Jack Marcoonis: The Prequel

Lines of progressively steeper cables sped past the window as Jack looked out onto the river. Unsure of where his life was heading, he had a few friends to rely on when times were uncertain, and he was heading towards one right now.

The bus sped across the toll bridge and past all the other cars with stickers to identify they were subscribed to the bridge's overcharged payment schemes. It didn't matter for Jack. He didn't own a car, and the 555 route was the easiest bus route to get to his rat friend's place.

After the bridge, he was about to push the stop button when someone else did the laborious task for him. Quite common on city buses for that to happen, this was after all one of the fastest growing communities in the province.

As Jack left the bus, the short trek to the house was met by the usual neighborhood staples: The dog that barked whenever you were walking out in front, and the mailman walking by. Was it me that caused the dog to bark or the mailman? Doesn't matter. His rat friend was holding a light-gun party and that was all on his mind.

Jack rang the doorbell and was immediately greeted by that familiar Irish accent. ''You're mighty early.'' said the rat.

Jack was supposed to arrive at 6pm, since that was the official start time, but got there at 5:30pm. He was hoping he didn't mind arriving 30mins before everyone else.

''Oh, sorry. Were you still working?'' Jack said.

''Na, finished up the syncs half-an-hour ago.'' said the rat. They walked into the living room and sat on the couch. ''So, you want to see my collection of lightguns before playing the games?''

Jack showed no hesitation. ''Sure. Are we starting with really retro or more modern ones?''

''Oh no, you know me, we always start with the good retro shooters. But then we get to Time Crisis'' and I say, we ALWAYS start with that!'' the rat said excitedly.

The rat got out an old Time Crisis zapper, which looked to be modified to run on USB. ''This is an original Time Crisis PS1 zapper I've modified to run on PCs. I had to bundle the PS1 control conversion into the gun casing and it works so beautifully. I can only use CRT monitors, but that's no biggie.'' the rat said.

''Very nice. What does this thing emit?'' Jack said curiously.

''Oh it doesn't emit anything, it just looks at the tube of the TV to find out where you're shooting.'' the rat put down the modified lightgun and got out a more modern looking one. ''Now, the GunCon 3 is compatible with the PS3 already, but it's also compatible with the recent wave of flat screen TVs. I'm so excited I finally got one of these so I could play Time Crisis 4!!!'' the rat bounced up and down with lightgun in hand, unable to hold his anticipation.

''And does this emit anything?'' Jack asked.

''No, but you need 2 LEDs placed on your TV that put markers on the screen for it to track your position.'' The rat said. ''I really wish this were battery powered and Bluetooth, because then I wouldn't be snagged by this cable...''

Without Jack and the Rat noticing, the other end of the USB cable vanished into a portal unbeknownst to both of them. A short tug secured the vanished end to what would have been a USB port, but a slight glow now emanated from the cable.

The rat was still talking as the cable gave a slight glow. ''...and I'd be able to fire at the screen in Time Crisis like a real fugging pistol, kinda like this... BOOM!''

The rat fired a shot from the GunCon 3 and a blinding beam of light came out of the gun muzzle towards Jack. All Jack saw was whiteness envelop him as he lost sense of consciousness, his particles being transported to the mysterious destination the lightgun was plugged into.

The rat only saw a blinding flash and then Jack was gone. The USB cable unplugged from the portal and was left lying on the floor. ''Jack? Where are you mate?''

The rat took a look down at the red hot USB connector on the other end of the cable. It cooled immediately, but the rat reflexively put it back on the ground. He was gone. Not a trace of Jack remained in the room. He let go of the GunCon, covered his eyes and sat on the sofa. ''Godspeed, young raccoon.''

TO BE CONTINUED.