Chapter One: Meeting
Hey, what's up? This is my first story, so please point out what I'm doing wrong. I'm sure there's a lot of it... Story title will probably change, since I have no good ones. Suggestions welcome.
"How's my favorite patient doing today?" Doctor Wilson walked in, with his usual goofy smile on his face; the one that always seemed to undermine his Ph.D."There someone here to see you, darling," he said to his only patient at the time, and nodded toward the door. "It's the same guy that brought you in here a few hours ago. He says he wants to ask you a few questions."
"About the accident?" asked the girl sitting on the hospital bed. She looked up from her gaming magazine and eyed Doctor Wilson. He was a tall, lanky man of about forty, and the glasses on his face only assured that he knew what he was doing. Melissa always thought that people who wore glasses were somewhat smarter than other people. She herself wore glasses, so there was some bias there.
"He didn't say," replied Doctor Wilson. "All he said was that he had some questions, and I didn't ask what about." He paused, and rubbed the back of his neck. "You, uh...you said that you don't really remember the accident, right?"
She nodded slowly. "Not all of it. There are some bits and pieces." Melissa closed her magazine and tossed it on the bedside table. "I remember driving down the road, singing along with the radio, and then there was this flash of orange light. Then, I'm here."
"I see," Doctor Wilson said. He obviously didn't believe her. It seemed highly illogical. But out here in the rural town of Twin Falls, North Carolina, some of the locals would attest to the strangest of things. "And this...light, it caused you to crash?"
"I don't really remember," Melissa answered. "Whatever happened, something hit me from the side. That's what the police said when they were filing the reports." She reached over to the table, and grabbed a piece of yellow paper.
On it were some notes that the kind officer had left her. He had hoped that writing down some observations having Melissa go over them a few times would spark her memory. "It says here that the truck suffered from impact on the right side; apparently something of great force hit it head on."
Wilson nodded. "Yes, I know. I've read the notes. They've been looking what hit your car. It's probably lost in the forest right now, far outside of the search zone."
"...how can they lose a car in the woods? In broad day light?"
"Your truck was knocked twenty feet into the woods," the doctor told her. "And even then it was hard to see from the road, with all of them bushes." He looked away from her, and down at his feet. "...and they've said that there was too much impact force for a normal vehicle. They think that what hit you wasn't a car at all."
"Really?"
"They say that the side of the car is far too torn up for it to be a car," explained Wilson. "The entire right side was completely smashed inward. There's very few cars capable of doing that much damage, and none of them are around Twin Falls."
"Then what?"
Wilson shook his head. "I do not know. However, what I do now, is that the man that found you and brought you here wants to ask you a few questions. I think you're in good enough health to answer them, if you want to."
Melissa shrugged. "Fine. But if he starts asking questions about all of that legal mumbo-jumbo, then I want a lawyer."
"Wise decision," Wilson said, as he turned and headed for the door. He placed his hand on the door knob, and cast a look over his shoulder. "And Melissa?"
"Hmm?"
"We still haven't had any luck getting in contact with your parents. We don't know what part of Australia they're vacationing in."
"That's okay. I'm fine," she replied, trying to hide her disappointment. That was like her parents. No where to be found when she really needed them. But, she was used to being on her own, so what was the difference? "The truck's totaled, but I still have access to the Jeep. We'll just deal with all of the insurance and crap when they get back."
Wilson nodded. "Fair enough. I'll fetch him in now."
Several seconds passed before the man entered the room. He stood taller than most people, easily seven feet. He had blue eyes and short brown hair. In one hand, there was a beat-up looking gray grocery bag. His well-developed muscles could be seen through the...outfit he was wearing. The material of the outfit seemed to be something that looked like rubber, but was much more protective. Melissa recognized the design immediately.
The worn, tight-fitting suit that resembled a diver's suit. There were grooves along the arms and legs where pieces of armor could be attached. A Spartan undersuit. No doubt about it. There wasn't a single thing about Halo that Melissa could make a mistake about. She knew everything right down to a T.
They stared at each other for several seconds, before Melissa finally decided to break the silence. "The doc said you had questions." She hoped to get a chance to ask her own questions. She really wanted to know what he was doing wearing that costume.
"Three," he answered curtly.
"Okay, shoot."
"First question. Where am I?"
Melissa tiled her head at him, and furrowed her brow. "Um...in the small town of Twin Falls, in the grandiose state of North Carolina."
The man thought for a moment, and then asked; "Earth, then?"
"Um...derr." Seriously, was this guy stupid or something?
"Second question. What's the date?"
Again, Melissa looked at him strange. Yep, he's stupid. Stupid or there's something seriously wrong with him. Did he had amnesia or something? Surely he would know where he was and what day it was. "It's Thursday, November 20th."
"Year?"
"...2014."
The man grunted. "Interesting." he reached into the bag and pulled out a small, flat object. "Last question. What is this?" He tossed the object to her.
Melissa almost caught it, but she fumbled it at the last second. When she got a good look at her, she raised her eyebrows. "This is a video game," she replied, tapping the Xbox One logo at the top of the game box. "I'm sure you've heard of them."
"...what's that one about?"
Looking down at the game box itself, she frowned. "It's my new copy of the Master Chief Collection. It just came out a few weeks ago. I haven't gotten to play it yet," she muttered. She was heading home after purchasing the game when she got into the wreck.
"...that didn't answer my question. What's it about?"
Melissa shrugged. "It's pretty much about the adventures of the..." she trailed off. Something clicked in the back of her head. This tall guy was wearing a Spartan undersuit, asking what planet he was on, what year it was, asking about the Master Chief Collection as a video game. None of that would make sense unless...no, she was just over thinking it.
He did have blue eyes and brown hair, just like the books portrayed him...No Melissa, she told herself, you're still a little shaken up from your accident, and this is all just something coincidental. "What's your name?"
The man looked at her. "Why does that matter?"
"Well, I'm here answering your questions, why can't you answer one of mine?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but closed before he could form any words. Eventually, he pointed at the copy of the Master Chief Collection. "I'll make a deal. You want my name, and I want to play that game. A simple trade-off."
"Um...I...okay," Melissa finally answered, and tossed the game back to him. "Here, just bring it back when you're done. I paid for it, after all." Why did you do that? Screamed the rational part of her. You just let some random stranger borrow a sixty-dollar game! What if he's just scamming you? So what? I'll just tell my parents that it was ruined in the crash, and they'll get me a new one.
The man caught it in one hand, and looked down at the box, as if he were analyzing every single atom of the game. "Alright." he turned to leave. "I'm John," he said over his shoulder, as he opened the door. "I'll bring it back when I'm done. I promise."
Melissa's brain was on the verge of an overload. John? Coincidence? Not anymore. Someone pulling a prank on her? Possibly. But she couldn't think of a single person that would do that to her. She couldn't think of a single person that knew she liked Halo.
"Don't make a girl a promise," Melissa started, before her brain could process the words, "if you know you can't keep it."
John froze, and cast a second look over his shoulder. "Where did you hear that?"
"From the game," Melissa replied. "...from Cortana."
The man sighed and lowered his head. "That's what I was afraid of."
Melissa decided that it was finally time to test the waters. "You're him, aren't you? You're the legendary Master Chief?"
"...I am."
She knew it was true. Somehow, her mind told her that he was telling the truth. What other explanation made sense? "How? How is it possible that a video game character suddenly appears in reality?" asked Melissa, folding her arms. "That just doesn't seem physically possible."
John shook his head. "I doubt it is. But it happened. Something caused me to be here, in a different universe, where all my adventures and accomplishments have been reduced to a mere video game that people play when they're looking to have fun. I don't like that. There are things I saw during the events that these...games...portray, and there's a lot of bad memories associated with them. Things I would never want to see again, especially when I'm being controlled by idiots with a controller."
"...so, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to find my way back, somehow."
"...you want my help?"
"What?"
"If you want to get back, then you'll probably need someone who knows what's going on," she replied. "You are obviously going to draw attention to yourself dressed like that, and if you don't start acting like a local, then you'll get called out nearly instantly."
"...you're offering help to some stranger that you've never met before, and you're not asking for anything in return?"
Melissa nodded. "If what you say is true, then why shouldn't I? After all, how many Halo fans would be able to make the claim that they actually met, and assisted, the Master Chief? Not many. And, if it turns out that you are lying...my dad was in the Navy Special Forces."
"That doesn't scare me."
"I didn't think it would."
"What's our first move?" John asked, getting straight to business.
"Old doc Wilson will probably let me out of here soon, and then we'll find a place to stash you until we find out how to get you back. I don't think that my parents would take too kindly to me meeting up with a middle-aged man on a daily basis." Melissa told him. "I know a place where you can stay, it's near where I live, and no one really goes there. I can bring some food and water out to you."
John nodded. "That's kind of you. I'll gather my things. Once I'm out of sight, we'll need to figure out how I got here in the first place, and find a way to reverse that."
"Agreed."
Melissa grabbed her purse off the nightstand, and pulled two green bills from within. "Here's a twenty and a ten," she said, handing him the money. "It's not much, but you need to get some new clothes. Like I said, you'll just stand out otherwise."
John slowly reached out and grabbed the money. He was completely surprised. After scouting around the town for the past couple of hours, he expected that these people would just think he was a creep or something and call the cops. But here, there was someone who was willing to help him. He didn't think that would happen.
With a nod of appreciation, John walked to the door, and then looked back at the teenage girl. "I didn't catch your name."
"Melissa. Melissa Williams."
"For what it's worth, Melissa, thank you."
Hopefully that wasn't too bad...I've really been looking forward to writing this story. There's so many ideas for this bouncing around in my head. Please leave a review!