***
Chapter 4
How'd you stay alive?
***
Darkness. She'd never seen anything like it. Just pure darkness.
Her eyes adjusted to an infared mode. Yet another advantage of being a
former game sprite.
And then there was sound.
Buzzing, whining, an infinite number of the creatures were somewhere in
the dark. Some far away, and others very close by. Glitch began to freak
out again as the sound of flapping could be heard above.
Andraia slashed at the sound.
Something fell with a disturbing squish sound as the keytool went silent
again. She shuddered, and for once, was thankful for the darkness.
Her eyes fully adjusted, she found the back gate, and a road behind it.
The ground here was intact. Able to see faint outlines of the buildings,
she ran. More sounds, more static, more thuds on the pavement. She didn't
stop until she reached an intersection. The school was to the right.
Keep running......................keep running.......................
More of the doglike creatures guarded the entrance to the school. She
slowly approached, sword ready. The dogs crept toward her, growling. One
jumped, her sword came down, and the dog fell in half. The other one,
attacked, and it too was soon destroyed.
Once behind the school doors, she collapsed as mental and physical
exhaustion overtook her. The adrenaline rush gone, she was left with a
headache like she'd never known before. In the quiet of the school
building, she was able to think about the events of the day.
She'd killed something. Yes, monsters, but they were alive.
Were......
Bloodstains were left behind where the monsters once were. Luckily their
corpses dissolved almost immediately. She wouldn't want to have to
look at them more than neccesary. Still the entire situation had been
too real.
Not like the games.
In the games, the blood was minimal. This was just too real. And yet, it
was too unreal.
It was surreal. Like some crazy nightmare.
Only question.........who's nightmare?
Gathering herself, and remembering why she was here, she stood up. She was
in a small entryway with doors on either side, lit only by a small battery
run emergency light, which flickered on the verge of fizzing out. She
took a deep breath as she opened the doors into the inner hallway.
The hallways was quiet. Just quiet. The only sound she had was her
footsteps. There were no lights, no power. Not even heat. The only aid
she had to see around her was the backlight from the keytool. And then the
sound came. The familiar high pitched whine was very soft at first, but
then much louder. And then static.
And then everything went dark as the backlight from the keytool faded.
Andraia readied her sword as soft, almost inaudible footsteps and groans
accompanied the high pitched squeals and static. She heard something
behind her, and swiped in that direction. Something fell to the ground and
a door fell open, a small amount of light coming from the room on the
other side. Something swiped at her leg, cutting her while the broken door
distracted her. Another slash from the sword, and whatever had attacked
her was dead. She saw a small flicker of light as the corpses dissolved.
The static was gone, and Glitch returned to its semi-functional state. She
could still hear noises, but they were far away. Either outside the
building, or behind walls.
It was as if she couldn't decide whether she liked it noisy or quiet. She
wished she could tune out the noises of the monsters. On the other hand, she
couldn't stand the idea of being alone in a dead system with only a
keytool for company. Her mind was in total confusion. What should she do?
Find Enzo and get out of here.
Sighing, she looked around. The hallway had a door on either end, with
several doorways randomly placed down the length of the hall.
She was thankful for wearing swimming shoes. They made no noise as she
walked. This would make her movements silent, possibly enabling her to
sneak past whatever was around the school.
She heard a scream in the distance, somewhere in the school. It was a
voice she knew. One she knew well.
She tried one of the end doorways. It was locked. She tried hitting the
door with her sword, only to discover that it was protected by some kind
of forcefield.
With a sigh, she tried the other doors in the hallway. The door she'd
accidentally slashed open earlier led to a nurse's office. Andraia noted
the location for later, just in case she found Enzo. She didn't know if
she wanted to risk taking him outside.
Another door, leading to the schools' office was open, but it turned up
empty. Just as she was about to leave, she spotted something that looked
like a note.
"I know you. I walked with you once upon a dream. Who's nightmare is it
anyway?"
Odd thing to write on a piece of paper. Another note:
"Knock Knock
Who's there?
Isadore
Isadore who?
Isadore locked?
I need a key.
Pianos have keys."
"Oh.........kay..." Andraia said outloud. Geez that
was..........um..stupid? Strangely enough, she had the feeling that she
was supposed to find this piano.
No other notes were around, so she left the room and tried the other doors
in the hall. Nothing else would open but a door leading into the
courtyard at the center of the school.
Immediately, her ears were assaulted by the familiar high pitched whine
the monsters made. She'd heard them before, but here, it was much louder.
Glitch fizzled immediately, and the small amount of light she had was
gone. Something was around her. Like the creatures in the hall. Adjusting
her vision in the dark, she was surrounded by creatures about the size of
binomes. And like the ones in the hall, they were armed.
Something slashed at her, and she dodged. She swiped with her sword and
heard the sound of something hitting the ground. Another swipe and another
creature fell dead. Yet they continued to attack. These creatures knew
nothing of fear. Several more slashes, and she was relieved as Glitch's
backlight came back on. Looking around, there were several park benches
and bushes, a clock tower, and a door directly across from where she'd
entered the courtyard.
And more of the noises were coming from the direction of that other door.
But there was another sound too. The sound of a fight. Somebody else was
fighting the monsters!
As she neared the door, the backlight on the keytool went off yet again.
The noises stopped and the light came on just as her hand reached the
door.
Another sound. Panting, growling..............
She threw the door open to find...........
Chapter 4
How'd you stay alive?
***
Darkness. She'd never seen anything like it. Just pure darkness.
Her eyes adjusted to an infared mode. Yet another advantage of being a
former game sprite.
And then there was sound.
Buzzing, whining, an infinite number of the creatures were somewhere in
the dark. Some far away, and others very close by. Glitch began to freak
out again as the sound of flapping could be heard above.
Andraia slashed at the sound.
Something fell with a disturbing squish sound as the keytool went silent
again. She shuddered, and for once, was thankful for the darkness.
Her eyes fully adjusted, she found the back gate, and a road behind it.
The ground here was intact. Able to see faint outlines of the buildings,
she ran. More sounds, more static, more thuds on the pavement. She didn't
stop until she reached an intersection. The school was to the right.
Keep running......................keep running.......................
More of the doglike creatures guarded the entrance to the school. She
slowly approached, sword ready. The dogs crept toward her, growling. One
jumped, her sword came down, and the dog fell in half. The other one,
attacked, and it too was soon destroyed.
Once behind the school doors, she collapsed as mental and physical
exhaustion overtook her. The adrenaline rush gone, she was left with a
headache like she'd never known before. In the quiet of the school
building, she was able to think about the events of the day.
She'd killed something. Yes, monsters, but they were alive.
Were......
Bloodstains were left behind where the monsters once were. Luckily their
corpses dissolved almost immediately. She wouldn't want to have to
look at them more than neccesary. Still the entire situation had been
too real.
Not like the games.
In the games, the blood was minimal. This was just too real. And yet, it
was too unreal.
It was surreal. Like some crazy nightmare.
Only question.........who's nightmare?
Gathering herself, and remembering why she was here, she stood up. She was
in a small entryway with doors on either side, lit only by a small battery
run emergency light, which flickered on the verge of fizzing out. She
took a deep breath as she opened the doors into the inner hallway.
The hallways was quiet. Just quiet. The only sound she had was her
footsteps. There were no lights, no power. Not even heat. The only aid
she had to see around her was the backlight from the keytool. And then the
sound came. The familiar high pitched whine was very soft at first, but
then much louder. And then static.
And then everything went dark as the backlight from the keytool faded.
Andraia readied her sword as soft, almost inaudible footsteps and groans
accompanied the high pitched squeals and static. She heard something
behind her, and swiped in that direction. Something fell to the ground and
a door fell open, a small amount of light coming from the room on the
other side. Something swiped at her leg, cutting her while the broken door
distracted her. Another slash from the sword, and whatever had attacked
her was dead. She saw a small flicker of light as the corpses dissolved.
The static was gone, and Glitch returned to its semi-functional state. She
could still hear noises, but they were far away. Either outside the
building, or behind walls.
It was as if she couldn't decide whether she liked it noisy or quiet. She
wished she could tune out the noises of the monsters. On the other hand, she
couldn't stand the idea of being alone in a dead system with only a
keytool for company. Her mind was in total confusion. What should she do?
Find Enzo and get out of here.
Sighing, she looked around. The hallway had a door on either end, with
several doorways randomly placed down the length of the hall.
She was thankful for wearing swimming shoes. They made no noise as she
walked. This would make her movements silent, possibly enabling her to
sneak past whatever was around the school.
She heard a scream in the distance, somewhere in the school. It was a
voice she knew. One she knew well.
She tried one of the end doorways. It was locked. She tried hitting the
door with her sword, only to discover that it was protected by some kind
of forcefield.
With a sigh, she tried the other doors in the hallway. The door she'd
accidentally slashed open earlier led to a nurse's office. Andraia noted
the location for later, just in case she found Enzo. She didn't know if
she wanted to risk taking him outside.
Another door, leading to the schools' office was open, but it turned up
empty. Just as she was about to leave, she spotted something that looked
like a note.
"I know you. I walked with you once upon a dream. Who's nightmare is it
anyway?"
Odd thing to write on a piece of paper. Another note:
"Knock Knock
Who's there?
Isadore
Isadore who?
Isadore locked?
I need a key.
Pianos have keys."
"Oh.........kay..." Andraia said outloud. Geez that
was..........um..stupid? Strangely enough, she had the feeling that she
was supposed to find this piano.
No other notes were around, so she left the room and tried the other doors
in the hall. Nothing else would open but a door leading into the
courtyard at the center of the school.
Immediately, her ears were assaulted by the familiar high pitched whine
the monsters made. She'd heard them before, but here, it was much louder.
Glitch fizzled immediately, and the small amount of light she had was
gone. Something was around her. Like the creatures in the hall. Adjusting
her vision in the dark, she was surrounded by creatures about the size of
binomes. And like the ones in the hall, they were armed.
Something slashed at her, and she dodged. She swiped with her sword and
heard the sound of something hitting the ground. Another swipe and another
creature fell dead. Yet they continued to attack. These creatures knew
nothing of fear. Several more slashes, and she was relieved as Glitch's
backlight came back on. Looking around, there were several park benches
and bushes, a clock tower, and a door directly across from where she'd
entered the courtyard.
And more of the noises were coming from the direction of that other door.
But there was another sound too. The sound of a fight. Somebody else was
fighting the monsters!
As she neared the door, the backlight on the keytool went off yet again.
The noises stopped and the light came on just as her hand reached the
door.
Another sound. Panting, growling..............
She threw the door open to find...........
