I tapped impatiently through the various tabs in the Settings menu, looking for the Bug Report option. It’s a bit more critical to report than just a graphical glitch or some misspelled text, but this situation must be a bug, right? If I were to send a message to a Game Manager, they should be able to fix whatever’s wrong.

Finally, I found the Bug Report button. Rather than a keyboard, a sphere with a microphone symbol on it popped out of my menu. I guess I have to verbally report my problem? I wasn’t in the mood to feel embarrassed about talking to myself, so I just recorded a concise message and pushed the bubble back into my menu to send it. All I could do now was wait for a response…

Waiting is one of my least favorite hobbies. After two minutes of casually leaning against the rough wall of the Watch, I was already shifting from boredom. Leaning became wandering. Exploring the Watch and investigating the storage system occupied my attention for awhile, but the camp was small and kind of crowded, so there wasn’t a whole lot to discover.  Then wandering evolved into pacing. I was going nuts already, and it’d only been ten minutes since I submitted my report. As I made round after round of the camp, from fireplace to fireplace, I could feel the other players’ eyes on me. I don’t know what expression I was making, but I guess it wasn’t a pretty one. Everyone was giving me lots of space.

“You’re making a scene again, huh?”

I spun around when someone spoke behind me without warning. It was Drac--I mean, Vamp! “Am I? I was just pacing around,” I retorted a bit more snarkily than I intended. When he raised a dark eyebrow at me, I amended, “Sorry. I’m a bit tense, is all.”

“I get it, but why? You know Lioneye’s Watch is a safe area, right? Nothing can spawn here.”

“That’s not it. I just sent a bug report to the GM and it’s making me anxious, waiting for their response.” Why was he looking at me like that? Did I make a weird face again?

Eventually he reached some sort of mental conclusion, and said, “It sucks that you ran into an error so early into the game. I guess it’s better than having one later in while you’re on a quest, though.”

I couldn’t help but snort, and reply, “It is lucky. I’ve never seen this kind of bug in any game I’ve ever played, which is saying something.” I was tempted to start ticking off my favorite titles just to show off, but refrained. Now wasn’t the time to brag.

Drac’s eyebrows raised in either disbelief or astonishment. “A new type of error? You’re serious? What, are you trapped in the game like one of those old anime?” He snickered, but I had no response. He was only joking, but the scary part was he was right. This sort of thing just didn’t happen in real life, it was completely outlandish to even suggest. Drac must have noticed my mood, because he sobered up and tried to reassure me, “Well, whatever the bug, I’m sure the GMs will fix it and message you back soon. So soon after launch day, they’ve got to have teams of programmers watching the error message feeds like hawks.”

I was not entirely convinced, but Drac seemed to be doing his best to cheer me up, so I nodded. I didn’t have anything else to add to the conversation, but Drac seemed to have decided to keep me company for whatever reason, so we just stood by the fireplace in silence.

As we stood there, watching other players bustle around the camp, I felt my mind wandering back to dangerous waters. What if I really couldn’t log out, ever? Who would take care of Luna? I didn’t join the game with any friends, aside from Drac now I guess, but we only just met like twenty minutes ago. None of my real-life friends lived close enough or were trusted enough to just enter my home unnanounced and uninvited, and I couldn’t invite them in while I was in the game. On that note, what would happen to me? Eating and drinking in-game would satisfy digital hunger pangs, but didn’t actually provide nourishment to the body. Would I be stuck here while my real body slowly starved to death?

Just when I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, a silver bubble with a speaker symbol on it shimmered into existence in front of me. “See, I told you they’d fix it quickly!” Drac smiled supportively. Jeez, he’s a real do-gooder, isn’t he? I didn’t think any real person could be so friendly. Well, it doesn’t really matter. I tapped on the bubble to play the message, and as it softly popped, a robotic female voice reported:

“GM cannot be reached at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

My face immediately darkened, and all my tension came flooding back. What kind of shitty GM would ignore an error report?! Drac must have also heard the message, because he was also quiet and somber. The two of us didn’t say anything at all for a while, long after the bubble was gone.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Uh,” Drac started to say, “That…really sucks. Um. Maybe they’re backed up?” He offered weakly. After another minute of morose silence, he heaved a sigh and said, “Look, maybe there’s a glitch with the in-game messaging system. New release and all that. I’ll email the devs from real life, or something. How do you spell your handle?” I blinked in confusion and told him. He nodded seriously, summoned his menu, and then his avatar dissolved into sparkles that quickly faded. So other people can still log out normally, I realized.

Regardless of anyone else’s issues or non-issues, I was back to waiting alone. I tried to amuse myself in various ways; I spent a whole minute rearranging my meager inventory, and another two minutes just playing with the straps on my quiver. People-watching was fun for all of five minutes, since everyone here was a beginner like me and all outfitted with similar shoddy gear. Furthermore, all the NPCs here looked tired and listless, and didn’t move or talk much. I guess that would be normal for a bunch of outcasts struggling to survive, but it did nothing to improve my mood. Naturally the game I would get stuck in, would be one as depressing and bleak as this and not colorful and fantastical like more common MMORPGs…

Before I realized it, I was pacing again. I bet once I stopped, there would be a groove worn in the stone floor. People began to shift out of my way, so I didn’t have to think about dodging them so much, which unfortunately left my mind to dwell on some seriously scary thoughts. Thoughts like, how similar my situation was with the plot of one of the anime I watched years ago, that Drac mentioned before. Something about swords, I think. In that show, ten thousand people buy a VRMMO on its launch day, but they all get trapped inside unable to log out, and if their avatar died, their console visor would kill them. I used to joke with my brother how we were both such game addicts that we would buy that console anyway, even with the danger. Of course, that was more than a decade ago, long before anybody even thought real Virtual Reality was even possible.

Struck with a sudden fear, my feet paused in their path. What if this situation was the same as that show? In this new game, very few people would have shelled out the extra cash for the Advanced Package, which meant everyone with a Standard Package would have no idea about the upgrade disc. What if it was a trap? What if there was no logout because there was no going back?!

I had to sit down where I stood lest I start hyperventilating. This game was not for the faint of heart, and would pull no punches. Death was very likely, if not unavoidable. I had a hard enough time getting through the very first area, which was essentially still a tutorial! But…I had to shiver as I considered the possibility that death in-game would carry the same consequence as that show. What if there was only one Death? How close had I come already to finding out first-hand?

Just as I started to shiver from the implications, Drac logged back in with a quiet pop. He quickly strode over to where I was still sitting on the floor, seemingly unsurprised at my panic. He didn’t have to say anything; his grim expression said it all. He didn’t have any luck in real life, either.

“The email bounced back immediately,” he told me upfront. “Seconds later, I got an automated email from the company telling me that the GMs couldn’t be contacted.” He seemed incredibly frustrated, which was comforting for some reason. “I’ve never heard of a game dev being unreachable days after they release such a huge game. This whole thing is really sketchy.”

“Sketchy or not, it’s happening anyway so I just have to deal with it.” I reasoned. I was still freaking out internally, majorly, but years of intense gaming instilled an automatic logical response to unreasonable game scenarios. Granted, this scenario wasn’t supposed to be part of the game, but my gamer-sense overlooked that.

“Look,” Drac started suddenly, “I don’t want to just leave you to stew in this alone. Do you need help with anything? I could get you some better gear at least, I think. I don’t know what you plan on doing from now, but being better equipped never hurts.”

“That would be great, but I actually have a bigger favor to ask,” I said after thinking for a little. “Do you know where Broadview Gardens is?”

“Yeah, I’m actually near there, in the capitol. Why?”

“When I logged in, I was alone in my apartment with my cat. I don’t have anyone that can check on her.” I studied his face, trying to read the depth of his concern. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to add you as a Friend and private message you my address.”

“WHAT?!” He shouted, drawing a few curious glances. Toning it down, he continued, “Why the hell would you just give a random stranger your address, and tell them you’re alone?! Do you have a death wish?!” I just weathered his tirade. It’s common knowledge that you never share your real information on the internet, but this was a special circumstance.

“I get that it’s reckless, but I know nobody else in-game, and none of my real life friends could visit me,” I revealed. “Honestly, I could save up and re-buy my games and consoles if you wanted to rob me, and considering the lengths you’ve already gone to try and help I don’t think you’re a homicidal maniac.” I gave him a sharper glare to make my point. “But my cat can’t open the food bin on her own, and has been an indoor cat all her life. She wouldn’t know what to do with a mouse if she saw one. She's been my best friend for a decade, and she doesn’t deserve to suffer while I’m dealing with this shit.”

“Those are solid reasons, but none of it changes the fact that you’d be telling me where you live.We just met! I mean…yeah, I want to help, but that seems a little extreme.”

“Of course it’s extreme!” it was my turn to shout at him. “I HAVE to be extreme, because I don’t know what the hell is happening! Even if all I needed was someone to call an ambulance to fetch me, I’d have to give you my address anyway! If I’m already doing that, I might as well be assured that my cat doesn’t starve, right?” I calmed myself with a deep breath, but my heart was still racing. Geez, what if I did need an ambulance? If this really had turned into a death game, an ambulance might not arrive in time to save me...This whole mess just got even scarier. Drac must have seen that, because he wasn’t protesting as strongly anymore, but he still looked really reluctant.

“Drac, I need help from the real world,” I sighed. “I need help for real, and you’re the only person I can trust right now.”

“Ah, geez!” Drac huffed exasperatedly. “Please tell me you don’t do this in any other games…and it’s not all just some horrible prank.”

I was already pulling up the Friend List in my menu. “Why the fuck would I joke about this? Also, you emailed the devs yourself,” I pointed out. I sent the friend request, which he accepted. From the same menu, I typed a private message with my contact information and my mother’s number, and sent it. “I also sent you my family’s phone number, so you can call them and let them know why I’m not contacting them myself. They can probably take care of my cat once they know, too.”

“Freaking hell, why not throw in your PIN number while you’re at it,” Drac grumbled, frowning at the address as he tried to commit it to memory. “And for the record, that was a joke. If you try to give me your PIN I’m going to pick a game out of your library and keep it.”

“Uh-huh.” Without further ado, he logged out again, leaving me sitting in the middle of the camp.

I hope I judged him right…