Manifest

by Cody Whitfill

  “That is pretty-” he started, but the queen sat up and shushed him in an instant. Queen Tibura gave him a stern look and pointed to the center of the new portal. A figure shimmered from just behind the golden veil, but everyone in the glade had no problem making out his words.

  “Congratulations Dufflin Fairies! You have taken control of the Keeper Orb, destroyed the imp stronghold, and remained true to one-another! I formally declare you the winners; the forest is yours! Celebrate! Rejoice! Enjoy this day!

  Imps, you have failed. You did not protect your stronghold. You did not safeguard the Keeper Orb. You did not stay true to one-another. You WILL depart from this land immediately. You will be given another chance to build a home for yourselves. Do not squander this second opportunity, as there will not be a third!”

  Gitch received a system notification at the conclusion of this small speech.

  Quest Completed: A Queen’s Request

  Not only did you answer Queen Tibura’s summons, but you were instrumental in saving her very life! Through the valiant efforts of you and your comrades, the imps of the Dufflin Forest are no more. Celebrate this most joyous of days!

  Reward:

  840 (800) experience points

  1 free use of the Dufflin Portal

  +2000 Reputation Points with Queen Tibura

  +300 Reputation Points with all fairies

  Congratulations! Your relationship status with Queen Tibura has increased from Neutral to Acquaintance!

  HARK! You have manifested to level 11! Continue on this journey to realize the furthest depths of your true self!

  You have gained 1 attribute point to distribute.

  Health increased from 230 to 253

  Mana increased from 870 to 957

  Stamina increased from 567 to 624

  A loud groaning came from the imp army. Gitch assumed their system notification likely looked much different than his. Their whining grew louder, but the strange figure was not one to stand for complaining. He simply beckoned them forward with a finger and each and every imp in the glade was sucked through the golden portal. Many fought, but none could stop the force dragging them. Even their dead were taken. Within 50 seconds, not one imp was left in the glade. The portal stayed open, but nothing came flying out. The figure was gone, as well as the imp army.

  None of the fairies really knew what to do or say for many long moments. They had all seen terrible things over the course of the day, and it seemed odd to have ended so abruptly. In the end, it was Gitch’s new green friend that spoke into the silence.

  “Dudes, we made it!”

  Those four words were all it took. A tween-filled-Bieber-concert level cheer was unleashed upon the glade. Even the beasts joined in, lending their howls, caws, croaks, snorts, and more to the joyous cacophony of sound. Geysers of water shot out of various holes in the scorched earth as Todd added to the festivities. He saw fairies dancing, playing, racing, flying, all of which looked quite fun. Before he got his party on, however, there was someone he wanted to talk to.

  He felt like he needed to properly straighten some things out with Queen Tibura. Deliverer of the Keeper Orb, or no, he didn’t need the most powerful being in the woods thinking he knocked her out for no reason. Thrice. He figured now, while everyone else was busy, would be a good time to clear the air.

  Gitch strode across the small patch of earth separating him from Tibura. His eyes were focused solely on the queen, which is why he never even tried to dodge. As soon as he crossed in front of the portal, a giant, golden hand reached out and grabbed him. He had just the time to see Tibura’s eyes grow wide, before being forcefully yanked through the magical gate.

  He spiraled through a golden tube that reeked of interdimensional hoodoo. No amount of flapping, kicking, or pleading moved him out of his current downward trajectory. He was going where he was going, screaming pretty much the whole way. The ‘ride’ wasn’t painful, or really even unpleasant. No, it was the god-like being waiting at the end of this thing that terrified him. Would he be eaten? Enslaved? Was he on his way to meet some imp deity that was super pissed at him?

  Gitch wasn’t sure how far, or even how long he traveled. He just knew that he was looking at nothing but the inside of a golden tube, until he simply wasn’t. It took his mind, and then his mouth, a few seconds to catch on to the sudden change in locale. He was standing in a bare room of clear glass. Gitch stood in awe, letting his eyes adjust to this new scene. Past the transparent glass, he saw a large coral colony, with schools of fish swimming about in crystal blue water. He was completely submerged under the sea.

  He heard a woman cough behind him. Gitch turned to face her and his jaw dropped.

  “Li-Lily?”

  Lily was frowning at him, arms crossed. She still appeared human, but had shrunken herself to match his height. “So, you do remember me...”

  Gitch would have preferred the imp god. It wasn’t that he was worried, but this lady had caused him no end of grief. His initial shock was replaced by a cool anger. “Of course! How could I forget the one that cursed me with terrible luck and sent me off into the game with no instructions?”

  Lily walked forward and angrily jabbed a finger into his chest. “First off, I didn’t have anything to do with your luck score! That’s all you, buddy-boy. Second, grow up. You eventually figured it out. Besides, you gained a strong ally in Dwik. That’s more than most of the other fairy players can say. Third, at least I keep my promises! I was sure you would summon me as soon as you entered Fae-thil. I might just have answered many of your questions then, but no! You dilly-dallied around, and even took a stroll through a cemetery, before calling me! A cemetery! What kind of dumb ass ranks the dead above me?”

  “No cursing! I thought you said to summon you once I dressed myself up?! I was barely wearing pants! Those things were so shredded. I just recently earned enough to buy another shirt. I’m more peasant than noble. How was I supposed to call you all shabby like that?”

  “So, you were still planning on seeing me?” she asked softly.

  “Of course! Even with all the crap you put me through, I was still interested in getting to know you.”

  “Oh. Well... this is awkward...” she trailed off, lowering her head in embarrassment. Gitch could see her cheeks flush.

  Gitch sighed, feeling kind of crappy. “I’m sorry, Lily. It’s just been a long few days. Between the battles and the lack of decent sleep, I’m just kinda wiped. Why did you have to assign me the sleepwalking trait, anyway? That one blows.”

  “Sleepwalking? I didn’t assign you sleepwalking. I’ve never given anyone a sleepwalking trait.”

  “Well, hate to break it to you, but I have sleepwalked every night since logging in. How would that not be something you assigned?”

  Lily pursed her lips and scrunched her nose, looking seriously perplexed. She bent forward until she was mere inches from his face, staring deeply into his eyes. What she was looking for, he hadn’t a clue. A spark of recognition appeared on her face, and she stood back up in a hurry.

  “I think...” She paused again, placing an open palm on his forward as if double checking something. Lily closed her eyes and began muttering to herself. Gitch was becoming increasingly nervous and not just because he was concerned about whatever might be wrong with him. The attractive A.I. was super close... and he was liking it. He leaned in for a kiss and was met with a slap to the face. “You are a dumb ass!”

  “Hey, I thought maybe we were having a moment! Also, language!”

  “What? No! You seriously have to be the only player to not have checked. I mean, you haven’t even tried?!?”

  “What are you getting on about?” Gitch asked in irritation. He was getting annoyed at being treated like a noob. Again.

  “You do still have access to your settings menu, right? Scroll down until you get to the bottom. Is the last option greyed out?”

  Gitch nodded and pulled up his settings menu. He had only done so maybe once before. He
really hadn’t felt the need to change anything, content with how the ‘game’ was playing. He scrolled down the excruciatingly long list until he reached the bottom. He saw the last option was not, in fact, greyed out. It took him a moment to register what this meant, and the implications nearly dropped him to the floor.

  “Are-are you serious right now?” he asked in disbelief.

  She looked just as shocked as he felt, but nodded. “Yes. You may be out of time already!”

  “But I don’t-”

  “Just do it!”

  He gulped and selected the last option, praying he wasn’t too late. A countdown timer appeared, indicating he had 5 seconds left. He gave her a weak wave, which she returned nervously. The timer ticked zero, and he blacked out.

  Epilogue

  “Come on man, you know that can’t be good for you,” Ben said, pointing at the can of coke in Justin’s hand. “How many does that make today? Shouldn’t you be sufficiently caffeinated by now?”

  Justin rubbed his eyes and set his pop back in the passenger cup holder. They were nearing the end of a 24 hour shift, and Justin was feeling it. Procedures stated they were to get the next 48 hours off after working a full day. He’d be lucky to get 12. EMTs were a hot commodity, with precious few surviving The Cleansing. He was sick of these extra shifts, but he was not so naive to believe there was any end in sight. He needed some time off, or at least some sleep. What he didn’t need was another lecture.

  “Shove it, Ben. While you’re up here driving, I’m in the back getting sneezed, pissed, or puked on. I think I deserve a little extra somethin’ somethin’.”

  “I just don’t even know where you find that stuff, man. Seems like all the name brand stuff vanished after The Cleansing.”

  “Meh, I have my ways. You just worry about getting us back.”

  They drove in silence for a few minutes, each ready to clock out for the night. Any shift where you answer 12 calls or more would make for a long day. They were finishing up number 18. Corporate America may have gone defunct, but the U.S. Government was doing everything in its power to keep emergency services open to the general public... Which meant LOTS of extra hours. He was ready for a break.

  They were just a few minutes away from the hospital when the radio squawked yet again. They both cringed at what they knew was another job.

  “Ambulance 3, I need you to head over to 413 Anderson Street.”

  “Come on, Roberta! You know our shift’s over, just let us come back and send out ambulance 2.”

  “Suck it up Justin, you guys are right there. Do this one for me and I’ll bring you a Coke tomorrow, deal?”

  “Fine,” Justin sighed while turning on the lights. “Give me the details.”

  “I knew I could count on you guys! Report is that some soldiers discovered a pair of one-zero-ones.”

  “Goners?”

  One for sure, but we are sending a separate unit to pick him up. The other one was still alive, and we will need you to bring him in for harvesting.

  “Copy that.” Justin set the microphone down and made another turn down Anderson. They were lucky the street was clear. The city had requisitioned several bulldozers to clear some of the main roads around town, but there was a long way to go yet.

  “Did she say harvesting?!?” Ben asked nervously.

  Justin laughed dryly. “End of the world makes everyone an organ donor.”

  They pulled up to the apartment complex and were greeted by the toughest looking dude Justin had ever seen. The guy was a giant with muscles bigger than his head and was even missing an eye. He looked angry, but pointed them in the right direction. Ben told him thanks, but he had already turned his back on them. Justin shrugged and continued down the hall and up the elevator. The apartment door was hanging off one hinge. Justin figured either that big bruiser downstairs, or the soldiers who called in the alert had been pretty adamant about entering.

  He entered first, followed by Ben. The smell of death and decay was evident. At least one of the boys was dead for sure, and it definitely hadn’t happened today. They carefully made their way through the small apartment to the back bedroom, where they found the two bodies lying on their backs. Both had the cursed ANI attached to their necks, but it was obvious which of the one-zero-ones they were here to bring in.

  The younger kid had been dead for a few days, at least. Ben went to check the pulse of the other. After a few seconds, he looked over to Justin and nodded. This one was still alive. They loaded him up onto the stretcher and carried him back downstairs. Much to his surprise, the big fella was gone. He was either a big softie who knew the two boys or just sucked at being a door guard.

  Justin hopped in the back with the comatose patient while Ben settled himself into the driver’s seat. Justin instinctively tuned out the sound of the sirens and turned his full attention to the organs in the back. A one-zero-one meant death. There was no recovering, but the organs were still viable and ripe for the plucking. God knew there was a need for fresh hearts, lungs, and kidneys in this hellish America.

  He began his routine checks, monitoring vitals and taking blood samples as needed. He turned his back to grab an IV bag to give the stiff some much needed nutrients. Not that it would do him much good, but the docs said it was best to strengthen the organs prior to surgery. He had just inserted the needle into his left arm, when the body jerked.

  Justin jumped in shock, banging his head on the metal shelf attached to the wall. He felt something trickle down the side of his face and knew he was bleeding. It didn’t feel overly serious, but something he would need to check out.

  “Everything okay back there, Justin?” Ben hollered back.

  He paid him no mind; all attention given to the body strapped to the stretcher in the center of the small med-bay. The stiff stopped twitching, laying still on his stretcher once again. Justin cautiously lifted two fingers to his neck while simultaneously checking a stop watch. Not only did he feel a pulse, but it was as strong and steady as his own.

  “What in the-Holy Shit!” Justin cried out as the would-be corpse’s hand shot out to grasp his own arm. He saw a pair of shining green eyes staring up at him as the stiff’s cracked lips opened slightly. The now fully conscious patient croaked out just two words in a voice hardly loud enough to be considered a whisper.

  “No cursing.”

  Afterword

  Hello Manifesters!

  Thank you so much for reading book 1 of The Fairy’s Tale series! I truly hope this story enjoyable. This is my first full-length novel, and it has been such a pleasure to write.

  I do love engaging with fans, and giving away free stuff, so be sure to follow me on Facebook and sign up for my newsletter.

  Please also consider leaving a review on Amazon. This helps tremendously with reaching others who may choose to join our ever-growing kin of Manifesters!

  FOR THE GLOOP!