Continue Online (Part 4, Crash)

by Stephan Morse

  I logged back in and felt immediately depressed. Our characters were standing in front of a dead end. My eyes closed briefly and time skipped. I was in no mood for such nonsense. Another message sat off to the side flashing for attention.

  [Convict Brand: Docile Binding] activated!

  This function of the [Convict Brand] will slowly reduce Traveler abilities and stats. Complete restriction of abilities will occur in twelve hours. Docile Binding can only be initiated through an approved user of the [Brand Anchor].

  “Oh no.” I groaned. We had under two hours to make it to the surface. Would my abilities shut off as well? This was not neat at all! “Dusk? Can you be unsummoned or something?”

  The little guy, who I still thought of as tiny despite his larger size, chirped a few times then did a circle. There was no message box above his head that might help.

  Walls rattled. Dirt fell from above and crumbs got into my hair. Something could be heard digging at the wall nearby. My small [Messenger’s Pet] hissed in unison with Viper. Both were upset. Their echo made me turn around to stare at them.

  I looked around then quickly pinged the area with [Sight of Mercari]. Players weren’t near us, so that left [Heavenly Body Clone]s trying to dig tunnels to us.

  Dusk had fireballs. I had [Blink] and the sharpness of shape shifting objects. I was exhausted though. The disorientation of [Blink] and [Awareness Heightening] would probably make me pass out if used excessively. Sure they were overpowered, but only if I was rested in real life. Running this character now was like a high powered car in a drunk’s hands.

  I took a breath and looked up. The ceiling was a mixed sort of dirt. The walls kept flaking off and scraping could be heard. Muffled barks of noise could be heard in the walls and behind us. If monsters could dig through to me, maybe we could mine a path out.

  Both eyes closed as I pinged again. Wyl was close. Other players were too, probably brought back to base by the [Convict Brand]. At least six people had respawned recently, but the names didn’t line up.

  “Dusk, can we, get back to Wyl from here?” Dusk knew who Wyl was. We had spent hours talking to the man during the William Carver era.

  Dusk stared up at me with his head tilted. Tiny claws teared away at the wall. Dirt gathered behind us rapidly. I reformed [Morrigu’s Gift] and [Morrigu’s Echo] into pickaxes and swung them. There was no finesse to my efforts. My actions might have been the flailing of a confused child. Still, [Brawn] and [Coordination] kept me moving forward through earthen walls.

  “Why didn’t we do this before?” I asked.

  The wall tore apart in chunks under our combined effort. Dusk squawked as larger pieces hit me, then he hissed with annoyance. I didn’t have the brainpower to do much besides keep swinging. Rocks echoed with noise.

  My head felt heavy and breathing was a struggle. Maybe dizziness hit me from a lack of virtual oxygen. Our steep climb took a toll, such that even Viper lacked color. Or it was his autopilot being literally dull. I hammered away and tried not to grumble or huff. I couldn’t tell how much progress we were making without a ball of fire.

  Walls below us crumbled. Hands from [Heavenly Body Clone]s could barely be seen wiggling through the dirt. Viper stabbed some of them. There were other noises in the distance. Sounds like power lines overcharging. A flash of blue poured into the monster’s freshly made hole, illuminating the darkness. Android Seven and his weird blue laser beams were completely insane. His dot sat at least three floors down. Fighting him again might be neat, from an objective standpoint, but deadly. The challenge of fighting another player didn’t outweigh survival.

  Dusk and I needed to get Viper and his stock of loot to freedom. More chunks fell away while I grew dizzier. Exhaustion messages came up. Breathing came slower. Air felt heavy.

  I swung again and prayed that we were getting closer. [Convict Brand: Docile Binding] drained me slowly. Physical abilities being constrained made it harder to swing. Dusk made more progress than me.

  Monsters behind us had arrived in droves, tearing apart the wall and wading through our dirty leavings. Viper fought a few off. There would be no fighting them in my condition, not anymore.

  Lifting chest muscles burned. [Morrigu’s Echo] went under my belt. Both hands gripped [Morrigu’s Gift] and swung. We lasted another four minutes while burying a pile of [Heavenly Body Clone]s behind us.

  My vision blurred. Every swing required three hurried breaths. I felt sharp nails dig at my heel. Dusk chirped in urgency at his tunnel. I tried to bend and look but fell instead. Pain radiated up a captured leg.

  There was a clear line of sight through to freedom. The narrow hole couldn’t be much larger than Dusk was. He had broken through though, three feet of dirt between us and the initial stairwell out.

  “Shit.” I huffed and tried to understand while Viper’s autopilot hissed. “Viper, put your hand through! I’ll pull!” [Blink] went off and I appeared in the barely visible pathway. My head swam and heartbeat stuttered.

  Hugged the wall wrong

  Total Health Remaining: 25%

  I got back down on my knees and saw fingers poking through the hole. Dusk was on the open side trying to dig our small escape way out. Starlight dripped from the walls in large quantities, bleeding around the hole my [Messenger’s Pet] made. I briefly wondered why we hadn’t dug through veins of liquid on the other side, but there was no time to figure out these mechanics. The [Abyss of Light] clearly had secrets.

  [Brawn] was below half but that was more than enough. I got a firm grip on Viper’s arm then pulled. Dirt ground along smoothed features and the man’s health bar dropped. Shoulders looked disjointed but somehow he contorted into a thin shape. His face never looked more like a snake’s.

  His autopilot hissed on the way through then stood and ran uphill. The face of a [Heavenly Body Clone] came through just behind him. I stabbed the monster with [Morrigu’s Gift], silencing its barks. [Dipped in Starlight] flashed again.

  Viper shuffled ahead with one possibly broken leg. Dusk tossed a few balls of fire at the dirt, doing more harm to the dirt than my latest victim. I pinged the area again with [Sight of Mercari].

  Big O and his trio were up with Wyl. Android Seven was behind us but getting closer. He had to be near the entry path. The Traveler would be in for a surprise upon seeing all these [Heavenly Body Clone]s. Electrical hums echoed down the hall.

  Legs refused to run and my head dragged. Exhaustion pulled at me. I gave a halfhearted toss of [Morrigu’s Echo] into the latest creature chasing after us. It pierced through and distracted a train of monsters for a moment. I [Recall]ed then tossed my spear formed weapon again, and again. Five throws and [Morrigu’s Echo] no longer had enough durability to risk another [Recall].

  We were so close to freedom. Liquid starlight faded in favor of actual sun. The dull scent of dirt and undead monsters mixed with flowers. I remembered that smell. Alyssum, tiny little flowers with a sweet fragrance. I got them for Xin all the time. That thought was delirium.

  I stepped out of the dungeon and was blinded by the fresh light. An abrupt pressure on my hands resulted in my arms being locked in a restraining grasp. My body fell forward and Dusk made an odd noise. Both eyes closed and I almost dropped into unconsciousness.

  Continue Online felt distant. The ARC connection dimmed as my awareness shut down. There were no boxes telling me we were in a safe zone for convicts though.

  “What?” I mumbled.

  “Two more. They don’t look like our man,” an unknown voice said. Strong arms lifted me from the ground. Viper had been cuffed and Dusk ran around anxiously. “One’s got a pet, tamer maybe.”

  We came into the square where our caravan first set down. Four weird ox giraffes were dead. The guards who sat up top with arrows were no longer at their posts. A man nearby screamed and it felt like an alarm clock going off. I tried to wake up enough to give everything a good look.

  [Arcadia] tilted sideways as I tried to reconcile everything. This w
as not neat. There were three players still alive. The guards who carried crossbows were dead and lying on the ground. People that didn’t belong to our convict caravan had Wyl and Knight Middleton hostage.

  “Who’s this?” A huge man moved forward. Scars rippled across the figure’s body. “Another prisoner? Kill him and continue to wait for Android Seven.”

  “Bounty can’t be worth all this, what, seven players, fifteen stupid NPCs?” one of the figures whispered.

  I felt too Voices damned tired to deal with this. Virtual statistics couldn’t cure my physical exhaustion in reality. My mouth opened in a wide yawn. This jailbreak wasn’t even for me, based on the few lines of conversation so far.

  “Android Seven is down below. If I lead you to him, can you let us go?” I said after a deep breath of fresh air. My own words came out as a slur. Nearly four game days and being awake for over thirty hours straight counted against me.

  “He said something about finding our bounty,” the man holding me said.

  “No need. These convict train gangs always work the same way. He’s bound to this place.” A large ogre of a man stepped over a dead body in our direction. “We can farm the whole lot of them for easy experience, take the loot, anything else of value. Kill him, kill the remaining guards, and Android Seven will come out eventually.”

  Wyl looked upset. The Traveler holding Wyl had long pink hair. He swept to the side and brought up a glowing hand. I had to try to help but the world swam. My eyes settled on the broken pillar of light that the two guards had once stood in. Solid chunks sat on the ground. I tried to understand how light could turn solid, but maybe I had been mistaken the whole time.

  Eyes closed once then opened slowly. [Blink] failed the three times in rapid succession. Boxes appeared. Neck muscles jerked while I tried to shake awareness into my head.

  This just wasn’t my week. Luckily I could hear the solution coming in behind us. A body flashed into being as one of the other convicts resurrected. The timing worked out perfectly.

  “Dusk!” I shouted. “Help Wyl!”

  Dusk launched a ball of fire straight into the pink haired Traveler’s back. Health dropped and his hair caught on fire. The former guard captain looked surprised but fell forward with a skilled tumble. In the span of three seconds, Wyl had broken loose, stolen another Traveler’s sword, and proceeded to stab someone.

  “Kill them all!” the giant Traveler said. Viper’s autopilot slipped an arm loose. I managed to initialize [Blink] on the fourth try.

  Others moved and I could barely keep tabs on anyone. My normal skills at group dances plus Shazam’s training would have helped predict people’s movements, but sleepiness won. For now, I only need to get away from the dungeon doorway. Barks could clearly be heard.

  Viper and I were magnets for monsters from the dungeon. I managed to get my two-handed [Morrigu’s Gift] out and swung at one of the Travelers. Big O was attacking someone while another random convict died. This madness would only get worse once the undead breeched.

  “Wyl! Run!” The guard’s head snapped up with an awareness I couldn’t manage. “Follow Dusk!”

  Wyl looked troubled and stared briefly toward another body. I followed his gaze while staggering under a heavy blow from the larger Traveler. Knight Middleton lay upon the ground, his health bar empty.

  Heavy hammering hit my giant sword again. I grunted, then twisted my foot against the ground. The toga rippled and flexed. Metal clunked together quickly then a helmet slammed on with a clink. [Power Armor] was in place. The next attack dented my side but was too late for a gutting blow.

  Barks came forth from the [Abyss of Light]’s doorway. Everyone turned in unison to look at the monsters pouring out. A small wave of legless [Heavenly Body Clone]s came first. One player stood his ground and hacked away.

  Then the [Undying] versions arrived. Small spiders scuttled along the doorway followed by undead [Coo-Coo Rill]s. I could hear the [Messenger’s Pet] happy chirp which made me shout orders.

  “Viper! Dump the bodies or we’re all dead! Dusk, no cupcakes if you get distracted!” I yelled. Speaking through exhaustion made me feel barky myself. All those monsters pouring out had parts of my mind reacting but awareness itself seemed distant. Being slammed by a blade while in a tin suit didn’t help.

  “Oh don’t worry!” another voice yelled from the crowd of emerging bodies. “I don’t take kindly to people hunting me down! You can all just die! And I’ll be taking those bodies too!”

  Android Seven stood in the doorway with an army of undead flowing around him. His arm held up charging another bolt of blue. It was aimed in my direction. For a moment, I stared at the blue light and contemplated checking out completely from Continue for the night.

  Reduced stats, sleepiness, low health. I couldn’t sit around here and deal with brawling nonsense. My teammate’s autopilot put bodies in a pile adding to the chaos. Another respawning Traveler appeared with a flash of light and promptly screamed like a girl seeing two rotting ponies humping each other.

  [Blink] failed again and I was left stumbling to the right. Blue energy flashed across then slammed into the brute who had been pounding on my two-handed [Morrigu’s Gift]. A woman stood on top of the wooden barricade that a crossbowman had been using prior. She looked to be reading a scroll while facing Wyl.

  I ran toward her. [Morrigu’s Echo] didn’t have enough durability for a [Recall]. [Blink] triggered on the third attempt and a full blown headache started as my body tumbled into the female. Messages flashed across and I waved them away while readying my blade.

  Armor clinked as I rolled to my feet. My character’s stats were almost back to day one level, but I could still right myself. Each step forward must have been terrifying to her. This [Power Armor] should be littered with glowing blood from [Heavenly Body Clone]s. My two-handed sword sat comfortably in one hand implying a level of [Brawn] that I didn’t have right now. All the unbloodied portions of gear were nearly black.

  “Not me! Don’t kill me!” the woman shouted while throwing up her hands. “I was just paid to break the pillar!”

  “You tried to kill my friend,” I mumbled at her. Wyl was an NPC, they didn’t grow on trees or respawn instantly. They weren’t like monsters from some vague dungeon. When it came down to player versus digital comrade, one of them would survive a deathblow.

  Barks overpowered the area. I stomped forward. Wood creaked beneath my feet. People nearby screamed as convicts and free Travelers alike were overrun.

  “It’s just a job! They haven’t even paid me my share of the money yet!” She kicked away from me. Her weapon fell over the edge.

  “Don’t think of this as me killing you, think of it as me speeding up your trip back to town,” I said while bringing down [Morrigu’s Gift].

  Her eyes went lifeless as the blade slid through her chest. I felt sick. Breath shortened to heaving gasps while I tried to remember she had been part of the group intent upon killing us. I really didn’t enjoy being around other players anymore. They made me do things like murder them.

  Viper was shuffling after Wyl. Both of them looked to be worse off than I was, which was impressive. I heaved another breath to steady myself against exhaustion. [Blink] went off and this time I managed to stay on my feet.

  Viper’s autopilot halted in front of me. I tried to talk but was drowned out. Noises were overpowering the yells of players. Sizzles, blue beams, and earth rumbling filled in the silence between barks.

  “Viper, you’re a bodyguard, and I’ll pay you all the gold I have to get Wyl back to Haven Valley,” I repeated myself a few times.

  “I don’t trusst you to pay,” he uttered the line.

  “I saved your life, you saved mine. Trust me. I’ll pay for my friend.” My unprofessional glare was covered by the [Power Armor] helmet. Shaking my head was tough and movements were restricted by the metal.

  “What?”

  “I can promise you the answer to one question, your choice, anything in
the game.” To be accurate, James would tell me and I would pass it on. “But I won’t tell you if Wyl dies.”

  “I do like ssecretss.” Viper’s autopilot hissed. “Deal, for now, Hermess.”

  I nodded, then turned toward the oncoming horde of monsters. This [Dipped in Starlight] had to go. Without the dead bodies and me as a lure, those monsters would eventually crawl back below. Hopefully.

  “Carver!” Wyl yelled behind me. “Is that you?!”

  “Not exactly,” I said, feeling slightly more energetic. There were far worse people to be called. “But I learned from the best!”

  Wyl’s expression couldn’t be seen. Dusk was chirping in the distance. Those damned [Heavenly Body Clone]s were barking in an unending flood. Some were held up by the pile of dead bodies Viper dropped off. The rest were locked in on me, a man stupid enough to hang around while being [Dipped in Starlight].

  The sword came up. WWCD? William Carver would happily go down swinging, and so would I. Still, after this week, I almost welcomed the release that dying might give me. Not literally, but the game had taken a toll on me. Why then, did charging those monsters in a reckless kamikaze of sleepiness feel so good?

  Session Seventy Seven - When the Sun Goes Down

  Death came upon swift wings and with it the silence of dreamless slumber. Sometime later morning arrived, trumpeted by a startling ringtone. My hands didn’t even move in a tempo with the pop song from twenty years ago.

  I groaned and tried to focus on the caller ID window floating nearby. Part of me knew because of the ringtone. Sure enough, my sister’s tired face sat on the preview. Her cheeks bloated out like a pufferfish.

  “Liz?” I mumbled. My throat felt dry. “What, what time is it?”

  My ARC happily provided numbers off to the side which I couldn’t read. Liz’s words were lost.

  “Grant!” Liz shouted. “Wake up!”

  “Liz? What time is it?” I repeated as the world recovered from being shut down. It was like an ARC going out of service, only my brain had done it instead.