by Jareth Stark
As the fight progressed, fewer arrows began to rain down on them, and bodies lay everywhere on the ground. Unable to see properly through the helm Jackal had given him, Henry found himself tripping over the corpses, sad every time he discovered one of their own.
“Do you need any potions?”a sweet, high pitched voice asked.
Henry turned around to see a breathless Lily stood next to him. He motioned no to her, not wanting to distract her or put her in any harm. As she ran off into the distance, he heard more shouts for a healer and ran over to help.
With most of the archers taken care of, Henry turned his attention back to Arabella who was still floating and defending herself against the stray arrow or the targeted bit of magic. It was time to take her down. He scanned the battlefield briefly for Nellie, but with stalls on fire, smoke rising up, the noise of the thunder drowning out most of the sound, and the dozens of dead surrounding him, he could hardly recognise anyone anymore. Even those he could see were covered in so much blood and mud that they were almost indistinguishable from the people he’d known in the hours before the fight.
And then he saw her. “Nellie!” Henry screamed and ran over to her small human body. She was lying on the floor, her helmet askew, an arrow through her eye.
“Nellie, no,” he said softly, crouching down next to her. “Nellie, wake up. It’s me, Henry. We’re doing this for you remember. For Sara too. It’s almost over, stay with me”.
Henry wiped the blood from Nellie’s face and shook her body, trying with all his might to wake her. Tears streamed out of his eyes, covering her face. “Why didn’t you keep your helmet closed? Nellie how could you die on me? You were just trying to help everyone”. He wasn’t speaking sense but he didn’t care. He felt angry, and sad, and like nothing was worth it anymore.
“Quick run!” Henry heard a man shout from the distance. He ignored the command and picked Nellie up, resting her body against his, holding her tight.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you,” he sobbed. “I should have followed you. I need you. Sara needs you”.
But it was too late. Nellie was gone. He gently laid her body back onto the ground, and kissed her cheek. She almost looked like she was at peace. The torment, the struggle, it was all over for her. “I won’t let you down,” Henry told her. “I’ll get Sara out Nellie, I promise”.
Henry stood up slowly, reaffirmed his promise to Nellie, and returned to the battlefield. He meant every word.
With most of the archers now dead or fleeing, Henry turned his attention back to Arabella. He strode confidently towards the centre of the marketplace, anger coursing through his whole body. Remembering his teachings from Nana Lurgi, he used his Stormcom to set his spell to the ‘Shockgasm’. Good against water creatures, she had said. Well, it was raining now, and maybe it worked in watery conditions as well.
The second he was within shooting distance he began his attack, firing Shockgasm after Shockgasm at a surprised Arabella. Some of the attacks hit her directly, and interacted with the rain, causing extra damage, but many of them were reflected away. He had underestimated her. They all had.
As more of Nellie’s soldiers began to realise what was happening, though, and with arrows not being such a deadly problem, more people began to join him, re-enacting Nellie’s plan. Melee fighters fought their way to the front, while magicians like Henry stood behind them shooting as many shock and ice spells at Arabella as they could. The healers crowded around behind them, sending blasts of healing energy in every direction, keeping everyone alive and fighting.
“We’re doing this for you Nellie!” Henry shouted. “We’re doing this for you!”
Cheers went up as Nellie’s soldiers continued their attack. Arabella knew she couldn’t win. Her health bar began to drop dangerously low as she failed to fight off every spell and melee attack headed her way. But the soldiers continued their relentless attack. Even those who hadn’t seen what had happened to Nellie were motivated by their own fears, their own families. They all wanted to return home.
“Please,” Arabella pleaded. “Please, I’ll let you all escape. I’m sorry. I can fix this!”
“It’s too late for that!” Henry shouted. “Nellie gave you your chance, but you killed her, just like you killed so many others who did absolutely nothing to deserve it! Fight!” he ordered. “Keep fighting her and don’t stop”.
The army listened to Henry and did exactly as he commanded. Spell after spell, axe after axe, sword after sword; everyone aimed directly at Arabella. The ice spells slowed her movement, blood poured from her wounds, and the shock spells fried her skin. There were too many attacks being directed at her for her to defend them all.
She was done. It was over.
When Arabella finally fell in a heap to the ground, and the remaining archers sensing a similar fate had fled, Henry removed his helm and wiped a tear from his eye. The soldiers surrounding him looked to him for direction, but it was all he could do not to fall to a heap on the floor. Nellie had worked so hard to get everyone together, to help everyone escape, and she’d been slain by an enemy arrow. Although relieved it was over, it was clear the other fighters felt the same way.
“We have to do this for Nellie,” Jackal said, joining him. “She wanted this for everyone. We have to follow through”.
Henry looked around, scanning the remaining soldiers for Lily and Sara. Lily spied him instantly and ran to his side. Sara, however, was nowhere to be seen.
“Can you handle this Jackal?” Henry asked. He couldn’t lead them anymore. He was exhausted from battle, emotionally drained, and could hardly think straight. He couldn’t lead them. He wasn’t Nellie.
When Jackal nodded, Henry took Lily’s hand and walked her through the river of dead bodies towards the spot where Nellie lay. When they arrived, he found Sara, crying over her body. He knelt down next to her and took her hand.
“She was a brave fighter, right up until the end”.
∆∆∆
“Are you ready to leave Henry?” asked Jackal. “Kirsty searched Arabella’s body and found a weird looking hourglass. We believe it’s where she’s been keeping us all. Sam said he’s seen one before and destroying it will release us all from the game. Those of us who made it that is…”
Henry looked up from Nellie’s body and took Jackal’s hand. It was time. He helped Sara up, and let Lily cradle her as they walked back to the group in the marketplace. “We’ll never forget her Sara, never. I promise you that”.
“Are you ready?” Sam asked.
Henry nodded and watched as Sam tipped the hourglass upside down, releasing all of the souls trapped inside. He held on to Lily’s hand tightly and kissed her. “St Pancras,” he said. “If we make it, St…”
30
Henry awoke with a jolt and dropped his controller to the floor. He quickly checked himself out. His arms were back to normal. His skin was no longer green. He even checked his cock and he no longer had the massive schlong he’d begun to get used to.
“No,” he shouted, not that anyone could hear him. “No, there was no way that was a dream! You did the tests remember? On the first day you pinched yourself! You were definitely in that game!”
Needing more confirmation of where he was, he walked over to his bedroom window and peered outside. Everything looked normal. He could see the kids from next door heading off to school, Frank the postman gave him a wave, and the neighbour’s cat was sitting on his windowsill just like normal. Not wanting to believe he’d dreamt everything, Henry ran to the bathroom in his house and quickly splashed cold water on his face. Think Henry, think! He told himself.
Not knowing what else to do, Henry quickly turned his console on and loaded up the game. He clicked on his character ‘Henry the Horny Orc’ and pressed the A button to load his game. But it just kept loading, and loading.
“Work god dammit,” Henry shouted.
He reset his console quickly and tried again. This time he received a notification before he cou
ld log in.
The servers for Dream Storm Online are offline until further notice.
“So it was real,” he said out loud. “I knew it was! We broke the game! We did it! We bloody broke the game!”
But most of those trying to log on to the game and receiving the error message had no idea what the sudden downtime had cost. None were aware of the number of lives that had been lost. None knew how easy it had been for the developers of an RPG to suck people inside without their agreement. None knew what this meant for the future. None except those who had experienced it.
Where were all the people he’d met in the game now? Did everyone make it out alive? Were they at home hugging their families and making peace with their friends? Did poor Nellie have a family? Were they aware that she’d died a hero?
And where was Lily? Had her parents returned from the cruise, or had time moved so slowly that she was dealing with all of this on her own? He told her he’d meet her at St Pancras. There was no time to spare.
Henry ran over to the telephone and quickly dialled his work number, letting them know he was sick and wouldn’t be in for the remainder of the week. His boss didn’t seem too bothered whether he showed up or not, and well, if things went well he probably had a house move on the cards.
Seeing as he’d only been out of the real world for one night, it wasn’t as if his friends or family would be concerned so they didn’t need updating on his whereabouts - not unless he wanted them to think he’d gone completely crazy anyway. And, he could pick up a ticket to St Pancras from the station. If this was all real, Lily would be waiting for him on the platform. He knew she’d be there, she had to be!
With an overnight bag packed, Henry ran through his front door and made his way down to the station. His human body made it much easier to move and he ran as quick as his legs would carry him, flying round corners and pushing through pedestrians all on their way to work. But within seconds of the station coming into view, Henry heard a large clap of thunder and watched as a fork of lightning streaked through the sky.
“Why do I have the feeling this isn’t completely over?” he said out loud.
A Message from Jareth Stark
Thank you for reading Dream Storm Online. It’s the first story that I have been brave enough to publish, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.
For updates on new books, you can follow me on Twitter @StarkJareth.
If you’d like to read more of my stories, you may enjoy The Park.
When Brad loses his son in a busy theme park at Halloween, he’s encouraged by police officers to use an experimental virtual reality software to help relocate him. The software, as explained by Officer Jones, is 90% effective in locating lost children. It works by manipulating memories and past situations to create an accurate replay of the events that led to the disappearance.
However when Brad agrees to use the software, and enters into the virtual reality, things aren’t exactly as he expected. The virtual world is different to the world he knows, and strange occurrences keep happening that make him begin to question his sanity. Has Brad’s son really disappeared? Is the virtual world a true reflection of the real one? Will he make sense of the madness?
The Park is a short novella. It features explicit language and scenes of horror.
Read on for the first chapter.
The Park - Chapter One
“Joey! Joey! This isn’t funny now. Come back to Daddy!”
Brad scanned the park, heat rising through his body, but couldn’t see his son anywhere. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and he wiped it furiously, desperately looking among the crowd.
But it was Halloween. All the kids were wearing costumes and masks. There were dozens of them dressed as werewolves. How was he supposed to recognise Joey among all the others when most parents had bought their costumes at the same convenience store as his ex wife… Fucking small town. This wouldn’t be the case if we’d lived in the city liked I’d originally wanted.
“Joey!”
Brad ran up to a group of kids and began pulling at their masks, all the time screaming for his son. His ex-wife, Ellen, would kill him. He couldn’t lose him… not on his first visit without supervision.
“Excuse me sir, what do you think you’re doing Take your hands off these children this instant.”
Brad quickly pulled his arm away. He looked up and came face to face with a stern looking police officer. “I wasn’t… no.” He watched as the children’s parents ran over to them and quickly ushered them away, giving him snide, dirty looks as they went.
“I think it would be best if you left the park sir. Come, I’ll escort you to the entrance.”
Brad shrugged the police officer’s hand off his arm and once again scanned the park. He began to run, heading in the direction of the Crazy House, but two more officers stood in his path.
“Sir, it is time for you to leave,” the taller one of the two told him. “Please don’t make us arrest you.”
“But, my son,” Brad said, his words breathless. “My son is here. I was with him, there near the carousel. We were going to go on one last ride before I took him home. And then…”
“And then what sir?” asked the policeman exasperated. It was clear to Brad that the officer didn’t believe a word he was saying.
“And then he was gone. I can’t find him. I can’t find him anywhere. Joey!”
Brad felt his skin turn clammy, cold. Cool beads of sweat were pouring out of him. Fear was taking over his body.
“Get off me, get off me,” he said again as the two police officers tried to restrain him. “I NEED TO FIND MY SON!”
“We’ll help you sir. Just come with us.”
Brad tried to resist, but when he felt the hands of the officers clench tighter on his arms, he knew he had no choice. “You have to find him!” he begged them. “He’s only five. He just ran off, and…”
“Not much further now. Just come in here and we’ll take a statement. Sergeant Black will put a message out over the Tannoy system and we’ll set up a search party. He can’t have got far.”
The tallest policeman sat him down in a chair in a small mobile trailer, while one of the others offered him a drink. Brad didn’t respond but took the lukewarm cup of coffee, idly playing with it in his hands.
“How old is your son?” the taller policeman asked.
“5.”
“Can you describe him? What does he look like? What was he wearing?”
Brad quickly told the officers what they wanted to know. “Please you have to let me out of here. He’ll be scared. He won’t understand what’s going on. He’s not a very old 5 if you know what I mean. He’s terrified of everything, always crying when he doesn’t understand the situation. I need to find him.”
“Leave that to us,” the officer replied. “Has Joey ever run off before?”
Brad avoided the question and walked over to the small window in the trailer. He peered out at the crowd. Children laughed and danced. Many were carrying huge sticks of candy floss. Others had large cuddly toys they must have won at one of the stalls. Brad wondered if Joey was still carrying his stuffed rabbit. Bubsy he called it. At least if he had that, he’d have something with him that comforted him.
“Has Joey ever run off before?” the officer asked again, more stern this time.
“Once,” Brad replied. “I was watching him and he ran away from me, into a crowd.
“What happened?”
“What do you think happened,” said Brad, his tone harsh. “He obviously came back to me or we wouldn’t be here tonight.”
“How are things at home Mr… erm what did you say your name was again?”
“Bradley.”
“How are things at home Mr Bradley?”
Brad didn’t bother to correct his name. He watched as the two other officers in the trailer whispered to each other and walked into another room. He couldn’t stay here.
“Mr Bradley?”
“Wha
t? Yes, they’re fine.”
“Anything we should know about? Can you think of any reason why your son would run away from you like this?”
“No. Will you stop questioning me and let me out of here?” Brad stood up, dropped his poorly brewed coffee on the plastic table in front of him, and walked towards the door.
“Sit down sir.”
Brad didn’t stop.
“I said sit down!”
“Sergeant, can we have a word?” one of the officers asked from the other room.
“Have you found him?” Brad asked, hopeful.
“Sit down Mr Bradley. I won’t ask you again.”
Brad did as he was told and tried to listen in to the conversation happening in the other room. Most of the noise was incoherent, but he heard the odd word. Killed, happened before, strangled. He didn’t like the sound of what he was hearing. Seconds later an officer re-entered the room. He was different to the first one, his face was kind.
“Mr Bradley, my name is Officer Jones. I was wondering if you’d indulge me for a moment… You see, we’ve scaled the park and we’ve not been able to find Joey. Not yet anyway. Lots of kids are dressed in the same costume - checking them all is taking some time. We have a new piece of technology in use at the park this year, which may help us. If you’d be willing to give it a try that is.”
“What kind of technology? I’m not going to waste my time looking into some stupid cameras when I could be out there, searching for him myself. Do you know how much trouble I’m going to be in with the ex if I don’t get him home safe and sound?”
“I understand how difficult this is for you,” Officer Jones replied. “But I really do think this may help.”