As pain shot through Cole’s right leg, it inexplicably transferred and multiplied in his left one. It shouldn’t have done that. The left one wasn’t caught by the goo as he invoked Whirlwind. It didn’t twist and snap as he spun. So why then were both his legs aching? Why were images of the real world flashing across his mind as the goo consumed his body?

He saw the campus, Frank, the bike, and the wheelchair. Each image stained his retina for 5 seconds, and, as his brain flicked through them, the pain in his ankles intensified. Cole wanted to move, but he was stunned. He was paralyzed. Again. The only thing he could process besides the pain was the goo crawling over his body like a parasite.

There was something familiar about the goo. Something his brain was trying to process. Or tell him. But he wasn’t able to receive the information or process it. It could be due to the pain, or it could be just that it’s beyond his comprehension at the moment. Not even Daniel knew what the goo was, and he has been playing Fate Maker for months.

Frank knew a bit more. He knew how to manipulate the goo to exploit a glitch, but he still could not explain its presence or what it was meant for when he first mentioned it. If neither of these guys understood what the goo was, Cole doubted he would.

Beyond the slimy feel of the goo, Cole felt rough hands grabbing at his exposed flesh. He also heard muffled sounds. He tried to make it out, but couldn’t. The pain was too much, and the goo had mostly covered his ear. The same hand that was groping him earlier gets a good hold of him. Five seconds later, there’s a bright light, the goo slithers away, and Cole is hauled and dragged onto solid ground.

He would’ve thanked the person who saved him. He would’ve stopped yelling and got to his feet, but the pain still had him in agony.

“Cole. Cole!” Daniel’s voice finally breaks through. “You’re okay. You’re fine. get up.”

Coles stares at Daniel who’s kneeling over him. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” Daniel scans Cole. His eyes then veer off to right, looking at something in his heads-up display.

“My ankles. They’re broken.” Cole’s eyes start to glisten. His heart rate skyrockets. “Daniel, they’re broken. I can’t get up. I can’t walk.”

“Structural Immobility?” Daniel says to himself. He looks at Cole. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be fine.”

Cole shakes his head. The pain in his ankles is just like when he got hit. It’s just like the pain in real life, and just like real life, he’s helpless. At the mercy of others. He didn’t want to be a burden in the game. He came to Fate Maker to be free. To do something to change his own fate, even if it’s just in this virtual world. Who the hell would program things like a broken ankle anyway? Wouldn’t nearly everyone twist their ankle on a quest and be delayed for hours?

Four whistles rang through the dead night. Daniel looked around but saw nothing. He curled his arms under Cole, hoisted him up, and — as quickly as he could — walked backward. Daniel must be really strong to carry Cole so easily. Being carried made Cole feel even worse. It shouldn’t be like this. He should be able to fend for himself here. Not be dead weight.

Arrows struck the ground where they just were. A second later, the ground exploded, sending dirt, rocks, and goo flying at them. Daniel never stopped dragging Cole until they come to the side of the temple. A few more arrows landed and exploded as they round the corner, but the effect was negligible. Syrian had followed them to take cover around the side of the temple. That didn’t help their situation that much because even though they had avoided the exploding arrows, the temple kept quaking and shaking due to their proximity to it. Cole knew that they couldn’t stay there long or they risk the temple collapsing in on Frank.

“Trust me, Cole,” Daniel says. “I can fix this. I can’t fix it in the real world, but I can here.” Daniel whispers something. His hands begin to glow. “Try to focus on your breath to ignore the pain. This will take a little while. Syrian?"

"Yeah," she replies.

"I need thirty seconds. Did you find them?”

“Does that mean you want to work together now?” she asks.

“Did you find them or not?”

“No.” She scans the darkness. “They’re good. They’re here somewhere but I can’t pinpoint their location.”

Daniel’s eyes darted around. “Okay, I want you to—” An explosion from inside the temple cut him off. The ground shifted and shook beneath them. “Scratch that. Can you slip into the temple like Loki did?”

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She nods. “Yeah, that’s easy. Wait, you mean Saint Loki? He’s here?”

“No time for fangirling, Syrian. I don’t think this guy came alone based on the explosions inside. Loki might need backup. You want to help? Get in there.”

Syrian vanishes into thin air.

“How did you know it was a player who attacked us?” Cole asked.

“Didn’t you check your notification?” Daniel asked.

Cole did so right away.

Combat Notification

You’ve been engaged by RemmyThenBenny

Level: 30

Rank: Silver I (2/5)

Class: Ranger (Night Stalker)

Health: 1895

“That’s it? That’s all the info we get against the enemy?” Cole asked.

The light around Daniel’s hands faded. “That’s it. Now, here’s the thing.” He gives Cole room to sit up. Cole's ankles feel fine. No more excruciating pain, but there was a dull ache that seemed to seep in from another reality. “You’re gonna hang back. I’ll take point here. You don’t move unless I tell you to.”

Cole grunted as he stood up. “I didn’t join Fate Maker for you to babysit me, Daniel.”

“I’m not babysitting you,” Daniel says. “You’re new to this game—”

“But I’ve played games before. I’ve played RPGs before.”

Daniel nods. “I didn’t forget. But that’s not what this is about. It’s about making sure that your quest is completed. If it has the impact that we believe it will, doing everything to make sure you succeed is the way we play this. Which means playing it safe.”

“I get it. He’s Level 30 and I’m Level 8.”

“And I’m only 28,” Daniel says. His eyes glow green again as he scans around the corner. “But that’s not it. Levels let you know how powerful your enemy might be, but their rank tells you how skilled they are in PVP combat.”

“What’s your rank?” Cole asks.

“Silver I. Just like him. But he’s two levels above me.”

“And he’s a Ranger. Plus we can’t detect him. He can keep wearing us down from a distance.”

Daniel grips Cole’s shoulder. “Finally, you’re bringing your head into the game. You’ve led us on successful campaigns in the past when we played tabletop. Do you think you can use that brain of yours again?”

“I’ll do my best. I haven’t read up on much, but I won’t be making that mistake again.”

Daniel’s eyes faded back to blue. “I know. All right, I’ve got to be the one to draw him out and take him down. You just need to find him.”

“Whatever skill he’s using has to cool down at some point.” Cole looks at the black goo on the temple’s walls that reaches out for him. “That’s when it’ll be easier for us to find him. I have a plan. I need some stuff.”

A quick whistle drew their attention. Daniel's eyes glowed green. A second whistle rang out. Cole trailed Daniel’s gaze to a spot above them. An arrow soon arcs overhead. It was set to zip by but then a second arrow zipped overhead and impacted the first. Cole couldn’t see it clearly, because it was dark and happened fast, but one of the arrows changed trajectory and plummeted to the ground.

“Cole!” Daniel dove toward Cole but there was no time.

Arrows rained down around them. Trick shots like before. Cole stared as they all hit the ground. The only thing Cole could do was shield his eyes. But that barely helped. He was blasted back into the temple wall. Pain radiated through his back and chest. His head pounded from the impact against the wall. Added to that he was severely disoriented. He could barely keep his eyes on his stat sheet as he examined it.

Name:

Cold Fate

Stamina:

61/81

Class:

Fighter (Barbarian)

Strength:

89

Level:

8

Agility:

112

Rank:

Unranked (0/3)

Mind:

38

XP:

850/1550

Persistence

14

Health:

8/221

RemmyThenBenny had wiped out nearly all his health with one barrage. Another barrage like that would kill him. Hell, Remmy wouldn’t even have to try that hard. Even an arrow just grazing his arm would take him out. Cole was quickly beginning to see how much of a liability he was in the fight.

“Cole?” Daniel says coming through the dirt and dust.

Cole grabs Daniel’s outstretched hand. “I’ll be fine. I have three health potions. Give me what I need, and I’ll make sure we take this guy down.”