“What happened with you in the training area?” I asked as we waited for the food to come out.
“Nothing really. I went in, lured them out with my ability, and while they were distracted, got critical strikes until they were dead. Pretty much the same thing for the Rat King. How about you?”
I went into more detail as I described the fight to her. How much different it had been than her own. It was a little messed up that I had to deal with the severe disparity in our abilities, but that was okay. Maybe I would end up seeing returns sooner rather than later? Who knew?
But what really caught my eye was the news. “Turn that up, would you?”
Mona reached over and tapped the volume button as the last scene that had flashed across the screen ended, the anchor’s voice growing steadily louder so we could hear her say “…next story comes concerning a man in Ohio, who reported a robber of some kind entering his home who had glowing red eyes and seemed to have been, ‘cloaked in darkness.’ The relevance of this we are uncertain of, but there was a hospital fire in the area only a mile away where security camera footage depicted a figure moving through the area with some sort of hidden flame thrower.”
The b-roll showed exactly that, cutting to people screaming and calling out for help before going to black.
“The number of victims before authorities were able to stop the man had reached just under thirty, with more injured. The subject has been apprehended and is currently in custody for questioning and public safety.” The anchor shuffled her papers and cleared her throat. “We’ve been told that, at this time, the department refused any and all questions until the investigation has concluded. Up next on Channel Seven news: is your water the cleanest? When we ret…”
Mona turned the volume down until it wasn’t as loud anymore. “Well. What a nut job.”
“Yeah, who attacks and burns a hospital?” I couldn’t help the weight of anger and sorrow I felt for the victims and those re-hospitalized because of that monster. “That cloaked in shadow and red eyes part seems a bit of a stretch for bad video quality, though. If that was true people would be screaming that it’s even more of a sign of the ‘end of days’ and other such crap.”
“So, I take it you saw all that religious speak online as well?” I nodded, and Mona smiled. “Yeah. That made me laugh, too. It’s just a game. All it affects is the mind and only in-game. It’s not the end of the world.”
The doorbell rang, and a younger guy in a hoodie swaggered in and approached the counter where Bill waited patiently.
“You getting a bad feeling from this guy?” I muttered to Mona. She nodded back, her eyes on the counter.
“Hey Chuckles, how you been?” Bill greeted the kid the same as he had us, but his left hand dropped to his waist.
“Not bad Bill, you still holding out on the hope this place is going to weather the times?” Hoodie’s voice sounded off somehow. More sinister. “How about you let me take over and keep this place safe for you, eh? I’m cheap for now, but uh, something tells me that I’ll be a hot commodity soon enough. You don’t wanna get burned, do you?”
As I watched, a red trickle of something leaked from him, just the barest hint before it was gone.
I didn’t dare say anything, not right now. Not with the double-barrel shotgun aimed directly at the kid’s head.
“Listen, kid, I got a lot of young punks who think that ol’ Billy needs new blood to keep the ruffians out and his money safe.” He settled his finger squarely on the trigger of the weapon. “Haven’t needed anybody since you were a twinkle in your daddy’s eyes, kid. Not startin’ now. You leave me and mine to me, and you can leave with yours on your shoulders. Sound good?”
The kid slowly raised his hands. “You’ll regret this.”
Bill shook his head while the kid backed away slowly. “Like your dad regrets not pullin’ out, kid? Scram.”
Hoodie turned and walked out of the restaurant as Bill lowered the shotgun. He didn’t put it down completely, just lowered it as he glowered after the figure moving off into the night.
He turned his gaze to us and nodded once before returning to what he was doing. Mona and I just sat there in stunned silence. Do I tell her about the aura I had seen? Would she believe me? It was so weird.
Bill brought us our orders, setting a tray in front of us both. “This one’s on me, you two”—he wagged a finger in my face before I could protest—“I don’t like for my customers to see that kind of behavior outta me. Isn’t business-like, and I left it all behind years ago. The normal stooges don’t come by until later in the mornin’, so I wasn’t expectin’ to have to deal with this crap until later. Come see me before you leave, I’m walkin’ you to your car.”
The way he spoke brooked no argument, and we both nodded to him quietly. “You two are good kids. Why can’t everybody be like you two and little Katie, huh?”
Bill ruffled my mop of hair and winked at Mona before going back to the front of the place to help with the kitchen.
We tucked into the food in front of us despite the events that had transpired. We were hungry and in dire need of something familiar to help us cope with the news and the change. Personally, the fact that I saw these things even outside the game was highly unsettling, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that she had gotten that weird message, I’d have told her.
And poor Mona. I glanced up in time to see her dip a pair of golden-brown fries into her milkshake before popping them into her mouth with a groan of joy.
I picked up my burger, perfectly cooked with crisp lettuce, cool tomato, bacon, pickles, mayo, ketchup, and mustard on a pretzel bun that had been toasted to perfection. I had to swallow the drool in my mouth as I opened my jaws as far as I could to get as much of the greasy goodness in my body as I could. Oh. Oh yeah, that’s it.
Turkey burgers had nothing on this.
We ate in near silence for almost a full twenty minutes before Mona belched loudly and waggled her eyebrows at me. Bill clapped and pointed at her. “Good end to the night, right there! That’s how we know it’s good food.”
Mona held her hands up in victory as the guys in the back poked their heads out and joined in the clapping. I snatched her milkshake while she was distracted and took a long pull on it. She went for my head with her fist, but I ducked out of the way with a laugh, and she shook her fist at me.
“You keep nabbing her shake like that, and she’ll do worse to you than I ever could, Seth.” Bill beamed at us. “You both ready?”
She and I nodded and brought the plates back up before the busboy could get to the table. I passed him the stuff, and he held up a folded bill in confusion. I winked at him, and he grinned. Twenty bucks, not to do much? I’m sure anyone would be happy about that.
True to his word, Bill grabbed his shotgun and marched us outside to Mona’s car, before we left, he tapped the roof. “You both be careful out there, I got my guys comin’ in tellin’ me about some freaks out there doin’ weird things in the last few hours. And both of you mind them games you play, okay? I know you like ‘em, but there’s more to life out there.”
Mona leaned up and gave the older man a peck on the cheek. “Give our best to Molly and Katie, will you?”
He nodded, and I tapped my phone. “I sent you some of those links, have Katie look into it and if she needs any guidance or help, give her my number.”
Bill raised an eyebrow threateningly. “You tryin’ to hit on my granddaughter, boy?”
I guffawed, and he winked before backing away with a wave. After that, we were on our way back to my place.
“That’s exciting about Katie,” I observed to Mona as she eyed the road.
“It is!” She gushed. “I can’t believe she’s going to school for what I did. I’d probably be able to get her a recommendation letter if she wanted.”
“That would likely work out well.” I nodded and added, “You ever think about getting back into game design?”
She sighed, likely knowing this question
was coming. “Seth, you know I love what I do.”
She wasn’t lying. “But it’s not your first love. And I know how much you wanted to create things like your d—”
“Don’t,” she whispered softly. “Just don’t.”
I nodded and quieted myself. She had been amazing when we were kids. She would sit with her dad for hours and help him create these fantastic places, realms, and creatures so fantastic that all I could do is fake understanding because what she would describe was too wild to believe.
We rode in silence for a bit, then it seemed to be too much for her, and she turned the radio on. A childhood favorite song played as a single tear ran down her cheek.
My heart broke for her all over again, and when we pulled into my driveway, I had to break the silence, “I’m here for you, Mo.”
She nodded once, then we headed inside to get ready for bed. She needed a shower, and I didn’t blame her at all. It took her a little while, and I waited in the living room, reading a book on events that had taken place early in the century. Bad things, but they were the past for a reason. Things were better now, though, and that was all that mattered.
We had been able to forestall any sort of worsening global warming by sending a series of satellites into space that created a barrier between the worsening conditions in our atmosphere and us. I wasn’t any kind of expert, but I thought it was to help recondition some of the ozone layer and to help filter some of the carbon dioxide emissions.
As I read over the book, I realized why I had put it down, and closed it. It was a lot of crap I didn’t understand, even though we had managed to stave off any further natural disasters, it had really only been a Band-Aid on an already gaping hole.
The shower stopped, and a couple minutes later, Mona came out wearing a pair of my fuzzy PJs and a t-shirt I had outgrown some time ago but kept in case she needed something to wear. I smiled at her as she motioned toward my room, got up, and turned the lights out in the living room.
I walked just behind her as she stepped into my room, and when I went to get the roll-out bed from under my bed, she stopped me.
“You know, what you said in the car was pretty out of nowhere, and with everything going on…” she took a steadying breath, her eyes closed tightly. “I don’t want to sleep alone tonight.”
“It wasn’t out of nowhere, Mo, it was out of concern.” She opened her eyes in a pleading manner, the same slight pink aura flickering around her again with the same floral scent that was just so enticing. “But if it’s just for tonight, I suppose. You really don’t smell that?”
She shook her head as she smiled and climbed onto the bed; it was a queen, so there was room for both of us. The sheets and bedspread were nice, smooth, and cool, but retained heat well. Once she was comfortable and facing the wall I climbed in after her, and laid down, my back to her like we would when we were kids.
“Seth?” She spoke softly, her voice a little tired.
“Yeah, Mo?”
She was quiet a second, then spoke again, “I love you; you know that?”
I chuckled. “What’s not to love?”
She was quiet again, then the bed shook a bit, and her face came over my shoulder. “You can be such an ass, you know that?”
I blinked at her innocently “But, Mona, that’s part of my charm.”
She laughed and smacked my arm and laid down pressed against my back.
What was I seeing? There’s no way the game was following me out into life, right? And why would I just let her walk all over me like that? Well, she was my best friend, and we used to sleep like this all the time. As comforting as it was, my heart still raced oddly. What was going on with me? Also, we had known each other since before we could walk, this wasn’t that big of a deal!
I tried to relax but couldn’t until her breathing steadied, and she started to snore. Then, the arm around my stomach didn’t seem quite so off putting or confining. It was just Mona. I did my best to ignore the orbiting questions on my mind and set my alarm for eight, then nodded off.
Chapter Eight
“Come on, Seth.” Mona pounced on my chest a second before the blaring robotic good mornings blasted from the alarm to my left. She threw back the curtains, and I groaned noisily.
I had slept all right, but waking up just before the alarm was just torture. When had she gotten out of bed? I blinked some of the sleep out of my gaze, her chipper grin irking me slightly. I must have slept through that because I was so used to it as a kid that my body must have reached a more settled state than normal. Or maybe I was sick?
“I made breakfast,” Mona began but didn’t even finish the sentence before I bumped her off my lap and unceremoniously onto the bed next to me and pressed her out of the way. “Hey!”
“If you burned my kitchen down, I swear to you, Mona!” I growled before my feet even hit the floor, worried that finishing the sentence would take too much time. I could hear her footfalls behind mine and her loud complaints following me out of the room and found my kitchen and dining area almost unscathed.
Other than the plates on the counter where I liked to eat, it was almost normal.
I turned to her with a suspicious look on my face, my eyes narrowed at her clearly disgruntled face. “I’ve been practicing with mom, and she’s been showing me things.”
“Emma showed you all this?” I raised an eyebrow and jerked my thumb at the toast, scrambled eggs with a little ketchup on top the way I usually had it. There was some coffee with cream and sugar off to the side, and then some cut strawberries on a plate to round it off.
“I figured since it was like old times last night when we had been kids, I’d make you breakfast like I used to, and we could try to plan out today’s gaming session.” She shrugged and sat down first with me joining her.
“Mo, you tried to cook eggs and almost burnt a hole in the skillet.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her, so I continued, “You literally threw a brand new, still-burning toaster into the trash compactor by the sink. You almost burnt down the house, Mo!”
“Can we just forget that happened?” She threw her hands up into the air and shouted before sitting and patting the stool next to her. “That was twenty twenty-five, and I was stressing out about graduating with honors so that I could get into the college I wanted with a scholarship!”
I eyed her before I took my fork up as if it were a sword and poked the eggs gently, uncertainly, as they seemed to have a light and fluffy consistency. I cut some away, without the ketchup to try it out of respect, and slipped the morsel into my mouth.
It was decent, and that was saying something. Mona had tried cooking before, and I had thought she was never going to be able to learn the art of it. Emma was a fantastic cook, so her teaching Mona had been a blessing that almost made me change my mind.
We ate a few bites, then discussion on the day took way with her beginning, “I think before we look for any sort of weapons and armor we can buy, we should consult the quest board, but also look for quests from the craftsmen and citizenry.”
I nodded, then asked what had been bothering me since the day before, “Did they seem real to you?”
“Well it’s only one of the largest titles to come out and the most advanced that we’ve seen to date, of course, the AI is going to be able to make the integration for players seem that much more realistic.” Mona rolled her eyes and popped a strawberry into her mouth. “Don’t you remember that one NPC who was in that game… oh, what was it called? The one with the single-player story that you loved, but the character’s love interest seemed so real to you that you swore she was your girlfriend and that you’d get married?”
My cheeks were molten as I growled at her and said, “I was twelve!”
“Exactly!” She flicked my forehead and rolled her eyes as if she were talking to a crazy person. Maybe she was. “There are probably multiple AI chains working simultaneously to give the best experience they can. I mean, it’s not their fault you, and ot
her people, have difficulty telling game from life. Jeez.”
“Yeah, but how many artificial intelligence systems do you think it takes to make the sights and sounds that realistic, Mona?” I bit into the almost-too-crunchy toast and added more butter to the piece. “How many other AI do you know of that will have some random non-player character admit to being colorblind—in a world where magic is prevalent, no less!”
She wagged a finger. “That was a truly nice touch there.”
“All I’m saying is that based on what I heard, and what Codgy told us, the people in that city think we’re brutes and monsters.” She frowned at me over her piece of toast with my favorite triple-berry jam generously slathered on, biting it while I spoke. “If we can get them to trust us, we may unlock quest chains.”
“Okay, so we approach the people in the city differently.” She saw I was about to interrupt and stopped me with a glance. “And we go out of our way to be kind and helpful—I know.”
She knew me too well. I glanced over at the oven clock, it read 08:06 in large, red-block numerals. “If you’re planning to log in with us, you should head home in a couple minutes. Speaking of, I wonder how logging in will work.”
“I live, like, a three-minute drive away from here, Seth.” She rolled her eyes again. “And it’ll probably be okay, we’re in the city, right? Though us popping up randomly may startle a person or two.”
“I know that, but Ma does have a tendency to ask questions about our nights together.” I sipped the coffee, the earthy bouquet of it refreshing as the caffeine soothed my soul.
Emma and my folks always used to brazenly ask when Mona and I were going to tie the knot. Weird thing to ask an awkward thirteen-year-old couple of kids whose hormones had begun to rage and make things weird. My folks had slowly learned that I was their stubborn child and that I would know who I wanted to be with when I knew. Emma? Emma still held out hope, and that was only because her husband and she had known each other since grade school, too.
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