World Tree Online- the Endless Savanna- 3rd Dive

by M. A. Carlson

  I looked at Rose, but she answered quickly, “Queen is fine.”

  Joshua smirked again. The elevator opened a moment later and Joshua was leading us again. “I understand your dive’s both ended this morning, I’ll have some broth sent up shortly, you must be starving by now.”

  I wasn’t until he mentioned it.

  “We’ll also send up some better fitting clothes,” Joshua added.

  “How long will we be stuck in this room?” Rose asked.

  “Not long. We’ll be bringing you a temporary ID badge that will give access to your room, the elevator down to the lab and up to the social rooms,” Joshua explained.

  “What about getting a meeting with Mr. Dawson,” I said.

  “Sorry, dude, that’s above my paygrade,” Joshua replied.

  I frowned, feeling irritated. I had information that I needed to share with the man. Unfortunately, I was certain he didn’t believe for a second that I had anything to contribute.

  “Anyway, this is you. If the doc wants you for more tests, I’ll come to get you,” Joshua said, tapping his old-style ID card to a door lock.

  “Does that happen often?” Rose asked. “Being asked for more testing?”

  “Sometimes,” Joshua said with a shrug. “You two need anything else?”

  I looked at Rose as she looked up at me. “I think we’re good,” I said.

  “Alright, broth should be up in about 20-minutes. If it’s not here in 30-minutes then just pick up the phone, someone should pick up right away. If that’s it, have fun,” Joshua said, smirking again as he backed out of the room and closed the door behind him.

  “Hi,” I said, looking into Rose’s eyes. I couldn’t help the goofy grin that had worked its way on to my face.

  “Hi,” Rose said back.

  “So, Ms. Wolfe,” I stated. “What do you want to do until our wonderful dinner of broth arrives?”

  “I’m not sure, Mr. Jacobs,” Rose replied.

  The kiss came quickly and filled with passion as we embraced once again.

  Eventually, we fell on to the bed where we continued to make out until there was a knock on the door.

  “Food,” Rose said, climbing over me and shuffling over to the door. When she returned, she wheeled in a cart with two cloches covering what was undoubtedly our bowls of broth. It was very hotel like.

  We ended up sitting at the small table across from each other.

  “I can’t believe you’re here,” I finally said, the corners of my mouth upturning happily.

  “You and me both,” Rose replied, a similar smile on her face. “So, Mr. Jacobs, should I still call you Jack?”

  “You can if you want, I’ve gotten used to it. But my real name is Byron,” I said.

  Rose looked hesitant for a moment before she spoke. “Theresa, Theresa Rose Wolfe.”

  I smiled. “So, should I still call you Rose, or can I call you Theresa when it’s just us?”

  “Rose,” she replied. “I don’t really use Theresa. My father used to call me Theresa,” she added softly.

  I reached across the table and took her hand. She had never talked to me about her father or mother or how she ended up living with her Aunt and cousin. Even though she and Babies Breath were as close as sisters, and usually referred to each other as such, they were in fact cousins.

  Rose squeezed my hand back. The rest of dinner was quiet. An hour later someone came for the dishes and dropped off the clothes and ID badges.

  “So, why did you want to talk to Dawson?” Rose asked, finally breaking the silence.

  “Have I got a story for you,” I started, and then began the tale of my log out and the threat that was Epic.

  Chapter 2

  “Credit where credit is due, Jack,” Rose said as I finished my story. “Even when we’re not in the game, you still manage to get us tangled in some kind of adventure.”

  I felt a little guilty about that. I was worried that Rose was caught up in this because of me . . . because of how I felt about her. It was entirely possible Epic did this to her, to hurt me in some way. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this,” I said softly.

  “None of that,” Rose said fiercely. “If it hadn’t been me it would have been someone else. Personally, I’m kind of glad it was me . . . if not, who knows how long it would have been before we met face to face.”

  I felt warm at her statement.

  “So, what’s next?” Rose asked.

  “Dawson,” I said. “I need to meet with him.”

  “Assuming he’ll listen to you,” Rose added.

  “Right, assuming It will listen to me,” I agreed. “Other than that, we need to find out how Epic did this to us and how It chose Its targets.”

  “Aside from you and I being targeted specifically, the others might be random,” Rose said.

  It was possible that the others were chosen at random, but that didn’t feel right to me. “If It was targeting my friends and I, I imagine It would have targeted Olaf, Micaela, Heath, and your sister.”

  “Babs was fine when I saw her after logging out . . . well . . . fine other than freaking out about me,” Rose said then added, “In case you were wondering, Babs is short for Barbara, Baby’s real name.”

  I was grateful for the information, but I was still worried. “Olaf and Micaela might be in another room,” I said, worriedly looking at the door leading into the hall where all the other ‘afflicted’ were staying.

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Rose said. “For now, we should call my sister, she’s going to be so surprised to see you with me,” she added with a wicked grin. “Feel like playing a trick on my sister?”

  It was so very tempting, but then I stated seriously, “I don’t think this is really a good time for it.”

  “Spoilsport,” Rose complained. “But I suppose you have a point.”

  Rose set her phone on the desk and tapped the screen. “Dex, link to the video screen in this room and call Babs,” Rose said, her phone springing to life in an instant.

  “Rosie, oh thank goodness, I was so worried when you hadn’t called . . . and why is . . . is that Bye-bye with you?” Babs asked, leaning in closer to the screen and narrowing her eyes to look me over.

  I grinned a little and waved to the non-Fairy woman on the screen.

  Rose grinned wolfishly. “Hey Sis,” Rose started. “So . . . wouldn’t you know it, this is all Jack’s fault.”

  I couldn’t exactly argue with her, but that didn’t stop me from looking at Rose and Babs like a deer caught in headlights.

  “What? Does he own Seed Inc., too?” Babs asked, directing a glare at me. This glare was significantly more effective than the childlike Fairy version I was used to seeing from her. Barbara was thin and lacked the round cheeks of her Fairy form, though that might have had more to do with the Seedpod diet. I couldn’t have told you if she was older or younger than Rose, only that they were close in age. Unlike Rose, Babs was blonde like her avatar, though more of a dirty blonde, almost brown, as opposed to the platinum blonde she sported as a Fairy in the game.

  “Not all of it,” I said defensively. Technically, I did own a minuscule portion of Seed Inc., less than 1% . . . less than 1% of 1%.

  “Of course, he does . . . why am I not surprised?” Babs questioned. “So . . . what did you do to my sister?”

  I told the story again. Explaining how Epic showed up during my logout process. Telling her about Epic’s threat and what It wanted from me.

  Babs blinked at me owlishly when the story ended. “You just can’t help it, can you? You just . . . how do you keep finding crazy adventures? You’re not even in the game anymore!”

  I shrugged, not sure how to answer that. I also couldn’t argue given how true it was.

  “Anyway, they did some medical tests. They are going to keep us here for a few days. Or at least until Mitchell Dawson himself finally talks to us,” Rose added.

  “You’re not hurt or anything, right? They aren’t for
cing you to say anything to me, are they?” Babs asked, leaning in closer to the screen again.

  “No, Sis, we’re good,” Rose assured her.

  “Okay, then what’s next?” Babs asked.

  “Jack and I were just talking about that. We need to talk to Dawson and let him know about Epic going rogue,” Rose said.

  “Want me to call Tim? I guarantee his agent could raise a massive stink, get the news outlets involved,” Babs offered.

  “Not yet,” Rose said, after sharing a short look with me. “If we cause a panic, Epic might do something to the people still in the game.”

  “Plus, he threatened to do the same to another hundred people in a week if I didn’t log back into the game,” I added.

  “Can’t they just shut the game down completely?” Babs asked.

  “I don’t know. I get the feeling Epic has already accounted for that,” I said.

  “You might have made the most terrifying A.I. in history, did you know that, Bye-bye?” Babs asked.

  “It’s Byron, and yeah, I am becoming very aware,” I said.

  “We’ll check in with you tomorrow. Jack wants to call his brother,” Rose said, trying to end the call.

  “Can’t he just go to his own room?” Babs asked.

  “We decided to share the room . . . for safety reasons,” Rose answered, looking anywhere but at Babs. “Anyway, got to go, Sis. Talk to you soon,” she added in a rush before ending the call with a tap on her phone.

  “She’s not going to let that go,” I said, trying not to laugh at how embarrassed Rose looked. Laughing at her now would probably end with me sleeping in the hallway or something.

  “I will talk to her about it in private tomorrow,” Rose said, ending any further discussion. “Your turn.”

  I set my phone on the table. “Lucky, connect to the video terminal and call Earl,” I said.

  “Earl?” Rose questioned. “Byron and Earl? Did your parents hate you or something?”

  “Family names,” said Earl from the video screen. “And who is this, little brother?”

  “Yes, Byron, who is this?” Marilyn asked, pulling the phone from Earl’s hand to get a better look. She looked exhausted but happy. Bundled in her arms was a baby with a little pink hat. “Also, Byron, meet your niece, Delilah. Baby girl, meet your uncle Bye-bye and the random girl he’s with.”

  “She is beautiful,” I said, reaching out a hand to touch the image of my niece. “I wish I was there.”

  “We wish you were here too,” Earl said, moving around the bed so that he could share the screen with his wife, gently taking the phone from her so she could rest. “Now, are you going to introduce us?”

  “Right, sorry. Earl, Marilyn, and Delilah, this is Rose, my girlfriend,” I said.

  “The girl from the game?” Marilyn asked.

  “The same,” I said.

  “She’s gorgeous, don’t screw it up this time,” Marilyn chided me. “It’s nice to meet you, Rose. Hopefully, we’ll be able to meet in person soon.”

  “I’d like that,” said Rose. “And Delilah really is beautiful.”

  “I’ll send pictures to Byron . . . better yet, have Byron send me your contact information,” Marilyn insisted.

  “I’ll do that . . . as soon as I get his contact information myself,” said Rose.

  “We can talk more tomorrow, Bro. Be with your family now,” I said.

  “Okay, but you call me tomorrow by noon or I’m calling Morty again,” Earl threatened.

  “Deal. Love you all,” I said.

  “We love you too,” Marilyn said, though her focus was squarely on the little bundle in her arms.

  “Talk to you tomorrow,” Earl said last, ending the call.

  “You have a nice family,” Rose said, looking at me intently.

  “I’m lucky. You have a nice family too, you know,” I said, returning the stare.

  Rose pounced, picking up where we left off in the Doctor’s office several floors below us. Her lips crashing into mine, her hands tangling into my hair. Eventually, we found our way onto the bed where we continued kissing, but no further than that, the clear warning against it from the Doctor managed to keep our hormones at bay. Besides, despite how much we may have wanted to, we weren’t in any kind of rush. I ended up holding Rose close to me as we fell asleep. I can’t remember ever sleeping so well before.

  In the morning, Rose and I took turns in the bathroom to shower and change into the better fitting clothes. The shirts still had hoods if we wanted to cover our heads.

  “I ordered breakfast while you were in the shower,” Rose said, as I emerged from the bathroom.

  “Yay, toast and more broth,” I said unenthusiastically.

  “I can’t wait for dinner,” said Rose, a sentiment I agreed with wholeheartedly. One of the downsides to logging out of a long-term dive like the Seedpod allowed, was the recovery process. No real food meant we were forced to slowly reintroduce food to our stomachs. Broth to start, then a little bread and broth, and then maybe something a little hardier. It wasn’t until about two or three days after logout, that you could have a real meal. And then, you get to starve yourself a day later to get ready to log back into the game for another month. Thankfully, whatever the food in the game was, it was spectacular and didn’t add a calorie.

  The thought of dinner made my mouth water. “How long until breakfast comes?” I barely finished the question when there was a knock on the door. This time I answered the door and rolled the cart inside.

  “We should do our stretching before we go exploring,” Rose said after the meal was done.

  “Might help if the doctor decides to make us run on that treadmill again,” I said.

  “Yeah, that was a little painful from the stiffness. Not as bad as I thought it would be though, so that’s something at least,” Rose commented, moving to an open area of the room.

  I joined her and began the prescribed stretches. Surprisingly, I think running the day before helped loosen me up. I felt stiff as if the muscles hadn’t been used recently, but I was surprised by my flexibility. It was actually a little better than I remember it being before I logged back into the game a month ago.

  “Do you feel more flexible?” Rose asked. She was sitting on the floor with her legs out to either side of her. Way out to either side, to the point that she was almost doing the splits.

  “I do, it’s strange,” I said, bending at the waist, my head near my knees. I bent back the other way. But the movement was too fast, I knew it as soon as I started moving. It felt like when I was learning the acrobatics skill in the game during my first dive. I let the momentum take me, putting my hands to the floor as my feet went into the air, a perfect handstand. Well . . . not quite perfect, my balance was slightly off, but I was able to adjust for it quickly enough that I didn’t fall on my head.

  “How are you doing that? Could you do that before?” Rose asked.

  “No,” I said, surprised by the lack of strain I was feeling. “It was like . . . muscle memory,” I added, bending at the waist again until my feet touched the floor and I stood back up again.

  “What else can you do?” Rose asked, standing from her seat on the floor.

  “I don’t know,” I answered.

  “Do a flip,” Rose challenged me.

  “That doesn’t seem like a good idea, at least, not on this floor,” I said, tapping my foot to the carpeting and feeling the hard cement below the thin layer of padding.

  “Yeah, you might have a point. Maybe there will be something in the social area, like a gym or something,” Rose suggested. “Otherwise, we can go out for a walk and find some soft grass or something.”

  “Okay, we can check that out,” I said.

  “I think that’s enough stretching, let’s go,” Rose said, leading the way.

  I followed Rose out the door toward the elevator where I was surprised to see a couple of other people waiting, wearing similar hoodies.

  “I think this elevator system
is broken,” a woman complained. “Same elevator every time and always a wait.”

  “Relax, Sis,” a man said. “It’s just your imagination.”

  “Maybe they’re on power save mode or something,” the woman said. “Makes me wish you could still open portals, Andy.”

  “Yeah, yeah, Charlie,” the man, Andy, replied.

  “Oh, hey, the new couple,” Charlie said, finally noticing us.

  “Joshua’s got a big mouth,” Andy said. “Sorry, I’m Andy Galwin and this is my sister Charlotte, Charlie for short.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said. “I’m Byron, this is Rose.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Charlie said. “Welcome to purgatory.”

  “Sis, stop that. We’re not dead or dying. We’re not trapped in the game. We’re fine.”

  “Easy to say, hard to prove,” Charlie replied. I couldn’t tell if she was teasing her brother.

  “How long have you guys been here?” Rose asked, moving into the newly arrived elevator.

  “Four days,” Andy answered. “We were part of the first twenty-eight to arrive.” He pressed a button for one of the upper floors. Seeing as Rose and I didn’t really know where to go, following along was probably for the best.

  “Are we the last?” I asked.

  “So far,” Andy said. “The number of new arrivals has certainly slowed down.”

  The elevator opened silently before I could ask another question. “This is the rec floor. There are video stations, some old VR games, hangout spaces, and stuff like that. All leftovers from the Alpha and Beta testing I’m sure,” Andy said, stepping off the elevator first.

  “Any kind of gym or weight room?” Rose asked.

  “Yeah, down one floor,” Charlie answered, following her brother out of the elevator.

  I shared a brief look with Rose before stepping out of the elevator with her. The gym would wait, I wanted to ask a few more questions.

  The floor was large and spacious and . . . empty, or almost empty. Aside from the four of us, I saw just two other hoodies, both of them on a couch in front of a video screen playing what looked like an ancient console game of some kind. I was going to ask where everyone else was but Rose spoke first.