 12 hours. Please remain seated during the flight."
Aiden felt his stomach drop, his grandma was waiting, bedridden after suffering a stroke, she was on her last legs. This flight was his last chance to say his goodbyes to her.
"Twelve hours… Isn't that a bit too long, if I don't reach her by then, I don't know what I'll do to myself."
"She was his last remaining family member. The one who accepted him after he lost his parents and brother in a car crash."
Might as well try out this game I downloaded to kill time on this flight.
He pulled out his old, cracked phone and some janky wired earbuds, then opened the app he was excited to try out ever since boarding the plane.
"1000 offline games"
It looked cheap, probably made from some half-baked dev from an ad-swarming website. But it still carried its initial purpose: wasting time.
"This better work as its advertised"
The first one opened without any issue, just another ordinary flappy-bird clone with worse graphics and choppy controls, still, it's better than nothing.
"I can't believe these clones only get worse over time. Aren't they supposed to get better? After all it a 9-year-old game"
But after maybe a quarter of an hour, he began feeling bored.
Aiden returned to the menu, with the intention of trying another game.
"Internet connection required"
"What…? The title literally said 'offline'."
He tried launching it again, but with no luck whatsoever.
"Rip-off"
Accidently muttering it just loud enough for the other passengers to hear.
A few heads turned his way, some smirked, others laughed.
But all shared the same intention, mockery.
"What are these old folks looking at? Can't they understand a simple mistake?"
Feeling frustrated but decided to hold it in.
The flappy-bird clone has already lost its charm after that first run. And there were still 11 hours to go.
He tried sleeping.
Ended up succeeding but for only half an hour. His limbs felt sore, and his brain refused to sleep.
Stretching, he lifted the curtain covering the window, light burst in. looking through the window.
"This view never failed to amaze me."
Then- a sudden scream.
"SHUT THE CURTAINS."
Her voice was so loud it sounded like falsetto.
"THE SUN'S BLINDING MY BABY"
A boy, maybe twelve lay beside her, shrank in embarrassment after his mom clamped her hand over his head like he was 5.
Aiden cringed at the sight before him, dropping the curtain in solidarity.
"Should've stayed home, my grandma would understand."
With a bored sigh, he pulled his phone back from his pocket.
The same boring app was still open, a dull gray menu was before him, no ads, no music, just a plain menu.
But suddenly, the game blinked.
Something changed.
999 Games Remaining.
Player ID: 0001 registered.