Author's Note:
Woah hey guys, sorry for the way late update. School has been crazy as of late, teammates pushing entire projects onto my shoulders and such. But hey, another chapter should be enough to satisfy anybody who found this story interesting. Now, I don't plan to upload anything until March so I can just dump everything I have written and will write then. So look forward to one or more chapters of this story then! Now the story
Disclaimer: I do not own any story line, characters, or scenery from the game OFF by Mortis Ghost. I only own Amber Lynn and her life.
I followed The Batter down the staircase, moving as silently as possible as I stepped down the stairs. I hid behind a wooden support beam when The Batter stopped and began talking to a familiar creepy cat, to the Judge. Another conversation commenced, and the Judge seemed slightly confused about a couple of things. One of those things was a floating ring he called an add-on, the second was something he was not expressing, and I had a hunch as to what it was.
Suddenly, The Batter approached this add-on thing, and when he reached out his hand and the tips of his fingers touched its white surface, it disappeared and reappeared behind The Batter then disappeared again. I jumped and flattened my back against the wall as The Batter suddenly moved towards the exit. I exhaled a breath I had been holding in when he passed, and waited for him to be outside before following.
"Who are you?" the Judge asked from behind me. A thought flashed through my mind, an Alice in Wonderland thought. I guess you could say my situation would be similar to that of Alice Liddell's, a girl suddenly thrown into an unknown world following a rabbit, in my case The Batter, being asked who she is by an eerie smiling cat. Using this idea and adding it to my current situation settled the fear lying deep in my stomach only slightly.
I turn to face my Cheshire cat. "I'm Amber Lynn," I said, my nerves causing my voice to echo quietly in the thick air.
"The puppeteer of the puppet?" he asks without moving. If cats had the ability to show confusion, his face was full of his own.
"Yes," I said, recognizing the problem that lied within that fact. I shouldn't be in the world, away from the Batter if I were to guide him. If I was here, who was controlling and guiding him now?
"How did you get here?" the Judge asked, interrupting my thoughts that had caused my head to spin.
"I have no idea, one moment I was playing a game in my room, the next moment I have been pushed head first into what I would suppose is the game itself," I said as I answered the question with as much honesty as possible.
"I see, well I do hope you learn how do get back. This world would seem unfit and unsafe for someone from a completely different world altogether," the Judge says as he moves towards me. I smile as he approaches and begins to rub against my bare legs.
"You have a point, Sir Cat. Also, how is it that people must breathe smoke from bottles, but seem perfectly fine breathing oxygen?" I ask of my feline companion, one who seemed more knowledgeable of the ways of this world.
"It is a very curious concept, isn't it?" the Judge replies, still acting upon his catlike instincts.
"Indeed it is," I reply absentmindedly. "Well I better get going, I don't want to lose track of The Batter," I say as I turn and walk up the steps.
"I do hope our paths will cross again, dear Amber Lynn," was the Judge's farewell as I leave. I nod and move on, exiting into the pouring rain yet again. I shiver slightly when the rain hits my skin, distracted by the descending sight of The Batter. I quickly run after him and jump down the steps two at a time. I ran down the cave's halls as silently as possible, and came to a stop seeing The Batter standing in the middle of a small clearing of the mine. I tried to quiet my breathing from the quick travel as much as possible, and hoped that any sharp breaths he heard he would mistake as one of the many people that inhabit this world.
I jumped when he began calling out to some entity, my breath halted as I hoped he hadn't heard me, calling out to my hiding person. When several eerie spirits appeared I wish I was the one he was beckoning. The group of ghost looking beings appeared and were now surrounding the Batter. I held in a scream as they began attacking him. With rain still wet on my body and causing my clothes to stick to me, I realized the sudden cold and did nothing to suppress the shiver. I quickly maneuvered past the Batter as he was distracted by the fight and turned and ran.
I ran down the dark murky halls of the mine, a pain growing in my lungs; I wasn't a very good runner, but the adrenaline spawned from my fear kept me going. I had a very large fear of ghosts and any other thing supernatural due to an event where me and my friends were very ignorant and decided to test out the validity of an Ouija board. Because of this fear I continued running, which I soon deemed unwise due to the large number of specters roaming the mines. I maneuvered around them and managed to avoid all of them. After a few moments of running and hoping that I was running the right way, I came upon a room with absolutely no specters. This room had a ladder leading outside and a blocked entrance that would lead to the eastern mines. With my mind discombobulated from the fear I ran towards the blocks and pushed my way through the thin gaps in between.
My fear only worsened as I noticed the darkness of my chosen path and was discouraged I couldn't figure out my way back through the blocks. I shakily reached to grab the mainly prop sword from my bag, and I gripped tighter onto the weapon in my hand, my hands shaking from the sudden fear rising in my stomach. I slowly progressed, and began sprinting through the dark hall, slowing down with relief when I saw light. I moved towards a path that was not blocked, still running in hopes to escape the mine. I stopped at the sight of a pale figure, smoke for breath and long arms accompanied with long claw-like fingers in front of me. Shaking violently, I almost dropped my weapon, but gained some courage and tried to run to the right of the being, slicing at him with my katana. I had managed to hit the monster with my sword, and in return he hit me with his long claws, causing three distinct marks to show up on my left shoulder. The only type of pain I had experienced was at most the spraining of a muscle, nothing that ripped through my flesh, so my tolerance of pain was very low. I gripped my aching shoulder with my free hand, and continued running. It was getting harder to move as the pain settled in my body, my legs going heavier with each step, until I finally crossed into a different hall, the enemy stopping its pursuit.
I sighed with relief as I saw the path ahead was barren of any spooky enemies, and continued until I saw a single room. Within the room was two things, a floating yellow block and an intimidating masked man. He only seemed to be in his early twenties, or late teens even, but the eerie air he gave off and his poise made him seem equivalent to that of a middle aged man, in terms of strength. He cocked his head in confusion at the sight of my limp form entering the room, and made no motion to help my suffering.
"You shouldn't be here, y'know. Only The Batter and I should enter this room, well, that is if the game was programmed correctly," he said, his voice having very little emotion. I let out a soft laugh that could have been mistaken as a sigh.
"So you know this is a game, then? Well, I am the ever so valued player, and I actually wish I weren't here," I said with grumpy sarcasm, motioning to my wounded left shoulder. He didn't respond immediately, and I moved with pained steps towards the exit. I forced myself onward, trying to show indifference to the pain. But I soon gave in to the overbearing sensation, falling onto my knees silently as to keep his attention away from me. I wanted to avoid being thought of as a weak human girl.
"So you would be Amber Lynn?" the boy asked, causing me to jump slightly in surprise. He turned to look at me, seemingly slightly taken aback when he saw my pained expression and that I was now on the ground. I flashed him a sarcastic smile, before slowly forcing my body up, only to cause me more pain, but I forced myself to remain standing. I gasped and shuddered as the pain become overwhelming, forcing the tears back at this never before experienced pain. "Are you okay?"
"Oh yes, entirely. I thought the ground would be a nice spot to just sit, and your stupid questions cause me oh so much joy," I snapped back at him, the pain causing my personality to become rigid. I gritted my teeth, and hesitantly removed my hand from my shoulder, my legs shaking as I saw the amount of blood. I quickly turned my head away, shutting my eyes tightly as I forced down the bile that had leapt up into my throat. I turned to leave, when I heard rustling behind me, and turned back to see the masked man looking inside a box. He soon pulled out what I suspected was a first aid kit, and he looked over to me, then nodded his head to sit by him and his small array of items and prices. I went to sit without any objections, and was surprised to feel cold hands touch the area around my wound. I let my head drop loosely, cringing at the sudden prick of pain of a needle being forced into my skin. "Who are you anyway?"
"Oh, I am Zacharie, the generic video game merchant that is conveniently placed in an area with a save point," he said as he gently moved his hands around my wound, being a bit brutish with the way he sewed up the wound. It took all my will power not to move and squirm away, but I was unable to bite back the scream caused by a rather painful tug of my skin. "Sorry, just trying to close the wound."
"Well can't you be a little more careful about it?" I asked, and was attacked by a sudden pain that coursed throughout my body. I doubled over with a gasp, Zacharie's hands following me down as he continued to work on the wound. Tears of pain slid down my cheeks, and I looked at the once dull and useless katana on the ground causing the tears fell faster, remembering the fear, remembering the pain. Zacharie's hand suddenly moved away from my back as I began trembling. Awh God dammit, this is the exact opposite thing that I wanted to happen. Now I look like a complete and utter baby.
"Woah, heyheyhey. Don't cry! C'mon, just let me wrap up the wound with a bandage," he said as he pulled out some cream colored bandages, bringing his hands back to my body. I tried forcing the tears back, but they kept falling, the familiar sight and smell of blood controlling my emotions. I tried to remember the trick I used to calm me down in situations like this, but my attempts were in vain. I decided to give in to the emotions, and buried my head into my arms that rested on my knees, not caring what this creepy stranger thought of my weak state. He continued working on my wound in silence, tightly wrapping the bandages under my arm and over my shoulder. "It's all done, no need for crying anymore. Hey, don't think I am going to be sympathetic, you still have to pay for my services. That'll be 500 credits."
"I don't even know what a credit is, much less have any. Can't you just let this one slide and let me be on my way?" I muttered as I wiped away the continuously falling tears. I groaned with my head in my hands, embarrassment falling hot onto my already burning body.
"Well, I don't really know how far you'll get in that state. You've lost a fair amount of blood and it looks like you have a fever. You should probably stick with me for a bit," he said, standing up and going to cover the blood stained dirt with clean dirt. I glared at him, my will to act strong forcing me to stand up and move towards the exit, a spiraling dizziness hitting me hard. The urge to puke and pass out caused my body to fall forward, consciousness leaving me quickly.
Author Talking woa:
Well, that is what I have for chapter two. Chapter three should be available by March, so be patient. I have other stories I am trying to get some progress done. But school has been very demanding as of late, speeches and massive projects, so I have no guarantee. Well, until next time my dear readers.