Lying in bed, Abi was reading. His parents were still fighting, and he was stuck at home. The city council initially tried to take measures to stop the epidemic, but nothing had really worked in the beginning. In three years, however, new ways had finally been developed to contain it.

While the young boy dreamed of going out, training for combat, and having a drink with his only two friends, he was confined instead. He’d had a big fight with his parents, as always, with insults, and he was now deprived of freedom. He was 16 years old, and his own family treated him like a little kid. A little girl, to be more precise, and he hated it. Meanwhile, Dom and Chris had to fight super powerful enemies and play hero. His biggest regret was not being able to see them anymore. Since the beginning of the epidemic, three years earlier, their work prevented them from seeing the child. One day, Abi had become violently angry at his friends, screaming his pain at being abandoned. He apologized, the policemen apologized, but he still felt sad and alone.

Yet he had hope. The "Zompires" were getting scarcer and scarcer, and the alarm detecting the runaways had sounded much less than had been expected. While everyone anticipated several leaks per month, the alarm had only sounded three times. Once for Paul Harper, two years ago, and another time probably because of a technical problem. It had only rung for a short time, without indicating a place to go. And now a third time several hours ago. According to Chris, someone was coming. In the three years prior, only one runaway, now dead.

The teenager listened carefully; his parents had calmed down. Then suddenly he was startled: his phone was ringing. He didn't feel like talking to anyone today, but the name that popped up on his screen changed his mind.

"Dom?" 

Dom was talking fast. Too fast. And as his words slowly entered Abi's brain, the boy blinked.  "This can't be happening."

******

Matthew looked at the tape in the palm of his hands. He had left notes behind, in case someone else was in the same situation, but the tape seemed to hold too many secrets to leave it there. It had been three years since Matt arrived in the Dark Side. He discovered a hiding place a year after he had arrived, when he had no hope. There, he found a notebook, signed with Harper's name, and a tape. Who would have thought that the biology teacher at the high school he performed at before coming to the Dark Side had also been there? Who would have thought he knew so much? Certainly not Matt.

He had been preparing for a long time. Three months before his departure, he was missing only two things. The first was to decipher parts of the tape. The second was to find a vehicle-- or rather the vehicle that would allow him to escape, a sublime red car. Thanks to Paul Harper, he quickly found it. How had such a vehicle ended up in such a nightmarish world? At first glance, it looked like any other car. Except for a few changes, such as a small lever on the front and the fact that the guitarist would never have had the money to buy one like it. The license plate on the car read "DRKSIDE". Matt, with his vivid imagination, decided to give it the sweet nickname of "Darkside". Darkside would enable his escape from the Dark Side. He laughed a little at the thought. Not much, however, because first he had to learn to drive it and master the little controller, the most important element.

Three years and one month after his arrival, everything was ready. By escaping, he hoped to finally find his two friends. He had wandered all over his prison without ever seeing them. This had reassured him; at least they were surely in a more welcoming place. Perhaps his next destination?

"Goodbye Murph."

In a flash, the car was gone.

The evening light blinded him. It must have been around 5:00 p.m., and fortunately for him, he had sunglasses on. The environment where he appeared seemed to be a desert. It was a desert, why had Matt even wondered? He had driven for twenty minutes, and still no building was in sight. It was only half an hour later that he saw an arcade. He parked Darkside and opened the door. The place seemed open; the terminals were still working, the lights were still on, and some music could be heard. Everything seemed normal, except for a few details. There were posters. Too many signs that all looked the same. Matthew tore one down and looked at it. It said, "Beware of the epidemic!" and the picture on it was... He thought for a moment. He was not in his world. This was yet another place, and yet the epidemic was just as present. He was going to have to be careful; Murph surely had several ways to stop him, and besides, there was an epidemic that made people want to kill furiously. Great.

A second abnormal detail was that the room was empty, yet everything was working fine, as if it were in operation.

"Anybody home?"

No answer.

"IS ANYONE THERE?"

Only silence answered him. It was rather good news: no humans or infected to bother him tonight. He would be able to rest in a warm place. Out of curiosity, he approached an arcade terminal which seemed to be particularly in the spotlight. In big letters read "DIG DOWN" and the game displayed images of a woman with a metal leg that she could set on fire. He found a counter not far from there and took some coins. He looked carefully at the coins: they were different from the ones he knew. This was proof that he was in a different place. He returned to the terminal and inserted a coin. The game was a classic beat'em all, where you had to progress through more and more difficult levels, defeating zombies with a flaming leg. The game was addictive, but he didn't have the patience to finish it. Chris, on the other hand, would surely have spent all his money in order to beat it. The memory of his friend brought back a sad feeling in him. They hadn't seen each other for three years... and maybe they would never see each other again. He chased this idea from his mind. He found a bench not far from the console, laid down on it, and fell asleep.

Matthew left the room around six in the morning. A map he found indicated a town fairly close by; he hoped to find clues about this world by visiting. He decided to stop to take a short break when he saw his first sign; he approached it, thinking that he would find some information about the place. As he got closer, he saw a skull at the base. Reassuring. And what he read on the sign confirmed his bad feeling: it read"city limits, pop.213, 340, 5057" but what worried him were the words tagged in red on top: "infected". If the place was lost, then staying here was not a good idea.

He didn't leave immediately though, enjoying the temperature, the silence, and the pleasant landscape. Matt stayed there, on the side of the road, remembering the events that had changed his life. His last concert, the epidemic, the Dark Side...

The sun finally rose, revealing the ghost town behind him. Fear gently took hold of him. Maybe he would never escape. Maybe he would never find Dom and Chris. Maybe everyone was already dead. He pushed the thought from his mind. He would never give up. Matt got into his car, thoughtful and tired, and drove off. He drove for a long time at high speed. The journey seemed endless, day and night went on and on. Fatigue would not prevail.  At least he was sure he had left a dangerous place. Now, the desert seemed more alive: finally good news.

As he drove along, he saw something on the side of the road. He looked in his rearview mirror. It was a police car, now racing behind him, and from the speed it was going and the flashing lights, it wasn't asking for directions. Murph still made his own rules here, he believed, and so this car must have been waiting for him. He glanced at the vehicle: it looked old, but it was getting closer, and he could make out two figures inside. Matt smiled wickedly. Neither of them would have him-- he had Darkside, after all. But a few moments later, his enemies had already caught up with him, their car glued to his, trying to block his path from the left. The guitarist had underestimated them. He pressed the accelerator pedal, then gave a big push to their side and passed again. Murph's pooches didn't seem stupid, but Darkside was an exceptional car. He understood why a simple vehicle, even a powerful one, couldn't do the job against his own. The incredible speed of this one distanced his pursuers so much that they were now only a small dot behind him.

However, Matt did notice that one of the occupants had removed his hat and was pointing a cannon at him. He took care to target the red car, then fired. A bluish light came out of the gun, shooting towards Darkside. It caused a kind of distortion of space, proof that this whole place was just codes and algorithms. Unfortunately, the musician couldn't dodge it, and it slammed into the vehicle. Matthew felt the impact, and tried to regain control of his vehicle as it spun around and faced the police.

"Shit!"

The controls were unresponsive, and his enemies were closing in.

"Nice move Murph..."

Finally, due to its exceptional nature, Darkside started up again at full speed. No time to turn around, Matt continued straight ahead towards his pursuers. The cars raced towards each other without stopping. The police car must have been particularly strong, because neither of its occupants seemed to want to stop or change course. Just as they were about to collide, Matt pushed the little lever that made Darkside so special, and it released bright blue lights and flashes. Blinded, the driver of the police car, whose blond hair Matt could only just see, and his burly colleague backed into their seats. Just as the cars were about to collide, Darkside lit up everywhere, shattered the space lanes, and disappeared.

The guitarist was not happy to be back in the Dark Side. Fortunately for him, Murph did not seem to be around. The place was particularly beautiful: bluish mountains stood on all sides, and a huge cluster of what appeared to be cherry blossom petals floated in front of him. But Matt had not come here to sightsee. He quickly reactivated the joystick. Once again Darkside lit up, broke through the space corridors, and disappeared.

Fortunately, his trip to this other world lasted only a few seconds. The singer braked immediately after returning. He had hoped that this lever would not be necessary because it could easily put him in danger, but he had no choice, and fortunately, he had gotten away with it. For the moment only: if he had to extend his stay in order to search for his two companions, the tape should not fall into enemy hands. Even if it was only Matt who was wanted, the information contained in it was too important. No one should know about it.

Matthew got out of the vehicle. His head was spinning and his legs were shaking, but at least he was alive. The ground was made of slightly cracked but perfectly flat stone, the sky was nothing but gray clouds, and it was night. In front of him was an old video store. What better way to hide a tape than in a media library? He looked at it carefully: there was a weak light inside, but nobody was there. He put Simulation Theory in the return hatch. The place lit up suddenly, as if life had returned. It was almost scary. At the same time, some clouds withdrew, letting a full moon beam pass over the musician. He turned around and looked up, the full moon reflecting in his glasses, which he removed. He then felt a slight burning in his eyes, and they became red. A sharp pain ran through his body. He felt himself take off as his consciousness left. Blue flashes of lightning ran through his body for a moment as it ceased to belong to him. His skin became hairy, his nails became claws, his teeth became fangs. Matt became a wolf, while his consciousness disappeared completely and the lightning of the transformation made this body that was no longer his howl with pain.  When it was all over and he was finally on the ground, he put his jacket back on with a nonchalant look.

Similar flashes of lightning appeared in front of him, and a blue phone booth landed violently. After notifying the police station of the situation, Dom went out first, armed with a pistol and using a flashlight. Chris followed suit with a nail bat in his hand, and the two split up to search for the criminal. The blond man glanced at the building: nothing. The dark-haired man looked inside Darkside: empty. As he walked away, he heard a noise nearby and turned around abruptly. The only thing he could see were the two red, night vision eyes of the werewolf. Chris screamed before Matthew's claws tore through his flesh, then he collapsed.

Alerted by the noise, Dom turned and raised his gun. He saw the red car speed toward him, then change course. He was about to fire, but the car slammed into the phone booth. He put his arms in front of his face to protect himself from the flashes of lightning and saw the criminal disappear, disgusted at his failure. Then he turned and saw with amazement the body of his friend on the ground.

The werewolf continued to drive for a long time, without Matt being aware of it. He returned to his own body a few hours later, when the moon disappeared into the clouds. He had no memory of the last few hours, and stopped at the side of the road, exhausted. The lights of a city could be seen in the distance. Falling asleep was not the best idea considering the situation, but the musician could not resist. He collapsed to the ground with a low, loud snore.