May 1st, 2023
1315 hours
I reached into my car and withdrew the pack of cigarettes and lighter that Carlos had placed on the console. The events of the past few hours had given me a strong compulsion to smoke. I hadn’t lit a cigarette in more than a year, but this seemed like a special occasion.
“Do you mind if I smoke?” I asked Claire, gesturing to the unlit cigarette in between two of my fingers.
“No, it’s okay,” Claire responded.
“There’s nothing quite like the first drag of a cigarette after a long dry spell,” I said, savoring the nicotine. “So, Claire Fischer, if you want to shout, spit, and swear at me, now’s the time.”
“What?”
“I killed Simon. You would be justified in hating me.”
“Yes, you did,” Claire said with a sigh, “but it was a mercy killing. When I calmed down, I realized that Simon was probably in pain until you shot him. I would have done the same if I wasn’t panicking at the time. To tell you the truth, I should be thanking you.”
Based on the girl’s body language, I could tell immediately that she was lying. Okay, perhaps “lying” isn’t the best word. Rather, she was being polite. Claire was terrified of me, and she knew she had to rely on me in order to survive. In order to not anger me, she pretended that everything was fine between us.
Ironically, this polite deception angered me far more than if she had shouted and insulted me. I hated when women did that. It reminded me of the thousand subtle social cues I had missed when I was young and stupid.
Claire involuntarily took a step back, and I realized that a brief flash of anger had appeared on my face. The conversation was not going well, so it was time to pivot to a calmer subject. I had to break the ice.
“Did Carlos or Liz tell you how we met?” I asked casually.
“No.”
“We met through the college’s board game club two years ago, and we soon started a Dungeon King campaign. When I met Carlos and Liz, I was sure they wouldn’t stick around. Carlos was an athlete, and Liz always showed up to our sessions looking like a supermodel. Uh, don’t tell her I said that.”
Claire covered her mouth to stifle an involuntary laugh.
Smiling, I continued my story, “I thought, ‘These two are way too cool for me, they won’t stick around until session three,’ but they did stay, and they were just as committed to the campaign as I was. When I told them about my condition, and I was sure they would leave, they stuck around anyway.”
I paused, giving Claire an opportunity to speak.
“Condition?” Claire asked. “Wh-what’s that?”
“Right, I haven’t told you yet,” I said. “Condition is a cutesy word for it. To tell you the truth, I’m a paranoid schizophrenic who was once involuntarily committed to a psych ward.”
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“Really? That’s not a joke?” The fear was much more obvious on Claire’s face this time.
“It would be a poor joke if it was. I’m in control of myself. At least, I think I am. It took me a year to get control over my hallucinations, but I’ve been able to function normally for about four years now. When we get to Fayetteville, you will have the opportunity to split off and find another group. For now, however, you’ll have to put up with the crazy guy.”
Claire smiled, and I could’ve sworn that I saw relief in her expression. “You know, a moment ago, I thought you were too sane.”
“I might be overcorrecting a bit,” I admitted.
“Your ‘condition’ makes you seem much more human. The idea that even you have your own problems makes me feel a bit better.”
Even me? I failed to see what I had done to make Claire view me in such a way.
I shrugged. “By the way, Claire. What’s your name in the System? We need to add you to the [Party] to get you some extra EXP.”
“My username?” Claire asked, laughing awkwardly. “You know, I didn’t think it would be that important, so I just entered the first thing that came to mind.”
“Uh huh.”
“It’s…” she sighed. “It’s Pixie Chix with an ‘x’ at the end of ‘Chix.’ I used that as a username on most anonymous forums. If I knew it would be tied to me like that, I would have chosen something else”
“Like the Dixie Chicks, right?” I said as I navigated through my [Menu]. “That’s funny.”
After a quick interaction over the Revelation System, several notifications appeared in the center of my vision.
[FRIEND REQUEST ACCEPTED: PIXIE CHIX]
[PIXIE CHIX HAS JOINED THE PARTY]
Friend List
Elstine: Priestess, Lvl. 5
Hellman: Champion, Lvl. 25
Pixie Chix: Thief, Lvl. 4
Slader: Knight, Lvl. 5
Elstine Priestess, Lvl. 5 Hellman Champion, Lvl. 25 Pixie Chix Thief, Lvl. 4 Slader Knight, Lvl. 5
When I looked up from my [Menu], my eyes fell upon a large RV parked on the edge of the parking lot. The RV was similar to a bus in shape, and it took up four parking spaces.
I began walking toward the RV. It would be much easier for us if we had a semi-permanent structure to live in. It was unlikely that we would be able to find a building to live in any time soon, and living in an RV would be far preferable to living in tents.
The door to the RV was unlocked, and I stepped within. As soon as I saw the large couch and kitchen located in the back of the vehicle, I knew we had to take it. A few scattered corpses littered the ground near the RV, so I assumed its original owners wouldn’t miss it.
“Are we gonna steal it?” Claire asked. I turned and saw that she had stepped into the RV with me.
“The original owners aren’t gonna miss it.”
Claire looked over to the driver’s seat and said, “I can try to hotwire it.”
“Hmm?” I raised one eyebrow in theatrical shock. “Where did you learn how to do that?”
“Every time I level up, the System teaches me a new form of criminal activity. Hotwiring vehicles came just after picking locks.”
“Very useful,” I said, “but don’t try anything just yet. I want to try something first.”
I stepped outside of the RV and looked at the nearby corpses. There were two of them, a man and a woman. My instincts said that they were a couple, so I crouched in front of the man and began fishing through his pockets. There, in one of his front pockets, was a key ring. I pressed one of the buttons on a key fob hanging from that ring, and the lights at the front of the RV flashed in response.
I stood up from my crouch and smiled as I walked toward my new RV.