Evil Unbound (Litrpg)

Chapter 13

Del drove his car it was two-thirty in the morning. He couldn't get alcohol at this time of the night and he really wanted a drink. He resigned himself to go home because Del had another pint of alcohol in his drawer. He could buy a diet soda at the all night store. The night was wearing on him and he wanted to crawl into bed and never awake. He parked his car and walked into his room. Standing at the threshold of the front staring at his darken bed, he sensed somebody was inside his room, but not here now.  He turned on his lamp light. The pervading feeling that somebody was here was still on his mind. He felt violated.
Del closed his door and locked it. He moved toward his drawers and found the pint of vodka he had stashed away. He forgot to get his diet soda so he drank it out of the plastic bottle. It burned down his throat. He felt instantly better. Sitting on his bed, it finally hit him. He could be comatose like John and nobody would find his body unless smelt his dead, decaying body a week later. He took another swig of his drink. His head was swimming of his dead body and need to thing about something else.
He grabbed his remote and changed it to news. Del listened to the newscaster talking about the days news and he didn't care. He was thinking about all the stupid mistakes he had made. His wife always told him to stop drinking and he never did. It really started when he was in high school when his parents left him alone in the house. They never really cared about him and even right now when his dad told him to stay at his house Del sensed it was only because he was a bad dad.
He felt in his pock and found the check for two thousand five hundred dollars. It was blood money. He wanted to rip it apart, but he needed the money. Del could call Mr. Toler right now and tell him what happened to John. He should do that. Del took another drink. The bottle was almost gone. His body started to feel lighter and he his head swam. The TV started to blunt. What was happening? He close his eyes for a brief second. A dark figure appeared in his mind. He couldn't discern all the person's features but he saw large horns protruding from a monstrous head and the only thing he could see was glowing orange eyes. He heard a guttural voice. "Let me out."
He awoke. A swath of light hit his face. He turned to the side. He wanted to go back to sleep but he has to pee. Standing up, he hobbled toward the rest room. The plastic vodka bottle fell to the ground. It was empty. He didn't remember finishing the bottle. His head felt as if somebody stomped on it several times. He took a piss in the toilet. He kept peeing so long that his legs were getting tired.
When he was finished, he lay on his bed. His stomach gurgled with pain and hunger. He grabbed his phone. It was nine am. He slept all night. He had to eat. His body shook with hunger. He really needed to stop drinking like this. Changing into a pair of cleans jeans and black T-shirt, he thought about how John looked last night in the hospital. John had changed. He seemed dead, lifeless as if his soul had already left him and the only thing that remained was a shell of a man.
He grabbed his keys and wallet and walked out of his motel room. He needed to deposit his check first and then eat something. He wished he had somebody he could talked too like the wizened old man who always shows up in books and movies who helps the main character, but there was nobody he could tell.
Del started his car. He thought he could talk to Mr. Tolen, but he didn't trust him. He was an powerful man who could bribe cops. He seemed more like a villain. Del shook his head. This was the real world. He couldn't go to the cops or Mr. Tolen. He had to figure this out by himself.
He went through a drive thru and ordered a breakfast burrito and diet soda. It was cool this morning and he parked his car and ate his food. Checking his phone, he didn't see any new messages. He should call the hospital and find out about John. He should go drive there but he felt shabby and out of place in his crumpled up T-shirt and jeans. He also knew he smelt really bad. After he was done, he went to his bank and deposited his check at the ATM. The people waiting in line looked at him as if he was a bum coming off the streets. A woman and child stayed several feet away from him and she was clutching her bag for dear life.
He left the bank in a squeal of tires. He felt better as he left. Maybe he should go home go and figure out what he knew about the creator of the game and search on line.
As Dell enter the parking lot of his motel room, he saw something odd. When he parked his car in front of the room. Next to his were several black SUVs with blacked out windows. When he exited his car, a few large beefy men  dressed in black suits surrounded him. A tall extremely muscular man dressed in army fatigues walked up to him. He had graying hair and short haircut. His icy green eyes stared at him. Del was still holding his diet soda in one hand
The man dressed in the fatigues said, "My name is Colonel Slather. I am here to take you back to the compound. We have to make sure your fine."
Del felt all them staring at him and he could tell by looking at them they could take him away without even trying. This was not real. He's an American citizen.
"Who are you guys?" He said trying to sound tough.
Colonel Slather said, "We work Mr. Toler. We have to make sure you're not sick and get comatose like a friend."
Del was thinking that he could hit the guy closest to him and then run like hell. But this was not a video game.
"And if I refuse?" he said.
"Look, you can do whatever you want. But we can check you out and then your free. But I was given orders and I'll take you by force if we have too."
Del felt the menace oozing out of the man's voice. It was unmistakable. This Colonel Slather would resort to violence if he had too. It was in his personality. They stared at each other for a few seconds.
Colonel Slather grinned. "Hey, we're friends here. We're just trying to help you out. You don't want to be sick."
"I can leave at any time? And will you help my friend John?"
Colonel Slather looked sideways at the men. "Yes."
Del knew the Colonel was lying but he had no choice. Nobody would help him, not his wife or his parents. "Ok."
Dell sat in the backseat of the black SUV. He looked at his car and his motel room. He felt as if he was going to a death house. He wished he could had talked to his wife, Marion again and also hug his daughter. He watched as the SUV drove away from his old life.