Gladiators of Warsong by Thomas K Carpenter

Author:Thomas K Carpenter [Carpenter, Thomas K]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Moon Books
Published: 2019-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

Her father stood on the path, composite bow slung over his shoulder in a backpack, checking for deer spoor. He motioned for her to come ahead.

"What do you see, Alex?"

It felt like forever since she'd seen him. She was barely listening as she absorbed the feeling of standing so close. His dusty blond hair hung in his face, a light stubble across his jaw. He always looked like he was about to break out into a smile, excited about whatever he was working on. She'd always admired his ability to throw himself into his work.

"Did the deer go this way?" he prompted.

She unfocused her eyes, trying not to get attached to any one object in her vision, letting the patterns beneath the chaos jump out. The leafy green foliage waved softly as stiff winds snuck through the thick forest.

A bent fern to her left drew her notice. Alex stepped carefully through the undergrowth to find half a hoofprint beneath the leaves.

"This way." She pointed to the south. "It left the path, probably to head towards the stream down past the bend."

His eyes lit with pride.

She wanted to throw her arms around him, but before she could, he moved off the path, away from her.

"Dad? Where are you going?" she asked, but he didn't answer.

He kept heading down the hill. She tried to follow but her legs wouldn't move.

"Dad? Dad! Come back!"

She grew dizzy, the forest whirling around her until it melted away, revealing a masked figure in black-and-white robes.

The edges of her vision were blurry, but Alex could tell she was lying in a room with a painting of a giant sponge on the wall.

Dr. Althud stood at the foot of her bed. He was wearing his gloves.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Alive?" she offered before adding, "But generally like thin soup."

"It was close," said Dr. Althud. "You were suffering from an overdose of medicine."

"Overdose? But I followed the instructions," said Alex.

"Is there anything you can tell me about your work at Gamemakers Hall? Maybe something there affected your ability to metabolize the medicine," he said.

As soon as he said it, she knew what had happened. "Oh, no. It's the game."

He tilted his hooded head, so she explained how Gamemakers Online worked, at least as much as she understood.

"So you're in suspended animation when you're playing?" he asked.

"Something like that," she said. "I really don't know what happens to us, but it's like we never left when we return. Nothing that happens in the game comes back out with us."

"I see," he said. "Then yes, that's probably why you overdosed on the medicine. You took three doses but were only out of the game for a week at most. On the good side, this means you won't need to take the medicine as often, nor will the tumor progress as quickly as we first thought."

"You say that like there is bad news at the center of that shitty candy," said Alex.

He made a noise in his throat. "You are an astute observer.

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