by Taj McCoy El
“Just a little bit more. I promise it’ll be worth it. Plus, there’s gold in it for ye.”
Gold… who cares about that? I just want a hot shower and some sleep.
She continued lifting the hammer. Jensen added 10 more pounds when she reached 9 strength points. It felt like pulling a chunk of concrete from five feet below the ground. She continued on, pushing at her mind to focus on the hammer in front of her. Jensen had to come back and turn her before she went off the field. She could barely see the hammer in front of her face.
With just five more minutes until she had to log off, she called Jensen. She was shocked to find that he was still walking right next to her. Her brain was going a bit funny.
“How much longer? I have to log out in 5 minutes; it’s a school night.”
Her notifications lit up.
DING!!!
New attribute bonus
Marathoner level 1
You can go for hours and hours without giving up. Some would say you’re relentless, others crazy.
+4 to stamina
+2 endurance
+2 constitution
DING!!!
New attribute bonus
Dynamo level 1
You have reserves of strength that never quit. Others know they can count on you when they need a bit more power.
+2 to strength
+2 to presence
+2 to constitution
DING!!!
New passive attribute
Adamantlevel 1
Your will to move forward has been noted. Actually, it’s more like a ledger at this point.
Modifier of 10% to all attribute points
“What's this adamant thing?” She asked.
Jensen leapt in the air, almost spinning all the way around and started to dance a jig.
“Ye did it lassie!!! Whooooo….!!!!” He clapped and whistled and praised her like the morning sun after a dark night.
“Jensen?” She was tired and her voice came out in a whisper.
“Yes, lassie?” He leaned in to hear her.
“I’m gonna log out and get some sleep. I'm whooped. See you later?”
“Ye bet yer sweet sarsaparilla. The next bit is a whole lot more fun,” he assured her.
She disarmed Happiness and stood up straight, stretching her back. God, this feels real ...painful, but real… Now, logout.
The menu appeared, but the logout button was greyed. She tried pushing, but nothing happened. She pushed it again. Her debuffs keeping her from fully understanding her situation. She pressed it again, but still no change.
“Jensen, I can't log out.” She tried again and again, pushing at the button in mid-air, but nothing was happening. All of her debuffs came to a head and she was beginning to panic. Her throat constricted and her anxiety started to build, and she suddenly felt claustrophobic.
Hyperventilation debuff
Stamina drain is maxed until player calms enough to slow their breathing. If breathing is not normalized, it can cause unconsciousness. Unconsciousness can only be fixed by resting for 6 hours or logging out for 1 Real World hour.
The notification flashed again as Mayah desperately tried to press the logout button.
Hyperventilation debuff
Stamina drain is maxed until player calms enough to slow their breathing. If breathing is not normalized, can it cause unconsciousness. Unconsciousness can only be fixed by resting for 6 hours or logging out for 1 Real World hour.
She tried to think logout as hard as she could. Even with her eyes closed, she saw the notification burst into her sight again.
Hyperventilation debuff
Stamina drain is maxed until player calms enough to slow their breathing. If breathing is not normalized, can cause unconsciousness. Unconsciousness can only be fixed by resting for 6 hours or logging out for 1 Real World hour.
The breath caught in her throat. It felt like the world was pressing down on her chest. Her eyes shot wide open, she saw stars swim across her eyes, then the world started to spin and everything went black.
Day Two
When a Black Cat Crosses
“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”
- Robert A. Heinlien
2.1 Of Books and Beasts
Mayah’s eyes opened. She shut them again. The world hurt too much. Her shoulders were tight and her arms and hands felt like she had been climbing sharp cliff faces. Her left eye slowly opened, the pain forced her to screw both eyes shut, hard. The wave of pain receded and then she slowly forced both her eyes to open. Rough wooden beams ran across the ceiling over her head. The lines were straight, if not perfect. She turned her head. Owwww… Her notifications badge was blinking. She opened her interface with a thought and immediately scrambled to dim the settings.
Hunger debuff
-20% percent to all regen until nourishment is consumed.
Thirst debuff
-20% to all regen until liquids are consumed.
Exhaustion debuff
-10% to all stats and regen for the next 2:47 hours and minutes.
Mayah rolled her head to the side, slowly this time. Beyond the white pillowcase was a small table with a mug and a pitcher. At least there’s that. Preparing herself for the effort she was going to have to put forth she thought, this is gonna hurt.
Slowly rolling onto her side, she dropped her legs off the bed. Using their leverage, she ever-so-gently pushed herself upright. Her head instantly rolled forward, drooping from between her weary shoulders. The sight of her knees would have been a glorious achievement if the elephants would stop playing championship basketball in her head. Her pains were awakening from their slumber now that their victim was aware of them. She poured a mug of water and placed it to her lips. Her headache and pains started to disappear, but after a few moments the grinding boulders in her brain returned—although without as much vigor. She could think a little more clearly and looked around. The walls were white and modern. There were a few empty shelves on the walls, and a mirror hung from the door. There looked to be a wardrobe and a computer terminal. She stood to go over to it, but realized that was a bad idea.
Wait, isn't there a hunger debuff as well? She removed one of her grasnakk meats from her bag. Within seconds of swallowing, she was ready for the world, if the world would only slow down just a bit.
She stood up from the bed, walked unsteadily across the room, and sat down in the chair in front of the terminal. It was loaded with the MajestaWeb homepage. In the corner, there was a CrysWeb icon.
Awesome, now let's see what's going on. She logged into her messages and ...HOLY COW…!!! Almost 100 new messages. She quickly scrolled through. There are a lot from Attactus Customer Support. There were about 20 from her mom. What in the heck is going on? She looked at the clock on her screen. Only an hour and 15 minutes or so had passed since was supposed to have logged out.
Brenda.J.Butler@CrysWeb 22:05 EST - Cupcake, it's time to get out of your capsule.
Sounds pretty normal - click
Brenda.J.Butler@CrysWeb 22:19 EST - Mayah, I told you fifteen minutes ago to get your narrow behind out of you capsule and into bed.
Click
Brenda.J.Butler@CrysWeb 22:23 EST - Queen Mayah Butler, don't make me come up there!
Click
Brenda.J.Butler@CrysWeb 22:33 EST - OMG Mayah. The technicians are on their way. If you're reading this baby, hold on. We’re gonna get you out of there.
What does she mean “they're gonna get me out???” She flashed back to the last thing she remembered. She pulled up her logout screen and saw the logout was still grey. She pressed it frantically anyway. Absolutely nothing happened. Her heart sunk.
She read the first Attactus letter.
TechSupport@MajestaWeb 22:41 EST - Dear Mayah, it has come to our attention that there has been a malfunction with your pod. We have dispatched several units to your home to assist with correcting this malfunction.
We are doing everything in our power to bring you home safely.
The Attactus Corporation.
She messaged her mother first.
Mayah.Butler@CrysWeb 23:11 EST - Mom, I'm okay. I must've fainted when I found out that I couldn't log out. But I'm okay now. What’s going on with my pod?
Brenda.J.Butler@CrysWeb 23:13 EST - Oh my baby, it's gonna be alright. There’s a foreign signal in the receptor helm. It looks like a signal was piggy backed onto yours. Attactus is sending teams over to help get everything repaired. You just hold tight.
Thanks, mom, for keeping it real with me.
Her mother knew that she wasn’t a child in her mind. Holding back information about a discussion only made her more curious. One truth Mayah had learned was you can’t solve a puzzle without all of the pieces.
Mayah.Butler@CrysWeb 23:14 EST - Okay, I’ve tried to log out several times already. It’s not working. But other than that, I'm fine. I'm going to contact the tech services over at Attactus. They’ve been messaging me.
Mayah.Butler@CrysWeb 23:14 EST - Attactus Corp. What gives? Can you please tell me the status of my pod and why I can’t logout?
She sat back and waited for a reply. After 10 minutes, she decided to splash her face and drink some more water. After almost 20, excruciatingly long minutes her terminal beeped.
J.Bannon@MajestaWeb 23:17 EST- Queen Mayah Butler, this is Josh Bannon of the Attactus corp. We are doing everything in our power to bring you back home to the real world. How are you feeling?
Wow… Josh Bannon…. She quickly got over her state of geeking meltdown and replied.
Mayah.Butler@CrysWeb 23:18 EST - I'm okay. Just... stuck in a game.
It’s Josh Bannon, Manners can’t hurt. Yet. 10 minutes crept past until her terminal beeped.
J.Bannon@MajestaWeb 23:20 EST - We are working to rectify that at this moment. Technicians have just arrived at your house. If we can’t remove you there we will transport you to our pod labs in the Philadelphia headquarters and proceed from there.
Mayah.Butler@CrysWeb 23:21 EST – Okay, keep me informed.
15 minutes passed in sheer anxious boredom.
Mayah.Butler@CrysWeb 23:25 EST - Any news?
These waits are killing me. The time compression sucks when you’re communicating out of game. It’s like they’re on the Mars base and there’s a signal lag.
J.Bannon@MajestaWeb 23:27 EST -They are running diagnostics. Hold on a little longer, please?
Gyasi.Butler@CrysWeb 23:35 EST - Baby, I'm gonna need you to be strong. They can’t pull you out here. The pod has been corrupted. They are going to move you and the pod to their lab where they can move you into a fresh one and get you out of there. They’re hooking up the portable generators and signal feed now. You would love this equipment.
That’s mine and Dad’s weakness. Sweet technology… Hallelujah.
Mayah.Butler@CrysWeb 23:36 EST- Send me some pics if you can. I know you’re kinda busy right now. But waiting for you guys to respond with the time compression is absolutely boring.
Jomo.Butler@CrysWeb 22:37 EST - Hold on, sis, they got pods at the lab and I'm coming to get you.
Brenda.J.Butler@CrysWeb 23:38 EST - The technicians say they’ve re-enabled your chat. It was turned off somehow.
Mayah.Butler@CrysWeb 23:38 EST - That’s weird. It’s working now. I see the notification blinking. I love you guys. Try not to worry too much. I'm sure everything will be fine. And Mo, my handle is Princess.Cuddle.Fluff@MajestaWeb.
She sent a quick message to the Attactus Corp that she was going to keep her CrysWeb messenger open, but she wasn't going to sit in this room going stir crazy. It was almost 4 o’clock in game, and she had spent the last three hours having a conversation that only took 28 minutes in real life.
They responded, “That’s fine. Your in-game experience shouldn't be hampered. Contact us if anything changes.”
Thank god for the small things. She looked out of the window, the bright light from behind the curtains making her wince as her eyes adjusted. The view looked over the training field. She must be in the apartment building she noticed when she first got here. She opened the door and almost stepped on a cat lying stretched out in front of her door. It looked up at her and meowed.
“Well, hello there.” She knelt and scratched behind its ear. It purred ecstatically. It was all black with a small white star on its chest. Its sleepy eyes were golden with slits of black. “I've got to go do something,” she said, rubbing the cat’s fur one last time. As she stepped over it, the cat jumped up, circling out of her way, following her along the halls of the building. She finally found the staircase and made her way down the stairs and out in the open sunshine. It felt good on her skin. She stretched her arms and made for the bleachers. The little black fur ball was still following her.
She sat on the bleachers, got comfy, and began to pull up her character sheet.
“Don't you think you should tell Jensen you're alright?”
She looked around there was nobody there. Just the cat staring at her. She shrugged and looked back at her sheet. “I must be losing my mind.”
“Maybe, but you should still tell Jensen that you're okay. He was kinda worried.”
She looked at the cat. “Did you just speak?”
The cat tilted its head at a weird angle, staring into her eyes. “Yep.”
Her mind was searching for any form of speech. The only thing that came out was, “How did you get here?”
“Probably the same way as you did, in a pod.”
Now it was her turn to tilt her head, but hers tilted in confusion. Then it clicked.
This is a paladin.
Seeing the lights on, he rose and repeated what he had been saying. “Ready to go see Jensen and tell him you’re alright? He was worried about you. Plus, I’ve got things to do.”
“I’m sorry, I was always told not to go with strangers,” she replied.
“C’mon,” he moaned, letting his head fall. “As soon as I get you to Jensen, I can go back to leveling. Some of us have to go to school in the morning, ye know. It’s not like I'm taking you somewhere you don’t know. You lead the way and I'll just walk with ya.”
“Okay, that sounds fine, but I believe I should know your name. Can you show me your handle?”
His name lit up above his head “...Grax?”
“Yep. The name is Graxiel Destruir. Grax, for short. Jensen asked me to keep an eye on you for a bit. Never ever ask that man for a favor. He always makes you pay triple.”
She laughed at the pained look on the cat’s face. “My name is Princess Cuddle Fluff. But you can call me Fluff.” She extended her hand. He put his paw in it and shook.
Recognition dawned on him. “You're using a save file from Pretty Princess Pie Party. My little sister used to play that. What a weird choice.”
“And you must be using Animal Warfare III.” Mayah replied.
Mayah loved Animal Warfare. Part RPG, part arena fighter, it was a game where characters could take any animal and battle in arenas or go find quests and adventure to level up, but from the animal’s perspective. You would smell what they smelled, hear what they heard, walk on four feet or slither. It was quite popular because you could choose any animal. The range went from hamsters and snakes, water buffalo and bears, lions or even giraffes.
“Nice to meet you, Grax. I guess we should be on our way.”
…..
Grax kept to the lengthening shadows as much as possible all the way to Jensen’s information booth. One time he went into a shadow on Mayah’s right and came out on her left.
How did he do that? The street was wide enough for three the cars to drive down side by side.
“What are you doing?” she finally asked.
“Practicing. I'm leveling up stealth.”
“You’re very good. You’ve
surprised me a few times.”
“I’m only level 2 in stealth and want to be at least level 4 before I get out of here.”
Grax took off when they reached the square, leaping through the legs of NPCs and paladins onto stall counters then back onto the ground. Only one person noticed him. He finally leapt onto the counter at Jensen’s booth, getting his attention and pointing at Mayah. Jensen looked over and waved excitedly for her to come over.
Grax had once again disappeared by the time Mayah jogged through the crowd and reached the booth,
“Hey, little sister, I see that yer up and about again,” he said, smiling. “How are ye feeling?”
“I’m okay. My parents are worried, though,” she frowned. “I’ve tried logging off, but nothing happens. Just something else I have to deal with. But it’s not hurting me so far as I know. So… ya’know…. Game on or whatever.”
Jensen gave her a sympathetic smile and nodded. NPCs wouldn’t ask too many questions about life outside the game.
“Well that being the case, I’ve got a few things for ye. One is a letter that someone posted at an information booth over on the Crelton side of Majesta.”
She opened the letter.
MoBoomStar@MajestaWeb - Hey sis, they moved you to an Attactus research lab. They got pods all over. They let me use one to try and get to you in game. As soon as I get out of this training village I'm coming to ya. I'm level 3 already. Look for MoBoomStar.”
