by Randy Thao
Dee turned around catching Bu's hint. "Mara," he called.
"Yes," she answered muffling through her face mask.
"I know we just met you, but are you looking for a group? If you are, would you be willing to join us? We could use a permanent healer."
Her eyes suddenly went serious. After a few seconds, they started to glisten. Dee could tell she was holding back something. From her past possibly? He could relate. She slowly nodded her head and turned away to wipe the tears.
Leading the way, Bu cried out, "Alright it's set! Let's go."
They stopped at the small shop to restock on materials for the trip west. Dee and Bu shared of their plan to go west. Mara for some reason refused to buy anything. As they were passing through the village for the last time, Dee decided to stop by the church one more time. As they approached the altar, they healed and restored themselves. Dee noticed something odd. The small room in the back was no longer there. Instead, a solid black wall and a painting. He went and observed closely feeling its texture. It was as if the room never existed for the wall was whole with the church and smooth with no end or beginning until it hit the corners. The painting caught his eye. A hand with strings coming from each finger like that of a puppet master, but below it was not a puppet. Below was another set of hands smaller in size with RTU in its grip. It reminded him of what Pastor Matt Vincent had said a day ago, "..be careful of your puppet master. Whether in here or out there, we can still be deceived." He still had no idea what that meant.
Bu and Mara were talking and sharing information about what they knew about RTU so far. Dee broke out of his trance and joined them in their conversation.
"Dee, it appears that Mara has some information," Bu looked at her giving her the floor to speak.
Through her mask Mara explained, "I was able to search PongBlong a lot more thoroughly by myself without being detected. I am a healer as you know, but my side abilities include Feather Feet and Camouflage like that of a ninja class. There isn't really a defined name for classes at all. It's what you decide to create. RTU gives you the choice to build your class as you already know. PongBlong is a huge moon, and I was able to scout the nearby areas. Going west is a wise move. The monsters are aligned with the level we are at. Most of the players are moving fast. Area's like these are ran through or even skipped. One more thing. I saw a huge city from a hill top east of here. Only way to get out is to get through PongBlong. Knowing this, we need to catch up with the rest of the players and figure this out together."
"Do you know about the logout problem?" asked Dee.
"Yes, that has come to my attention as well. I don't think that was a mistake," Mara replied.
"Dee also made a good observation before. When did we actually log into the game, right?" Bu added.
They stood brainstorming possible motives. Dee concluded, "All I know is that in order to figure out what's going on, we need to get to the highest level possible and somehow reach the end game."
"I agree. Mr. Montgomery cannot keep us here. It's illegal and against our will. No matter how much money he has, by the time we all get out of here, he will be sued for every penny he's got." Mara clutched her fist in determination.
Now with a more complete team, leveling up and gaining ground would be a lot easier. They headed west passing through the Apple Orchard and then on to the open corn fields. Monsters lay waiting within the golden landscape with walking possessed scarecrows roamed the paths. Continuing westward, they came upon the town of Muada. There was something strange about it. No one in sight, not a living creature. Behind it, towered a lifeless castle. Moss had grown all over its walls eating away at the cracks. Torn and ragged banners of yellow and blue flapped in the wind like an injured bird. It was eerie upon their entrance to the town as the name of Muada appeared in their focus.
Bu placed his steel shield on his back. "Doesn't look like there's anything here. Let's skip this area," observed Bu.
Dee and Mara agreed and started walking on the path that led through town. The path curved around the east side of the castle giving them a great view through the torn down gates.
"Did you hear that?" Mara stepped a little closer to Dee.
Dee looked around slowly saying, "Hear what?"
"There it is again!" This time she gripped onto Dee's arm. Her fingers digging in this time making him tense up.
"Oh come on, it's nothing. You just want to get closer that's all," Bu said elbowing him. "Oh wait I think I hear it too!" Suddenly Bu's face turned pale, and he pulled over his shield to hide behind it.
"Ahh! Haa!! Ahh!!"
"It's coming from the castle," Dee whispered. The sound of a man screaming grew louder as they came closer to the entrance. The castle was shut in by a huge wooden gate rotting away forming small spaces into the grain.
"Run!!" Another player came bursting out between the crooked gates flinging his arms in the air. Following him was another player and she looked worse. Injured, she limped her way towards Dee. Her eyes widen as she came upon them. It gave her hope for any kind of help available. From what Dee could see, she had a missing forearm and was only able to weld one weapon.
"Hel....Help please!" she begged, but before Mara could cast a healing spell, a sword came thrusting through her chest. She dropped to the ground and started to perish. The light in her suit drained into the ground and her suit went dim. "It...it really doesn't hurt. Just sucks to..die...here."
Though this was only a game, it was frightening to actually see someone perish away. Mara turned her focus away from the body that once lay before them.
Bu's head perked on high alert. Then he shouted, "Get into position. It ain't over yet!"
He stepped forward with his steel shield and the iron axe he had acquired when they were heading west. Mara stayed back and cast the Shield of Divine Protection on them all. At that moment, a rumble and clanking of bones came rushing through the left open gate. A mob of Fallen Skeletal Guards appeared from behind. They were armed with rusty daggers and broken swords. Rotten pieces of flesh still hung from their joints to somehow keep them intact and standing. Because Mara had made the first move, it caused an aggravated effect, which drew attention therefore setting their focus. This was quickly taken away by Bu who came crashing into them like a bowling ball. Dee then picked them off one by one.
When they were finished, there was nothing left but piles of broken bones perishing away. They collected what was valuable and some met-coins.
"May I please have the met-coins?" persuaded Mara with a bow of her head in respect.
Dee raised an eyebrow. He grabbed the met-coins handing them over. "Sure, I guess I don't have a need right now."
"Take these as well," Bu added handing the ones he had.
Mara quickly collected them. The met-coins then flickered out of sight like that of a lit candle being blown out and into her inventory. "This isn't enough."
"Did you say something?" asked Dee.
Mara looked up and shook her head. She said guiltily, "Oh nothing, I meant there will be more stuff inside. We should go and explore."
"Right. Why would just the two of them be in there?" questioned Dee. "No way were they able to take on that mob without a tank."
They entered the front gates and was hit with a damp smell of mold and wet cloth. Empty. Stairs lead to higher towers going left and ground level tunnels lead down below the castle to the right. An open square with a fountain of an angel with missing arms sat waterless. They peered into the dry fountain and Mara swiftly picked at the met-coins left from lost wishes. They all searched the area for any signs of life whether players or rats it didn't matter.
As Dee was walking along the inner walls of the castle, he came upon a tunnel about fifteen yards long. There it came again. That pull. An irresistible urge to go in the tunnel lead him into the darkness. He could see the light from the opening at the other end. He rubbed his eyes, but for some reason it got smaller or did it get further? It got so small until there was no light at all. Ther
e he stood in the pitch black darkness of nothing. This feeling of emptiness filled his heart. His legs started to shake, and he fell back on his bottom.
"My legs! Bu! Mara! Where are you?!" Dee cried.
Chapter 13 – Perishing
He needed his hover chair. His hands feeling to the side and behind for the egg shaped remote control. Gripping his legs, he pushed them to move. Crawling was no good; it got him only a few feet in who knows what direction. The pounding of his heart grew louder than ever, and panic soon kicked in. This was all just a dream. It was too good to be true. Fear struck his mind as his hands started to tremble. The truth was, he never got his legs back. Jerry had received the ticket to RTU, not him. Because he wanted it so bad, he dreamt of it all up. Yes, that's what happened. Tears filled his eyes as he laid flat on his back staring into nothing, ready to wake up from this nightmare.
"Don't worry you are safe here," a woman's voice came from out of the darkness. It was tranquil and unthreatening. "Get up."
Dee shot up into sitting position. He could feel his legs again. Slowly he stood on to his feet taking a few steps to stabilize himself.
"Snap!" Stars filled the darkness, and it was no longer pitch black. It was beautifully scattered with galaxies, suns and super novas with no end. Dee looked at his hands as he gripped and relaxed them. The feeling of despair had left just as quickly as it had come. Turning slowly, he gazed at the universe before him until he had made a full circle back again. It humbled his heart to see the massiveness of it all, and the mysteries that lie beyond what he was looking at.
When he had brought his eyes back down, now standing before him about ten feet away, was a young lady. She had long white hair. Her porcelain skin shown bright like the sun, but it was her regal star blue eyes that seem to hold a bigger secret within. She was wearing the same white Adrenaline suit, so for a second he thought she was just another player. She stared at Dee intently not blinking the entire time. An expression of hope and a slight smile on her face suggested that his presence was not by accident.
"Who are you?" whispered Dee.
She stood perfectly still like a mannequin. Then she stepped forward. With every step, it caused a sort of ripple beneath her feet bending space. She leaned forward face to face with him.
"KEPR10198432787. You can simply call me Keeper. The name that was given to me," she said softly and then leaned back. "You are Dee Rogers."
"How do you know me?" questioned Dee. "Are you an administrator? Admins are not allowed to interact with players."
"That you are correct, that is," Keeper paused for a bit and slightly tilted her head, "if, I were an admin."
Dee set focus on Keeper and realized that his options weren't showing up. He blinked a few more times and still nothing.
"That won't work here. This is a glitch within the program a gap in which we cannot be detected. I have a limited time before they find out. Dee, I need your help." Suddenly the stars started to fall one by one all around them.
Confused Dee asked, "My Help? What's do you mean?"
"Like I said, I can only hold a limited amount of time within these gaps. It appears that my time has already ran out. Here take this," she handed Dee an item. It flickered into his inventory. "A gift to help you on your way. We will see each other again. Remember, be careful of your puppet master."
"Wait, what is this? Who will find us?" but before he could ask another question, Keeper had vanished into the darkness like mist vaporizing into thin air.
"Dee wake up! Wake up!" the echo of Bu's voice was faint. It grew louder and louder as Dee started to regain consciousness. "Ah! This thing's level is too high. Mara I need healing!"
"Heal!" a splash of green light came from beneath and into Bu. "Heal! Bu, you're taking too much damage. I can't heal you fast enough. Is Dee responding? None of my spells are working," struggled Mara.
Dee opened his eyes realizing that he was no longer in the gap of the program. To his horror, Bu and Mara had engaged in a battle with a monster way above their level. He set focus on the monster.
Muada (Damned) Level 12. This monster walked on all fours and built like a tank. It tore through anything that got in its path. The castle walls smashed into piles of rubble from its attempt to attack Bu. Twenty feet in height, it preyed upon them with a soul shaking roar. It looked like an overgrown bear at first except, it had no fur. Its skin the color of rotting flesh of pale blue-green and red blood clots. A flat head with small black eyes, further apart than normal animals, made it possible for a wider jaw. Within, it held a row of sharp jagged teeth.
No way were they going to defeat this monster. The only reason why Bu was still standing was because of Mara's instant healing and regain spells. From the looks of it, her suit was starting to dim. She couldn't possibly keep this up any longer even if she wanted to.
"Stone Armor!" shouted Bu. His body took the texture of stone and increased in defense. Muada side swiped him with its huge paddle paw, gouging claw marks in his suit. It revealing his stone chest underneath. This sent Bu flying back, slammed against the castle wall. "I'm done guys. Can't get up."
"Sword Meteor Dance!" announced Dee.
His hits came from all directions staggering the Damned Muada left, then right and now from behind. This gave Mara enough time to reach Bu and get him up.
"You guys head for the entrance. I'll keep it busy for a while. Go!" demanded Dee.
Mara, with Bu leaning on one side, staggered towards the wooden gate. Dee set focus while in the middle of attacking it. The energy level of this monster had only gone down a quarter with no signs of weakening, and his group was pretty much wiped except him. His plan was to get Muada turned away from the entrance and then make a break for it while it was stunned from his Sword Meteor Dance attack. As great of a plan it was, Muada would be down for about five seconds only.
"Dee run!" Mara looked back to make sure he was still ok.
With his last strike, Dee took off. He dare not look back for it would only slow him down. One....two....three....four.....five. He then took a left into the tower and up the stairs.
"What are you doing!?" Bu cried out and stopped as Muada was no longer pursuing him.
The feeling that came from what seemed like ages ago, came rushing back. Those days of running and never tiring out never wanting to stop. He was invincible. The top player of his college and most likely to go pro as voted by his classmates. Nothing was going to stop him now. The fire in his eyes blazed with desire to get better. To be the best.
He sprinted to the top of the tower skipping steps along the way. Higher and higher, around and around he went. Muada had gotten stuck at the door. Knowing it was not going to be able to get up the stairs, it started smashing the tower from below. Dee stumbled slightly as the tower started to shake. "No good" he thought. As he got to the top, Dee went to the balcony and peered down. The beast was already aggressively picking at the bottom of the tower a claw full of stone bricks at a time.
"Mara get me in there now," demanded Bu.
Mara lifted her hands. "Right, I don't have much left," replied Mara. Her suit pulsing dimmer. Bu was not doing so well either. "Divine Protection! Advance Heal! That's all I got. If we perish, we perish together."
Bu darted off at Muada as fast as he could. From high above, Dee could see that Bu and Mara had decided to come back to get him. Bu struck the monster on its side before it could do anymore damage to the tower. The impact distracted Muada away from it, but it rolled over and back onto its feet with cat like reflexes. It then charged back jaws now fully extended attempting to swallow Bu whole. It had chomped down on Bu's Steel shield and now violently trying to shake it off. The monster shook and shook flinging Bu to the side. It spit the shield out and pounced on him and ended his futile attempt.
So bright, it came like a beam of light right through the heart of Muada. Bu had covered up waiting for his first in game death only to see the monster, inches away from devouring him, motionless. It then slowly st
arted to perish away. Once Muada was no more than dust, there stood Dee breathing heavily staring at the ground. His suit was slowly pulsing like a vital monitor at the hospital where he once lay four years ago. The news of his parents shocked him deeply. The noise all around him amplified making it unable to make out what Dr. Hanson was saying. This time it had stopped.
"Dee? Are you alright buddy?" asked Bu. He got up waving his hand in front of Dee's face.
Mara finally arrived. Breathlessly she asked "Bu, what's going on?"
"Look," directed Bu with his finger.
As if finally coming to his senses, Dee looked up at them. "So this is how it feels to perish?" A sense of freedom spread across his face. "See you guys in Apple Green Village."
"That son of a..I wanted to die first!" exclaimed Bu.
Mara laughed, "Oh you guys. Shall we head back to Apple Green Village?"
Chapter 14 - A Secret
Dee resurrected back to the church in Apple Green Village. He was already waiting at the tavern when Mara and Bu approached the village where he waved them down. He was fine and restored to good health. The children ran around Bu, remembering who he was. After they scattered away, a little boy gave Mara a flower, and she gave him on the cheek through her face mask. Dee already had a table reserved for them. They sat down tired from the journey west and back leaning their weapons against the table. The bartender still cleaning his cups as usual and Wendy, the waitress, coming out at just the right time.
"Thank you for your order, and I will be right back," smiled Wendy, and she went back through the swinging doors.
"So Mara and I pondered about this on our way here. What happened back there? Also, how the heck did you defeat that thing on your own?" questioned Bu. "We should have all perished away."
Dee peered at Bu and then to Mara without saying a word. After a few seconds he spoke, "I guess I don't really know either. It happened so fast, but I met someone."
"Who? Another player? Did they do something to you?" questioned Mara.