What I thought was just a brief stop during my search for Mathis Michaels has turned into yet another disaster. A-Crash has come to this low-tier server. Ro-Har, the previously calm and cocky Admin stands silent, his lips quivering. Overwhelmed by the situation that is occurring while all the villagers crowd around him.

A high-pitched ringing and a faint white light start emanating from within Ro-Har’s rock pouch. Someone’s trying to contact him through his Port Drive. Ro-Har still stands unmoving, too immersed in his own sense of crippling hopelessness to notice anything else around him.

Unfortunately, an Admin cannot use another's Port Drive as it is an item that is program-bound to one’s individual data. At least, under normal conditions.

Annoyed, I walk over to Ro-Har, pushing my way into the crowd, and slap him across the face to snap him back to reality. I’d be lying if I said I don’t feel what the SOLs would call 'catharsis'.

“I know what it’s like to see your server, your whole world, be torn apart by A-Crash. But it’s times like these where we need to keep calm and perform our duty.”

The crowd, in response, goes silent—some with their mouths open, aghast that I’ve hit their god, and others staring daggers into me.

“Hey! Why did you hit me?” Ro-Har shouts.

In my tired irritation with his attitude, I sigh, put a hand on my face, and tell him, “Your Port Drive is ringing.”

“Oh right, thanks,” Ro-Har responds before clearing his throat and turning to address his people.

“Fear not! We shall overcome this crisis. Just have faith, and we will prevail!” Ro-Har lifts his right arm in the air and looks down like he has just uttered a speech straight out of Shakespeare (my server was a school, I know my literature).

The crowd begins chanting, “Ro-Har! Ro-Har! Ro-Har!”

Ro-Har then slinks off to the stairs leading to the hangar below. I follow behind, pushing through the large crowd. As I walk down the stairs, I see Ro-Har kneeling on the floor, rummaging through his rock pouch. By the time I make my way down, Ro-Har seems to have found his Port Drive, though not before turning the hangar pad into a garden of rocks having different colors and features.

What kind of rocks are these?

Ro-Har exhales deeply before pulling up the visual communication window on a bright-white rock and pushing the green confirm button on the right.

Za-Ka appears on the screen, his face covered in sweat, and yells, “Ro-Har! What the flit is going on here?!”

Ro-Har, now of all times, seems to be at a loss for words as all he can say back is, “I-I-I-I don’t know!”

“Damn tree dweller! My people are struggling to find cover while you laze around in your tree without a care.”

“Seriously, do you need to be like that?” Ro-Har asks while nervously scratching his head.

“What happened to the Admin you captured?” Ro-Har responds without missing a beat

“I didn’t—” Ro-Har tries to correct Za-Ka before taking a deep breath, most likely realizing that he has more important matters to deal with.

He grabs me by the arm and lightly pulls me over to the view screen.

“Here she is,” Ro-Har tells Za-Ka while pointing his left thumb out in my direction.

“She seems to know what’s going on here, so direct your questions at her.”

As soon as he tries to redirect the conversation to me, the tree starts to shack. As Ro-Har and I stumble, a piercing roar is let out underneath the tree.

“Shit, I gotta take this. You two, continue your talk.”

Ro-Har then clicks the Stand By button on the upper-right corner of the view screen, runs off the platform, and soon starts swinging on the vines, spear in hand. Since the view screen is on Stand By mode, it remains active for as long as Ro-Har is conscious.

“Okay, give me the details,” Za-Ka commands, getting straight to the point.

I explain everything I know about A-Crash, how it infiltrates the servers, and everything I’ve been through up till now.

“Well . . . damn. Think this can get any more hopeless?” Za-Ka lets out a light chuckle, trying to find levity in this grave situation.

As we are talking, all the pterodactyls and birds in the server are screeching and flying haphazardly in the background. Not targeting anything in particular, just attacking each other, grabbing villagers, and ramming into the tree. It’s truly horrifying, but at this point, I think I am already desensitized to the sight of the world tearing itself apart.

“So, is there any way to deal with this?” Za-Ka asks.

I turn away from the screen and tell him, “No. I’m afraid not.” My lips are quivering, and my hand's ball into a fist, shaking involuntarily.

“Then what the bleep are you doing here anyway? What did you hope to accomplish?” Za-Ka chides me as if I already don’t feel bad enough.

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“My mission was to warn the servers of the impending danger of A-Crash. I had no idea it was coming to this server as quickly as it did,” I explain to him, though that’s no excuse for failing to warn either him or Ro-Har properly.

I let my guard down for a moment, risking the lives of many SOLs in the process.

Za-Ka lets out a frustrated sigh and asks me, “Okay, what’s the plan now?”

“Well, I need to warn the other servers about the dangers of—”

“So you have no plan, do you?” Za-Ka rudely interrupts me, immediately followed by a roar coming from his view screen. He begins running, causing the image on the view screen to shake uncontrollably.

“Look, about all I can suggest is try to make your way to the Developers’ Room. It’s on the far reaches of the upper-tier servers. Only a select few can enter it,” Za-Ka hurriedly says, trying to get all that information out while the sound of large, rushing footsteps crash down in the background.

“Developers’ Room? How do I even begin to enter that?” I ask Za-Ka, shocked by his idea of a plan.

If I have no plan, Za-Ka has a desperate one. I have heard rumors of the Developers’ Room before. It is a space outside the system. But that’s all they are, rumors. Even if it does exist, what will be in the room that can be used to combat A-Crash? Before I can ask Za-Ka why he would make that suggestion, the viewscreen vanishes.

Oh no, that isn’t good.

The view screen’s sudden disappearance can only mean that Ro-Har is in danger. Before I think about doing anything rash, I pull out my Port Drive and ask it if I can make the jump. So much has occurred, I’ve forgotten about the time limit.

My Port Drive confirms, “All clear. Server shift is ready for operation.”

Okay then, there is nothing stopping me from leaving this blipping glitch hole and, at the very least, finding Mathis Michaels before he finds any trouble. I’ll worry about the Developers’ Room later.

As I try to prepare for a server jump, I keep thinking about Ro-Har, Za-Ka, and the danger they have found themselves in. Sure, Ro-Har gets on my last nerve, and Za-Ka would just tell me to focus on the mission, as I should anyway, but I can’t just leave them behind. At the same time, I have no idea how to swing on vines or any other skill that can be useful on this server. I am just a high school student. As the dinosaurs and wildlife descend into madness, I stand quietly, trying to find which course of action I shall take . . .

Shimatta!

I start running, avoiding the rocks Ro-Har has not picked up, and dive off the platform. As I am free-falling, I scan the area for vines I could grab onto. Soon I take hold of a vine, sliding down until I take a firm hold. My momentum is slowed by bouncing off the nearby trees.

Ouch!

I bob back and forth, trying to regain the momentum that has been lost by my rough landing.

Why am I doing this again? Right, Za-Ka and maybe Ro-Har can give me information about the Developers’ Room. Those two seem to know about aspects of the system that I don’t, and if Za-Ka knows about the Developers’ Room, Ro-Har must too.

After a couple of minutes, I finally get back into the swing of things (leave me alone—after all I’ve been through, I deserve a bad pun). Before I head out, I pull out my Port Drive and ask it to track Ro-Har and Za-Ka’s signal, projecting a map from the pendant. One signal is a couple of minutes from my location; meanwhile, the other is an hour away. Before I can make a definitive decision, I see a crowd of birds flying toward me. I just slide down the vine to the ground below and then start running toward the nearby signal.

After a few minutes of running, I find Ro-Har lying unconscious on top of the body of a seemingly slain Tyrannosaurus. The only blood I see is that of the T. Rex, a spear impaled on its side. I climb up the body of the giant dinosaur and start tapping Ro-Har’s face to wake him up. Either Ro-Har is severely injured, or he is a really heavy sleeper because my prodding only makes him turn on his side.

Once again I slap him in the face as hard as I can, which causes him to jerk awake right up and shout, “What the blip, man?!”

Normally, I would be more courteous, but I don’t have time to patch him up or let him rest. I need to ask him about whatever he knows.

Without wasting time, I ask Ro-Har, “Do you know anything about the Developers’ Room?”

“D-D-Dev Room? Why did you bring that up? Don’t tell me . . .”

“Za-Ka told me to find it,” I confirm.

“Of course,” Ro-Har replies with an exasperated sigh.

“Now answer my question,” I order him.

“I-I don’t know anything. The Dev Room is just . . . just an old wives’ tale, okay?” Ro-Har answers, trying to dissuade me. He’s not doing a good job.

I honestly thought he would not know anything, but it seems like my hunch has been false.

Once again, I hear stampeding footsteps rushing toward our direction. I lift Ro-Har and have him lean on me.

“We need to find cover,” I tell him.

Ro-Har gives a slight smile and quips back, “Even I could have told you that.”

“This conversation isn’t over,” I remind him, glaring at him to make sure he doesn’t forget.

“Fine, fine! But we can’t keep talking if we're dead,” Ro-Har tries to brush me off.

However, it seems like the gravity of his words has quickly gotten to him as he just mumbles, “Dead? Damn it!”

As we get down from the large dinosaur corpse, purple light begins to shine, lighting the entire forest.

No, it’s too late.

As I try to hold in my panic, Ro-Har doesn’t even try. He just keeps yelling, “Shit! Shit! Shit!”

I no longer have any choice; I have to activate a server shift now. Using my left arm, I pull out my Port Drive and tell it, “Initiate server shif—”

Before I can complete the order, my shoulder begins acting up again, the stinging pain becoming as sharp as it has ever been, forcing me down to my knees.

As I grasp my shoulder, screaming in agony, I can only catch a peek at Ro-Har’s face, his eyes darting around and his expression panicked. He then grabs me and leans me against him. Ro-Har and I start moving again, trying to find cover, as futile as that may be at this moment.

With what little energy I have left, I force out the words, “W-we n-need to s-s-shift.”

Ro-Har, still panicked yet trying to hold on to reason, asks me, “But . . . what about the server? My people? What about Za-Ka? That bastard can’t hold down this place on his own.”

Sadly, at this instant, I only have one answer, “I’m sorry.”

Ro-Har then begins punching a nearby tree in frustration, putting massive dents into the trunk, and shouts at the top of his lungs, “Damn it alllll!”

For the first time since I met him, I feel sorry for Ro-Har. I can never forget this feeling, the feeling of having failed utterly, having not given this server a proper warning. Though the Developers’ Room is a lead with which I have very little to go on, it’s still a lead. I just need to find Mathis Michaels, and when I figure out what to do with him, I’ll need to make my way to the Developers’ Room.

If only I could use my Port Drive. My only hope is for Ro-Har to use his and “hitch a ride” (as the SOLs say) to the next server.

A dust cloud of stampeding dinosaurs makes its way toward us. Ro-Har, with teeth clenched and his face in an intense glare, tears ready to flow anytime, pulls his Port Drive out of his rock pouch and mumbles, “Initiate server shift.”

When the Port Drive asks him to confirm his order, he yells, “Initiate server shift now, damn it!”

Once again I hold on to Ro-Har for dear life, ready to move forward in my mission. I can only hope that it will only get easier from here, but I highly doubt it will.