Game Boy

5 - Retry

Tires spun out, slinging mud as well as throwing Kenneth and Byrd forward. Kenneth's chest connected with the dashboard hard and he gasped, sensing the air knocked from him without any pain. He gulped down a breath fast and gripped the frame of the truck tight. It's just a game, we can still breathe. His breaths came in ragged, though as the world turned before their eyes. Hills spun out of view as they skidded, up and down. He threw a pale-faced look at Byrd. Somehow she was managing not to get thrown around as she spun the wheel with her tongue curled over her lip in determination.

The truck bounced and Kenneth bit back a yell. It's a game, it's a game, it's a game...

The landscape spun again. He glanced out the window and saw the offending NPC's behind them now. The bouncing slowed, but his fingers still dug into the frame of the truck. He held his breath a moment, then glanced forward. They were, slowing down?

"No!" Byrd slammed a fist against the dashboard. She jabbed the start button and then smacked the wheel again.

The truck halted. It rocked a little from side to side and Kenneth exhaled slowly. He could still feel his muscles buzzing beneath his skin with the energy of their wild ride. His mind spun, but he sank back into his seat and unlatched his fingers from the steel frame. "What the hell," he whispered.

"It's dead," Byrd cut him off. She opened the door and hopped down. Her arms crossed over her chest as she scowled at the truck. "Stupid thing." A sigh escaped her lips and she looked down. "Sorry."

Kenneth glanced over at her, hugging his arms against his body quietly. "Apology accepted," he whispered. Carefully, he opened the door and extracted himself from the seat. "I'm driving next time," he muttered to himself. Planting his feet safely on the ground, he closed his eyes and bowed his head. Safe. His shoulders slumped, releasing the tension built up. Mental or not, it felt real enough.

He opened his eyes and then squinted, frowning. The screen was overlaid in red. Something that only happened if he died or--

Quest Failed.

Byrd yelled something from the other side of the screen. Kenneth sighed and rubbed his face before walking over there. She looked up at him sheepishly and her chin sank into her shoulders. Eyes cutting away, she rubbed at her arms.

"Sorry..."

With a glance at the dead truck, Kenneth watched the boxes vanish. It wasn't the first time. There was no exact science to quests. He looked back and shrugged. "It's fine. It's a new quest. You don't get them all on the first try. Just...can I please do the driving in the future?"

"Oh," her face flushed mildly. "I suppose so, yeah."

Kenneth nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets. His gaze fell on the open road, now empty of all obstacles. So those thugs had been related to the quest. He'd figured.

"So, I assume that means you'd be up for another quest? Maybe a second try?" Byrd cut in, shifting from one foot to the other. She lifted one eyebrow, smiling innocently.

Looking back over at her, Kenneth blinked. "Oh. Um..." I wasn't going to do more than one, but do I really have anything else to do? His eyes trailed to his skill bar. He couldn't level up any more skills without an actual level up. Dual quests did provide more XP for levels. "Sure," he said. "I'm up for one more. I need the level anyway."

"Perfect! I um, promise I'm not this bad all the time. My technology handling skill is not all that great..." She grimaced and moved away from him, towards the road.

"Mine isn't great either," Kenneth admitted. "Say, what level are you? Main levels I mean." He followed her up to the edge of the road, scanning. They had to be at least ten or so miles from the settlement they'd come from. Regardless, he'd played through many of those quests already. Replays didn't offer as much XP as new quests did.