by Alex Mulder
“This is the new frontier, Luke,” said Tess. “We always thought that outer space and exploring distant planets would be the next big leap for humans. But instead, we’re heading in the other direction, the introspective direction. We’re exploring our creativity, making new worlds that can be as perfect or as flawed as we want them to be.”
“Are you always this deep, or does the sunset bring out your intellectual side?” Luke made a face at her, and Tess let out a tiny laugh.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just… like I said before. I play this game and go on adventures, and… meet new people. And it makes me just want to go further into it.”
Neither of them said anything for a moment. Luke let his eyes meet hers and felt his heart begin to beat faster, like a rebellious stallion that wanted to break loose from its pen.
What am I doing here, and why is it that I can’t look away from her?
Luke slowly began to lean in closer, and Tess moved to meet him. His lips found hers, and a wave of powerful emotion swept over him. The kiss itself was strange, intangible and insubstantial, like kissing a ghost. But the way it made him feel was just as intense as any kiss in the real world had ever been.
“Luke…” whispered Tess. “I like playing this game with you. I want you to-”
The lights went out, along with the sound. Tess was gone, and the sunset and the cliff also disappeared. The shock was so great that his stomach lurched. It felt as though he was on a roller coaster and the car he was in had derailed.
“Shit, I think the power went out.” Ben’s voice, his real voice, was suddenly in Luke’s ears. It took him a second to put the words together and realize what that meant.
“God damn it!” Luke gritted his teeth and pulled the headset off.
“I was just about ready to turn in for the night, anyway,” said Ben. “Were you and Tess off on a secret adventure of your own?”
Luke felt his face heat up, but luckily, the room was just dark enough for it to be hidden. He sighed and began packing his headset and laptop into his backpack.
There’s nothing I can do about it now. Maybe I’ll just log back in when I get home.
“It’s late, I should get going,” he said. It was the truth. The sun had set completely in the real world, and Luke had to check his phone to get a sense of what time it was.
Almost ten. If dad isn’t drunk off his ass, he’s going to be pissed.
“Alright man, be careful on your way down the stairs,” said Ben.
Luke stepped out in the hallway, only to find that Ben’s sister Emily was walking toward him, holding a round candle in each hand. Her face was illuminated by the warm, flickering glow, and she was smiling at him.
“Hey,” she said. “I guess it must have been pretty jarring for the two of you to have your game cut off like that, huh?”
“Uh, yeah…” said Luke. “Were you reading in your room, or something?”
How does she always manage to look so elegant and beautiful?
Emily nodded and then passed him a candle.
“Yeah, something like that.” She hesitated, and then stepped closer to Luke. “You should probably get going. You don’t want your dad to worry. Besides, you have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow.”
Luke nodded slowly and paused for a moment before saying anything.
She seems a little off, but I can’t get a sense of exactly how.
“Yeah you’re right,” he said. “I’ll probably see you tomorrow if Ben and I end up hanging out over here.”
“Tomorrow, then,” said Emily. “And Luke?”
He stopped and looked back toward her, his front foot frozen over the next stair.
“Nevermind,” said Emily. “Just be safe on your way home.”
Luke nodded again and continued down the stairs. He set the tiny candle on a plate in Ben’s kitchen, blew it out and headed outside.
CHAPTER 9
The lamplights were on, but Luke’s walk back to his house still felt like a trek through the shadows. His mind was turning over everything that had happened in-game, the fight with the worm and the acquisition of Dunidan’s Rest.
He felt a sense of purpose inside Yvvaros. At home, or at school, Luke was just going through the paces. He had already been accepted to a college that he’d be heading off to next fall. His life in the real world was unfolding about as well as it could, aside from his relationship with his dad and the school tormentors.
Yvvaros is… different.
One more surprise awaited him. As he passed by the park a familiar voice called out to him.
“Luke.” Sam was sitting on a swing in the kid’s section, her feet dangling down to the ground. Luke turned away from the street and walked over to her.
“Oh, hey Sam.” The memory of the embarrassing lunch encounter resurfaced, but Luke did his best to ignore it. “What are you doing out so late?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” said Sam.
“I’m just… headed home.” Luke scratched his head and walked over to where she was. A light breeze blew through the park and gave him the strangest feeling of déjà vu. He shook it aside and took a seat on the swing next to her.
“Sorry for what happened today, at lunch,” said Sam. “I thought you already knew.”
For some reason, it hurt Luke to hear her apologize almost as much as it had to make the discovery in the first place.
“Whatever,” he said. “It is what it is.”
“Luke, we’ve been friends since… well, since forever,” said Sam. “Can I tell you a secret, without it being weird?”
Luke nodded.
“I had the biggest crush on you, for the longest time,” said Sam. “All the way through the end of grade school and middle school, and I don’t think you ever noticed.”
How can she be telling me this now?
It felt as though salt was being poured into an open wound. He chewed his lower lip and tried not to think about how the same had been true for him, how much he’d thought about her during the same time period, and even now. He tried not to think about how badly he had blown it.
“Sam…” said Luke. “It’s not like we couldn’t still, I mean, if you wanted to, we could… try it.”
Sam frowned at him and shook her head.
“No Luke, we can’t.” Her voice was huffy and traveled through the air with a biting edge. “Things have changed. I’ve changed, Luke. And you’ve changed.”
“What are you talking about?” Luke shook his head and leaned toward her on the swing. “I’m still me. You have a boyfriend, but that’s not exactly a permanent thing.”
“What is wrong with you?” Sam looked like she wanted to slap him. “Actually you know what, let me answer that. I have the answer, and it’s staring me right in the face. I went to your house after school to talk to you, Luke. To have this conversation, and maybe then, it actually would have brought us somewhere.”
“Sam, that’s not my fault, I wasn’t home,” said Luke. “I was at-”
“You were at Ben’s house,” she said. “Oh, I know. Your dad told me that was where you’d be. You were at Ben’s house, playing that stupid VR online game.”
Luke’s face flushed with heat. He couldn’t lie to Sam, and instead of trying to, he felt his mind shifting into defense.
“Yeah, I was,” he said. “So what? It just came out, and it’s a lot of fun. What’s the big deal?”
Sam shook her head and scrunched her face up.
“You’ve always been like this,” she said. “Running away from your problems and into whatever you can find to distract yourself . It started with books and TV, and then video games, and now your own little online fantasy world.”
Where is this coming from?
Luke opened his mouth to object, but no words came to him. Sam stood up from her swing and took a couple of steps toward the park’s exit before looking back at him over her shoulder.
“You always find some way to close yourself off, Luke.�
� Sam shook her head, looking as though she’d come to a conclusion. “That’s why. That’s why I don’t want to take the chance. I prefer to deal with my problems, not hide from them and I wish you could too.
Sam started to walk away. Luke couldn’t bear to see her go, and before he could stop himself, he reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Luke, let me-” Before she could finish, Luke pulled her into a tight embrace.
There’s no way it could ever work between us, but still… I can’t just let her leave.
After a moment, Sam started to hug Luke back. He put one of his hands onto the back of her head, and then looked into her eyes. Her expression was sharp, but lined with a hint of confusion, and emotion.
“You can’t ask me to leave Mike,” whispered Sam. “Not just because you suddenly feel like you missed out.”
“I’m not,” said Luke. “Just… don’t give up on me.”
He leaned his face in close to hers. Luke had intended to give her a soft, reassuring kiss on the cheek, but somehow their lips found each other. Luke kissed her, feeling years, decades, of pent up emotion spilling out.
Just as quickly as the kiss had begun, it ended. Sam stepped away from him and brushed her hair back as she looked around the park.
“I… have to go,” she said, turning away. “I’m sorry Luke, I have to go.”
“…Good night, Sam,” said Luke.
He stayed at the park for a couple of minutes after Sam left. His emotions were a mess of conflict and confusion, and it was almost impossible for him to think clearly.
Is what she said true? Does it matter if it is?
Luke thought of Tess, and the similar moment they had shared inside the game earlier in the night. All of the same emotions had been there, but Luke had felt confident and sure with Tess in-game. This was real life, and it was so different, so much less predictable.
Luke sighed, and finally walked out of the park. His house wasn’t far, and when he made it back, he found that the front door was slightly ajar, left open as though a reflection of the indifference of whoever had last been through it.
His dad was sprawled out on the living room rug, spread eagle with an empty liquor bottle inches from his head.
Most teenagers would panic if they saw one of their parents like this, but for me, it’s just a regular Friday night.
Luke crouched down low next to his father and slipped one of his hands under his shoulder. He could smell the alcohol on his breath, the sharply sweet scent of strong gin.
“Come on, Dad,” said Luke, straining to lift the man’s weight. “It’s time for bed.”
“Damn it!” His dad swore and twisted out of his arms, falling to the ground with a thud. “Don’t treat me like a fucking child. I can walk on my own!”
His words came out in a slow mess of almost unintelligible slurs. He took one step up and then collapsed back down to the floor.
“Dad, please,” said Luke. “It’s late, just let me help you to-”
“I know where you’ve been,” muttered his dad. “I know what you’ve been doing all afternoon. Are you happy when you’re playing it, Luke?”
Luke didn’t say anything. He could hear the same disdain in his father’s voice that often came out whenever the man was talking about Yvvaros. Luke’s dad started to laugh and slapped his hand on his own thigh.
He’s a programming genius, but not even a single ounce of that touch bleeds over into his parenting.
“You just play the game, and act like it’s real.” He shook his head and stared into Luke’s eyes. “Enjoy it while it lasts. Because eventually, it’s going to be too real, Luke. You want to take that over the real world, and hide from real people, be my guest.”
“No…,” said Luke. “That’s not true.”
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to continue helping his dad to bed. He felt so much anger for the man, for his failings as a father, for his inhumanity toward his own flesh and blood.
If this is the person I’m hiding from in Yvvaros, then so be it.
Luke’s dad began to cough, causing his body to convulse. Luckily, they were almost down the hallway to his room. Luke used up the last bit of his strength in the final step toward the bed and let his father collapse down onto it, his legs hanging over the side.
“I… I love you, Luke.” His dad looked at him with grave, albeit still very drunken eyes. “I loved your mother and I love you, too.”
Luke bit his tongue hard enough for it to hurt. He didn’t want to hear any more of what his father had to say.
“Just be careful,” his dad called after him. “It’s up to you what matters in life.”
Yeah, yeah it is. That’s the truest thing you’ve said to me in a very long time.
Luke made his way up the stairs to his own room, slowly and steadily. It had been a long day, and he was tired. Tomorrow was a Saturday, and he could take advantage of the free time to catch up on his homework, and then get in-game. There was so much waiting for him in Yvvaros.
He lay down on his bed and closed his eyes. He expected sleep to come right away, but it was elusive. His thoughts were filled with images of the Dunidan, and Yvva Wolves, Kantor, and the oasis.
Feeling like he had little choice in the matter, he gave up on sleep. Slowly sitting up he grabbed his backpack and set up his laptop and the VR headset.
I’ll just play until I start to get tired, and then I’ll go to sleep.
CHAPTER 10
Within minutes, Luke was back in Yvvaros. The shift was abrupt, the encounters with Sam and his father had left him tense and troubled. It was a relief to enter Yvvaros, to leave all of his problems and stress behind.
Maybe my dad is right. Maybe I’m just running away.
He shook the thought out of his head and looked around at his in-game surroundings. He was right where he had been when the power outage had disconnected him, up on the hill where he’d been with Tess.
It was night time, just like in the outside world. The sky was cloudy and a thin fog hung on the air, giving the area a slightly chilly ambiance. Luke glanced at the spot where Tess had been standing. She wasn’t there anymore, of course, and standing on the hill by himself made him feel a little lonely.
It probably doesn’t help that it’s night time.
He slowly made his way down the steep incline, bringing his legs up to a jog as he reached the flat ground below. Stark Town was only a short run away, and he started toward it. Kantor was mostly hidden by the clouds above, with only a few thin slivers of light shining through.
The lights of the lower town, however, were brilliant. Luke couldn’t see many players in or around the area, but the lights from the buildings and houses had a warm, homely feel to them.
Luke slowed to a walk as he made his way to the town. He didn’t have a destination planned out or any active objectives. He didn’t really feel like he needed one. At that moment just being a part of Yvvaros felt as though it was enough.
A gentle breeze blew in from the north as Luke made his way past the store where he and Silverstrike had met Arex earlier in the day. He turned and looked up at the sky again.
How high does the game world extend up to? Are there really stars behind the clouds, and moons? Are they just painted on, or are they something more?
Lost in thought, he wasn’t aware enough to watch where he was going until it was too late. Luke clumsily crashed into something, or rather, someone. He took a step back, realizing he’d knocked a player to the ground, and reached a hand down to help them up.
“Oh, jeez, sorry,” said Luke. “I literally have my head up in the clouds.”
“It’s fine. No harm done.”
It took Luke a second to recognize that it was actually an NPC he was speaking to and not another player. He raised an eyebrow and examined the man for a moment.
He was dressed in the armor of the Stark Town militia, and he had a spear slung across his back. He was tall, a bit taller than Luke, and his posture was stif
f and formal.
“A have a proposal for you if you’re willing to hear it,” said the man.
LEVEL REQUIRED: 3
Luke nodded without thinking.
“Go ahead,” he said.
“My name is Private Ajell,” said the man. “I’ve been tasked with checking in on a missing patrol unit on behalf of the Stark Town militia. We haven’t heard from them in a couple of days, and the commander has become concerned.”
“I see.” Luke folded his arms across his chest. “So, uh, what do you need me to do?”
“You look capable enough. If you serve as my escort out to the edge of the western coast, the garrison commander is willing to pay you 100 gold.”
Well, it’s an escort quest, but it’s not like I have anything else to do right now.
“Alright, count me in.” Luke reached his hand out, and Private Ajell smiled and shook it.
QUEST ACCEPTED: Lost Patrol (Level 3)
“Thank you. Meet me on the western edge of town when you’re ready.”
He ran off to the west, his arms and legs moving in perfect, coordinated unison as he jogged away. Luke started to follow after him and then noticed that his stamina bar was down to about a third of its maximum length.
There was only a single food vendor still out in the main square. Luke traded one of the Dunidan’s scales for a couple loaves of bread. He began eating one as he followed in the direction that Private Ajell had gone.
He found the NPC standing near the western exit. As he approached, the militia man turned toward him and nodded.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
Luke nodded back, and the two of them started off. The ground level fog had moved into the hills on the west side of the Inner Plains. Luke followed as close to Private Ajell as he could.
“So… what can you tell me about the area that we’re headed into?” Luke asked the question mostly just to fill the silence as they moved further out of town. There was something slightly unnerving about how realistic Private Ajell looked, and he found himself wanting to treat the NPC more like an actual person than an in-game actor.