SAVE POINT 27
Dormouse
They say you're supposed to make your girl omelets or pancakes the next morning...I think. To be frank, this was kinda all new to me, and I was scrambling—maybe losing my mind a little—trying to orchestrate this like a chick flick for Mimi and still, somehow, play it cool.
Like this wasn't a big deal.
Like I wasn’t out of breath, already sweating, before anyone else in this camp of tents was up. ...Before the sun was freaking up... How did guys play it cool when this was so fucking hard?
Being 100% honest, this entire magic trick was probably easier with the right tools: an oven, a refrigerator, a toaster...a grocery store or coffee shop. But, out here in the middle of this meadow filled with yurts, I was tryin' to make a rabbit appear out of thin air. 'Cause I didn't have a hat, and it was feeling pretty damn obvious and disheartening right now. So, no, in case you were wondering, there was no toast—no perfectly sunny-side-up eggs. And most certainly no stack of fluffy, chocolate-chip pancakes. …Yes, I was drooling at that thought.
My shaking hands just held a Yoo-Hoo, chocolate milk, and a silver-wrapped package of Pop-Tarts. And it was gonna have to work for the moment because, apparently, these nerds had the diet of unsupervised five year olds. ...Of course, it was the pot calling the kettle black; my own pack consisted mostly of Snickers bars and cheddar goldfish: 'You're just not yourself when you're hungry.'
...I was, also, not myself when I was nervous. My hands trembled noticeably as I ducked back into our borrowed yurt. Mimi was still asleep, her cheek smashed into the pillow—it was kinda cute really. I let out the sigh I'd been holding. I still had time to pretend to be surprised when we conveniently woke up at the same time.
You know, it was less about the food and more about the impression. Every colliding nerve in my body was so afraid that—after a dream-like night like last night—that the freckled girl was just going to roll over and...grimace.
Or make some excuse.
Tell me that it all was a mistake...a one-time thing...a fluke. That was what my dry mouth and rabbit-spastic heart were afraid of. That she'd roll over, blinking blearily at me and the food in my outstretched hands and say 'that's—'
"—really sweet of you."
No, that wasn’t my mind.
And, no, it wasn't in a condescending tone—why was I overthinking this right now?!
That was actually what she said when she woke up—Mimi. In a normal-Mimi, entirely affectionate and appreciative tone a few hours later. The covers rustled as she shifted upward, wiping the sleep out of her eyes with a hand.
"Oh my God, I love chocolate milk," she admitted, turning the bottle over in her hands. "And Pop-Tarts?!"—Was she feigning being impressed, stroking my ego or both?—"Two to share." She ripped open the pack, handing one to me.
Grand Dragon, we really were soulmates.
Plus, the Pop-Tarts were strawberry with those little flecks of sprinkles in the white icing; this was a win all around.
[System Reward: Okay, You Did Good By The Girl +10 Swag Points, 60]
[System Reward: Way To Not Be ‘That’ First Date +10 XP, 1429/1500]
"Sooo..." Mimi ran her fingers through her hair, "Last night..."
Her words were so drawn out. Did she want me to finish the sentence? NOT finish the sentence? Was SHE going to finish the—
"Happened," I gulped inconclusively. …And immediately started hiccupping. Because, apparently, I had gulped in air as well.
Mimi laughed—a bubbling noise that kicked into snorting as she clutched at her stomach.
"You!" she held her side, clearly enjoying this and gasping the word between chortled, giggle fits, "You are adorable when you're all worked up."
'Adorable.'
I pondered the word with, admittedly, the hesitance of a grown man...and the understanding of one who'd been mistaken for a twelve year old—did that age keep getting younger the more I thought about it?
'Adorable.'
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
The Pop-Tart broke off in my mouth with a snap, exploding wild strawberry on my tongue which strangely wasn't as comforting as it should be right now.
'Adorable?’ …Maybe not the worst thing anyone had been called before...
Rumble.
It wasn’t my stomach.
It was the ground under the sleeping bag—what? My eyes darted up to Mimi who had her Pop-Tart paused halfway to her lips and a general look of 'what the fuck' that matched mine.
"I'm no seismologist, but that sounded like an earthquake," she murmured. “System, show me the Game Damage Points.”
She said it so efficiently; all I could do was blink as the system messages popped into view:
[System Understands Query…Loading Response…]
[GDP – 64/100]
Current Gamer Population
340 Million
Current Darken Population
14 Million
Darken To Gamer Ratio
~41.18%
Darkness Cover
58/100
Dilapidation Cover
70/100
I squinted at the numbers that had most definitely gone up since Rosabella had healed part of our world. Mimi and I came to the same conclusion at the same time. And that was it; the attempted chocolate-milk-breakfast-situation was over and done with, and we were throwing off sleeping bag blankets, and she was tugging on clothes... Hurriedly we ducked out of the tent and nearly ran headlong into—
Fanboi.
...Who, by the size of the purple bags under his eyes, looked like he didn't get a wink of sleep last night. He brushed by us hastily, his dreads flying in the wind kicking up, "It is way too early for the world breaking apart—"
"It's noon." Maude's acidic retort came from near my shoulder. I whipped around, blinking at her. Where did the blonde come from—?
"The world breaking apart?" Mimi blurted, her eyes narrowing as she pushed a strand of hair out of her face.
Fanboi nodded, "I'm gonna kill those jerks, starting with SnapeSarcasum_105." Both of his hands clenched at his sides as he marched away from us.
I scrabbled to keep up, trying to do the same mentally. I trailed on the surfer bro’s heels, "Fanboi, what's going on—?"
"What's going on is the pumpkin-head villains of the nerd world are pinned starkly against the Frodo Baggins and Eragons and, unfortunately, Darth Vadar and Gollum are winning right now." The guy's face was a mess of wrinkled concern and annoyance.
"I don't get it," Maude jogged behind us, "Someone ditch the nerd-speak—"
Fanboi raised one eyebrow, "If you wanna find out why the world is cracking in two, pretty chicky, I suggest you start with the Slytherin-loving crowd—something is seriously wrong with them."
Maude ran a frustrated hand through her silky, blonde hair, thinking, "...Wait...Slytherin. Isn't that like Harry Potter or something? We're talking about..." she paused, "...a movie?"
The beach bum guy looked personally offended, "A book. We're talking about a series of books—an epic." He turned, incredulously towards Mimi and me, "She doesn't get it?"
"I just told you that," Maude spat back, snapping her gum at him.
Fanboi whirled on her like a snake, stooping a little like he was suddenly speaking down to a first-grader. His dreads shook he was so perturbed, "How about this? Will you get this? The normal kids around here are diehard fans of the DS book. They hate Joy—that pink-haired bitch—rightfully. They have t-shirts x-ing out her face, okay? It's supposed to be a funny thing. That group over there? They have different t-shirts, look. They basically worship Joy and Prickgada, got it? Something is seriously fucked up in their heads, and, as far as I can tell, they're the reason for the crack, massive fissure in the earth deal. It wasn't here when we got here."
"The—" Mimi started, but she didn't finish. Because our eyes all followed the end of Fanboi's pointing finger.
We all saw it at the same time.
The guy was not as tripped out as he seemed.
A giant, gaping crack zig-zagged across the meadow, towards the gloomy mountain range in the distance. Its dark edges greatly contrasted the lush, yellow grass waving in the gusting wind. I gritted my teeth. I'd seen this before—not recently, but I'd seen it—
"The source of the earthquake..." Mimi whispered, nearly reverently. I could almost see the cogs in her mind working.
"Were you not listening to a thing I said?!" Fanboi raged, throwing down his hands like he was the only sane one here. "Those jokers are responsible." He pointed to the group wearing green and black robes in the distance. "They weren't even supposed to be on the bus. No permission slips. They're not in my digital catalog list. I'd trade them all for a million Hufflepuffs and that's saying something." His eyes were wide and serious.
And Mimi, Maude and I looked at each other and mouthed it at the same time: 'darkness'.
Holy fuck, this was darkness creeping up on our world again. Somehow more darkness and the nerds were linked? What were they doing or inviting in that there was a giant crack through the meadow? We had to stop it.
"We need to talk to them," I spouted like I was the leader of the team. Determination leaked off my tongue and into my stance.
[System Reward: You’re Taking Charge, And It Shows +10 Swag Points, 70]
Where was all this fire and drive suddenly coming from? Maybe I’d gotten some sort of ego boost from last night? I had no idea, but I'd take it.
Fanboi waved me and the others off, "By all means, have at it. Just don't expect a warm welcome. They're about as friendly as sabretooth tigers on a freezing day—frigid bitches," he murmured under his breath.
"Will you introduce us?"
I glanced up quickly to find Maude back on her game. She twirled a loop of her hair around her finger, giving the man that doe-eyed, damsel-in-distress look that anyone with a set couldn’t really deny...
"As though I want to stick myself in the eye with a needle," Fanboi complained, but I saw the blonde girl's charm working on him.
"Sure," he muttered finally, giving in and shrugging, "I've got nothing better to do than be chewed out by a group of wannabes. Sounds like a blast. Come on." He waved us half-heartedly forward.
And, per usual, I had no idea what I was walking into. I shoved the rest of the Pop-Tart in my mouth, chewing but not tasting.
Well, this day had done a clear and simple 180 since I woke up.