“When I was training my speed, I happened to stop in a brewery and tasted this delicious beer. I ordered a couple growlers immediately after, hoping to have a drink of it with my guildmates and friends eventually.”
Veruka and Sasha beamed at me, then came over and gave me a hug. I appreciated the affection, especially since we’d been through a lot together. We sat down around the circular wooden table and I poured us each a glass of the brew.
“This is so good,” Sasha said after drinking a huge swig.
“You have to share the butler’s information with me. I could get tipsy on this every day and not grow tired of it,” Veruka said. It seemed the alcohol gave a verbose vigor to her persona. “So you two really took out Damien? I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“He was nothing special. I could have beaten him by myself,” Sasha said and gave me a sly wink.
“He was pretty scary. A little too cocky, since he totally let his ego cloud his judgment,” I said, thinking back on the fight again. It had been a thrilling battle. We heard a knock at the church’s door, then it creaked open.
“Hello, anybody home?” Kat’s voice drifted through the cavernous cathedral.
“We’re in the dining room, sweetheart,” Veruka called.
Kat arrived in a black and pink tank top, athletic shorts, and running shoes. I noticed the tattoos on her long slender legs. Intense forest and ocean scenes were displayed. She sat down at the small table and I poured her a cup of beer.
“So I hear we’re the largest vampire guild in Minnetonka now?” she said and took a sip from the frothy mug.
“You got that right. Aker and Sasha really took it to them. I’m so proud of these two,” Veruka said and tried to pinch me as I ducked away from her.
“You can turn Kat into one of us now right?” I asked, eager to get Kat onto our level.
“I’ll turn you after we finish these drinks if that works for you, Kat?” Veruka asked.
Kat looked a little surprised; her eyes were wide, and her eyebrows were raised. “Hell yeah,” she said with a huge grin. She raised her mug to the center of the table and said, “Cheers.”
We all clinked our cups together and took a long drink. Things were starting to look up. Now we just need to find a way to get Brittany back.
“So what are your plans now that you run the biggest vampire guild in the city?” I asked Veruka. I was in a joyous mood.
“Keep recruiting. I need some more robed men around to do my bidding,” she said and then burped loudly. I rolled my eyes at this answer and couldn’t help but smirk.
“And can we work to create a safer place for everyone in the city, and have quality of life standards for the robed men you recruit?” I asked.
“All right, all right, sugar lips. You can write up a contract for me and my recruits to make sure everything is hunky-dory for them. As for the citywide safety, what are you proposing?” she asked seriously.
“I don’t know, is there any sort of policing going on or is it just the Wild West out there? Do normal players have any way to right the wrongs committed by other players?” I asked.
“There’s a butler police force that responds nearly instantly to player’s calls for help,” Sasha said. “However, for vampires, especially vampires who’ve been playing for a while, there’s little the butlers can do to bring them to justice. Although they do a decent job controlling the human players.”
“Okay, well I guess my first idea is that we leave signs throughout the city, or perhaps pay for a billboard to advertise that players in need can message our guild if they’re having vampire problems and we will quickly come to their aid.”
Veruka shook her head, frowning. “Do you want to be inundated with messages from whiny players? Do you want to get trolled? You would have a hard time dealing with any VampQuest players at this point anyway. You have a long way to go before you can be a force strong enough to strike fear in the hearts of other vampires.”
Veruka’s words cut me to the core, but she was right. I was probably the lowest level vampire in the city now, so how was I supposed to enforce any sort of rules or laws? I looked down at my mug and took a long swig.
“Hey, I didn’t mean that to come out so harshly, hot stuff. I meant that constructively and as a source of motivation,” she said and put a hand on my shoulder.
I perked up. I really had come a long way quite quickly.
“All right, let's get all our recruits together and we can perform the ceremony that will change Kat from a mere human to a wonderfully powerful and hot vampire,” Veruka said and started contacting her recruits, while Sasha did the same. I messaged Arthur and Patrick to let them know what was going on. Patrick appeared to be offline, but Arthur said he was making his way over.
A faint smell of burning electrical wires filled my nostrils. “Do you all smell something?” I asked. Everyone began sniffing the air. Veruka had a deadly and frightened look on her face.
“This is not good, we need to get out of here now,” she said. “There’s no time to gather anything, just get out of here. Meet at our other property, the abandoned apartment with the basketball court.”
We fled to the door and started streaming out of it single file. A roaring fire was engulfing over half of our base. We were running as fast as we could away from the pyre when I remembered Kat wasn’t a vampire and therefore wasn’t nearly as fast as us. I turned to go back for her when I heard a gun go off. The shot’s deadly boom filled me with a sense of hate and dread. I saw Kat fall to the ground limply.
Blood began to pool around her body. Then more shots rang through the air. I ran swiftly to Kat’s body to nudge her and check her neck for a pulse. There was nothing. I punched the ground and took off toward my original destination.
Sasha and Veruka were hardly in sight now, but they seemed to have slowed when they heard the shots. I caught up with them a moment later. We were all crouched in an alleyway.
“Who could be doing this?” Sasha asked, her lower lip quivering. “Kat’s gone?”
“She is…” I said, hardly able to muster the words. Everyone who I care about in this game dies.
“I think I know who it is,” Veruka said darkly. Sasha and I waited for her to continue. “It’s Damien taking his vengeance. I knew that wasn’t the last we would hear from him.”
“But how?” I asked. “We just killed that monster yesterday.”
“There are many systems in this game that revive dead characters, as you saw with Sasha and me. Not to mention he could have just paid to get back in right away. He was likely eager to make us pay for destroying his guild. Also, he’s a game developer in the real world, so he could have a deal worked out with the creators of VampQuest and Reel Life Online,” Veruka explained. “We need to move, follow me.”
She ran toward the road, but as soon as she was out in the open she was hit by a deadly bolt. Her body fell hard to the ground. I turned to Sasha, and her eyes were wide. She motioned for me to follow her farther down the alleyway, away from where Veruka was shot. Then we came to a perpendicular intersection with another alley.
“You go right, I’ll go left, and that way at least one of us should make it,” she said. She gave my hand a little squeeze, then tore down the empty alleyway. I did as she had asked, but I felt extremely sad and scared. I don’t want to leave my only vampire friend. Where should I go? Where can I escape the wrath of Damien?
I soon left the alley and braced myself for my possible doom. One shot and I’m through. My feet pounded down the road as my mind shut down my emotions. I’ll go up north and find the hermit in Pelican Lake. I couldn’t bear to think of what had become of my friends. Veruka’s last words repeated in my head. She knew I wasn’t powerful enough yet. I tried to focus on running as fast as I could. Soon I was passing by fields and forests, the busy city streets long behind me.
I need better armor, and I need to learn dark magic. That seems to be where the true power in this game lies. A lone car whizzed p
ast me as its horn blared, and I could hear a low bass beat thumping within it. I jumped and was on high alert. I thought perhaps Damien had caught me, but it turned out only to be an adventurous player.
Besides that encounter, my two-hour run to Pelican Lake was uneventful and almost peaceful, except for a sinking bitter feeling that coursed through my body.
On a different night, I would have loved this experience—the wind in my hair, my muscles moving my body effortlessly, and a glowing starry sky above me. Tonight, however, I was a solemn ghost streaming through the countryside. I felt if I stopped I would break down completely. My life in VampQuest could never be the same. I wonder if Sasha made it?
I stopped in the middle of the road and sent her a message that said: “I’m headed to the hermit on the island in the middle of Pelican Lake. Where are you? Are you okay?”
Not a moment went by before I received a message back that read: “I’m sorry. Sasha’s account has been temporarily deactivated. We will send your message once the player reactivates their account.”
Damien got her. I wonder what I need to do to delete him for good. I started running again. When I return to Minnetonka, I will bring Damien down.
The rest of the run went by in a blur. As I reached Pelican Lake, I dove into the cool and dark water without hesitation. I got to the hermit’s home soon after. The swim to the island was beginning to become routine for me.
My body shivered, but my mind hardly noticed how wet and frozen I was. I knocked on the old man’s door and heard rustling from within. The door slowly creaked open, and I saw the old man.
“You’re looking pretty rough there, mister, what can I do for you?” he croaked, ushering me in.
“I need a place to stay for a while, and I need more missions,” I said and let out a long sigh.
“I can help you with that. You looking to start tonight?”
“If possible I’d just like to go to bed right now, it’s been a horrible night.”
“Now, don’t sound so glum, you’re meant to have fun in this game.”
I shook my head, unable to accept his positive nature when my friends had just been struck from this world.
He’s right, I need a better attitude. Kat’s fairly wealthy, so she’ll be back in-game in no time, and I can only hope for the best with Veruka and Sasha, but they probably won’t be gone long either. I should consider myself lucky for the time I had with them, and be grateful that I haven’t died yet. Or maybe I’ve played multiple games before and I just can’t remember.
“You’re right,” I admitted. “I should try to cheer up. Still, I think it would be best for me to turn in for the night. I’ll start with a fresh mind tomorrow.”
“That sounds all right to me. One more thing I thought you should know, since you’re sleeping in my home now, my name is Ari,” he said proudly and held out a hand like it was our first time meeting. I took his hand and gave him a firm handshake.
“That’s a great name,” I said and forced a smile. This old NPC was all right in my book.
“Very few NPCs have names in this game, you know,” he said and tugged at his long white beard as he absently added, “very few indeed.”
“Where would be a good place for me to sleep? It has to be completely dark. Sunlight will literally kill me,” I said, too sad and tired to be curious.
“I’ve got a special spot for the few vampires savvy enough to ask me for a room. It’s quite cozy. Follow me,” he said and walked through a small door in the back of his kitchen. I had to duck to fit through it. When I came into the next room, I tried to stand at full height and immediately hit my head hard on the short rock ceiling. My health bar went down 2%. That really hurt.
A twin-size mattress lay in a small cutout portion of the stone room. It needed no frame or box spring, as it was held a foot off the floor by a platform of pure granite.
“I won’t disturb you any longer, Aker. Come find me when you are ready for your mission. I’ll cook up something splendid for you to do tomorrow.”
“Thank you for letting me stay here. Thank you for everything,” I said. My face still showed my sorrow, but also conveyed my gratitude for this friendly old guy.
I ducked into the bed and pulled the blankets over my body. This is so much more comfortable than my coffin.
I sent Kat a message that read: “Kat, I’m sorry you got deleted. Message me when you log back in.” I wish I could have spent more time with her while she was around. I hope to see Veruka and Sasha again soon too, but a part of me feels like I’ll never see any of my old friends again. I then sent a message to Patrick and Arthur detailing the unfortunate events of the night and told them I would be out of town indefinitely.
I felt cozy and safe in this stone bedroom. I was on an island hardly anyone knew about, tucked deep inside a trustworthy hermit’s home. I closed my eyes before I could continue wallowing in sadness over my lost friends.
When the next night came, I awoke and was greeted by the stone room’s solemn darkness and quiet. These were not good things for me to be around in my sad state. I got up as a shiver ran down my spine. A part of me wanted to stay in bed all day, but I knew that would only make things worse. I have to keep moving forward.
I walked slowly into Ari’s kitchen, taking extra care with each step so I wouldn’t hit my head on the ceiling again. Ari was stooped over his small stove, where three different pans were sizzling and creating a delectable aroma.
“Oh good, you’re up. I’ve made you my favorite breakfast. It’s something I like to call the Fisherman’s Combo,” he said while flipping a large pancake with ease. I sat at the nearby table, eager to taste his creation.
“Think up any missions for me?” I asked, hopeful to have many tasks to keep my mind off the recent tragic events.
“I’ve got a mission you’ll have a hoot completing.”
“I don’t know if I like the sound of that.”
“I never said you would like it,” Ari said and set down a plate in front of me containing two large dark pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon.
“That’s what I was worried about,” I groaned and loaded my fork with as much of the cuisine as I could. The warm food filled my mouth with delicious and hearty flavors. I immediately began to feel better. “You’ve outdone yourself, Ari, you should open your own restaurant.”
“I wish I could. I would be as happy as a fat clam. Sadly, that is not my destiny, I am forever to be a lonely hermit with secret missions.” He sat down across from me. His face still looked happy despite the contents of his last sentence. “There is a bear that has been terrorizing the people who live around here. It runs out from the forest, and before you know it, you’re dead. I need you to relocate this bear. There is land farther north that hardly anyone has ventured to.”
“You want me to catch a bear and bring it north?” I asked incredulously.
“Indeed. Here are some tranquilizer bullets and the key to my van, it’s located at Breezy Park. You will knock out the bear, and then put its incapacitated body in my van to transport it,” he said and put down a pack of twenty stun bullets on the table and a single, rather large, key.
I deposited them into my cape, which was draped over the back of my wooden chair. I nodded, accepting the mission.
“Have any advice on where to find the bear?”
“Nope,” Ari replied as if that somehow helped.
I finished my plate of food and after having a second helping, set out to try to complete the night’s mission. At least I hope it only takes one night to complete.
I swam to shore then started walking aimlessly around the lake, unsure what I was looking for. I saw a woman reading in a lawn chair and approached.
“Hello,” I began, but she cut me off before I got out another word.
“I am the queen of this town, leave my property immediately!” she screamed at me.
“Uh, I was just trying to…”
“I don’t care what you’re trying to do, you lowl
ife piece of garbage. Get. Out. Of. Here. Scum. Didn’t you hear me, I am the QUEEN,” she said with rage and clapped as she said each of her last four words. Even after all I had been through, I hadn’t become this unhinged. I started walking past her. “You can’t walk there, this is private property,” she called out then started pacing after me.
“I’m leaving, I’m sorry I disturbed you,” I said, picking up my pace a little bit.
Bang. A gunshot rang out and a bullet clipped my right arm, removing 10% of my health. Holy, this lady is insane. I activated Time Warp, and whipped around. She adjusted her aim to the center of my head. I watched her finger closely as I moved toward her. As she pulled the trigger, I dove to the left. The bullet plunged into the sand near the water’s edge. I was feet away from her when she fired again. This time I dove and tackled her, and the bullet missed me by an inch but left a hole in my cape.
I disarmed her with a twist of my wrist and plunged my teeth into her arm. My missing health returned and I watched her life bar drain. I stopped drinking the healing liquid as her life approached 5%. She lay on the beach unconscious now. I propped her up in her chair and placed her book in her lap. Hopefully, she’ll wake up with a better attitude.
I continued down the beach, a little shaken at how poorly my first encounter with a local had gone. After at least half an hour passed, I happened upon a second player. This time it was a man who was fishing from the end of his dock. I approached warily.
“Hello, sir, mind if I ask you a question or two?” I asked timidly. He looked startled but then flashed me a toothy grin. He had a straw hat with many holes in it placed on top of his head.
“Not at all, hell, come on out and have a lemonade with me,” he said and tossed me a cold can of lemonade he pulled from a cooler. “What are you wondering about, Mister Goth?” He eyed my attire and shook his head.
“My name is Aker, but I actually don’t mind Mister Goth, I’m used to having weird nicknames. I was wondering if you knew anything about a bear in the area? I’m trying to relocate it so it stops wreaking havoc on this community,” I said and watched as the man’s bobber sank down.
VampQuest Page 11