The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 16: Best Friend (Part 1)

Chapter 16: Best Friend

1 month after the fall:

"Doug! Doug! No!" Joanna screamed as we all stood petrified from what we saw. Doug was strung up, hung by the back of shirt on a broken lamp post. The few bags he owned were torn open beneath him and anything usable was gone. Joanna scrambled closer, barely managing to remain coherent as she took her boyfriend's body to the ground. He was lifeless.

Raul shivered beside me, "First Ash... and now." He grit his teeth, tears already falling down his face.

I couldn't say a thing. Only a week earlier Ash died trying to save a parent and her child. Two of my best friends had suddenly died. Rift Walkers were one thing, but from the scene, it was people who did this. They had found Doug alone and killed him, taking anything they could. We had only lost him for a few hours. If it weren't for Aria who gripped my arm tightly, I would have broken down then and there.

Joanna continued to cry. Her tearful echoes were heart wrenching but despite it all we had to move on. With barely a burial Doug was laid to rest as we were forced to trudge away from where we lost him. The signs of destruction were all around us, a reminder of the true monsters that still hunted. The next morning Joanna was gone. We never saw her again.

*

"Damn it," Ash coughed, the virtual sensation of pain only lasted a small moment but was still enough to stun a person. "You really are good." She fell to her knees and vanished into digital dust.

Duel Over. Returning participants and field to previous condition. The area around us reverted to how it was. The broken shrub and gouged dirt formed back as if they had never been touched and the blue ring that had surrounded us disappeared. I stood in the centre, the damage I had accumulated disappearing. Outside the field were Ash, Raul, Joanna and Doug.

Joanna looked at me frustrated, "Grr, I thought we could win with all four of us together." She stomped her foot, "Agh! I can't believe we lost."

Doug patted her head, "Arde- I mean Friend here was just a little too good."

Ash bounded towards me, "You were incredible! We've been fighting as a team for a few months now, but you tore us apart easily."

"Yeah," Raul moped behind her. "It kind of puts us to shame."

I laughed, "I wouldn't say it was easy and I would have had more trouble if I didn't know how you usually played. I used that against you." They gathered around as I dished out my advice. "First up, you work well together but you're not used to fighting players. It's clear you don't have much PVP experience. Doug, you're the team's tank but if you can't keep up to defend them then there's no point. That's also a negative point on the rest of you. You all kept leaving Doug's zone of protection. Ash you especially. Don't just charge in hoping for the best. Raul you're the opposite, you kept waiting for the best moment to strike but should have been working together to make that opening. Joanna, you're easily provoked, as soon as Doug was in danger you stepped out too quickly. Rely on Doug more, he's build is suited more to defence than yours. Do you all get it?"

"Kind of," they all looked at me sheepishly. I remembered a time I wasn't any better than them. If the past me had joined them the result wouldn't be different. They were my friends and I wanted them to live. The memories of how they disappeared or died still plagued me. I wanted them to become stronger.

Doug frowned, "My armour is heavy, and I can't move quickly, should I change my build?"

I shook my head, "You don't need to change your stats but learn new skills. Take experience from Areithia itself. You can learn skills through your own growth but also from others. Try speaking to the Crysis guards, they have movement techniques exactly to help you keep up."