Chapter 2

Paul was doubled over laughing in the soft barber chair he was sitting in. RJ, the owner of the chair, hit Paul in the back of the head. And because he was Paul's best friend from his old unit, he didn't hold back.

“Come on man, it's not that funny.'' RJ pleaded as he looked around at his own shop turning on him. Everyone was trying not to laugh.

“Sexiest Barber in all of Crescent City,” Paul quoted from the article he had read earlier that morning. “I really just have to thank my friends, family, and gorgeous wife.” Paul continued relentlessly. Out of respect, most of the shop was muffling their laughs, a few however were no longer trying.

“You know, I'm holding a very sharp pair of scissors right now.” RJ threatened.

“Yea,” Paul goaded, “even blind I could take you.”

“Don't need to fight you,” RJ struggled for words “I'll just put stuff all over the floor”

“Oh? Yea?” Paul’s eyes had tears welling in the corner of his eyes.

“Yea, and I'll record you stumbling around and post it on the internet.”

“Wow”

“Yea, don't make me do it”

“You know, I think your losing your touch”

“At least I didn't lose my sight.” At that the giggling crowd went silent. An awkward tension filled the air from the group behind them. None of them noticed Paul and RJ trying to hold in a laugh.

“Yea, you 100% lost your touch my friend.” Paul said, and the tension dissipated from the crowd as fast as it set in as the group realized they were still messing around. Paul and RJ shared a laugh between themselves.

“Well, being the sexiest man in the city is tiring work.” Paul could see his friend grinning down at him. Dark skin, brilliant straight teeth, and a jaw you could cut diamonds on. Even during basic training R.J was a hit with the ladies. After adding 60 pounds of muscles and a few scars from the war, R.J had become a local celebrity.

Then After marrying the Zulu Queen of New Orleans he had 2 beautiful little girls, Mara and Chrissy. All this meant was he had become what every marine was terrified of. Happy.

“Alright punk, hold still so I can finish you up. I got a lot of shit to do and no time to waste on your ass.”

“Lots of shit? Cut hair and go play dress up with the girls?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Hey, you wish you looked as good in pink as I do.” R.J said proudly, “And no, I'm trying to get some time on Draktera tonight.”

“Aw come on, not you too.”

“Yes, me too. And Ned texted me the other day saying you need to get your pale, loner, jarhead ass up and do something with yourself. We both agree Draktera is a perfect fit.” Paul highly doubted Ned would ever mutter an insult, even if someone had put a knife in his stomach.

“Blah, Blah, you sound like my mom.”

“Watch yourself, I'll call her too.” R.J’s voice took a much more serious tone “Seriously Ghost eye,” Paul came to more attention as R.J’s voice got lower and used his field name. “It's not just a game man, it's another world, another chance to live a life. You do the same shit every week, you're gonna die a very in shape, lonely, drunk blind guy.”

“I don't even drink!” Paul retorted.

“Not yet, but it's the next step, we all see it.” R.J was brushing Paul off, seemingly done doing nothing to his hair. “I know you're stubborn for almost no reason, but it's been out a year now. There have been no issues, no brains getting fried or people being unable to log out.”

“Don't jinx it.”

RJ fixed Paul with a soul piercing stare that he could feel. Ned was his childhood friend, but was never able to talk to Paul the same way after the war. RJ however, had no such problem.

So when RJ was silent for a moment it forced him to seriously consider it. The images of the lone man in a field started to creep to the front of his mind again. “It's just a game.”

“It's not, and you know it.” RJ responded matter of factly.

Paul knew that RJ wouldn't leave it alone until he got an answer he was satisfied with. “Fine, maybe.”

“No, not good enough. Its your day off and I refuse to just let you go home to do nothing but work out and listen to that stupid radio crap.”

“Hey! It's not that bad! Wednesdays they do ‘Facts! Facts! Facts!’. It’s actually super interesting. Like, did you know, best friends are 100% a pain in the ass!”

“Stop.” RJ cut him off. “Look man, I'm gonna close up and drag your ass there myself if that's what it's going to take.”

Paul chuckled and began to say “ Yea, su…” but before he finished RJ spoke to the room.

“Alright, shops closed! Half off next time!” Paul heard RJ shuffling out some disgruntled guy, but RJ kept pushing them out.

“Come on man, you really don't have too.” Paul was at a loss from his friend's abruptness “Look, I'll do it with Ned next week.”

A sound came from the back room and Paul caught the scent of Marrisa before she even entered the room, Vanilla.

“What the hell is goin’ on.” the she spotted Paul standing up. “Oh, hello handsome.” She came up to Paul and gave him a hug. Marrisa was a saint and embarrassed the concept of southern hospitality “You lost weight again. You need to eat more and stop spending so much time at that gym”

“Sorry ma’am, but I work at that gym.”

“MmmHmm” She assessed him at arms length before turning to her husband. Marrisa was a unique entity to Paul. After the war, he had made no real new friends. He was close with only a few people so he always had an idea what they looked like before he had lost his sight. He met Marrisa after, so he never knew what she looked like. It never usually bothered him, but for some reason, it very much annoyed him today.

“Why are you closing up? There was a dozen fine folk in here looking for a hair cut,” her voice took on a sharp tone that made Paul stand up a little straighter, “It better not be for that stupid ass game.”

Paul snorted, “It is.” RJ turned on his friend.

“You…” but what he was, Paul didn't get to know.

“Ron James, you will not close this shop for some waste of time game to go chase goblins around some forest,” RJ took a breath and almost got a word out, but his wife overtook him.''Now, get your ass out there and bring those folk back and get your damn mind out of that fantasy world. Your family is here, in the real one!”

She turned around and stormed to the back so she could return upstairs to the flat where they lived.

RJ mumbled some indecency under his breath as he opened the door. People who had been shooed out were already waiting to be let in after hearing Marrisa. Paul was still standing by the chair, grinning to himself.

“Alright Jackass, you win this one.” Paul moved to pull out his wallet, “Stop that shit man, just do me a favor and try it out, or at least join a club or something.”

"Yea, I'll go join the cross fit Yoga club for the blind.” They both laughed, then grasped each other's forearms. “Peach Brother.”

“Always.”

Paul left the shop and rounded the block. He didn't know what inspired him to do it, but he grabbed his phone and spoke to it, “Hey Clare.”

A soft female voice responded, “Yes, how may I assist you?”

“Call me a ride to Tera Corp.”

After a second the voice responded again. “Your ride is on its way.”