Chapter 020

  Grimsborough Vampirs

  Ethan's heart raced as he speed-walked through heavy rain in the darkness of night, eyes bouncing between the mini-map and his surroundings.

  He was almost home, but he saw multiple blurs of movement in his peripheral vision. They scared him, and mostly because he could feel them, even though he didn't know exactly what they were.

  Nothing appeared on his mini-map, but things moved in the shadows. He quickened his pace, breathing heavy as he turned at the next intersection.

  Just three blocks down, he took in the familiar sight of Hollow Court Apartments, now barely visible in the gloomy rain.

  He was actually going to make it home.

  But then a piercing cry for help cut through the sound of the downpour. It was unmistakable; a woman terrified and screaming for her life.

  He froze there, standing in place. How could he ignore that? It was a person's fear on a scale that rarely happened, and it resonated to his bones. It made his stomach sink.

  No matter how much Ethan wanted to get out of the rain and back to the safety of his apartment, he couldn't just leave someone who needed help, could he?

  He turned, listening as the woman screamed again, and he knew she was just a block over. In the distance he saw the figure of a woman moving quickly across the intersection, but she wasn't fast enough. There was a blue name above her head, indicating it was a real player.

  Too far away for his mini-map to read her name, he had to make a choice without knowing who it was or what organization she might be affiliated with. The woman's screams grew louder as he hesitated.

  "Damnit…" he exhaled, looking between his apartment building and the woman. No one else appeared to be helping her as blurs of dark motion zipped back and forth across the same intersection the woman had run.

  Against better judgment Ethan decided to do what he thought was the right thing.

  "It’s just a video game," he reminded himself, and so he made a choice.

  He would at least move closer to see what was going on, and if he could actually help the other player he would.

  Walking towards the intersection where he'd seen them, Ethan tried not to be seen, though he also felt foolish in doing so. Whatever was out there likely already knew he was there.

  The woman was easy to locate, because her screams became amplified from a dark alley she'd run down, getting herself trapped. From the opposite side of the street he was finally able to identify the player.

  Mia Haoyu.

  His heart dropped, suddenly realizing he'd walked into something there was no way he could walk away from. He absolutely had to help her.

  Two shadowy figures without names yelled unintelligible curses at her. She spit in the face of one of the figures, and a quick hand slapped her. She went to the ground with another cry and the two men laughed about it.

  If he turned around and disappeared, Mia wouldn’t actually die; just her avatar in the game. She wouldn’t walk away from the live streaming event with much money, if any, but her time in the simulation would be over.

  Worse yet, once she was back in the real world, she would eventually discover that he'd been able to do something but didn't. The entire world would know what kind of person he was.

  And there was something even more personal to it as well. If he really wanted to become a vampire killer, why would he walk away from his first chance at killing some?

  He had the ability to fight, and he’d just taken ownership of what appeared to be a powerful pair of weapons.

  Ethan did what any sane and logical person would do in this situation. He followed the two unnamed mysterious men into the darkness where they'd cornered Mia.

  "Hey!" He yelled at them as he stood at the mouth of the alley. "Leave the woman alone."

  The tall, pale-skinned man nearest to Mia turned and stared back at Ethan with amusement. The dude was obviously a vampire NPC, and a young one at that, no more than twenty years old.

  He didn't need to pull up a profile to know that much. He still did, just out of curiosity, because there was no name above the guy to confirm his suspicion.

  The thing pointed down at Mia and teased him. "Come to save your girlfriend?"

  The other one in the corner gave a snicker. Ethan couldn't make out his details, but it made sense for that one to be a vampire as well.

  Saying nothing, he chose to ignore the creature's taunt. He read the visible vampire's profile. Grimsborough Vampir, Level Five, Vampir of the Second Moon Den, D-class, Second Moon Den.

  Ethan gulped, his nervousness evident to everyone. But he didn’t care. What the hell is a Vampir? That can't be a typo, can it?

  Mia crawled away from the Grimsborough Vampir while it was distracted. Good move, Ethan thought. Get away from the thing and let me handle it.

  Ethan's heart raced but he still managed to grab Sadie's Fangs from his inventory, placing one blade in each hand slot. The folders he'd been holding inside his overalls fell loose, and random documents had already jumbled around in his pants legs.

  None of that mattered now. He was nervous but tried to mentally prepare. He'd never thrown knives before, but he'd already chosen to step in and risk his life to save hers.

  There had been no time for practice. They were the best and the only weapons he actually had, and… he suddenly realized, weapons that required the Ambidextrous talent to use efficiently.

  The second vampire stepped out from the shadows. He was shorter and older than the first, and pretty much just as dangerous. Grimsborough Vampir, Level Four, Vampir of the Second Moon Den, D-class, Second Moon Den.

  As it joined the first one, both just stood there with mocking grins. It only fueled Ethan's determination to follow through with his stupid decision.

  How hard could it be, right? Just don't miss two shots against two unnatural beings that likely had superpowers. Awesome. I certainly won't die just minutes after losing the protection of the system…

  Once the blades touched his skin, a strange aura flowed through his hands and into his mind. An unexpected force he assumed to be Sadie took half-control of his actions, guiding him in a way he didn't know how to explain.

  Despite absolutely not knowing what the hell he was doing, he felt a sudden reassurance, along with a deep well of mysterious energy. It centered his frame of mind and his posture, allowing him to think clearly and focus on the singular task at hand.

  He took a deep breath and eyed exactly where he wanted to hit the first Vampir, then shifted his feet to ready himself.

  Ethan, almost without realizing it, let loose the left blade with a flick of his wrist and a subtle swing. The sharp dagger flew towards the vampire in the blink of an eye, but missed the guy's face by a hair's breadth as it cocked its head to the side.

  The vampire's eyes widened in surprise, his mocking grin replaced with genuine shock.

  Ethan's confidence surged, and he released the second blade less than a second later. It too barely missed, but it had forced the Vampir to pop his head back in the opposite direction.

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  Well, that didn't last long, Ethan gulped, already out of ammunition. He realized he'd just thrown, and missed, with the only two weapons he had on him except for a hammer and a sawblade.

  At least he learned that he could still use both daggers, just not at the same time. Definitely not ideal, but it made some type of sense at least.

  Time didn't slow down for him as it did in all the movies where slow-motion was used to perfectly encapsulate a dozen lightning-quick actions all happening within a second.

  Instead, what Ethan experienced was more akin to a fast-forward mode. The world sped up, but his mind was still able to see and process everything right along with it.

  The Vampir stepped forward, closing the seventy foot gap between them in a fraction of a second that looked like a blur. It was almost the blink of an eye, and somehow in that span of time, and despite barely knowing her, he was aware that this was how Mia saw things.

  Could she not move and react this quickly? How the hell was he even moving this quickly? Sadie?

  He didn't know how he knew it; he just did. Mia had backed away from the vampires and she leaned against the wall of a building, next to a dumpster. Meanwhile, the level four Vampir prepared to speed forward towards him and back up his buddy.

  It was exactly the same unknowing sense of instinct that suddenly told Ethan to strike again, his own desire being to pierce through the bottom of the first Vampir's jaw and into its brains.

  With what? His kunai blades were…

  SLAT! His left hand burned with instant recognition, the wounds not yet bleeding. It felt like he had multiple paper cuts deep and smooth.

  One of the throwing daggers known as Sadie's Fangs had magically flown back to him of its own desire, the edges cutting into his ungloved and inexperienced hand.

  He hadn’t even needed to think about or summon it. The blade had simply returned to his hand.

  Even as the Vampir's teeth opened towards Ethan's neck, he would do as the blade wanted and his mind desired.

  Now just one or two feet away and still flying quickly through the air towards him, the guy’s fangs would have clamped down on Ethan's neck within a millisecond.

  Only they didn’t.

  Ethan had never moved so fast, with or without the help of some mysterious power. He jabbed up with his left hand clenched around the handle of one blade.

  The Vampir slammed into him right after, but the teeth didn’t find any flesh to bite. It's mouth had been skewered shut by one of Sadie's Fangs. The momentum spun both their bodies to the wet concrete, and Ethan’s shoulder smashed with a roll, until he found the creature on top of him, now straddling.

  SLAT! The other blade found purchase in Ethan's right hand, slicing deep as he caught it. Even before his own mind realized what he was doing, he flicked it towards the level four Vampir now several feet away and coming in hot.

  He didn't get a chance to see if the blade made contact.

  Having jammed the first blade into the first thing’s mouth, it held the jaws shut so he couldn't bite or speak. The Vampir still tried screaming obscenities, but all it managed was to spew a bunch of spit out through clenched teeth, the fetid mouth liquid spraying down on him with the regular rain.

  The blade had pierced through the roof of its mouth and lodged itself in its brain. That didn't mean it was dead. Far from it.

  He suddenly realized his mistake. It was a vampire. He'd done a lot of thinking about killing the blood suckers, but then when it actually came time, he forgot to aim for the damn heart.

  Ethan’s impact with the ground had already sent a jolt of pain through his body, but now the Vampir scratched and clawed at him with nasty jagged fingernails.

  It was fighting with rage and hatred, eyes burning red and cross-eyed, looking at Ethan while trying to see the blade impacted through its own face. It was confused and disoriented, but still fought for survival.

  Ethan fended off the Vampir's attempts at grappling him. It snarled and hissed at him. The wounds on his hands from Sadie's Fangs had started bleeding, and his wounds painted the vampire's clothes in crimson as they tussled.

  He felt the pain, but he pushed through it, shoving and blocking most attempts to get at him. Still, the Vampir's deep scratches added up, each one feeling like a dull shovel digging into his chest and his arms.

  Then he felt another SLAT! in his left hand, clenching with unnatural instinct. One of Sadie's Fangs had returned, and it hurt like hell. Ethan fought against every desire to drop the blade, and instead he squeezed harder, gripping the weapon to add more wounds.

  Fresh blood ran down his left arm, distracting the Vampir long enough for Ethan to think of a plan. He grabbed the handle of the one he'd stuck in its head and yanked it down.

  The vampire screamed out in pain, and focused back on him. Ethan saw confusion in the NPC's eyes as it realized its fate.

  A level three player was killing it? No way.

  He wanted to slam Sadie's Fangs into each side of the Grimsborough Vampir's ribcage, aiming for the heart. The system wouldn't let him. His hands froze, and he had to rethink his strategy.

  Damnit! Should have picked Ambidextrous!

  Letting his left hand drop, he aimed to hit the thing only with the right blade. Success. He pierced it's ribcage and shoved hard into the Vampir's chest cavity.

  The thing squirmed as it screamed up at the night sky, giving the simulation one last cry before it died.

  A blackness spread over its body, radiating out from the chest, and in less than a few seconds the vampire crumbled into a mound of dust. The powdery mess quickly transformed into a bubbly, gritty, gelatin substance as the rain melted it away.

  "HEEELP!!!" Mia gave a muted scream.

  Ethan clamored to his feet, Sadie's Fangs still in his bleeding, injured hands. Dozens of fingernail scars covered his body, shirt stained red and ripped to shreds.

  He was faintly aware of his own appearance, and of the hundreds of paper documents in his overalls that had spilled all down his pants legs and then stuck to him. Not important.

  The level four Vampir held Mia up to the brick wall by her neck. Ethan eyed the thing but said nothing.

  "Don't move another muscle, guy! Or I will crush her neck!"

  Ethan had no doubt the vampire would do that. He felt a similar level of confidence in his ability to flick one or both of the blades into the Vampir's heart before the vampire could do what it said it would.

  Why not? After all, it's just a video game, right?

  Part of him was conflicted by the sudden confidence he felt. Part of him enjoyed it more than anything he'd ever enjoyed. Part of him knew it was only because of Sadie.

  But none of that mattered. He knew he could kill this creature. Aiming for the Vampir's heart, Ethan flicked one blade as if he'd done it a hundred times before.

  "FU!!!" was all the Vampir managed to get out before one of Sadie's Fangs punctured its heart. It too rotted black from its chest and suffered the same powdery-turned-gelatin fate as its friend.

  Mia fell to the ground with a thump and Sadie's Fang returned to Ethan.

  He expectantly winced even before his hand caught it again, adding new gashes to the multiple ones he'd already accumulated. Blood poured out from his clenched hold as he fought back tears from the pain of catching them.

  Mia stood and looked at him cautiously. The rain had drenched her clothes and she would surely have bruises, but she was still alive. "Ethan Jones… Genius boy… How did you do…."

  He watched her eyes drift down to his bleeding hands. He felt dizzy and lightheaded, unable to enjoy his victory over two vampires.

  They were his first kills in the game, and he'd nearly died, but he'd done it. And he'd even saved a beautiful woman at the same time. One things was for certain. The next time he had the option of picking the Ambidextrous talent, he was going to.

  Ethan fell to his knees, his body weak and tired. Before dropping Sadie's Fangs he moved them back to his inventory. Soaking wet papers stuck to the insides of his overalls as he looked around, trying to push away the sudden awareness of his pain and fatigue.

  It's gone. Sadie's gone. I'm myself again, and… So much for learning all that information in the papers I stole from Packley…

  Everything hurt. That was all he could think about after Sadie's presence died away.

  He barely noticed Mia standing over him, concern for his wellbeing stretched across her face. She also looked some type of fearful of him.

  Notifications appeared in the bottom left corner of his view, drawing his attention from the other player.

  You have killed: Grimsborough Vampir, Level Five, Vampir of the Second Moon Den, D-class, Second Moon Den.

  +250 XP

  Bonus XP for killing an enemy greater in level than yourself. Awarded ten percent of enemy's total XP.

  +771 XP

  You have killed: Grimsborough Vampir, Level Four, Vampir of the Second Moon Den, D-class, Second Moon Den.

  +200 XP

  Bonus XP for killing an enemy greater in level than yourself. Awarded five percent of enemy's total XP.

  +565 XP

  You have 5,486 XP total

  !! You have leveled up !!

  Congratulations! You are now level 4

  You need 2,014 more XP to reach level 5

  "Damn…" Ethan coughed, still lightheaded but impressed by the results of killing the two vampires.

  "What?" Mia asked.

  He smirked, but only for a second, as the pain was far too great for him to enjoy the moment.

  Ethan knew he was on the verge of passing out. The cuts on his hands hurt. The blisters on his feet hurt. The fingernail gashes on his arms and chest hurt.

  Maybe worse than all the others, his mind hurt. For less than thirty seconds, because that was about how long the entire fight had lasted, his entire being had felt invaded by a supernatural entity.

  And then just as quickly as she had arrived, she'd vanished, leaving him drained and fatigued from the experience. He also knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would have died without her.

  "Nothing…" Ethan finally answered the woman he'd saved. He thought about the many wounds to his body again, and of the ruined evidence folders now soaking wet in his overalls.

  "You don't look so good, genius boy, but… I know I should thank you for saving me and all."

  Ethan was in massive amounts of pain but he still gave her the best smile he could. "No problem. Want to come back to my place? I don't think it's very safe out here."

  She didn’t laugh at his admittedly lame attempt at humor. Instead, Mia looked cautiously around, exhaled with reluctance, and nodded.

  “Yeah, but don’t try anything.”

  He wanted to tell her it was obvious he wouldn’t, but then thought better of it. That might not be so obvious to her.

  Feeling oddly afflicted by something but not exactly sure what, he looked at his own profile. Sure enough, that Vampir had infected him with something.

  Undead Fever

  Also known as Fever of the Wraith, this common affliction is usually caused by undead creatures of the night, such as mummies, vampires, ghouls, wights, and liches. Symptoms typically include fever, chills, and fatigue that get worse unless remedied. If left untreated, can kill.

  “Great…” Ethan said as they left the alley and made their way through the rain and back to his apartment.

  “What?”

  “I’ve been infected by one of those vampires. I’ll worry about it tomorrow.”

  There wasn’t much else he could do about it right then anyway.