by Dante Steel
She wasn’t even a superhero yet. She wasn’t in skin-tight clothing yet. Gary almost didn’t want to see her in some because he wasn’t sure he could force himself not to look.
You know Olivia would look.
He shook his head.
“How did you sleep?” Yuna asked.
“All right. Let’s go.”
“Do you want breakfast first?” she asked.
“No.”
“Very well. We can head around the jungle if you prefer. It seems rather active.”
“I thought you wanted all of the experience,” he asked.
“I am more than happy to defer this decision to you.”
She was so agreeable all the time. It was almost unnerving.
“Around,” he announced. That way, they would have a chance to talk. Not to get to know each other. Oh, no, he wanted to get as much info out of her as he could.
"I thought so." She smiled at him and started to walk away from entering the jungle. Her boobs bounced with every step. Yuna wasn't wearing a bra, and although the day was warm already, her nipples could cut glass.
He shook his head again and easily caught up to her. “What supplies are we going to get?” he asked.
“Various equipment pieces.”
“Equipment? For what? Are you going to run tests before trying to send one of us back? If you have to work your magical science mumbo jumbo to get us back, who is going to do that for you?”
“Haru can,” she said patiently, but that was all she said.
Gary grimaced. Although she was mostly agreeable, she wasn’t much more forthcoming than Haru had been.
“I would like to hear more,” he said. “Your theories, your plans… all of it.”
“Oh, no.” She giggled. “I don’t want to bore you.”
As they rounded the edge of the jungle, Gary spied a man in the field. He shaded his eyes to try to see him better.
“An NPC?” he asked.
Yuna halted. “We can wait and see,” she suggested.
“How can we tell?”
“If he transforms into an animal, he’s a shifter.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered, feeling stupid.
Gary grew anxious as they waited, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
“Now, who has ants in the pants?” Yuna giggled.
He almost smiled but caught himself. With his relationship status in the air and not quite cemented yet with the others, he didn’t think it was the best time to befriend another girl.
“Let’s go,” Gary said, not waiting for her to respond and heading straight for the guy.
Who promptly shifts into a unicorn with a sparkly horn and pink hooves. Why pink?
Gary was prepared this time. He had noticed a broken branch lying on the ground in the jungle they were walking around. Swiftly, he called it over to him and then telekinetically swung at the unicorn’s horn.
The creature screamed an unearthly sound, and Gary slammed the branch as if it were a bat into the unicorn’s side and head. Eventually, the shifter lay on the ground, its white fur stained with blood.
“Remind me not to upset you,” Yuna said.
“You’re fine,” he muttered, moving on as the unicorn breathed his last. Gary gained most of the experience points, Yuna only acquiring a few.
“In more ways than one,” Olivia would have said.
Gary sighed. He really hoped he had not ruined things between them. Olivia acted happy all of the time, but he could tell when she wasn’t. He already knew her well.
Well enough to be worried that she wouldn’t be happy with him and Nicoletta and Elena for forever.
Olivia loved everyone, and that could be a problem.
“Back to heavy thoughts again,” Yuna said.
“I’m wondering how long it will take you to figure things out once we reach this place,” he asked. No way was he going to talk to her about his relationships.
“That is hard to say.” Yuna frowned. “I will not rush because I do not want there to be a mishap.”
“Some mishaps could be fatal, I take it.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “But I will not allow that to happen. You can trust me.”
"I asked Haru about this before. Can you run tests to send something alive before sending one of us back? I even suggested sending animals through because I take it we can't send an NPC back, right?"
“We could send an NPC back,” she said.
He blinked. “Really?”
“Well, theoretically. They wouldn’t be alive though. They have no conscious. They just do what they’re programmed to do.”
“Like a robot.”
“Basically, yes. But outside of the framework, they won’t have any orders to follow. They would be hollow shells.”
“Ah. So you could send one back first as a test then. It won’t hurt any.”
“Potentially not hurt any. I don’t want to have to worry about Skynet or anything like that in case something goes wrong. With the high voltage, who knows? Maybe it could become sentient.”
“Great. Yeah, never mind that then. Back to animals.”
“It is a consideration. Do not worry. I am still in touch with Haru and the others. All will work out. I promise.”
Gary wanted to believe her. He really did, but Haru had led him on for so long that Gary wasn’t sure what to think.
“Everything will go back to the way it was,” Yuna continued. “We will help you get your apartment back or another one if a new tenant has been found. If you or any of the girls would like a position with us, we will gladly have you on board. Otherwise, we will help with finding you all jobs elsewhere. Your friends in school, we will cover their tuition.”
“Let me guess. All of this for the low, low price of our silence.”
Yuna nodded. “I am afraid that is going to have to be required. You will have to sign NDAs.”
“What’s that?”
“Non-disclosure agreements.”
“I’m not saying I would, but if I were to break the NDA…”
“I have not seen the drafts, so I do not know what the consequences may entail. Rest assured that we do have your best interests at heart.”
“Because you don’t want us to sue.” He grimaced. “The NDA would ensure we wouldn’t sue your company.”
“We do have to protect ourselves.”
“What about us?” he demanded.
“That is why I am here. To protect you.”
“I don’t need protection.”
She paused mid-stride and did not face him. “You have gone up against Samuel August many times and have lived to tell the tale, yes, but you have not killed him. Might not have killed him.” Yuna sighed. “He’s the genius, not me. I don’t understand how he is doing what he is doing.”
“Did you check the stuff we found of his?”
“Yes, thank you for recovering that, but unfortunately, none of that helped us. We have inspected the entirety of Vampire War. He must have destroyed his equipment.”
“Or he hacked the framework and hid it out of sight from everyone.”
Yuna blinked a few times. “Can you repeat that?”
“He might’ve hacked the framework.”
"Yes, despite our best efforts and firewalls and precautions. Hiding within the game behind a veil that we cannot see… I must speak to Haru about this," she murmured. "It is a possibility I had not considered, and I wonder if Haru has."
“Happy to help.” Gary shrugged. “It just makes sense. You guys haven’t been able to track him. Maybe he made himself untrackable—”
“Or maybe he is only partially in the game.”
His heart skipped a beat. “Do you think he’s able to go back to the real world?”
“Or else he is trying to feed off our framework in order to create his own world where he could live forever.”
"Like a god." Gary could hardly believe it. This asshole had run away to the game to avoid being put on trial for killing h
is mother. Now, he might be trying to create an entire world for himself?
That would be lonely without people. You can’t be a god above no one. Maybe Smaug hadn’t killed them because he didn’t want them dead. Maybe he wanted them to be in his world with him.
Well, not Gary. Smaug had most definitely tried his damnedest to kill Gary. But the girls… sure, he had detached Elena's arm, but even that hadn't killed her. If he knew they were human, too, he might want them alive or at least the girls.
Hell, it was possible Smaug wanted the girls for his own harem.
Chapter Nine
Gary's mood could not be fouler. When a python slithered toward him, Gary yanked out a dagger and stabbed the snake fifty times before killing it. Excessive? Maybe, but Gary was beyond furious. The thought of his girls being with anyone else left him feeling hurt and upset.
And also a little scared.
What if Yuna was right and everything did go back to normal? He lived in Philly, and so did Nicoletta, but the others lived in North Carolina and New York. Not super far and yet way too far at the same time.
Normal for Gary meant his apartment, yes, and getting it back would be great. Although he didn’t want his trashman job back. Maybe he could go to school instead. He honestly wasn’t tempted by the idea of working for a gaming company. No, thank you.
But normal also meant a non-existent love life. That was the normal he did not want. His chest grew tight, and rubbing it didn’t take away the pain.
Gradually, they walked around the jungle and left it behind. Around noon, Gary spotted a faint outline of structures along the horizon.
“Do you want to head to the town?” he asked.
“Why not? I’m hungry. Aren’t you?”
“Yes.” He was sick of eating berries. Considering this was a world full of shifters, Gary didn’t want to risk eating one of them. Then again, it would be another way to kill them… Ugh. Disgusting. Suddenly, Gary wasn’t so hungry anymore.
Another hour passed before they reached the edge of the town. Before they crossed through, Gary hesitated.
“What’s wrong?”
“The NPCs won’t be shifters, will they?”
“It’s possible some are. We engineered this game specifically for Elena. She was the one who asked for the woolly mammoths, yes?”
Gary nodded. He did not appreciate that. A woolly mammoth would not be easy to take down, not even with fire and their combined might.
"We designed the game so that just about everyone should be shifters. The NPCs, of course, are good shifters. If we were to try to do the quests for the game, we would eventually have to help lead the good shifters against the evil ones. Some entirely human settlements will later come under attack from the evil ones if we are not quick enough to stop them." She blushed. "I'm sorry for rambling, and I don't want to spoil everything and take away your enjoyment of the game. Half of the fun is determining what your next quest or goal should be, your next objective."
“It’s all right. Any chance if you know if this town is human or shifter?”
“Shifter,” she said without hesitating.
“How do you know?”
She pointed through the open gate. A town square lay just beyond with a fountain of a massive wolf on its hind legs.
“Werewolves,” Gary muttered.
“Yes. If I recall correctly, we made werewolves the strongest of the shifters.”
“Because that’s gonna be fun. I take it werewolves fight in packs just like real wolves.”
“Oh, yes.”
With that wonderful bit of news, Gary strolled through the open gate. Almost immediately, a man with a crescent-shaped tattoo over his eyes glowered at them. He broke off from the cluster of men and women he was speaking to and approached them.
Interesting. Most NPCs waited around to have the players come up to them.
Gary glanced at Yuna. She seemed as surprised as he was.
“You are not welcome here,” the man said.
“Why not?” Gary asked, shocked by his anger. Most NPCs so far hadn’t shown a lot of emotion. This one was almost bitter in his fury.
“We are not allowing strangers within our town,” he said.
“Yeah?” Gary crossed his arms. “Who died and made you king?”
The man swelled his chest. “I am not a king, but I am the leader here at Night Falls. You will do as I say and leave now.”
“Why do you want us to leave?” Yuna asked.
“We are not allowing strangers within our town,” he repeated.
Yuna sighed. “Yes, yes. Why are you not allowing strangers?”
“Strangers are bad,” a young boy of maybe four said, running over and grabbing the leader’s leg.
“Exactly so, son.” The man stiffly patted his back. “You are not welcome here.”
Gary glanced around. Several people had left various buildings and were eyeing them suspiciously. The crowd the leader had been speaking to seemed furious.
Yuna knelt down. “Are you a werewolf like your father?” she asked.
The boy’s lower lip quivered. A tear ran down his cheek. It amazed Gary how lifelike everything seemed. At times, he almost forgot he was in a game. The people, the scenery, the sights and smells of it all, it was incredibly genuine.
“Not yet?” Gary asked.
“Werewolves can shift when they turn five,” the boy said. “I’m four. I can’t shift yet.”
“You won’t have much longer,” Yuna said.
The boy just shook his head. His sadness was so palpable Gary shared it.
“You are not welcome here,” the boy’s father said.
“Why is your son so sad?” Gary demanded.
“You are not—”
“Why are you so against strangers? What’s with the anger?”
Maybe he was supposed to try to earn their trust. Maybe this was a quest for heroes or megaheroes, maybe even superheroes. Gary wasn't about to fool around in the game and worry about all of that unless he had to. If that were the case, maybe they would come back.
“You are not—”
“Can we just get a bite to eat? Then we will go,” Yuna said.
The leader hesitated. He glanced behind him, and a woman wearing a dark blue dress stepped forward and nodded.
“You can eat. Then you must go.”
Gary grinned at Yuna. He normally wasn’t so brash and curt with people. In the real world, he hardly ever interrupted someone. In some ways, the game was changing him and not always for the better. He needed to be more patient.
Then again, these were just NPCs.
No. If he treated them like they were less than himself, he would fall back on that line of thinking in the real world. Best to not be a dick.
The woman motioned Gary and Yuna forward and led them to a saloon. This town had a Wild West feel to it, and Gary ordered some beer.
Yuna picked at her beefy beans.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her.
“This doesn’t seem right.”
He shrugged. “Maybe it’s for later in the game.”
The Japanese woman frowned. “Maybe.”
Before they finished eating, the boy from before came over to them.
Yuna patted the stool beside her and helped him climb up. It was cute watching the little guy scramble up.
“Why don’t you think you’ll shift into your wolf when you turn five?” Yuna asked.
“Because I won’t.”
“Won’t turn five?” Gary asked, thinking back to what Yuna had said about the NPCs becoming sentient. What if that happened within the game instead of outside? It wasn’t as if they didn’t have enough shifter bad guys to deal with without adding NPCs to the list.
The boy blinked at Gary. “I’ll turn five! Why wouldn’t I?”
“But you won’t shift,” Yuna said softly. “Why?”
The woman who led them here was the one to serve them. She gave Gary another beer and then placed her hands on her hips.
“Don’t you like it?” she demanded of Yuna.
“I love it.”
“Then why aren’t you eating?”
“I must be talking too much,” Yuna said easily. “I’m sorry.”
She really did seem to subscribe to the whole catch more bees with honey line of thinking. Gary didn’t think it was an act.
Was he beginning to trust her? Maybe, which made the faintly apprehensive expression on her striking features that much more worrisome.
“Finish up. Then we can talk. Come on, Rex. Let’s get you to your father.”
“But, Mama!”
“Hush now.” She shooed him out of the saloon.
Yuna ate like a bird and offered the rest of her meal to Gary. He ate up. The food was interesting. Beef and onions, peppers and beans, the sauce was tomato-based but also tasted a little sweet to him. Not bad.
Once they finished, the boy’s mother approached again.
“What is going on?” Gary asked her.
“We haven’t been able to shift,” the woman said.
“In how long?” Yuna asked.
“A few days now. Not yet a week.”
“Why can’t you?” Gary was confused.
“The entire town, all of us, we’ve been cursed.”
“Oh,” Gary said, feeling relieved. The entire thing had him uneasy, and he couldn’t exactly say why. But this had quest written all over it.
Yuna, though, seemed almost unnerved.
“Who did this?” Gary asked. “Any idea how to break the curse?”
“I don’t know.” The woman gathered their dishes. “I don’t know.”
Any question Gary asked from there on out, that was her only answer. “I don’t know.” Gary hated that word and wished he would never hear it again. It just seemed ignorant to him. How could you not have any idea?
After he finished his beer, Gary stood. “Do you want to see if we can stay the night? Or do you want to press on?”
Yuna slowly looked up at him. She had been almost deathly quiet, and now, she looked incredibly pale even for her.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“We have to find the others,” she said, easing to her feet gracefully, the extra cloth on her sleeves billowing behind her.
“Okay,” Gary said slowly. “What about your supplies, though? We’ve come all this way.”