by Eden Redd
A grid formed on the lot right before his eyes. The player smirked as he saw it was a basic building format procedure, something all kids learned in school. Hands blurred against the screen as he began to work. Walls appeared and with precise movements, they snapped to the ground and to each other. DIM bucks subtracted from his funds and Morgan kept an eye on it as he continued to build. The prices for walls were cheap, but much like base building, furnishing and perfecting the dwelling would drive up the cost for every little thing. Thankfully, as he looked through the choices, he could have a modest home and still have some bucks left over.
Three bedrooms formed with a medium sized kitchen and bathroom appearing next. A large living room was last as the roof appeared and connected to the top. Morgan walked toward the open doorway, dragging the Builder Screen with him. Cycling through doors, he picked a hard-oak door and it appeared at the entrance. Checking the stats, he liked that it could take some punishment before it broke. Looking to the left and right, he brought up the paint menu. Choosing a light shade of blue, he touched the outside wall and the entire house was painted except the roof. Glancing up, he picked a dark stained wood to give it an almost rustic look. The roof pulsed once, the new texture and paint covering it.
Morgan took hold of the door and stepped in. With the door closed behind him, he set about furnishing the place. Eyeing the high-end items, he knew he couldn’t afford them just yet. Swiping the catalog to the medium and low-end items, he picked out ones that could work and stay in budget. A comfy couch appeared and settled against a wall while a modest flat-screen TV attached to the wall opposite of it. Hardwood floor tiles checkered out to cover the room while tasteful lamps dotted the corners.
Moving to the kitchen, Morgan noted the open doorway as it faced the backyard. A small kitchen table, sink, oven and chairs appeared and slid into place under the players direction. A screen door and an oak door blinked into place. A bay window appeared over the sink and a steel colored refrigerator fit against the wall next to the sink and oven.
Morgan gave a silent nod of approval before moving through the one-story home to one of the rooms. A red rug rolled out across the floor before a wide bed appeared, complete with a night stand on each side and a lamp on each one. The walls turned from white to a dark red, adding a sense of comfort to the player before he left the room and moved to the one looking out to the cul-de-sac.
Checking his funds, the player noticed he already blew through about six thousand bucks. Scrolling through his options, he really wanted to recreate his study but with funds running low, he would have to build as much as he could before getting a job and adding more. The floor remained hardwood as an oak desk appeared with a comfortable chair. A computer blinked onto the desk, off to the side. Thick sturdy shelves blinked against two walls while two thinner ones appeared on either side of the wide window. Morgan moved them until they were just right. A thick curtain flowed down from above the window and the Study was shrouded in darkness.
With another tap at the glowing screen, a stylized old-fashion lamp took up a corner and turned on, illuminating the room in dim light. Morgan eyed the empty shelves, but before he could fill them with books, he saw that his funds had dwindled to 989 DIM bucks.
“It will have to do for now,” Morgan whispered as he knew he had one more room he could not furnish yet.
Checking the time, he saw there was two minutes before the game went live. He was so caught up in building his home he had completely lost track of time. Shrugging to himself, he walked through the new, incomplete home and opened the front door. Stepping out, he looked to the other homes along the cul-de-sac and wondered what his neighbors would be like.
Morgan walked a small stone path and stood by his mailbox, the timer counting down to less than a minute.
“Time to get into character,” Morgan said to himself as the time drew closer to zero.
A warm breeze touched the player as he admired the other homes. Gazing past them and through the hills, the spires of a small town stood and beyond them, a hint of ocean blue. Seeing the ocean, even a virtual one spoke to Morgan in ways he never could fully understand. In reality, he had never been farther then several towers in the massive city. The real ocean was about ten miles away, but it might as well be on another planet. The air was slightly toxic and the ocean waters by the city were so polluted no living thing could swim without becoming sick or worse. It caused the player to wonder if Digital Hearts may be just what he needed to enjoy the waters, tides and waves without a gasmask and a protective suit on.
The digital world rippled as the homes around him changed, taking on new shapes and sizes. Morgan returned from his daydreaming to see a house in the middle change into a creepy home with a tower and wrought iron gates and fences rising up. Vines crawled along the slatted walls and the windows took on Victorian accents and designs. Black roses bloomed in the yard and a black cat sauntered out. Gargoyles stood perched on two rising pillars, indicating the front entrance.
Morgan smiled before his eyes were drawn to the home right across the street from him. It shifted and morphed until it stood like a metal and stone compound. Perfect squares and rectangles took shape, combining together into what looked like a base. Windows appeared and something big moved past one. Morgan raised an eyebrow before a door opened on the beautiful creepy home.
The player turned his attention again to see a lithe woman step out, a smile blooming as her eyes connected with his. She wore a black thigh length dress and tight top. The bottom of her short dress wrapped around her thighs with triangular tips pointing down. She wore a witch’s hat, complete with a buckle and a bent point at the top. Thigh high stockings covered her legs, but left a little band of skin along the tops of her thighs before they were hidden by the dress. The stockings were black and orange stripes leading down to shoes with curled tips. Lacey orange and black striped gloves covered her hands and forearms as the witch waved hi and began to walk in Morgan’s direction. The player smiled, seeing Mina. Despite all the time in fighting in the Grid Wars, he never saw her completely out of uniform and he had to admit, it was nice.
A large door opened from the home across the street and a thick, humanoid man stepped out. Morgan’s eyes slid over and watched in slight disbelief as the hulking creature smiled and began walking toward him as well. Wearing only skin-tight black shorts, the massive seven-foot monster walked barefoot across the street. Purple skin covered muscles large enough to crack a coconut bare handed. Short black hair spiked up on his head, but the face was unmistakable. David moved with liquid ease as he and Mina met up and walked toward Morgan, the player giving a quick head nod to them.
“Glad to see we are all letting out hair down,” Morgan grinned.
Mina flashed her perfect teeth, “Nice look.”
The hulking monster crossed his arms and smiled. “I thought for sure you would have been taller and as big as me.”
Morgan looked down and then back up, “Is that body too bulky?”
David shook his head, “Nope. Fits like a glove.”
“David, leave him alone. It’s nice to be normal,” Mina said simply.
“I did get a tattoo,” Morgan said awkwardly.
The witch and purple-skinned hulk looked to their friend with wide eyes.
“Show us,” the two said in unison.
Morgan couldn’t fight back the smirk as he opened the top button to his shirt and showed them the dragon tattoo on his chest. The two stepped closer, David giving a thick thumb’s up and Mina touching Morgan’s tattoo with warm fingers.
Digital Hearts is live! Please enjoy your time and good luck to all!
The alert faded from Morgan’s vision and looked to his friends. “So, are there back stories or such we should know about each other?”
Mina nodded. “My name is Mina Blake and I’m a local witch trying to start my magic potions business here in Driftwood Cove. Maybe I’ll start a coven and find my frog prince.”
David crossed his m
eaty arms, “I’m David Nulk Tanner. Mutant and professional body builder. I’m vacationing here in Driftwood Cove because the body building circuit has been toxic lately and thinking of opening my own gym here.”
Morgan’s brow wrinkled slightly, “Nulk?”
David gave a wide grin, “Yea…Nulk…like…”
From seeing David’s impish grin, Morgan blurted out, “Oh…I get it.”
“Nulk…Not…Hulk,” David continued.
“I said I get it,” Morgan laughed and Mina joined him.
When the laughter died down a second later, David eyed Morgan, “And you?”
The player gave his friends a kind look and a small smile. “Morgan Strange, artist and looking for romance.”
“I like it,” Mina nodded and looked to his home, “Nice house.”
Morgan turned his head and glanced to it before looking to his friends. “It was all I could afford. It still needs work, but I guess that’s part of the game.”
“Looks better than mine. I spent most of my bucks on the exterior. Inside, I only have a bed, table and two chairs,” Mina sighed.
“My place is nice, but it’s true, I need more bucks to really get the cool stuff,” David said.
“I’m not even sure how we get jobs or extra cash,” Morgan said as he rubbed his jaw.
Mina glanced to each of her friends, “I did some research before entering the game. There isn’t a lot of information out there, but some of the basic stuff was easy to find. Jobs are simple and you are paid daily. We will have bills and expenses like everyone else.”
“Do we have to go to places and actually apply,” David asked.
Mina shook her head, “Check the paper that is delivered daily or check the want ads online. The jobs run from normal to really weird.”
“Like making potions,” David shot Mina a sarcastic look.
Mina let out a laugh. “Potions are not weird you mutant bodybuilder!”
“I find that offensive to mutants,” David tried to say with a straight face and failed.
Morgan shook his head as his friends stuck their tongues out at each other. A door opened from the home next to Morgan’s house and a man stepped out. The player turned his attention as Mina and David continued to make fun of each other. The man smiled as he walked to the edge of his property and leaned on the white picket fence. Dirty blonde hair covered his head while a thin mustache covered the space above his thin lips.
“Greetings neighbors! Welcome to Comet Street. My name is Richard Dickson,” the man smiled.
“Morgan.”
“Mina”
David nodded. “David Nulk Tanner.”
“Really, the whole name,” Mina said sharply.
Richard nodded. “Pleased to meet you Morgan, Mina and David Nulk Tanner. This is a nice quiet neighbor and we like to keep it that way. I know you just moved in, but be sure to stick to the neighborhood ordinances and we should get along fine.”
“What are you, the Mayor of Comet Street,” David chuckled.
Richard’s eyes narrowed but kept his cheery smile. “I’m actually president of the Neighborhood Ordinance Department or NOD for short. Every neighborhood has one. If you have any questions about the ordinances, I’m your man.”
“His name is Dick Dickson,” David said out of the corner of his mouth and Mina jabbed him with her elbow.
“We apologize if we were too loud. We are just excited to be here. We will keep the noise down,” Morgan said diplomatically.
“I understand. I’m sure we will all get along fine,” Richard said as he waved to them, turned and walked to his front door.
“Wow, he’s a wet blanket. I have plans…big party plans,” David grinned.
Morgan looked to David, “Didn’t you do the tutorial? If you start causing trouble, you could be ejected from the game.”
The purple hulk crossed his meaty arms, “I’m here to have fun, win credits and find that lucky lady. I’m not going to listen to some guy telling me I have to stay quiet. This place is supposed to be fun and I’m going to have a lot of fun.”
“Maybe we should take our excitement to town. It could be fun,” Mina said.
David’s smug smile faded slightly, “I…um…only have twenty DIM bucks to my name. I spent everything on the house.”
Mina’s smile melted away. “I have about fifty bucks.”
Morgan eyed his friends as he walked over and put a hand on each of their shoulders. “I have about a thousand. I may need some help spending it.”
The witch and mutant gave Morgan sly grins.
Mina reached into a small pocket in her dress and pulled out a cell phone. “I don’t have a car so we will have to call a cab.”
The witch held the phone to her ear and didn’t say anything. A second later, she closed it and put it in her pocket. Not five seconds later, a green cab came up the street, drove around the rounded end and stopped before Morgan’s place.
The players grinned, but Mina moved to the forward passenger side and opened the door.
“You guys get in back. I’m not sitting next to Bulk,” Mina grinned.
“It’s Nulk, as in Not Hulk,” David said with a sarcastic growl before opening the back-passenger door.
Morgan watched, fascinated. David was almost too big to sit in a normal car and he had no idea how he would sit in the back seat with him. Seamlessly, David sat in the back seat and scooted in, his seven-foot frame fitting easily into the cab. Morgan stepped back as David patted the seat next to him. It defied logic that someone as big as David could fit in the car. His thick frame would have taken up the entire back-seat and his weight alone might have caused the car to tilt, but neither of those things happened. Clearly the physics of Driftwood Cove were not completely normal, allowing for outlandish things like giant mutants sitting in cars to be a normal, everyday thing.
Morgan stepped in and sat down comfortably. David sat next to him, but their bodies were not even touching. Laughing it off, he closed the door and looked out the window to his home. Engine humming, the player’s eyes drifted to his neighbors’ home. It was a two-story suburban house with a white picket fence. It looked like a nice normal home and as the cab began to pull away, something glowed from the second-story window.
It was quick, Morgan barely seeing it before it disappeared. The shade was halfway down and the room dark, but it looked like two pinpoints of light. An odd but familiar feeling washed down Morgan’s spine. He couldn’t explain it, but a piece of him always seemed to pick up on being watched. It had become so normal that he had accepted it, but what he saw and felt whispered in his mind, telling him someone was watching him.
The cab drove off, the driver saying nothing as Mina and David began talking excitedly about going into downtown. Morgan glanced back through the rear window, seeing the two dots again in Richard’s second floor window before they blinked out once again.
Four
Morgan looked out his window, lips curved into a wide smile. The downtown area of Driftwood Cove was crowded with people. Bars and restaurants were filled to capacity and beyond. Groups of bodies took up the sidewalks and spilled into the streets. It looked like Mardi Gras, but with a New England flavor. The buildings and stores had an old fashion appearance, but digital screens flashed in windows and over entrances with names of places with drink and food specials. A few white puffy clouds drifted along the blue sky as the sun reached its zenith, brilliant light adding to the party atmosphere.
Morgan eyed the crowd and quickly noticed the variety of people. It began to sink in just how laid back and fun the town really was. He spotted people who looked like angels, fish people, mutants, a person dressed as death, clowns, people with horns, others with tails and some with both. Amid those kinds of people, many others simply looked like normal townsfolk. Some wore wild garments with leather and chains and others dressed like they walked out of the early 21st century. Tight neon clothes covered scantily clad bodies and others dressed like they were going to a wizard
’s school. The very air vibrated in excitement and Morgan was finding it more and more infectious.
“This looks fun,” David grinned.
Morgan nodded.
“Where can I leave you,” asked the cab driver.
“The corner is fine,” Mina said as she too looked at the crowds.
The cab rolled to a stop and doors opened. Mina left a small tip before closing her door. Morgan stepped out and took a deep inhale of air. The simulations were so real, he could actually detect the salt in the air and feel the sun’s rays on his skin. The cab drove off as the three friends stood side by side, taking in the full Main Street.
Morgan looked up to a banner crossing the street from building to building saying “Welcome New Residents to Driftwood Cove!”
David put his hand above his eyes to block out the sun, “First day party. My kind of town.”
Laughter and murmurs of the crowd bounced off the stone and brick buildings along Main Street. Morgan looked down the street and past the crowds to the glittering ocean in the short distance. The air washed over him, relaxing nerves and muscles as the stress of fighting ebbed away like a receding tide. A faint memory flashed of a man lying in a bed and Morgan’s mood soured slightly.
Mina looked over as Morgan’s bright smile darkened in an instant. Shadows filled his eyes as his head tilted forward slightly. Moving closer, she curled her arm into his, bringing him back from the small dark place.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I need at least a dozen drinks and maybe a few shots. Are you guys game?”
“Hell yea,” David shouted.
Morgan turned his eyes to Mina as she gave him an innocent look. “Sounds fun. Let’s do it.”