Neverquest - Part 108
Characters: Russell, Wallace, Roy, Mack, Michelle, Bob, Guy, Jeff
Location: Somewhere in Neverquest
Time: Day 5 - 12:00 AM
Russell opened his eyes to the darkness, staring up at the candlelit glow of a crescent moon. Waves of grass shimmered across the ground like water. He lifted his head, feeling the brush of vegetation against his bare chest, and ran a hand through his hair to make sure it was real. A cool wind blasted his cheek. He stood against it and stared all around, trying to remember how he had wound up outside. Where was CNN? Where was Sophia? Where was the life he knew?
“Sir…”
“What?”
“Sir, are you okay?”
Russell turned his head and the memories came rushing back like thunder. “Wallace.”
“Is everything okay, sir? You look dazed.”
“I’m fine, Wallace.”
“Are you—”
“Yes, I’m sure. Thank you for your concern.”
The others were beginning to rise as well. Jeff staggered to his feet, helping up Bob and Guy, and Mack tried to get his bearings on his own. Only Roy remained in the grass, lying on his back, staring up at the night sky.
“That was wild,” he breathed, listening to his breaths against the wind. “I feel like I just took a ride on the back of a hurricane and forgot to wear my seatbelt… So far out…”
Mack kicked him. “Get up, man.”
“Dude, not now. I’m having an out-of-body experience.”
“I’ll give you an out-of-body experience…”
“Hey,” Bob said, looking around. “Where’s Michelle?”
“Maybe she didn’t make it,” Jeff shrugged.
“Don’t be stupid. She’s here somewhere.”
“Oh, yeah? I don’t see any sign of her.”
Suddenly, a foot crashed down from the sky and smothered Jeff into the dirt.
“…I do.”
They all stared up, past the wafting flaps of a colorless robe, past the curves and mounds of a mountain of flesh, into the starlit eyes of Michelle as she gazed down at them. She blinked, adjusting her eyes to the darkness.
“I stepped on one of you, didn’t I?” she asked warily. She could see it in their faces. The look of horror.
“Yeah,” Roy said, “but it was only Jeff. I’m sure he’ll be back in the sequel.”
Michelle turned her foot over and looked down at the twitching stain on the sole of her sandal. “Sorry about that, Jeff.”
“S’alright…” he grunted. “I needed that kink out of my back.”
Frowning, Michelle scraped him off in the grass. “Bob, Guy… I made you both Monks. You have the ability to resurrect.”
“Awesome!” they said in unison, giving each other a high-five. Then they took out their maces and went over to revive Jeff.
“What’s my class?” Jeff asked.
“Well, I wanted to best match what we needed with your…personal abilities, so I made you a Bear Baiter”
“Was that before or after you made me a stain?”
“Don’t you want to know what a Bear Baiter does?”
“Hey, I don’t need to know. I’m already the master of baiting, if you know what I mean.”
“Okay, well…”
“Oh, oh, what am I!” Roy said. He looked down at his new rags and spotted a rusted sword tucked under his belt. With a swish, he took it out and began hacking through the grass like he was in a jungle. “I bet I’m some bad ass barbarian with the power to crush skulls between my pinkies and eat brains for breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner!”
“Close. You’re a Cavalier.”
“Ha!” Roy leaned over and pricked the tip of Mack’s nose with his sword. “In your face, Mack. I get a kick ass steed and…hey, where’s my kick ass steed?”
Michelle looked around. “Um… Right here.” Cupping her hands over something on the ground, she knelt down next to Roy and unleashed a terrible green horror into his face.
“A frog!” he screamed as it jumped for him. He thrashed his arms. “Oh, God, it’s licking me! Oh, God… Hey, that kind of tickles.”
Mack stared at him. “…I’m almost afraid to ask what I’m supposed to be.”
“Well,” Michelle said, “you’re a Scout. With your tracking skills, we should be able to locate Siarra before dawn. And with your survival skills, you should be able to survive until then.”
“Fantastic…”
Michelle nodded. “Now, Russell, I programmed you to be a Merchant. We’re strangers in this world and I think it would be wise to have money to barter with.”
“A coin is a man’s best friend,” Russell agreed, “but I’d really like to speak to my daughter, Michelle.”
“She should already be able to hear us. Sophia… Sophia, are you there?”
“Michelle! Where’s my father!?”
“He’s right here.”
“Why can’t I hear him?”
“Okay, calm down. His diminutive size is probably creating a simple imbalance in the aural output. All you need to do is increase the volume controls for the men. Do you know how to do that?”
“I’m not sure. I think so…”
“Sophia.”
“What?”
“We’re okay. Your father is fine. I just wanted you to know that.”
Sophia was unusually quiet for a moment. “…Okay, I found the controls. I’m setting them at max now.”
Meanwhile, Wallace looked down at his arms, where he was carrying a lance in one hand and a tower shield in the other. He turned to Russell. “Um, sir… What am I supposed to be?”
“Why, you’re a Guardian, Wallace.”
“A Guardian, sir?”
“Yes, it’s your job to protect people at any costs.”
“Don’t I already do that?”
“Dad?” Sophia said. “Dad, can you hear me?”
“Sophia!”
“Dad, is everyone okay?”
“Yes, Sophia, you needn’t worry. Can you see us on screen now?”
“Yeah, I see you.”
“Okay, guys, here’s the plan,” Michelle said. “Mack, Jeff, and Roy… You’re joining me on ground team Alpha. With Mack’s ability to track and my coercing spells as an Enchanter, we should be able to locate Siarra and convince her to surrender the password. Now, if Mack’s tracking should fail, we’re going to count on team Bravo to cover for him. Russell, Wallace, Bob, and Guy—I want you four to question the townspeople for Siarra’s whereabouts. It’s the middle of the night, but some of them should still be awake. Find out whatever you can, relay it to Sophia, and she can pass it on to us.”
“Does that mean we’re going to Felwinter?” Roy asked.
“Yes. We’re only about a mile away.” She glanced down and noticed how really small they were. “I guess I’ll carry both groups until we get there and then we can split up.”
Bob perked up. “Can I ride in your hair?”
“No.”
“Oh, please, please, please!”
“No.”
“I’ll give you flowers.”
“Sophia,” Michelle said, turning her back. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, listen carefully. Since we’re all plugged into the same port, you won’t be able to pull one of us from the game without pulling us all. I don’t want you to press the button unless it’s absolutely necessary. And remember, this is just a game. We shouldn’t really be hurt by what happens to us here.”
“What if we are?” Jeff asked.
“You shouldn’t be.”
“It hurt when you stepped on me.”
“As long as you have somebody who can revive around, you’ll be fine. That’s why I want Bob and Guy to go with team Bravo. They’ll be able to resurrect anybody who should come into trouble, including each other.”
“But shouldn’t we have somebody who can revive on our team?”
“You have me for protection.”
“Yeah, as long as you watch where you step. I don’t exactly like being paste, you know. I’ve tried it before and it just doesn’t taste good.”
Michelle sighed. “…Russell, why would you invent a game like this anyway?”
Giantess World
