Head Games Essay, Research Paper

Head Games

by: Christopher Golden

“They were my friends. I’ve known them almost my entire life. Maybe they both just lost it. But I think something’s going on here, and I have to take a closer look.”

Jenna Blake was having a hard time not being with her friends and her boyfriend from college, for she was on Christmas Break and it kept them apart. She couldn’t possibly deal with the weird happenings that would surface over the next two days, but maybe what she learned with Slick, the medical examiner she had been working with during college, would help her. She enjoyed working with Slick, and it excited her. The thrill of not knowing what was going to happen next, but mostly learning from him was definitely the most exciting part. She looked up to him, and she should have, for he was a very intelligent man.

In the kitchen with her mother, Jenna got a phone call that would change her whole vacation. It was her friend Pira, with news Jenna did not want to hear. Pira told Jenna about how a boy they went to school with had brutally killed his parents and siblings. Two murders were yet to follow. One other boy and a girl. The police where beginning to blame video games, Jenna knew about how they used this excuse too often, so she resigned herself the unwanted task of finding out the real reason, hopefully before more people would be killed. Jenna helped the police in their investigation. They learned to respect her because she was good, she looked at all the clues and they didn’t expect her to know about any of this.

A video tape had been found at all the houses where the kids had lived. It was blank, and had automatically erased itself. They assumed it was a mixture of colors like someone was trying to brain wash or hypnotized them, but they had no idea who had the knowledge to do this?

As Jenna was coming home one night, she saw Sgt. Grillo’s police car. She knew something had happened. He went on to tell her about how they had surveillance cameras watching hers and many houses. They had found someone. When they told her it was Johnny from school she was shocked, because he was always quiet in school, very intelligent and never bothered anyone. He had always seemed to be there though, as she thought about it she realized he was always there, in her life, in the background. Sgt. Grillo said that they couldn’t find him, his house was empty, but they were searching for him and should have him soon. Jenna refused the offer for the cop car to drive by and watch her house, for she didn’t want to seem weak.

Jenna wanted to watch television, but the cable was out from the bad weather outside. Then all of a sudden she saw odd lights moving around on the television. It was Johnny, and she didn’t know what to do, and felt like she was about to cry. Then he came over the television, like a news broadcast. He talked to her directly, bragging about what he had done, and then it was over. The screen went blank. Sgt. Grillo was at the door. He was there to tell her they had caught Johnny, but Jenna wasn’t the same, and she attacked him.