Game On

Chapter Three: "Finding A Quest"

Sean's hands started to shake as he sat in the dark abyss. It didn't matter if his eyes were open or shut. There was just nothing. Had something gone wrong with his headset? Was he trapped like this? He didn't want to be trapped alone. He didn't like being alone. He'd already spent so much of his life feeling alone. He didn't want to imagine an eternity of it like this. Had his girlfriend tried to remove the headset? Was he in a coma? Was he dead and mentally trapped inside the game? His mind swirled with thoughts, until his whole body was shaking. That's when he felt it. Slender fingers sliding over his to hold his hand. Jerking his head up from his knees, he yelped and clutched his own hands together, but the feeling didn't go away. Through the darkness a soft familiar voice whispered close to his ear. "I'm here. Can you hear me?" Straightening up, he called out just as softly. "I can hear you." There was no response and the grip on his hand faded away. He reached out into the dark, calling out to the voice, but no answer came.

Then there was a sudden pulse of light. It rippled over the box he was in. Illuminating it briefly in shimmering white rainbow light. Sean stood up as the darkness came back, pressing his back to the wall. Faintly he heard a beeping sound steadily increase. Another pulse rippled over the box and Sean yelled out. "What's happening?!" This time when the light faded, it was replaced with green binary code starting to run down the walls. Sean followed the code to the floor and gasped. The floor seemed to disappear out from under him and he fell through a swirling void of colors. Screaming as he fell through the long tunnel of swirling colors, he blinked and instantly found himself jerking upright on a bed with a startled scream. Slamming his back against the headboard, he gasped for air. He felt like he was going to have an asthma attack. Where was he now? He tried to focus his eyes on the room, when someone sat down on the edge of his bed and gripped his shoulders to keep him still. Grabbing the man's burly arms, he struggled to breathe.

The man's grip tightened on his arms, before Mark's deep soothing voice told him seriously. "Sean, it's ok. You're ok. I'm here. I've got you. You're safe." Sean moved a hand to his throat, feeling ghostly hands on him there as his breathing leveled out. Allowing himself a few deep calming breaths, he asked Mark a little confused. "What happened? Where are we now?" Mark relaxed his grip, his hands sliding down to Sean's bare elbows when he told him gently. "We're in Northumbria. According to the map this is the second town in Midgard. We left Jorvik. Remember?" Sean sat up, glancing at the open square window in the room. The sunlight streaming in felt warm on his skin and the smell of fresh foods entered on a crisp cool breeze. Swallowing, he uttered out under his breath. "I'm still in the game...?" Mark nodded, running a large warm hand through his loose brown hair as he answered. "Ya. Your avatar went into sleep mode. I was so worried. I couldn't wake you." Fixing his hair from the way Mark mussed it up, he asked him groggily. "How did I get here?"

Mark scooted back from him a little to give him room to breathe, before answering with a shrug. "I carried you. Went up a few skill points in strength doing it too." Sean blinked, taking in the small wooden room. There was a little wooden bed on either side of the window and a wooden trunk set at the foot of them. By the door was a simple wooden desk with a candle and over the beds were little shelves with unlit candles and guidebooks. Mark gestured to the room, telling him coolly. "I used my starting money to buy the room. I wanted to keep you safe while trying to figure out what happened to you." Sean wrapped his arms around his legs, trying to take it all in. He didn't know what had happened to him. Mark patted his leg comfortingly as he informed him. "You weren't the only one. When I arrived here, there were several others whose avatars just went into sleep mode like yours did." Sean shrugged meekly, mumbling out a bit shaken. "Why? And why didn't yours do it too?"

Mark removed something from his pocket. It looked like a piece of tin about the size of his palm with a sigil carved into the back. Turning it over to a smooth mirror surface, he touched it and brought up a small menu. Pressing the button for something in a language he couldn't read, Mark held it up for him to see clearly. In the little mirror was a clip of real world news. The broadcaster announcing clearly. "Today after the devastating news involving the VRMMORPG known as The Nine Realms. Thousands of relatives around the world are discovering their loved ones and admitting them into hospitals for observation. While we have been warned that removal of the headset is fatal. It has been confirmed by the game company that the headsets come with an internal battery. Allowing doctors, the ability to transport victims to the hospital carefully with a temporary power source. We are advised by the game company to not rig anything up yourselves. It is unclear yet, how this effects your loved ones. Doctors have confirmed though that the equipment they have been supplied by the company is working to transport loved ones to safety. More on the overcrowding of hospitals next."