Chapter 5

*This is the rough draft version of the novel. The polished novel will be posted at a later date.

Proper formatting has not been applied to this chapter yet.

Chapter 5: It Begins

Day 2

Atrinity winced and shaded her eyes with her hand as she adjusted to the bright blue sky above her. She could feel the thick, plush grass beneath her back and knew; she had made it through the portal into the game, Kaldea. She began to lean her head forward to sit up when the sky was blocked by a red-headed boy in a tall hat with a brilliant grin, and blue eyes that matched his long robe. Despite his friendly appearance, he startled her.

"Hi there! You're awake!" he exclaimed and offered his hand to help her up. "Are you okay? Do you need any help?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine! I just um, fell asleep, I guess," she supposed as she sat herself up without his help.

"Fell asleep? You just came out of some kind of rift! I've never seen a miracle like that before!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm. "My name's Raol, what's your name?"

"Atrinity," she replied, patting the grass around her as she looked at him before tearing her attention away from Raol to look for her phone.

“Are you looking for this?” Raol asked with one finger pointing at a floating device shaped like an octahedron.

“Um, I don't know what that is,” she admitted timidly.

“Well it looks like someone is trying to make contact now,” he remarked and poked the device.

“Atrinity? Can you hear me?” Glitch's voice came through and she stood up.

“Yes!” she answered alertly.

“I don't have a visual of where you are, but Aitheros is currently in Red as a blue player, so I can now watch him from the hub. I'm going to have my attention split between the two of you, but I'll keep you both on call. Do you see a castle?” Glitch asked and Raol gestured with a thumb to large gates a short distance behind himself.

“Y-yeah, I do,” she replied.

“Go there and form a party to explore the caves southwest of Kaldea castle,” Glitch instructed.

“Okay, I'll try,” she agreed nervously, then cupped her hands around the device and pulled it in towards her before looking at Raol. “I... don't really know how to use this thing,”

“What thing?” Glitch asked and Raol held his tongue.

She tried her best to describe it, “It's what I'm talking to you with. It's like a diamond shape, with a bluish glow, and it floats.”

“Oh, so your phone transformed when you got there?” he remarked.

“This is my phone?”

“Yeah. Did anything else on you change?” he asked and she looked down to see her pink and white polka dot pajamas.

“...No,” her head hung as she shut her eyes in embarrassment.

“That's interesting... that means some things are tied to the games, while other things like clothes aren't. Aitheros is still in his hoodie, so I thought as much on the clothes, but I'll have to take note of the phones,” Glitch mused.

“I wish it had worked on my clothes. How am I supposed to go on an adventure when I'm not even properly dressed?” she grumbled.

Raol raised his hand up slightly and caught Atrinity's attention. “I might be able to help!”

“Is someone there with you?” Glitch asked and Atrinity tensed up.

“Oh... yeah, a boy I just met. He was here when I woke up,” she explained.

“Hiya!” Raol greeted with a grin to the device.

“...Make sure to mention if others are around going forward,” Glitch replied with a stern tone, and Atrinity's countenance fell.

“I'm sorry, I will next time,” she replied.

Raol rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, looking up at Atrinity.

“Ah, sorry,” she said to Raol. “You were saying?” she asked, her hands still cupped around the device.

“I know someone who can help you out with clothes. And she's in Kaldea kingdom, which it sounds like you have to go to, anyway. Why don't you let me show you the way?” he asked with a smile and a tilt of his head.

“That would be great, thank you,” Atrinity replied.

“You don't have to hold onto that while it's on, by the way,” he said, pointing to the device in her hands. “If you let it go, it will just float behind you,” he explained. She cautiously released it into the air. “That, and,” he began in a hushed whisper as he shooed it away towards her back with a couple flicks of his fingers, “you might accidentally disconnect from your call if you keep it in your hands like that.”

“Noted,” she replied.

“Okay, follow me! I'll take you to Kaldea and show you to my friend! And maybe you could tell me about where you came from?” he asked excitedly.

“Oh, sure...” Atrinity replied cautiously, peeking back at her phone as if checking to see if Glitch was okay with it. She hadn't forgotten his caution to not get involved with NPCs. “I run a small café somewhere far away from here,” she explained.

“A café, huh? What kind of treats do you sell?” Raol asked curiously as they walked toward the large entrance to the kingdom ahead.

“Lots of things, but some of the more popular foods are strawberry cakes and vanilla tea!” Atrinity replied and Raol's eyes sparkled.

“I love cake! And tea! If you want, I can make you some tea when we stop by my house! I have to grab something before we can head over to my friend's,” he replied.

As they walked into the kingdom of Kaldea, Atrinity saw a young guard waving at Raol. He didn't bother to ask about her, instead leaning back against the warm stone walls.

“Raol!” a young woman in a green dress with long brown hair called out to him, waving from just outside a bakery farther down the street and to the right. She had a big grin on her face at first, but stopped smiling and paused her wave upon seeing Atrinity.

“Hey, Shy!” Raol yelled back with a wave. “I'd stop by, but I have to help this lady meet with Emiko! I'll catch you later!”

“All right! You'd better drop by later, then!” she yelled with both her hands by her mouth before dropping them down onto her white apron and stepping back into the bakery.

“Okay, this way, Atrinity! My house is this very first to the left, the door is just in the alley.”

They walked to the entrance of his tiny house, and he sprung ahead to push the wooden door open, with one hand on the knob and the other clenched into a fist as he pressed his shoulder to the wood. He grunted as it creaked open, then let out a light sigh of relief as he leaned his back against it and gestured Atrinity in with his right hand.

“Thanks,” she said with a slight bow to her head as she walked inside. Her eyes widened just a moment when she stepped in to see books piled everywhere except for the mostly bare bookshelves to the left. There were used dishes stacked on the counters and in the large sink just ahead, and blankets and clothes draped over chairs, and whatever other furniture she might have otherwise recognized.

“Would you like some tea?” Raol offered as he stepped inside, the heavy door shutting itself by the sheer weight met with gravity.

“Um...” she hesitated as she tried to spot the kettle.

“Oh, I have herbal teas, like peppermint and chamomile!” he clarified cheerfully as he climbed over things to get to the attached kitchen area. He lifted the kettle, which looked to be the only clean dish in the vicinity, then he pulled some pans out of the sink and set them on the floor so he could pour a bucket of water into the kettle without worry of spills.

“Chamomile...” she replied, looking around at the mugs scattered about the room. “Do you need any help? I could... wash some dishes,” she offered.

“No need! You can just relax and read something if you'd like. I'll wash a couple of mugs for us.”

Despite Atrinity's apprehension, Raol washed things thoroughly. He took the kettle off the fire and poured the tea, which steeped as he grabbed things to put into his large beige mailbag. Before she knew it, Raol was passing her a hot mug of perfection.

“This tea is so good!”

Raol flashed a grin and took a sip. He nodded his head in agreement as he exhaled in delight. “I've had to do all my own cooking and tea brewing for quite a while now, so I've got it down.”

It was something she had noticed. Everything from the size of the place to how messy it was indicated that this boy was living alone. She stared into her cup, steam still wreathed out, but it wasn't too hot to enjoy the flavor. The aroma was comforting as she debated whether to ask him about his situation or keep to herself. Glitch had likely been listening in this whole time, and she couldn't help but feel like she was in trouble already for getting too wrapped up with a character in a story. It was hard to help it; everything about Raol seemed far too real, but then, so did the hot mug in her hand, and the steam around her nose.

“My parents died in the war a few years back,” Raol said, breaking the silence. Atrinity lifted her head to see he was still smiling, while her face was grave. “Both of them were powerful miracle workers, so of course they both wanted to do their part.”

“I'm so sorry,” she replied, but he shook his head.

“Don't be! I'm proud of them!” he grinned then took a big sip of his tea. “If you ever have anything you're curious about, just ask! It really won't bother me,” he insisted, reading her general apprehension and aiming to put her at ease.

“...Thank you, Raol,” she replied before taking another sip of her tea.

The two wrapped up their moment of reprieve and headed out, moving through paved back roads within the kingdom's walls to a small home nestled between large stone buildings.

“This is the place!” Raol said before running up and knocking on the front door. A young man around Raol's age opened the door.

The young man looked gaunt, and rubbed at his eyes, which were a pleasant blue. His unruly blond hair had a cowlick and a rat tail, but he was clean and well dressed despite his apparent exhaustion. “Raol?”

“Hi Julian, is Emiko home?” Raol asked with a smile and a slight tilt of his head.

“Yeah, Emi's--”

“I TOLD YOU, call me Emiko!” she shouted from behind him then pushed him out of the way. “Hi, Raol! What do you need? Ooo, who's that with you? She's super tall!” asked the girl dressed in strange purple and pink attire. She had the same dark blonde hair color as her brother, which was wavy and unruly in its own right.

“This is my friend, Atrinity! She needs some new clothes, so I was wondering if you could help us out?” Raol explained and asked with a hand toward Atrinity.

Emiko's brown eyes lit up and she threw the door open wide, while Julian stood off to the right a distance behind her, rubbing his neck as he let out a sigh. “I would love to! She's the perfect model for a new piece I've been working on!” she exclaimed before rushing out to grab Atrinity's arm to pull her inside. “Let me get your measurements so I can get to work!”

“O-okay!” Atrinity replied as she was dragged into the house and pulled around the corner into Emiko's room.

****

Meanwhile in the game Red, Aitheros and Mix were searching for Rose...

“I'm surprised we haven't even heard gunfire yet,” Aitheros remarked as he and Mix walked down the alleyway.

“I'm not surprised by that. They usually set all of the players a great distance from one another, and most look for a good place to camp out because that's the safest strategy,” Mix replied.

“Makes sense from a player perspective, but not really from a show perspective. Won't that just make it boring to watch?”

“Nah, it works. They want the viewers to have a little time to get to know the players. Having them all far apart at first, grabbing loot and talking to each other like we're doing right now. Seeing the nerves build up just makes it that much more exciting when teams finally find each other,” Mix explained, then smirked. “I watched the show a lot if you couldn't tell.”

“That was obvious when we were picking out guns. Are you sure you shouldn't be the blue player with all of that in mind, though?” Aitheros asked while lifting his pistol which gave off a blue light.

“Like I said earlier, I can still aim and shoot regardless of which gun I have, I just can't let myself get shot,” Mix said while his eyes scanned the area to their left then right. “I was hoping we'd find some loot, though! It'd be nice if I could switch guns before we run into another team,” he sighed in defeat.

“Yeah, I've never seen or played Red, so I'm kind of going at this blind. That said, we're coming up on a open area, so let me scout ahead,” Aitheros said, and Terri nodded.

At the end of the narrow alley they had walked was a wide road horizontal to where they were. There were lots of tall city buildings with no entryways, just small nooks and alleys between them. From the left side of the alleyway, Aitheros peeked around the corner. The right was clear, but a dead end, leaving the path ahead narrowed down to the left, or one of the tight passages between buildings a good hundred feet across from them. Aitheros motioned Mix to take a look.

“I don't like this... it's pretty wide open, and I don't see any cover.”

“Yeah, but it's a long way back,” Aitheros mentioned, and a silent camera drone came around the corner, hovering above, filming them. “That thing better not give away our location,” he said as his eyes tracked it for a moment. “Let's go.” The two cautiously walked out, Aitheros leading the way with Mix staying close so as not to be a target. He held his gun low, trying to hide that red glow, while also still in a position to open fire if the need should arise. Their shoulders began to relax as they made a fair distance without incident and approached an alley on the left side they were hugging.

BANG BANG! Two shots fired and Aitheros gave a loud grunt as he squeezed his right arm.

BANG! Mix shot a bullet in the direction of the bullets as he ran towards their only potential shelter. Aitheros followed and tried to see if he could make out their enemy before ducking with Mix behind a large crate in the tight alley they hid in. “He's got an assault rifle!”

“How's your arm?” Mix asked, Aitheros still squeezing it.

“Hurts like I got shot!” he replied, brows furrowed. Mix, peeked over the crate.

BANG! Another shot, too close for comfort, and he ducked close to the pavement.

“Can you fire back?” he asked more urgently and Aitheros readied his pistol.

BANG BANG BANG BANG! Bullets flew around the crate, causing them both to freeze before Aitheros felt bold and peeked from the side of the crate, opening fire on the massive enemy decked out in gray camouflage charging their way. He made even Aitheros seem small by comparison, yet that only made him easier to see and hit.

BANG! A clear hit that knocked the large man out, causing him to vanish from in front of them.

“I got him!” he exclaimed with eyes wide and Mix rose from his position. “What was he, nuts? Running at us in such an open area?”

Mix wasted no time to answer and pulled on Aitheros' left arm to get him to move with him. “We gotta run! He was blue, so he'll respawn nearby in a few seconds!” he urged and they both sprinted down the large open alley towards a crowded looking city in the dome's center with open warehouses. They both stayed alert, but there was no sign of other players as they made their escape. They rushed into a large, empty warehouse. One of three, all in close proximity to each other, and they put their backs against the wall and breathed heavily with relief as they saw the coast was clear.

“Where was the red player? Why didn't he come out or fire at us?” Aitheros asked aloud, though not necessarily expecting an answer.

“It's a common enough strategy to keep your red player out of sight and out of fights. I mean, in our situation we were both already seen, so I'd have to fight if you were wiped,” Mix sighed with relief at the fact they'd survived. “You're lucky that bullet didn't hurt as bad as a real one, or you'd have been writhing on the ground in agony and I'd have had to provide cover fire.”

“I might not have been writhing, but it hurt bad enough as-is, trust me,” Aitheros insisted, then pulled up his sleeve to see there was no wound on his arm.

“No matter how real it feels, this is still a game. The wounds are temporary, and you'll recover once you're out of combat,” Mix explained. Aitheros pulled his sleeve back down and looked around. When Mix said that, for just a moment he thought he was talking about Remnants, but he reminded himself he was an NPC, as Glitch had said, and was merely explaining the game within the game; Red. It was then something past the railing on the upper floor of the warehouse caught his eye and look up there!”

Mix looked swiftly and his eyes grew wide.