The anticipation was a nervous kind of energy. It tingled through me like electrical sparks on the way to the ground, gathering in my toes. The excitement bubbling up within me was almost unbearable. A smile was tugging at my lips and I couldn't help it. It felt amazing to be back. My heart was pounding in my chest but I tried to ignore it and slow my breathing.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
In… and out.
I stopped to take in the atmosphere. A vast throng of people, easily thousands strong, that I could see coming and going through the six giant archways leading out of the plaza. Even the wide staircase leading to the water-garden was jammed pack full of players; notably, however, above the tufts of hair I could spot the «Black Iron Palace» and beyond that, the entrance to the «Room of Resurrection» was cordoned off by city guardsmen. Briefly, I wondered what that was about, but instead turned my attention back to the joyful people around me. The crowd had been so jubilant, singing the songs that belonged to the inebriated and joyful. They rubbed shoulders never minding that their toes were often trodden on or that they were in closer proximity to these strangers than they usually were to friends or even family. There is something magical about being just another face in the crowd, an easing to the loneliness within. We act the same, cheer at the same moment, feel the same emotions together. What I read on their faces is written on mine and in that echo of our humanity we are as close to being one as we will ever be. In that moment of unity there is a feeling of freedom I couldn't feel in other parts of my life.
I was really here, in this world; in Sword Art Online!
And so was everyone else. After seeing so many people, the anticipation was killing me. It was time to get to grinding; everything was reset and what good is beta testing knowledge after all, if I don't use it to stay ahead, to be the bes—
Ding
Ding
DingDingDingDingDingDing
Ding
Ding
DingDing
Ding
The noise rung in my head nary a few seconds after taking my first steps forward. My mouth moved before I caught up with it, "Who in the world?" There were just so many of them. I stared harshly at the notifications in the corner of my vision, wishing they'd just disappear. Unfortunately they did not. Over a dozen friend requests all sent to me by the same person. Just by virtue of the name alone, I could feel an oncoming headache. It was hard to resist letting loose a groan.
Argo.
That name was enough of an explanation. She must've been sending, deleting, and re-sending it hoping to catch me as soon as I logged in. I decided to ignore the friend request from her for now— I'll add her later, maybe. She knows I'm a solo player. Bringing up my hand to the menu, intending to close it, I stopped and it stood there in front of it, hovering. All the reasons not to do this came flooding in and I hesitated. She could be pretty persistent about these things and if she ever finds out... there would be hell to pay later, absolute hell.
I let out a shaky breath and pressed down to exit the menu anyway.
And with that, I took off towards the western exit of the city, ignoring the noises in my head and pushing people aside in order to get through the crowd. Past the worst of it, I was finally out the plaza and took in the new sights while I broke into a jog. Shopkeepers screamed out offers at the top of their voices to attract customers and customers desperately tried to bargain for the best possible prices. This was the one of the many markets lining the main streets, a place which was used to always have at least some people hanging around at all times, but now not a single empty place could be spotted between the stalls. It felt a bit strange seeing everything so lively, even considering the area I was passing through; there were nowhere near close to this many players in the beta. As I was running through the area, I had to keep mentally apologizing for bumping into other players and even suppress the urge to stop and help another up who was sent stumbling headfirst into a colorful stall full of fruits.
I might be a solo player, but I'm not an asshole.
"HEY! Watch where you're going, damn it!"
Okay. Not that much of an asshole.
To be on the safe side, I took a quick turn down rough cobbled streets leading to an alleyway and away from the shouting behind me. The buildings were tight together and loomed overhead, like a forest of stone. When I looked up the roofs were so close together that I could only make out a sliver of the blue sky that was mirrored by the tiny stream of light that trickled along the cold stone ground. The alleyway twisted and turned back on itself, first going to the right, then to the left. It wasn't an issue for me when I knew this map like the back of my hand. I've spent too much time in the beta to ever get lost on the starting floors, but for whoever was considering following me… well, good luck to them. The left side of my lip tugged upwards.
Much to my chagrin though, I didn't make it very far down the alley before I turned the corner and ran into someone. The world rushes by in a blur and I know the pain is coming. It goes by fast, yet slow, almost suspended. Then impact. Even in the game, I could feel my bones move in a way they shouldn't, jangled. Slowly, I raised myself back up to my feet from the cobblestone ground.
Ugh. Can this day get any worse?
First the flat tire on my bike this morning. Then having to talk to Suguha—the less said about our family relationship, the better. As much as I enjoyed being apart of the crowd earlier, having that many people around me still made me anxious. And now I practically just tackled someone down to the ground with me! If I wanted to get to the village before anyone else and get the blade in a reasonable amount of time, I needed to hurry up and get moving again.
"S-Sorry!"
Hopefully they would accept the rushed apology. Now, I just needed to help them up and then I could be on my way!
"Jeez, what's yer problem?" A vaguely feminine voice sounded out. It seemed familiar, but I couldn't put a name to it. "Pay more 'ttention ta where yer going kid." Wait, it can't be. But, that voice and the way they talk… it was too similar. I begged to any gods that would listen. Please, please don't let it be her.
Before I could hold my hand out for them to take it, my eyes roamed over the body splayed out on the ground and I froze. It was a girl that I'd knocked over. Her bright golden eyes staring back at me with a twinkle of mischief, golden-brown curls framed her petite face, and— mercifully, her pale cheeks lacked the three marks on either side of her face, the whiskers that would identify her as Argo, The Rat. I let out a breathe I hadn't realized I'd been holding in. Jeez, this girl almost gave me a heart attack.
A light red hue dusted my cheeks and I averted my eyes, suddenly feeling awkward. She was actually kind of cute. Thrusting my hand out to her, I ignored the heat in my cheeks and beckoned for her to grab onto it. "Here, let me help you up." She took a hold of it and I pulled her up to her feet. At that point I could have walked away had it not been for the smirk.
"Thanks Kii-bou! I know ya missed me but, it's only been a few days since we last talked ya know. No need to go on 'n run me over cuz yer so happy to see me."
The smirk that grew into a grin spread over her face, wide and open, showing her pearly white teeth. I could see it in her eyes; the inner delight. She was savoring the moment. A muscle twitched involuntarily at the corner of my right eye and my mouth contorted into a rigid grimace. I yanked my hand back and folded tightly across my chest with the other and all the while I stared blankly at her. Apparently today can get worse. I know I'm not the most pious of people, but for the gods to curse me like this was unbelievable—I'd go to a shrine and honor them in penance first thing when I log out—in the meanwhile, I should probably deal with this before Argo gets it in her mind to be... creative.
"Whats with the silent treatment; rat got yer tongue?" She looked especially proud of that one, "Nehehe."
Yeah, that's Argo alright. I let loose a sigh of despair. There goes any chance of being the first to get the «Anneal Blade».
"Hey Argo."
"Don't 'hey' me!" She huffed, suddenly angry.
I watched her cross her arms and click her tongue. This was about the friend requests, wasn't it?
"You've been ignoring me! Don'tcha ya know how many friend request I've sent ya already Kii-bou? I know yer a stubborn loner, but come on Kii. You managed it just fine in the beta and every other game since. Stop being a brat and add me already." Pausing, she stood there and looked at me expectantly.
Me, who was just standing still. Nope, not moving a muscle. Maybe if I ignore her she'll go away?
"Ow!" She freakin' pinched my cheeks, that hurt!
"Well, hurry up now. We ain't got all day Kii-bou."
Fine. Fine. I swiped my fingers down in the air in-front of me, bringing up the menu. After navigating to her most recent friend request to me, I stared long and hard at it. I could be petty and just reject it. The thought was rather tempting, I had to admit. "Kirito…" I could hear the unsaid threat in her hiss. Rolling my eyes, I pressed yes and closed the menu.
"See, that wasn't so hard! Now, add me to yer party and let's get goin' Kii-bou."
She has no right to be this chipper. Disgruntled, I did as she said without argument. And just who was it that kept shouting, "Hey you!" Behind us? I hope it wasn't that guy from earlier.
[Argo has joined your party]
"Good!"
Why was she poking me?
"Hey Kii-bou, I think someone is lookin' for ya."
On that note, I tried to escape. "Let's go. We're behind as it is." I quickly attempted to move around her to no avail. Argo grabbed my arm and turned me around back to where I started, grinning cheekily all the while.
"No. This is what you get for being naughty, Kii-bou."
I grunted.
"Yeah yeah, suck it up kiddo. 'Sides, I think you'll like this one." She chortled and pointed at someone, presumably whoever the idiot making a ruckus was. Might as well take a look I guess. My eyes move to the direction she was pointing at; It was the owner of that voice shouting earlier. He wore a red headband with yellow stripes over the long tresses of crimson hair. He looked a few years older than the average player, and was wearing the typical leather armor and clothing that players start out with. He had a rugged jaw with a small hints of a beard there. The only other noticeable feature was the curved scimitar sheathed in a scabbard at his hip. His hands were on his knees and he was bent over, huffing and puffing in exertion after running through the crowd outside the alley.
Well now, that's just dramatic. That guy knows he doesn't really need to act all that out, right? He must be a noob if he hasn't realized he can't actually feel breathlessness or exhaustion in this game. "H-hey! You there with the b-black hair," he was struggling to speak with every breath he took. "W-wait up, please." A few seconds later it looks like he finally caught his breath, "You're running like you know your way around here man. You must've been a beta tester, right?"
At this point, I tried to walk away again but, Argo grabbed onto my arm and stopped me in my place. She glared at me and held on. Fine. I moved my head up and down, "Yeah."
"PLEASE MAN! It's my first day playing. Teach a new guy like me a few tips on playing and maybe about the first couple of lower floors?" he begged, clasping his hands together and giving a formal Japanese bow.
I just stared at him, confused and bewildered at the sudden boldness. Did he really just...? It was hard not to laugh. Maybe Argo was right, this guy is kinda funny. However, my answer was still going to be the same, no matter how stupid he acted. Before I even get the words out of my mouth, however, that little rat stomped on my foot. It didn't damage my health of course, we were in a safe-zone, but I could still feel it and it hurt more than it should have. My brow furrowed and I turned to stare at her.
"What Kii-bou here means to say is yes, isn't that right?" Of course, she answered for me. I huffed and turned back around. "We were 'bout ta head out to farm some trash mobs over by the clearing to the northwest. Yer more than welcome to join us!"
She turned to me and stared expectantly, again. She squeezed on my arm. Oh right, the party. Rolling my eyes once more, I brought up the menu to invite him to our party. Wait a second, we didn't even know his name. We'd never met him before and he was on neither of our friends list so, his username wouldn't show unless he revealed it to us. I normally loved the anonymity provided by the game, but in this case it worked against us.
"Aw yeah! My names Klein."
Well, that's convenient. Now to send the invite. Moving my hand up, I reached in the direction of his cursor and tapped it twice. Once to select it and the second to invite him.
"Good to meetcha two!"
[Klein has joined your party]
And he's in now. That's just great.
There are times my brain fries up. It's no excuse I know; I have to own my behavior. I try to be at ease around people, try to be good to them, and then a trigger is flicked. My emotions turn cold, fearful, anxious... I back away, flee or strike out at the people around me, even those I love. In these moments I am least proud of who I am. Suguha, her parents… and my grandfather— I've lashed out before and ruined these relationships with my only remaining family. I know that these are things for me to work on and so, I'll admit I was wrong in being rude earlier. He's new and all, but I shouldn't be taking out my frustration on him, especially when he hasn't even done anything to deserve it.
Eyeing the auburn haired menace walking next to me reaffirmed it. That honor belongs to her; always using that annoying nickname and doing whatever she pleases. The sigh that followed these thoughts was resigned and weary. Soon after we had left the gate leading out of the city, a heavy silence settled over us all, thicker then the uneasy tension in the atmosphere. That's how it felt to me at least. At first, Argo humored that guy's rambling while I stayed silent, but apparently she hadn't been in the mood anymore.
My eye twitched. No, she's more interested in irritating me right now.
Poke
"Hey Kii-bou."
Poke
"Stop ignoring me."
Poke
"Kii-Bouuuuu!"
Where was the anti-harassment system when you needed it?
Mercifully, Klein interrupted Argo's idea of fun. He cleared his throat to grab our attention. Thank the ka—"Uh, hey! So, you're 'Kii-bou' right?" This was a mistake; I'm going to kill Argo. And he's an idiot. Can't he see our names in the party list?
"Then what's her name?"
My eyes drifted towards aforementioned girl. Huh? She looked surprisingly aggravated for some reason. I waited to see if she'd say anything before I answered. "Hey hey hey!" I heard her squawk out. The corners of my mouth lifted; it looks like I wouldn't need to speak after all.
"First things first, buddy. You can call him Kirito."
What's this feeling in my chest right now? She's actually using my name!
"Kii-bou is for my use only."
Ah.
Yes, this feeling… it was disappointment. Why was I friends with her again?
"And second," she continued on, "two hundred Cor for my name," finishing cheekily and holding out a palm.
"W-what?!" Klein looked shocked. I didn't bother holding back a laugh this time after seeing him almost stumble down face first into the dirt road we were walking on. This guy is too much. Shaking my head, I tossed him a bone, "her name is Argo–"
"The Rat." She helpfully supplied.
"Yes, the rat." I continued dryly. "She likes to pretend that she's an information broker." Ha. That'll rile her up.
"Hey! I take my job as Aincrad's top information broker very seriously ya know, Kii-bou. I can't believe you'd say that."
I could see her pout from the corner of my eye and my lips twitched upward. It was very hard trying not to laugh, so I didn't bother holding it back and simply let loose. "Kii-bou, stop it!" Even a shove from her did little to stop me from laughing. In fact, it was even funnier now. I considered it payback for earlier.
"Hey guys." Huh, Klein was saying something? My head turned back to look at him. "Thanks for bringing me along and um... sorry for being a third wheel, haha?" His laugh at the end was kinda awkward in my opinion, but more importantly, third... wheel? "Sorry for using your nickname for your boyfriend as well, Argo. I thought that was just something he liked being called by instead of his username."
He stopped to bow in apology.
I stopped, stupefied. Boyfriend?
And worst of all, Argo stopped.
That snapped me out of my shock and I turned to look in horror at Argo as she pounced on the opportunity.
"Nyahaha! It's 'kay Klein. My boyfriend here accepts your apology." My arm was snatched away from me once more by Argo and held against her chest. "And he just loves it whenever I call him Kii-bou. Its an... inside joke of ours." she all but practically purred.
"T-tha-thats..." I couldn't help but sputter. I was mortified, frozen to the spot. I felt traumatized. "No, not true. It's not true; that's not true at all!" I'd never live this down as long as I'd live. She would be reminding me of this as I lay on deathbed. There was nothing for it, I'd have to leave Kawagoe, cast off my identity and start off somewhere new.
"Aw, Kii-bou. Don't be embarrassed, it's okay!" I died inside when I saw her wink at me. But then she squeezed my arm between her che—No, its not okay. Not okay at all.
"Oh and uh, do I really need to give you t-two hundred Cor?" I heard a desperate voice behind me, undoubtedly Klein. "That's almost half of the starting cash they give us!" Shaking her off, I answered him.
"No, keep it. Let's just go and hurry up, the clearing is right ahead." And then suppressing the urge to leave them both behind, I walked forward.
"Eeeyouch! That fuckin' hurt."
"Don't be an idiot, you can't feel pain in here." I had harsher words to say but I guess everyone kind of starts out like this. Well, kind of. Not with an embarrassing accident like that, though. "Come on, get back up already. How do you expect to play the game if you can't kill a trash mob like that?" I picked up a rock lying around on the ground and winded my arm back, "This game relies on 'Sword Skills,' a system that allows you to use special guided attacks. You can use it with any type of weapon, or even pretty much anything you pick up, such as this rock for example. Just put yourself in the proper position, add a slight pause, and let the game do the rest." I let loose and the glowing rock flew straight at the boar.
"A head on hit—or maybe more of an ass on hit?—drew its aggro to me. Pulling out a sword from the scabbard slung around my back, I held it in front of me and prepared to take on the mob. Stupid Argo doesn't know what she's talking about. So what if it was impractical, I thought it was cool. "Give it a try Klein." Charging at me, I countered the boar with the flat of my blade and kicked it in the direction of the red head.
This time, he was prepared to face it. "YEEEAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He ran at it with «Reaver», giving me tinnitus in the process. Ugh, why did Argo leave me alone with him?
As the monster exploded into shards of white pixels with his downward swing, I tried to explain further. "When you become confident and get enough experience with it you'll eventually learn to manually activate your sword skills without any assistance from the system. Or in other words, you'll be able to fight freely without being constrained by the system's limitations, not that there's anything wrong with you using it, but the moves might just be a bit... predicatable otherwise." Ending on a quieter tone than I started with, I hoped I didn't come off too condescending.
"Whooo! That was amazing!" Man, he sure was easily satisfied. It brought a smile to my face regardless and I took a moment to wave Argo over.
"And so that's how you use sword skills Klein, good job." I congratulated him, even if it took him longer than it should've. There was just no denying that he was a noob. "Pretty fun isn't it?" The skills, the animation, the NPCs, the graphics! Every experience in Sword Art Online was simply revolutionary... and I guess I couldn't really blame him for taking some time to get used to the learning curve. It had some rather odd quirks to say the least.
"Hell, man! This game is so freakin' awesome."
Was there ever a time he wasn't shouting? It was giving me a headache. Anyhow, at least his enthusiasm was in the right place and it was... fun, I suppose, to help him out. I'm glad Argo dragged us all out here together. Maybe, just maybe, running into her today wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
"Hey Kirito, Argo. Thanks for everything! But, uh... I gotta get going for an early dinner and after that I'll be back but, well, I already promised I'd meet up with some friends I know from another game." Klein's yapping ended up knocking me out of my thoughts. "Speaking of that! You should join us Kirito," he looked a bit sheepish for a moment, "oh and uh... you too Argo." A wave of his hand and a gray screen materialized. I could see Klein fiddling with it before he looked back up at us.
"I don't know what you two have planned after this but, if you wanna join us and uh, ya know—friend 'em too…"
It was a kind offer but…
"Kii-bou here doesn't do guilds or friends, really. Trust me, I've tried ever since I met 'em and I've barely managed to get myself on his exclusive list." Looking at Argo, I flashed her a grateful smile. Sometimes… she just seemed to understand me. It was odd, but comforting. "But I'm preeeetty sure he wouldn't mind adding you as a friend at least, right Kii?" When Klein turned to face me, I could see Argo mouth something from the side of my eye.
You. Owe. Me.
My eyes couldn't roll harder if I tried, though I nodded to her anyway. "Yeah, that's right. If there's anything else you wanna know, message me." I awkwardly reached out with my hand for a handshake. At least, it felt awkward to me. Hwoever, I couldn't help the yelp of surprise when Klein grabbed my hand and pulled me forward into a half hug. What is he doing?!
"I promise I'll pay you back someday Kirito, virtually of course. Thank you so much! And you too Argo, I appreciate the chance you gave me earlier."
A few quick pats on the back later and Klein let go of me. But what was all that in the first place? I just wanted a handshake. "I got pizza coming for dinner, ya know. And it should be here right about now, I'll catch ya two later!"
Whatever. Moving my right hand up, I waved goodbye to the overly-friendly redhead and turned my head to see Argo wandering off again. Looking back, I watched as Klein awkwardly fiddled with his menu.
"…"
"Ahahaha... any minute now."
What was he still doing here and what was with that awkward laugh?
"Kirito, buddy. Mind helping me out again?"
Eyebrow raised, I gave a nod.
"Where's the logout button?"
A complete noob. No, Klein is the noob of all noobs. How do you miss the logout button?
"Yeah, sure. It's at the bottom of the main menu."
"It's not there."
Unbelievable. This guy… "Look here," swiping my hand to quickly open my menu, I waved him over to watch. "You open your menu and you scroll straight... down... here?" The logout button wasn't there. We must be hallucinating, the logout button doesn't just disappear!
There's absolutely no way a game breaking bug like this ever got past internal testing or the beta. Was it–...was it intentional, maybe an event of some sort? But to go this far would be reckless. My brain stuttered for a moment and my eyes took in more light than I expected, every part of me went on pause while my thoughts caught up. I looked over to where Argo wandered off too. Eyeing her toying with one of the «Frenzy Boar» mobs off to the side, I decide on asking her, but the words died on the tip of my tongue before I could utter them. If her button was gone too… this… this would mean…
"Argo!"
"Eh? She glanced back at me with curiosity in her eyes, "Whats up Kii-bou?"
"Quick! Kill that mob already and get over here."
"Fine. I'll be right there, hold on!" She didn't understand. There was no time to hold on. I needed to get her here now.
"ARGO!" My throat felt scratchy after that, but it got her to perk up in surprise. To say that I rarely yelled would be an understatement. If that wouldn't get her attention, nothing would.
"Coming Kirito! Whats wrong?" My ears twitched. I could've sworn I heard something alongside her shouting. Too loud; this was all giving me a headache. Nevertheless, I kept my eyes ope and watched as she abandoned the mob to sprint over to me.
"Check your menu for the logout button, Klein's and mine aren't showing! It's bugge—"
RING
I looked up to the horizon in confusion. Is that a bell?
And why does everything keep interrup—RING
My mouth moved, ready to ask if anyone knew where that bell was ringing from, when I noticed how silent it suddenly was. "Argo?" My head moved back down to look at where she was running from. But. She. Wasn't. There. "Klein!" I almost lost my balance when I span around to look behind me, where Klein was just standing. He's gone now. Wildly, I started turning my head back and forth to look for Argo and Klein. I couldn't hear a damn thing aside from my frantically beating heart and that stupid be—"That's it!"
The bell. They disappeared when the bell rung. But why?
Why am I the only one sti—RING
On the third note from the bell, I disappeared in a flash of blue.
My eyesight was blurry, and having lost balance my arms were desperately flailing for something to grab onto. I closed my eyes. Then, I was suddenly standing on stable ground. I blinked and thought I must be at home in bed with the NerveGear on because it was so dark. Then why the cold breeze, the sound of people talking, and why was I standing?
I shut my eyes once more and rubbed them. Upon opening them, I realized… I'm at the plaza?
It must've been a forced «Teleport». That's the only possible explanation for why we're here; a GM announcement regarding the logout button, but they could've just told us with... us... us...
Argo, Klein!
Head turning side to side, it was impossible to spot anyone in this crowd. We were packed like sardines! I don't have time for this. None of these people mattered. They weren't who I was looking for, they weren't important. They needed to get out of the damn way! Bringing my arms close together, I prepared to start shoving people out of the way; shouting my friend's names all the while.
"Argo!"
"Klein!"
"Argo!"
"ARGO!"
I wasn't used to being so loud, even in a game. It was pretty embarrassing, and my throat felt raw from that last scream. This sucked. I just wanted to grind today, not deal with this. "KII-BOU!" Huh?
"Kii-bou I'm over here!" Argo! She heard me, but where was she?
"Kii-bou!" There! I could see her. My legs moved before the rest of me caught up and I took off in a sprint. I don't care if I'm shoving everyone else to get to her. I don't care if it was just a teleport spell. This whole day has been a mess and I wanted to make sure my friend was alright.
One moment I was rushing forward and in the next went flying downward so fast that I could hardly draw breath. In the seconds it took to reach the ground I knew it was going to hurt. Oof. Speaking of a mess, I'm sprawled out on the floor like one. I ran into someone again. I really needed to pay more attention to what's around me and stop getting lost in my thoughts. "We have really got to stop meeting like this Kii-bou." Is that... Argo? No way, my luck isn't that bad. "I know the prince is supposed to sweep the princess up 'n off her feet, Kirito. But I think yer takin' it too literally."
Yeah, that was Argo alright. "least ya could do is ta catch me when yer sendin' me flying like that Kii-bou." She was teasing me again, wasn't she. I risked a glance over to her and sighed. She was pouting. Fine. I'll play along.
"I'm sorry Argo, are you okay?" Honestly, I did feel bad about running into her again. Even if she couldn't take damage from it, that didn't mean it was pleasant to hit the ground.
"Yer all fine kiddo. Not even a scratch ta my name."
I ran my hand over my face. Nope, shouldn't have even bothered asking. "You know we're the same age Argo. Stop calling me a kid." Before she could respond, people in the crowd started to gasp and point up.
"Hey look up there in the sky!" A shout from someone in the crowd. It almost sounded as if they were right next to us. An unusually loud voice... that was Klein, wasn't it? At least he's alright. I tapped her shoulder, pointed to the sky, and looked for anything amiss.
She spotted it first. "Kirito look!"
A piece of the… sky was... that makes as much sense as anything else today. Ahem. A piece of the Sky was flashing deep crimson red. It started letting off a rather ominous sound as well, wailing like a tornado siren and what not. If that were it, I'd just think it odd. Unfortunately, it was not. Bringing my eyes close together in a squint, I could make out what looks like the word, "Error." Just when I thought that was the worst of it, my eyes widened in fear. The sky turned red and an endless amount of warning and system announcement messages replaced it. Hold on a second, is that blood coming out from between the cracks?
I tried to say something, anything. My mouth just hung open instead.
I could feel the adrenaline begin to flood my system; my heart pumped and beat like it was trying to escape. To say that this isn't good would be an understatement. My body was primed and wanted to either run for the 'safety' of the hills or grab the weapon on my back and fight, but instead I remained where I was, rooted to the ground. Where could I have even run too, and how the hell was I supposed to fight that?
What did I get myself into?
The only thing I know for sure is that this is somehow all Argo's fault.