When Frank began his search for the masked man who attacked him, he didn’t expect to find much. He thought he would’ve been frustrated by the absence of results no matter where he searched. But it was the opposite. There wasn’t a mountain of results, but there was enough to make him realize that what the masked man did was unusual. It wasn’t a simple glitch like he first thought. No ability existed in the recorded skill base for what the man did. Frank was sure. He went through the database a hundred times.

It took him some time to find anything useful. He changed and combined keywords twenty times before he got close to what he was looking for. Or who he was hunting. If it were any other scenario, Frank would’ve let it go. He would’ve brushed it off and gone on more jobs immediately after. But the man took something Frank couldn’t just forget. Not after working so hard for it. That act pushed Frank to get to the bottom of what he wanted because he had all intentions of taking back what was his.

After days of research, Frank came across an article that was the most solid lead so far. It was a Forum post on Fate Maker’s support section that read “Player Stole My Items.” The post was a few pages long as the original poster and the support rep went back and forth. The poster was sure that whoever did it was cheating, but the support rep believed the original poster was either mistaken or suffered from a minor glitch.

Either way, they reassured him that he would investigate the matter further and act accordingly. That was the end of that. The thread was closed before it could be dragged out to another ten pages. The poster might not have gotten the last word, but he did link to an external forum. Frank was looking at it now.

This post read “The Plague Doctor” and it was more expressive than the one before. The poster went by the name Ed and managed to accrue a following. As Frank read through the comments, other players were reporting that they had been attacked by a gamer dressed like a plague doctor before. Some of them, Frank realized were trolls who thought Ed was a crybaby, but there were legitimate commenters among them still.

Ed created an online petition for Fate Maker to do a proper investigation. But before Frank signed up, he emailed Ed directly. It was a request for more information but also a plea for help. The man replied almost immediately as if he was waiting by his computer for someone to contact him. Given how heated he was in the discussion on the forums, it made sense he would be so quick to react.

Everything was going great until Frank asked to meet with Ed in the game. Ed’s reply came back ten minutes later and it was no. When Frank asked why, Ed just didn’t reply. Frank persisted and told him that he needed his help to escape the plague doctor. But Ed was having none of it. Was he so scared of them that he didn’t want to risk a second encounter?

A knock on the door caused Frank to look up from his laptop screen. He waited to see if anyone was going to answer. After the second round of rapping and no footsteps, Frank resigned to answer the door himself. He looked through the peephole to see a brown-haired girl with light freckles standing at the door. Frank’s stomach twisted. He let the door remain between them.

“Hi, I’m here to see Mrs. Shaw,” she said.

“She’s not here,” Frank replied. “Is it important? I can take a message.”

“It is.” Her glare changed. It looked as if she was processing something. Maybe she remembered his voice too. But that couldn’t be possible. She never heard it before. “You’re not Cole, are you?”

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“No.”

She tried to see who was on the other side of the peephole. But it was pointless.

“Can you at least open the door?”

Frank hesitated to turn the knob and swing the door open. But he did, and now they were face to face. Frank’s eyes traced her vaguely familiar form. Hers showed no recognition. The smile on her face returned as if she was greeting him for the first time.

“Hi again,” she said. “My aunt must’ve told you that I was coming. So I’m not sure what’s going on.”

“Aunt?”

“Susie,” the girl said, “she takes care of Cole. Well not anymore.”

Frank didn’t see the resemblance, but her name was coming to him. “Nicole?”

“Right. Now I’m sure you’re Frank. Didn’t my aunt tell you I was coming?”

“No, in fact, I haven’t seen her.”

“She said you might say that,” Nicole sighed. “Check your phone. She said you zoned out when she was talking to you.”

Frank pulled out his phone and went through his messages. The one from Susan read: Your dad’s sick. He doesn’t want anyone else to take care of him. I can’t leave Cole unattended so my niece will be looking after him. Don’t get any ideas.

“So can I come in or what?”

Frank stepped aside so she could pass. He found it weird that she didn’t recognize him. But he was a blur the last time he saw her. He showed her where Cole was staying. She studied the boy as he lay on the bed.

“What is he doing?” She asked.

“He’s playing Fate Maker,” Frank replied. She still looked at him dumbfounded. “It’s a virtual reality game.”

“Oh. Is he gonna be in there all day?”

“It’s not like he has anything better to do.” Frank sighed and went towards his laptop. There were ten messages from Ed.

“You must feel bad for causing this.” She went towards the closet.

Frank felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. “It was an accident. What’re you doing?”

“Susie said she left some logs in here that she wanted me to go over.”

“Wait, let me help you.” Frank got up, but Nicole was already opening the closet.

“It’s fine. I got…” The rest of her sentence disappeared when she saw the small purple box on the top shelf. Even from this angle, Frank saw the recognition in her eyes. She opened it slowly and took out the ragged toy followed by a small painting of a woman and her daughter. Nicole looked at Frank.

“Where did you get this?” Frank just stared at her. “Where did you get this, huh?” Frank looked down at his keyboard and typed a quick response to Ed. “Was it you? It was you!” Frank opened the bedside drawer and took out the Immersion Helmet. “Hey! I’m talking to you, answer me.”

But Frank couldn’t see her to deliver an answer. He couldn’t hear or even respond either. He was surrounded by blackness as the game absorbed him.

Once the loading screen faded, the mountainside came into view. The place was dark, but Frank could still make out the rock wall in front of him. He also felt it at his back as he leaned on it for support. Typically, his eyes would need time to adjust to the dark, but his avatar had been here for so long that its eyesight was gaining night vision. Frank didn’t mind adding that to his skill list. There was a friend request waiting for him from Edward The Almost First. He accepted the friend request and pulled up the map so he could place a beacon at the cave’s exit and send it to Ed.

He checked his vitals and noticed that his health had increased slowly over time. If he were in a city, the regeneration rate would be much faster. But Frank couldn’t complain, he was still alive after all. The best news he’s heard all day. Especially compared to his father’s situation, and his victim’s sudden appearance. Yet he couldn’t think about the latter now, and he will visit his dad once this was over. The man might be a hard ass, but Frank still cared about his health. The new stress of Cole’s situation must have triggered his father’s condition. A knot tightened in Frank’s stomach.

Frank tried to distract himself from the subject by focusing on starting a fire so he could find a way out. His control panel illuminated the cave, but it wasn’t bright enough to use as a torch. Its glow barely lit his limbs and torso. Nonetheless, he cycled through his items for wood, kindling, and flint. He saw everything but the flint. As he scrolled through his storage, he noticed that other items were missing. Without the flint, it would be hard to start the fire. But experience has taught Frank to be more prepared for situations like this — experience and a penchant for hoarding whatever he laid eyes on.