by L. R. Wolf
“You mean you are attempting to buy them off, yes?” Elohwa's eyes narrowed as she glared at the dwarf. Brackerd could feel sweat trickling down his face as he felt the air pressure in the tent start to change, if he had been in the real world he would have thought a tornado was close by. He sighed and twisted the braid in his beard with one hand in his nervousness.
“I suppose in a sense,” Once again his interface lit up with messages warning him to tread lightly. He knew he was inches away from losing his job, but he also knew that there was no way they would squelch him or replace him at this point considering it would likely cause the Dreamer to lose trust and faith if he suddenly couldn’t speak or was replaced with someone else. He already had a rapport with the women so he decided to be completely honest. “The truth of the matter is that what has happened is a gigantic mess for the company. My bosses are scrambling to do damage control. They don’t want this getting out into the public. They would much rather pay out a few million to each of the families affected now rather than potentially lose billions in profits. Believe me when I say, they will pretty much give you and your family anything you want so that you won’t file a suit or go to the press.” Brackerd flinched as his vision was suddenly obstructed by big red letters that read along the lines of YOU’RE SO EFFING FIRED!! “Please excuse me ladies, it would appear that I’ve said too much. I’m sure you will have a new SGM assigned to your case. Thank you for your time and I do apologize for your situation and hope that it can be resolved as soon as possible.” With a sigh he rose to his feet, but before he could turn to leave Aya let go of Elohwa’s now mangled hand and shot to her feet.
“Your bosses are listening then? I want to speak with one of them RIGHT NOW and I want you to stay right where you are.” Aya was absolutely radiating with anger the pressure rising with the fact they were attempting to buy off her family while she lay comatose. After a few seconds a high elf suddenly appeared in the tent. He was almost seven feet tall with white hair and ice blue eyes. He bore himself as if he were royalty.
“My name is Jason Reese. I am the CTO of Dreamscape Technologies.” He bowed his head slightly at Aya. “First of all let me extend my deepest and most heartfelt apologies for what you and your family are experiencing.” Before he could continue Aya took a step towards him threateningly, both her hands covered in fire. Elohwa quickly put herself between Aya and the high elf, placing her hands up on Aya’s shoulders to keep her back.
“I know who you are so cut the bullshit platitudes! The only person here besides Elohwa that has actually been honest with me is him!” She pointed at Brackerd, the fire surrounding her hands sending sparks into the air. “If you want any chance of me being cooperative now or in the future, HE stays as my caseworker. I will ONLY speak with him or through him.” The power rolling off the Dreamer caused Jason to take a step back, his eyes narrowed as he examined her.
Aya The Dreamer
Skill Level 8 (Fire Magic)
There didn’t appear to be anything special about this woman. He could tell that she hadn’t bothered messing with any of the options during character creation as she didn’t exhibit the telltale glow of any enhancements to her avatar. Something seemed to click in the back of his mind, but he pushed it away until later.
“Madam, I assure you, we are doing everything in our power…” He trailed off as he was hit by a wave of power. In his time as CTO he had faced down both men and women of incredible financial and political power, but this was something entirely different. The kind of power he felt coming off of this woman was almost primal. He knew that his Avatar couldn’t be harmed, such was the power of being a GM in this world, but he still felt a twinge of fear. He almost felt sorry for the poor soul who dared anger this woman in this world. There were rules put into place that kept people from being super powerful. They didn’t really want brand new Dreamers running around obliterating everything with the things they could come up with in their dreams, but this woman was radiating power that you would find with some of the highest tier mythical raid end bosses. “You’re right, I apologize.” He decided to change tact and be honest with the woman since she appeared to respect honesty considering she had saved Brackerd’s job just for that reason. “As Brackerd mentioned previously, this is a nightmare of epic proportions for my company. We are willing to do whatever it takes to not only return you to your family, but to ensure that something like this never happens again.” He slowly lowered himself to the ground and motioned for everyone to do the same. Brackerd looked towards the two women, Elohwa was still facing Aya trying to keep her away from the two Dreamscape representatives. Finally, Aya stepped back and took a seat, Elohwa sat down beside Aya putting a hand on her shoulder. Brackerd was the last to take a seat.
“Is there any way for her to contact her family so that she can see her children?” Elohwa knew that Aya was wondering the same questions, but she feared if the woman were to ask these questions she would either fall apart or tear Brackerd apart. She knew that if only her Dreamer could at least speak to her family in some way that she might feel even the smallest bit of relief.
“I am going to be completely honest with you ladies, when we were made aware of what was happening within Infinity, we cut all communications to the outside world until we could speak with those affected and their families. We wanted the chance to be able to fix the issue before anyone did anything to start a worldwide panic. Once this conversation is done, you will be able to contact your family using conventional methods within your HUD.” His eyes twitched back and forth real fast as he read something in his interface. “I have authorized that you, your immediate family and others like you be given free access to our cash shop and to all of the various services that Dreamscapes has to offer.” He could see Aya's eyes twitch and her mouth open as she was about to say something, but before she could say anything he held up a hand to stall her. “This is NOT an attempt at a bribe. If you do decide to go to the press or file suit against us, you and your family will retain unlimited access to our services for life and at no cost to you or your family.” The pressure in the air appeared to let up somewhat as he continued, “we know we screwed up, we just want the opportunity to be able to fix what has happened.”
Aya had been silent for a while trying to digest all of this, her hands were balled up into fists on her knees, the eerie fire had moved up to her arms yet she didn’t appear to notice the flames. “And what happens if you can’t fix it?” Her question came out hoarse as if she were trying to hold back tears.
“Let’s not go there just yet. We have the best people in the world working on this. Your comatose state isn’t like most. You had no underlying illness which would cause this, nor did you receive any kind of head trauma which is what we normally associate with the cause of a coma. Now I’m not going to lie, it may take some time to figure this out, but many of the people I have spoken with are highly optimistic.” He relaxed a bit as the pressure eased up even more within the tent. “I guess honesty IS the best policy.” he thought to himself.
“What do I do now?” The flames traveling up Aya’s arms disappeared as the anger at her situation started to fade only to be replaced by sorrow at the situation she was finding herself in.
“Normally, I would say go out into the world and enjoy it, but I can see that you are likely not in the mood for it. I’m afraid I have business to attend to regarding this debacle. If you have any questions or requests please feel free to contact Brackerd at any time.” He waved a hand towards the dwarf who had remained silent through his boss’s presentation. “Aya, I have added Brackerd’s contact information into your HUD so that you can see when he is available. If he is not available, you can send him priority messages.
As for you,” He turned his attention to Brackerd, his eyes narrowing as he glared at his would be former employee, “your only job is Aya. As her caseworker it is your duty to relay any and all information to and from her. I highly recommend you be prompt with your responses.” Jason got
up to leave, stretching a bit as he had been sitting on the hard ground for awhile. He marveled at just how lifelike his company’s newest creation was. While this meeting had been one of the hardest he had ever had to attend, he was silently thanking his lucky stars. It appeared that only a small amount of people had been affected by this mysterious malady. He prayed that they would be able to deliver good news and return them all to their bodies while at the same time praying that none of them decided to take the company down in the meantime.
“Thank you for your time, ladies.” Jason reached into the bag at his side and pulled out two incredibly elaborate bags. Their normal bags just looked like brown cloth with a black string at the top to keep it shut with another string letting one tie it onto their belt. These particular bags were more like satchels. The leather was tooled with various animals within the world of Infinity. A leather strap would allow someone to put it over a shoulder and across the body while a gold buckle kept the bag closed. He handed one to each woman. “Please accept these gifts. I know it won’t do much to lessen the pain you’re likely feeling, but they should help you out a great deal if you choose to continue venturing in the world. Once I leave, you should see two new icons in your interface. One will put you into direct contact with Brackerd if he’s online or give you the option to message him. The other icon will allow you access to the various communication choices you can use to contact family members.” Jason bowed to the women and tossed one last glare at Brackerd before he promptly disappeared from view.
Brackerd took this opportunity to get to his feet as well. He looked at the women, his heart heavy with the news he had had to deliver. “I know this won’t make you feel any better, but thank you. I couldn’t afford to lose this job, but I also couldn’t live with the crap they were making me shovel in your direction.” He bowed to them as his boss had done. “Please, if there is anything at all that you need please do not hesitate to contact me at any time, day or night.” With that he took his leave. Rather than just disappearing as Jason had done he opened the tent flap and stepped into the pouring rain. He turned his face up towards the cascade of water, letting the rain wash away the tears that had swiftly formed. The thought of the news he had to deliver combined with the potential loss of his job had worn on him. He had his own family at home to worry about. Had he lost his job, well, the thought was too much to bear. With a wave of his hand he, too, disappeared.
Chapter 13: Heartache
∆∆∆
As Brackerd was leaving the tent, Elohwa turned to Aya. The Dreamer looked more pale than usual. The pressure in the tent had returned to normal as her anger faded, now she was just full of pain and anguish. She gently lifted her sore hand up and examined it. As Aya’s anger had grown so too had her strength. Elohwa was quite sure some of her bones were broken, but she didn’t want to make Aya feel any worse than what she was already feeling. She removed a healing vial from her bag and downed it. The pain ceased immediately as the potion took hold. After a minute, she flexed her fingers a bit testing them out. She was torn between staying to comfort Aya or to leave and give her some time to herself. She decided it would be better to stay. Aya could always ask her to leave.
A few minutes passed before Aya took a deep breath and mentally pressed the icon that would connect her with her family. She projected the call up on to the wall of the tent so it would be bigger. Almost immediately the wall of the tent seemed to transform into an entirely different room. Elohwa stared at the view on the wall. All she had ever known was this world, and here in front of her was a completely different world, so unlike Marod.
“Noel!” a haggard looking man appeared on the screen. His eyes were red from tears as he had been delivered the news. , In his arms was a little boy about one year old, a little girl had her arms wrapped around his legs. As soon as the little girl caught sight of Aya she squealed, “MOMMY you’re awake!!” Behind them was a flurry of activity as Aya could see men in suits moving through the living room.
“My sweets!” Aya was attempting to put on a brave face, she managed to force a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. The little boy was struggling against his dad trying to reach out for Aya. “Oh my big boy! I’m sorry Honey, Mommy can’t hold you right now,” Aya’s voice was constricted as tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes. The little girl looked back at the men going in and out of her room. Looking confused, she ran over to peer into the room and then ran back to Ray’s side.
“Mommy how are you in bed AND on the wall?” She tilted her little face to the side questioningly. Aya looked at Ray, not knowing what to say.
Ray gently lowered little Donald to the floor. “Jean honey, why don’t you take your brother in the other room with Granny and Granddaddy please? Daddy needs to talk to Mommy.” Jean grabbed her little brother's hand and led him away from the wall and into another room. Ray and Noel just stared at each other as they both fought the tears that were sure to come.
“What exactly happened over there?” Aya knew her own side of the story, but was curious what exactly had happened in the real world.
“I have no idea. We were fighting in the gnoll camp. Something appeared out of nowhere and killed you. When you died I was kicked out of Infinity awakening to the sounds of alarms going off in the house.” He took a deep breath before continuing, “Your health tracker was going berserk. Within five minutes Dreamscapes representatives showed up.” His voice broke a bit as he relayed the same information that she had received. Once they were all caught up to the present they once again fell silent. Pain was etched on their faces.
“They are going to figure this out, I know it! I’ll be back home in no time. Until then, once they figure out the issue you and the kids will be able to visit in the Dreamscape. You also may need to show my mom how the visors work.” She smiled again at the thought. Aya’s mom wasn’t as tech savvy as her children, she knew just enough to be dangerous.
“I will dear.” Ray smiled sadly. “I’ve already told the reps that I won’t do or say anything for awhile. My parents agreed as well since I called them and your mom over to help with the kids while they…” he choked a bit at the words he had to say, “remove your body.” Tears escaped the corner of one eye.
“Do they know where they are taking my body?” It seemed so odd to be talking about her body like this.
Ray’s eyes flicked as he read something in his HUD. “They actually have a facility in Orlando. Speaking of which,” he paused, biting his lip, trying to figure out how to say what he had been thinking but Aya seemed to be able to read his mind.
“There’s no reason to move there then, there’s really no reason to go visit my body either. I’m sure that will make it harder on our family, and the kids won’t understand if they have to see me like that.” Aya wiped away some more tears. “I’ll probably be calling multiple times a day to check on everyone and once they figure out the issue and get the visors fixed then we can get them all in the Dreamscape so I can hold everyone. What is our story going to be for everyone else? An accident?” Aya sniffled a bit, she hated having to lie to her friends. The only reason her family knew what was going on is they had been the first people Ray had called. Aya’s mom and in-laws lived just minutes away and had arrived shortly before the Dreamscape representatives.
Ray nodded in agreement. He knew it would be easier on everyone if they just video chatted and eventually met up in the Dreamscape. “All of our friends are very aware of just how graceful you can be, so that’s what we should go with. It’s more believable than an illness. I’m going to grab the kids and our parents and take them all over to your moms so they don’t have to watch your body being hauled out of our bedroom.”
“Good idea. Before you go, would you bring everyone in here please?” Aya at least wanted to see everyone real fast. She knew she would be talking to them again soon, but there was something she just had to say before she disconnected the call. Ray disappeared from view for a moment. When he reappeared he once again
held Donald in his arms. The little girl, Jean, came back into view hugging a teddy bear tightly to her chest as two older women and an older man appeared. Both of the women had been crying.
“Hi all!” Aya once again choked back tears as she saw them all together. “I’ll be back as soon as I can be. I told Ray I’ll probably be calling a lot just to say hi. I want you to know that I love you all and I look forward to being able to see you in the Dreamscape when it’s available. Jean, my big girl, you behave for everyone and help Daddy take care of Don, ok?”
Jean squeezed her bear tighter and nodded, her red curls bouncing as she did so. “I will, Mommy. I’ll be good I promise!” The little boy was once again trying to escape his father's grasp.
“You be a big boy and play nice with your sister.” He settled down in Ray’s arms. Aya wiped some more tears from her eyes.
“We love you, Noel! Hurry home!” They all shared the same sentiment.
“I’ll call back later when things settle down a bit. Love you!” Aya’s heart lurched a bit as they said their goodbyes and the call disconnected.
Chapter 14: Night Descends
∆∆∆
Aya disconnected the video chat with a silent sob. Elohwa who had, until now, bore silent witness to Aya’s gut wrenching interaction to her family, turned towards Aya and embraced her. The dam that Aya had worked so hard to build to keep her emotions in check collapsed and she screamed into Elohwa’s chest. Her tears now flowing freely. “This feels really familiar somehow.” Elohwa thought to herself, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and focused on Aya. After a while Aya’s body stopped shaking. She lifted her head up, her eyes red from the crying.
