Hey all! This is a new story of mine inspired by calcu22's fic New Game. This fic is a sister story to hers, so please read New Game FIRST, then read mine.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just my OC.
[You Have Died]
[New Game?]
-Yes
-No
My first thought at seeing the floating words was, "I'm dead?!"
I didn't think I was dead… I mean, I certainly didn't feel dead. Just… disincorporated? Like I was in the middle of a dissociative episode or having a dream in the third person or something.
But DEAD!? How had I died and not noticed? Surely the end of my life would register, right!?
Except, no. It clearly hadn't. Because if the glowing words of above were anything to go by, I'd died and was now being given the option to try again.
Raising my hand, I selected '-Yes' without hesitation. Cuz why not, right? I didn't want to stay dead.
[Starting New Game…]
I waited for about a solid minute for the game to load. You would think the afterlife had a more solid connection, but apparently not.
[Character Creation]
-Import Character
-New Character
-Random
Well, I certainly didn't want to experience any kind of body and/or gender dysphoria. So, I opted to import my old body. Dealing with getting aged up or down was already going to be a lot for me to handle. I didn't want to deal with having an entirely new body on top of that.
[Import Loading…]
[Import Complete!]
[World State Selection]
-Apocalypse Now:
You wake up during an apocalyptic event. The world has ended, and the remnants of humanity are struggling to survive their new reality. What happened to the world is up to you. But be aware that life as you know it has ceased to exist.
-Parallel:
You awaken in a world similar to your own but with one key difference. Differences range from a world where dogs are the dominant species to America losing the Cold War. Whatever the case, the world will not be as you remember it.
-Stranger Than Fiction:
You find yourself transported to a fictional world. Which one is chosen at random, but will be one you are at least familiar with. As recompense, you will be awarded one additional 'Talent Point'.
-The Gamer:
Your life is a video game. Which world you end up in is chosen at random and there is no guarantee it will be one you are familiar with. As recompense, you gain 'Gamer's Body' and 'Gamer's Mind' status effects.
Hmmm…
I was the kinda person who couldn't survive without modern-day comforts, as I was rather sickly growing up and relied on medication to function like a normal human being in my adult life.
Soooo, 'Apocalypse Now' was OUT!
As for 'Stranger Than Fiction, I'm not ashamed to admit I was an otaku. I had spent hours upon hours watching anime and reading manga and manhua online. Plus, I'd seen nearly everything on Netflix, Disney Plus and TV On-demand. (Don't judge me!)
That meant there were A TON of fictional worlds to choose from and I for one didn't trust my luck.
What if I ended up in 'Attack on Titan'? or 'Tokyo Ghoul'? Or a god-awful period drama?
'Stranger than Fiction was OUT!
As for 'Parallel'… well, that carried the same risk as being sent to a fictional world. Sure, the difference could be something minor like 'All humans have three eyes' but what if it were something major?
Could I really live in a world where the Nazi's won WW2 or where dinosaurs never went extinct?
I didn't think so.
'Parallel' was OUT!
That just left me with 'Gamer'.
Considering my afterlife had a gaming format already, it would make sense that my next life had that aspect carried over. Yes, it would be weird, and it would take some time to get used to. But the perks of having a gamer body and a gamer's mind sounded pretty cool.
Perhaps it would cure my body of my illness by increasing my healing factor? Or give me the ability to pause reality while I looked at my console screen?
That would be a dream come true!
Then again… I didn't know very many games. Just titles of the most popular ones and a few tutorials from Youtube. I'd played Minecraft in my tweens, tried to play Portal 1 and 2 (though I quickly gave up), and had a shot at the odd racing game… were those the kind of world's I would be sent to?
Because I had played Dark Souls one time and I didn't want to end up there…
Eventually, after umming and ahhing for a while, I shrugged my shoulders and selected 'The Gamer'. The possibility of having a strong, healthy body was simply too much to pass up!
[The Gamer Selected]
[Selecting World…]
Like the pictures on a lottery machine, hundreds of titles began to flash past my eyes. I caught a glimpse of a Harry Potter title and had to physically swallow back my surprise that the fictional worlds of games weren't the only ones on the table.
Though that thought was quickly followed by a deep-rooted sense of dread that ANY fictional world could be picked as my destination…
I was so screwed.
[MCU Selected]
Huh, the Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn't so bad.
As long as I didn't prevent the Avengers from conducting the Time Heist all would be golden!
[Skill Selection]
[You have been awarded 3 Talent Points based on the completion status of your previous game. Each talent may only be selected once unless specified otherwise. Effects are cumulative.]
-The Wolverine:
You heal from injuries faster than conventional means can make them. Anything less than full atomic annihilation can be brushed off providing enough time to heal. Vulnerable to drowning and suffocation.
-Alabaster:
You reset to a pristine condition every 4.3 seconds. This includes physical wounds, poisons, status effects, mutations, and any damage sustained by objects touching your person at the time of reset. If your person is atomically annihilated before a reset can complete, you will perish.
-Wildcard:
You are given any power from the Superpower Wiki chosen at random. Your proficiency in this power can be increased with training and age. You may use a Talent Point to have a new power selected at random.
-Escalation:
The more damage you take, the more stress you feel, the more danger you are in, the stronger you get. Escalating your form removes wounds and status effects. While simultaneously increasing your strength, reflexes, speed, and intelligence. At your highest escalation point, you will be invulnerable and unstoppable.
-Man's Best Friend:
All animals and beasts you encounter will automatically be non-hostile to your presence. If taken multiple times, you gain the ability to permanently tame one animal or beast to be your loyal companion.
-Planewalker:
If you survive in your current world for 10 years, you gain the ability to choose a new World State upon your death with all your stats, skills and Talents intact. Any additional Talent Points gained in this world can be used to purchase additional Talents.
-Roll a D20:
You have the option to roll a D20 before any action or decision to alter the outcome. Reality is paused while you roll the dice. A 20 guarantees complete success while a 1 guarantees critical failure. Consequences can be potentially fatal.
-Muggleborn:
You can select one magical skill from the Harry Potter Series to use. You will not be able to use magic outside your single ability. Potential skills include Metaphormagus, Animagus, Apparition, Natural Legilimens, Natural Occlumens, Parseltongue.
-Siren:
Your voice can hypnotize/compel anything with ears into doing your will. The effect lasts as long as you continue speaking/singing. The target must be in the hearing range upon activation. If you are silent for more than 5 seconds, your control fails.
Right of the bat, the Alabaster talent sounded like the form of immortality in Baccano. Except without the essence absorption and the ', You must address yourself with your true name around other immortals!' rules. I'd only ever watched the anime, but the wiki listed multiple ways this brand of immortality could cause the owner insufferable pain….
Yeah Nah. Alabaster was a no-go.
'The Wolverine' would be useful. But again, from what I'd seen in the movies, it could be more of a curse than a blessing. Plus, I didn't particularly want to be immortal so that option was out too.
I'd never played Dungeons and Dragons before and Escalation sounded like it would send my panic disorder into a tizzy. So, they were both crossed off the list as well.
I was tempted to pick 'Wildcard'.
But then 'Siren' acted as its own superpower and why would I risk a random draw where I could get stuck with Cheese Manipulation or Sneeze Inducement? The ability to basically mind control people and animals just by talking or singing was waaaay cooler than those.
Planewalker was a no brainer.
Getting to carry over all my talents and experience points to my next life would give me an extraordinary boost. I'd have to be stupid to not pick it.
That left me with 'Man's Best Friend' and 'Muggleborn'.
Seeing as my Siren powers could already endear animals to me, I decided 'Muggleborn' would be my third talent. Shapeshifting would be cool but being able to apparate was much more practical.
Besides, I'd always wanted to be able to teleport!
[Planewalker Selected]
[Siren Selected]
[Muggleborn: Apparition Selected]
Looking at my power set, I couldn't help but feel a tad giddy inside.
I was gonna be a teleporting mind controller! How awesome was that!?
[Perks And Disadvantages]
[You must choose 1 Disadvantage for each Perk chosen. A maximum of 3 Perks may be selected.]
P1- Allspeak:
You are preternaturally gifted with languages. You perceive all spoken language as your native tongue, including inhuman languages. Your spoken native tongue is automatically translated into the listener's native tongue. You may learn to read and write in any language with little practice.
P2- Incognito:
The source of your Talents and powers is impossible for others to determine without you informing them outright. Mind readers cannot take the knowledge from your thoughts, truth serums cannot pull it out of you, and people will fabricate their own (false) explanations for anything unusual you do.
P3- Aphrodite's Blessing:
You are always airbrushed to perfection. Anything you wear will always complement your perfect complexion. After a battle, your clothes are artfully torn and any wounds you sustain will only leave aesthetically pleasing scars.
P4- Runscript:
You can split your attention to run mental simulations to train your skills and/or Talents. Experience gained during your simulations is earned half as quickly compared to if you trained them in real life. Physical strength is not transferred to your body, though muscle memory is.
D1- Regression:
You wake up as a small child. Though you still have access to your adult mind. You will age naturally, and all Talents and abilities will be weakened to the appropriate experience levels.
D2- Headhunted:
Every shadow organization in the universe will hunt you down for one reason or another. They will not stop their pursuit unless you are captured by one of them or you reach unstoppable levels in your stats.
D3- Like A Duckling:
You will imprint on the first person of authority you encounter in your new world. You are compelled to obey them but may learn to resist this with practice. You are not compelled to remain within their vicinity and will not be compelled to follow orders you do not physically hear.
D4- Fortuna's Curse:
You wake up in your new world in unfortunate circumstances and a hostile environment. Nothing around you will be immediately lethal depending on how you act. But you will not be safe from harm.
Oookaaay… Best play my cards right here.
Obviously 'Incognito' would be essential for survival. With the powers I had, anyone and everyone would be gunning to study me and/or use me for their own gain. Being able to have a weirdness filter surrounding my powers like the Mist in Percy Jackson would keep me safe.
In that vein, 'Headhunted' was a no-no.
I would ALREADY be sort after for my special abilities when they got out; I didn't need an extra target on my back.
'Regression' was something I already expected to happen, so I wasn't too fussed about selecting it as my disadvantage to go opposite my weirdness filter. It seemed the tamest out of all of them, to be honest.
[Perk: Incognito Selected]
[Disadvantage: Regression Selected]
I had no idea how 'Runscript' was going to work, and I didn't want to. 'Allspeak' already sounded amazing! Ever since my three-month exchange programme in Germany, I learnt the hard way how debilitating the language barrier could be.
It was like losing a fundamental part of yourself.
Being able to communicate in every language was going to be a must for my survival too.
Plus, it would complement my hypnotising ability!
[Allspeak Selected]
As for my second disadvantage, all that was left for me to pick from was 'Like a Duckling' and 'Fortuna's Curse'. Both options sucked, let's be honest. Though having to imprint on someone sounded infinitely worse than starting life in a tough spot.
My first "game" had me starting in good circumstances. So, starting my next one in a bad circumstance was only fair. Besides, with all my life experience to draw from, I was confident I could work the situation for the better. Or at the very least, get out quickly.
[Fortuna's Curse Selected]
[Character Creation Complete!]
[Loading New Game…]
Alright! Here I come, MCU!
They weren't going to know what hit them.
The first thing to pierce my slowly waking conscious was the cold.
Everything, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes felt frozen blue. I could physically feel my limbs shivering away under a summer-thin cotton sheet. Wherever I was, someone had clearly forgotten to turn on the heater.
Assuming there was a heater at all...
The next thing to hit me was the smell.
My nostrils got a good whiff of wet dog crossed with rusting metal. Along with the faintest hint of urine and musty linen floating about in the background.
Overall, it was very off-putting. 1/10 -Would not recommend it.
The last thing I registered was the sound of crying. Specifically, the half-heartedly muffled sobs and sniffles of numerous children. I couldn't tell how many by sound alone, but I assumed twenty-ish.
Forcing my eyelids to open, I was immediately greeted with the sight of a grey ceiling. Said ceiling was made of drab concrete that, if you squinted, had dried bloodstains scattered here and there.
That set of my warning bells!
Rubbing my eyes reflexively, I squinted a bit before catching a Health Bar floating innocuously in the top left-hand corner of my vision. The bar itself was a black outline filled with vibrant green.
It read, [HP-50/100] in white text within the green.
To my surprise, underneath that, there was another bar. Except this one was coloured blue instead of green.
It read, [SP-70/100] also in white text.
I wasn't too sure what 'SP' stood for, but I assumed it meant 'Spirit Points' or something like that?
Ignoring that for now, I quickly sat up and realised I was in an underground army bunker of some kind. There were no windows, the walls and floor were made of unforgiving concrete and there were ten WW2 Era cots lined up against the walls, each equipped with a cloudy bedpan. The foot of the beds met in the middle, leaving a small aisle down the centre of the rectangular-shaped room for navigation.
The only light source in the place came from the single out-of-date lightbulb suspended from the ceiling above the door made of iron bars. (No, I'm not kidding)
As you can imagine, that left the rest of the ward bathed in insidious shadows.
I quickly concluded that I didn't want to be here. And judging by the huddle of children wearing powder blue hospital garbs crying over by the lightbulb, neither did anyone else.
This place was the stuff of nightmares!
"Hot damn!" I swore, "Is this a HYDRA Base?!"
As if in answer, two stereotypical henchmen holding rifles walked past the door with, you guessed it! The HYDRA logo displayed proudly across their backs.
(No points for subtlety guys)
"Well, sh*t."
Could it get more unlucky than this? I didn't think so.
Fortuna was such a b*tch!
After about a solid minute of freaking out and mentally cursing up a storm, a girl lying on the second to last cot from the door opposite me got up. I watched as she approached the gaggle of kids and began to soothe them. She got down on her knees and drew a few of the louder ones into a hug, all while whispering, "Shhh, it's going to be okay."
Her mature behaviour sent me for a loop.
From what I could tell, the girl was only four or five years old herself. And yet she was calming down kids twice her age. It was very impressive actually; she must have a way with words or something.
"Um, excuse me?"
Startled out of my thoughts, I looked down to find a young boy tugging on the sleeve of my powder-blue hospital gown. Absently, I wondered how and when I'd been dressed in the ugly garb before another thought struck me.
What age was I?
Surely the Menu would tell me, right? Now I just needed to figure out how to access it…
Out of nowhere, the world froze, and a Menu screen appeared before my eyes SAO style. Apparently just thinking the word 'Menu' was enough to summon it.
[Main Menu]
[Quest Log] - [Stats] - [Relationships] - [Load Save]
Neat!
I mentally said the word, "Stats."
[Stats Selected]
[Name: Christina Gardiner]
[Age: 6]
[Hometown: New Zealand]
[Family*
[Father: Sebastian Gardiner (DECEASED)]
[Mother: Myra Gardiner nee Miller (DECEASED)]
[Title: None Selected]
[HP: 50]
[SP: 70]
[Status: Malnourished*]
Curious as to what the Asterix represented, I mentally said, "Status," and watched as the second row of stats rolled out underneath it.
[Strength: 1/10 (-3 for cold)]
[Dexterity: 1/10 (-2 for cold)]
[Constitution: 1/10 (-5 for malnourishment)]
[Wisdom: 70/100]
[Intelligence: 60/100]
[Charisma: 100/100 (+20 for age)]
[Growth: 50/100]
DAMN! My charisma was Off. The. Charts!
This had to be a side-effect of my Siren Talent, I was sure of it. My intelligence was above average too! Was that because of my Allspeak Perk? I couldn't imagine it coming from anywhere else. I wasn't exactly the smartest cookie in the cookie jar, after all.
My Dyscalculia held me back there, sadly.
As for my wisdom stat, was it high due to my adult mind?
I certainly didn't feel wise. But then again, compared to a normal six-year-old, I was terribly smart and insightful. It was a bummer that my constitution stat was so low. I'd kinda been hoping it would be higher thanks to my 'Gamer Body' (Whatever that meant).
Ah well. You win some, you lose some, I guess.
It was a bummer about my parents though. Thankfully, they weren't the names of my real parents. The system had probably selected two random extras from the MCU and made me their kid or something. Bad for them, as my kidnapping by HYDRA is probably what got them killed. But great for me! Now I didn't have to feel guilty of the fact I'd gotten my beloved parents killed.
"Excuse me!" the boy cried.
"Sorry," I said, snapping back into reality, "What did you say?"
The little boy's bottom lip wobbled but he heroically pushed aside his mounting tears and asked, "My brother," he pointed at another little boy on the bed three down from mine, "He won't wake up. I think he's hurt! Can you help him, please?"
Oof! My heart!
Not being a soulless viper, I nodded my head and smiled softly when the boy took my hand in his and tugged me over to his little bro's bed. Upon reaching the kid's side, I knelt on the unforgiving concrete floor and placed the back of my hand on his forehead.
It was warm.
Though thankfully not incredibly so.
Next, I removed my hand so I could brace myself as I put my ear to his chest. The little boy's breathing was fine if a tad shallow. By my non-professional estimates, the kid was just passed out.
Pulling away, I smiled as reassuringly as I could at the blond-haired, blue-eyed kid hovering next to me. "Your brothers going to be fine. He just needs to rest, that's all," I promised.
At my pronouncement, the boy proceeded to lunge into my stomach and burst into hysterical tears.
I tried my best to comfort the lad. Honestly, I did! But I just wasn't cut out for mothering right now and so was guiltily relieved when our cell door swung open. The metal hit the concrete with a loud 'BANG!' signalling to everyone that now was the time to shut up.
A guard (Eastern European?) stood menacingly in the doorway, somehow managing to fill it out entirely. Large and part due to his overly muscly arms and legs and HUUUGE stature.
Seriously, the dude could put Goliath to shame!
"Tell me what you want, or you get no food and water," he growled in a smoker's voice.
Getting to my feet, I heard a kid stage-whisper, "He says he has food," to the brave girl from before. She in turn asked, "Food?" which he responded to by miming eating from a cereal bowl.
Judging by how she then exclaimed, "Wait. They're going to feed us?!" The conversation was happening in two separate languages… I think?
Either it was that or I was going f* king crazy already!
When the boy nodded again, the girl wasted no time in relaying the message to the few snivelling kids still hovering around her. This quickly led to everyone meandering into a haphazard line before the HYDRA Guard on feeding duty.
While I waited for my turn, I decided to dub the guy 'Igor' because I could.
Whatever his real name was, I doubted he would ever tell it to us. Besides, it was more fun to give my captor's fake names. It would make humiliating and belittling them in my mind that much more fun.
"Tell me what you want, or you get no food and water," Igor repeated to the brave girl.
"Uh… f, food?" she stuttered.
She couldn't be saying that in English, I was sure of it this time.
Igor grunted in affirmation, handed her something then shoved her out of the line. If I were anywhere else, I would have whispered, "Rude," under my breath. Though, seeing as there were young, impressionable, scared kids around, I refrained.
Because the last thing I needed was for Igor to hear my sass and refuse to feed me.
That would just be my luck.
Reaching the front of the line, I didn't wait for Igor to speak and just straight out blurted, "Food and water, please!" Igor blinked before huffing in that 'Why me?' sorta way. He then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a hockey-sized puck of brown something and a folded-up cup-thing.
"Ahhh, thanks?"
"Hmph," was intelligent Igor's response.
Wow, he was NOT a friendly one, was he. Hopefully, that wasn't a sign of what was to come.
Once every kid in the line had been served (or not served, in the case of the kids who couldn't speak… whatever language he was speaking) Igor left, bolting the door behind him.
It was at this point, I decided to wander to the back of the ward to find a tap or water source to fill my cup with. I was gonna need at least two cups worth to swallow down whatever edible monstrosity HYDRA considered rations.
The ominous shadows haunting the back half of the room welcomed me like an old friend. They slid over my skin, wreathing me in shadows before pulling me further into their depths. At about four steps in, my bare feet touched tile, indicating some kind of bathing complex was in place. A few more steps in and I found the tiles slopped downwards to three points.
Edging blindly through the near darkness, my toes hit the icy metal of a grate. The gaps were bigger than the average shower grate, I reckoned. If I wanted, I could empty my bedpan down there (A number 2 would certainly fit).
In my head, I lept to the logical conclusion that since I'd walked into the darkness from the aisle, this had to be the middle grate. Thus, a showerhead should be located a few more steps ahead.
True to my calculations, two more steps later I was smacking into a tiled wall with a "THWACK!"
"Son of a-!" I stumbled back and rubbed my poor, poor nose.
[HP- 45/100 (-5 for hit)]
Behind me, my ears perked up at the sound of a giggle. It wasn't a particularly enthusiastic giggle, but it was a slight laugh all the same. Glancing over my shoulder, I spotted an African-American boy around ten or nine hunched up on the last bed in my row.
… He had been the one to giggle.
Suddenly, finding the shower head didn't matter anymore.
There was a kid, No! A WHOLE ROOM full of kids who needed to be cheered up!
And I knew just how to do it.
Bracing myself for the pain that came with slapstick comedy, I schooled my features and barrelled into the wall again.
This time, the resounding "THWACK!" was loud enough to fill the ward.
"OOOOWIEEEE!" I cried, hopping out of the shadows while clutching my foot in fake pain.
The black kid giggled again, along with a tanned Asian girl, the two brothers and an Arabian looking boy. Stopping halfway down the aisle, I made a show of touching my "injured" foot to the ground.
Only to pull it back up again with another, "Ouchie!"
I did this a couple more times, pulling more and more outrageous faces with each try.
Eventually, I had about half of the groups' attention. So, I decided it was time to move my act along. Putting my foot down, I let out an exaggerated, "Few!" for the kiddies before moving to take a step forward. Except, I tripped on my own foot and artfully fell on my face with a "THUMP!"
[HP- 40/100 (-5 for hit)]
But it was all worth it!
Because my fellow prisoner's chuckled at my antics while the older ones quaffed under their breaths. We might be in a dire situation, true. But kids that were 'Too cool for school' were always going to be around.
After a while of getting up only to dramatically fall in increasingly silly ways, I spotted a few yawns amongst my captive audience.
"Alright, shows over," I declared, "Everyone into bed."
Although we were a subdued bunch on the principle of the whole kidnapping and imprisonment thing, a few kids still moaned and groaned. Those, I had to usher into bed myself. Notably, one particular kid (English-age two or three) asked me to sing him a lullaby.
How could I refuse a Cherub like him?
I ended up tucking the boy into bed all snug as a bug in a rug before lying down next to him on my back. He immediately curled into my side, clutching my dress with his shaking fists like a lifeline.
"What's your name?" I whispered in a vain attempt to give the other kids in the ward some privacy.
"… Tommy."
"What song should I sing, Tommy?" I asked.
He took a moment before mumbling out, "My mummy sings me 'Hey Diddle diddle' when I'm scared."
Good lord, bless this kid!
"I don't know that song, sorry," I apologised, "How about 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? Do you know that one?"
Tommy nodded into my side.
"Okay," clearing my throat, I opened my mouth and began singing away. All the while I mentally willed the kid to fall asleep and have peaceful dreams. I wasn't really sure if this was how I activated my Siren Talent, but I figured now was as good a time as any to try it out.
I finished the song, but nothing had happened.
Hmmm, maybe I needed to activate it somehow?
[Siren Talent Activated]
Oh! I guess all I needed to do was think about it.
This time, I sang 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' while also willing Tommy to fall asleep. Sure enough, I was not halfway through the song when Tommy dozed off… followed by every kid in the ward!?
"Oops."
Guess I was more powerful than I thought, huh.
Still, that was pretty neat! I'd just put nineteen kids to sleep with nothing more than my voice!
I was so OP!
[Siren Talent Deactivated]
[SP- 50/100 (-20 for Talent use)]
As I tried to gently wriggle my way out of Tommy's grip, my stomach decided now was the time to demonstrate a whale's mating call.
Right! Food and water. Best get back to that.
The shadows greeted me just as welcomingly before. Though I liked to think I was more confident in my steps. Six steps in, my foot hit the grate. Two more steps and I was nose to nose with the back wall. Placing my hands on the tiles, I began the arduous process of feeling out where a tap or handle could be.
Good news, I found it eventually!
Bad news, I had to stand on my tippy-toes to reach the literal handle of the tap unceremoniously sticking out of the wall…. But wait! It gets WORSE!
After twisting the nob every which way and waiting for anything to pop out. I discovered that the pipes were frozen solid and thus, so was the water inside.
I wasn't that hungry anyway.
[Game Saved]
[HP- 50/100]
[SP- 100/100]
I'm embarrassed to say I nearly jolted out of my skin upon seeing the above. It's not that I'd forgotten what had happened yesterday. But rather, a part of myself had been hoping it was all a weirdly realistic dream.
Sadly, it was not to be.
I stretched my limbs out with a groan.
My head was pounding, my stomach was cramping, and I felt vaguely nauseous. The hairs on my arms and legs were standing upright and I was covered in goosebumps. Basically, I was feeling awful. I guess not eating and drinking for twenty-four hours on top of sleeping in a freezing army bunker was bad for my health… Who knew?
And let's not forget that trying to sleep in a room where the light never went off was wreaking havoc on my internal body clock!
HYDRA probably did that on purpose. (The bastards!)
Thankfully, I'd had the presence of mind last night to slip my "rations" under my pillow. Pulling the brown hockey puck out now, I dared to nibble on it for a bit. The texture was hard and grainy, almost as if it was frozen solid. Which honestly, wouldn't surprise me with how cold it was in here.
As for the taste… well, let's just say it was about as satisfying as licking a salt block.
I.E., not at all.
A good ten minutes passed me by until the disk was all gone.
[HP- 80/100 (+30 for nourishment)]
Huh, so eating upped my health stats by 30 points? Did that mean drinking would up it by 20?
Before I could find out, the brave girl from yesterday suddenly gasped awake like she'd been woken from a nightmare. Her head of black curls was extra frizzy, and her tanned skin was flushed. She looked frantically around the ward before seemingly calming down. I watched quietly as she got up from her cot and meandered over to the door.
I was about to ask what on earth she was doing when she quickly spun around and stared into space?
It was unnerving to witness.
She was just… standing there, staring at nothing…
Was she okay? Was she disassociating or something?!
Deciding she needed help, I swung my legs off my cot and padded over to her. The concrete was so cold I felt like I was walking across a bed of nails! This girl had better be worth my suffering.
When I reached the kid, I tried engaging her in conversation in the hopes it would snap her out of whatever funk she was in.
"Um, hello? Are you okay?" I asked.
She didn't even twitch.
Oookaaay...
"Hello?! Can you hear me!" I waved my hand in front of her face.
Again, no response.
Damn, she really was dissociating! That couldn't be good for her mental health. Raising my right hand, I gripped the girl's shoulder with the intent to physically shake her awake.
[ALERT!]
[You Have Encountered Another Player!]
Wait, what?!
[Quest: Make An Ally!]
[Reward: Gain access to other player's stats]
[Time limit: NONE]
-Accept
-Decline
I pulled my hand away as if burned.
The alert disappeared, but not the quest log. Curious more than scared, I gingerly laid my hand back on the girl's shoulder.
[ALERT!]
[You Have Encountered Another Player!]
Wow, okay.
This was mind-blowing! Simply, INSANE! Another player? As in, another person who was living this life as a game too?! Clearly, I was no longer the only reincarnated person in this world.
Now, to make her an ally or not. That was the question, wasn't it?
On the one hand, I was all for being able to see her stats. Plus, it would be pretty cool to talk about our shared experiences and stuff. She could end up being a good friend!
But on the other hand, she might not like me…
Welp, whether she became my friend or not was irrelevant. I had nothing to lose with accepting this quest and besides, it's not like I was busy doing anything else.
[Quest Accepted]
I proceeded to call out to the girl a couple more times. But when that got me nowhere, an epiphany took the liberty of slapping me across the face. I could use my Siren Talent to snap her out of it!
Mentally I said, "Siren, activate!"
[Siren Talent Activated]
Alright, here goes nothing!
"Excuse me? Can you hear me?" I spoke, willing her to focus on me.
The girl, whoever she was (or had been?) blinked once, twice, thrice. She closed her eyes and shook her head as if coming out of a daze. She locked her violet (Violet?!) eyes with mine. I could tell the exact moment she received the ally quest because her pupils blew wide like a cat in play mode.
[Siren Talent Deactivated]
[SP-80/100 (-20 for Talent use)]
"Hi!" I chirped, sticking out my hand, "Do you want to be my friend?"
The girl's violet eyes shifted from a random point in the air to my hand and back again. Awkwardly, I withdrew my hand. Had I come on too strong? Crap!
"Um… you're a player too, right?" I hedged just in case I'd been mistaken.
She nodded, "You're one too?"
Her voice was high and squeaky when she spoke, much like a proper toddler. I imagined she found that highly annoying. What with being an adult in a child's body like me and all.
"How did you know?" she asked next.
"Oh! Um, well, I saw you standing over here looking all spaced out, so I thought I'd check if you were okay or not. But when I touched you, an alert came up telling me you were a player too."
"oh…"
I chuckled nervously, "Yeah, sorry. I thought you might have been having a dissociative episode and I wanted to help… Sorry for touching you without your permission-?"
"Lani," she supplied, "Lani Chen."
Few! Now we were making progress.
Sticking out my hand again, I smiled winningly. "Christina Gardiner, but my friend's call me 'Chrissy'. It's nice to meet you!"
Hesitating a bit, Lani gingerly reached out and took my hand in hers. As soon as our hands clasped, another notification appeared before my eyes.
[Quest Update: Make An Ally!]
[Finished]
[Relationships: Ally Obtained*]
Seeing words magically appear before me was never gonna get old. Any other person might have found it annoying. But I quite liked how reality froze while I was checked out. It was novel, you know? How could I not feel giddy about that?
I mentally called up 'Menu' and selected 'Relationships'.
[Ally: 1*]
Well, duh. Did this game think I was an idiot or something?
[Ally 1 Selected]
[Name: Lani Chen]
[Age: 4]
[Hometown: Hawai'i]
[Family: Unknown]
[Title: None Selected]
[HP: 40]
[SP: 70]
[Status: Malnourished*]
Oooh, she was malnourished too? Good to know we were in the same boot.
Because I was nosy, I also went ahead and selected 'Status' to learn a bit more.
[Strength: 1/10 (-3 for cold)]
[Dexterity: 3/10 (-2 for cold)]
[Constitution: 2/10 (-1 for malnourishment)]
[Wisdom: 38/100]
[Intelligence: 80/100]
[Charisma: 95/100 (+30 for age)]
[Growth: 50/100]
Well would you look at that; we basically had the same stats!
I made note that my intelligence stat was way lower than hers. I wasn't too sure why that was, but it was possible that she'd just had more secondary education than I or she had died older than me.
Either one was plausible.
I did wonder why her strength stat was so much higher than mine though… was she working out behind my back or something?! When would she even have time to do that!
Dismissing the screen altogether, I switched my attention back to Lani.
To say I was surprised to see her name floating above her head in bold white letters would be an understatement. I had to physically do a double-take just to make sure I hadn't lost it!
Beneath the [LANI CHEN] label, her HP and SP bar were glowing happily. Unlike me, her health bar was way below mine. Even though I was positive I'd seen her choke down that ration last night. I was tempted to ask if she were feeling okay, but she spoke before I could.
"What are your talents?" she whispered, shuffling her feet.
The thought crossed my mind that maybe we shouldn't be talking about this while smack dap in the middle of a HYDRA Base (Even if we were whispering).
But who was I kidding? I was too curious to care.
"Siren, Planewalker, and Apparition," I whispered back, "You?"
"Planewalker, Apparition and wildcard."
"Really? What superpower did you get? It's not something lame, is it?!" I hoped Lani hadn't gotten stuck with 'Stench Inducement' or 'Garbage Mimicry' or something equally awful like that.
That would seriously suck.
Thankfully, she shook her head and replied, "Intra-metal Transmutation." At my baffled look, she elaborated, "Think 'Alchemy' from 'Fullmetal Alchemist'."
"Oh. Nice!"
I moved to ask about her perks and disadvantages, but the sound of heavy footsteps fast approaching halted me in my tracks. Like a ghost Igor appeared at the door, looming ominously. If I wasn't a mature adult, I might've peed my pants a little. (Don't tell anyone!)
"Move," he ordered.
Right, we were blocking the entrance. Instinctively grabbing Lani's hand, I pulled us aside so Igor could swing the bars open.
He wasted no time stepping inside and yelling out, "Tell me what you want, or you get no food and water!" Just as he had yesterday.
This was probably going to be a daily occurrence then.
"Can you understand him?" Lani asked while we all scrambled into line.
"Yeah, I chose 'Allspeak' for one of my perks," I explained.
"How do you say, 'Food and water' in Russian?" she asked next. I mentally crossed off 'Allspeak' as one of her perks.
"Just say, 'Food and water, please'."
Her face twisted up into a grimace.
"What?" I asked, "Is there something on my face?"
Lani shook her head. "No. But you spoke in English… I was hoping you would tell me how to say it in Russian."
I had? "Sorry," I shrugged, "You say it like this, 'Food and water, please'."
She shook her head in defeat, "You said that in English too."
Oh no… Please don't tell me I couldn't control which language I spoke in!?
"Tell me what you want, or you get no food and water," Igor ordered.
HOT DAMN! I was at the front of the line already?! When had that happened!
Pushing back my confusion, I asked for food and water again, took the rations, then remembered a rather important fact. The water was frozen in the pipes, meaning the cup was useless.
"Excuse me, sir," I asked, stubbornly staying in line, "But the taps won't work. Can you fix them please?"
Igor's eyes narrowed to slits. "No. That is not my job," he practically spat.
This was going to require some persuasion on my part.
[Siren Talent Activated]
"Find someone who can fix the pipes immediately and bring them here," I said. Then, remembering that my hypnotism would end if I stopped making noise, I began to hum under my breath to not break my control.
Igor's eyes glazed over.
He turned on his heel and marched away. Though not before locking the door behind him as he left.
(The dick!)
"What did you just do?!" Lani looked gobsmacked.
"HmmmMMMhmmmMmMm," I pointed to my lips then back towards the shadowed showers. It took a moment for her to get it. But when she did, her eyes lit up in understanding, "You hypnotised him to fix the taps, right?"
I nodded.
"Why?"
I mimed drinking from a glass of water.
"Right. Water. I was wondering how they expected us to stay hydrated."
Igor returned around twenty minutes later, followed by another stereotypical henchman. This one I dubbed, 'Ivan' because of his white hair and crystal blue eyes. Though the important thing to remember was that he was carrying a tool kit.
Stopping my humming, I pointed at Ivan "The Silver Fox" and said, "You want to fix the pipes so clean water comes through." Then switched to Igor, "And you will finish handing out rations."
With that done, I waved goodbye to Lani and wandered back to my assigned cot (5th from the door on the left side), all the while humming the alphabet song.
It took Ivan about two hours to fix the pipes. He spent most of the time running in and out of the room, carrying a new tool back each time. At one point, he had to have crawled into the shaft space above us because I heard rattling and banging within the walls.
Whatever he did worked though, so no one was complaining… At least, I wasn't.
A couple of the younger children had burst into tears at the loud noises, clearly scared out of their wits. Not that I blamed them. If I were a normal six-year-old, I'd be wailing for my mummy too.
Ivan had also gone above and beyond by finding an empty light socket in the middle of the shower complex and refilled it! Now my HYDRA prison had TWO light sources. Though that had the added downside of revealing the four old-timey cameras tucked into the four corners of the ward.
I wasn't sure if they were working or not, but I decided it was safer to assume they were.
"Plip… plip… plip… PSHHH!"
Oh goodie, the showers were working!
Jumping off my cot, I ran over to join Ivan. "Good job, buddy!" I said, clapping him on the back, "You can leave now and forget all about doing this, K?"
My brainwashed lackey nodded, then walked straight out the door in a daze.
[Siren Talent Deactivated]
[SP- 15/100 (-65 for extended Talent use)]
Yikes! Mental Note: DO NOT USE POWERS FOR LONGER THAN TWO HOURS!
Now that we had access to running water, I skipped back to my cot and grabbed my foldable cup.
[HP- 100/100 (+20 for hydration)]
"Yo, guys!" I yelled out, "Come and have a drink!"
Like lambs to the slaughter, all nineteen kids made their way over and began to drink from the three taps. There was no shower head attachment or anything, so the kids without cups had to stick their heads under the water and drink like a dog. It was heart-breaking actually, to see a few of them get themselves covered in water. If they weren't careful, they could catch pneumonia.
I doubt HYDRA cared enough to give us medicine if we got sick.
That fact really brought home how dire my situation was…
I could die here and no one in this world would care. Lani might, but we barely knew each other. I know that if she died right now all I'd feel was disappointment at a potential friend lost.
Did that make me a bad person? I felt like a bad person just contemplating this.
[WARNING!]
[SP Dangerously Low!]
[If SP reaches 0 your HP will be affected]
Now that I thought about it, I was beginning to feel a bit breathless.
Guess it was time for a nap! Though not before I scarfed down my ever so yummy rations. (Ugh)
[Game Saved]
[HP- 100/100]
[SP- 100/100]
The next day I woke up feeling absolutely amazing.
My headache was gone, my stomach was sated, my limbs were full of energy, and I was no longer cold. Just, mildly chilly rather than freezing. Seriously, the only way I could have felt better was if I'd been clean and had a fresh hospital gown to wear. (The one I was wearing was getting kinda smelly)
Sadly, I had a hunch soap and clean clothes weren't going to be provided anytime soon.
… Unless I hypnotised Igor to provide us with soap and towels for showering?
That was doable.
Then again, did I really want to shower in a place with cold water? Not to mention the four cameras recording my every move?!
Yeah Nah. Showering could wait. I wasn't that dirty anyway.
Suddenly, without any warning, the door banged open and Igor strode in.
"Get Up!" he yelled, "Tell me what you want, or you get no food and water!"
Holding a hand over my racing heart, I wondered what Igor's problem was. He had never come this early before. For the last two days, he'd stuck to the midday mark… or at least, what I assumed was the midday mark? You couldn't really keep time in here.
Either way, Igor had been showing up around five-four hours after we'd all woken up. Just why was he changing his schedule now?
As we all lined up again, I made sure to slip in behind Lani.
[LANI CHEN]
[HP- 100/100]
[SP- 100/100]
"Psst," I whispered, tapping her shoulder, "Do you want me to get a cup for you?"
Lani thought about it for a moment then shook her head. "No, it's okay. My friend Feliks taught me how to say 'water'."
"Oh, okay."
She made friends quick!
"Do you know what's going on?" I asked.
Lani shrugged, "I don't know."
"Right, right." Why would she know more than me? We more or less had the same Talents. The only things that differed were our perks and disadvantages. Speaking of…
"Hey, I forgot to ask yesterday but what perks and disadvantages did you pick?"
Lani brought a finger up to her lips in the universal 'Shush' symbol.
"I'll tell you after," she whispered, spinning back around.
Three kids later, Lani stepped up and confidently said, "Food and water."
Secretly, I was proud of her for getting it down so quickly. I knew that without my 'Allspeak' I wouldn't be able to say a thing. Igor, meanwhile, handed her TWO PUCKS!? And one cup. As Lani walked back to her cot, she shot me a bewildered look that I mirrored.
Just why were we being giving double the rations today?
"Tell me what you want, or you get no food and water," Igor repeated.
[Siren Talent Activated]
Smiling, I held out my hands like a beggar and asked, "Why are you giving us extra rations? Answer me truthfully."
That tell-tale glazed look spread across his face, "The order was given by my commander."
Hmmm… commander, aye?
"And who is your commander?" I pressed.
"Vasily Karpov."
Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t!
Wasn't he the guy who ran the 'Winter Soldier Programme' after Arnim Zola?! The dude killed by Zemo in Civil War!? THAT Vasily Karpov! Just WHAT the HELL was he doing here?
WAS HE PLANNING TO TURN US INTO WINTER SOLDIERS TOO!?
[Siren Talent Deactivated]
[SP- 80/100 (-20 for Talent use)]
"Move," Igor shoved me out of the line, not waiting for a reply.
F* k. Me.
Vasily Karpov was Igor's commander. Meaning James "Bucky" Barnes, a.k.a THE WINTER SOLDIER was not far behind. He was probably in this facility right now! And if the original Winter Solider was here, then there was a high chance so were the others!
Damn you, Fortuna! Were we in the HYDRA Siberia Base?!
WE WERE ALL SCREWED!
"Chrissy!"
Hands grabbed my shoulders and shook me back and forth, hard. "Chrissy! Calm down, you're causing a scene!" Lani's voice hissed.
When I came back to myself, I noticed my heart was racing, my lungs were hyperventilating, and a nervous sweat had broken out across my back. The only thing grounding me to the present was Lani's tiny hands. She was gripping me so tight, I vaguely registered that her fingertips would leave bruises.
Little, finger-sized bruises…
"CHRISTINA!"
"WHAT!?" I snapped, only to reel back when I saw who I'd shouted at. "Lani... Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to yell out you, I swear! Please forgive me!"
My amazing, supportive, kind friend sighed in relief. "Thank goodness," she said, "You're back."
Back? Where had I gone?
"You were having a panic attack," she explained.
I had said that out loud?! Oops.
[HP- 90/100 (-10 for Panic Attack)]
[SP- 70/100 (-10 for Panic Attack)]
I didn't have the presence of mind to scowl at the world for the unfairness of that. But rest assured, if I wasn't currently trying to lower my heart rate, I'd be SUPER pissed!
Breathing in and out at a count of four, ever so slowly I felt my heartbeat slow, my breathing even out and my mind clear. Lani still held me in her firm grip, but I was no longer in panic's cruel grasp.
"Thanks," I breathed, trying my best to smile. Sadly, it came out as more of a grimace.
Lani finally released me. "It's okay. I used to get them too," she explained.
Didn't that just make me feel wonderful….
For goodness sake! I'd probably triggered her!
My heart sank at the implication. Panic attacks weren't a new phenomenon to me. In my past life, I'd had a freakin' panic disorder! So, I knew just how awful and debilitating they could truly be. I guess a part of me had hoped that was all behind me now. You know, what with the whole 'New Game' thing. Yet here I was, winding down from my first panic attack in this world, not three days in.
I felt so pathetic.
"Hey, Chrissy?" Lani said, concern evident in her voice, "Mabey you should sit down and eat?"
She wasn't asking me a question; Lani was ordering me to sit down and eat my god-awful rations. That much I could decern from her tone alone.
"Yeah… yeah, okay."
My only ally in this hell-hole guided me back to my cot and made sure I choked down my two hockey pucks. When those were sitting like lumps of coal in my stomach, she whisked herself away to the taps before returning with a cup of water.
[HP- 100/100 (+60 for nourishment/+20 for hydration)]
"Thanks," I said, "You're a lifesaver."
The edge of my cot dipped down as Lani sat beside me. We stayed there together in companionable silence for a while, neither of us willing to speak. I did note, however, how Lani's eyes returned to staring off into space again. Now and then, her pupils would expand, indicating to me that she was seeing something I wasn't.
Eventually, I plucked up the courage to ask her straight out.
"Hey," I said, bumping her shoulder with my own. She titled her head to the side to indicate she was listening. "What are you seeing when you…" I waved a hand across my eyes, "Get that look?"
Lani's eyebrows scrunched together for a moment before understanding dawned on her.
"Oh! I'm using my 'Runscript'."
"Runscript?" I asked.
She shot me a look that said, 'Are you stupid?'
"Ooooh! The Perk: Runscript! Gottcha," I smiled sheepishly. Why was I so airheaded today? Normally I was much more on to it. (You'll have to take my word on that)
"What does it let you do? I didn't pick it, you see."
She leant back on her hands casually and began kicking her short legs back and forth. "Well, it lets me split my attention into two. When I do, a hologram of me appears and I can command it to do various things," she explained. "So far, I've been using it to practice my apparition and experiment with skills like lock-picking and climbing."
"Huh. Cool." Why hadn't I chosen that instead? It sounded infinitely more useful.
"Does it let you earn experience stats without actually doing anything?" I asked, curious.
Lani shrugged in that unique way of hers again. "I don't know. I haven't been able to test it yet."
Of course, she hadn't. It's not like we were given any privacy to try such things after all. I shouldn't have bothered asking. Now she probably thought I was stupid!
Deciding it was best to change the subject, I asked, "So, what other perks and disadvantages did you choose?" trying to sound casual. It may or may not have worked.
"Runscript, obviously. Incognito, Fortuna's Curse, and Regression," she ticked off her fingers.
"No way! Same!" I said, shocked, "Except for Runscript. I chose Allspeak instead. Figured it would compliment my Siren Talent, ya know?"
She dipped her head in a 'Not bad' gesture.
"Do you think that's why we ended up together?" I asked, the query just dawning on me.
"Who knows? For all we know, there could be others out there experiencing this world as a game as well."
She made a valid point. Surely, we couldn't be the only ones in this world who had been reincarnated. Perhaps there were even people who'd done so more than once? Wasn't that a trippy thought?
A small eternity of sitting with Lani later, my body let me know it had to pee.
Dread filled my veins.
If you remember back to my first day here, I'd discovered there was no toilet in our ward… just old-fashioned bedpans. Up until that point, I hadn't needed to use one as none of us had drunk enough water to feel the need.
Now though, after getting the taps fixed, I'd drunken more than enough to warrant the urge.
"Hey… uh, Lani? Do you think you could… do me a favour?" I whispered hesitantly.
Lani blinked a couple of times before turning to me. "Um, sure? What do you need?"
I cringed, "Do you think you could hold up my blanket for me while I pee? You don't have to look or anything! I just need some privacy… I'm pee shy."
Not quite sure why I'd admitted that but, the look on her face was priceless.
"Oh, okay. Do you want to do it right here or…?"
Now that was a thought. Where did I want to relieve myself? Grabbing the bedpan tucked beneath my cot, I did a quick scan of the room. Unfortunately, those pesky cameras had all the blind spots covered. However, if I had Lani hold the sheet between the two walls of a corner, there'd be juuuuust enough room to create a make-shift stall.
"Let's go over there," I pointed to the right corner of the shower zone.
Lani took the initiative and pulled off my much too thin white bed sheet. (The cots didn't even have covers on their threadbare mattresses!) Together we marched over to the end right corner and got down to business.
Nervously, I placed my bedpan down and tried not to think about how the metal was cloudy, possibly rusting in places… and what was that the smell of urine?! No. FOCUS!
"Can you…" I mimed holding a sheet up. Lani very professionally held the sheet up as an impromptu wall before turning her head away. I'm sad to say that my head was visible when I stood up due to her short height. But that was okay, I'd planned to be squatting anyway.
Bending down, I had to reposition the pan so it would catch my pee before beginning.
I waited… and waited… and waited…
"Are you done yet?" Lani asked.
By god. Of all the times to get pee shy, did it have to be now!?
"Just give me a minute!" I replied.
"I can't hold this up much longer!"
Taking a deep breath, I tried clearing my mind.
"…TINKLE, TINKLE, TINKLE!"
Yes! I was doing it!
"TINKLE, TINKLE…TINKLE…" My pee dribbled out, leaving me with another conundrum. What was I going to use to wipe? I know, I know, gross question. But a very valid one during that moment. One always assumes that there will be toilet paper next to your toilet.
Yet in HYDRA, that was not the case.
"Ahhh, Lani?"
"Yeah?" she replied.
"Can you drop the sheet on me, please?"
She did so with little fanfare. I muttered to her a quiet, "thanks." Then used the very corner of my sheet to… do the deed (I'm not going say it. This doesn't need to get more awkward than it already is)
[HP- 70/100 (-30 for dehydration)]
Oh, Come. On. I'd finally managed to relieve myself, and I'm told to drink MORE water? Where was the logic in that!
Standing up, Lani eyed me dubiously. "Finished?" she asked. "Yeah, I'm done," was my embarrassed reply. Secretly, I prayed I never had to do that again. Next time, I may just die of embarrassment!
"Great." Lani turned on her heel and marched back to her cot. Meanwhile, I spent a few minutes draining my pan, washing my hands, and cleaning the pan out too. You can never be too careful, you know? Besides, it really did smell. The only thing that could wash away that stench was detergent.
"Um… excuse me…" I looked up to see the two brothers eyeing me.
They were each holding a bedpan.
"Yes?" I had a feeling I knew where this was going…
The older boy shuffled his feet a bit, but eventually blurted out, "Can you make a bathroom for me to!?"
Good lord, somebody save me!
Because their puppy dog eyes were simply too much, I caved to their earnest request far too easily. My creation of a private stall quickly garnered attention and before I knew it, nearly every kid in the ward had lined up with their bedpans, waiting for their turn. I made sure to order the kids to empty their pans in the middle drain, then had them wash their hands at the last tap.
With that system in place, I stood in that corner for altogether forty minutes.
Afterwards, my arms felt like limp noodles and my sheet was beyond salvageable. (I dumped it in the corner of shame) Guess I'd be freezing my ass off tonight.
I had just flopped onto my cot for a rest when (Surprise, surprise!) the door opened.
"Hello, children!" A man gleefully announced.
My eyes watched apathetically as he strode into our ward like he owned it, stopped in the centre of the aisle, and spun around with wide open arms to face the door. And like the good sheep I was, my line of sight switched to the door as well.
Ho. Ly. Sh*t.
Sebastian Stan dressed as the WINTER SOLDIER!? stood in the doorway.
My stomach dropped.
"Today, we are going to play a game of 'Hide and Seek'!" The commander or handler or whatever gestured to THE winter soldier, "My little wolf is going to be the seeker. Yes! If the wolf finds you, the game is over. Only the last survivors will win."
That sounded ominous… Oh, who am I kidding? It was ominous as heck!
"You have twenty minutes to hide," Ominous-man smiled like he knew a secret we didn't.
Because of course, he did. What kind of obviously evil antagonist would he be without a little sadism? All he needed was an evil laugh, perhaps a Hitler moustache, and he'd make Red Skull proud. In fact, Red Skull was probably smiling on Vormir right now!
"Ready?" he asked.
[Quest: Survive The Night!]
[Reward: NONE]
[Time limit: 10 minutes]
-Accept
-Decline
Aaaaaaaah, no thanks?
What was the point of a quest that didn't offer a reward? It seemed rather pointless to be honest.
[Quest Declined]
"GO!"
Lani was out the door before the shock could set in. When it did, most children were already scrambling under cots or tip-toeing out the door like thieves in the night.
As for me…
I couldn't move.
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't think.
…Run?
Run where...?
There was nowhere to run.
hide! Hide! HIDE!
…But where?
There was nowhere to hide.
I couldn't blink.
I couldn't speak.
I couldn't feel.
This had to be a cruel joke… There was no running and hiding from the 'Winter Soldier!
It wasn't done.
It simply Was. Not. Possible.
To try was to tempt death; there was no point.
"Soldier, find them."
It was all over before my brain could register what had happened. One minute, I'd been staring off into space. The next, a metal hand was connecting with my chest and I was colliding with the tiled wall.
A starburst of pain lit up my spine, travelling from my shoulder blades and spreading to my toes. All of a sudden, it was hard to breathe; my lungs refused to expand. Chipped tiles dug into my flesh, followed by the feeling of something wet and sticky seeping into my gown.
The smell of iron filled the air.
[HP- 15/100 (-50 for critical hit/-5 for hit)]
My health bar flashed red.
[WARNING!]
[HP Dangerously Low!]
[If your HP reaches 0 the Game will end]
[Load Save Now]
It was hard to think through the pain/confusion/fear. But by a miracle, I did.
[Main Menu]
[Quest Log*] – [Stats] – [Relationships*] – [Load Save]
[Load Save Selected]
[Loading…]
The last thing I registered before everything faded to black was the sound of terrified, high-pitched screams suddenly cutting off…One. By. One….
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