The sun beat down on the sandy beach, casting a warm glow over the chaotic scene unfolding before it. Lifeguards and paramedics rushed to and fro, their bright orange vests and shouting voices a stark contrast to the serene atmosphere.
Amidst the commotion, two figures lay side by side on the sand, their bodies limp and exhausted. The young teenage boy coughed weakly, his eyes fluttering open to reveal a dazed and disoriented gaze. He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through his head, forcing him back onto the sand.
Next to him, his friend lay motionless, her long brown hair matted and tangled from the sea. Her eyes were closed, and her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths.
The boy's gaze drifted to the girl, and his eyes widened in panic. "Help..." he muttered, his voice barely audible. "Please...help...her..." He whispered in a very weak and low tone before he also blanked out.
PRESENT...
"Steven? Hey Steve can you hear me? A fainted female voice called on repeat.
"What... What happened? Where am I? Was the question I asked which I'm sure no one heard. My vision was blurry I couldn't barely make sense of what was going on around me. Different voices colliding and echoing in my head.
"Can you hear me? Stay with us," the voice said again and I know who that belongs to... Reecer.
"Where am I?" I ask again.
"You're in the hospital," another voice responded this time. This new voice that answered me I haven't heard in years. If my ears aren't playing tricks on me, I guess I'm dead then.
"Mum is that you?" I whispered in a weak tone.
"It's me, Steven. I'm right here with you," what was supposed to be my mother's voice responded. I felt some kind of light inside of me hearing the voice again. I wish it would never go away or fade away again. I wish the voice I was hearing was real.
"Did he just say MUM? I think he's not with us currently," another voice came saying, Pashina it was. I don't know why or how many voices are slipping through my hearing.
"I can't say, but it seems he's stuck in some sort of memory lane. Half of him heard us hearing something else," I heard Reecer say this time. "Steven, whatever or wherever your mind might be at the moment, just be calm and embrace whatever is it you're facing. We will be by your side till you come back to us," Reecer said before everything, every voice disappeared.
My eyes spontaneously opened wide and I was hit by bright light almost blinding me. I felt every inch of my body lumb like jelly. I looked around and it turned out to be in a ward.
"Oh goodness, you're awake," I heard someone say beside me that I wasn't aware was there before. "Let me go get the doctor," My mother said as she rushed to get the doctor.
During her absence I realized something weird and strange. When I took a gander at my reflection in the mirror, I gasped when I saw I reawakened in my young body a few years earlier. I'm 17 years old to be precise. How was it possible? What's happening to me? I asked.
Dreckley, my mother and the doctor arrived and the doctor did a quick check.
"Mrs Patrick, your son is fine. He rapidly became very stable after the incident..."
"Incident? " I don't get what they were referring to. I was lost and they could read my expression to understand that I was totally confused.
"Do you remember what happened like an hour ago?" The doctor asked me but I only became more jumbled.
"No. No, I, I don't, can't remember," I replied. Wait! I actually recollect eating a fruit. Could it be what they were referring to as Incident?
"You drown, Steven."
"What?!"
"Yes," mother said, wiping away the drop of tear from her eye. "You were...were trying to save her." She began and the memories started to come back like lightning. I was remembering now and I couldn't stop myself from crying remembering this day 5 years ago. It was tragic and I tried to bury the memory.
"It was too late but you tried your best even putting yourself at risk."
I remembered her choking in the beach sea. I remembered following despite being afraid of water and I can't swim. I recall drowning myself to save her.
"I failed... failed to save her," I burst into tears for the second time. Maybe if I had tried harder I would have been able to save her in time. "I failed again, mother. I failed to save the people I care about. Why do I always let them down?" The tear kept on coming like dam. Mother embraced me tight and whispered it's okay.
"You did your best. It's not your fault. I made the right decision to save her, but it wasn't your choice to fail."
"I am so sorry. I'm so sorry Wanda," I said with despair.
"It's okay, "she tried to console me but I couldn't hear her broken voice.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save her... You or them. If I can't then who is worth saving?"
"Everyone, Steven. Everyone worth saving," I heard mother respond before everything faded again.
I uprose finding myself in the place I was familiar with now. I was still sobbing. Reecer and Pashina, seeing me awake, rushed to my side to help me up for the bed.
"Take it easy. Okay?" I wiped the tears away and smiled. "It's okay" Pashina said and I nodded.
"Surprise I am still alive," was what I said cackling.
"You were right the whole time, about everything." I heard Gabriel say who I was not aware of.
I looked around and noticed I was surrounded by almost all the players that managed to complete the mission, giving a round of applause. I heard cheer and jubilation from everyone and I was happy I was able to do something notable. Everything settled later and they all returned to one thing or another, but my friends were with me the whole time.
"Hold on, where's Reece?" I realized the boy wasn't no where around. I looked at Reecer and noticed the sudden shift in her expression and emotion. I need no one to interpret that for me to know what has happened. "I'm sorry."
"No, it's not your fault at all. It was his choice. You don't have to blame yourself for his decision... His choice."
"But still..."
"Look around you Steven, you helped these people around you. You saved as much as you can."
"What happened after, after I ate that fruit and also to them?"
"You get burnt."
"Diabolical. That explains it... So what about them?"
"They were covered in some sort of light then BOOM vanished like they were never there." Pashina responded. I let out a sigh and held my chin thinking.
"If they aren't terminated on the same spot, then what happened?" I was baffled. I noticed Reecer acting unusual which made me to ask her what the matter was.
"If my theory is right, I think they might not be dead," I heard Reecer respond, making me ask out of curiosity what she meant by this theory.
"What do you mean?"
"Hmm...My brother and I have somehow synced to each other since we are twins. Like the sixth sense or something like that. Sometimes I get to feel what he's feeling and I've also felt his presence. Since the mission ended and I thought he might be dead, I still felt his presence but barely... It was like a faint line still connecting us. But also this might be another one of the game's tricks. Maybe the game master knows about this connection and wanted to exploit it by making me believe he's alive." She explained,but I could see the doubt on her face.
"I don't think so. I am sure this isn't any trick, it's real. And so we are going to get your brother." I said, getting up on my feet.
"Don't you think this is a bad idea? I mean what makes you sure he's alive?" Gabriel asked.
"Did you see them die in the garden?" I asked again for confirmation.
"No, why?"
"First thing first, if you can't find a body then you can't declare them dead." I turned to the other two, "But I can't do this alone, I need your help," and they were ready to.
"How are you planning on getting there or out of this place?" Gabriel inquired. That's a very good question though. How?
"That's true, but don't worry because we are using these," Pashina raised four of the fruits before us. 2 good and 2 bad. "We are going to chew on them and we will be taken to wherever they are taken."
"Ok. It better work," Reecer muttered.
"Let's find out..."
ELSEWHERE...
From the control room, all that Steven and his friend were planning was being watched by The Nemesis. He glitched his fist as he watched every step taken by the human.
"I knew it! I know this will happen. Filthy human scum. Humans are always a problem, finding a way to ruin things! Fix this bug and put the side quest to max difficulty," The Nemesis ordered which they proceed to do instantly. "I'd make your death a slow and painful bug." He swear clutching his fist.