Dark Dayz: VR Dawn (Chapter 02)

BIT 02: DELIVERANCE

     

Pan watched as I stared out the window at the bodies strung from the city walls. He lowered his head, and a frown plastered on his face. “You’re wondering if they are players or NPCs?” 

    I exhaled. “Yeah, but I’m afraid to hear the answer.”

    “Fear is the proper emotion… You never should have entered this game.”

    “So, the victims are players?”

    Pan leaned over to look and pointed at a body. It thrashed but stilled again.

    “The Turned Officers capture them.” Pan sat in his seat. “The lucky ones get executed in the graveyard, but the unlucky, well they're beaten and left here to die.”

    I leaned away, having seen enough. “What kills them?”

    “The barbed wire? Scavengers from the Forest? Dehydration?”

    My eyes widened. “There’s a dehydration status in Dark Days? Where’s it at?”

    Pan pointed to my right. “At the edge of the menu, there are green and yellow vertical bars. The green is hunger; the yellow is thirst.”

    “This is frigging insane.” I put my chin in my palm and leaned forward. “Why would they make such a thing?”

    “Realism? But remember, it wasn’t meant to kill us in the real world. The rules have changed.”

    I met eyes with Pan. “What does Z have to gain?”

    “They say different things. Rumors and all that.” 

    The carriage went over a bump in the road, and my head hit the roof. I glanced at my life bar, wondering if I'd lost points. I hadn't.

    Before the next bump came, I scooted low in my seat. “Tell me the rumors.”

    “Well…” Pan put a finger to his chin, thinking. “Some says he’s a hardcore gamer looking for a real challenge. Others says he’s not a real person, but a foreign government waging cyberwarfare.”

    “What do you think the truth is?” 

    Pan leaned forward as if telling a secret. “Do you want to know?”

    “That’s why I asked!”

    “I think he’s a momma’s boy who sits in his mother's basement, yelling for microwave pizza and nachos. And you know what else?”

    “What?”

    “He’s a complete and utter coward.” Pan nodded. “I believe the one who makes it to him and finishes the game will discover he’s nothing. A weakling! His only advantage is that he knows programming.”

    “He has to be intelligent. I wouldn’t underestimate him.”

    “I’m not the only one doing the underestimation, my friend.” Pan pointed with his cane. “You entered the game late. It can only mean you think you have what it takes to find and defeat Z. You staked your life on that.”

    “So?” I shrugged. “I can do it.”

    Pan chuckled with his eye closed. The carriage hit another bump and rolled to a stop.

    “What’s so funny?”

    Pan threw open the carriage door. “Your confidence.”

    I scooted over as he exited. “Hey! Where are you going?”

    “This is as far as Charon the Carriage Driver goes.” Pan walked away. “You’d best get out before you end up back in the Forest.”

    I didn't want to end up there again, not at level one, anyhow, so I climbed out of the carriage, and the door shut behind me. 

    I faced the driver. “Thank you, Charon.”

    He tipped his hat, and the carriage vanished into thin air. My jaw dropped. An object vanishing in a regular game, whatever, but seeing something vanish in VR was different.

    “How about we become a party?” I turned back and looked for Pan. 

    Before me was only one long cobblestone street. The buildings were close together and appeared as one house with dozens of doors and windows. Every one had a soft glow behind closed curtains.

    A sudden stench in the air made my eyes water. The stink of death? Or a foul beast?

    “Pan?” I turned the other way, but he was nowhere. “Where the hell did you go?”

    When I turned to my left, I found an alley covered by boards. A small section hung at an angle, swinging in the wind. Pan had to of gone that way. I didn't blame him for leaving, the streets creeped me out. It was safest to stay with him and learn more of the game.

    I approached the board and grabbed hold, pulling the barrier to the side and squeezing. Inside, only the dim lamp light illuminated the way. It was three people wide. I crept deeper, waiting for my eyes to adjust. Several strides later, I stopped and opened the menu. I scanned through the different screens until I found the Aptitudes section. The list didn't include night vision; I'd just have to handle it.

    It became so dark, I was blind, so I held my hands before me, trying to find a wall or something to get my bearings. 

    “Pan?” I whispered.

    Something nearby hit the ground and clicking spread in every direction. I'd no clue what the creatures were, but I hoped they were mundane pests. My thundering heart told me they weren't.

    “Pan?” My hands touched a wall; a dead end. “Great, he left me.” 

    The Assassin didn't care to party. He preferred being on his own. Sure, he could survive out there, but being a Blader, I wasn’t a heavy damage-dealing class. I was the tank. My job was to have the enemies focus on me while everyone else killed them. Pan was right; I chose the wrong class.

    Again, I checked the menu. This time I looked for navigation. I clicked the map icon, and on the left-hand side, a list of usernames appeared. There were three hundred and twenty-seven names listed in Shadesburgh; this city. That meant those players were here—somewhere.

    “Where is everyone?” I examined the map from top to bottom. “They must be on different servers, I hope.”

    The cross-shaped city was small. In the north sat a castle, and to the west, it read, Swamp. To the east, another exit led to a zone called the Dead Plains, and to the south was the Forest of Damnation. Other than that, were a few shops.

    Even if I counted the players on the walls outside, there still should've been thousands on the streets, even if the game ran on multiple servers. Were they hiding from the Officers? That meant the enemies in the city were strong, so I'd need a party soon.

    I dropped the menu, turned on my heel and walked back to the barrier. From underneath, boots passed by outside and looked to be heading deeper into Shadesburgh. 

    “Another player!” I breathed. “Thank gosh.”

    I squeezed through the boards and turned. A guy walked with his back facing me. He wore a dark blue outfit, and a tall black hat. A large club swung at his hip. Before him marched a pair of mean-looking dogs, which meant he had to be a Creature Tamer.

    “Hey!” I jogged to him. “My name’s Zycuh. Can we form a party and maybe you show me the ropes? I’m new and—”

    I bit my tongue as a red health bar appeared above his head, a Lv03 Turned Officer. When he turned, I tried to retreat, but tripped, and landed on my tailbone. A sharp pain shot along my spine, but I swallowed my yelp and seized my longsword.

    The Turned Officer regarded me with glowing red eyes. He tugged on the leashes of his dogs, and they stopped, turning. Above their heads were red bars with the name, Lv03 Hellhound.

    I scrambled back to my feet and brandished my weapon. I had a better chance of defeating these than the Damned Werewolves. Still, three versus one meant the odds were not in my favor.

    I gripped my sword so tight my hand ached. “Why aren't you a player?”

    The Officer looked at my blade. His pale skin reflected the red moonlight and made his mustache look bloody. Crimson veins pulsed in his cheeks as he lifted his fingers to his lips and whistled.

    On cue, both Hellhounds snarled and ran in front of him. They snapped their jaws and crouched, ready to pounce.

    “Good dogs!” I backed away. “You want a treat? I’ll get you one!”

    The Officer muttered something, and both dogs came at me. I spun, searching for an escape. But a Hellhound leaped over my head, and landed before me, blocking my way.

    The alley was my only hope. I pushed the loose board aside and squeezed through just as jaws snapped from behind, almost catching my sleeve. I backed into the alley and held my sword ready. Might they leave since the line of sight broke?

    A few heartbeats later my answer smashed through the barrier.

    Both dogs leaped, barking and snapping. I slashed my sword sidelong and struck one beast's flank as it careened passed. I charged after the creature, stabbing with a Lightning Jab. The dog howled and turned to attack. I spun and used my momentum to chop. My blade slashed through the Hellhound’s jaw and the red bar above its head emptied. With a flash of light, the dog exploded, leaving nothing.

    “Yes!” A number popped, showing experience points. “Not so difficult!”

    The fangs of the other Hellhound sank into my leg. It didn't hurt as much as I expected, but still, I yelped and shook my limb, trying to loose the beast. It continued to growl, keeping its jaws locked tight.

    “Down, mutt!” I chopped across the dog’s neck. Its HP bar dropped, and I hacked again, draining more life. But its clamped teeth bled my hit points. My health hit thirty percent, as I brought back my arm, and struck the dog as hard as I could.

    The word, CRITICAL! popped, and with the same crimson flash the dog disappeared.

    I sucked in a deep breath. When I studied the wound, I found only fluctuating pixels. My health had drained, but my clothing remained intact.

    Movement came from the entrance, and I spun. The Officer stood in the light of a gas lamp. He stared at me and grabbed the club from his belt.

    “Come on, then!” I flourished my sword. “I killed your puppies; now I’ll take you out. And you look like just enough XP to level me!”

    The Officer stalked forward. I ran to meet him and dealt the first blow; a slash across his chest. He accepted the attack, his HP dropping a smidge, but pressed forward. I narrowed my eyes and tried a Lighting Jab, stabbing him in the chest. The attack took a quarter.

    Not enough.

    He swiped with his club. My eyes flew wide as he struck my shoulder. I staggered, watching my health lower to sixteen out of one hundred points. I cursed and backed from his reach. My Lightning Jab had a cooldown timer, but I needed it to win the battle.

    I retreated, and he kept coming. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the skill bar fill; just a few more seconds and I'd nail him. But the Officer lunged, attacking. I dodged by a hair, and I bumped into the alley's back wall.

    Again, I cursed.

    The skill box of Lighting Jab lit up, and I grinned. “Take this!” 

    With a mighty whack, the Turned Officer’s club smacked my jaw. My head lolled on my shoulders and dizziness swept over me. I fell to one knee, looking at my HP; only a sliver remained. Everything blackened, and I collapsed.

    The Officer grabbed my collar and dragged me away. I had no strength left, and if I strained myself, I could lose my only hit points. Then I'd be dead in game and in real life. The game couldn't be over yet. Deny it as I might, a knot formed in my chest, and I feared becoming a decoration on Shadesburgh's outer wall.