Matt ran down the shore, praying he didn’t turn his ankle. The rocks clicked and shifted every few steps. He could hear the others behind him but he didn’t dare look back. The kappa lumbered back there too, gaining speed with long dripping strides. It snorted and let out a shrill whine.

Does it eat humans? Matt thought. That whine conveyed a sickening need.

Matt ran and ran and then, suddenly slowed to a walk. He pumped his arms and tried to jumpstart his legs. He knew this nightmare. He really was in a dream.

What did it do to me?

The dream felt so real. Panic rose to his collarbone, vibrating. He had to run, but couldn’t. The dark green line in his heads-up display pulsed.

Matt swished his arms and kept moving. He dared a glance over his shoulder. The others were right behind him—walking—and the kappa was there too. The marsh creature licked its thin black lips. Jaws open and ready to chomp, it took a lazy step toward Anika. Then it suddenly jerked back as if on a leash. It screamed. It almost sounded human.

Matt froze. Move Matt!

“Matt, move!” It was Fallyn, pushing at his back.

He forced his legs forward. He was able to jog a few strides and then was slowed to a walk. Another screech sounded behind him. He didn’t dare stop moving. None of them did. The kappa’s screams continued until they were well around the bend.

“Holy crap, what was that?” Anika said when the beast was finally silent.

“Holy kappa, you mean?” Matt said hesitantly, then grimaced.

“Ha!” said Kurtis. “We bear-ly made it! See what I—”

“Can we just stop for just a minute?” Anika pleaded. “That was, that was…”

“Terrifying?” Val suggested.

“Yeah,” Anika said, walking in a circle and shaking out her hands. “I just need a minute.”

Fallyn continued to watch for signs of movement upstream.

Matt decided to check his loot. He hadn’t really been paying attention to what he got with the close calls and one bear after the next. Inventory, he thought.

The black window popped up and now showed a total of 43 CCs. At the top of the list, Matt found a new piece of armor: ‘Basic Shoes (Level 3). They were medium armor and looked like lime green Crocks.

When in Rome, he thought, pulling them to his feet. His Dad was fond of that saying.

Matt wiggled his toes and returned to his inventory. Somehow the shoes fit perfectly. He was now the proud owner of 40 fish, several beers, a single bottle of pop, and one pot of honey. Then Matt scrolled to something interesting: ‘Pauldron of the Fisher-Bear (Level 3).’ From the image, it looked like a furry black shoulder pad and the labeling text was green.

Matt focused on the item and a smaller window overlaid the first. Below the name of the item, white text read, ‘Bind on equip’ and ‘Medium armor: +100 physical resist.’ Then, below that, it listed ‘+100 magical resist’ in green.

Cool, Matt thought, equipping the pauldron. It covered his left shoulder only. The black poof of fur felt soft against his neck while the brown leather strap pulled taught. It ran diagonally across Matt’s chest, holding the armor firmly in place.

Matt closed his inventory and surveyed the group. Anika had stopped pacing, and Valkyrie now wore a silvery tiara. Of course she did.

The hike back to camp took longer than Matt expected. He didn’t realize they’d trekked so far. The group had followed the rocky shore around straights and bends. Matt started to doubt his sense of direction and time. The mountains always looked to be the same distance and one curve of the river looked the same as the next.

Matt was thankful for the map and Fallyn seemed to know where she was going. She and Anika walked up ahead. Val dragged a stick in the stream, and Kurtis strode closer to Matt.

“Hey, what do you make of that stuff earlier?” Kurtis asked quietly.

“Hm?” Matt responded.

“What the Chatbot said.”

“I…” Matt trailed off. It was all too much. “I don’t know,” he said.

“This place is pretty neat,” Kurtis said, grabbing his tail, “but, if we’re stuck here or if Earth is gone…” Kurtis moved his hands up and down by his torso. “And, my mom and dad—”

“There has to be some reasonable explanation,” Matt said. “For all I know, you could be my subconscious.”

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“Or mine!” Val jumped into stride beside them.

“I don’t feel like a subconscious,” Kurtis said.

“Or is that what my subconscious would say?” Val challenged, eyebrows raised. “You could be my fairy godcat.”

Matt smiled, but Kurtis gaped.

“Okay but seriously,” Matt admitted, “I have no freaking idea. Planets don’t just get destroyed.”

“That does seem far-fetched,” Fallyn called back at him, “but things aren’t adding up too.”

“I just don’t know,” Matt reiterated. “I say we keep going—keep busy—until we can be sure. Plus, if—if—it is real we’ll be glad we made some progress. So, the way I see it, what we do now is the same.”

It’s not real, Matt silently reassured himself, though it was getting harder to believe.

“This way,” Fallyn said, breaking left from the shore on a vector to the trees.

Matt paused and watched the opposite shore for a minute. Part of him hoped that Sharkie and Manuele would leap out to surprise him, having found Maria. And then he’d wake up in his own bed, maybe have pancakes for breakfast, use up the strawberries in the fridge…

“Hey Matt!” Val called.

“I’m coming.” He sighed.

###

As they entered the camp field, a familiar voice shouted, “Hey hey!” It was Cathleen.

“Hello!” responded Kurtis with a smile.

“Love the matching shirts,” she said, smiling with a scrunch to her nose.

“Good to see you again,” Anika said.

“Yeah, what have you been up to?” Matt asked.

“You going to Septimus?” Cathleen countered.

“Mmhm,” confirmed Matt.

“I’ll walk with you.” She gestured forward.

“We got this quest to go deal with some moose,” Cathleen explained as they filed between white tents. “But they weren’t like real moose,” she added. “I mean, I’ve never seen a real moose, but these things were weird colors and patterns. I mean, there’s no way…”

“Ours were bears,” offered Anika. “They had shirts like this.” She smiled, pulling at the front of her top to show it off. “And they threw beer bottles and had fishing rods. It was all very odd.”

They passed a lot of people, both in and outside of the tents. Either they’d finished their quests already or hadn’t left. Matt peeked in a doors as they passed. Each tent had the same pillows and movie posters as their own. Then Matt started. Would their tent still be theirs when they got back? It wasn’t like they’d put their names on it or left any belongings inside.

Shit.

Matt sped up his pace, to which Fallyn raised an eyebrow. The others trailed behind, continuing to chat.

“One of the guys from my group,” Cathleen was saying. “He got these really cool arm antler spike things. I think they count as gloves. You’d really like him, actually. He’s named himself ‘That Guy.’” She chuckled.

“I have these ones,” Val chimed in, smoothing the silky blue of her fingerless gloves from wrist to elbow. “Oh, and I can do this!” Purple rushed towards her, then disappeared. Then, a new green haze began to form on the ground; it lingered behind her as they kept walking.

“I like your tiara too,” Cathleen said. “You got that in here, right?”

“Yeah, today.”

“I wish mine were less…” Cathleen searched for the word. “More dainty?” She bobbed her head left-right making the foam finger wiggle.

“Hey, at least you can take yours off,” Kurtis pointed out.

Ouch.

Cathleen recovered. “Sorry Kurtis, that’s not what I… I mean…”

“It’s okay,” Kurtis assured, forcing a smile.

Septimus Flower was just a few feet ahead, standing tall in his pink robe, calling “Hello traveler, have you completed your quest?” on repeat.

Their tent was a few feet to the right and Matt was relieved to see that it looked empty. He knew it was silly. If they were all the same, then why did it matter? But that nervousness had risen all the same.

What is this place doing to me? He shook his head and then turned back to Cathleen and the group. “I’m going to, uh…” He pointed at Septimus.

“Yeah, go for it,” Cathleen said. “It’s a nice one. There should be a bonus turn-in if you got enough items.”

“I’ll be right back too,” Fallyn excused herself.

Val and Kurtis followed, but Anika stayed to ask, “There’s a bonus turn-in?”

“Yeah,” Cathleen started explaining. “Check your inventory. You should have a bunch of some sort of meat or food-ish item.”

There was a smaller crowd around Pink-Septimus today and, as a result, Matt walked right up to him. It was the closest he’d gotten to the man. The quilted fabric of his robe looked soft and luxurious. His facial hair was perfect. Matt rubbed a hand along his own chin; he should have had to shave by now.

“I am a traveler, Septimus,” Matt said. “I have completed my quest.”

The world blurred and Septimus began, “Welcome back! Great job dealing with those pesky bears—always fishing, eating honey, and stealing pic-a-nic baskets. This is our camp!” Septimus pointed upwards for emphasis. “For a job well done, choose your reward.”

He then spread his hands and three options appeared floating between them. They were each a different piece of level 4 armor, each a different weight. The first was a pair of light armor sandals. The middle icon was labeled ‘jerkin’ and was a medium armor top. And, the final item was, delightfully, a pair of pants.

Finally! Matt thought, choosing the pants.

‘121,500 XP’ appeared and then floated away.

Matt opened his inventory, eager to be rid of his coffee-stained khakis. The icon made the new pants seem dark in color. Matt wondered what the material would be—how heavy they would be—since they were classified as ‘heavy’ armor. Anything was better than what he had on now.

One way to find out, Matt thought, pulling the pants towards his legs. It didn’t work. It was like they were attached by a rubber band to his inventory. Matt tried again. The ‘Level 4’ label on them pulsed.

You’ve got to be kidding me! Matt frowned.

“Psst, traveler,” Septimus said.

“Yes, Septimus?” Matt re-engaged.

His surroundings blurred and Septimus spoke conspiratorially, “Traveler, you didn’t happen to get any of those pesky bears’ fish, did you? If you did, I would take them off your hands…”

This must be what Cathleen was talking about! Matt turned to her, a blurry blob that seemed to be chatting with another blurry blob matching Anika.

“Yes, I have fish,” Matt said to Septimus.

“Wonderful news!” Septimus responded. “May I have them all?”

Matt didn’t know what else he was going to do with them. “Yes, Septimus, take all of the fish.”

Septimus disengaged and then ‘144,000 XP’ appeared, followed by ‘Level 4’ and ‘5 Stat Points’ while Matt glowed.

Yes! Pants! Matt opened his inventory and pulled the pants to his legs. Victory is mine!

They were black and made of some sort of high-tech fabric—and most importantly, not coffee-stained. He tapped at the fronts of his thighs and shins; they were protected by lightweight panels. They sounded more plastic than metal. He grinned.

Matt strode back to the group to show off his pants. They stood in a semi-circle around Cathleen.

Anika saw him coming and smiled. “Hey, nice pa—” Anika disappeared.