by Harley Vex
I hold my hand out and highlight not a block, but a panel with a frame. The back of a Picture Frame. They're often used to cover secret openings and Players can run through them, but most new players don't know this. But I don't barge through. On the other side is a player name—MossHead13—who is slowly inching closer.
"Shh," I hiss, though there's no need. I speak like I'm in a nature documentary. "Chances are, that player is armed."
The sliding sound of a Crushing Wall follows and MossHead13's name tag jumps backward.
An idea comes. "The MossHead13 is navigating a dangerous environment. Crushing walls lie in wait for their prey, but the MossHead13 is determined to get through and heed the call of the yellow Victory Flag."
I open my inventory and arm myself with the Weak Bow. Several arrows are needed to kill a Player, even unarmored, but only one can trigger a Tripwire or Trap Plate. And to activate either, a single arrow will work. I switch my tone back to normal. "Okay, I'm ready for this. We're taking that player's drops. Maybe he'll have something useful."
I step through the Painting and emerge in a long, gray corridor with alcoves and lanterns. I stand near spiral steps that must lead up into the Vampire room. MossHead13 has the default monk skin and is holding a Staff in one hand and a yellow, glowing orb—a Sunlight Bomb—in the other.
"What the...heck?" I shout, stopping myself from cursing and earning a GameTube Adults Only tag. A Sunlight Bomb is a super-rare, OP item. I'm shocked. It's not something Vox would put in his maps. Making things easy isn't part of the program.
And a Sunlight Bomb would stun that entire room of Vampires for thirty seconds.
MossHead13 has stopped halfway down the corridor, watching as a Crushing Wall slowly retracts between two wooden support beams. He faces me. Raises his Staff. I aim my bow at him.
"No, I won't shoot him," I say, but the move has the desired effect. MossHead13 leaps back, and just as he leaps over where the Tripwire must be across the floor, I switch my aim to that spot and shoot by pulling my right hand back and opening my palm.
The arrow flies and strikes.
And my timing is glorious.
The Crushing Walls close in from both sides with a deafening scrape and then a thud.
MossHead13 got squished.
"Yeee-esss!" I shout. The walls retract, and MossHead13's drops spin just over the floor. The Staff. The Sunlight Bomb. A bunch of Dark Bricks. No Healing Potions, though. "Let's grab that stuff and go stun us some Vampires." I leap over the Tripwire (thankfully, my Arrow is still lodged in the floor there, letting me know where it is) and tap the drops. They zip into my inventory.
After the Vampires is the roof.
And then, the final tower.
Then I leap back, put the Bow away, and equip the Sunlight Bomb. I bolt up the spiral steps. The chances of another trap being here are low. Stairwells just don't have much room to set up traps so Vox usually avoids them. And I'm not risking the Vines again.
The spiral steps lead straight into the end of the Vampire room. Coffins open with cheesy creaks as I bolt through to the next flight of stairs, raising the Sunlight Bomb. "Here we go!" I glimpse a couple of identical, blocky Vampires, both males with dark hair and black capes, stepping out of their Coffins, and I drop the Bomb to the floor. Both Vampires hiss as light fills the room, making me squint. They retract into their Coffins, which slam shut. "And behold, the roof!"
I reach the next stairwell, which leads to wooden doors that I push open. The slanted log roof of Monster Crag Castle greets me, and the final tower is on the opposite end. Rectangular clouds drift overhead, very close.
My heart soars and I want to sink to my knees and pump my fist. "There's the flag. I'm the first. I'm the first!" My spine tingles as I run along the roof and to the tower at the very end.
Until I see the Phantoms.
Whitish and glowing against the night sky, six of them fly listlessly around the tower while the yellow flag hangs still at the top of the spiral steps. I stop, my heart sinking back into my shoes. Phantoms have a fifty-fifty chance of possessing a Player when touching them. And then the Player loses all control of their movement.
And the tower is fifty blocks high, easily enough to cause death from fall damage.
"No. Oh, no," I mutter.
Phantoms can't be killed and will only ignore Players who are wearing Vampire Capes.
And I didn't kill any Vampires to collect their drops.
"Really? We have to go back and make a Stake Shooter after all?" I shout, careful to keep my language family-friendly. I search the roof, but it's all featureless Logs and wooden planks. Well, at least I can break the Logs and use them.
And I only need one Vampire Cape. The problem is, they're a rare drop. I'll probably have to kill multiple Vampires and not die in the process to get one. So yes, I'll need a Vendor Block and a bunch of Hardwood Stakes.
And that'll take time.
Already, the player names below me are so close they're readable. MandyPie. Bartman. Even MossHead13 is just close enough to read, and he seems to be running up some steps. What gives? Why is everyone else having such an easy time? Usually no one's even on the third floor at this point in the game.
I only then realize that another Player has made it to the roof.
It's The Rock. With the username Dynamite_Fart. And he's armed with both a Hardwood Stake and a Spear. And he's also equipped a black Vampire Cape.
"Unbelievable."
He charges with the spear.
Even if he didn't want to kill me, I wouldn't stand a chance at reaching the flag first. There's no time to grab my weapons from my inventory. I can't run and do that at the same time. He strikes and my screen turns red as my shrinking health bar flashes to the top of my view. Then he stabs again and my health drops to a sliver.
And again.
Darkness fills my view. You are defeated!
A countdown timer ticks down underneath it, and when the ten turns to a zero, I respawn back at the broken drawbridge, standing alone, just in time to see the yellow flag far above drop out of sight.
CHAPTER THREE
Rage quitting Creationist while using a Virtual World headset can end badly if you throw the headset down after removing it. It's also tough stepping off the roller balls of the Virtual World platform.
Especially when you live in a cramped apartment.
But I rip the headset off anyway and return to reality. Stacks of pizza boxes. A couch covered in random junk. A TV stand of fast food wrappers and empty soda bottles. The plain white walls of the apartment seem to close in even though my roommates, Will and Steven, are gone for the night.
It's my world.
My only world.
And I'm stuck here for the time being.
Shaking, I set the Virtual World helmet down on the coffee table, balancing it on a stack of mail that includes my latest student loan bill, and then step out of the Virtual World Platform which is literally a giant cup of rolling spheres. It's three feet by three feet which prevents me from crashing into the TV or the table while I'm running through a game.
Or performing an epic screw-up.
"How did you let that happen?" I shout at myself, looking side to side as if the walls have answers. The noob...there's no way he should have...he broke the time record..."What happened?"
I want to throw my helmet at something. Anything.
But instead I stand there, stunned, staring at my helmet as the horn to end this week's game of Monster Crag Castle sounds. The lights of the inner display illuminate my bill. Then I yank off my haptic gloves.
No. I should have had that victory. All I needed to do was figure out one mob trap for that Vampire Cape. I would have grabbed the flag. Vox never leaves great equipment just lying out for players to grab, especially those who have no knowledge of Creationist's mechanics. Convenience is never part of his maps, no exceptions.
Something was different this week.
"My week!" I want to kick the Vi
rtual World Platform.
I eye my gaming laptop on the kitchen table, which is livestreaming a view of the castle's entrance to the dozen or so people who might still be watching. My helmet's still broadcasting to it through the wire running into the attached dining room. Anyone watching right now is being greeted by silence, and possibly my loud but distant ranting.
The noob. The Sunlight Bomb.
My week.
My phone buzzes with a new text. I ignore it and rush over to the computer. No sense in telling my few viewers what's happened. The silence speaks louder than words. Maybe once I cool down, I'll edit in some sad music for when I upload the stream to my TheWattleman channel later. A sense of humor might bring in a few subscribers.
I could have—
I hope Dynamite_Fart just got lucky and everyone realizes that.
I curse and slam my fist down on the table. At least I'm far from my helmet and that's unlikely to get picked up. And I don't care. One hundred to two hundred potential paying subs. Gone. That's three to five hundred extra dollars a month.
And with that extra money, I could have—
My phone buzzes again on the coffee table.
"Mike, why didn't you just stick to your play style instead of soldiering through with a Sunlight Bomb?" I ask myself. I'm not a warrior or a PVP type. For a moment, the Sunlight Bomb had given me confidence in an area where I lack talent. Maybe Vox added it as a trap, a new type of trap for people like me.
I let out a breath. Wait. My stunt with the ghetto elevator may have paid off. So may have my move with triggering the crushing walls. My gameplay wasn't a complete disaster. I lift my gaze from the dirty dining room table and face my laptop.
"Okay." I let out a breath. I turn off the livestream, then the recording, and save it. After the save bar fills and my computer's humming calms back down, I pull up my GameTube dashboard. I scroll down past my recorded, but little-watched, uploads. Mummy Grinder, Over 1,000 Items Per Hour! Automatic Electric Eel Farm Tutorial! Stone Golem Auto Breeder and Magica Gem Farm! Take Showers in Magica Gems!
Then I reach the Community Activity section, heart thumping in my throat.
Your Notifications (5/16/2027)
CandiofSummer has subscribed to your channel!
AASalvosCorp has subscribed to your channel!
WillIAm has donated $1!
CandiofSummer has unsubscribed from your channel.
AASalvosCorp has unsubscribed from your channel.
My jaw drops.
A dollar.
And my two paying subscribers have just left.
My pulse roars in my ears. I slam the laptop lid shut. The computer hums for a bit before shutting down. I step back, taking a breath.
No comment.
I don't know how long I pace around my apartment, trying to calm down. I walk to my cramped bedroom. Sit on my air mattress. Get up and stand on the balcony, eyeing the overgrown grounds. Come back in. Pace some more. But at last, my phone's alarm goes off to signal that I've got to get ready for the Tenth Circle of Hell, otherwise known as my call center job at Everworld Hosting. I eye the digital clock on the wall. Eight. My shift starts at nine. It's been almost two hours since I exited Monster Crag Castle.
Happy Friday night.
I turn off the alarm after finding my phone near the pile of mail. Flopping down on the couch, I glimpse my messed-up, dark hair and a bit of acne under my eye that's persisted since I graduated high school seven years ago. Geek badge, and tonight I wasn't even a very good geek. I hide my reflection by swiping away the dark alarm screen and seeing a notification bubble from Natalie, my sister. A couple of texts. The ones I ignored and forgot until now.
I breathe out as my stomach turns.
Mike, good luck on Monster Crag Castle tonight. You'll get tons of new subs. Wish I could be there too.
Beside her text, her round photo smiles at me. People joke that we look like twins, despite her being two years younger than me.
Sweat forms between my fingers and makes clouds on the screen. I can't even respond. Not until tomorrow. What do I tell her? Sis, I thought I'd be able to help cover all the testing. Take some stress off. But guess what? I can't. I hope your boss doesn't fire you. How dare she get leukemia and have to take time off work to deal with making sure her numbers are still okay and she doesn't die.
I rise from the couch, needing to get out of there. Maybe I can ask my own boss for more hours. No, I should. That's what Dad would say, to go the extra mile for your employer and get rewarded. His words settle on my chest. Yeah, that's the way the world works, sure, but I'd been hoping for an alternative.
We're always short staffed at Everworld Hosting. This Creationist stuff just isn't getting anywhere. As I get up, my limbs feel as if they've turned to iron. Then I drag myself to my room and get changed into my black slacks, white shirt, and plain black tie. Tonight, I'd been hoping to stride into work, knowing I wouldn't have to ask for extra hours. That I could just keep working thirty hours per week and keep doing Creationist on the side.
With those thoughts heavy on my mind, I exit my apartment, walk down two flights of stairs, and emerge in the cooling late spring air of Charlotte. The towers of the city loom over me as I make my way past the carports and the parking lot of Cherry Ridge Apartments. I pick up my pace. Ah, the joy of being carless, but at least I can save a bit of money from not having those payments.
I walk past a black Mercedes with tinted windows, one that's parked near the exit of the complex. Weird. Why would some rich person live here? Maybe it's the owner who's getting rich off all the rent we poor people have to scrounge up and pay. My mood's already in the toilet, so I hunch up my shoulders and turn my back to the vehicle as I leave the complex and walk towards the city.
As I walk down the clearing sidewalk, watching the evening light morph from orange to purple, my head clears, piece by piece. I can always try Monster Crag Castle again if I re-enter the queue but it'll take months to get a chance to play. Vox only allows a dozen players a week to play the map to avoid spoilers and word getting out about new traps. And on GameTube which is saturated with Creationist content, it's hard to break out anymore even with my mob farms.
I'll need some other way to raise extra money for Natalie in the meantime.
And that's increasing my sentence at Everworld.
My sister is twenty-two, but she can barely keep up at her office job since her doctors want to subject her to test after test. She got diagnosed when she was eighteen, when blood work picked up something not quite right, but so far, Natalie has been lucky. Nothing's progressed so far, but after her doctor noticed something weird with her blood cells lately, she's been setting up more appointments for her to find out what's going on.
Her boss knows she has the chronic form of leukemia and might need sick leave at any point. The jerk nitpicks at her constantly for every tiny mistake, and I just know the guy is looking for a reason to fire her. I want to punch his smug self in the throat even if he does outweigh me by a hundred pounds. She can't afford to lose her insurance.
Work harder. Just do what they tell you. That's all you can do. Dad's sage advice. And for a little while, I thought we could escape.
I look at my hunched, skinny form in the glass window of a bakery. I'm almost running down the sidewalk, trying to escape my thoughts. What can I do? No one wants to hire a paralegal with less than five years' experience. My degree, meant to open doors, just slammed them shut. I should be buying my own house like Dad did when he was twenty-five. Maybe I'll have a shot at it in twenty years when my debt is gone and Natalie is healthy, but I'm not hopeful.
Natalie and I did everything right. And we're still failing.
I get so lost in my thoughts during my forty-five minute walk to the call center that by the time I notice the black Mercedes following me, I have no idea how long it's been there.
"What the heck?" I blurt.
As I turn the corner at a cell phone store, I spot the black sedan with
the tinted windows lurking behind me like a monster. Its headlights are off which wouldn't be suspect if it wasn't just after sunset. That can't be the same car that was at Cherry Ridge Apartments.
But the tinted windows and the mean-looking headlights are the same.
I swallow. Sure, lots of people drive Mercedes with tinted windows, and they always hang around Cherry Ridge.
Yeah, right.
I up my pace. Coincidence, I decide. Maybe they're just parking in one of these parallel parking spots and the driver doesn't want to blind me. Hating that I look nervous, I use the store windows to gauge the situation. There's a parallel parking space open right next to me, which I rush past. Then I stuff my hands in my pockets and turn them out, making it look like I'm just looking for something.
Here I am, late for work. And I'm definitely not mugging material.
"That's stupid, Mike." Whoever drives this Mercedes is in no need to rob people.
I eye the glass of a vacant first floor.
Yep. The car's still following me, leaving the empty spot behind. And better yet, this side street is empty of everyone else. Any stores here are about to close.
My back prickles. Ahead, a few cars drive through an intersection. "Think, Mike. Don't screw up again tonight." I'm admitting to myself that this is creepy, and that ratchets up the fear from a three to a solid six.
The car, just ten feet behind me, rolls over a fast food bag that crinkles. It's keeping pace.
Plunging my hand into my slacks pocket, I wrap my fingers around my phone, hoping it's enough to convince the driver to move on. I pull the phone out, pretending to look at it. "You can go now."
The car speeds up just a hair, and my heart leaps until it slows back down, hanging at the rear of my vision.
The message is clear.
I'm hosed if I try to call the cops, and hosed if I don't.
Getting to a busier street is my best bet. The car keeps pace. I'm tempted to stop and ask them what they want. But my legs refuse to let me do that. They keep going. I keep going. I eye the crosswalk and the traffic light ahead. Grove Street. I'm close to work. But I'll have to cross right in front of this vehicle which I know might be the Bad Idea of the Year. I'm almost tempted to do that, just to prove that these jerks aren't freaking me out.