Cyber Mortality

Chapter 8:

"Your Mom is really nice," Nyle grins when I show him my room.

"Yeah," I smile to myself. "She is."

"Pretty sparse in here, May," he looks around. "You need some posters or something. Or at least some photos." He rummages around in his pocket and pulls out a leather wallet. "Here." He holds out a photo and I gaze down at it. In the photo, Flint and Nyle are both grinning while holding up a large fish.

"Thank you," I smile and use wall putty to hang it up. "Well, now my walls aren't so bare."

"It's a start," Nyle grins. A loud crash makes my heart jump and I dash out my bedroom door and down the stairs.

"Mom?" I call out and find Flint kneeling down on the ground picking up pieces from a broken plate.

"It's my fault," I hear Mom say. "I should have been more careful."

"Careful," Flint replies in a tender voice. "Don't cut your fingers."

"Is everything alright?" I enter the kitchen and notice Mom gripping the countertop tightly.

"I spaced and dropped a plate," she whimpers and clutches her arm over her stomach.

"I'm sure it was because I startled you," Flint replies and picks up the last pieces before tossing them in the trash. "I can finish these if you want to go sit down."

"Thank you," Mom nods slowly and heads toward the living room.

"Do you want some tea?" I ask and she replies yes.

"Is your Mom alright?" Flint whispers when I return.

"Yeah," I sigh. "Thank you for helping her."

"It's no problem," he replies and places the last dishes in the dishwasher. "I came to offer my help but she seemed out of it." I glance down at my hands and bite my lower lip.

"My mom is sick," I tell him.

"Sick?" he questions.

"She has terminal cancer," I mutter.

"That's why you decided to join our team, isn't it?" he cocks his head slightly. "You seemed so against CyberTech until we mentioned the money."

"We can't afford much in terms of helping her," I confide. "With the prize money she could have a procedure to remove the tumor from her brain."

"Then I guess we will have to win that tournament," Flint clenches his jaw and I gaze up into his green eyes.

"Yeah, we will," I smile and fill up the kettle with water. After only a moment steam billows out and I fill a cup for my Mom. Before bringing it out to her I drape her favorite tea bag into it.

"Thank you," she smiles gratefully. "That Flint boy is very nice."

"I know, Mom," I whisper and kiss her forehead. "I know."

"Are you sure you want to join us on the game?" Nyle questions as they pull on their coats.

"Yeah," I smile. "Mom is going to bed so it will be fine."

"Alright, we will see you online in about fifteen minutes." They both disappear into the night and I bolt the door shut. When I enter my room and pull off my jacket and press the electrodes to my back before laying on my bed. I pull the headset on and watch my room disappear.

"Start," I whisper and get the gut-wrenching feeling as my conscience is pulled into Cyber Mortality. I pop up where we last signed off. In front of the superstore. I peer inside again and find myself drawn to the women's section. Clothing from every nation in every color and size waves at me begging to be bought. A black leather jacket draws my attention and I grin. I pull it on and love the feel of the smooth leather on my skin. The sleeves are tight on my arms and the hem of the jacket falls to the top of my thighs.

"I need this," I mutter and pop onto my menu to see how much money I have left. Five hundred gold. I press 'Buy' when I gaze at the jacket and grin when I have just enough. The jacket joins my growing inventory and I step out of the store knowing if I stay I will be tempted to buy more. Once outside I sit down on a bench and pull my menu up again. I equip my twin swords and feel them settle against my back. All I would have to do is reach back to draw each sword.

"Found you!" DeNyle plops down beside me with a grin. "I like the jacket."

"Thanks," I smile softly. "I had to buy it."

"Had to, huh?" Rocky raises a silver eyebrow.

"I got this for you," DeNyle blushes slightly and holds out a small violet ribbon. "I thought you could use it to tie your hair back."

"Thank you," I smile and accept his gift. I reach behind my head and start to braid my long black hair. I finish it off with the ribbon and smile. "How do I look?"

"Great," DeNyle smiles. "It suits you."

"So where are we hunting tonight?" I ask Rocky.

"I was actually thinking we should take a job," he replies. "We did just spend a lot of our money on stuff for you." He gives me a pointed look and a grin sheepishly.

"Ooh! Let me pick!" DeNyle exclaims and rushes toward one of the Job and Quest boards. "How about this one?"

"Getting some bandits out of a cave," Rocky rubs his chin. "Sounds interesting. The reward is ten thousand gold. Sound good to you?" I nod and hold out my hand.

"The quest is on Hallwyn," Rocky tells me.

"Let's go kick some bandit butt," DeNyle slaps his hand down and Rocky teleports us away.