It was nearing midnight in the real world, and Allan was caving fast. Regardless of the stamina his avatar had earned, Allan’s real body was starting to lose the ability to go on.
“Hey James, how much farther do you want to go before calling it quits?” Allan asked, exhausted.
James ignored him and continued to forge ahead.
“James?” Allan asked again, “Hello?”
“Are you talking to me?” James turned around to face him.
The avatar’s eyes were closed.
“Oh…” the realization struck him, “You’re not James, are you?”
“No.” the avatar spoke gruffly, “Now stop following me or I’ll make mincemeat out of your naked Neanderthal hide.”
Allan backed away carefully and struck off on a new path.
Why would James just take off without telling me?
Allan was troubled by this new development, and was extremely tired from the lack of sleep from the night before. He pressed his right temple and was about to log out, when he remembered that he had silenced all of his communication channels prior to logging in so that he could avoid any distractions.
He activated the virtual keyboard and logged into his communication channel. As expected, there were three voicemails, 26 instant messages, and an email from Lily.
I’ll deal with those later…
Buried in the messages he found three from James:
James: Hey Allan – I’m running out of steam. You?
James: Are you there?
James: I guess you pooped out before I did. No worries. I’ll see you tomorrow.
All three messages had been sent an hour ago.
Great. Just great.
He glanced at his character sheet again. Sighing at his minimal progress, he hit the Log Out button on his virtual screen.
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Log Out | Sleep Mode
He hesitated as his finger hovered over the Log Out button, remembering he didn’t feel like going home tonight and having to confront Lily. He realized that he’d have to stay the night in a hotel.
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Dang it. I don’t have a car…
Slowly his finger hovered over to the right. The entire concept went against his conscious, but after seeing the dismal stats on his character sheet...
Whatever. Why not? One night can’t hurt.
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Allan staggered and fell, landing hard on the foam surface. He shook his head groggily, his eyes wide in alarm. Waking up in a foreign place caused his pulse to rise rapidly.
Where am I?!
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Oh, duh.
A line was forming near the exit of the arena. He was surprised that the exit was so close, considering the large distance toward the city he thought they had travelled.
“Hey Allan!” James walked up and reached out his hand, “Did you sleep well?”
“I, uh... yeah. I did.” Allan was surprised as he took the extended palm and pulled himself back onto his feet, “I honestly feel more rested than I’ve felt in a long time.”
“And sore, I’ll bet.”
“Definitely a strange combination of feelings, for sure.” he smiled, “But I feel great!”
“I saw you took quite a tumble there.” James laughed, “I did the same thing for weeks. Don’t worry - you’ll eventually get accustomed to waking up on your feet.”
Allan pressed his right temple, and after a brief moment of static he quickly pulled up his stats.
Conquest: Player Stats
Name | @Hellekith
Class | Warrior
Level | 11
Experience | 3,950
XP to next level | 350
HP | 700/1,100
Mana | 75/100
Strength |Total: 14 | Original: 5 | Level Ups: 1 | Bonuses: 8
Agility |Total: 7 | Original: 5 | Level Ups: 2 | Bonuses: 0
Stamina |Total: 12 | Original: 7 | Level Ups: 5 | Bonuses: 0
Intelligence |Total: 6 | Original: 1 | Level Ups: 3 | Bonuses: 2
Willpower |Total: 8 | Original: 2 | Level Ups: 6 | Bonuses: 0
“Dude!” Allan was ecstatic, “It worked! I’m at Level 11!”
James smiled, “I told you it’d be worth it.”
“Are you headed home first, or straight to the precinct?” Allan was hoping he’d be able to hitch a ride.
“Actually, no. I’m going to take a shower, grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria, and then go play some more.” James smiled, “I finished my four-day swing shift yesterday, so this is my weekend. I’ve got the next three days off.”
“But it’s a Wednesday.” Allan raised an eyebrow.
“Dude.” James scoffed, “You should know by now that my schedule varies according to my swing shift. It’s never the same. I work four 12-hour days, and then I take three days off. That’s the typical life of a cop.”
“Lucky. I’ve got a mountain of work on my desk. I guess I could take a cab back home…” Allan winced, “Lily will have probably already left for the office by the time I get there.”
“Or you could play hooky.” James winked, “Just call in sick.”
Allan considered this. He wasn’t due in court again until Friday afternoon, and most of his cases could wait.
Why not?
He opened his communication channel again, ignoring the additional voicemail from Lily and her slew of text messages. He wrote a quick text to his secretary, making up a lame excuse that he wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t be in to the office today.
A day off. That’s just what I need right now.
After all, it was true. He wasn’t feeling well. The emotional blow Lily dealt him last night was really low, and he really needed a distraction right now.
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