The moment George and me hung up the phone I went back into the game to work. A perseverance driving me forward that was even new to me.

I always been a fanatic when it came to my work. But this was getting out of hand. Deep down I knew I wasn’t twenty anymore. Lying on your back for fourteen hours a day was for the young. Only getting up for the bathroom, a smoke or two, or to eat a deep freeze pizza was not something my body could sustain anymore. Not even for a short while.

Still, I did it. It was day three of my mad rush at the moment and Henry, the carpenter whom I named, finished with the living quarter. And well within budget at that. I had even made a small amount of money instead of spending it all on weird shit needed for the build. Like hinges and handles for the door and windows.

Well, Henry planned windows. But they were not much more than framed gaps in the wall you could open. Without glass. Someone to put the glass in and the actual glass were not on the list of necessities.

Henry felt thrilled even without glass windows to move to the living quarter. He liked the breeze he said. The Johnson brothers, A. Johnson and D. Johnson, didn't care after almost two weeks in the damp, leaking and stinking shed.

Two days ago, I was right in the middle of my mindless wood-chopping when I thought of something strange. Why didn't my digital workforce come with names?

So I gave them names. The gesture seemd to cheer them up. I didn’t know why but it might be one of the more realistic aspects of this world. Working for a boss who called you by your job title must be a downer.

Whatever it was we were all happy. They would stay now that I had made them a semi better looking shed to sleep in. I would keep the solid stream of income.

“Thanks a lot, sir.” A. Johnson gave me a small nod of appreciation. Than he continued ”This will help our future productivity. If possible could you find the time and resources to arrange more facilities for us? Like a bed or a shower? We would appreciate that. We are not working to our full potential with this bare-bones way of living.” He smiled but you could see there was still a hint of disappointment in his eyes. These fellows were way too real...

But I guess I would hope for more as well if I had to shit in a bucket. Plumbing was the next step. It wasn't that I did not want to give the fellows a working toilet and a shower. but the cost of such things were at least three times as much as the entire living quarter. I had gotten my funds back up to around five hundred dollars, in no way had I that kind of cash to squander.

Still I felt like it might be good to atleast meet the man in the middle, so I bought all three a bed. Beds were inexpensive. Three for two hundred twenty-five dollars all combined. It was only a mattress and a cushion though. No linen, no frame. But hey, small steps.

I had kept the carpenter, Henry, as he seemed like a good guy and his mustache was too epic to let go off. I was afraid that letting him go this time would mean getting a random new carpenter the next time. The risk of losing the giant mustache of major Armstrong was not acceptable. He could work on the fence while I did everything in my power to get the money and materials needed for the next steps. Replacing the materials that were supposed to go to the fence but used up by the living quarter.

It were these next steps that were giving me nightmares.

I needed a playable field which, I had, but felt a boundless amount of shame for deep down. The alternative made me barf the last time I checked, so it had to do for now. I also needed goals, nets inside those goals, chalk lines and a machine to put them on the field of mud. Dugouts, which were going to end up as two fancy benches, a scoreboard and I needed a dressing room.

The dressing room was the real issue. It needed plumbing otherwise it didn’t count. Clothes and balls were a prize for entering a league. So thank the lord I didn't have to show the world my sewing skills or hire another fellow. Also, notice that a fence around the field was not on my list of things I needed? But I was a sucker for not quitting things half way through. Compelling me to finish it anyway.

How did I know all this? Well, the moment I logged in after hearing those 'reachable' goals I had asked Little human. He, in turn, had told me how the flying fuck I could get into a league. He pointed out that there was a clipboard in the shed with requirements. Like I was some kind of idiot. I had searched the place top to bottom for all kinds of freebies but never seen such a clipboard. Little human suggested looking with the door closed.

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I was an idiot. On the inside of the door was the mentioned clipboard in all its glory. A full checklist of shit I had to build before being eligible to the lowest league.

The same sheet asked how I would like to name my club and in what color combinations I wished to play. These two were easy, and were thus already filled in. FC Grasstiny would play in grass green when at home and mournful black when away. Teams who played in black had always impressed me. They gave a sense of danger. More precise I felt like they would kick my teeth in if I looked at them wrong. An excellent starting point for a match. The rest should be an obvious homage to my best friend.

But shirts and players to fill them up where all far away. I needed money, a lot of it. While I was slaving away Henry could build my fence and most of the smaller things that needed building. Make a start with the dressing room. Did I say I needed two? One for our team and one for the away team. The away team didn’t get hot water or a door on accident. Or at least I hoped that was an option. Mental warfare was half the work.

With a smile on my face, I went to put down my brand new basic ax and started the log out sequence. Which entailed telling Little human to switch the helmet off. As you adjusted to the real you had to deal with the dizzying feelings of displacement. Going from one world to the other in seconds. They said total immersion wasn't possible. I felt like it was.

Back in the real I lit a cigarette and inhaled. Ah, nicotine, I missed you. If there was one healthy thing about the digital world, then it was that I now smoked about four times less than I did before.

Staring around, cigarette in hand, my other hand going through my hair a random thought popped inside my mind. I should unbox my stuff. I felt my head to check if I was warm, but I didn't feel like I was getting sick. I shook my head, laughing, while I deposited the accumulated ash on the tip of my cigarette into a coffee cup on the side.

Rain blew against my window. The calming sounds of its tattering, disrupted by a loud thunder and a flash of light. Before calm returned, and the tattering continued.

I heard the chime of the doorbell through the noise and looked up, surprised. It was weird that anyone would be out in this weather. I looked at the timer next to the television and it was already eight in the evening. A bit late to ask for money or to convince me that God was real and I should join your cult. I pushed my cigarette into the coffee cup and tried to get up. My body protesting due to the long hours I had been making. Struggling towards excellence in a new world in the fastest time possible had its downsides.

I heard the annoying chime of the doorbell again and I shouted “Coming.” while trying to get up again.

By the fourth time, I had built up enough momentum to get out. When I stood I wondered since when I cared to open my door this late. This new chance and world were changing my bleak and skeptical look on the world. Play long enough and I would get all nice and friendly. I laughed at that, fat chance.

I wobbled my way into the hallway and got to the door. unhooking and unlocking the many safeguards before opening it. I looked into the darkness outside and saw a figure wearing a brown raincoat with its hoodie still up. The darkness making it difficult to see who it was but not impossible.

Beverley stood in front of me. Her face looked like a war scene, all her makeup had come off its original spot and smeared out over the rest of her face. The rain had turned her into a panda bear but her eyes had a scary intensity to them. I stared at her not knowing what to do while the rain kept assaulting her raincoat. She didn’t seem concerned about it. After a while, she opened her mouth and a sweet sound came out that I could in no way link back to the woman in front of me right now.

“Hello Walton, not going to let me in?” She drawled.

My inner self was telling me to do no such thing. Only a month ago I would have slammed the door closed the moment I had laid eyes on her. But this time was different. I didn’t want to give her an excuse to alienate George from me again. George was back on the right track now. All I needed to do was wait, and he would rid himself of this cow. Why risk it by being an asshole? Growth, it seems, was possible even in your seventies.

I opened the door and said “Beverley, my favorite daughter-in-law. Come in. Horrible weather, you must be freezing.” Squeezing out a smile that could go for a grimace. I turned around to get to the living room. Should I put on a kettle for some tea? Offer her a towel? I hadn’t been hospitable in decades.

I heard the door close behind me and then the sobbing footsteps of Beverley following me. When I was about to enter the living room, I heard a high pitched sound. Something akin to one of those electric cars starting up. I looked towards the kitchen for what it could be when I felt a horrible pain in my side. I felt a humongous wave of pain going through my body as the smell of ozone and burned meat entered my nose.

I fell to the floor, or better, I crumbled to the floor, my bladder emptying itself on the surrounding ground. As my gaze was hazy, I saw Beverley smiling her sweet smile above me. She showed an object way too big to be a normal taser as she dangled it in front of my face. Beaming as she saw the fear in my eyes. I was helpless, only the loony would know what would happen next.. and that could be nothing good.

She leaned in front of my face the ice cold drops of water came off her wet coat dripping onto my face. She wiped the drops off before more joined them. With her ice cold hand on my cheek, she said with that sweet voice “Let this be a warning to you Walton... If you contact George or Rey ever again I will murder you and everyone you have ever known. Understood?”

I nodded my head, not comprehending what her exact words meant but getting the gist. She smiled and whispered “Good.”

She put the taser on my belly again and gave me another smile. Pain coursed through my body once more, my body shocking on the ground like I was having a seizure. I tried to hold on to the bit of control I still had but then everything went dark.