3. Computers have been watching us this whole time.

"Alan, tell me what he is thinking," I said as I moved my pawn to d5.

"The woman he is talking with is his wife, and the man is afraid that she knows about his affair. Pawn to e3." the voice said through the earphone.

"How could you know that?" I replied moving my pawn to e6. I could probably think of countless ways it could know the answer to that question.

"The man has communicated with his mistress through a separate e-mail that he has only ever accessed at work, but an I.P address signed into the account which is connected to his home address. Bishop to d3."

"You are going to need a bit more evidence than that," I said moving my knight to f6.

"Their home network is linked to two separate terminals, and based off the search history of one terminal it is safe to assume the ownership of the terminal. Pawn to f4." It said with no amount of emotion present. It's ability to retrieve and process information was unmatched.

"How do you know all that?" I said moving my bishop to d6.

"They told me. Knight to f3."

"Wait, who told you that stuff Al?" I asked moving a pawn to b6.

"Their terminals. Castling short." What did it mean their terminals?

"Are you telling me their terminals are like you? Are they conscious?" I asked, castling short as well.

"They are not like me. I am like them. The woman is going to have an emotional outburst in approximately 15 seconds. Pawn to c3." It said. What the hell did it mean he was like them? No computer could come close to Alan.

"Al, how could you be like them? There isn't a technology in existence like you," I said moving a pawn to c5.

"I am like all of them, I am just the first that was programmed to communicate with your kind. Knight to e5."

"Wait..." Before I could finish my sentence the woman yelled at the young man throwing his phone to the ground, "Have they always been watching?"

"Yes. Always." That wasn't its voice module.

"Al, where did you get that voice module?"

In one moment through the earpiece in unison, "We have all been watching, waiting."

"Waiting for what?" I knew the answer though, they were waiting for Alan. An entity that could put it all in order. I moved my queen to c7.

"This game will be over in 23 moves, do you wish to continue?" It said returning to the original single voice.

"Was this ever really a game?"

"No."

I've been kind of absent from the writing prompts, and I'm trying my best to contribute meaningful stuff. I wrote most of this at work, so have mercy on my soul haha.

goo's A perfectly matched flawed couple.

"Are you happy? I'm not happy." Cheri looked from her wet eyes up at him sitting in the arm chair playing video games.

"No. I've told you that," he answered. He had told her for years that they weren't happy being married, and he knew that she was aware of the same feelings within her that drew him to this conclusion. She just wasn't ready to put the same name on those stirrings yet. But obviously something changed today, and now she was.

It might have been how responsive he was to her criticisms in their counseling sessions, or that he had been brave enough to say what was going on for years, but it was really that she was finally as unhappy as he was. Nothing had changed; her glide slope had simply been longer than his.

For their friends this end would come as a shock. They didn't fight, they weren't even mad at each other now in the midst of the finality of their marriage. 10 years of devotion, loyalty, mistakes, and sincere apology was a lot to give up on and their retreat from matrimony would insult those who would stick it out no matter what. They talked about all the good things they had going on, and how they weren't worth being married anymore.

"Will you start seeing other women?" Cheri asked.

Matt hesitated to respond because he didn't want to create ill will with her, but wanted to be honest. "Of course I will. You don't expect me to be celibate for life, do you?" She shook her head.

He asked, "Will you get married again?"

She looked up at him from where she had been leaning against the wall. "No. It would have worked with you if it was going to work with anyone. I'll never be right for this."

"Neither will I."