Desert

by Caiden Walker

  Louella looked at the cemetery closely. She still didn't see any save point. Of course, the hidden ones most likely weren't enormous fountains with big glowing globes in the center.

  She looked over at Evan expectantly. Soon all eyes were on Evan.

  He seemed to like the attention. Puffing up a bit, he walked over to the small opening between the stacked stones and went to the center cross. Reaching down, he touched it and a quick bright flash of light reached out from the cross to cover his body in its warm glow. Then just as quickly, it was gone.

  Saved by the cross. How fitting, Louella thought. She wondered how many gamers would get that reference. The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. And when it was her turn to touch the wooden cross, it was with a touch of reverence and a lot of prayer.

  "Okay, so before we go to meet our new friends at the oasis, maybe we should all recap what skills we have available to add to the battle," Nika said. "For my part, I can help the team with my WarCry and Intimidation, and if needed I can use my AllOut to double my attack for a short time. I lost my Armor Smash, but if it hit level eleven during the fight, I should get it back."

  Evan nodded. "Basically, I'm fast and really good with a sword. Using one gives me better attack and defense too."

  "Well, you all know about my EarthQuake and Clone," Louella said. "At level nine I got a small heal spell which might help out in a pinch. It's not nearly as powerful as Ash's but it could make a difference if you were super low on life. And at level ten, I got the ability to call a Cyclone. That should be a super effective area attack out here in the desert." Which is exactly why she programmed it for herself. Why take chances?

  Ash went next. "Besides my healing powers, and fire and lightning spells, at ten I regained my Blizzard attack." She made a sour face. "Won't be nearly as effective out here as it was in the forest. The ice won't stick around for very long at all with this heat."

  They all looked at Dean.

  He sighed. "Nothing new to speak of," he said sounding a bit disappointed. “My DoubleShot and FlamingArrow have leveled up quite a bit, but other than that, nothing new or exciting."

  "I kind of like the idea of your DoubleShot leveling up," Ash said. "That ability has saved my butt a few times."

  He grinned at her. "And your heal has saved mine."

  Nika looked at all of them. "Looks like we're ready, folks..."

  "What about me?" Blake asked, indignantly. "Doesn't anyone care what I got?"

  All eyes turned to him. Finally, Nika asked quietly. "Sure, Blake, what did you get?"

  "Nothing," he said. "Not one damn thing. I think they only gave me the singing ability because they had to give the class something and they didn't think you all would let me join with you."

  "Now you know how I felt," Evan said. "You were one of the ones who stuck me in here as a tiger, remember? If it hadn't been for our pixie hacker friend, I'd still be walking around on all fours and growling."

  Blake backed up a step and shut up.

  Louella wanted to feel sorry for the man, but she just couldn't. He was the reason Nika was in this mess to begin with. She didn't care if he ever got out of the game. But that added attack his singing gave him was kind of nice to have in battle. And the only reason he was still with them.

  "So, can we go kill some monsters now?" Dean asked, trying to lighten the mood.

  Nika laughed so it must have worked.

  "Sure, Dean," Nika said. She looked toward the oasis, now only a few yards away.

  Louella pulled up the area map and could see no fewer than a dozen red dots within its boundaries. Probably every one of them a Nomad Bandit too. She swallowed. Those were hard to beat, and they'd be outnumbered almost two to one.

  She was strong but didn't know if she was that strong. And that save point didn't give her near the confidence it gave her friends. She was wondering if maybe she should tell them all just what they'd meant to her before they reached the little bit of shady heaven.

  Then she remembered the note she'd left for Nika. It would have to do. Even if the Amazon knew about her plight now, it was something from Louella's heart.

  Nika caught her gaze and smiled at her, coming to stand beside her while the others remounted. "If you wanted to sit this one out, I'd understand," she said.

  Louella just shook her head. "No, I'm going with you all. You might need me." She paused. "Besides it's going to happen eventually, you know. Even in this world, no one can live forever." She took a deep breath. "I'm okay. Really."

  Nika nodded slowly then glanced over at Evan who also nodded. They would have her back as much as they could. Knowing that helped. A lot.

  They rode up to the start of the grassy area and stopped, trying to see the enemies waiting for them. Nothing. No bandits jumped out from behind trees or dropped from the high palm tree branches above them. As far as they could see, and the oasis wasn't all that big, there simply wasn't anywhere that would enable them to hide that well.

  "What the hell?" Dean asked. "Where are the bad guys?"

  "Um, people?" Ash said quietly. "I don't think those red dots were Gaia's. I'm thinking maybe Trials took over this oasis."

  Nika looked at her. "What makes you say that?"

  Instead of answering, Ash simply lifted a finger and pointed. To Louella's knowledge, Koala bears weren't known for existing in the desert and had no real liking for palm trees. These Koala bear look-a-likes obviously did.

  The small grassy clearing held a dozen trees. In six of them sat the little bear-like creatures. In the other six, there were very brightly colored parrots.

  Nika lowered her voice. "Do any of you know what these creatures are?"

  "The parrots are BirdTalkers," Ash said. "They have flying attacks which are super powerful against any plant-based creature."

  "And unless I'm mistaken," Dean said. "Those bears are LeafEaters. They are pretty powerful against plant creatures too."

  "All right then," the Amazon said. "A nice change of pace. Instead of us fighting, we get to let our critters take care of it for us. Since the game was nice enough to give us two of each creature per party, hopefully, we'll have a spot of luck in catching one."

  They did. The bears were fairly easy to catch and only two of them got away. That was okay because their monster inventories were beginning to fill up pretty quickly. They'd need to make it to a storage facility soon or have to give up some of their hard-earned critters.

  The parrots, on the other hand, were really tricky. They kept flying away. And once they'd flown, they didn't return. It was a one-shot kind of deal.

  Louella was the only one lucky enough to get one. She'd taken a real risk pitting her VeggieMot against it, as weak as her critter would be to the attack. But nothing else she'd seen the others try seemed to work, and she'd figured it was worth a shot. The parrot seemed to appreciate being the stronger of the ones in battle and joined Louella's team with a simple recruit command. No damage was taken by either of the battling creatures.

  "Well done," Nika said.

  Louella smiled. "Do you want to trade now?" She hated to give the critter up but on the other hand, as hard as they were to catch, she didn't want to risk losing it when they had to join up either.

  Nika hesitated, then shook her head. "Hold on to it for a bit. So far, the game has let us go along just fine as separated parties. I'm hoping that will continue. If it does, then you can take that time to level up your parrot while I keep concentrating on my Munch and ThunderClap."

  The Amazon had a point. One recruiter could only level up so many critters at a time.

  "So, you haven't forgotten your promise, right?" Dean asked. "We're pitching the tents here and taking that nap, aren't we?" The last few words were almost lost to a massive yawn.

  Nika sighed. "As much as I'd love to press on to the second oasis, I think we all need the rest. We've been at this for hours now and the heat is beginning to take its toll on me."

  "I don't think we need the
tents, though, do you?" Evan asked. "The trees give off plenty shade and without being surrounded by fabric walls, we'd be more apt to see anything trying to sneak up on us."

  "That's true," Dean said. "I'm more than okay with just my bedroll. Right now even the bare sand is looking pretty inviting as a bed."

  Nika glanced up at the sun's path in the sky. Louella knew she was trying to gage the daylight hours they had left.

  "How about we rest here and sleep until the sun starts to set?" The Amazon asked. "That will give us time to split up and take a good nap while keeping on a decent time schedule."

  Ash nodded. "Yeah, we definitely need to have a couple of us awake at all times. That missing mini-boss fight has me worried," she said. "Plus the horses need a rest probably more than we do."

  "Leaving at dusk sounds good to me," Dean said around yet another yawn. Louella was betting he'd be one of the first on the nap roster. "Should be cooler out there by then."

  Nika nodded. "It is. Actually, nights in the desert can be a bit on the cold side. Walking and riding can help a person, or horse, stay warm. Maybe we should try to time our desert ventures for the nighttime hours as much as we can."

  "Good plan," Evan said. Then he looked over at Louella. "How about you and me take the first watch and let the others get a bit of shut-eye?"

  Louella nodded. That was fine with her. She hadn't gotten much sleep in the last two nights, but then she really wasn't convinced she needed any. She certainly didn't seem to be suffering from the same exhaustion the others seemed to be dealing with.

  Besides, she preferred to keep as busy as possible until she dropped. Thoughts of what turns her dreams may take now were more than enough to make her dread sleep, anyway. So she was more than okay with delaying that time as far into the future as possible.

  While the others got out their bedrolls and laid them out under the now empty trees, Evan and Louella filled their canteens with water from the small clear lake at the very center of the oasis. Then, remembering her promise to keep Sunshine filled with treats, she walked over to the horses and gave them each an apple to munch, then led them one by one over to the lake to drink their fill. When Evan saw her, he hit his head with his palm.

  "Duh," he said. "Horses need water too, huh?" With his help, the horses were taken care of in short order and then tied to a couple of the trees so they wouldn't wander off.

  Louella went up to Sunshine. "I'm sorry I can't talk to you right now," she said. "But it should just be a temporary setback. We'll be talking up a storm again real soon, boy." Then she turned him to where the other horses wouldn't see and sneaked him a small offering of sugar cubes.

  He nuzzled her neck before accepting the treat. She patted him and then turned back to Evan who had been watching her the whole time. Together they made their way to sit beside the water. Pulling out their bedrolls, too, so that they'd have a softer surface to sit on, they settled down back to back.

  Sitting this way insured that between them they had a clear view of the whole area. Nothing should be able to get to the sleeping team members without them seeing it.

  Evan waited until the last of the party drifted off to sleep. It didn't take long.

  "How are you holding up?" He asked softly.

  She thought for a minute before answering. "Better than I ever would have thought I could, I guess." Louella hadn't shed a single tear since that fateful morning she had spilled the beans to Nika. That whole night of crying on the bathroom floor must have depleted all her remaining virtual tears. She was more than okay with that.

  "What are you going to do if the rest of us are okay and able to leave the game?"

  There, one of them had finally asked the question that Louella had been trying to avoid thinking about. Swallowing, she hesitated. "I guess I'll try to make it back to the closest town and live as an NPC." What choice did she have?

  "One thing we can do for you is make sure that your parents know the truth," he said. "That should start up the communication lines again."

  She smiled. "That would be really nice." Not something she could ever count on happening, but it was nice to have something to hope for on the horizon. "Maybe they could come visit me too?"

  There was laughter in his voice when he answered. "I don't think we could stop them, do you?"

  "Probably not," she said lightly. "My dad is pretty much a force of nature when he wants something. And mom isn't any lightweight about getting her way either." Their only failure in life had been not keeping their daughter alive. Not that they hadn't tried everything possible. Some things were simply not meant to be, even for two miracle makers like her parents.

  When she went silent again, Evan must have realized her thoughts had strayed to the depressing side of things. But it wasn't like they had all that much to talk about, now was it?

  A couple of minutes later, he reached back and tapped her arm. Turning so that could see him, she followed his pointing finger with her eyes.

  Just outside the clearing, three large scorpions were heading toward them. Gaia's creatures. Louella started to get up, but Evan put out a restraining hand. "Wait," he whispered. His pointing finger went from the approaching enemies up to the palm trees' branches. There, three colorful BirdTalkers had just appeared from nowhere.

  "A respawn?" she asked, her voice low.

  He shook his head. "Somehow I don't think so," he said glancing around. "There are only three of them, and I don't see any LeafEaters respawned yet either."

  Evan had a point. Louella settled back down, turning slightly so that she could keep the scorpions in view. They were the only sign of approaching monsters and a quick check of the area map verified that.

  As they watched, the scorpions crossed over into the grass. Instantly the parrots went into action. Shooting up into the air, they reached an amazing height.

  "They're doing their flight attack," Louella whispered. It was so much cooler watching it in person than on a terminal screen. The birds reached the apex of their altitude and turned in unison. Now they were cutting through the air with their great wings outstretched and heading directly for the crawling poisonous creatures.

  The scorpions never stood a chance. If there was a monster class even weaker to the birds than the plant class, it was the insect class. When the birds rose into flight once more, they each had one in their beaks. Seconds later, there was a small shower of glitter as the scorpions dissolved into the cyber nothingness that they had come from.

  The parrots squawked out in loud victory cries and flew back to perch on branches of the various trees. Once again standing their silent vigil against any encroaching enemies.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Ash & Blake

  When Evan and Louella woke up Ash and Blake to stand their turn at watch, they told them what had happened.

  Blake rubbed his eyes and gave a great yawn. "So the Trials monsters are protecting the oasis from Gaia's creatures?"

  Louella smiled happily and nodded. "They did it twice while you guys slept. Once was a couple of nomad bandits too. The birds and bears worked together on that one. I think that's why there are so many of them here." She hesitated. "But they just drove the bandits off," she said. "They didn't actually kill them. If the bandits had been equipped with arrows instead of swords, they still might have proved dangerous. The critters are protecting their clearing, not us."

  "Damn," Blake said. "I was hoping that meant we didn't need guards after all, and I could sleep longer."

  "Sorry, old man," Evan said, not sounding one bit sorry at all. "Your turn is up, and no fudging to wake Nika up earlier than two hours from now, either. The woman needs to catch up on her sleep. Remember the two of us have had two short nights, and you've just had one."

  "Don't worry, guys," Ash said coldly. "I'll make sure she gets her rest."

  Evan nodded and moved his bedroll over more into the shade. "You, I never doubted for a minute," he said.

  "You want me to sit up with you?" Louella asked.

  A
sh gave her a strange look. "No, you need sleep too. Remember, we'll be heading out to the other oasis after our watch. We might not get so lucky with the critters protecting that one. Gaia's Rebirth has a storyline too, and I'm pretty sure we'll have at least a mini-boss to meet up with there. You need your rest."

  She didn't know what was up with the pixie, but she had been acting really strange ever since they had entered the desert area. When Louella was ready to talk about it, she would. Ash had never been one to pry. People kept their secrets for a reason.

  They had decided on two naps and two watches at this oasis. Then, when they reached the next one, Nika and Dean would be fairly fresh to take first watch there.

  Ash actually liked it that way. She wasn't a real fan of trying to take a long nap with a break of watch time in the middle. By the time she managed to get back to sleep after her scheduled guard time, it was about time to start again.

  "Come on, Blake," she said, grabbing the man by his arm and hauling him up off his bedroll. "Time to get moving."

  He grunted but stood and walked over to the lake beside her. Watching her movements, he soon followed suit and all the canteens in their inventory were quickly filled to the brim. Then he watched as Ash went down to her knees to scoop up a handful of fresh, cold water and bring it to her lips.

  She motioned for him to do the same. After a brief hesitation, he did.

  "I've been wanting to ask you something," Blake said.

  "Ask away."

  "Why are you so much nicer to me than all the others?"

  Ash lifted her shoulders, taking a minute before answering him. "In the outside world, I've had to do a lot of things I'd rather not have done because I had to have the money." She gave him a glare. "And no, it wasn't anything illegal and no one but possibly me got hurt by my actions. Also, no, I'm not going to talk about them. I just guess I know what it's like in a very small part to be driven into doing something distasteful for the all mighty dollar." She turned to face him head-on. "Of course, I'm only guessing that you did what you did for money?"