"Okay, Finn, I've got him in my sights. He has the flag. On my mark 1..2..3.. now!"

The screen flashed with Val's power attack, his Guardian Shield slamming the rogue who had stolen his army's flag while their own troops had launched a full offensive, the pair of them holding back just in case things got interesting from the rear, which they suddenly had.

"Nice, casting Rupture... okay, he's pinned. Finish him!"

Val grinned darkly, mashing his keyboard in a sequence of power blows that left his opponent in the red, Finn casting area effect slow heal which did little for the high dps of PvP but served to disrupt cloaking spells, catching their rogue right before he could flee, having used his own Primal to teleport back into the shadows even while stunned and bound.

"Yes!" Finn roared as a final shield bash and flurry finished off their foe. "That's one bastard out of the match for tonight. Good call waiting behind. We get the glory of covering our team's butts, like what happened just now, even while the rest of those idiots are zerging for chicken scraps."

Val grinned even as their team leader congratulated Val on his second channel, Finn using a private one with Val as he liked to talk shit, and tended to piss off anyone who didn't know him.

Val muted his second channel before addressing Finn. "It was a shot in the dark, but I refuse to waste my time zerging about when I could be running a dungeon. And since John hasn't come online and neither has Julia..."

"Yeah, John's furious, by the way," Finn said, and Val could sense his shit-eating grin. "Called you ten kinds of fool when I chatted him up a while back. It seems that stupid thief sold the artifacts he found for a king's ransom. Literally. He now has enough gold to buy one of the sanctuary baronies."

Val whistled and laughed away the bitter spike of jealousy in his gut. "Which are untouchable, cannot be taken over by other players, and earns him scores of NPC's stroking Salevin's ego with phrases of 'my lord' and 'master.' I have no doubt John's been steaming for days after losing his own artifact in that damned fight, which is why I didn't even bother saying hi. It would have been nice to hear from Julia, though."

It had been several days since their last chat, and he knew how excited she was about beta testing the hottest game since Elerium had first come out, just a few short years ago.

"Endless, that was the game, right?"

Val nodded, but of course his friend couldn't see that. "Yes. She seemed really excited. I wasn't going to bother checking it out until it got the Julia seal of approval."

Finn laughed at that. "She's totally hot for you, you know."

Val smirked. "She's seventeen."

"Ah. There is that. She'll be eighteen soon enough though, right? And you're what, barely twenty?"

"Shut up, Finn."

Finn laughed. "No problem. Hey look, another fool thinks he can actually sneak past my healing fountain spell so conveniently placed on the ledge there."

"I think it's time we disabused him of that notion," Val said before doing just that, suddenly feeling better than he had in days.

As satisfied as gaming was with his friend, he and Finn having PvP'd together for as long as they had dungeoneered, what he was particularly proud of was making it six hours without needing a single bloody pill. He lied down with a sigh only partly from pain, trying Dr. Haussman's meditation exercises; slow, deep meditative breaths easing into true sleep within seconds.

He felt strangely happy, in a body bursting with energy. Everything had a certain vivid brilliance that was strangely surreal. He grimaced, realizing he must be dreaming, hoping this time he would have control and only sweet contentment would be his. Not that he could relax completely with finals coming up, but still.

Finals. He blinked, then, not knowing where his wandering thoughts had taken him, just happy to be enjoying a lakeside drive in a cherry red convertible, Julia grinning at him as she coasted along the drive, auburn hair thick and wavy and flowing with the breeze.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

His heart was racing, as it always did when he could steel away from his studies and visit Julia, excited as hell to have placed high enough in enlistment testing that his father's friend assured he was a shoe-in for his alma mater. It was ivy league, and Val was no straight A student. He had a knack for problem-solving, however, and the critical thinking tests the school administrator had personally given him as a proxy test for success there made it clear Val wouldn't be just another gentleman C student if he actually got in. His grades though... no one would doubt that connections alone had gotten him in if he couldn't average at least a B on his finals.

Val frowned and shook his head. He had finished his finals, hadn't he? He had forgone college for reasons he adamantly refused to think about, enlisting instead with the help of another of his father's friends, and passed the physical demands of his elite military unit with flying covers. He had made a lot of fast friends, warm memories, and that was just during basic and advanced training. Then everything had changed, once they saw action together.

Val frowned and shook his head, gazing into Julia's worried eyes, knowing she hated it when he would zone off, and if he wasn't careful, he'd forget all about the test tomorrow. And calculus was no joke.

"Sorry, Julia. I don't know where my head is tonight."

Her worried expression turned to a relieved smile, eyes once more on the road, passing slowly by the grassy park where young families were picnicking on even now, near everyone enjoying the beautiful view of the crimson and gold sunset mirrored on the pristine lake, the cry of seagulls in the air. The water was fresh, of course, but he swore he could smell it, cold and clean.

"I'm glad you were able to make it. I was wondering what it would be like to go out with you for the longest time. Since we began playing, actually, and I realized your dad knew my own."

Val's eyebrows widened at that. "Wow. Really? What was his name? Maybe pops told me some stories."

Julia shrugged. "It wasn't a big deal, but it did make me curious, and when I found your profile online, well, I thought you were cute." Her voice softened, the faintest of blushes caressing her cheeks.

Val grinned. "If only. You should see my legs, they're a mess. It's an agony to walk. And my face looks like I got in a tussle with a wolverine." Even as he said this he frowned, feeling as healthy as he ever had as his mind flittered from school wrestling to fencing with his friends. He didn't have that much time for online gaming, but nothing beat feeling like he could actually be the character's in the game he loved. Elerium, and just released.

Julia turned her deep green eyes upon him once more. "I think it makes you look strong. And I saw how cute you were in your yearbook. It's not too hard to get used to the scar if you feel something for the person underneath. Then you don't even see the marks. All you feel is the warmth in your heart. If that makes sense."

Val laughed. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?" He sighed. "It is a beautiful dream."

Julia grinned. "Admit it, if this were real, you'd be happy, right?"

Val nodded. "Deliriously so. And I'd feel guilty as hell. I'm twenty and go to sleep with legs that burn and a soul that howls with the things I've done. You? You're seventeen, a bright flickering flame of hope and possibility with your whole life ahead of you." He chuckled then. "But if I were seventeen again, filled with life's possibilities, I'd snap you up in a second, win your heart, and marry you the minute we turned eighteen."

Julia laughed out loud at that, and even sleeping, Val knew how outrageous a statement it was.

"You're sweet," Julia sighed. "And I wouldn't promise marriage, not a chance. I know what happens to most couples that go too far, too fast. But would I want to see you again? Enjoy another ride by the lake as the sun sets? You bet I would."

The car had stopped. Soulful eyes gazed into his own. Heart hammering, breath coming out in ragged gasps, feeling a sudden wave of giddy joy and terror. It was as great a rush as the first time he had pulled the trigger in earnest, with none of the horror.

Only sweetest jubilation, as his lips softly pressed against her own.

Val?

Yes, Julia. - Not saying a word. No words were necessary as they lost themselves in the tenderest of kisses.

Please. Don't do what I did. Promise me.

Heedy euphoria turned to quiet dread. The sun had set. Families had long since gone home, and the park was filled with the hoots of owls.

The cackle of hyenas.

The coiling slither of snakes. Endless numbers. A flood of them. Gazing at Val and Julia with their cold, cold, soulless eyes.

What did you do? Julia, what's going on?

Her aching gaze lanced Val's heart, tears of crimson flowing down her cheeks.

Promise me you won't play.

You're sensitive. Just like me.

Val swallowed, abruptly shaking his head, having no idea what she was talking about.

(That's a lie. How often? How many times had Julia known just what Primal Power to use, perfectly synced with his own? The need to tell her every little detail fading to just a solid understanding. Like he shared with his entire group. Only when things were really crazy did he need to say it aloud, but by that time, they had already unleashed their attacks. The words were always behind the reality. Why had he never thought of that before?)

Promise me you won't play.

Then Julia began to scream, body twisting and writhing as hideous dark light began spilling from her pores. She shook, eyes rolling back, a grand mal seizure, and no matter how much Val cried out, begging for help, Julia did not get better.

Her spasms worsened, head slamming against the car seat, Val doing everything he could. Too little, too late, and as all the cackling howling creatures beyond their car twisted their gazes in hideous concert to peer into his own, Val fled that awful nightmare,

Waking up with a lurch, his father banging frantically on his bedroom door.

Val gasped, his throat raw with forgotten screams.