by Jesse Wilson
Reid squealed in pain and writhed as she reverted back into human form just as fast. Then her body crumbled away into white pixels. “Silver, never leave home without it,” she said and pulled the blade out of the green sand. It disappeared a second later. Derek ran up to her. “Werewolf characters who are killed with silver need twenty four hours before they can log on again, or pay to skip the time. Most don’t,” she said and tried to smile as half of Reid’s items transferred to her automatically in a thin white beam of light that lasted for a couple of seconds.
“Oh my god I am so glad to see you. I’ve been stuck here, like I said would happen, it happened,” Derek said and was panicked. He was letting everything out right now in a rush.
Jenny looked at him and took him in both arms, hugged him. Tears of blood ran down her face. “I am so sorry,” she said. It was now he noticed the tears and backed off. “Sorry about what?” he asked her and she couldn’t look at him. “Sorry about what, talk to me,” he demanded again as a gust of wind picked up around them.
“Okay,” she said and wiped the tears away as best as she could. “Just after I logged out lightning hit the house and shorted out your Arkway helmet. You’re in a hospital right now. Doctors say you’re in a coma. The helmet locked you inside the game. Mom and Dad are going nuts and I told them I’d check in on you. They wouldn’t let me but I convinced them that someone should let you know,” she said.
Derek’s world crumbled away. He was stunned to the point of being speechless. “Come on, say something, please,” she pleaded with him. He lifted a hand to get her to shut up. He needed a few seconds.
“I hate you,” he said with a wicked sincerity. “I deserve that,” she said, the words hurt but she tried not to let it show.
“I hate myself,” he said and looked at his hands, his mind breaking one piece at a time. Realizing that he was stuck in this hell, maybe forever, made him feel sick. He was sure if he could, he would have thrown up right now.
“Listen to me. Okay, I will be here as much as I can. I will make up for this for whatever time you have left. The doctors don’t know what is going to happen, but the helmet is hooked up to a power source and your brainwaves are practically normal. An Arkway tech is coming to look at the helmet and the game developers are trying to figure it out on their end. We will get you out, but until then I’ll have your back,” she said and Derek had no words, they had all been stolen by the virtual winds of this place and the news.
He thought about it. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before he knew exactly what he was going to say. “Sister, thanks for being there and doing what you can. But don’t waste your life in here. If it comes to the point where you can’t get me out, tell mom and dad to just pull the plug and end it. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in here, and being a burden out there, okay?” he said, doing his best to be as clear as he could.
Jenny crossed her arms. “If that’s what you want. I’ll tell them. Don’t worry. I’ll throw in all the emotional crap too, the love and affection and the I miss you that you left out,” she said and Derek nodded. “Thanks,” he replied, not thinking of any of that stuff.
“I have to get back to tell them you’re okay,” she said and looked around. “Could you do me a favor and just stay in the Starlight Pit. I don’t know but I have a feeling that if you die in another area, you might die in real life,” she said to him and Derek almost smiled.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll stay here,” he replied, they both knew he was lying. “I’ll always be able to locate you because you’re my sub account, parties aren’t required,” she said, then noticed he was wearing Obsidian Armor.
“Where did you get the fancy armor?” she asked him. “When the server shut down I stole it from the Bone Yard display,” he replied and she laughed. “I bet those Deldweebs are pissed about that,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yeah, that’s the thing. I, well. I didn’t know what to do, they found me and said I either work for them when they call or they’d just kill me over and over,” he replied and kept talking. “In return for working with them, I get to keep the armor,” he finished. Sandrine’s eyes darkened considerably when he said that.
“Do nothing for them. I am going to report to mom and dad that you’re okay. Get something to eat and come back here and have a talk with the Delwraths about their choice of words,” she said and Derek just wasn’t sure what his sister was truly capable of doing in this world. “Well, okay,” he replied and she smiled.
“Oh, don’t stay here much longer. The storm giants around here are strong enough to crush Obsidian Armor. They are super rare, but they do show up sometimes. Get back to town,” she said to him and disappeared.
Derek was now alone in an alien world that was now his home. He wondered if he could ever get used to it. He had so much to tell his sister and show her things, she was the only one he really trusted here. He opened his menu, took one last look around and in the far distance he thought he could see the lumbering form of a human shaped figure that stood fifteen feet tall. Maybe it was just an illusion created by the green and eternal sand storm.
He wasn’t going to wait around to find out. Derek teleported out of there as fast as he could. It was going to be a whole new adventure and since he couldn’t leave, he was going to do his best to try and enjoy it or die trying.
