Through the trees went Ethan, moving slow but sure toward where he thought Vardina stood.
Every step placed with caution, each motion planned. Close to the earth his frame stayed, head turning at whispers of noise. Here, inside this rabbit body, a gust could seem like danger.
Facing a world onscreen never matched breathing its air. Dying in the game? Just a countdown. This time, ending seemed absolute. Weighted. Unavoidable.
Through tangles of knotted roots and bumpy earth, Ethan moved carefully, steering clear of odd mushrooms and slick moss spots that shimmered just a little in the light.
Above, tall trunks rose like pillars, holding up a canopy where leaves sliced the sunshine into jagged streaks, scattering gold and dark across the ground below.
Everything looked calm.
Ethan kept hopping north, counting his steps without realizing it. The beat inside him would not ease up. A branch cracked - suddenly everything tightened. Then leaves stirred - shock shooting down bone.
Few creatures lived in Eros Forest, he thought again. Just small things, really. Nothing worse than Prima maybe.
Hardly a comfort, that idea slipped away fast.
Then he heard it.
A heavy squelch pulled through mud.
Ethan froze mid-hop.
Fear hit first, sharp and sudden. Off his feet before the thought formed, he slid behind the thick trunk of a tree close by. Chest twitching with each short pull of air, he stayed still, ears open.
The sound stopped.
Heavy quiet came back, pressing close.
Stillness held him, each breath a risk of being heard. From behind the trunk, his head edged forward, just enough to see through the trees. He peered across the quiet woods, motionless again.
Nothing.
The air held its breath - no creature broke through.
Holding his breath, he looked west then east.
Time dragged on. Pain built up in his legs from holding still so long. Slowly, the pressure inside his chest started to ease.
…Hmmm. I guess there's nothing there.
A heavy breath escaped him, muscles loosening once the dread faded. Stillness settled in where tension had held tight.
His balance changed as he readied himself to step away from the tree -
Squelch.
A second noise broke through the quiet. Then silence fell once more.
Right behind him.
A thud pounded inside Ethan's ribs. Up went his ears, sharp and sudden. Stiffness took hold of him first, followed by shaking he could not stop. Breathing turned heavy, like fear had wrapped itself around his throat.
He turned his head slowly, with care.
A shiver ran through his arms and legs when he turned to look back.
That sight pushed his eyes even wider open.
Not in fear.
In disbelief.
A shape without features kept still behind his back. Inside the pale, see-through goop, a round blue center glowed now and then. The thing moved like thick liquid dragged by unseen tugs. Not one part looked solid or fixed in place. Light passed through its mushy frame almost completely. Where faces should be, there was only quiet ripple. A slow crawl brought it forward over leaves and dirt.
It was larger than Ethan. Spreading wider across the space. Its weight pressed harder, filling more room.
But still -
A Prima.
"Huh… it's just a Prima," Ethan blurted out instinctively.
Out popped just tiny squeaky sounds.
It just sat there, motionless. Not a twitch, not a ripple. Quiet like stone. Still as glass. Nothing moved.
Staring at it, Ethan felt disbelief rush in. Relief almost buckled his knees.
Fuck. Seriously? That's it? I nearly scared myself to death over a Prima?
Prima creatures roamed Blizzard Online as first-level foes. Weak things, really. Dragging themselves along. Hardly a threat at all. Most gamers wiped them out on autopilot.
Man… that scared the hell out of me.
Breathing out long, he felt the tightness slip away. The rhythm of his pulse began to ease. A short stillness passed. Then, just for an instant, amusement nearly rose up.
The goo shifted position. It started sliding forward.
Out of nowhere, the thing shrank tight - then burst outward hard. From its skin came a sudden stream of wet stuff.
Faster than a blink, Ethan froze mid-step.
A sudden splash hit the lower part of his right leg.
Pain exploded.
A sound ripped out of him, sharp, sudden. Twitching took over his frame without warning. That stuff didn't just burn - it consumed. Fire and something worse crawled under his hide. Hairs smoked at the edges. Below, tissue seemed to melt away like sugar in rain.
Sharp agony hit without warning, then refused to let go.
Floor leaves pressed against Ethan's cheek when he dropped sideways, squealing as pain bursting out wild on his skin. The world smudged into streaks of light.
It burns.
It burns.
It burns.
Fear took hold, deep and sudden. Across the ground he kicked, pulling the hurt leg through soil and dead foliage, trying to wipe the stuff away. Each shift made the ache travel more.
Flooded with tears, he cried out once more, voice cracking into frantic high pitches.
Then -
A chime echoed far away. The noise hung in the air before fading behind hills. Silence followed, then a bird call broke it. Wind carried the moment off into trees.
[DING!]
A haze of purple light screen blinked awake before his eyes. Around the border, odd symbols pulsed like slow heartbeats. In the middle, words formed in clean white letters.
[SSS-RANKED SYSTEM]
[HP: 170/200]
But Ethan didn't see it.
That sound passed him by. Silence stayed put where he stood.
The pain was too much.
Pain shrank his universe to one sharp spot. Fire in his leg wiped away noise, vision, even thinking. Trees touched the edges of what he could feel, though not much. The goo remained close by.
The screen shimmered once, then vanished.
Floorbound, Ethan twisted, each breath a struggle while tremors ran through him. Inside his ribs, the beat of his heart raced - fear mixed with hurt, one storm. The feeling took over completely.
He was prey.
And right now -
He felt like he was dying.