SoulBound

Chapter 1 - Out of the Ordinary

Most people who are creating a game would be using his or her time by working hard on their game, focusing on their work. Thor is not like most people.

Thor, a programmer for the game developers of Pirate Software, spends his time streaming on Twitch for his fans, while also making his game. He also explains to the viewers that want to create their own games how he does what he does for the game. But unlike any other day, one of his streams was completely different.

He sat in his deep red swirly chair and had his black headphones with the Pirate Software stickers on the sides on his head and programmed his game called Heartbound, an RPG game that is a hit with the public. His best friend Shaye was sitting across the room, working on art for Heartbound, swirling blue and white to create ice and deep red and yellow to create fire. He was quite the artist, Thor had to admit, and he was glad that he was working with him. Looking back to his computer, he typed on his keyboard and put in some of the code for the main character of the game, Lore. 

He glanced over to his secondary screen and noticed his fans were sending him a wave of questions in the stream's chat.

"PurpleGhostWolf: I'm so excited for the game!!! XD

EnderBro02: Hey Thor, when is the update for the demo being released again?

Mr_Context: Thor it seems that your shimejis are multiplying again...

Djinnet: What're you making your potato son do today, Pirate Software?"

Thor sighed to himself before answering the questions as quickly as he could for his fans. But one of them stood out more than the rest:

"PixelBrosDA: Thor, why'd you make the Barghest how you did?"

Not expecting a question about the game's story (normally the fans don't ask about that), he responded with: "Okay, PixelBros... I can't tell you about that since it'll reveal stuff about the story."

Shaye turned to him and sighed. "You could tell them a little bit."

"Yeah, but that would ruin the surprise of it all, Shaye!" He responded. "Besides, nothing will happen if I don't tell-"

Thor was cut off by the power running in the building cutting out. Their computers were off, the lights were off, everything was without power. Shaye gave Thor a 'You were saying?' stare in the dark.

"...ok, that was not because I didn't spoil the game, Shaye. Lemme go take a look about the power."

Thor stood and walked over to the window in the room. Looking down at the rest of the apartments, he noticed they were out of power as well. Even the people across the street were out of power. 

"Shaye, what do you think happened that caused the entire street to run out of power?" Thor asked.

This time, Shaye moved over to the window. He was just as confused as Thor as they stared out the window together. If something was going on, it was effecting everybody, and Thor didn't like it.

"Come on, Shaye. I think this is more than just a power outage." Thor said, grabbing his by the arm and pulling him out the door.

"Thor, wait up!!!"

---

Lore felt the small nose of Baron against his arm, signaling him to wake up from his warm bed.

"Hey Lore? Are you awake?" Baron asked, his tail wagging slightly. "Come on, Lore... wake up..."

Lore sighed and shifted out of bed. He looked down at his dog, who was wagging his tail and staring up at him. "What is it, Baron?" He said, half asleep.

"I heard something moving downstairs... we should go investigate." Baron said, already running around in circles from anticipation.

Lore sighed. He did not feel like doing anything important today. However, he knew what would happen if this intruder would find them while they slept, so he went along with it.

"Dude, isn't it a bit too early for playing games with me?" Lore asked, expecting a yes.

"But it's not me doing this! Something's downstairs! Where's your sense of adventure, Lore?" Baron asked, seeming a little pissed with him.

"Sleeping like we should be." He answered.

"You know I can't do this alone..."

Lore thought back to what had happened for the past few days and thought it would be nice to get some adventure into their lives.

"You know what? Sure. Let's do this."

Baron jumped, skipped, and then led Lore down from his bedroom and into their living room. Different colored cans were scattered on the floor, a sock laid in the corner of the room, and the moonlight shone in from the window. For the first time in forever, it wasn't raining outside.

"Well, there's nothing here. Maybe we should head back to bed now?" Lore suggested, but Baron wasn't amused.

Baron ran off and checked every room on the first floor, with no luck. "But... but I HEARD IT!!!!"

"Well maybe it escaped before we could catch it, buddy." Lore said, hopeful that he could get back into his warm bed. However, something caught his eye before he could turn around and march up the stairs. And it was outside.

Motioning for his dog to follow him, Lore opened the front door and stepped out into the cool air of the outdoors. Pine trees shook with the force of the wind and his hair whipped to the side. 

Baron felt uncomfortable doing this, so he pawed at Lore's leg while saying, "...L-Lore, I don't think we should do this... let's go back to bed, just like you wanted!"

Lore could only turn around and ask his friend, "Baron, where's your sense of adventure?"

Baron, tempted by the adventure presented by Lore's sudden bravery, stepped outside. The cool air rustled his fur and caused him to feel more excited and awake. 

"Okay, Lore! We got this! Let's go!" Baron shouted, following his buddy into the forest and out of sight of the house behind them.