The Two Week Curse

by Michael Chatfield

  Rugrat didn’t know whether what they were doing would be wasted effort; it didn’t really matter to him. As he threw the straps off and started to pull the steel out, he pictured the dead eyes, the lost look in Erik’s eyes.

  It was as if he was dead already on the inside. The anger that rose up in his throat as he yelled at Erik, Rugrat wouldn’t admit it to himself, but those words were as much for himself as they were for Erik.

  They might not want to keep going for themselves, but they’d push themselves for their brother, for the person who would stand beside them in thick and thin. This was one of those times.

  Rugrat dragged the steel to the workshop, letting it drop to the ground. The noise made him wince, but the dull look in his eyes held a bit of hope.

  “Maybe we need a new start? Something to take us away from this.” Rugrat didn’t really believe that Erik had healed his legs, but Erik thought so. “I just hope he doesn’t lose too much hope if it doesn’t work.”

  Chapter: Division of Tasks

  Erik heard Rugrat closing the fridge door in the basement and walking up the stairs moments later.

  Erik cleared his head, forcefully pushing those thoughts and emotions to the side, becoming the Erik West he’d always been.

  “Well, you might live in buttfuck nowhere, but, I’ll say this, I’m impressed with your vault and beer!” Rugrat came up the stairs and shut the door behind him with a kick. He appeared around the corner with nearly a dozen beers and a grin on his face.

  Erik couldn’t help but chuckle at Rugrat’s expression.

  If there was one thing they could all agree on, it was their love for weapons and booze.

  “Porch?” Erik asked.

  “Sure thing.” Rugrat took the beers out, then helped Erik outside and opened a beer for him. It was mid-afternoon. A cool breeze came through the surrounding forest.

  Rugrat took a seat in a chair, crossing his cowboy boots and tilting his hat forward.

  “Cheers.” Erik held out his beer.

  “Cheers,” Rugrat said. The two of them tapped their beers on a nearby table before taking a long drink.

  They just sat there for a bit.

  “Nothing like a post-deployment beer,” Erik said.

  “Nothing quite like it, or the first country girl,” Rugrat said.

  The corner of Erik’s mouth turned up at Rugrat’s antics as they continued to drink.

  “You have one hell of a hideout here,” Rugrat said.

  “Got everything you might need and a few things you might not, but it keeps me going,” Erik said.

  “Well, it’s a good thing that you kept your right hand. Don’t know what you’d do with all the time you have otherwise.” Rugrat shook his fist up and down in the air.

  “Fuck you too.” Erik took a drink of his beer, his middle finger in the air.

  Rugrat’s solemn expression turned into a big smile as they sat and drank, shooting the shit and not even talking about Erik’s wounds.

  Erik woke up early, a headache brewing from the night before. He made to get up, finding he was on the couch. His left arm slipped as if it wasn’t there. He looked over, and saw that it wasn’t there.

  Reality descended with a sigh as he felt the itchiness and the now dull pain of his missing limbs. He used his right hand to get up. He got on the floor and shimmied over to his bag. He popped some of the painkiller drugs and changed out of his clothes on the floor and struggled into his new set.

  Rugrat woke up some time later. “Ready?” he asked.

  “As I’m gonna be,” Erik said. The painkillers started to numb the world again.

  ***

  Rugrat made it clear to Erik he only had one job: to recover. Rugrat had carved out two circles outside of the cabin and was organizing his and Erik’s supplies. He’d got deliveries planned; in his downtime, he worked out with the exercise equipment in Erik’s workshop/garage.

  His Strength had actually increased a point from his hard work. Seeing that extra Strength stat, he threw himself into exercising even more.

  Erik opened his eyes with a gasp of breath as cold sweat flowed down his face. He slumped back into his chair. He was drained but recovering slowly but surely, a trickle of Mana flowing back into his body.

  Erik was frowning at the ceiling as Rugrat walked in, covered in sweat.

  “Dude, I know that they say size isn’t everything.” Rugrat couldn’t hold in the laugh as he looked at Erik’s “legs.”

  “They’re perfectly functional,” Erik said. The same thing that had happened with his arm happened with his legs. It was as if he were a child, growing once again.

  He had full legs, knees, shins, calfs, ankles, feet, and toes—just they were about the size of a four-year-old’s.

  Growing them initially had taken time and an excessive amount of Mana and Stamina. The energy required to make them grow decreased abruptly.

  “That’s what they all say.” Rugrat walked through the house, grabbing something out of the fridge, and headed back to the room. He tossed Erik a drink.

  Erik grabbed it with his left hand; it had been fully regrown now. They had a day and a half before they were set to disappear.

  Rugrat chugged a drink as Erik put the drink down.

  “You know how I told you about those odd markings that are inside our bodies?” Erik asked.

  “The two circles inside one another, thirteen of them throughout our bodies. I have three of them open—you’ve only got one?” Rugrat said.

  “Yeah, I think that they’re based on our Mana Regeneration. You have a Mana Regeneration stat of three while I’ve only got one. Also, when I cast a spell, then I feel the Mana coming in through the hole in the back of my head.”

  “Can we do anything for it, like open more of them up?” Rugrat asked.

  Erik shrugged and grabbed the drink. “Hell if I know.”

  “Ready?” Rugrat put his drained bottle down and leaned forward so that his hands rested on one of Erik’s legs.

  “Go for it,” Erik said.

  Rugrat’s healing spell wasn’t as powerful as Erik’s but every little bit helped speed up his recovery. A magic circle appeared around Rugrat’s hands as power poured out of him and into Erik’s leg.

  Erik’s fatigue only increased as his leg grew visibly before his eyes.

  Instead of just pouring out all his Mana in one shot, Rugrat slowly introduced it into the spell, allowing him to keep just above his Mana Regeneration rate.

  Erik braced himself and started to cast a healing spell on his other leg. Based on his senses, he worked to find the balance as well.

  After ten minutes, Erik slumped back in his seat. Rugrat followed him a few seconds later.

  Rugrat got to his feet and moved to the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later with a bag full of food. He threw Erik the majority of the bag, keeping some snacks.

  Erik wolfed them down as Rugrat tore open a pack of jerky and started munching on it.

  He didn’t say anything as he kept eating and put one hand on Erik’s left leg again. “Heal,” Rugrat said, his voice tired, but his eyes focused on Erik’s leg.

  Erik continued to eat with him. While Rugrat got headaches from exhausting his Mana, Erik’s Stamina decreased sharply. He had to keep on eating all the time.

  They lost track of time as the sun started to set and the lights came on in the house. Erik and Rugrat only paused when Erik’s Stamina was dangerously low or the Mana deficient headaches got too bad.

  Erik’s eyes were burning from the exhaustion. The darkness of night was already getting brighter as a new day was starting.

  Rugrat slid in his chair, unable to stay upright as he passed out.

  Erik looked at his legs. They were still skinny as hell, but at least they looked the right length now.

  Chapter: The Last Day

  Erik came to sometime later. Rugrat was stumbling through the house as though he were still dru
nk, holding his head as he drank directly from the kitchen sink.

  Erik looked to his legs. His eyes hadn’t lied—they were there now.

  Erik gripped the armrests of the chair he was in. He gritted his teeth. Even with the headache mildly pounding away in his head, he was focused on his legs.

  He pushed his body up. His legs felt awkward, but they responded to his thoughts. Erik stabilized himself before he pushed up, balancing his weight on his legs. They were incredibly weak. He could feel the strain of holding himself up on them.

  Using the wall and the couch, he moved forward shakily.

  His steps were sudden and jerky. It was as if he had sat on them for a long time. They were numb, but the feeling was coming back as blood flowed through them.

  Rugrat looked over to see Erik moving forward shakily. His pained expression turned into a smile and then laughter. “You fucking beauty! Nothing can keep down the Doc!” Rugrat laughed.

  Erik laughed. He tripped and fell over, but his joy wasn’t diminished as he rolled onto his back and continued to laugh.

  “I’ve got fucking legs!”

  ***

  It was around midday by the time the two of them recovered enough for Rugrat to help Erik out of the house.

  Erik leaned on Rugrat. His legs were already getting stronger. Erik’s natural healing abilities had only increased with time. If he and Rugrat hadn’t worked on putting him back together, then Erik’s body might have recovered on its own in six months.

  They went over to the garage/workshop. The truck, ATV, and car had all been moved out to clear space for the two circles that appeared in the workshop.

  Discarded pallets lay around the room. Rugrat had broken items down into the components so that they were as small as could be. Boxes and anything that took up space had been removed.

  Two semi-circle containers had been filled with necessary supplies and topped off with ammunition. Ropes in the center would allow them to climb into the middle and lower more gear over their heads.

  “Good work,” Erik said. Seeing all that Rugrat had done, he didn’t know how he had enough hours in the day.

  “I got your med kit supplies ready, but I haven’t wrapped it all up. You want to check over it?” Rugrat pointed to gear off to the side where needles, bags of saline, bandages, tourniquets, drugs, and myriad medical equipment were laid out.

  “Help me over there,” Erik said. They didn’t have time to mess about. There was just one day to go before they were summoned.

  Erik went through the medical supplies. By nighttime, everything was packed up in the summoning circles. More gear was packed in around it. If they had more room, then they’d try to take as much as possible.

  Erik’s legs were good enough to help Rugrat with everything.

  Then they turned to personal gear.

  Erik checked on his plate carrier, rucksack, weapons, and other extras. He modified it as he could before there was nothing more to do.

  They sat out in front of the house, looking at the garage and workshop, the two of them drinking beers.

  Everything had been a whirlwind since Rugrat showed up in Erik’s hospital room.

  Unbidden thoughts appeared in his mind as his eyes moved to the stars.

  Keller, Honcho, Yoreck—they’d been his friends, his buddies. Here he was, his arm and legs returned to him, but they hadn’t made it.

  A heavy silence descended as Erik raised up his bottle. “To the fallen.”

  “To the fallen,” Rugrat said. The two of them hit bottles, tapping them against their chairs, and took a deep drink.

  They nursed their drinks, thinking on the past. There was no grand ceremony or fanfare. Simply two men saying good-bye to their brothers.

  “Well, even if it’s the end tomorrow, we’ve got good company waiting for us,” Rugrat said.

  “That we do,” Erik agreed.

  A part of him wanted to just rest, to put it behind, but another part of him, the part that had driven him for most of his life, hungered for what was to come. He wanted to see what was on the other side of this summoning. He wanted to guide his own life.

  Chapter: Ten Realms?

  Erik woke up the next day with a mix of emotions.

  He went downstairs and went outside to look over it all—trying to take it in, to settle himself down. It was the same kind of nerves he got when he was just about to go on deployment. But now there was no talking to anyone else to see what would happen next. This was the big leap for him.

  He walked for about an hour or so before returning to the house.

  “Erik, Erik!” Rugrat yelled, running around the house in a panic.

  “I’m here, dude. What’s up?”

  “Shit, ah, nothing, sorry—didn’t know where you were.” Rugrat calmed down. “Thought I’d missed you already.”

  Erik could only pat Rugrat on the shoulder awkwardly.

  They ate some food, stuffing themselves as much as they could as they didn’t know when or where they might get their next meal.

  “Time to get suited up?” Rugrat asked.

  “Yeah,” Erik said.

  They grabbed their vests, pulling them on, checking their loaded magazines, their weapons, then gathered their guns together. Erik was hauling two gun bags with a pistol on his chest and his personal rifle hanging from his vest.

  They helped each other get their rucks on, checking the other out.

  They checked the time and got situated inside their tubes, affixing the extra overhead storage.

  “Fuck, I hate the waiting part!” Rugrat yelled from his tube.

  “And it hates you!” Erik yelled back, bracing his weapon.

  Erik heard a wrapper being opened.

  Erik laughed. “Twinkie?”

  “You know it!” Rugrat yelled back. “Twinkies will never die!”

  Erik shook his head. He was about to say something else when he suddenly closed his mouth. The air felt different, as if it were suffused with power. “Looks like this is it!” Erik yelled.

  Erik felt an almost tugging sensation on himself, Mana, its now familiar cool but also comfortable feeling, surged through the workshop, creating a dust cloud around the two metal cylinders Rugrat had made.

  A light appeared underneath Erik’s feet and above his head. The magical circles were being created.

  “See you on the other side, brother!” Erik yelled.

  “Come on then!” Rugrat yelled into the skies.

  ==========

  Abnormalities found

  ==========

  Light surrounded Erik. Everything seemed to disappear. He knew he was somewhere else but he couldn’t move, his every movement locked down.

  The Mana surged and Erik’s world changed.

  He dropped slightly. Erik ripped on a pull tab, cutting the straps around the cylinder. They dropped outward and gear pouring out everywhere.

  Erik raised his rifle, scanning the area. “Rugrat!” he yelled out.

  “Good!” Rugrat yelled back.

  They were in a forest but it didn’t look like any that Erik had seen back on Earth. There were massive mountains in the distance that shot through the clouds.

  The forest looked to be untouched, with colors that one wouldn’t see in a normal forest. A fog moved over the ground; random glowing lights appeared in the forest.

  The two of them looked around, checking that there was nothing around them.

  They lowered their guns and looked to each other just as a screen jumped up in their visions.

  ==========

  Welcome to the Ten Realms!

  ==========

  You have been randomly selected to join the Ten Realms. One may choose to ascend the Ten Realms, thereupon making a request to the Gods of the Realms.

  Only those who are Level 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 may ascend to the next realm.

  Fortune favors the strong!

  ========
==

  ==========

  Quest: Welcome to the Ten Realms

  ==========

  Requirements: Reach Ten Realms Totem (Marked on map)

  ==========

  Rewards: Guide to the Ten Realms

  Minor ring of holding

  Minor Mana recovery potion

  Minor Stamina recovery potion

  1000 EXP

  ==========

  ==========

  Quest: Opening the Fourteen Gates

  ==========

  Congratulations! You have opened your first Mana gate, unlocking this quest.

  ==========

  Requirements: Clear all of your fourteen gates (1/14).

  ==========

  Rewards: +1 to Mana Regeneration base stat.

  Undergo Mana Body Rebirth.

  14,000,000 EXP

  ==========

  ==========

  You have reached Level 1

  ==========

  When you sleep next, you will be able to increase your attributes by: 5 points.

  ==========

  ==========

  0/300 EXP till you reach Level 2

  ==========

  ==========

  You have learned the spell: Minor Heal Wounds. Your spell book has been updated.

  ==========

  ==========

  You have learned the spell: Blood Force. Your spell book has been updated.

  ==========

  ==========

  You have learned the spell: Simple Organic Scan. Your spell book has been updated.

  ==========

  ==========

  You have gained a Map! Do you wish to accept this gift?

  ==========

  YES/NO

  ==========

  Erik dismissed the screens with a thought.

  Rugrat and Erik walked closer together, their eyes still scanning the area.

  “Looks like a bunch of this didn’t come through when we were on Earth, must only work here. You see one of the screens talking about Experience?”