Afterglow

Zak is twenty-two, stuck in Southend-on-Sea, and working the night shift at a dying arcade called Afterglow Arcades. It's temporary. Just until he finishes his electrician course.

It's a drizzly Tuesday in April. 1:00 AM. The last customers have gone home. The fog has rolled in so thick he can't see the pier. He locks the doors and kills time with a quick game of Street Fighter II.

That's when his head starts hurting. A dull pressure behind his left eye.
Then he notices something in the corner of his eye. Not a shape. A lack of shape. A dead pixel in reality, standing between the cabinets.

He turns his head. It's gone. He looks forward. It's there.
It moves when he blinks. It flickers with the neon lights.

Zak tells himself it's the fog. The migraine. The lack of sleep.
The doors are locked. The arcade is empty. But he is no longer sure he’s alone.