Virtuality: Magic Island

Chapter 2: Lontari the Extraordinary

Lontari cautiously scanned the shelves for the ginger his virtual mother figure needed to make his favorite dish: a big bowl of ginger soy fish. It was the first thing she cooked for him when she took him in, and felt her love with every bite he took of it. Plus, his real-world "parents" would just tell him to heat up a Hot Pocket if he wanted something to eat for dinner because they're never home to cook due to work.

"What are we here to buy again, Lontari?" asked Denver.

"Mom needs some ginger for dinner tonight," said Lontari. "She's making ginger soy fish! My favorite!"

"Fish? Gross!" Denver whined.

"At least my breath doesn't smell like cat food...."

Denver growled. "I-It's not cat food! It's a Tuna submarine sandwich!"

"You know tuna is a fish too, right?" Lontari laughed.

"No it's not..." Denver said. "There's no way fish would taste good."

"Oh... children. They have so much to learn."

Denver and Lontari walked out of the isle, with the latter holding two bottles of ginger in his hand. They looked at the checkout area, and the line was so long that it took up an entire isle of healthcare products.

"Aw, man!" Denver whined. "Look at this line!!"

"Gee man, who knew you were the only one in the world that wanted something from the store..." said Lontari.

Denver rolled his eyes. "Fine..."

The two boys stood in line, waiting semi-patiently for their turn. Every couple of minutes, they got closer and closer to the grumpy cashier. Lontari looked down at the two ginger bottles in his hand, excited for his in-game mother's upcoming supper. Her food was the first legitimate time he had a caring parent that cared enough to not let him starve to death.

A half-hour later, much to Denver's delight, he and Lontari have finally gotten up to the cashier. Lontari placed the two bottles on the counter, and reached into both of his pockets at once for some cash. He began to slightly fear when the cost of the items he was looking to purchase showed up on a computer screen.

"Hurry up, kid, the customers don't have all day," said the cashier.

Lontari sighed with relief when he finally felt the cash in his pockets. He pulled it out and dropped it on the counter, just in time for the cashier to snatch it and make sure it was enough.

"Okay, kid, you're all set."

"I can't wait to eat that ginger soy fish!" said Lontari as he and Denver walked towards the exit with the two ginger bottles.

Denver looked at the bottle with a baffled look. "This doesn't look very edible, Lontari..."

"It's not supposed to be. You use it to cook food."

Denver wanted to make a comment about how his mom always puts vegetables in his suppers, but the second the boy opened his mouth to talk, a sudden explosion sound came from above. He, Lontari, and the rest of the shoppers looked up at the ceiling, only to find crumbling into pieces. The lights and pieces of concrete engulfed in dust came raining down and crashing on the floor. What was left were broken ceiling lights burning in flames.

"Everyone, please evacuate the store now!" said an announcer on the speaker.

"What the hell is going on?" Lontari asked himself.

He and Denver followed the screaming, racing crowd out of the store and watched as they ran and drove into the streets. Once the two turned around to look, their jaws dropped before they even knew it. They couldn't believe it! A big bug-faced monster stood before them, roaring, shooting fire blasts from its mouth, and tearing buildings apart simply by swaying its arm.