Sonic 2

Do you remember Sonic 2? The old Genesis classic? Well, I remember it all too well. I wanted to play it and relive my childhood, so I hopped on eBay. After a few minutes of searching, I found a copy for just 99¢. The listing said the game was in perfect condition, so needless to say, I bought it.

Oddly, it came just 5 hours after I ordered it. I put it into my Genesis. The only things different from the original were an eerie, unsettling music track and a new "Special Mode." I wanted to see what that was about, so I started it.

The first thing I saw was Tails. He simply stood with a wide, unsettling grin. A text box popped on the screen which said,

"Hello, Sonic. Do you remember me?" Naturally, Sonic replied,

"Of course I do, you're my buddy." A shiver shot up my spine as Tails simply said,

"Run."

Sonic began to sprint, but he had a look on his face that said something was following him. He stopped for an instant to catch his breath, interrupted by heavy, beast-like breathing.

He turned around and was startled by Tails, with a wide, wicked grin and a switchblade knife in his hand. Sonic tried to back away as slowly as he could, but Tails called his bluff and stabbed him on the spot. The screen quickly faded to black as I heard Sonic's ear-piercing shriek. Something inside me possessed me to keep playing. After what felt like ages, I saw a title card that said, "RUN."

I was suddenly playing as Knuckles, the red echidna, but he was crying, which was very unlike his character. He walked right with an off-looking animation, and again, another loud bloodcurdling scream came up, but this time it sounded more realistic. My TV flashed a picture of Tails eating Knuckles's head, with multiple small skeletons scattered about. Most unsettling was atop the scene, written in what looked to be blood, was "RUN NOW OR SUFFER." Tails shot a look at me for a split second before the console shut off and would not turn back on. I burned the game and have not touched a Genesis since.