The voice cut out in static, and a quest marker appeared in front of Donovan. He tapped it and a quest acceptance screen appeared at waist level for him to accept. He almost pressed accept when he stopped, “Wait, we need to form a party. Otherwise you won’t get the quest.”
Scott responded to his words by pulling up the main menu, selecting, and inviting everyone to an in-game party. Everyone accepted, and then Donovan started the quest. Each of them received a small notification bar about eye level and arm’s length away. Their quest was to eliminate twenty-five enemies each. Scott took a second and opened his mind; he cleared his thoughts and listened to what was going on inside the game. Scott heard spawning sounds off over the hill that was to their east. “Guys over that way is where we need to go.” He said pointing toward the hill.
The others acknowledged and the five of them made their way toward the hill. As they were walking Scott opened his inventory, he searched each section: attire, weapons, consumables, and quest items. He was saddened when there was no other sword in his inventory to equip to use. “Scott watch where you’re going!” Charlotte yelled out.
Scott closed the menu and saw he was about to walk straight into a pack of wolves. He jumped back and drew his sword. “So how are we going to play this?” He yelled out.
“Brute force!” Donovan responded charging one of the wolves.
Donovan’s battle hammer met the wolves head and a loud crack echoed from the impact. The wolf howled and shattered into pixels. It was on.
Charlotte sliced through another wolf leaving a blue pixelated line through the side of the wolf. The wolf fell on its side and dissipated like the one before it. Nick used his axe to quickly take out the wolf he was entangled with. Alissa pulled her shield up as a wolf lunged at her. Its claws sparked against the shield and made a screeching sound as they moved along it. Alissa pushed back against the wolf who tumbled to the ground belly up. She moved up and stuck her sword between its ribs. The wolf let out a howl and vanished in a set of pixels.
Scott was left with two wolves; he was in a bad spot with only one sword. He gritted his teeth and charged toward them. One wolf lunged up at him. He slid down onto his knees and slid underneath the wolf and cut it’s under belly as the wolf leapt through the air. As he came out from underneath the wolf, he brought the sword down and around his chest and sliced at the other one who had charged head on. He hit the wolf and it howled at him. Within a second, the wolf’s mouth had a sword down it. The wolf dissipated in front of Scott. Scott was heaving; he could not catch his breath.
“Yo, you good?” Nick bickered out at him.
Scott was still on his knees and looked up at Nick, “I’m fine,” he replied sternly.
He lifted himself up and sheathed his sword. A small box appeared, congratulated them on their first encounter, and gave them all ten gold and an item. Scott was happy to see he received another sword. Charlotte received a healing potion, Alissa a different kind of shield, Donovan an article of clothing, and Nick received a set of tools.
They all hit the accept button and they all looked at each other and began to laugh. Nick piped up, “That was fun. I hope the rest of the game is better than that little encounter.”
The others nodded in agreement, “Well we all have twenty-four more to kill. Let’s get a move on.” Alissa said pointing up toward another pack of wolves that were moving down in the valley below.
Scott equipped his other sword, rose it into the air, and shouted out, “It’s on!”
The group charged the wolves and began to cut them down one by one. They moved from area to area trying to meet the quest goal. Each time they received experience and items for completing each encounter.
There characters leveled up twice before each of them hit twenty- five kills apiece. “I wonder if we will keep the experience when we are in here for real.” Donovan said setting his hammer down upon a rock that the group was next too.
“You know this is only a game version due to the IVR stuff, right? We won’t have X.P. or quests if we are in here for real,” Nick replied sliding his dagger into its sheath.
Donovan gave him a ‘yeah you’re right’ look. The game’s sun was on the horizon, “Well I think we can log out now,” Scott said pulling up the game menu.
The others agreed and they all pulled up their menus. Scott hit the ‘log out’ button and felt his character fade.
Scott woke with the IVR nerve gear set upon his head. He sat up and pulled off the helmet and set it on the stand next to him. He looked around to see the others doing the same as they came to after being in the game. He glanced over at the digital clock hanging above the door. 5:26:25pm. Scott swung his feet out over the floor and put his legs down and his feet touched the ground. He looked over at Charlotte and smiled. She smiled back at him. Tuomas walked through the door and stopped in the center of the room, as the rest of them stood up off of the beds, “So, what did you guys think?” he asked.
5:
A few days had passed, after the immersive game dive, Tuomas informed them that they were going to be going into the world on the start of the week. Scott and the others had mixed reactions to his words, for they believed that the technology worked, they had seen that first hand, they were worried about what they were going to find on the other side.
Today was that day they would be atomized into the virtual world. Scott was on his way to Virtual Industry, but he needed to make a small detour to get breakfast, after making the decision that he was going to treat himself to a breakfast out for all the work they had done at Virtual Industry. Though he could not make up his mind what he wanted to eat. His stomach was rumbling and he kept passing restaurants. He was nervous of what was about to happen. He kept thinking about what Nick had done in the elevator and how Alissa pulled him aside that Friday to explain that their father passed, putting him in an irritated and combatant mood. Scott was trying to find it to forgive Nick, but that was no easy task for such a fresh memory. He sighed and tried to think of the next few weeks that he and the others were about to face together.
“Only a couple of weeks, no more no less. Not like last time, not like…” He shoved the thoughts from his mind.
Scott kept walking along the grey sidewalk; people passed him on both sides. The weather had finally started to warm up and the sun was coming up over the skyscrapers that towered over the roads and walkways. He stopped mid step and turned to look at a local coffee shop, The Bronze Cup. He made up his mind and headed towards the door. It was a glass-pained door with a handle and hinges on the left. Scott reached out and pulled on the handle. The door squeaked as he pulled it open. The smell of coffee consumed his senses as he took a step into the building. He noticed the busy baristas brewing coffee and making pastries. There was a short line at the counter that Scott took his place in. He looked over through the glass where the pastries were on display in. He looked at all the cookies, breads and sandwich rolls. The line move quickly enough that Scott almost did not have enough time to decide what he wanted when it was his time to order.
“What can I get started for you?” the woman behind the counter asked.
“I would like a medium vanilla cinnamon expresso and an egg and sausage bagel please,” Scott replied reaching into his back pocket to pull out his wallet.
“Alright, that will be ten-forty please.”
Scott flipped open his wallet and pulled out his debit card and handed it to the woman. She looked at the card for a brief second and then moved to swipe it. The machine that the card was swiped through hummed for a moment then spit out a receipt from its top. The woman ripped off the receipt and handed it and the card back to Scott, who put both into his wallet. He stepped aside so the next person could order. He slipped his wallet back into his back pocket and moved toward the end of the counter where the order was to be picked up. Scott waited with his arms crossed until they called out his order. He walked over, picked up the coffee and the bagel off the counter, and made his way back towards the
door of the coffee shop. The door opened and someone walked in and Scott quickly made his way out the door before it shut on him.
Lots of things change after today: Scott thought taking a bite out of his bagel: hopefully all for the better. He thought of Charlotte and how their relationship was blooming. He was excited, and happy for what was going on between them. He smiled, it had been a long time since he have even thought about trying to date again. But he still needed to ask her out properly, and he was not sure how to go about doing that. Scott sipped his expresso and continued toward Virtual Industry. The warm liquid ran down his throat and he liked it, it had an amazing taste and sensation of smoothness about it.
His thoughts still dwelled on asking Charlotte, and he paused and spoke to himself, “I don’t even know if she wants that kind of next step,” He was being indecisive, no trying to talk himself out of it. He thought about the last woman he had dated. It had been a long time since they had been separated. He frowned. I don’t need to be reliving that horror, I know she was there with me but… He looked at his watch and looked at the chat box, it was still empty. He sighed: Maybe it is best we all move on.
Scott forced himself to think about happy thoughts and the positive things that have happened to him, putting his mind back on today and Charlotte. Hand holding, she likes that, we’ve done it in game a bit… but to give her a hug, hmmm I just don’t know if that is something that I should attempt yet. He went back to dwelling on how he should prompt Charlotte about becoming more exclusive. It took Scott another twenty minutes to get the front of Virtual Industry. He threw his trash into a public trash bin and headed into the building. He walked up to the desk, “Morning Liz.”
The woman at the desk looked up, “Morning Scott, how are you doing?”
“Fine, thank you, today is the big day for the team.”
She shuffled around her desk, “Yeah the rumors are spreading you guys are working on some high-class stuff. They are having some big press release too, you guys are making history.”
“Yeah, can’t talk too much about it, but it is some interesting stuff that is for sure.” Scott responded.
“See you later.” Liz responded to him as he passed by the desk to walk to the elevator.
“Later.” He responded, waving back at her.
Scott tapped the elevator button; his patience was thinning due to the anticipation. A tap on his shoulder startled him. Scott turned his head to see Charlotte standing there smiling at him, “Hey. How was your night?” He asked her. He noticed that she had gotten her hair done. Freshly cut and had the green redone on the tips of her hair.
She smiled, “It was good, got some drawing done. I went and sat by the lake in the park. I’ll show you soon, I am bringing my drawing pad with me. I have a feeling that we’ll have some downtime and I want to be able to bring some memories back with me. Since it is not tech I don’t think Tuomas will have an issue with me having it.”
The elevator pinged and the doors slid open and the two walked into it. Scott reached for the basement button and it lit up after he pressed it. The doors slowly slid closed and the elevator shook and started to move downwards. Scott turned his back to the elevator wall and faced Charlotte. She turned her head to see what he was doing and stepped closer to him. Without hesitation Charlotte wrapped her arms around him. Scott gave out a startled gasp, “It sucks we haven’t had a lot of time to talk about us. I know we find time while in the world we are going to. I don’t mean to be overly forward but I don’t know my emotions are a bit of a mess right now.” Charlotte told him, snuggling her head up against Scott’s chest.
Scott’s mind back tracked: Okay, well there goes that part… okay how should I handle this? “I know we will.” He responded to her as he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her. He took a deep breath, “We are supposed to be in there for two weeks, and I think we will be able to have some time where we can just talk. I think it will do us…” he paused at that thought, “All of us, some good to get away from our world full of technology and have some fun times in this digital world we are going into.”
Scott let her go from his embrace. Charlotte took two steps back then turned to face the elevator doors. Scott followed her lead and then grabbed Charlotte’s hand. He went with his gut on grabbing her hand outside of the virtual world, he wasn’t sure what to say at the moment. It was a bit faster than he had been thinking about it. He hadn’t even had a chance to talk to her about both of their feelings. But for him in that moment was what felt right.
The elevator slowed to a stop. The doors slid open to reveal a large room with a machine in the middle of it. The room was chrome colored and the machine was steel plated. A couple of scientists on the team walked up to the two of them, “You two are early, come this way please.” one of them instructed.
The two followed them and showed them to what looked like a makeshift armory. “All of the gear that you will need will be taken in with you. This includes weapons, clothing, canteens and so on. Everything in there will be real to you so don’t get wrapped up that it is fake. Okay? And leave all digital technology here as well please. Books, pencils and similar items are permitted, just place them in your respected leather pack.”
They acknowledged the one scientist and made their way over into the area. Scott looked to see his swords on a sword rack next to a light plate metal armor set. He looked over to see Charlotte looking at something similar but looked more like a splint mail set.
Two women appeared from behind a rack of weapons, “Ah you’re here, let us help you get into your armor,” One said.
One went to Scott the other to Charlotte. They began to outfit them with the armor upon the racks. “Are you ready?” the woman asked him.
“Yes,” Scott responded.
He took off his watch and placed it next to his pack, the emptied out his pockets. He had a stack of a phone, his watch, and wallet, a couple of pens, a set of headphones, and a pocket knife.
The woman picked up a bracer and made her way to Scott. Scott looked over at the elevator to see Nick and another woman appear to help Nick out, whose armor was a full garb of studded leather.
Scott realized how much all the training that Tuomas put them through paid off. The armor was heavy, and it was real. They were going to be put into a virtual world. Thirty minutes passed before all of Scott’s armor was on him. Scott had all of his armor on and he pulled out his two swords. With all the weight of his armor, he had some problem with mobility but he knew he would be able to compensate.
Donovan and Alissa showed up and had their armor’s put on as well. About an hour past before all five of them were suited up and ready to go. Donovan had a similar metal plate armor like Scott, Alissa had hers made of chainmail and some sculpted leather to give extra protection to vital areas.
Scott saw the far elevator open and Tuomas walked out in his armor, which was a chainmail set like Alissa’s. He noticed that were two other people walking with Tuomas. He recognized one, Drake, who Tuomas was apparently was close to as friends in the past and was the other co-owner of the company, but some bad blood formed after an accident.
The team hadn’t seen him much, they were told he was abroad on business in different countries getting more locations for servers built and staffed properly. There was a woman walking behind Drake. Scott didn’t know who she was, she was an average build, short and looked pissed off. Not too happy to be here I see: Scott smirked, as he looked back at his gear.
Charlotte appeared next to him, “You ready?”
“Hmm?” Scott responded shifting in his armor, “Yeah, as ready as I can be.”
“We’ll get through it together.”
Scott turned to look at her, “We will. All five of us.”
Donovan, Alissa and Nick all walked up next to them, “Woo hoo! Let’s do this thing!” Donovan bellowed, clasping his hands in excitement.
Tuomas and the others walked up to the five of them, “You five look like you could take on an army.”
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“Ha, I hope we won’t have to soon.” Nick replied sarcastically.
“We’ll see, won’t we Drake.” the woman spoke up, her harsh tone had some irritation in it.
Tuomas looked at her, “And what would you know Deborah? This is my work not yours.”
The others could tell that this wasn’t going to end well. Deborah started to form a set of words but was cut off before she could speak. “How about we get ready? Okay? Are the science team members ready to go?” Donovan interrupted before things got out of hand.
“Yeah, are we close?” Charlotte fumbled out trying to continue the derailing of the previous conversation.
Tuomas nodded to Charlotte and Donovan’s question. Alissa, Nick, Charlotte, and Donovan started to walk towards the monstrous machine. Scott signaled Drake and Deborah to move along, as he grabbed Tuomas’ arm. Leaning in to his ear, “Left out some details, did you?”
“Not now, I have some things to take care of beforehand.” He turned to face Scott, “They’re is the reason we have a problem or may have further problems when we get in there.” His eyes glanced over to Drake’s movement, “I will inform you once we’re in, you’re an analyzer figure it out.” He grumbled at Scott.
Tuomas yanked his arm out of Scotts grip and quickly walked off and made his way to the machine and began typing upon one of the consoles. The machine started to hum and fill the already noisy room with even more sounds. The temperature in the room also increased as the machine started to draw more power to keep it going at a constant rate. The others looked at each other with nervousness.
“You all ready?” Alissa asked, looking over at the machine.
“As ready as you can be I guess,” Charlotte responded looking around at the others.
“Truth,” Nick said.
“I second that,” Donovan responded.
Scott stood there not saying anything, “Scott you good?” Alissa asked him, as Scott was lost in thought.
The Seeds of Evermore Page 5
