Age of Dragons Online

Chapter 11: Alone

Chapter 11

Alone

            Nadran shifted onto his side in his sleep, and a hard object dug into his side, startling him into wakefulness.  As he glanced around at his unfamiliar surroundings, his memories from the previous day returned, and he tried to sit up, but his body rebelled at the attempted movement, letting him know how injured he still was.  Nadran flopped back onto the forest floor, and the tree root once again dug into his already-sore side, causing a great deal of pain and discomfort.  Groaning, Nadran rolled onto his back, alleviating the pain somewhat.  I must have collapsed in the forest while fleeing those players.  I’m lucky I wasn’t attacked in my sleep.

            As Nadran lay in the dirt, the implications of what had happened the day before began to set in.  I’ll never be able to set foot near human civilization for fear of being killed by the very people I swore to protect.  I guess I’ll have to live by myself like some hermit.  Well, that is, until this game is beaten and I can return to my normal life… Nadran’s thoughts trailed off as he began thinking about what could be happening in the “real” world.

            This is my fifth day trapped in this game.  That means that it has been five days since I basically entered a comatose state and was probably brought to the hospital, since eating food in-game does not nourish my real body, and I imagine that it would be pretty hard to feed someone in a coma – at least in the conventional way.  My family is probably worried…

            A tear slid down his cheek at the thought of his family.  Mom… Dad… Both of my sisters… they all must be so upset and worried right now.  I am currently trapped in some sick, twisted game where the penalty for losing is death, and they have no idea if I will survive, no idea if I will even be alive an hour from now, five minutes from now, one second from now.  That must be incredibly hard on them…  The players in the game aren’t the only ones suffering.  All of the players’ friends and families are suffering, too.

Volzan is just taking lives without stopping to consider the impact it will have on the world.  Killing so many, hurting so many physically and emotionally, it’s hard to believe such a thing exists.  Sure, you learn about horrible dictators in school, you memorize facts; how many were killed by Hitler, how people in Africa force children to fight, and kill.  However, witnessing the carnage firsthand, being caught in the grip of a cruel and ruthless person, that is another thing entirely.  People feel sympathy for the lives destroyed, but when one is not actually involved, there is no way to understand how horrible such acts truly are.  It is when you see with your own eyes someone cut down so ruthlessly for absolutely no reason… that you understand what evil truly is.

            After a brief pause, Nadran’s thoughts once again returned to his family.  I – I miss them so much.  They have always done so much for me, and are so happy and loving.  Not just my direct family, but also aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, they all care deeply for me, and I care about them.  I also have friends, people who choose to stand by my side through good times and bad.  All of them are probably tortured by the thought that I might die at any moment, and there is nothing they can do to prevent that.  If I die… they will all be greatly saddened by my death, and I never want to put them through pain like that because of me.

            I have decided!  I will stop Volzan and keep more people from being hurt by his evil ways, but I have a new goal, as well.  I will make it out of this game alive, not only for my sake… but for the sake of those who care about me.  For the sake of hundreds of thousands of people, whether it be people I know or strangers who I know who will still be hurt by the loss of others in the game, I WILL BEAT THE GAME AS WELL AS VOLZAN, AND MAKE IT OUT ALIVE!