I'm sure that if you could get the chance to visit an insane asylum and maybe make it down to the lower floors, then you might actually see what I see. Lets say that you can't visit one, and I would have to describe it to you as best I could, then please stay and read this small explanation of my inner mind.

Thirty eight of us are laying on the bare concrete floor, all side by side. We are wearing white pajamas and also off-white straight jackets, with reinforced buckles and chains. They are basically comfortable as long as you can move around somewhat. We can't move around.

I think the thing that draws my interest more than anything is the small yellow tags that have been attached to all of our large right toes. Many of them are marked with long winded words of psychological importance as you would well expect.

This is a private mental hospital and its owner lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. That explains why there are nine of the thirty-eight patients that have the toe tag that says, "Area 51" clearly printed for all to see. I laughed at first, and this is a different laugh than from the one that got me put in here in the first place.

I mean, I know what Area 51 is as well as you do, and I'm not here to say weather I believe them or not. That’s not my point at all for right now. I stopped laughing though after a while, not because I no longer felt it was still funny as hell, but because I could feel my meds kick in. This caused me to focus into my inner self and try to answer the question of why I thought it too be so hilarious.

After an hour of contemplation, I hit upon the answer. This was such a wonderfully great feeling that I started to laugh again. It didn't go without notice as I caught the two interns roll their eyes at each other after looking over their shoulders at me. Maybe I was louder than normal..? Not sure.

What it is, is that I find myself as a brother to the Area 51 folks. You see, my own affliction is a bit different, yet the same in many of the same categories as the New Mexican nut cases. I too have 'seen' unexplained beings. There it is and you might find me crazy and want to lock me up and throw away the key. No wait, that’s what is going on now. Scratch that last statement. You might find me crazy...period.

So, before you jump to any conclusion, please at least hear me out. I will tell you what has been going on with me for the last four years.

I play at home a game or games on my computer to keep my mind sharp and entertained. These are the ultimate in testing ones reflexes, intelligence, strategy, and knowledge of combative based cyber games that are played in the presence of millions of other players as well. The proper name for them is called massively multiple online roll playing gaming and some say mmorpg's or mmog's for short.

The odd phenomenon that occurs with almost every player is that they are extremely addicting and very time consuming. That in itself explains why some have played the same game for years. The characters you design yourself and give them what ever color of hair, name, race, class, and a whole slew of other options as well. In a sense, customizing the character so as to make each one different as you and me are in real life.

Its this addiction though that has brought me to my knees and also to the end of my mind. The word 'grind' is used quite frequently between players as they all have experienced the very long, drawn out process of leveling your character to the highest level available. Some games its only fifty levels while others are doubled that. This can critically exhaust a player if they keep this grind up for hours and even days at a time.

Twelve, twenty-four and even thirty-six hour jaunts are not uncommon. Its reaching that very end of the grind that the mind starts to play small tricks on you, and your playing effectiveness has become equal to a five year old playing the game.

So it was for me one night that I had played for nearly sixteen hours. Then came back and played thirty-four hours straight with only short breaks every few hours or so. I finally reached my ever precious level and was able to collapse in bed.

At one-thirty in the morning something awoke me, and it was still very difficult to open my eyes. It was also difficult to completely come to attention as my exhaustion was so complete. The warm blue glow in my room from the game screen was normal since most diehard gamers keep their computers as close as possible. After a while I was able to blink open my eyes only to be shocked.

It was starting to sink into my mind that the blue glow had now turned to total darkness momentarily. Why or how? Well, it was because someone was peering hard into my room, with their face taking up the whole screen. So huge, that the resulting shadow now blacked out everything. It was not a human though. In fact it was an orc, and much like the ones that I had been killing to reach my level.

He was alive and breathing..!! He hard pressed his face up against the glass, trying to see where I was. I was terrified as I realized that he wanted to kill me as well. I tried not to move while covered with only a thin bed sheet. He went a way after a while and I started to breathe again. Suddenly he reappeared, just as I thought about getting up and shutting off the monitor. I froze and squeezed my eyes shut.

After a while I again opened my eyes very slowly. He was gone, but I still waited for an hour in case he doubled back. I was still in a state of shock as my fear had turned to shear terror. What in the hell am I going to do? No one in their right mind would believe me anyways.

I cautiously and slowly rolled over and out of my bed. I then crawled on my hands and knees, creeping a little ways at a time until I finally painstakingly reached my computer monitor. I could hear a hissing noise begin and so without looking I quickly reached up and shut off the monitor.

Thanking God and finally feeling a bit relieved I sat up for a very long time contemplating what had just happened. As luck would have it, I was unharmed and still very much alive. It wasn't long and I became sleepy again and went and laid back down.

It was nearly four-thirty in the morning and I went to sleep right away as my exhaustion continued. I needed that sleep badly now and so I quickly entered into a very deep sleep.

Waking suddenly as I felt a warm breath on my bare foot. My horror returned ten fold as I realized something was alive and breathing at the end of the bed. I sat up quickly and immediately seen it was my Boston Terrier Penny as she was sleeping at the foot of the bed.

My quick movement scared her and she jumped up and ran off in the other room. I was so relieved that it was her that I started to laugh. You know, laughing out of relief. That sort of laughter.

I got to thinking about Penny and felt sorry for her. I got my slippers on and without turning on any of the lights in the house searched her out. I finally got to the foyer and knew she would be hiding in there. I was surprised to find that she was not there. As I started down the hall I noticed the basement door was slightly opened.

I called down to her, "Penny. Sorry girl. Come on up, its okay now." I heard her move around a bit so I went on down in the dark and thought I saw her under the laundry table. I bent over and reached with my hand and sure enough she was laying there quietly. She felt all wet and so I pulled her out, but to my shock she was limp!

I then ran up the stairs with her in my arms, but as soon as I could see her in the light I dropped her to the floor. She was wet because she was covered in blood and her head was missing..!! I screamed at the top of my lungs, "NOOOOOO..!!"

I threw myself back against the hallway wall, as the reality and the horror hit me all at once. Suddenly I heard the unmistakable, 'shing' sound of a blade being drawn. It was coming from the basement, so I slammed the door and threw the dead bolt lock immediately.

I ran to my writing den to get my pistol and tried to load it, but I heard the wood of the basement door blow out into splinters as it exploded violently. I nervously dropped the pistol and ran to see what was tearing up my house. Then I saw him clearly. A three hundred pound orc in boiled leather chaps and hauberk. He was swinging a thirty pound curved scimitar sword.

He turned his head and spied me right out and headed straight for me. I almost knew he would before he even moved a muscle. I in turn spun around and ran for the living room. I was after a weapon.

The only weapon that made sense to me, yet I had never wielded it. A two handed real British cavalry dress long sword. It was heavy yet had a great feel for it and a blade that could cut paper easily. Even so, I was way over my head as the giant orc now came busting into the front room bellowing and snorting. The snot and slobbering was flying everywhere as he charged towards me.

I could only think what I would have done in the game if this had happened. Stupid I know, but I had played this game for four damn years. I jumped sideways and swung the enormous sword. It met his short scimitar blade edge to blade edge and I noticed it notched his. He swung his huge muscular arm to try and pulverize me, but he missed because I tripped over my own feet backwards.

He lunged ahead again. This time I was verily able to defend myself has his overhead swing came down on me hard. My sword deflected most of the blow, but it was extremely painful. He raised again and again, each blow was rapid and powerful. I was being beaten severely as my sword was nearly driven from my loosening grip.

Then it came to me to roll to one side and as I did his blade crashed hard into the wooden floor. As it did so, for a brief moment it stuck and he was unable to free it right away. It was enough time for me to jump up and run behind him. I got myself set up just as he freed his blade and swung around all in one fluid motion. His blade slightly grazed my chest and I could feel the sting as it did so.

He could not stop his momentum as his swing caused him to continue to spin around. Doing so he exposed his back. I wasted no time and drove the tremendous sword into his kidney and it passed on through coming out his stomach. He violently jumped away, wrenching the sword handle away from my grasp. The pain was enormous as he screamed out. He dropped his sword and then slowly dropped to his knees.

The expression on his dumb looking jowl was the look of death. His eyes closed and he died at that very moment and then fell over on to his face. The black colored blood was running everywhere. It was then that I noticed that I too was covered in it as well as my dog's red blood. Laughing hysterically, I collapsed and fell backwards on to the floor.

When I finally became conscious I was in a hospital room and again I started laughing uncontrollably. Everything was white and sterile. I had been out for a long time, but the first thing I did was to wonder how serious was my chest wound. It was then I noticed I was wearing the straight jacket. I got to get some rest. I don't feel well.

Hey, I know what I know. They won't let me go home. I notice one of the Area 51 fellows is staring at me. I wink and nod my head to him. Thats okay brother, I'm with you.

Ennis Maximus