by Adam Drake
With no time to swing the club, Rob jumped at the last moment.
The crab came up to Rob's waist and as the thing rocketed at him he managed to clear its height. But he couldn't get enough spring in his jump so he stomped down with one foot and launched off the top of the crab as it passed beneath him.
He landed on both feet, but again the sand betrayed him and he slipped, sprawling to the ground and dropping his club.
Momentarily confused, the crab whirled about, looking for its prey.
Rob scrambled through the sand and picked up the club. But instead of turning to fight he ran for the trees. The crab followed.
Just as the monster was about to collide with him, Rob ducked behind the first tree he came upon. The crab reared back looking for a chance to attack.
Rob kept the tree between them while trying to catch his breath. His mind still reeled at this bizarre situation. He was actually fighting a monster crab!
“Help!” he shouted. “Heeelp!”
Walking sideways the crab attempted to circle around the tree, but Rob moved in the other direction. When the thing lunged forward Rob smacked it with the club. Sometimes the hit would create a crack its shell.
Rob could keep this little dance up for a while, but he was tiring fast. It was only a matter of time before he slipped up and the crab would have him. He glanced around in hopes of finding a safe place to run to, but there were only trees. If he made a dash for another one the crab would be on him.
The crab persisted, almost angry, hissing and snapping its claws at him. Rob managed to bat these attacks away. Soon the shell casing on its large claw was severely cracked. He didn't know how much more damage he needed to inflict before rendering it useless. He examined the crushed shell on the crab's head. If he could strike that spot again, maybe he could end this, or at least force the creature to run away.
As the crab made another lunge, Rob moved to circle in the other direction, but he slipped in the sand and fell to one knee.
Hissing with what could only be crab-like glee the monster attacked.
But Rob reacted by bringing the club around and over his head. With all his strength he hit the crab above its eyes.
The hit was so strong the club crushed the already damaged shell and penetrated the flesh beneath. The weapon buried itself between the creature's eye stalks.
The crab gurgled in pain. Its legs gave out and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Rob jumped back, stunned. He watched the monster die, the club sticking out of its crushed head.
“Whoa,” he said, blinking in disbelief. He killed it! He'd never killed anything bigger than a spider before and here he'd crushed the brain of a mutant crustacean.
Pain yanked him out of his thoughts. He was shocked to see his shoulder bleeding, soaking through the shirt.
Damn that hurt! He examined the wound through the tear and winced. The cut was long and deep, needing ten stitches at least to close it up.
Words floated into his vision, again.
Congratulations on killing your opponent! It is the first of many.
You have earned 50 experience points toward your next level.
“I think I've earned a doctor,” Rob said with annoyance. “I'm hurt. Get me out of here!”
Your character's abilities and skills are based off your attributes. You will be given points to assign to them as you level or through special quests and tasks.
“Piss off!” Rob was having none of this. He walked away from the dead crab and back onto the beach. The words persisted, blocking his view. He swiped at the air. “I don't care about that! I want to go home!”
Another message appeared.
Here are your character stats. This is a simplified version with more information becoming available once you complete the quest 'Restoring Honor' found on the mainland.
Mainland? Rob looked out to sea, but only waves and clouds lined the horizon. “Are there people on this mainland who can explain what's going on?” he said. “And maybe an airport?”
The message was replaced by a big screen filled with numbers.
Character Stats:
Robert Barron, Level 1 – 15% to next level
Hit Points: 45/50, Mana Points: 0
Energy: 60/100, Speed: 10
Armor: 1
Strength: 10
Constitution: 10
Intellect: 10
Perception: 10
Dexterity: 10
Luck: 10
“You've got to be kidding me,” Rob said, mortified. “I have hit points?”
It looked as if the crab had sliced him for 5 points of damage. Sure as hell felt like it should be more than that. His energy was down to 60. What did that mean? His stamina, perhaps? The fight had seriously drained him and now that the excitement was over he felt tired.
He shook his head. None of this nonsense mattered. He wanted out of this place, now!
Having survived your first encounter, it is time for your first Quest!
“Damnit!” he said, glaring at the words. “What don't you understand about me wanting to go home!”
You have received a Quest: Defeat the Island Guardian
At the center of this island is an ancient being from a forgotten time. Find a way to kill it and your way to the mainland will be revealed.
Reward: Unknown.
“No, no, no!” Rob shouted. He'd had it with this crap. “You can take your damned quest and shove it!”
He plopped down on the beach, crossing his legs. Applying pressure to his wound he stared out at the choppy seas. The waters looked as angry as he felt.
“This stops now,” he said. “Do you know why?”
When no words appeared he gave the answer, anyway.
“Because I'm not playing!”
CHAPTER FOUR
Rob sat on the beach and watched the waves.
He was furious. This entire situation confused him which in turn only made him even more angry. Was this some kind of game or an elaborate joke? Both explanations seemed improbable to the point of being ludicrous.
Yet here he sat on some island in the middle of nowhere. What had he done to deserve this? He wasn't a bad man. He certainly didn't have any enemies he was aware of. And even if he did, he doubted they would expend the resources needed to pull this whole charade off.
He might be willing to accept he'd been drugged by someone and whisked away to this secluded place, far from the city. Then, by using some type of hologram technology, his mysterious abductors projected those annoying questions in the air to further mess with his head.
What about the club? He couldn't be sure it magically appeared at his feet. It might have been there to start or even pushed up from beneath? Could this be a giant elaborate stage he was on, like that Truman Show movie?
Could this be similar? One hell of a stretch, yeah, but considering what he's been through he had to hang on to some explanation. A tv show would be the least far-fetched of all possibilities.
But what about the freak of a crab?
He glanced over at its corpse which was further down the beach. It hadn't moved, thankfully.
How can that be explained?
To his knowledge, animatronics and robots were not at a level of such incredible detail to create what attacked him. There was no way a robot could move and react like it did. It would be impossible.
But he wanted to believe. He needed to believe robots like that existed and such fantastical technology was being thrown about simply to terrify some janitor.
After thinking it over for a few moments he sighed. Okay, not a robot.
Not a stage, or show.
Not even an elaborate prank.
None of those possibilities made a lick of sense given what he'd seen and experienced.
Then there was the dragon. The image of it floating in the office suddenly popped in his head. How could he have forgotten that until now?
There was no way that was part of a damn prank.
&
nbsp; Then there was that word in the endless void. What was that, again?
Loading.
Damn.
A chill ran up his spine. Maybe this was a simulation of some kind. He peered around trying to see if there was any pixelation or indication that this was a video game.
Had his consciousness been put into a simulation? Downloaded? Could that be what he was experiencing?
He imagined himself laying on a gurney, wires stuck to his head. Lights flashing along a bank of huge computers. An evil scientist leaning over his helpless form, cackling.
He sighed. Get it together Rob. You're going to drive yourself nuts with all this speculation.
He noticed a small prompt poking up at the bottom left of his vision, like a minimized program tab. Curious, he waved his hand and a large screen appeared before him. At the top was the name 'Combat Log'.
Beneath was a list.
You bash the Large Crab for 3 hit points of damage.
The Large Crab swings at you and misses.
You bash the Large Crab for 4 hit points of damage.
The Large Crab swings at you and misses.
Critical Hit – You bash the Large Crab for 25 hit points of damage. The Large Crab dies.
You have earned 50 experience points toward your next level.
This was a of play-by-play of his fight with the crab, broken down so the hits and misses could be analyzed more closely. He recalled Todd pouring over something similar in his game, trying to work out the best way to maximize his 'dps'. Whatever that was.
Now Rob had a combat log of his own.
He cursed inwardly. Maybe this was a game after all. But he still found it hard to believe.
“Do you hate me?” someone said.
Rob gasped and jumped to his feet. He looked around frantically. “Who is that?” he called out. “Who's there?”
He didn't see anyone, but he'd heard the voice speak to him loud and clear. “Hello! Is someone there?”
He held his breath, waiting for a reply, but only heard the sound of the lapping waves and the wind in his ears.
Looking around, he tried to figure out from what direction the voice had come. He peered at the trees. The forest was so thick that someone could be a short distance away and he wouldn't be able to see them.
“Daddy?” the voice said.
A horrible cold seized his heart. Anika? That was her voice! She was here!
Confused and concerned Rob ran into the forest.
“Anika?” he called out as he pushed his way through the brush. His head swiveled around wildly, desperate to find her. “Anika!”
The forest canopy filtered the sunlight, casting shadows everywhere.
“Anika!” How did she get here? Had she been abducted, too? Was her body also on a gurney in some laboratory like his?
Desperate, he called out to her again and again, all the time pushing through the forest, heedless of where he stepped. He had to find his daughter.
Suddenly, he broke through the trees and found himself at the edge of a clearing. He looked around and froze.
A woman stood at the other end of the clearing.
For a brief moment his mind refused to recognize who it was.
Mid-twenties, long straight black hair that fell almost to her waist, pale white skin, eyes the shape of teardrops. And a face nearly identical to her mother's.
“Anika?” he whispered in disbelief.
“Dad?” she said with a smile.
He gazed at her, shocked. She wore a light blue blouse and those overly tight blue jeans he constantly chided her over. On her feet were a pair of white runners. Exactly what she wore the last time he'd seen her.
“Sweetheart,” he said. “What on earth are you doing here?” He wanted to run over and take her in his arms, show her that everything was going to be alright, that he would protect her.
But he didn't. Something niggled at the back of his mind.
Anika's smile grew a little wider. “I'm sorry but I can't come home for christmas.”
Rob blinked at the odd phrase. It was not what he'd expect to hear her saying given their crazy circumstance.
“What?” he said, trying not to get frantic. “I don't understand. Are you okay?” Despite himself he took a step toward her.
She raised her arms, beckoning for a hug. “Do you hate me?”
Tears welded up in Rob's eyes. He wanted to believe. He wanted this to be Anika. It had to be her, right? His daughter was here and needed comforting.
He moved quickly over to her and put out his arms. “Oh, sweetheart! It will be okay.”
She waited for him with that smile, arms outstretched. As he got close enough to embrace her a prompt appeared before his eyes.
Name: Island Guardian, Type: Wraith
Hit Points: 100, Mana: 250
Speed: Unkown, Armor: Unknown
Main attack: Soul Stealing
Abilities: Illusions
As Rob's tried to comprehend what he was reading he was already within reach of Anika. She suddenly leapt at him, wrapping her arms and legs around him.
Caught off guard he was knocked to the ground on his back.
She locked her hands around his throat, her face contorting with rage. “Do you hate me?!” she screamed, her voice deep and guttural.
His arms were trapped beneath her and he struggled to push her off, but the strength of the small woman was incredible. He gasped as she squeezed his throat.
She leaned over him, bringing her face close to his. Her eyes were no longer those of his daughter's. They were deep pits which glowed with a hellish red light. Her mouth opened wide and he could see rows within rows of pointed fangs.
He tried to buck her off, but she held him fast. There was no way for him to move. It was like being pinned under a car.
As her mouth widened her jaw cracked, becoming unhinged. Her mouth stretched wider.
He tried to scream, mouth open for air, but he couldn't breathe.
To Rob's astonishment, white smoke began to emanate from his mouth. It curled upward and into Anika's freakish maw. She inhaled deeply, and the smoke was sucked in.
Horrified, he felt a tremendous pain throughout his body. The agony was paralyzing.
As the white smoke shot out of his body and into Anika's mouth, his vision rapidly darkened.
His last image was of his daughter hunched over him, her face monstrously contorted, inhaling his very soul.
Then blackness overtook him.
Three words appeared in the subsequent black void.
You have died.
CHAPTER FIVE
Rob opened his eyes to find himself standing on a beach.
He collapsed to his knees, clutching his throat, gasping. The vision of Anika leaning over him, inhaling his essence into her distorted mouth still overwhelmed him.
But that awful pain was gone now. All that remained was the tormented memory of his murder by his own child.
Breathing deeply, he collected himself and looked around at where he was.
It was the beach. The same one where this entire nightmare started from. He could see his footprints in the sand where he'd walked and the butt-print where he sat before.
Unlike the first time when he'd been transported away from the office and couldn't remember what happened, this time the memory was seared in his brain like a hot iron, scarring flesh.
He died. And now he'd been resurrected.
Oh, my God, he thought. I'm a character in a freaking video game!
“Daddy!” a voice called from the forest.
The shout pulled him from his thoughts.
Afraid the Anika-thing might be coming for him now Rob frantically searched the tree-line, half expecting her to come flying out, screaming.
No, not Anika. There had been a message which popped up right before she attacked. The information it showed was similar to when the crab appeared. A stat window, for lack of a better way to refer to it. It said she was the Island Guardian.
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br /> Certain that for the moment he wasn't going to be attacked again, Rob brought up his Combat Log.
The Island Guardian drains you for 15 hit points of damage.
The Island Guardian drains you for 15 hit points of damage.
The Island Guardian drains you for 15 hit points of damage.
You have been killed by The Island Guardian. Due to your level no death penalty will be applied.