Calvin – Alpha Zone #193 Level 1 – 20
“-CK YOURSELF!”
Calvin announced to the uninterested jungle he now found himself in. He then quickly closed his eyes in an attempt to make the artifacts from his vision clear faster. When the vision behind his eyelids was no longer white he studied his new surroundings.
In stark contrast to his previous location this one seemed to be of a much greener variety, but what he knew and thought of as a traditional jungle was not what met his gaze right now. He found himself studying a jungle that appeared to be at least twice the size of what could be considered normal.
While it did contain an undergrowth of vines, ferns and shrubs of the predominantly green variety, with the odd bespeccaling of yellow and red flowers for the shrubs and vines, just the vine leaves alone were enough for him to cover his whole head with room to spare.
Marveling at the beautiful silence of this Jurassic sized jungle that now surrounded him, he silently traced the dappled light now reaching the loamy floor from it’s skyscraper like canopy. His eyes then started to wander to the steep incline to his left and what looked to be an extremely long and winding path, which stretched for what seemed to be tens of kilometers up a mountainous rise.
He began to wonder if Judy was experiencing the same thing right now. This led to thoughts of her safety and just as he was about to head off in a random direction to postpone his fears a monstrous shadow passed over the distant canopy.
Several kilometers up the gradually ascending path, it momentarily blocked what little light there was in the distance. Almost instantly followed by this was a strong gust of wind which caused him to freeze in place immediately.
Moments later when the light had returned, there was a bone rattling, terror inducing “ROOOOOAAAAAAAAR” that brought the jungle alive with comparatively quieter cries and shrieks. Calvin barely noticed the chaotic chorus as a blue screen had him transfixed in terror:
You have heard the call of a powerful being and are momentarily paralyzed.
Panicking he tried to call up his ‘status’ screen only to be met with another blue screen:
Unable to access status screen during combat.
When Calvin could move again some seconds later he immediately turned in the opposite direction the gigantic shadow and terrifying roar had come from and made to sprint, but he faltered when he was met with yet another blue screen:
Quest: Sanctuary
Description: Successfully make your way to the nearest outpost and cross it’s threshold
Rewards: Manamotes (quantities will vary based on your party’s size).
Tip: Follow the guidance arrow superimposed upon your HUD.
‘Man this is turning out to be both the weirdest and worst day of my life!’ he though agitatedly whilst he willed away the quest screen to be met with yet another invasive visual experience:
Hud initialized.
What accompanied the blue box this time was a faint green arrow, thankfully pointing away from whatever had made that trauma inducing roar, also two different yet similar bars in the right and left corners of his vision. The bar on the left was red and about 90% full whilst the blue bar on the right was completely full, which again lead him to the conclusion that he just might be stuck in some kind of screwed up MMO.
As much as he wanted to play around with blue screens all day, it appeared that his status was still inaccessible and with the memory of being paralyzed by whatever the hell that flying shadow was, he set off on the gradually descending path.
Some minutes later when his IT friendly body was starting to sweat profusely and his new sword and shield were getting a little cumbersome he heard chittering from far too close by for comfort. Swiveling his head left and right as he quickened his pace through the dimly lit jungle, he started to see skittering insectoid legs shadowing either side of him.
Though they were some 4 for 5 meters away Calvin was more focused on their size than any other characteristic. Like with the extra-large jungle that he was fleeing through, the insects that he now identified as giant ants from catching enough glimpses of their parallel pursuit, suffered from the same treatment of enlargement.
This put them at a respectable meter long and some 30 centimeters tall, the worst part however to his mind were their giant clicking mandibles. Almost absent mindedly, he realized their proximity was probably the reason why this fucked up mmo’s system thought he was in combat and unable to access his status.
Rounding a slight bend in the barely trodden path, he saw a figure about a kilometer down the path and with renewed hope in his inexpert gait he closed to the distance and called out to alert them of his ant assailants.
“Hey mate? I don’t mean to alarm you but I’m being chased by giant fucking ant’s and if it’s not to much trouble I think I need some help!?”
His call for help elicited a startled jump from the figure who up until that point had been standing stock still, staring off into space whilst in the middle of the green saddled path. Turning to face Calvin, the figure was not what he had expected at all.
They turned out to be a middle aged tan skinned woman with graying auburn hair, carrying a wooden staff. Her eye’s went wide as she realized that he indeed was being Shepparded by ‘giant fucking ant’s’ and to make matters more complicated heading towards her with them in tow.
“What? No! don’t bring them here!”
She cried out in fear and consternation in an American accent, then started to run further down the path and away from Calvin and his giant ant convoy. Seeing this, he cried out.
“Hey! Wait for me please!”
However wait she did not, instead she continued to maintain distance from him while shooting him scathing and disbelieving looks from time to time, in an obvious attempt to convey just how stupid she thought he was.
This pursuit continued for several more minutes before the pursuers and pursued came upon another unsuspecting figure, further along the descending jungle path. This time the woman took the role of informing the newest unsuspecting stranger of their impending predicament.
“H-hi there! I suggest you start running away right now! This idiot behind me is being chased by ants and thanks to him so am I!”
This time the stranger was a young caramel skinned, dark haired man who held an identical shield and sword to that of Calvin’s. However to both the pursuee’s surprise, he did not turn and run but looked to the sides of the path in a calm fashion and said in a thick Indian accent.
“Alright now just calm down, I want you two to get behind me and when I draw their attention I want you to use whatever abilities you just got on them whilst I have them distracted.”
Whilst the pair silently thanked the sky’s above for someone willing to help them, they offered no protest and did as instructed:
You have formed a party with Stephanie and Kal’ier all experience will be shared equally.
Noticing the other twos surprised expressions, Calvin guessed the others had similarly been informed of this development and deciding now was not the time for a Q&A session, silently got into position.
Having finished their impromptu triangle formation the freshly formed trio waited with baited breath as the ant’s quickly encircled them. Prepping Calvin and the woman, the Indian man spoke with an authoritative timbre.
“Remember to stay close to me and only attack the closest ones.”
Seeing the other two’s nods of grim ascent as he continued to scan their foes, the Indian man wasted no time and picked up a small rock from the side of the path, throwing it at the head of the closest ant. The rock landed true in one of its eyes with a wet *thunk* sound.
Sufficiently enraged the ant charged the man and when it was within four feet of him he cried out, with his voice echoing off the enormous flora.
“SHEILD BASH!”
Following which he lunged forward into his incoming opponent with his shield, which slammed the ant’s head before it had a chance to open it’s deadly looking pincers and stunned it. Before Calvin had a chance to use his own skill the lady called out in an equally vigorous intonation.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
“MAGIC MISSILE”
An arrow like purple pulse, burst forth from the tip of the woman’s crude looking staff and shot over the other strangers shoulder to penetrate the ant’s head, causing it to explode into green ichor and fractured brown chitin:
Your party has slain Worker Ant level 2, experience awarded equally.
Once again they all jumped a little at the invasive notification.
“Haha! Good job Stephanie! Only 9 more to go!”
Said the Indian stranger with a raucous laugh and wolfish grin, then turned his head to Calvin and prompted him with a nudge and a confident nod toward the next advancing ant. Summoning up courage he didn’t know he had, he focused on the incoming ant and attempted to emulate his newfound instructor.
“S-SHEILD BASH”
He stuttered out with as much gusto as his fear plagued mind could muster, then low and behold, his body mechanically copied Kal’ier’s previous actions to a tee and automatically drove his wooden shield forward and similarly stunned their next assailant.
“MAGIC MISSILE”
Stephanie cried out on cue and the ant’s head exploded once more, rewarding Calvin in a shower of green Ichor for his contribution:
Your party has slain Worker Ant level 1, experience awarded equally.
Grinning at the successful insanity of the situation he got back into formation ready for the next opponent.
This process repeated twice more and just as the party was beginning to see light at the end of the ichor coated tunnel, their dreams of escaping came crashing down as further up the path more brown monstrous ants were converging quickly on their entrenched position.
Having lost concentration Calvin missed the chance to Shield Bash the next incoming ant and with the advantage lost, the ant lunged forward and was intercepted with a blocking shield from Kal’ier’s shield.
The other ants, sensing an opportunity, all attacked at once and with 5 pairs of new mandibles incoming Calvin panicked and quickly turned to face the opposite direction of Kal’ier and used his ability on the advancing ant behind Stephanie.
“SHEILD BASH!”
He cried out in desperation but with only stunning one incoming ant and Kal’ier already engaged in a tug of war for his shield with the sixth ant, it was the beginning of the end for the newly formed party.
Kal’ier was the first to fall prey to two advancing ant’s either side of him at his exposed legs, and flail as he might with his short sword, it bounced ineffectually off their hardened carapace. Their mandibles had him at either knee and with choreographed efficiency the sickening stereo *crunch* of him being decapitated at both his knee’s, while Calvin could only look on in horror.
In concert to Kal’iers un-kneeing, Stephanie was also pincered ,metaphorically and literally, by the final two unattended attackers and with ruthless efficiency they had her by an arm and her waist with their mandibles causing another pair of syncopated *crunch*’s. This painful series of events lead to her being interrupted mid spell cast.
“MAGIC MI-“
With his party members evident doom in the chaotic screams of pain and sound of severing joints that ensued Calvin looked at his briefly incapacitated ant and made the heart wrenching decision to flee.
Breaking into a shambling run past his ant, his impromptu teammates provided a perfect distraction for the ants to swarm over:
You have left the party, experience no longer being shared.
Ignoring the accusatory notification, he continued his fear stricken run down the path toward the translucent green arrow, away from the ever fading cries of pain and indignation from his two fallen ex-comrades.
The remaining two were diligently picked apart whilst still alive and screaming, by the diligent worker ants as food for their eternally ravenous queen.
However, no matter how far Calvin seemed to run, the scene kept on playing over and over in his head like a warped short film causing tears to steam down his face unbidden.
He wasn’t sure how long he ran for or how many trees and distant cries of help he had eventually ended up ignoring but his body was telling him he was almost about to collapse. With legs aching and the bottom of his pants in tatters from apparently being caught on passing shrubs, he broke through the tree line into a vast clearing.
Coming to a halt, freed from his fear driven fugue, what met his vision was something the like of which his eyes had never laid eyes on, which was saying a lot considering he had grown up as a child of the internet.
In front of him in the center of the clearing, was a raised section of earth that would have to of been some two or more kilometers across and on top of it rested an almost seamless white wall. The continuous concave wall was only interrupted by what appeared to be an arched entrance big enough for people to enter through. A white ramp lead up to the entrance from the existing ground level, giving him the feel of a modernized equivalent of a medieval fort, missing only the moat to complete the replication.
To make the spectacle more surreal, the clearing also contained other humans of varying ages and appearances looking angry, bewildered, distraught, or a mixture of the three.
Calvin shook himself from his momentary wonder and ignoring the others at the edges of the clearing he remembered what he had fled from, willing his aching legs onwards toward the entrance and the guiding arrow.
Trudging across the clearing, he was halfway across when a young South American looking man in military fatigues holding a wooden staff appeared out of thin air close to its edge. Not 500 meters from Calvin, the man was momentarily bathed in a flash of blue white light, mid-sentence, half shouting and pointing angrily with his finger at the empty air in front of him.
“-SN’T MATTER WAT CHU-“
The man trailed off when he realized that the target of his ire was no longer in front of him and his already flushed face grew an even deeper shade of red to that of a tomato. Looking for someone to vent his frustration on, his eyes found the disheveled Calvin.
“Hey chu, come ere a second.”
Having had enough of being told what to do for more than one lifetime, Calvin ignored his angry demand and wearily kept on ambling toward the entrance. Not liking being ignored the man started yelling once more.
“CHU LISTEN TU ME CHU LITTLE PUNTO,CHU COME TU ME RITE NAO!”
But Calvin was already on the white ramp leading up the arch in the wall and kept right on trudging, till he was inside the arch. His actions elicited a further enraged cry from behind him.
“HO K, CHU ASKED FOR IT MI LITTLE FRIEND! MAGGIC MISSILE!”
Eye’s going wide in realization Calvin turned in time to see a purple bolt of energy coming directly for him, paralyzed by panic his mind went blank. Contrary to his expectations however, just as the bolt was about to collide with his dumbstruck figure, there was a rippling veil of translucent blue, approximately one meter in front of him and the bolt impacted it, instead of Calvin’s transfixed face.
Shaking himself from the stupor and with the existential threat having been summarily dealt with, he had no desire to stick around for a potential death at the hands of the irate South American. Rotating on his heel, he continued with renewed vigor to follow the green translucent arrows, silent guidance.
Passing the arch’s threshold a blue box blocked his vision:
Welcome to Outpost #846!
Here you will find shelter, sustenance, trade, quests and the chance to form a new community.
Whilst you yourself are free from harm, whilst within its confines so are other inhabitants.
Should you obstruct, physically or verbally threaten, even attempt to imply harm to another resident, you will promptly be removed from the outpost.
‘Well that goes a ways to explaining the appearance of the homicidal South American guy’ he thought as he willed away the blue box.
What greeted his now unobstructed eyes when he finished passing through the walls boundary, was a completely alien topography of single story white and blank cubes, sitting in row after silent unmoving row. The boxes would go for 5 in close succession then there would be a break of a bisecting black uniform path, following which, this sequence would continue on for several kilometers either side of the main path he found himself on.
At the end of the path Calvin could make out a dome that seemed to be four times the height of the cubes with several stick figures of people milling about it’s base:
Congratulations on completing the quest ‘Sanctuary’, You have been awarded 5 Manamotes for successful completion.
Not sure whether to feel elated or disgusted that he was the only one of his previous party to receive it he pushed the conflicting emotions down as another screen took his attention:
Quest: A Place Too Lay Your Head
Description: Select a vacant Habitation Unit to temporarily call your own
Reward: Temporary access to a Habitation Unit for a duration of 30 light/dark cycles.
Once more told what to do Calvin almost lost all reason then and there, but the call of safety and sleep, however temporary, was too precious to outright disregard.
Ignoring the other people around him in varying states of confusion, curiosity, anger and dejection, he awkwardly ambled to the first bisecting side path. Continuing he ventured two of the cube rows deep, so as to be close to entrance but not directly in front of it, and selecting one the five units from the row to his right, he ended up in front of the third cube of the set. Walking closer to it he received a blue boxed prompt:
Habitation Unit #1421
Status: Vacant
Tip: To claim Habitation Unit for temporary access simply place your palm anywhere on its surface.
Biting down his irritation at feeling like a lab rat in a sorry excuse for a maze, he did as suggested and placed his ichor and blood stained hand on the uniformly white cube’s surface, causing a small blue pulse to ripple from it, which quickly dissipated:
Congratulations on completing the quest “A Place Too Lay Your Head”, you have been awarded temporary access to your selected Habitation Unit for 30 days. This Habitation Unit will provide you with shelter, 3 meals a day and sanitary facilities for the duration of your occupancy rights. Only you may access your selected domicile unless you specify otherwise.
Following the umpteenth annoying blue box of the day, the cubes surface began to part in a rectangular shape in front of Calvin. Once he had ambled inside, the cube had somehow sealed itself again and what surrounded him was four white walls.
The one facing him sported a 2 ½ meter long what he could only assume was a bed with black mattress and a white pillow resting at one end. One of the other two adjoining walls contained what appeared to be a seat and a table, both of which were black and sufficiently angular yet plain. On this walls opposing counterpart was situated what he could only identify as a basic bathroom with compact washbasin, toilet and shower.
He still could not quite figure out where the light for him to see was coming from but he immediately assumed magic was at work and left it at that. All in all he exhaustedly mused, the cube would be the founder of Okea’s dream made manifest, just for the sheer compact utilitarianism it contained.
However now there was no immediate danger to be had and no blue boxes telling him what to do, the sheer tragedy and trauma of the day’s events hit him all at once. Beginning to shake as wretched sob’s escaped his unwilling mouth, tears started to accompany the outpouring of put off distress.
Not realizing his hands had subconsciously relinquished his death grip on his sword and shield he only registered their absence with the sound of them clattering to the uniformly white floor. Numbly Calvin stumbled over to the bed and collapsing on it, he curled up in the fetal position whilst crying himself to a nightmare plagued sleep.