Paul Norman shrugged into his dressing gown and went downstairs to join his wife in the kitchen. He found Debbie hurriedly making herself a cup of tea before she had to dash off to the office. As she took a sip of her tea, she gave Paul an envious look.

‘I can’t believe you’re off work today.’ She said.

‘It’s not my fault the office is closed today.’ Paul said with a grin. ‘A burst pipe round the corner, no water in the whole of the area, so we’re to stay home. What a shame.’

‘And you’ll just slob around on the sofa all day, won’t you?’

‘That’s the plan. Drink lots of tea, eat biscuits and watch a few films.’ He said.

‘You’re so lucky. Enjoy your day.’ Debbie said.

Paul replied telling his wife not to work too hard. She rolled her eyes and left for work.

Five minutes later, with the tea and toast made, he flopped onto the sofa in front of the television. He grabbed the remote control and flicked through the on-screen menu, searching for something to watch. He scrolled through the movie channels, but nothing jumped out. He decided there would be more choice on the in-built apps. 

On the app screen, as well as the usual movie apps, there was a new icon. Sometimes the latest free apps just appeared in the menu automatically. They would download on to his television, ready to view. They new app looked like a movie streaming service. The picture on the icon was of an old-style cinema camera. The name was written in bold letters. Flick-Knife Movies. This was just perfect. A day off work, left to his own devices, and a new film app to get stuck in to. 

Eager to get started, he clicked on the app and scrolled through the film selection. There were a lot of films he’d never heard of, but even they looked really worth a watch. He scrolled through and decided to go for a Western movie. A cowboy film would be the perfect start to the movie marathon. He clicked on the play button. 

His living room faded away, and he was suddenly standing on the dusty street of a Wild West town. The townsfolk of the place were going about their business. Everyone was dressed in clothing of the period. There were pistol-packing cowboys, in Stetson hats, and boots, some of the women wore elaborate flowing dresses. The street was a row of wooden buildings, with large painted signs. It looked like every street in every cowboy film he’d seen. And he was there, right in the middle of it. The scene didn’t feel like virtual reality, it felt real. The sun beating down, the sweat on the back of his neck, the guy with the pistol walking by, it all felt so real.

He laughed in delighted excitement. This was just fantastic. If this was what the movie app was offering, then he was in. He headed into the busy saloon. The place was packed with people, all dressed like extras in a Western movie. The bar was lined with men, they had one hand by their pistols and the other on their whiskey glasses. In the far corner of the room, a man played a jangly tune on an upright piano. 

Paul moved through the people, until he reached the bar. The barman came over.

‘What’ll it be?’ 

Before Paul could reply he felt a hand shove his shoulder. He turned to see a guy staring at him.

‘I was next in line, amigo.’ He growled.

Paul was thrilled. Was he actually about to get into his very own bar-room brawl, a part of any great Western movie? He grinned, this was just fantastic.

‘Are you laughing at me? You think I’m a joke?’ The guy’s face turned red with outrage, his hand hovering nearer his pistol.

Another cowboy appeared beside Paul, hands raised, to placate the angry gunslinger facing him.

‘Ringo, just leave him be. You want your liquor, then go ahead.’ 

The gunslinger rubbed his jaw and stared at the new-comer. 

‘You don’t want to get mixed up in this. It’s between me and him.’ Ringo jabbed a finger at Paul. ‘It ain’t your business.’

‘Well, I’m making it my business, Ringo.’

‘And who might you be?’ Ringo said.

‘The name’s Jack Hill.’

As Jack and Ringo spilled out of the saloon and out onto the street, the people followed, eager to watch what was about to go down. Paul hovered on the raised wooden boardwalk, with the rest of the crowd, as they looked at the two men, facing each other in the baking afternoon sun. 

‘It’s time somebody stood up to you, Ringo.’ Jack said. ‘And I’m just the feller to do it.’

‘You talk too much, Jack. Stop chewing my ear off.’ Ringo said.

‘The talking stops now, amigo.’ Jack replied.

The townsfolk held their breath, as silence descended on the street. Paul was enthralled. It was as though he was watching a Western movie from inside the film. What would go down between Jack and Ringo? They side stepped out into the middle of the street, moving like dancers, facing each other, hands at the pistols on their hips.

Another man, a tall, barrel-chested guy, hopped off the boardwalk and marched towards the two men. He had a sheriff’s badge on his waist-coat, and carried a rifle. 

‘There’ll be no trouble in this town, you hear?’ He yelled.

At that very moment, chaos erupted, from all over. Men on horse-back charged down the dusty road, firing their pistols in the air. They had their bandanas tied over their faces. On the boardwalk scuffles and punch-up erupted. Fists were thrown. Paul was hit square in the jaw. He landed on the boardwalk hard, as people rushed this way and that. He heard someone say that Ringo and Jack had robbed the bank and the whole thing had been a distraction, while their gang emptied the safe. 

Paul got to his feet, and watched as the gang rode off into the distance. 

Suddenly, the heat and the sand, and the whole Western scene faded away, and his living room came flooding back. He was back on his sofa, and on-screen the app was back on the movie-selection menu. This was just astounding. He hadn’t simply watched the Western, he had been completely immersed in it. He felt like he had actually experienced the film. 

And then something occurred to him. He winced in pain. His jaw was sore. Yes, his jaw hurt from the punch the cowboy had thrown. How was that possible? He was feeling pain from something that had happened in the app. This was the strangest thing. He wondered if it could happen again.

He flicked through the movies and settled on a science fiction film about life on far-off planets. He clicked play, and, sure enough, once again, the real world faded away. 

Paul was suddenly in the metal grey corridors of a space-ship. Uniformed officers dashed around. Having been a science-fiction fan since his childhood, Paul revelled in the chance to explore the bowels of the ship. As he turned one corner, there was a large window. He paused, staring out at the vast starry universe stretching out before him. Again, the scene felt so real. He really did feel like he was on-board the space craft. He headed through a set of doors that whooshed delightfully as they opened and closed, and found himself on the deck of the ship. On the screen in front was the view that lay ahead of the ship, all stars and ringed planets. Huddled around the monitors that filled the room, the ship’s officers tapped keys and studied the screens, their faces illuminated by the pale screen light. 

When his adventure was done, the star-ship faded and he was back on his sofa. Wow, he said aloud, just wow. He felt slightly motion-sick from his time on the space-craft. The queasy feeling seemed to prove the theory that what happened in the app world spilled over into reality. He felt like he had returned from a long car journey. 

He remembered that his friend was off work that afternoon. What could be better than the two of them exploring the full lengths of the app for the next few hours? Twenty minutes after he’d made the call, his mate, Jon was knocking on the door. Paul showed him through to the living room, explaining that he had a new movie app that would blow his mind. 

‘I’ll stick the kettle on and we’ll have a cup of tea and then I’ll show you.’ Paul said.

Jon rubbed his hands together in anticipation. 

As Paul was returning with the mugs of tea, Jon was fiddling with the remote control. Before Paul could insist that he needed to be careful, Jon clicked on a film about a notorious serial killer. As the living room faded away and they were taken to the basement of the movie killer, Paul whispered to his friend. 

‘What have you done?’

By Chris Platt

From: United Kingdom