Zane woke up the next day fully refreshed. He didn’t remember when the last time was that he felt so eager and ready to go. There were only two antibiotic pills left, two for the next two days and that was it. The headache was all but gone, only the slightest hint of dull pain remaining. Zane couldn’t tell what it was: his eagerness for the Competition to start or that his in-game persona was that much more durable and healthier than his real self.

After getting dressed and taking a quick shower in the bathroom, Zane descended downstairs to the kitchen. This house was smaller than the one in the real world, where he had lived before he was thrown out. Apart from his room and the bathroom, it also contained his mother’s room, a living room, a kitchen and a small dining room. His mother was already preparing breakfast in the kitchen when he arrived there. As he entered and took a seat by the dining table, his nostrils were instantly filled with the pleasant smell of pancakes, maple syrup and chamomile tea. Zane could do nothing but smile contently. He couldn’t recall the last time he felt this happy.

“Good morning mom. How did you sleep?” Zane asked his mother as he sat down by the table. He helped himself to some pancakes and poured a considerable amount of maple syrup over them.

“Good morning to you too Zane. I slept better and longer than I did the past few nights. Since you feel better now, I’m also relieved and more relaxed than before.” Cecily answered as she poured herself and her son some hot chamomile tea and poured some liquid honey in their mugs.

Zane nodded as he listened to his mother. This was already a good start to his morning. His mother felt better since he also felt better. Such was a bond between a mother and her son. She could instantly feel and analyze his behavior and feelings and deduce when he was feeling sick or hurtful. Even if it was just a game, Zane could only hope that this becomes the new reality.

“The Competition will start in four days, mom. I read about it last night. This year’s Competition will take place in Treaburn, which is on the other side of our country, far away from our hometown of Midville. How will I travel there? Will it be too expensive?” Zane asked as he was close to finishing his breakfast and drinking his tea.

Cecily didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she took a deep breath and then wiped her lips with her handkerchief.

“The cheapest way is by train of course. There is a train that leaves at 12:00 and you travel eight hours. The E.T.A. is 20:00 at the Treaburn Train Station. I have managed to gather enough money for your train ticket and for your traveling expenses. Don’t worry about that my son. It’s only around 09:00 now. You still have plenty of time to get ready for the long journey north.”

A brand new wave of nostalgia had started to swarm its way through Zane’s body. He again felt sad and aloof because in about three hours he was going to leave this woman, his new mother behind while he’ll go on a long journey towards a dangerous ousting. Even though he just met her yesterday, he already felt more connection and love to Cecily than to his real-life mother.

“Are you really sure about this sweetie? I know you trained really hard for this, both in physical and martial arts training but you also suffered that gruesome head injury. Does your head still hurt?” Cecily asked as she stood up and started to clean the table after they had both finished their meals.

Zane had also gone through martial arts training? That was another plus for his in-game self. But this also implied that the Competition to become a Ranger was going to be strict and rigid since his game character put himself through so much harsh training. Still, Zane felt more confident than afraid and at least his head wasn’t hurting anymore.

“Yeah, I’m good mom. My headaches have passed and I’m more than ready. Sure, I feel a bit nervous but during my trip to Treaburn that will surely pass. Speaking of that, I love traveling in a train. An eight hours ride sounds fun and intriguing. I just hope I’ll get to meet someone decent so I can spend some quality time with them.” Zane chuckled as he stood up to help his mother wash the dishes. Cecily patted his shoulders as she went upstairs. Zane wasted no time as he cleaned up the minor mess from their recent breakfast and soon it was all clean and sorted out.

Curious to where his mom had gone, Zane went upstairs too and found the door of his room half-open. He went in and found his mother checking out his belongings. She winced briefly when she noticed him entering the room.

“Oh, Zane, uh, ha-ha! I’m just making sure that you’re properly prepared and packed for the journey. Sorry I entered your room without asking first...” Cecily laughed as she looked at the ground. By her side and next to Zane’s bed was a large and heavy duffel bag which was packed with Zane’s clothes and essentials while a much smaller backpack was stuffed with water, snacks and meals for the train trip. Zane chuckled to his mother’s embarrassed reaction.

“No problem mom, you’re just worried about me. You can carry the backpack while I’ll carry the heavy duffel bag downstairs so we’re ready when the time comes to depart.” Zane nodded to his mother as she grabbed the backpack and Zane picked up the duffel bag. While he doubted that he could even pick it up with both hands, he casually lifted it up with his weaker, left arm, shocking himself. Was he really that much stronger that his real self?

Zane had finished packing up last night, with some assistance from his mother. She was smart to suggest that he finished packing the day before so he can be ready and await the hour of departure without any hurry. They descended the stairs and left the duffel bag and backpack near the front door and then went to the living room where they sat on the couch to spend some time together before the time for departure arrives.

* * *

The two-and-a-half hours went by quickly as Zane and Cecily reminisced about their memories and life so far, their ups and downs. Cecily asked Zane if he sent the application to the S.S.C. website like he was supposed to and he confirmed that he did last night. This was also a good exercise for Zane as he learned a lot about his backstory here so that he wouldn’t appear awkward or unknowledgeable as he was yesterday. He couldn’t pull the amnesia card for too long as his head got better and he couldn’t just confess bluntly that he actually comes from another world or another dimension. If it ever comes to that, then he’ll need a lot of build-up and courage to say the truth.

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The important things he learned from this long conversation with his mother are related to his father’s whereabouts (he died in a tragic car accident ten years ago), their rough financial situation (they had to pay off the cost of this house and there was still 10% to pay from the initial value of 100,000 Cascadian dollars; Zane’s late father needed only to work for a few more years until the price would have been paid but sadly he passed away and now they still had to pay off 10,000 dollars; Cecily had a chronic back illness which prevented her from working any hard job, the best she could do was knitting things such as woollen socks and selling them for cheap money; it wasn’t ideal and the pay was minimal but that was the most she could contribute.) Now, Zane at last knows the real reason he has decided to apply for the Public Security Competition; to earn enough money to pay off their lingering debts and to prevent his family from sinking into poverty. He promised both to himself and his mother that he would succeed at this, at all costs.

“Look at the time my dear... it’s time for us to go so you don’t miss your train ride.” Cecily produced a weak smile as she pointed to the wall clock that was meekly ticking. She hated that only half-an-hour was left before she would be separated from her son, her life and the only family she had still left.

Zane nodded and stood up as he approached the front door. Picking up the backpack and wrapping it behind his back, Zane carries the heavy duffel bag outside as his mother locks the front door behind them. He looks behind him once more before they start to walk to the train station.

His neighbourhood looked nostalgic enough that Zane didn’t believe he could leave it behind him. Even though this was the first time that he was seeing this town, since he spent the day before inside of his house, he already liked this town better than his previous one. All the people they met on their way to the train station were kind and friendly, politely greeting both him and his mother. Zane smiled and waved at them. There weren’t any high buildings or skyscrapers in Midville. A small, sub-urban town, which Zane thought was a perfect place to live. But to his dismay, he was already leaving it. He just had to, he needed the money and becoming a Ranger was the quickest way to do it.

Crossing a small bridge across the river, Zane noticed a flock of ducks enjoying the clean water beneath the bridge. Seeing such clean and non-contaminated water felt like a breath of fresh air to Zane as his real-world hometown stank and was corrupted by the garbage and waste from the numerous factories and irresponsible individuals who thought they could destroy mother nature without any repercussions. And in most cases, they could, since justice was slow and almost never seemed to arrive to those who deserve it. Zane hated that in the world. Hopefully this world would be better.

After about fifteen minutes of walking at an average pace, Zane and Cecily arrived at the Midville train station. A small complex with two different train tracks and a small room where you could buy tickets and ask for informations for your preferred destinations. The duo left their baggage on a bench where the wooden surface looked weary and old. They were alone, expect for the worker who was smoking in the small room and watching a small TV that was hanging from the wall. He looked middle-age with graying hair and judging by his laughter, he was watching some comedy show or film.

“You wait here and watch over your stuff while I’ll go and buy you a ticket, okay?” Cecily smiled at her son as she went to the ticket room, leaving Zane to sit on the free spot on the bench between his backpack and duffel bag.

Apart from some birds chirping and dogs barking, there wasn’t much happening around him. Zane turned his head and gaze from left to right wondering if he would notice something interesting. The walls and the entire complex of the train station looked ancient and spent, with the bricks and concrete foundations cracking in many places. There were some graffiti symbols and drawings sprayed and painted at the wall across the train tracks in front of him and a strange symbol that Zane didn’t recall seeing before. A black triangle which was further separated into two rectangles and a smaller triangle at the top. Inside each of these three geometric shapes, there was a small circle painted in different colors. The lower right rectangle had a yellow painted circle, the lower left rectangle had a blue painted circle and finally the upper triangle had a red painted circle. There was also a writing bellow this drawing. ‘They are coming to save us’, it said. Zane squinted his eyes. Who was coming and why? This was already the first mystery he had encountered here. Another side quest? It will be interesting for sure.

“There you go sweetheart.” Zane briefly winced as his mother’s voice woke him up from his thinking slumber. She handed him his train ticket and picked up his backpack to sit on the bench while keeping his backpack in her lap.

“Mom, what is that supposed to be? That drawing over there.” Zane pointed his finger to the drawing across the train tracks that had piqued his interest.

Cecily looked at the drawing and graffiti for a few seconds before she started laughing.

“Oh, nothing serious dear. Just a couple of these... what are they called again? The Punk subculture? They do this for a hobby I think. Drawing these types of stuff on walls. They probably thought that since this train station is old and almost in ruins, that it would be no harm to make it more colorful.”

Zane nodded to his mother’s answer. He didn’t want to pry into it any more than he needed to. It’s not like graffiti were that uncommon in his real life hometown too. Just a subculture and youth thing.

“Did you pack everything? Have you checked it all?”

“Yes mom, I did. I checked it several times.”

“Oh, okay then. What about the online application? You didn’t forget to send it on time?”

Zane chuckles.

“Of course I sent. I reviewed it several times and sent it last night.”

“Okay sweetie. Just making sure you’re prepared.” Cecily strokes her son’s hair as he smiles back. He was ready and prepared. Not fully mentally but he’ll get there eventually.

As they chatted about random and minor things, the calm atmosphere around them started to change. A train was approaching. This was Zane’s train. No other train was supposed to arrive during this schedule. His breathing fastened as his heartbeat rose. This was it. Only a few minutes remained until noon. The time for departure had arrived.

“There it is... your train...” Cecily let out a deep sigh as she stood from the bench and picked Zane’s backpack. Zane followed after her and took his duffel bag.

The diesel train was large with four wagons, all intended for passengers. Its color was red with yellow streaks. It stopped right next to the mother and son duo as the conductor left the cab & control station. An elderly man, with a pipe and balding gray hair, he carried several papers attached with a paperclip as he went to the ticket selling room. The uppermost passenger wagon door opened and Zane and Cecily stood right in front of it. Putting down Zane’s baggage, Cecily hugged her son tightly, not giving him a chance to respond.

“Oh my sweet boy, good luck. I wish that it didn’t come to this, but you decided to venture on this path. This is your dream. And I have promised to support you no matter what.” Cecily whispered in her son’s right ear as Zane could feel chills surging all over his body. A woman he just met yesterday and he already felt horrible leaving her behind but this was his quest. His dream here. His mother worked night shifts at a local restaurant, washing dishes for a low income, despite her chronic back pain. She would even need a chair to sit down but she didn’t give up. She fought through the pain. They needed the money to pay their debts. And Zane would help as he promised. This is his life now. This isn’t just a game.

As they broke off their hug, Zane smiled at his mother. She didn’t cry but her eyes were wet.

“Thank you for your support mom. I’ll stay safe, don’t worry. I will help you so you don’t have to work ever again and so you can enjoy life like you deserve to. I’ll call you when I arrive. Goodbye.”

With this, Zane picked up his backpack and duffel bag and entered the train. The first wagon was completely empty, which gave him some relief. He put his heavy duffel bag above his head in the overhead luggage rack reserved for heavy bags while putting the backpack on the first seat in the right side of the wagon while he sat on the seat next to the window. Waving to his mother, he saw the conductor enter the cab and the train started to move. The last sight he saw of his mother was her waving back at him and smiling and that gave him strength. Strength to fight on and finish this competition, no matter how dangerous or hard it will be. His mother had chronic back pain and the longer she works, the more of a risk it was for her health. He won’t allow it. His mother will live the rest of her life in peace and comfort and Zane will assure that happens. He wants to become a Ranger. That’s his main goal. And he will succeed at it, no matter the cost.