Solstice

I opened my eyes. The sunlight pricked my eyes as it urged me to get up. My hand instinctively covered my face, and I took a long, deep breath, the wisps of my wavy, black hair tickling my cheek. Birds were chirping and the scritch scratch of a tree's branches against my window joined the chorus as well.

My muscles ached as I slowly pulled myself up, my sky blue quilt sliding from my shoulders. I stretched my arms over my head, and pulled myself as taut as a string. Today's a Saturday…

I jumped out of my warm cocoon and threw my coffee-colored door open in a frenzy.

Oh no, I'm going to be late! I thought as I grabbed my clean, out-of-the-dryer clothing and flung them on. I pumped my arms as I sprinted down the stairs to grab a bowl of cold milk and a handful of Cheerios, gulping and munching the the grainy goodness down my throat.

"MOM! I'm diving!" I yelled, my voice echoing throughout the little cramped house I had lived in for all my life. A grunt of consent came from my mom, but I was already bolting back to my room, tripping and falling over misplaced books, newspapers, and boxes filled with junk.

The old bed groaned as I slammed my weight onto the tattered mattress and I immediately strapped in my nerve gear, ready to play the MMORPG, RealmsOfValor, or ROV. It had aired just a few months ago, and everyone ages 13 and up were playing it. Including me. I remember diving in to that stunning world, seeing the fairytale castles, flowing meadows, breathless mountains, windy deserts.

The MMORPG was a big hit everywhere and today, before the clock hits 7 AM, you can sign in to do a level 60 mission that only opens up to the public today. As a beast-tamer in the game (a really rare skill to acquire), I was ready to complete the daunting mission. To prove that I'm not shy, not nerdy, to prove that I was strong. That I could take on anything.

"Link Start!" I shouted.

Ayden

Pant, pant. My footsteps echoed down the long, arched hallway, hitting the bare metal floor in a steady rhythm. My father's words at the diplomatic meeting were still entangled in my mind, never to go away.

"A dangerous, fatal virus has been released by the bio-terrorists. We do not know what it will do to the world, but we need to be immensely careful and find the source immediately, at all costs. The whole human race may be in danger."

I shook my head, attempting to clear my head from these thoughts. With one hand, I swiped my short golden hair in an attempt to keep it neat and orderly. My tailored suit was flapping about wildly, and my black tie was gripped in my other hand to keep it from flying loose. I glanced at my silver watch, an old gift from Grandfather. 6:57. I ran harder, sweat starting to collect on my forehead. Barging into my room, I hit my bed hard, the golden tassels at the end of the silver blankets bouncing up and down. My hand reached toward my nerve gear, slipping it on. I can't be late.

Solstice

Colors flew past me in a blur, until I had to shut my eyes to keep the nagging hues out of my mind. I opened my eyes a crack, and they at once focused on the sparkling streets and shops, filled with people of different colors and shapes. I had spawned in the Realm of Light, the spawning point for every avatar in the game. My feet finally were let go by the invisible force that held me, and immediately started to run to the mission entrance. It wasn't far, and there was still a minute left to enter. Tap, tap. I heard footsteps behind me. There was a flash of blue and my knee hit the pavement. Hard. Someone bashed into my forehead, and a jolt of pain was sent to my brain as I collapsed onto the pavement. I slowly opened my eyes, afraid of what I was about to see. It was a boy with messy blond curls, blushing hard as he struggled to get himself off of me. He had sharp blue eyes, and he looked… quite perfect. His nose was proportional, jaw set straight, eyes the perfect distance. Gathering all my strength, I threw him off of me.

"Watch where you're going!" I shrieked. Turning myself away from the confused boy, I ran the last few meters to the glowing entrance portal.

Ayden

The girl turned her heels and left, with her nose sticking up in the air and her black ponytail whipping around her. Just like that. She was mesmerizing, with red, fiery eyes and a prominent nose that made her look a bit cute. Only a bit. Her weapon shined and glistened in the sun, a beautiful silver bow…

Snapping out of my trance, I took after the girl through the portal. Maybe I could team up with her and complete the mission with her. Maybe. As I leapt through the swirling mass, out of the corner of my eye I saw it shrink a little. I breathed a sigh of relief. I had gotten in the portal just in time.

My feet crunched on the dry bark of a fallen tree. The air was filled with a pine smell, the one that went through your nose and made everything fresher and crispier. Looking around, I spotted a gleam of a red velvet coat: the girl. I raced after her.

"Hey!" I yelled. She turned around, her eyes burning into my skull.

"What do you want?" She asked, irritated.

"Um, I just wanted to ask if… you want to do the mission together," I muttered.

She sighed. "I can't hear you, and I don't have enough time for this. Who are you, anyway?" Her eyes shot darts through my body.

"I'm a blacksmith. A pretty good one actually." I tried to play it cool like I did in those fancy meetings with the Congress, but I sounded like an idiot. "So, do you want to team up?"

She sniffed. "Nah, I'm fine. I'll be strong enough." Her robes swished around her as she started to walk toward the looming mountain, containing over 50 bosses of every element waiting to fight you. Of course, once you enter, you can't find another friend who has entered before you. You just have to team up with them before you enter the mountain.

I watched as she, step by step, made her way across the dried up bushes and fallen logs. Something snapped in me, like how the twigs broke underneath her black leather boots.

"Wait!" I shouted at her. Sounding like a crazy bear, I charged through the mass of wood and grabbed her hand just as she was about to enter. Gravity pulled. She did too, and I toppled onto her, both of us falling through the entrance of the mountain.

Solstice

He had nerve and guts to fall on me twice the same day. I don't care if he was a stranger in another world, I just wanted to kill him. Apparently, the system recognized us as a team and now I was stuck with him and I had to share my loot with him.

Such luck.

Of course, as you would expect, I slapped him hard on his little pretty face. A red mark was probably still sitting there as we trudged along the cave floor, crystals glistening this way and that. And, alas, if you travel with him, you have to know his name.

"So, what is your name? Bob?" I rolled my eyes.

"Avatar name or real name?"

"Duh, your avatar name. I'm not a creepy stalker."

He nodded, relieved. "I'm Hawk345, you can just call me Hawke." Such a weird name.

"Well, I'm AlinaXx, and Alina's fine," I replied curtly.

He smiled and tilted his head, his curls falling to the side. I looked away. It made me uncomfortable.

"Where is the first boss?" I muttered. Just when I closed my mouth, ending the sentence, the whole floor shook. An audible shriek echoed throughout the caves, and the source revealed itself. It was a woman with the body of a black widow spider. Sticky, gum-like webs shot out at us. We dodged the missile barely, some tangling into my hair.

"Chandika!" I called while grabbing my bow. A female white tiger appeared, pixels flying out as she formed. Her black stripes shined, and she nodded at me. Then she attacked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hawke hold up a golden hammer, and he literally swung that thing like a brute. It didn't seem right when you saw his skinny little arms raising it into the air. I chuckled just a little bit.

My grip tightened onto my bow as I aimed an arrow at the monster. The silver bow was beautiful, designed by a top blacksmith elf in the Realm of Stone. I grasped my full pack of arrows and started to fire them at the monster, hitting her red eyes. The HP bar slowly went down until Chandika hit the last blow, roaring with audible fury. The monster exploded into a million pixels, floating away into the depths of the cave.

Ayden

I was impressed when I saw her summon a beast. Only beast-tamers could do that, and to have a tiger- wow! And her archery skill was incredible; she could sign up for an elf if she wanted to. So I swung my hammer harder. I even had to take out my light, sharp sword (I forged it myself, of course) to amputate one of the demon spider's legs to get it from scrabbling at me. SO annoying.

Finally, Alina's tiger finally fought it off. I walked to her, sweating a pool, HP a bit down. Stamina a lot.

Alina returned her bow to its former position, strapped onto the back. The snow-white tiger bounded toward her, long claws scraping the pebbles of the cave floor.

I watched as Alina scratched the back of Chandika. "Good girl," she said. "Go take a rest." Pixels dissolving, the tiger disappeared and left the cave in silence. Alina glanced at me.

"Nice job with that hammer," she said.

I scratched my head, giving her a quirky grin.

She smiled back at me. "Come on, this team thing isn't as bad as it sounds." Turning away, she once again summoned a creature. How many did she have?

"Inferno," she whispered, and a beautiful phoenix appeared, with a coat of fire upon its radiant feathers. It flapped next to us, warming us up and illuminating the path of the cave with a soft, golden glow. Alina started to walk. And I followed.

We defeated another boss. It was a crystallized giant, and we easily defeated it with my hammer and Alina's piercing arrows. We made a great team, and as we progressed through each level, we grew stronger and stronger. And… it felt different with her now. It was more relaxed, and I guess I could call her a friend. Just a friend.

Pixels flew into the air as we heard the dragon's roar echo through the caves, one last time. I put down my hammer and sat down, groaning as I glanced at my HP, half down. Alina's HP was only a sixth down, probably because she was a long-range type of person. And she had all these creatures that did her bidding. She had a dragon, phoenix, tiger, griffin, did I mention a giant spider? How do you even tame them?

I sighed and closed my eyes. Feeling cool glass on my skin, I jolted awake. Alina stared down at me.

"I'm going to log out," she said. "We can save here, but take this healing potion first. I don't want you to die on me."

I grabbed the potion, fingers just briefly skimming her hand. "Thanks," I replied.

She nodded, and swiped the air, bringing the digital menu out. "See you later," I heard her say. "I'll be back on at about 3." Then her avatar disappeared. And I was left in silence.