Non-Player Character

Chapter 4 - Lonan

[Trigger warning: Short depiction of animal violence.]

The car swayed in that monotonous way that raised questions. Every third or forth second, it would bounce. Was that the way the pavers made the road, or a limitation in coding?

Jeryeline has fallen silent, and the question pulled at his thoughts. Like the pulling of stitching, would she notice the strings and begin to pull. Or would she succumb to the powerlessness feeling of trying to climb out of a well?

Buildings passed into blurs, turning from urban development into country. Trees lined the ditches, a wall of vines and greenery that tangled together into nature. The wind rocked the autonomous car, and her fingers clenched around the material of her seat. Her knuckles flashed paper white.

Outside, the clouds were darkening as though they were driving into a storm.

It may be the circumstances, but in the quiet shell of modern technology, he wondered if she feared being trapped alone in here with him. Or it could be the weather.

Guilt stabbed at him. He should ask, but he didn't want to know the answer. It wouldn't change his plans. They had to avoid the potential trackers that may be following them. There were only so many tricks he knew. They needed to get out of sight and ditch the car.

That would mean traveling on foot, alone into the very nature that walled them out.

There was a chance of finding shelter in the woods, odd quests, and small animals would be scattered inside for traveling parties. He just needed to get her somewhere safe.

Then he could come up with a real plan.

Lonan ran his fingers through his hair. He'd never thought, never knew something like this could really happen. He saw it himself, her blank awkward stare that the NPCs had, her unchanging movements. She was mechanical and then she wasn't. She was precious. Fragile.

His hand jerked open and he slammed it closed into a fist. Memories from those first days cut fresh through his mind. The things he tried, the crimes he committed. The people he hurt.

He found himself staring at her again, her worried eyes as she searched out the window. She was stunning in a nontraditional way. In a drab trader costume of all things. She had been an NPC after all. But now, now she was the key to all of this. Her existence unlocks so many possibilities, futures, freedoms.

Threats.

Lonan turned his attention to his phone, staring at the GPS. It's possible a tracker could find them by his phone. Unlikely. How would they even know who he was? That would be insane, paranoid. He looked back at her. Could he risk it?

She'd yet to ask a single question since providing her name. Her self-control, her strength. It would be eating him up inside if their roles were reversed but he was grateful for the silence. How would he being to explain? The most he could provide were crackpot theories and half-baked plans of escape.

The taxi slowed as they approached the random pin he selected on the map. Jeryeline popped up in her seat, scanning the outdoors for an answer. The vehicle shifted, turning right off of the highway. They slowly creaked down the dirt road, bouncing more forcefully on the even path. She kept stiff in her seat. He thought she might even be holding her breath.

He tilted his head, examining her rigid body. She must be frightened. She'd be crazy not to be. He had taken her into the middle of nowhere. If she wasn't afraid, then he should be.

He hadn't even thought to question if she would be a danger to him. But as though thoughts spun in his head, he restrained the laugh that bubbled up at the absurdity.