Alterlife

by Matt Moss

  “Booby-trap?” I shout across the chasm.

  “Boobie-trap,” Deana confirms. “Lucky for you, I’m here.” She gives a firm tug on the rope. “I got you. Jump.”

  I look at the abyss and the thirty foot gap in between us. “You want me to jump? Are you insane?”

  “Quit being a little bitch. Jump.”

  “I’m not a little bitch,” I mumble. I half-hitch the rope around my waist a couple times for added safety, take a firm grip, and make the sign of the cross on my chest. “Here goes nothing.”

  My feet leave the ground and I leap across the crevice. My stomach grips my spine as I feel the sensation of free-falling like never before. Skydiving is on my bucket list, but not this. As I fall, barely clearing five feet of distance from the platform, Deana quickly pulls slack from the rope and digs her feet in, crouching in preparation to catch my weight. To my surprise, and thankfulness, she holds my weight and I swing like Tarzan to the other side, my feet slamming against the stone face of the crevice.

  I hear her grunt from up top. “Hurry up!” she cries out, her voice indicating that she doesn’t know how long she can hold me.

  One hand over the other, I climb my way up to Deana. When I grasp for purchase on the top, she drops the rope, grabs my hand, and hauls me onto safe ground.

  I lie flat on my back and she rolls over beside me, strained and fatigued. We both stare at the ceiling and laugh, thankful to be alive.

  “Well, what did you get?” she asks, turning her head to the side.

  Together, we jump up in excitement.

  I show her Thal’s Sword of Eternity.

  She gawks in awe, reading off the stats. “Indestructible, dexterity +100, and 10,000 damage.” She looks into my eyes. “There isn’t a weapon in Alterlife that even comes close to that. Do you realize what you have?”

  I feel the power of the shimmering blade in my hand and wave it around, light as a feather. “A badass, legendary item.”

  She shifts her weight onto one foot and places a hand on her hip. “You can destroy pretty much anyone in the game with that. Even a dragon probably wouldn’t be able to stand more than a few hits.” She steps back, placing a hand to her head. “I can’t believe it. And you have the cloak of invisibility...”

  “And I have this,” I tell her, revealing the remaining item from the chest.

  “The Amulet of Thal,” she says in wonder. “What’s it do?”

  “I don’t know. But it looks cool,” I say, donning the gold-chained, green-jeweled necklace around my neck. She’s jealous, it’s easy to see. I keep the sword equipped… just in case. I like Deana, but I trust no one.

  “Who are you?” she asks in all seriousness.

  I roll my head to the side and give her a look. “Come on, Deana. You know me. I just got lucky, is all. Now c’mon, let’s get out of here.”

  We use the torch to see our way back to the entrance. The flame dances in front of the sword, lighting it in every color imaginable.

  It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful. And you’re mine.

  “It’s gone,” Deana says.

  “What?”

  She turns around and flops her arms to her side. “The rope is gone.”

  “Impossible. How could that have happened?”

  She walks towards me in urgency. “We were followed. Someone had to pull it up. Keep that sword close. We may need it,” she says in a hushed voice and goes back down the tunnel, as it’s the only way left to go. Back at the chasm, there’s no way out.

  “What do we do?” she says in a panic, searching for a way out.

  “Just stay calm and think.” I walk around the small room of the cave, then notice the sound of my feet splashing a thin sheet of water. I bring the torch low and follow the stream as it carries along the rock floor, seeing that it leads beneath a crack in the wall. “The water knows how to get out. Follow the water.”

  Deana feels the wall, bends down and places her ear next to the water, then stands and removes an item from her pack—a bomb. She places the explosive where the water goes under the wall.

  “Seriously? A bomb? How much do you have in your inventory?”

  “Rangers are prepared for anything. You’ll learn one of these days. Step back.”

  We hide behind the entrance of the chasm and wait for it to detonate.

  Five seconds later, the bomb goes off, echoing through the cave, but it’s not nearly as explosive as I expected. There isn’t a dust cloud of rock and debris like I would have thought, either; just a hole in the wall that leads to another room. We follow the stream as it descends through the earth, through another tunnel. The sound of running water increases along with the flow, our boots splashing heavier. The torch lights the way and, as we round a corner, the tunnel dead-ends. We come to a stop.

  “What now?” I ask, peering down at the stream that runs under the rock.

  Deana puts the torch low. “There’s a hole, or a tunnel that goes under the rock. The water must lead to the river that we saw in the valley.”

  “That makes sense. But we don’t know how far that is, or if it truly does come out or not. What then when we swim to the end, only to find there’s no way out? We’d be screwed.”

  She closes her eyes and puts her hand to the water.

  “What is that? Another Ranger trick?”

  She puts her head down and concentrates. “I can feel the water. It continues to flow under the rock, its power wanting to be set free.” She opens her eyes and looks at me. “It goes to the river.”

  I throw my hands up. “Well, since you used Fish Speak, or whatever the hell that was, let’s just jump right in. Shall I go first?”

  She stands up and begins removing things from her inventory. “We go together. Get rid of anything you don’t need so you have more stamina.”

  I drop a couple rabbit pelts, drawing an eye roll from Deana. “What?” I say, shrugging. “I’m not proud.”

  “I remember those days,” she says, smiling. There’s a pile of random things by her feet, and I give her a curious look as to why she has so much crap. Silverware, a clock, a tin figurine, a teddy bear. “What?” she says in defense.

  “Nothing,” I say and look away.

  “You ready?” she asks.

  Before I can summon courage, she grabs my hand and pulls me in with her. I hold my breath and my stamina bar pops up in front of me. It slowly goes down as the current pulls us through the earth. I grip onto her hand tightly, afraid that if I let it go, this cave will be my final resting place. And I can’t shake the feeling that this might just be another trap, and Thal, if he does exist, is laughing at this very moment, counting us as fools for thinking we might escape with his treasure alive.

  There’s nothing but darkness, the sound of rushing water, and a pounding heartbeat to go along with the firm grip of her hand as we glide through the tunnel, occasionally bouncing off the walls. Each time I hit the wall, I wonder if my hand will leave hers for the final time. The green stamina bar depletes, and my red health bar pops up. I watch as it slowly starts to deplete.

  Damn. So this is what drowning feels like.

  I don’t feel it in the game but can only imagine. What I don’t want to do is imagine what will happen if the red bar goes empty.

  Deana’s probably using one of her skills to prolong drowning. Something like Fish Gills.

  Have I just set myself up by following her? Is she killing me on purpose?

  I recall her eyeing Thal’s items, and her envious remarks regarding my cloak of invisibility.

  No. She wouldn’t do that. Stop thinking about it.

  I can’t help it. The real world has programmed me to be suspicious of everyone and everything. The real world always has hidden agendas. Secrets and lies. It took me a while to realize it, but I finally wised up to those facts. When I began to see the truth behind the lies, I was amazed at how I missed it for so long.

  My health goes to half and there’s no telling how long this tunnel will go
. And the game won’t let me use a health potion underwater. We twist and wind through the black, and I give way to thoughts of despair. My only bit of hope comes from the fact that we’re picking up speed.

  A faint shimmer of light appears ahead, growing brighter as we draw closer to it.

  Sunlight.

  We burst from the tunnel that emerges from the bottom of the river, everything coming back into focus in the shimmering light above me. Deana’s hand still grips onto mine as she swims to the surface, dragging me with her since I barely have the stamina to move.

  Breaking through the surface, we breathe deep and my stamina bar quickly replenishes. Health bar is at half and will take a bit of time to replenish without the aid of food or potion. We look to one another and share a laugh of insanity, thankful that we both survived.

  “The river is swift, but not too rough. Let’s make our way to the bank,” she says after wiping her face.

  “Okay.”

  Halfway there, I’m struck with something and my health bar pops up, flashing red and dangerously low. I turn my head just in time to find a man drawing another arrow and aiming it directly at me. I dive under the water and hear the arrow whoosh by, too close to my head. I come up again to see my attacker.

  “It’s the Bloodhound!” Deana cries out. “Get behind me.” I swim to her and she leads us ashore. Another arrow whirs by us, burying itself into the bank as we scramble to gain our footing. Deana pulls her bow and looses an arrow herself, droplets of water shearing off the string of her bow. The arrow narrowly misses the Bloodhound, and he looses another in return. We make a dash behind a nearby tree for protection as he releases arrows faster than I thought imaginable, similar to a semi-automatic rifle.

  “Damn. What do we do now?”

  “I don’t know,” Deana growls and steps out to release a shot. An arrow thuds into the tree, opposite our heads. She takes a deep breathe. “He’s good.”

  I stand back, thinking this might be the end. Thinking that this guy is going to take my treasure and I’ll wake up back at the fountain with nothing to my name. All hopes and dreams smashed to pieces.

  The two keep exchanging fire.

  Just like in the real world. Hopes and dreams are for fools.

  My jaw clenches at the thought. “No.”

  I equip Thal’s Sword of Eternity and step from behind the tree, the blade glowing and shimmering in the sunlight. The Bloodhound draws an arrow back, aims at me, and lets it fly. The shot comes straight at me and then, suddenly, my chest grows warm. The Amulet glows hot against my skin and the arrows deflects as if hitting an invisible force field. My health bar fills and magnifies to four-times the current hit points that my character has. Dexterity and Strength multiply as well, and I feel the thrill of battle rushing through my body. Thal’s Amulet returns to its normal state, and I rush towards my opponent.

  He’s in as much shock as I am, but doesn’t back down. Instead, he pulls a sword of his own and takes a fighting stance.

  Having never swung a sword, I’m sure my first attempt looks like I’m swinging a baseball bat, but it clashes with his just the same. To the surprise of us both, the impact shatters his weapon, destroying it on impact, and he falls to the ground. He stares up at me through locks of long, red hair, a respectable fear in his eyes. Cursing, he pulls a dagger. I bring the sword down upon him and nearly drain all of his hit points with one blow.

  Still, he doesn’t quit, and depletes a good portion of my increased hit points with a single strike from his dagger. I step back and let him get to his feet. With dexterity now dissolved, he can barely move. Like a drunkard, he staggers towards me in what I know is his last moments. I draw back, ready to take one more final swing.

  “Don’t kill him,” Deana pleads, running up behind me.

  I speak to her over my shoulder, poised to strike. “Why not? He tried to kill us.”

  “Deana? Is that you?” the Bloodhound says, suddenly recognizing her. “I haven’t seen you since you left the guild.”

  I look to Deana. “What’s he talking about?”

  She puts her weapons away and stands in front of me. “I haven’t been honest with you, Ace. Not long ago, I was a member of the Black Knights.”

  I look to the man, then back to her, and relax my stance while still keeping the sword equipped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because it’s code not to. Because nobody in their right mind leaves the Knights, but I did. Because if anyone from the guild knew who or where I was, they’d hunt me down and kill me. Nobody leaves the guild.” She looks to the Bloodhound. “Suppose that’s why you never joined, eh, Gage? Probably wise. Better to work for them and get paid than sign your life over as a payment.”

  Gage puts the dagger in his sash. “That’s right. Who’s this guy and what the hell kind of gear does he have?”

  “The sword and Amulet of Thal,” Deana replies nonchalantly.

  His eyes go wide at me. “The legendary items. You’re dead for sure now. You’ve found what the Black Knights have been searching for. And for how long now… since they killed the first dragon and found out about the God of War’s weapons?”

  Deana nods. “Aye. They learned of the items by giving the heart of the dragon to the Seers. And knowing the Guildmaster of the Black Knights, he won’t stop looking until he finds them.”

  I stab the sword into the ground, keeping my hand on the hilt. “So, what’s that mean for me?”

  Gage meets my eye. “That, my man, means you are the most valuable mark in all of Alterlife. There won’t be a price too high on your head once the guild finds out that you have the legendary items.”

  “If they find out,” Deana states.

  “Hard to keep items like those a secret in Alterlife,” Gage says and sits back on the ground to replenish his stamina. He pulls meat from his inventory and his health bar replenishes.

  My grip tightens around the sword, and he sees it.

  Gage grins. “Don’t worry. I don’t want any more trouble from you,” he says.

  “What now, then? We go our separate ways? How can I trust you not to tell anyone?”

  He looks up at me with a gleam in his eye. “A piece of advice; you can’t trust anyone in Alterlife.”

  “Not true,” Deana instantly replies. “Come with us, Gage. Join our party.”

  “Is that what we are? A party?” I ask her, throwing an arm out.

  She shrugs. “Yeah. Why not?”

  “Fair enough. Alright. Join us then, Gage? We sure could use someone with your skills.” I say.

  Gage turns his head and spits. “Don’t think so. Joining you two would be a bad decision for my health.”

  “Look, man, I’m not asking you to join the Black Knights. But I think the three of us could do something great.”

  He leans on an arm and eats an apple. “I’m listening.”

  “I will work my way into good graces with the Black Knights, and will go on raids, dungeon crawls, or hunts, whatever you want to call it, with the guild. When I see a treasure map within the loot, I’ll take it before anyone else sees. I’m sure that, with the three of us working together, we’ll make treasure hunting look easy. Split everything three ways.” I look to Deana. “We’re going to work outside of the guild, together. Nobody from the guild will be the wiser.”

  She returns a smile, pleased to join me in my endeavors.

  “Right,” she says and turns to Gage. “You can still work as a hire for the guild. Can’t blame you for that because they pay so well. But the real money is with us, seeking treasure and fortune.”

  “They would hire me to hunt you down if word got out about those weapons.” Gage scratches his hairy chin and looks down in thought. “But what you both are offering is not a bad idea. You know, I could even cover for you if the guild ever gets on your case. They would never suspect me going in with somebody else, stealing loot right out from under their noses.” He looks up to the sky, and says something in a foreign language. He waits.
Then smiles and nods, stands, and steps to us. “Alright. I’ll do it. We could keep this thing going for quite some time and nobody would ever know.”

  “Nobody besides us three,” Deana notes with excitement.

  “Sure could use your skills, Gage. What do you say? Partners?” I say, extending my hand to Gage.

  He narrows his eyes and grumbles under his breath. “This goes against my better judgement. But the Almighty has told me to trust you. I better not get killed for this,” he says and shakes my hand.

  “Don’t worry. You’re in the best of company,” I assure him and give Deana a wink.

  The three of us go our separate ways after we get back to the cabin where Deana and I shared a room the first time. Gage immediately logs out.

  “Not much for words, is he?”

  Deana chuckles. “Wait until you get to know him better. Today on the river bank is the most I’ve ever seen him talk.” She checks her inventory then turns to me with a softness in her eyes. “Take care, Ace. See you later,” she tells me, then logs out, leaving me alone in the room.

  I look at my treasure one more time before logging out, beyond thrilled that Thal’s legendary items are in my possession.

  These are game changers. And they’re all mine.

  Later that night, my wife and I watch a movie and share a pint of ice cream. The kids are fast asleep, my belly is full, and I have the love of my life sitting beside me. In that moment, I’m happy. Truly happy. Sure, it may be the good fortune in the game that’s got me feeling this way, but so what if it is?

  As the credits roll, we both say that we enjoyed the film, but it wasn’t spectacular. I go for a glass of milk and she finishes off the last of the popcorn. “Let’s do something fun this weekend?” she says after I return to the couch.

  I throw my arm around her. “Like what?”

  “Let’s take the kids to the zoo. They haven’t been since they were little. And it’s free on Saturday. They’ll love it so much and the weather is supposed to be nice.”