Awaken Online (Book 3.5): Apathy Read online

  Awaken Online

  Side Quest: Apathy

  ______________

  Travis Bagwell

  Copyright © 2018 by Travis Bagwell

  All rights reserved.

  ______

  Who doesn’t love a black sheep?

  ______

  Contents

  Chapter 1 - Pressured

  Chapter 2 - Decisive

  Chapter 3 - Enlisted

  Chapter 4 - Constructive

  Chapter 5 - Tedious

  Chapter 6 - Impossible

  Chapter 7 - Infectious

  Chapter 8 - Daring

  Chapter 9 - Unperturbed

  Chapter 10 - Adventurous

  Chapter 11 - Aimless

  Chapter 12 - Disheartened

  Chapter 13 - Mechanized

  Chapter 14 - Surprising

  Chapter 15 - Experimental

  Chapter 16 - Malignant

  Chapter 17 - Anti-Social

  Chapter 18 - Murderous

  Chapter 19 - Nefarious

  Chapter 20 - Duplicitous

  Chapter 21 - Picky

  Chapter 22 - Miserly

  Chapter 23 - Haphazard

  Chapter 24 - Investigatory

  Chapter 25 - Obnoxious

  Chapter 26 - Delinquent

  Chapter 27 - Despairing

  Chapter 28 - Inventive

  Chapter 29 - Surreptitious

  Chapter 30 - Conflicted

  Chapter 31 - Mutated

  Chapter 32 - Evolved

  Chapter 33 - Victorious

  Chapter 34 - Unyielding

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1 - Pressured

  October 8, 2076: 4 days after the release of Awaken Online.

  The sizzle and pop of the hamburger meat cooking on the stove was the only sound that could be heard in the kitchen. Eliza stirred the mixture distractedly and then turned back to the small bowl in front of her that she was using to mix various herbs and spices.

  1 Tablespoon of chili powder, ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon onion powder… Eliza mentally cataloged and checked off the list of ingredients that went into the seasoning, her hands automatically measuring and pouring the powders with military precision.

  Once the mixture was complete, she stirred it gently and then added it to the pan. She enjoyed this process. It was well-practiced and comforting. She felt like she was building something. Besides, chemistry had always been one of her favorite subjects.

  That thought made her wince, and Eliza glanced at the kitchen table nearby where an imposing stack of books stood in a haphazard column. She knew that cooking dinner was just a distraction. She should be studying. Always studying.

  She shook her head to clear it. Her parents weren’t home yet, and cooking served multiple purposes – both to distract herself and to ward off the inevitable questions for at least a few minutes. Pushing her glasses back where they rested on the bridge of her nose, Eliza spared a glance at the clock over the stove. She only had a few minutes until her parents would arrive home for the evening. She hadn’t even made the guacamole yet.

  Eliza lowered the temperature on the electric stove and removed a set of shears from a drawer beside her. Making her way around the kitchen island, she opened the door leading to the backyard.

  Weak rays of waning sunlight just barely crested the wooden fence that ringed the yard as she walked around the house to the small garden in the side yard. Choosing her steps carefully, her bare feet landed on a series of paving stones set between the neat rows of growing vegetables. Eliza scanned her garden carefully as she walked, noting the state of each plant.

  Plucking a ripened tomato, she noticed that the caterpillars had been hungry – leaving miniature bite marks in the leaves. She would need to use some pesticide before long, but she was always reluctant to use a store-bought product for fear that it would harm the vegetables or accidentally kill something besides the pests that occasionally plagued her garden. Maybe she could search online for a more natural solution.

  She spent the next few minutes collecting vegetables, quickly realizing she had forgotten to bring something to carry her produce back into the house. With a resigned sigh, she used the bottom of her t-shirt as a makeshift bag.

  When Eliza re-entered the house, the smell of spices immediately assaulted her nose. She reveled in the sensation as she unloaded her stash on the counter and began washing the vegetables and herbs. Her momentary euphoria was interrupted a moment later when she heard a door close on the opposite end of the house. Her parents’ voices could be heard drifting down the hallway as they bickered and discussed their day.

  As they entered the kitchen, Eliza’s father breathed in deeply. “It smells amazing in here. Let me guess, tacos?”

  “Yes,” Eliza replied with a smile of her own. She just wanted to keep them talking about food. “Some of my herbs needed to be groomed back. They were starting to overgrow their planters.”

  Eliza’s mother set her bag down on the table and inspected her daughter critically, her gaze lingering on Eliza’s dirt-covered shirt. “I really wish you wouldn’t ruin your clothes carrying in vegetables from your garden.”

  Eliza turned her gaze back to the stove, her eyes downcast. “I’m sorry. I forgot to take a basket out with me. Dinner is almost ready, though.”

  Her mother sighed. “Thank goodness. I’m starving.” She sat down at the kitchen island and watched Eliza as she finished with her preparations. “I didn’t have time to eat lunch,” her mother continued in a tired voice. “Apparently, there is a new flu epidemic going around. The pediatric wing was full of wailing children and impatient mothers.”

  Eliza’s father walked back into the kitchen, having deposited his personal belongings in his office. “It was a rather frantic day on my end too. We had a gunshot victim come in today.”

  Her mother grimaced and rubbed at her eyes. “Well, maybe I should be thankful then.”

  Eliza half-listened to their conversation as she finished cooking. It was the same story, just a different day. Her mother and father were both doctors and worked at the local hospital. Her father was an anesthesiologist, and her mother worked in pediatrics. It was typical for them to come home tired and grousing – usually with a terrible story to go along with it.

  “And here you go,” Eliza said, setting down two plates on the island in front of them.

  “Why don’t we eat at the table,” her father suggested. Eliza flinched as she saw him glance over at the books that were piled on the kitchen table. “Or, maybe not…” he added with a chuckle.

  Then the dreaded question came. “So how are your studies coming along?” her mother asked. It was always the same question. Every day for the last… well, she had actually lost track.

  “It’s going okay,” Eliza said noncommittally, standing on the other side of the counter and picking at the tacos on her plate.

  “Did your practice test results come in yet?” her mother pressed, dabbing at her lips with a napkin. “It’s been over a week since the last one.”

  “They did,” Eliza said, her eyes fixed on her food. “I scored in the 90th percentile on the college admissions exams, and I scored a 493 on the MCAT practice test.”

  Her father frowned slightly. “90th percentile? What was the score on the admissions exam?”

  Eliza hesitated slightly before responding, “2136 between the various categories.”

  “That’s ten points lower than your previous exam, isn’t it?” her mother asked sharply.

  “Yes,” Eliza replied in a subdued voice. “I think I was tired on the last exam day.”

  Her father jumped in, trying to lighten the tone, “Well, you s
cored two points higher on the MCAT. At least you’re making progress!”

  Eliza glanced at her mother and saw her nodding grudgingly. “Yes, yes. You are coming along. Another six or seven months and you will be ready to take the real admissions exam. While your MCAT is still a little low, I’m sure it will pick up once you start taking college classes.”

  “Clairmont has a fantastic physics program, and I know you struggle with that a bit,” her father added. “I’m sure with some additional prep you will be in the top 10% in no time.”

  Fighting down the urge to sigh, Eliza’s attention returned to her dinner. She was set to graduate from her high school this year, and her whole future already seemed set in stone. She would attend a prestigious four-year university, followed by an equally prestigious medical school. Then she could begin her residency. Again, only a top-of-the-line hospital would do. Maybe ten years later she would be a practicing doctor. Just like her parents.

  Eliza had no idea what she wanted to do with her life, but one thing was abundantly clear. She had absolutely no desire to become a doctor.

  With her eyes leveled on the counter, Eliza didn’t notice her father watching her, a look of concern in his eyes. “Are you alright?” he asked finally. Eliza glanced up at him in surprise. “It just feels like lately, you have been a little… off. You don’t talk about your garden or your schoolwork unless we pester you.”

  “We know that we’ve been pushing you hard, but it’s only because we care about you,” her mother added. Then she hesitated and looked at her husband. “On the other hand, we both understand what it means to feel a little burnt out.”

  “You wouldn’t believe the number of all-nighters we had to pull to make it through med school,” her father added with a rumbling chuckle.

  “I…” Eliza hesitated. She wanted to be honest with them and tell them she had no interest in med school and that she hated the constant prep courses and practice tests, but she knew what they would say. She needed to think about her future and her career. She could already visualize the look of disappointment in their eyes. Then they would ask what she wanted to do instead.

  She didn’t have an answer.

  “I’m fine,” Eliza finally squeaked out, taking another bite to avoid elaborating.

  A frown creased her father’s lips. “Hmm. Well, in any event, we wanted to reward you for working so hard.” He stood and stepped into the other room for a moment before returning with a box covered in wrapping paper.

  “We’ve heard that this is all the rage with kids your age,” her mother added. “It isn’t my sort of thing, but your father convinced me you might enjoy it.”

  Eliza looked on with curiosity. First, her parents were showing interest in her personal life – which was unusual for them. Now they were buying her presents? For a brief moment, she considered whether aliens might have abducted them and replaced them with more kind-hearted doppelgangers.

  “Go on, open it,” her father urged. Grudgingly, Eliza’s fingers peeled away the wrapping paper that covered the box. The logo on the side of the container swiftly appeared, with the words “Cerillion Entertainment” emblazoned across the surface. A picture of a black obelisk and a full-faced plastic helmet was showcased on the box.

  Eliza wasn’t exactly a social butterfly – not that she wanted to hang out with the uptight and high-strung kids from her prep courses. However, she knew this was a set of virtual reality equipment. She had heard a number of kids at school talking about the new game Cerillion Entertainment had released recently, and many of her classmates had been begging their parents to buy it for them.

  “We also bought you a copy of this new game that’s causing such a stir,” her mother said, chewing distastefully on the word “game” for a moment. “I believe it’s called Awaken Online.”

  “A bunch of the guys at work mentioned that their kids are really into it,” her father added with a shrug. “It also has a time compression feature, so we thought maybe it would be a good way for you to relax without taking too much time away from your studies.”

  And there it was. She could relax, but not if it came at the cost of study time.

  “Maybe you could also meet some other people,” her mother suggested gently. “Most of your friends don’t stop by anymore.”

  Of course not. Who would want to come over and study vocabulary words or do physics problems every evening, Eliza thought morosely.

  She realized that both of her parents were watching her, waiting for a reaction. She forced a small smile onto her face, pushing at her glasses again with her finger. “This looks fun,” she said, trying to put some enthusiasm into her voice. “Maybe I’ll try it out later tonight after I get done with my homework.”

  “About that,” her father said, glancing at her mother. “Why don’t you take the next couple weeks off from your preparatory classes and just focus on your regular schoolwork? You’ve made a lot of progress, and it doesn’t hurt to take a break every once in a while.”

  Eliza glanced at her mother and noted the disagreement in her eyes. Was this something her father was pushing? Why? Regardless, she didn’t want to argue. If she had an excuse not to work on these grueling exercises every day, she was going to take it.

  “Really?” Eliza replied. When her parents nodded in agreement, she continued, “Then maybe I’ll go set it up now. Thank you for the present.” She needed to leave quickly before they changed their minds.

  She picked up the box and started to lug it toward the staircase leading to the house’s second floor. As she made it to the stairs, she realized she wasn’t carrying a copy of the game. Maybe there had been another package she missed? Setting the box down carefully, she padded back toward the kitchen, her feet making barely a whisper on the hardwood floor.

  Her parents’ voices drifted down the hall, and Eliza stopped to listen. “This is a distraction, James,” her mother said. “This isn’t the time for her to slow down in her studies. The real exams are just around the corner.”

  A long silence followed before her father spoke. His normally deep, full voice sounded distracted. “I know, but you should have seen that kid that came in today. He tried to kill himself.” Another pause. “His parents were beside themselves. I saw them crying in the lounge.”

  “I… I know,” her mother replied. “But Eliza isn’t suicidal. She seems to be doing fine.”

  “Fine?” her father repeated. “You said it yourself. She has no friends. She doesn’t do anything but study. She has always been quiet, but lately, she has almost entirely stopped talking to us.”

  This was met with another long silence as Eliza stood still and listened. “I’m not saying she is going to kill herself,” her father finally said. “But she doesn’t seem happy. What are two weeks in the grand scheme of things?”

  “I hope you’re right,” her mother replied. “Of course, I want what’s best for Eliza. That has always been the case.”

  Did her parents really think she was suicidal? Then she hesitated. If she were honest with herself, she had felt off these last few weeks. Or was it months? She hated the constant tests. She didn’t want to become a doctor. There also wasn’t anyone to turn to. Her parents wouldn’t understand. She just felt… numb. The only times she felt more like her old self was when she was cooking or working in her garden.

  Eliza decided she didn’t want to hear any more. She retreated to the stairs and glumly plucked the box from the floor. A moment later, she entered her room and sat down heavily on her bed, her eyes lingering on the package beside her. She didn’t know what to think anymore. Maybe her parents were right. Maybe she did need a break.

  Acting on an impulse, Eliza began to unbox the equipment and set it up by her bedside. As she pulled out the helmet, a note fluttered out. Her father’s chicken scratch handwriting was scrawled across the paper. “I’ve already installed the game for you,” the note read. “You just need to open the door in the waiting room.”

  Eliza looked at the helmet
in her hands, her fingers tracing the thick plastic. She had played a few video games – who hadn’t? But she had never gotten sucked in. The games had always felt hollow and dull after a few hours. Did people really enjoy performing a mind-numbing series of silly quests or talking to NPCs that voiced scripted lines on a repeating loop? And she could play yet another generic class that essentially made her identical to the millions of other people playing the same game.

  However, her classmates had all said that Awaken Online was different. “Life-changing” was a phrase she had heard tossed around. She didn’t really feel either excited or nervous about playing the game, but she supposed she didn’t have anything to lose by trying.

  Tugging the helmet over her head, Eliza laid back on her bed. A blue screen immediately popped up in her field of view.

  System Initializing

  Scanning User...Please Wait

  She blinked, and, when she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing in a pristine circular white room. She stumbled slightly – disoriented by the change in perspective. Yet it only took her a moment or two to adjust to the change. She looked down at her arm in puzzlement. This was her digital body now? It felt oddly easy to control her movements.

  Eliza inspected the room, noting a single lone door standing across from her. She slowly walked towards it. As she approached, she could see that ornate scrollwork had been etched in the wood. Fantastic creatures and shining knights writhed across its surface.

  Her hand rested on the knob, and she hesitated one last time. She didn’t know what to expect or what she hoped to find. Was there even any point in trying this game? Maybe her mother was right – she should just log out and study. With a resigned sigh, she started to turn away. At that moment, the door creaked open slightly, light spilling through the crack.

  Then the world went black.

  Chapter 2 - Decisive

  Eliza blinked rapidly as blinding light flooded her vision. As her eyes adjusted, she realized she was now standing in a fantastic garden. Sunlight streamed into the enclosure, gleaming off the emerald, dew-studded leaves of the hedges that ringed the courtyard. Rose bushes lined the space in neat rows and the pink, red, and white blossoms stood out vividly.