Virtual Vagabonds

1.01 - The Office

April 15, 2024 Darrell S.

“Hey,” my boss walks into my office and slams the door.

“Good morning,” I respond.

“It’s not a good morning,” he stares at me with wide eyes.

I already know how this is going to go. He’s on a war path lately. I probably haven’t even done anything wrong, but things go bad in his personal life, and he comes into the office on a power trip. Todd has a real short man complex and we all suffer for it. He’s also been on the job 40 years too long and needs to retire, because basic technology regularly raises his blood pressure to the point where he’s close to a stroke or another heart attack. The sound of him typing with just his index fingers echoes through the entire building each day and we all pray that it’s a short email he’s sending.

“What can I do to make it a better morning,” I ask in my calmest voice possible, not wanting to set off a landmine.

“You can do your damn job,” he slams several random papers onto my desk.

“Did I do something wrong here?”

“You do something wrong every day, then you walk around here like nothing bothers you. It’s unnerving,” he continues.

“I’m not understanding what you mean.”

“I got a call from Emily Norman,” he sits down then immediately stands back up. “You denied her for a car loan.”

“Yeah, she didn’t have a driver’s license. Our loan policy says anyone approved for a car loan needs to have a driver’s license.”

“So, what you’re saying is, you don’t know when to make exceptions for members?”

“That’s a pretty big exception. We’re basically helping her break the law.”

“Don’t get smart with me, you’re on thin ice,” he raises his voice.

“For following the rules,” I’m legitimately confused.

“That’s your problem; you think you’re smarter than everyone Alan,” he points a finger at me.

“It’s actually Alexandre, like Alexandre Dumas. You can call me Alex, Andre, or Dre I’m fine with any of them.”

“Whatever. You’re untrustworthy and you place your trust in the wrong people. I know you’re applying for other jobs.”

“That’s not illegal.”

“You’re too ambitious, you need to know your spot, and stay in it. You’re disloyal and nobody wants a disloyal person working for them.”

Alright, I’ve got it now. He’s upset I applied for another job. I guess I should scratch credit unions off my jobs search if they’re going to tell my boss I’m looking for a new job. I thought I was being smart; only using my personal computer, and taking interviews on days off or on my lunch. Someone spilled the beans, but situations like this are why I don’t want to be here any longer. The pay isn’t really good enough to take his random outbursts.

“You don’t have anything to say for yourself? You’re just going to sit there emotionless? Are you fucking robot?”

He’s really making me mad, but I don’t get the option to just run around the office shouting and slamming things down to make a point. When I raise my voice, people get nervous. They feel threatened and I’m suddenly the villain. I know if I yell back at him, I’ll be getting fired today. That’s what he wants, and I’m not going to give him that joy.

“You know what,” Todd starts to point again. “You’re on probation. Consider this your warning, next time I have this talk with you, you’re fired. Maybe this will teach you to how to be a valuable part of the team.”

I don’t get a chance to respond before he leaves my office. Once I hear his door slam down the hall I make my way out through the back door. Screw him. I could grab him by his little throat and fling him into traffic. The whole thing was just a setup for him to tell me how much he disliked me. I don’t like him either. By the time I make it to my car I haven’t decided if I should just drive away or of I should drive my car through the building. If I come in from the south side of the building, I can hit his desk. I just take a deep breath and exhale instead. My car insurance rates would never go down if I did that.

I check my phone after I’ve calmed down a little. I’ve got a text from Kai. He needs my help with Liberty and Strife. Kai is a good player but he gets into trouble all of the time. I guess that’s something to look forward to after work.

Liberty and Strife

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1.1 - The Office

October 21, 2023 Darrell S.

“Hey,” my boss walks into my office and slams the door.

“Good morning,” I respond.

“It’s not a good morning,” He stares at me with wide eyes.

I already know how this is going to go. He’s on a war path lately. I probably haven’t even done anything wrong, but things go bad in his personal life, and he comes into the office on a power trip. Todd has a real short man complex and we all suffer for it. He’s also been on the job 40 years too long and needs to retire because basic technology regularly raises his blood pressure to the point where he’s close to a stroke or another heart attack. The sound of him typing with just his index fingers echoes through the entire building each day and we all pray that it’s a short email he’s sending.

“What can I do to make it a better morning,” I ask in my calmest voice possible, not wanting to set off a landmine.

“You can do your damn job,” he slams several random papers onto my desk.

“Did I do something wrong here?”

“You do something wrong every day, then you walk around here like nothing bothers you. It’s unnerving,” he continues.

“I’m not understanding what you mean.”

“I got a call from Emily Norman,” he sits down then immediately stands back up. “You denied her for a car loan.”

“Yeah, she didn’t have a driver’s license. Our loan policy says anyone approved for a car loan needs to have a driver’s license.”

“So, what you’re saying is, you don’t know when to make exceptions for members?”

“That’s a pretty big exception. We’re basically helping her break the law.”

“Don’t get smart with me, you’re on thin ice,” he raises his voice.

“For following the rules,” I’m legitimately confused.

“That’s your problem; you think you’re smarter than everyone Alan,” he points a finger at me.

“It’s actually Alexandre, like Alexandre Dumas. You can call me Alex, Andre, or Dre I’m fine with any of them.”

“Whatever. You’re untrustworthy and you place your trust in the wrong people. I know you’re applying for other jobs.”

“That’s not illegal.”

“You’re too ambitious, you need to know your spot, and stay in it. You’re disloyal and nobody wants a disloyal person working for them.”

Alright, I’ve got it now. He’s upset I applied for another job. I guess I should scratch credit unions off my jobs search if they’re going to tell my boss I’m looking for a new job. I thought I was being smart; only using my personal computer, and taking interviews on days off or on my lunch. Someone spilled the beans, but situations like this are why I don’t want to be here any longer. The pay isn’t really good enough to take his random outbursts.

“You don’t have anything to say for yourself? You’re just going to sit there emotionless? Are you fucking robot?”

He’s really making me mad, but I don’t get the option to just run around the office shouting and slamming things down to make a point. When I raise my voice, people get nervous. They feel threatened and I’m suddenly the villain. I know if I yell back at him, I’ll be getting fired today. That’s what he wants, and I’m not going to give him that joy.

“You know what,” Todd starts to point again. “You’re on probation. Consider this your warning, next time I have this talk with you, you’re fired. Maybe this will teach you to how to be a valuable part of the team.”

I don’t get a chance to respond before he leaves my office. Once I hear his door slam down the hall I make my way out through the back door. Screw him. I could grab him by his little throat and fling him into traffic. The whole thing was just a setup for him to tell me how much he disliked me. I don’t like him either. By the time I make it to my car I haven’t decided if I should just drive away or of I should drive my car through the building. If I come in from the south side of the building, I can hit his desk. I just take a deep breath and exhale instead. My car insurance rates would never go down if I did that.

I check my phone after I’ve calmed down a little. I’ve got a text from Kai. He needs my help with Liberty and Strife. Kai is a good player but he gets into trouble all of the time. I guess that’s something to look forward to today.

Liberty and Strife

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0.5 - Gang Gang

July 15, 2023 Darrell S.

“Hey, we don’t really want any trouble,” Kai speaks to the guard as we approach the warehouse.

“Well you got it,” the guard responds.

“We’re just here to talk to Zhang,” Kai continues.

“No Zhang here,” the guard responds.

Kai keeps trying to talk it out but I take note of the guard. He’s a splicer. I’m not sure Kai has picked up on the fact that the guy doesn’t have any eyelids yet and his speech is hindered. Probably got a tongue to lick his eyes like those little lizards. What are they called?

The guard reaches behind his back, going for a gun, Kai is too trustful. I shove Kai to the side at the same time equipping a shotgun. The guard fires first, his handgun lands center of my chest, but I’ve built my character up enough and equipped enough body armor that it doesn’t matter. Two quick blast from my shotgun and the guard slumps against the wall, his gun sliding the side.

“Guess you should have got Geico,” I laugh to myself.

“What are you talking about,” Kai looks at me confused.

“Geckos, the guy had eyes like a gecko.”

“I hate you sometimes,” Kai laughs as he rolls a metallic ball with a flashing light in his hand.

“Spiderbot?”

“Yeah, it’s fun to bring out the classics every now and then,” Kai throws the ball high into the air towards a vent on the warehouse.

The ball sticks to the wall before sprouting eight legs. A small laser cuts a hole in the vent and scurries into the warehouse. Kai hums a song to himself as he pilots the bot through some kind of remote on his wrist. Bringing out classics seems like a fun idea. I switch an assault rifle. I’ve become a fan of shotguns so I don’t use automatic weapons too often these days. I like to get in close.

“What are you humming,” I ask Kai as he hands me an earpiece.

“Mariah Carey, We Belong Together.”

“The remix with Jay Z is crazy,” I affix the earpiece.

“Mariah Carey plus hood dude, it never misses.”

“Mariah Carey and The Lox, Mariah Carey and fat Gucci Mane.”

“Mariah Carey and ODB,” Kai adds.

“That’s a good one.”

“You going through the front?”

“Yeah, I want to wrap this up quickly. Hopefully we can see Daamin win the competition.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Do me the honors,” I point at the door.

“Spider bot is dispersing smoke through the ventilation right now. I’ll feed you directions,” Kai tosses a small coin at the door and it’s blown in.

I rush in fire at the first thing I see moving, it shouts and drops to the ground. I feel the spiderbot hop onto my shoulder. Kai comes in through the earpiece and becomes my eyes. I only need a general area to aim at with an assault rifle. I reload and do a 180 degree turn as Kai warns me of an enemy approaching me from behind. It’s not a hard fight, but something about it is bothering me. Some of the enemies aren’t moving like NPCs. They’re doing their own thing. Trying to flank me, switching weapons, using healing items liberally. It’s not sitting right with me, even as I fire the last round and the smoke clears out.

“Good job, our target should be behind the door right here,” Kai joins me in person.

“Hey, did that fight seem odd to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“As if some of them were players, not NPCs.”

Kai surveys the room, then he starts counting. “You took out 27 people. There’re 19 bodies, but 27 opportunities to loot. Meaning eight of the targets were human.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Human and NPC gangs don’t work together. The game doesn’t allow for that. NPC gangs have everything scripted.”

“You think they hacked the game?”

“If they did would they have left items that we can loot?”

“Good point.”

The two of us ponder the possibility of the game being broken or changing for a while silently. For the two of us, it means nothing. We’ll just find a new game to play. For other folks, well this is their all. They’ve made this game more important than their actual lives.

“I guess we should finish the mission,” Kai breaks the silence.

Behind the door is nothing but an old janitor’s closet with a desk forced in. Behind the desk Zhang sits on the lap of a guy who looks to made up of equal parts Kid Rock, Joe Dirt and actual dirt. I wouldn’t be surprised if he lived in this closet. He moves to shout.

“Don’t move Wade,” I aim my gun at him. The fun of the game has suddenly vanished for me.

“Your gang is gone. Gone to hell specifically,” Kai leans on the doorway.

“Who are you,” Wade asks.

“We’re the guys come to take Zhang home,” Kai responds.

“I can’t live without my baby,” Wade screams again.

“Hey,” I shout. “If you don’t stop screaming I’ll just blow your head off.” Wade stops immediately.

“Zhang, you have to go home.”

“I can’t,” Zhang finally speaks. “Father is an evil man. His company gouges prices and exploits cheap labor. They pollute the planet and lie about it. They will drive the world into eternal darkness if nothing is done.” Kai and I share a glance before we burst into laughter. “This is not funny,” Zhang continues.

“Baby,” Kai holds up a hand. “That’s called late stage capitalism. We’re all victims. The best thing you can do is take your rich daddy’s money and spend it on good causes that can help improve the world.”

“Alright,” I put the gun down. “Let’s get out of here.”

Zhang and Wade both begin to shout about how they’re refusing to leave. Kai tries to reason with them, but I’m ready to wrap this up. Everyone thinks she’s been kidnapped anyway, why don’t we kidnap her. That’s not a bad idea. I scroll through my inventory until I stop on sleep grenades. Perfect. I drop two in the room but nobody seems to notice. I take Kai’s hand and close the door, leaving Wade and Zhang to fall asleep.

“Just let them sleep, we’ll kidnap them in a few minutes when the gas is gone,” Kai just stares at me blankly before squeezing my hand. “Oh, sorry,” I drop his hand. “Just wanted to get out of there before the gas got us too.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Kai just nods.

“You’re not going to call it brash and reckless,” I ask.

“Um, yes. Reckless, brash. Heart stopping. Pulse raising,” Kai trails off. He must have gotten a good dose of the smoke.

Hunger Pangs

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0.4 - Flipper Not Floppy

June 03, 2023 Darrell S.

Deng Yi, an NPC, but a well known NPC. He's the richest NPC by far, responsible for founding several billion dollar companies within the game world. Yi also has alleged ties to the underworld based on his character profile. He hasn't hired us for anything beyond the law. We've been hired to retrieve what he called his, "most prized posession." The meeting with Yi was brief but he gave me bad vibes. Extremely posessive and doing a lot to remind everyone in the room that he was in charge. The way he talked about his "posession." From the way he was announced before he entered the room, then flanked by two huge bodyguards and then exited without anything more than telling us what he would pay.

"Crazy how he thinks someone took his daughter," Kai says as we're left alone in her bedroom. "It's even crazier that there hasn't been any ransom request yet."

Kai summons a few drones that do the hard work of searching for clues. DNA samples that don't match the daughter, things that aren't where they should be, things that don't belong. Nothing looks crazy to me. Looks like every other young adult woman's bedroom I've been in. A few pieces of art that don't really form a cohesive theme, stuffed animals from childhood that have sentimental values. Clothes all over the place, some of which that have never been worn before. The drones do their work and Kai either saves or discards them based on if they're useful or not.

"Did Li give you bad vibes," I whisper hoping not to alert the guards outside. "He didn't even tell us his daughter's name."

"Zhang, it was on the bedroom door. But yeah, but I don't think he killed his daughter and is using the chaos in the city to hide her body," Kai jokes.

"Wow; I wasn't going that far. I just think he's kind of an out of touch asshole. He thinks of his daughter as a posession, not a person. It took fifteen minutes of him rambling until mentioning that his most valuable posession was his daughter not some object. That just screams she ran away to me. I'd run away if I was her."

"Were you a runaway too," Kai asks passively.

"She's a little old to be called a runaway. Let's just say she chose to leave. Wait, were you a runaway?"

"For a few weeks before they caught me trying to hop on a bus headed to San Francisco."

"Why San Francisco?"

"Heard it was a cool place."

I don't press the issue. Kai has a tendency to over share, and then expects me to do the same. I'm sure he had a good reason for running away, but it's probably good if I don't hear about it. I don't ask more and he doesn't explain. Instead I start to snoop through her diary. Real detective work, not TV magic.

There's nothing surprising. She dislikes her dad. She's a grown woman who has her own dreams and aspirations. His need for control is why she never wants to be around him anymore. A little childish for someone her age, but nothing surprising. At least not until the part where she spends 20 pages describing how much she loves her boyfriend and his new splicer modifications. She didn't love the scales at first but they sparkle now and it's great. I skip the next five pages about their love making and pass the journal to Kai to examine.

"Woah, didn't know that was possible," Kai says as he turns a page and quickly reads the next page.

"What is it," I ask.

"He's got the dolphin upgrade, can do some crazy stuff with that. I thought it was a myth."

"I'm not up on my splicer modifications, what can dolphin DNA do?"

"Well they're smart creatures, they can do a lot. But the one he got, woah. It's a jaw dropper."

"Get to the point."

"Dolphins have a prehensile penis and this guy has been doing some things that can only be described as incredible."

"Thanks, that's enough."

"They're big too. Like a a pool noodle and he's just rearanging her insides. He's massaging parts you probably can't even reach."

"How do you know I can't reach?"

"I'm just saying."

"Just saying I'm small because I'm a big man."

"But are you big where it counts?"

The two of us burst into laughter at the aburdity of the whole situation. She's basically writing erotica in her journal, and her dad doesn't know where she's at.

"Dickmatized," Kai continues to laugh.

"We got a name for this guy?"

"Wade Dolphin Dick Calvert."

"Think you can track him down?"

"Does a dolphin piss in the ocean," Kai asks causing us to have another fit of laughter. It's only a few seconds before he has a whole profile pulled up on the guy. A chronic splicer, high ranking member of an NPC gang. Nothing else important. He's our first stop to getting Zhang back home. At least long enough for us to get paid.

"Daamin's still in this," Kai says as we exit the mansion.

"I got 5 dollars that says he wins it all."

"I got five on it."

Hunger Pangs

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0.3 - Launchpad

May 13, 2023 Darrell S.

The competition is still going strong. We’re currently watching a sniper currently rushing up the stairs of an office building. She’s winded, not used to getting involved in close combat. Her footsteps echo through the stairwell as she tries to make it to a safe location. A rooftop would do her no good right now. She’s being chased by a man in a red helmet laughing manically as if he’s not even breaking a sweat. A flying dagger hits her in the ankle and she tumbles as her tormentor chases.

“I told you it’s like a horror movie if we watch Daamin’s victims instead,” Kai laughs as the woman falls.

“You’re right, but if she stays on the ground we need to find something else to do.”

The woman doesn’t try to stand up. She’s sliding backwards with her hand up yelling no. This is too much like every bad horror movie I’ve ever seen. Daamin stabs her with one of his swords and she lets out a high-pitched squeal before her voice vanishes as her body shatters into hundreds of pieces of what looks like glass. Like a mad man he leaps over the banister and free falls down to the ground floor landing in a kneeling position.

“So, I guess he’s a super hero today instead of an anime character,” I point out.

“Either way, he needs therapy,” Kai shrugs.

“How many people left in the competition?”

“Entirely too many.”

“Want to take a job while he cuts down the competition?”

“You,” Kai seems shocked. “Mr. Solo Dolo, Virtual Kid Cudi, wants to go on a mission, together? As a team? Woah, I feel special,” Kai feigns surprise.

“We’ve gone on missions together before. Plenty of them.”

“Yeah, but I invite you, and trick you into joining.”

“Alright, if you don’t want to go, we can just watch Daamin murder people.”

“Nope,” Kai opens a prompt and accepts the first mission on the list.

“You don’t even know what we’re going to do?”

“That’s part of the fun, right? It’s an Iconic Kai move.”

“You’re not iconic.”

“Not to you, but somebody likes it.”

“Whatever, you’re driving.”

“Hmm,” Kai has a thought.

“What’s wrong?”

“No driving.”

“Because of the competition?”

“No, because this is a big money job and they’re sending a helicopter to our location. We should head to the roof.”

From the rooftop we can’t make out the chaos in the streets below as people but the radio in my ear assures there’s plenty of fresh violence down below. I live pretty high up, and I’ve got a balcony I never use, so I’ve never been on the roof before. Admittedly it makes me a little queasy. Kai seems unbothered, conducting two photo drones to get various pictures of him. I force myself to smile for a few just to please him.

The wind picks up as a golden helicopter inches closer to the roof. When Kai said big money, he meant big money. The helicopter didn’t even land, just extended a matching gold ramp for us to walk across. The inside of the helicopter is a soft leather like material that I probably can’t pronounce or afford.

I’ve never been on a helicopter in my real life, or an airplane, or even past the fifth rung on a ladder. Inside a video game is an interesting way to realize that I’m not height avoidant, but actually terrified of heights. The pilot is giving us details of the job and Kai is making small talk with the pilot but I can’t hear them. Occasionally Kai’s voice will pop in as he talks about how the city looks beautiful up here or the pilot will point out some landmark. I don’t care about any of that, I’m focusing on my breathing. The second thing I’ve learned on this flight is what a panic attack feels like.

“Dre, Dre,” I feel a sting on my face, and notice Kai’s eyes staring directly into mine. “Hey, focus on me, not the flight.”

“What,” I’m trying to make sense of what Kai is saying.

“I didn’t know you were scared of heights.”

“I’m not. I’m not scared,” I argue.

“Oh, you’re scared,” the pilot laughs. “Nothing wrong with it. I’ve seen bigger and stronger men than you be afraid. I really served in Iraq, they don’t train you to be this high in the air. You can trust me, it’s a game, no mechanical issues and we’re well above the folks fighting down there, so no need to worry.”

The pilot’s words don’t do anything for me. I just focus on Kai. Usually I would pull away because he likes to touch people, and I don’t like to be touched. This time I just let him rest his hands on my cheeks and lead me through some breathing exercises until we get close to a landing.

“Coming in nice and slow,” the pilot’s voice crackles as the helipad gets closer.

I’m the first one out of the helicopter. I don’t intend to kiss the ground but I trip, and faceplant. Kai and the pilot stifle laughter, but I don’t care. This is solid ground, and I missed it.

“Welcome to Herron Hills, where the rich come to live with their eyes wide closed,” the pilot gives us an introduction.

“Thanks, but spare me the tour for a moment. I need to get myself together,” I pick myself up from the ground.

“I kind of like the helpless Dre. It’s cute,” Kai laughs.

“Shut up.”

“That’s not what you were saying in the air. You were all like, thank you Kai, save me Kai,” he laughs.

“I didn’t say any of that,” I argue.

“Maybe, I imagined that part,” Kai continues to laugh.

“You boys are a real hoot,” the pilot leads us towards a mansion that would seem generic if not for the bright red color scheme.

Hunger Pangs

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0.2 - Junkyard Dog

March 17, 2023 Darrell S.

Sixteen thousand people were playing for a shot at the prize. I got to read that much before I was sent hurtling towards the Earth from thousands of feet above. The sky filled with players all trying to aim their bodies and select a landing location. A few hold hands, trying to link up and work as teams. Others tried deploying their parachutes early to have more control over where and when they land. Personally, I’m trying to win and that means taking out the competition. Usually, I try to go non-lethal, but seeing as how nobody loses any progress in this game, I can pull out the big guns.

I equip and assault rifle and go to town. First taking aim at people who already opened their parachutes. It’s going to be a tough landing when your chute is torn to shreds. Then I take aim at those teaming up. It’s not against the rules, but I’m a hater and I don’t like seeing that. Others start to angle their bodies, trying to float away with the madman who has a gun. A few people like my idea and start firing their own weapons. When the sky is full of chaos, that’s my cue to escape.

I nose dive, picking up speed; the wind forces me to close my eyes. A beeping noise in my ear lets me know I’m close to impact. I straighten out my body, slowing my fall before pulling the cord for my parachute. I’m yanked backwards as the chute catches the wind. I’ve never taken the opportunity to go skydiving in the game before, so I’m not sure how to guide my parachute. I’m content wherever the wind takes me as long as I land safely. That shouldn’t be a problem, except I started a gun fight in the air above me and now I’m a gently floating target.

A junkyard comes into sight below me. Must mean I’m at the South Side of the city. I can already hear gunshots mixing with the wind as it passes my ears. The first bullet passes by me as I’m about 5 feet from the ground. I open fire with my assault rifle; hoping to clear some room for a nice landing. I ditch the parachute as soon as my feet touch the ground. I dive behind an old car and land in a puddle of something brown that smells horrible. I really enjoy how immersive this game can be, but I hate it too. I switch to a shotgun and prepare some grenades. I wait for a moment of silence as everyone reloads.

I rush out into the open flinging grenades like a mad man and firing at anyone I see. I feel bad as fill the chest of a teenager with lead from my shotgun. He let’s off a string of expletives only a teenager just learning to curse would as his body vanishes from existence and he’s booted from the tournament. A shot pierces my shoulder from behind. I turn and return fire on someone’s grandmother. Maybe someone’s grandmother. Might just be someone who wants their character to look old. I keep sprinting until I make the exit, not thinking of anything but survival.

I smash the window of a garbage truck parked outside and turn the key. For a moment I pause to think what’s wrong with me. Why am I doing grand theft? Because I want to get rich, there’s no other reason. If I can get somewhere safe and hide out, I’ll be good. Daamin has a few safehouses in the badlands I can hide at.

A small group of people armed with guns has made their way to the junkyard. They’re probably working together and looking for groups of players to take out, or heard all the gunshots. I duck down and hope they don’t see me. Glass shatters and falls onto me, letting me know they saw me. They had a great view of me because they knew exactly where to shoot. I could probably step out and get shot up with some dignity.

I hold my hands up to surrender and nobody shoots. I slowly rise up and back into the seat. There’s probably close to twenty people blocking the exit, all with guns drawn. I slowly open the driver’s side door. Wait, there’s no permadeath, I’m not going to get a chance to try this again. I take a deep breath and slam my foot on the gas. The truck shoots forward with more speed than I expect. I fire my own assault rifle. If this was an action movie it’s the part where my bullets smash into theirs and nobody gets shot. But it’s not a movie, and I get hit plenty of times. My health is low but they stop shooting as the truck turns the first person into a speedbump and follows up with a few more. I can’t help but laugh like an insane person as I make it through the gate and onto the road. I can’t believe that worked.

A sudden warmth fills the air around me, my hearing fades away, replaced only with ringing and slowly my vision turns white.

”Thank you for playing, please enjoy the consolation prize,” a disembodied voice speaks to me from the white void.

When my vision returns I’m standing in my apartment wearing a t-shirt that says, “Hunger Pangs Participant.” I don’t even know what that means. I’m sure it’s a reference to something Daamin could explain.

Hunger Pangs

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0.1 - Reunited

March 03, 2023 Darrell S.

“I could use that cash,” was the text Kai sent me this morning. We had been discussing the upcoming tournament in Liberty and Strife. It’s virtual reality, but it’s still a fight to the death. From time to time, they have these in game events and this is just the latest. Some are cool, but this one I’ve got no interest in. Fighting to the death for money just doesn’t excite me. Still, I log into the game when I get home from work, loading into my virtual loft.

It’s just a game, but the comforts it provides are just incredible and the things others create are just as good as the real world. People have filmed entire movies in this world, and I love to watch them. I head upstairs to lay across my bed and watch movies projected on the ceiling, a comfort that I just can’t get in the real world. I spot Kai laying in my bed snoring as some cartoon featuring tigers fighting giant monsters plays on the ceiling up above. He’s used a trench coat made of some kind of leather like material and seems unbothered by my appearance.

“Kai, why are you in my bed,” I ask repeatedly poking him in the cheek.

“Don’t act like it’s the first time,” he groans.

“It is the first time that I know of,” I respond then pause, “do you just let yourself in and sleep here? You don’t even need to sleep, it’s a game.”

“You gave me a key, what else would I use it for?”

“Not sleeping in my bed.”

Kai grabs my arm and yanks me onto the bed with him, “we can share the bed and watch a movie together,” he holds me tight.

“You’re a weird guy,” I manage to fight free of Kai as the doorbell rings.

“I never go any further than you let me,” he shrugs before looking away when I make eye contact.

The doorbell rings again, “I’ve got to get that.”

I could have just opened my menu and allowed access but Kai holding me hostage on a bed isn’t something I find enjoyable. I open the door to Daamin, the third part of our little crew and the one person who doesn’t have a character model based on himself. Today Daamin is dark skinned bald man wearing a checkered scarf around his neck over some kind of military gear with a brown leather jacket and carrying a red helmet that doesn’t seem to have a place to see out of.

“What took you so long to answer,” Daamin makes his way in. No manners on him.

“Kai was being weird,” I respond.

“You could have stopped me if you didn’t like it,” Kai shouts down from the bedroom loft.

“I did stop you,” I shout back.

“Wow, you bicker like an old married couple. I mean, you’re both old but did you get married,” Daamin asks with a light shove to my shoulder.

“You’re in my home, I could kill you right now and you wouldn’t even be able to fight back,” I stare into his eyes.

“My next avatar, is going to be bigger than you, and then you won’t be so tough.”

Kai flips down from the loft in dramatic fashion wearing knee high white boots, baby blue tights complete with cargo pockets and just a matching blue bulletproof vest. “Why are you dressed like you’re about fight a war against Smurfs,” I ask.

“Same reason Daamin is dressed like a pirate with a motorcycle fetish,” Kai responds.

“I’m actually dressed like Red Hood during a mission in,” Daamin starts but Kai stops him.

“We’ve got a death match to win, and I don’t need your nerd talk weighing me down.”

“But Red Hood is the best robin.”

“Is Red Hood going to help one of us become an instant millionaire?”

I cut in, “it’s in game money. You’d just blow it on luxury game items.”

Kai nods, “yes but I sell those items for real money and money is as important as breathing or water.”

“I’m not participating,” Daamin makes his way toward my kitchen.

“Why not? You’re the best fighter by a mile,” Kai asks.

“Three reasons. One, there are currently over ten thousand people signed up for this. The odds of winning are incredibly low. Especially for a mele fighter like myself. Two, the gangs and corps are already planning strategies on how to work together. There’re some rumors about an invincible duo of momma bear and poppa bear. I’m just not up for getting jumped. Third, I just don’t feel like it.” Daamin finishes his speech and takes a sandwich from my fridge.

“You two realize you don’t live here right,” I ask as Daamin bites down on the sandwich.

“Yeah,” Daamin says taking a seat on the couch. “But you treat your virtual home like a real home. You buy food, you get the best furniture, you clean even when you don’t have to.”

Kai nods, “your virtual home is better than my real home.”

“My virtual home is better than my real home I argue.”

“Which is why you should let me move in here and be your roommate.”

“Sorry, only one bed.”

“It’s a king size and I don’t mind sharing a bed with you.”

“Gross,” Daamin says with a mouth full of my sandwich.

A system notification pops informing us the event is about to begin and we all wait as Kai and Daamin stare each other down. Daamin thinking Kai is too afraid and Kai sure that Daamin is lying.

“Bye,” Kai makes a few motions on his menu and vanishes from the room.

“You going to go get him? You know you’re a dynamic duo; he can’t survive without you,” Daamin laughs.

I sigh, “yeah, I’m going to get him,” I open up my menu and join the event.

“Good luck,” Daamin waves goodbye as if he’s not going to join as soon as I vanish from my apartment.

Hunger Pangs

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