by R K Billiau
“Hey, Madison? We have visitors.” Her eyes popped open and she sat up in bed, making sure to keep the blanket pressed firmly against her body.
“Oh crap!” she said, looking around anxiously. “How long did I sleep? Ugh, can you see my gear anywhere? I’m not dressed.” She eyed Kai, who respectfully turned his back. I looked around, but her gear wasn’t anywhere.
“Did you put it in your inventory? I don’t see it.”
“Duh,” she said, and her eyes went blank, then she dropped the blanket, revealing her armor-clad body. “So, what did I miss?”
“Not much. I just woke up, too. But it sounds like the village people are all coming in and we probably need to be ready to meet them.”
She ran her fingers through her hair. “How do I look?”
“Um… absolutely stunning.”
“Stop. Seriously.”
“I am serious.”
“Kai?” she asked, ignoring me and looking at him.
“You look awake. Now can we please get going?” Kai said.
Before we could respond to him, someone said “knock, knock” and the curtain pulled back around the mayor’s head.
“Oh good, you’re up. I hope you slept well. We have some breakfast on the fire and a room full of people that are eager to meet you. Are you ready to join us?”
“Yes, we are,” Kai answered for us. I smiled at Madison and offered a hand to help her up. She took it, but let it go as soon as she was on her feet. After a moment, we followed the mayor.
Morning light poured over the large room. The fire was roaring and whatever was cooking smelled amazing. Someone manned the fire, a few people moved around the rest of the kitchen area, chopping and stirring. There were probably around a dozen people total, all of whom hadn’t seemed to notice us yet. I mean, they could have, but I wasn’t actually paying much attention to them because I was completely distracted by the smattering of children running around in the middle of the room.
Children.
Tiny people. Small humans. Twirly little dresses and pitter-pattering feet, laughter ringing like bells and small, squeaky voices. All that crap.
Those bastards. How could the devs be so evil to bring children here as beta players- test subjects- in a harsh game world? How could the government allow such a thing? But my mind raced as I wondered why, if every other person I’d met in the game looked like an 18-year-old regardless of what age they were uploaded, including the village people here, why would the children not have followed that model? How were they still small? How were they still… children?
Someone grabbed my arm and I looked down to see it was Madison. Her face was… hard to read. She looked confused and happy and sad all at the same time. The confusion was reasonable. I probably had that same look. But I couldn’t translate the happy/sad. Why so much emotion? I knew she loved children, she talked about her old students often. Was she happy they were here, but sad for them that they had to be?
“You okay?” I asked her quietly, squeezing her hand that was on my arm. She wiped at a tear on her cheek but didn’t break her stare from the kids.
“Yeah, I’m, no… I… I don’t know. I didn’t expect this,” she whispered. “I didn’t think I’d ever see kids again. How did they get here?” She looked at me as if I had the answer.
“Your guess is as good as mine. Believe me, I’m just as shocked. I mean, I hadn’t ever really thought about them being here, I just assumed they wouldn’t be.”
“Do you think they’re okay? This game is no place for kids. They’re so young!” Another tear fell from her wet eyes.
“They look okay to me,” I said, then pointed at a little boy in oversized brown pants with red suspenders holding them up, who was digging fervently in his nose. “Except maybe that one, he looks like he’s got something stuck up there.”
Madison hiccupped out a laugh and kept watching the kids. Kai hadn’t said a word but stood watching them as well. To be honest, the children really didn’t look any worse for the wear. They were clean and looked healthy, and their skipping and laughing and dancing made it seem like they were happy.
Then it hit me. This! This is what the village was hiding. The children! Of course. They wanted to keep them hidden away for safety and didn’t want strangers knowing about them until the village knew they could be trusted.
The mayor approached us then, a smile on her face.
“So? Quite the surprise, isn’t it?” she asked, gesturing towards the children.
“I have so many questions,” Madison said, her voice cracking as she wiped more tears from her face. “How did they…”
“We will have time for questions later,” the mayor interrupted. “Breakfast is ready, come, have a seat and I will introduce you to everyone.”
We walked over to the tables and benches, plates of bacon and pancakes filled the center, and rough wooden plates dotted each place setting. The mayor offered us three seats in a row, close to the middle of the table, and we sat. I noticed a scorch mark from our magic sparring the night before and quickly shifted my plate to cover it. Oops. Hopefully no one noticed the holes in the walls, either.
All eyes were on us, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. The villagers seemed nice enough. They smiled, offered ‘hello’s and ‘good morning’s,’ and while I had never had a big family feast, I imagined it would be quite like this.
I looked to Madison at my right, and though I could tell her eyes were slightly red and puffy, her tears were gone, and a sweet smile graced her face while she chatted with the lady with long braided hair sitting beside her.
Watching her, I smiled. She was so bold but gentle. Always ready for a good time, but empathetic too. I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs, trying to talk myself out of the feelings for her that were overwhelming me. She wasn’t ready and I didn’t want to risk whatever relationship we had, even if it was just a friendship. A really touchy-feely flirtatious friendship.
I was sitting between her and Kai, who was also talking to a man beside him, so when I made eye contact with the guy across the table from me, I reached my hand across to shake his.
“Hey, I’m Hudson,” I said. “Quite the spread you guys have here.”
“It sure is. Took us awhile to really nail down cooking but we do okay. I’m Caden. I’m the blacksmith.” His handshake was impressively strong, and he spoke with a gruff voice. His dark hair was buzzed really short, as if he’d had a bad haircut and just decided to start over. “This here,” he patted the shoulder of the beautiful woman next to him, who had long dark hair and bronze skin and looked up at me and smiled, “is my wife Shara. Those two at the end,” he said, pointing to a couple of kids, though I couldn’t tell which ones, “are Piper and Nathaniel. They’re 9 and 6.”
“Lovely children,” I said, having no idea how you’re supposed to compliment parents on their kids but feeling like I needed to say something. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
“We’re so glad you’re here,” Shara said. “We just can’t thank you enough for completing that quest.”
“Yeah, it was interesting. I’m glad we could help,” I said.
The mayor stood on a chair and clapped, gathering everyone’s attention. Some kids at the end of the table kept talking and one of the ladies went over to them and said something that made them quiet.
“I’m sure you’ve all seen our guests by now, but I wanted to take a chance to formally introduce them.” She gestured in our direction. “Would you three mind standing for a minute?” I looked at Madison, who stood without question, and followed suit. Kai stood as well. “Thank you. Everyone, this is Kai, Hudson, and Madison.” She pointed at us as she listed our name.
“Kai, on the left there, is a Martial Artist. Even his carryover is Martial Arts, so he’s very well versed in combat, and will be quite helpful in protection. Hudson here, in the middle, is a Treasure Hunter. And this lovely lady to his right is Madison, and she’s really going to be helpful. She’s a System Cleric and has skill
s that can help us learn and use the system more effectively!”
Some small chatter broke out amongst the crowd. I chose not to be offended by being the only one in my party not to get a ‘helpful’ comment.
“Feel free to sit now and enjoy breakfast. Everyone else, please introduce yourselves when you get a chance. They have earned their right to be in the village and will stay with us for the foreseeable future, so we want to make sure they feel welcome.” She got off her chair and chatter picked back up in the large room.
I dished myself some bacon and pancakes, and I’m certain my heart skipped a beat when I saw the jug of thick, brown syrup on the table. I had tasted syrup only one other time in my life, and as I shoved a fluffy pancake dripping with the sticky stuff into my mouth, I was pleasantly surprised that it was even better than I had remembered. I could get used to living here.
“Hudson,” Madison said, pulling on my sleeve, “I want you to meet Anya. Anya, this is Hudson.”
“Well nice to meet you,” I said, offering my hand, which she shook.
“And you as well,” she said, her voice thick like the syrup, with a heavy southern accent. “Are you two together?”
I must have looked like a deer in headlights as Anya looked from me to Madison and back to me.
“No, uh, no, we’re not,” Madison answered sloppily. “We’re just good friends. We spend a lot of time together, obviously, since we’re, you know, questing together and we get along really great and he’s a nice guy, so we definitely are just good friends.” Ouch. I was surprised I didn’t get a friendzone system message.
“Oh honey,” Anya said, laughing a deep, hearty laugh. “Bless your heart.” She looked the same age as Madison and me, but reminded me of a sweet old grandma. Her skin was a smooth, rich ebony, her black hair braided and tied up in a thick ponytail. She had large hoop earrings in both earlobes, and an assortment of smaller stones in the other numerous piercings in her ears.
“Anyway,” Madison said, quick to change the subject, “Anya is the oracle here. The one the mayor was telling us about! She knows so many cool things and helps this whole place run well.”
“Well now,” Anya said, “I don’t know about all that. I do have some great skills, but many people are involved in making this village run smoothly.”
“I’d love to hear more about your skills sometime,” I said honestly. “I’m really interested in all the different game mechanics. There’s so much to learn and the way I see it, we’re here for a long forever, may as well learn everything I can.”
“Well now, I like that attitude,” she said smiling a wide grin. “I myself am a lifelong learner.”
I smiled back and her and Madison began chatting again. I finished my breakfast and got up to clear my plate, nearly dropping it as I knocked into a blonde lady.
“Oh, goodness, I’m so sorry!” she said, putting her hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t be, I’m sorry. That was totally my fault. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Here, let me take that,” she said, and grabbed my plate.
“You don’t have to do that, maybe just show me where I can wash it?”
“It’s no problem for me. I’m on kitchen cleanup today, anyway.” She took the plate from me and stacked it with the other dishes she was holding, balancing them to offer one of her hands. “I’m Claire, by the way. It’s nice to meet you… Hudson, was it?”
“Yeah, Hudson,” I said, shaking her hand. “Thanks for that,” I added, nodding at the dishes, “and sorry again for running you over.”
“Don’t even mention it. I’m glad you guys are here. I’m the crafter in the group and my husband, Jon,” she nodded towards a big, burly guy with an impressive beard, “is a builder. Two of the kiddos are ours, too. Please let us know if you need any help, we want you to feel at home.”
“Well, I really appreciate that; you all have been so nice.”
She smiled and walked off to the kitchen.
A hand gently touched my arm and I spun to see the mayor behind me.
“Would you mind gathering Madison and Kai and meeting me back in my office? Since you’ve had some time to meet people and see the kids, it’s time we talk through some stuff. There is a lot to go over and more to plan. Five minutes?” she said, holding up all five fingers on her hand.
“Sure thing,” I said, wondering if there were any more surprises she had in store.
I walked up to Madison and put my hand on the small of her back, patiently waiting for her and Anya- who really did seem as chatty as we had been told- to finish talking. Madison looked back at me and I told her the plan. I went to Kai next, who was still eating.
“We have a date at the principal’s office,” I said.
“Excuse me?” he said, swallowing his bite.
“Miss Mayor wants to see us.”
“I will be right over,” he said, shoveling in his last few bites.
I went back over to Madison, who was still talking. “Okay chatty Kathy, there’s lots of time for chit chat later.” I grabbed her hand and smiled at Anya. “I have to take this one,” I held up our hands, “to see the mayor. It was very nice meeting you,” I said, and pulled Madison away with me.
Chapter 35
We arrived at the mayor’s office to see Graham was already there. He was seated behind his desk again. “Hello,” he said in greeting, “I apologize for my gruff demeanor last night. You can see now why I take protecting this village so seriously. We have a lot to protect.”
Madison rushed up to him and embraced him, catching him off guard. The surprised look on his face must have matched my own as she wrapped him in her arms. She pushed off with a huge grin on her face. “I understand now, and I agree with you. I wouldn’t want to expose children to the things I have seen in this game.”
I frowned and looked at the mayor. “I don’t understand, how did these kids get here? Were they part of your beta testing package as well?” My anger was starting to pique. “Who would kill kids to bring them into this?”
Mayor McKase sighed heavily. “You don’t understand, the kids weren’t brought into the game, they were born here.”
“WHAT!?” Madison shouted, catching us all off guard. “How is that even possible?” Her face was a collage of conflicting emotions that I couldn’t read.
The mayor raised her hands placatingly. “It came as a shock to us as well. When we first got here, we were focused on survival. During those initial months, some of the people grew close to one another. As you know,” she gestured between Madison and me, maybe our attraction was more obvious than I had thought, “in hard times, it’s easy to draw near to each other. And beyond survival, there isn’t much to do but get to know one another. It makes some relationships move quickly, I suppose.” I eyed Madison, but she was focused intently, hanging onto every word the mayor was saying.
“When we finally got homes built,” she continued, “several couples opted to live with each other instead of in separate homes.” She started pacing. “It was Caden and Shara first. When they built a home and claimed it- a system thing- they were able to pick a type of home, group or marriage.
“They were in love and were planning on living together, so they selected the marriage option. At first we didn’t have any idea what kind of effect it would have, but a few weeks later Shara came running out of the house screaming.”
“I thought something bad was happening, like an attack or something,” Graham said, “but she wasn’t terrified, she was ecstatic.”
The mayor nodded, “She was given the option after,” she cleared her throat, “…one of their romantic moments, to get pregnant, another system thing. She picked yes and immediately showed signs.”
Madison plunked down to the bench, her hand over her mouth. “No way,” she said softly.
“Yes,” the mayor said. “Pregnancy, and children in general, do not work like back on Earth though. The pregnancy only lasted a month, then Piper was born.”
“How are
they so old? They should be babies. You said you have only been here a year,” Kai asked.
“That’s the other thing that shocked us. It seems that the children age about a year for every month inside the game. Or rather, they did. That stopped about a month ago, probably when the world went live,” she spread her hands as if she didn’t know what else to say. “Honestly, we don’t know much.”
“I don’t… I don’t know how to react,” Madison said.
I had never really thought much about kids, I didn’t run into them a lot out in the wastes with the scavenging teams. When I was forced into indentured servitude I had been sterilized, they didn’t want anyone to stop working for whatever reason. I could have earned back my fertility, but I had never given much thought to it. Besides, I could barely feed myself, let alone a family. I suppose not having romantic partners also played a part in that.
Kai was either shocked into silence, or just being Kai. I glanced at him and he was as stoic as ever. When I looked over at Madison, though, it was the difference between night and day. Far from stoic, her eyes were welling up again and when she caught me looking at her she closed them, a sad little smile coming to her face.
“The kids are why we have been so tough about letting anyone in here. The quest you had could have gone two ways: you would have failed it if you had tried to claim what you found out there as yours, and it would have killed you. But since you didn’t take it, we have reason to trust you now.”
“Wait, how could the quest have killed us?” I asked, perking up at this bit of system information.
The mayor raised her hand. “It was one of the options I was given when creating the quest. Because it’s a Legendary quest, it gave me advanced options for issuing parts of it. One of those options was the death effect if you attempted to take the prize.”
I bristled a little at hearing this. “That seems a little extreme, playing with our lives like that.”
Graham shrugged, “Your lives, our lives, the lives of the children. The failsafe helped us know we could trust you more. Besides, you would have respawned. What we don’t know is if the children would have. We don’t know if they can.”