OCTOBER 1986
LEVEL
The surface of the wooden pole is completely smeared with red. Chunks of raw of matter and flesh are glued across it like paper. It’s slowly dripping all over the horrendous blocks of grass that are supposed to make up the ground. Red transformed into green. It’s forming into a large crimson puddle at the bottom.
Player 099234 is silent.
He continues to watch the endless pixelated sky. Somehow, this is different from the last time I was here. We are not anywhere in a forest, but in an open field, lush with square red and white flowers. Oddly enough, it is neither hot or cold. But I have no time to ponder such things—there is only one thing I remember clearly about this place.
The beasts will be back any minute.
I forget how to move in my new body and fall flat upon my face. Scrambling forward, I stumble to the foot of the pole. With a distorted paw, I try to wave a paw across Player 099234’s blood soaked face. His bloodshot eyes do not flicker, but I know he is alive, because his chest is rising. Slowly. But at least it is moving. Yet is he very, very still. He clearly can’t last much longer, and when the game resets, he’ll be in a worse place.
”No, no, no—not again!” I raise my paws over my head. “Why does this keep happening to you? What am I doing wrong? I’m doing so many things wrong.”
He doesn’t answer, of course. Surely, there must be a way to get him down. Maybe there is a stone nearby, something sharp to saw away the wood. But there is only soft grass, warmed by the glowing rays of the pixelated sun above. And that horrendous background music. I can’t figure out where it’s exactly coming from. I could break the pole apart. But that only will cause Player 099234 more pain. He’ll bleed out and die—enter a new cycle.
Will this game reset?
“Look,” I say to Player 099234, although I strongly doubt that he can hear me at all. “I’m going to get you out of this, I swear. Just stay calm. I’ll figure something out.”
A thin line of drool slowly escapes from the corner of his mouth. He draws a weak breath.
Stamina. I try to close my eyes, attempting to do what I did last time. Stamina. Stamina. Come on. The sharp pain in my head does not come. I grit my teeth, waiting for some text to randomly appear in front of me, but nothing. A chill runs down my unnaturally shaped body as I frantically try to focus.
Nothing.
Come on. Think. Think.
No. I can’t think.
My thoughts are exposed. My abductor knows my every move. They figured they left me off too easy before. Stamina? That is too easy. It is only a thing of the past. In this world, it does not exist. In desperation, I glance around at the empty grass field. There is a strange soundtrack playing in the background, although more distorted, out of tune. But I hear the beasts. The beasts are coming. They are coming from afar, and their footsteps can be felt. Player 099234 is meat on a stick for them. His face is scrunched up—he senses they are arriving. His broken limbs hang helplessly on the pole, swinging back and forth in the artificial wind.
I have nothing.
What do I have?
When I gaze at my paws, a pixelated flame first erupts. It is a spark, before gradually growing bigger until my left palm is completely engulfed in it. I lick my dried lips as a hot wind settles over us. Now, I remember. I remember now. The sky is slowly changing colors. The sun is setting rapidly. Now I remember.
Why would my abductor let me have powers? I try to remind myself not to overthink. The less I think—the less exposed my thoughts are. The less they understand, they know.
And they know.
Let’s make a deal, I think. Shall we?
There is a cold air settling over us.
I know you can hear me. I know you can see me. You always complain that I ignore you. So here I am. I am ready to talk to you.
Still nothing. I have no choice left. I see many red eyes gathering in the distance. They are glowing. Hungry. They are waiting for Player 099234’s soul. His eyes are glazed over.
You obviously want to do this your way. So we will. We’ll play this game your way.
Nothing. But I know my abductor is listening.
If I kill every single beast here, you let Player 099234 go. You must let us advance to the next level without crashing the game like before. My throat hurts. You let me and my son leave for good. You give me my child back. And you turn yourself in. You come clean with the police and tell them everything that you’re done.
No response.
If I fail, then I’ll stay with you forever. I’ll be yours. That’s what you really want, isn’t it? That’s why you’re doing all of this. You’re not a bad person. You just want someone to hold you close. And I understand. I really do.
It’s like talking to one of my clients in New York. Being a slut does have some major perks, after all. But I’m not lying in someone’s bedroom or in the passenger seat of their car. I’m in foreign territory. So I reluctantly force myself to continue.
I know what it is like to be lonely. I know how it seems like you’re the only person in the world sometimes. Like there’s an hole in the inside that can’t be filled.
More silence.
I’ll never try to run away from you again. I shiver, even though the words make me ill. God, what am I even saying? The thought of my abductor being close to me makes my skin crawl. I’ll let you love me. I’ll do whatever you please or ask of me. And we can build a home together. I’ll be your family.
I’m biting off much more than I can possibly chew. It’s practically a wishlist at this point. But I really need a solution.
We’ll be family. I swallow hard. My skin is crawling the thought is passing through my mind. Forever. You’ll never have to be lonely again or return to an empty house. You will have a loving family who will support you.
There is a pause.
Don’t you want a family?
I take a slow breath. The urge to scream and curse is too much, but I know I must stay composed. My child is depending on me. I need to adapt to my surroundings. I must be one with them. I try my best to focus again.
Do we have a deal, Programmer?
It’s the first time I’ve ever given my abductor a name. It is night time. The sky is dark.
Do we have one or not? Three chances. You give me three chances to beat this game. If I lose, I am yours. Rush and I will stay with you forever. Just the way you’ve imagined it. We will spend many happy days together.
I hold my breath.
Shivers run down my spine. Three golden stars suddenly appear above my head like a demented halo.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
If finish the game, you’ll keep your word. Without you intentionally crashing anything. You’re not allowed to pull me out. The game should only restart if I lose a star. Got it?
I clench my jaw.
Do we have a deal?
The screeching continues in the distance.
They are impossible to ignore. The beasts come with their snarling white teeth and saliva. They are only just now starting for flood all parts of the large green field, claws leaving marks against the ground. The orange and red flames glow brightly in my paws, the bright light flickering over Player 099234’s limp form. His large, swollen eyes have shifted over to me, with what remaining strength he has. They are filled with pain and desperation, and a tear escapes down his cheek. I do not care who he is. I know he has a family, longing for his safe return every day.
I’m about to piss myself as I step forward.
* * * * * * *
I don’t know how these controls exactly work.
Everytime I move left, I shift right.
The opposite of what I intend to do always occurs, and I’m viciously slammed across the field, watching my health bar drop by 20%. My left eye is so puffy, it’s hard to see out of it. Something sinks into the flesh of my pink thigh?—I think it’s a leg—I don’t know what this body is supposed to be. My skull is bashed deep into the earth, and unimaginable pain seeps through my flesh. My body is glitching as my health bar enters the yellow zone. A thirty percent loss. I attempt to shoot another fireball, but the flames don’t catch on.
My health bar is at bloody ten percent.
The flames barely leave a mark on the beast who’s having a full course meal on my leg. And then it hits me. The powers were simply a decoy from the Programmer. I have no defensive abilities whatsoever. I am as worthless as a slug. I grit my teeth and, in great desperation, try to beat the crap out of the thing that’s enjoying my mangled flesh. If I am to die, I will make sure to do it with dignity. It only makes it angrier, its bright red eyes boring into my soul, before it releases an earth shattering scream. Just as it’s about to completely rip my head off, it suddenly stops and freezes in its tracks.
Player 099234 can’t move, although he’s barely visible amongst the crowd of beings already tearing off his flesh (again) in great chunks. He doesn’t look angry at all at me, and attempts to give me a polite nod. He has accepted my failure. I try to shout at him, but I can’t turn my head to do so. I cannot even open my mouth. I am utterly, utterly stupid.
At this point, we’ll never make it to Level 2.
* * * * * * *
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”Hey.” There’s a tapping on my shoulder. Something. A dark blue shape. It’s shaking my shoulders. “Come back to me. That’s it.”
I cough and attempt to scramble to my feet. The blue figure helps me. I’m still pretty banged up, but my health bar is somewhere in the mid thirties range. There are numbers and Player 099234‘s sprite design all over the place. There is no grass or sky, just static gray. It’s hurting my eyes, making it hard to see. Two rough paws are on my shoulder.
”You alright?”
”Yeah,” I wearily say, before glancing around me. “Where am I, again?”
”Look at me.” The blue figure makes me face them. His voice is deep, yet calm. “I can’t hold this glitch much longer, or else the Programmer will get suspicious. You’re going to get yourself killed if you don’t listen. And as for the deal you made, that was a terrible decision. What the hell were you thinking? It’s people like you who make the worst shots, and then you screw everyone over.”
“I was just trying to help,” I weakly reply.
”Help?” he scoffs. “Help who?”
”Player 099234–”
”No. No, no, no.”
“What do you mean, no? He’s impaled on a damn pole! He’ll die!”
“He’ll be fine. This happens more often than you think. The game will reset.”
”That’s what I don’t want. What if he’s being skinned alive in the next reboot?”
“You need to convince the Programmer to let you out of this place. For goodness sake, they don’t even like sending you down here. You already have an advantage. You do not need to be worrying about deadbeat souls like us. We’ve accepted our fate. We don’t have the option to leave. You do.”
We? “So there’s more of you…here?”
The blue creature scoffs. “It doesn’t matter. Leave while you can. You’re on the Programmer’s good side. I hardly know why, though. You’re practically the stupidest person I’ve ever encountered. You chose to go here deliberately?”
I tilt my head to the side. ”I just have to get to the final level. The Programmer will—”
”What the hell makes you think they’ll keep their end of the bargain?” the blue creature rolls their eyes. “You’re not helping anyone. You’re only making things worse for yourself. You’re going to lose the bet in five minutes flat. You have no experience with this, clearly. There is no consistency with this game, in case you didn’t notice. The rules change each and every time after it either crashes or resets. I’ve tried to rejuvenate your abilities, but you lack any skill with them. So it’s kind of pointless, anyway. All of this is. But I don’t think you fully understand what I’m saying.”
”Isn’t this cheating?”
”Programmer cheated first. They deactivated your powers. They’re not going to play fair. So why bother going through with this?”
”You don’t understand,” I explain, not bothering to ask them how they knew about my situation. “I’m getting my boy out as soon as can. I can’t bring him in this place.”
”I’m begging you to think about your child.”
”I am,” I snapped back. “And I don’t need you to overstep into every single conversation I’ve had with the Programmer. This is all for my child.”
“No, this is all for you. This is an ego boost. You want to prove something. That is the only reason why you’re here in the first place. This is completely unnecessary. You still have a chance to be in the real world. Once that’s gone, it’s gone for good. I’m telling you.”
“You got it all wrong.”
”Take my advice and quit.”
I sigh. “I really suck at this game.”
”Of course you do. I don’t think you’ve ever held a joystick in your life. All the more reason to try your luck in the real world.” He sighs. “It’s been ages since I…well, I won’t go into detail. Just focus on getting home. Stop trying to be a hero here. It’s practically embarrassing. You’re going to get yourself killed. I couldn’t stand there and watch you get tossed around like a rag doll like that. I…I couldn’t.”
I tilt my head to the side. “How do you know how to create a glitch like this in the system?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re familiar with the game’s code.”
”Now—”
”Aren’t you?”
“I ain’t familiar with nothing. I’ve just been here too damn long. And I’m not about to sit by and watch you make another stupid mistake.”
”That can’t be true.”
“I didn’t do this just to argue with you. I can easily reverse it. The Programmer won’t see a thing. They’ve never been thorough in checking their work.” The blue creature turns his pixelated head. “Look. There isn’t enough time for me to keep it like this. And I’ve been here a while, okay? I kind of get to see the run of the mill.” He points at my health bar and the faltering yellow star above my head. “If you decide to stay, that is on you. Managed to fix you up some. But you’re on your own. And I’ve better return back to my level.”
Your level?
”Wait,” I try again. “Where did you come from?” I eagerly step forward. “Are there more of you over there? Perhaps I can talk to—”
”You’re wasting your time,” he bellows. “What the hell do you think this is, a social club? You want to become one of us—doomed to repeat the same level over and over again for another twenty years? Have you lost your mind? You…you have a real body to return to. I don’t. I don’t have anything left of me. Eight long years of wasting away. Pondering about what I could’ve done. What I should’ve done. Now enough with this already. Go home.”
”But you must have some—”
”I know nothing about this. Like I said, I’ve been here for almost a decade.” His voice cracked. He shakes his head and turns away. “Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you, with whatever you plan to do next.” He winces in pain. “I can’t stay long. I really have to go back. Or else you’ll have no stars left.”
“I…owe you one. Thank you. Truly.”
He gives me a long look, before turning away.
“What’s your name? Mine is Juno.”
”Name?” the blue creature murmurs. “No one’s asked me that for a while.”
”Well, you have one, don’t you?”
He looks quite thoughtful for a moment. “Nolan,” he mumbles under his breath. “You never saw me, okay? I don’t exist.”
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Player 099234 groans as he shifts his body to the side. The field is burnt to a crisp, next to the shriveled remains of the beasts. He is bleeding and bruised up, but is lying on the ground. The pole that once impaled his body is completely gone —and I try my best to eliminate any thoughts. I cannot think.
It is almost dawn. I can see the next group of beasts coming our way, like a herd of sheep. This time, when I release a fireball, it coats the corpse of a beast into flames. I exhale. The scent of rotting flesh fills the crisp air.
There is a rapid shuffling next to me, and I am surprised to see Player 099234 up on his feet. He is wearily clutching his side. We glance at each other for a moment, before making our way to the creatures rushing to us. The flames rise in front of my vision again.
Above my head, one of the golden stars flicker, before completely dissolving.