Chapter 3: Coping.

CHAPTER 3: coping.

Night fell.

‘I didn’t think time would change here.

I didn’t think a lot of things.

As usual.’

I was sat on the doorstep of the convenience store, puffy eyed, crumbs around my mouth, spotting birds.

‘Surprising amount of robins.

The streetlights aren’t that bright though.

They shouldn’t be this active.’

*tyip* 

A short beep that, in any normal city would sound like an alarm, stood out from the soft song of robins in the night.

The robins calls went quiet.

“Hm?” 

Squatted in the guttering of a building, I’d noted a robin, occasionally watching it do…

…Pretty much nothing but chirp.

Then I noted movement in the sky.

‘Scops owl!’  I could t help but smile a bit.

Suddenly the robin let out loud alarm calls! 

*Tseeee-!*

Then silence, the vague outline of a small silent-flighted bird carried it off into the night.

The other robins fled the plaza.

‘But…

Scops owls don’t hunt robins…

Not usually.

Is it the lack of diversity? Not been many bugs or mice around maybe.

…

I think I’m giving the mage a bit too much credit here.’

Silence permeated the plaza anew. The familiarity was smothering.

‘Maybe the owl will come back.

…

*sniff*

…

Scops owls live alone in dark places, they like looking out at open landscapes.

Makes sense they’d be around here.’

Looking across the plaza, up at a window of a half built two storied building, I imagined an owl with its ‘v shape’ plumage on its face, it looked like two pointy cats ears. 

I pictured it perched on the windowsill watching the robins flutter about below.

A flash of a memory stirred the scene, it overlapped the bird with myself for a moment.

‘But Instead of robins, it’s people.

…

And the owl is shitfaced by 10 AM.’

I wanted to chuckle, but I grimaced.

‘Don’t think about Sophie, don’t think about it.

“Im home.”

Shut up.

Don’t.

“Did you do anything today?”

Stop.’

I could hear Sophie’s footsteps stop in the hallway, her backpack clattering to the ground.

I could feel her staring at my back.

‘Fuck off!’

I clenched my hands, eyes shutting tight.

There I saw knife girl hand outstretched, helping me up.

‘ “Come on, we need to-“ ‘

“GAAAH!” 

I grabbed a loose rock, hurling it across the plaza.

*TING!*

I managed to hit a light pole, scattering the last remaining robins, but that’s not the point.

‘There’s two of them now.

The more the merrier I guess.

…

Fuck.’

The silent night refused to comfort me, void of distraction, I hugged my legs tighter.

‘ “You need help #####!, have you called that number yet?

Steve said-“

“STEVE!?” ‘

*sigh*

I threw up my hands in defeat and pushed off of the step.

“Ok,  I give up! 

I’m not doing this twice tonight, I need a drink.” 

‘So much for sobriety…

###.

…

God damned mage stole my fucking name too.

Crap.’

Aching all over, I shuffled to my feet.

The stores had closed themselves around sundown and the locals had soon made their way out of the plaza.

‘There’s got to be a bar or something around here, it’s a simulation right?’

The surrounding shops around the plaza had closed, but..

“Surely the Main Street has something open.”

…

I glanced at the constant reminder of my grim fate, the hovering undeniable fact of what I’d become.

‘I don’t know how to feel about you…

Alright, let’s see…’

Tapping my card, my eyes fixating on the word ‘drunkard’ from the cards annotation.

The lonely night felt like it was laughing at me at this point.

I chewed my cheek. ‘Bloody cards like a god damn tattoo you regret getting.’

A tug of war pulled at my heart and mind, weighing up the need for the drink with-

…

‘It’s a fresh start, Scops.

Be better.’

Another memory flashed, stabbing at my core.

I heard her footsteps by the door again, her bag hitting the ground woke me up.

‘ “Again!? Scops, I-“

Please.

Stop it.’

I saw her stood in the doorway in her medical scrubs, dirty blonde hair tied up tight.

Her face exhausted, but more than that, she was sorry.

‘ “I’m done, I’m not doing this anymore, Scops.”

“C’mon! ‘M j’st- SOPHIE!” ‘

She threw her house keys at me, they slid across the floor.

‘I think I lost them under all the cans and bottles.’

…

I  pictured what she saw.

A scops owl, perched in the hollow of a tree made of beer cans in a dark empty room.

Her keys sliding in between its roots.

I scoffed, shaking my head with a self deprecating smirk.

I wiped a tear from my eye. ‘Where’s the bloody bar!’

A bit more frantically, I tapped the card again, resulting in nothing.

“A lesson in how to use this thing would have been better!” I yelled over my shoulder, off in the direction Magpie went.

‘Map, playfield, card…

If it’s anything like a tablet or a phone, then…’

I swiped up on the screen.

My stats appeared.

‘Defense 100/100

Status: Resting

Available

1 Hero

0 Support’

“Tsk!” I swiped back up to my card, trying all  directions.

I found two screens that were blank and one buzzed each time I swiped.

I pinched, enlarging my card.

Nothing.

Then I reduced it.

“FINALLY!”

My card became smaller and smaller in the screen as I pinched my fingers, disappearing into a map of the city until I was a red dot.

…

“Aw! Come on!”

The map was blank white, the roads all grey. 

“Show me the bars!”

Zooming out, I saw the entire room for the first time.

The map showed a square room, full of tens of thousands of buildings.

The most noticeable feature was the four main streets, North, East, South and West Main. 

I tilted my head ‘Looks like an eye.’

The main streets curve around the center of the city, North and East Main merge into a top eye lid of sorts, West Main and South Main form the bottom one, they extend all the way to the top left and bottom right corners of the map.

In the middle sat a large and thin circular street, roads extending off it towards each diagonal.

Everything else was just an illegible mess of buildings and alleyways.

I found my marker on one of the only plazas on the map, a tiny open spot between West Main and the circular street.

‘Looks like West Main is closer than circle street.’

“West it is then.” 

— — —

Walking through tight cobblestone alleyways that the map claustrophobically lead me down, it wasn’t long until I heard a familiar sound.

*Tyip*

The beep of a scops owl had me looking up to the rooftops again.

Its silhouette silently flew over a rooftop at breakneck speed.

‘On the hunt again buddy?’

“MRRROW!” 

I paused in my tracks, watching a dim red light come into view from the rooftop, revealing a sleek cat made of metal panels, red light bursting at its seems.

It dashed across the small gap of the rooftops, the red light disappearing behind it chasing the owl.

“Aw cool! A Ruby-Bot!”

‘So Ruby-Bots prey on the birds around here then I guess?

I wouldn’t have thought Tokens had free rein.’

*Clank!*

As I rounded a sharp corner, dust fell from the roof and a clattering of metal hit the floor behind me.

I spun around, stumbling back on the bumpy cobblestones to find a sideways feline, back arched and tail up, baring its fangs at me!

“Playfield active!” 

My card spun on its side as the playfield appeared on the screen.

‘There’s a ‘RUBY-BOT’ token on the playfield opposite me.

Tokens only have 50/50 stats.

I could—

Wait!

I’m—No!

I’m not fighting a cat!’

The cat hissed, a low hum of gears whirred and red dust pooled at its paws.

I crouched down, and extended my hand for it to sniff.

“Hey there buddy, big fan!

How about we- “

*HISSS!*

“AAAHH, SHIT!”

I crashed onto my back!

The Ruby-Bot had launched at me, claws out!

‘What the hell!? They’re hostile!?’

It’s claws dug into my chest, I could barely breathe in with the weight of this thing on my chest.

“STOP! AH!”

It took rapid swipes toward my face, I already had my hands there trying to block it.

My arms burned, its glowing claws were leaving deep searing gashes.

A glowing set of claws was streaking toward my left eye, I batted it away!

Taking it in stride, the cat sliced into my thumb, and sank its huge glowing fangs into my wrist! 

My eyes went wide, my blood pumping, the adrenaline began to surge.

‘This shitter is god damn dangerous!’

Reflexively I whipped my arm to my side, the cat whipped with it, tearing off a chunk of my wrist bone, veins and tendon!

‘Blood. My blood. I’m bleeding bad.

Again.

It’s happening again.

I’m gonna-‘

Magpies grin flashed across my mind.

Then Sophie’s pitiful glare.

“THATS IT!”

My limp hand clutched at my side, I backed up down the alley.

Bouncing off the wall I’d launched it at, the metal cat rolled into a ball, spinning to its feet, eyes and fangs glowing red!

‘Plan.

Wait for it to jump then-‘

A red globule of light formed in its throat as its jaw unhinged.

“NO!” I leapt forward, anchoring my weight onto my front leg and realing my back leg for a punt.

*WHOOSH!* *CLANK!* *CRACK!*

*gasp!*

Shooting pain ran up my leg and through my spine.

I looked down at my shoeless feet, bloody toes pointed in all different directions, bones piercing the skin.

‘Crap!

Dumb! Stupid!

It’s a solid hunk of metal you idiot!

You’re barefoot!’

While I berated myself, the cat had barely moved, but my punt had latched its jaw shut!

“MRRRRR!”

It’s back legs squat and it’s back arched.

‘It’s jumping again!’

A stepped back, pain shooting up my leg, I almost stumbled.

The cat launched into the air toward my face.

I almost went to grab it with my broken hand, but switched to the other just in time!

The cat—moving way too fast for such a heavy piece of junk—landed in my grasp.

‘I caught it-

NOPE!’

The thing fell from my grasp immediately, far too heavy to catch one handed with poor footing.

*BZZZ!* 

I felt my card vibrate, it felt like a detached body part, like a spasm.

I tore my eyes off the cat for just a second, only to see another Ruby-Bot Token on its side of the field!

“WHAT THE-“

On the upper left of the cats field was a field Support card.

‘It’s the ‘RUBY-BOT GENERATOR’!

More of these things are gonna appear each turn!’

And right on queue-

*CRASH!* *CLANK!*. *MRROW!*

The second cat barreled through a door behind the other one.

‘How short is a god damn turn!?

Run? 

Foot’s done.

Fight?

How?’

*MRROW!!*

I hopped out the way of a cat soaring past me with my one good foot, twisting my body as much as I could.

‘Ok!

New rule!

Never underestimate anything!

Even cute animals!’

I looked back, then forward.

A cat on each side of the alley.

“Well fffu-“

— — —

I found myself floating in the fountain.

In the comfort of weightlessness, peace and near silence.

Slowly my senses came back to me, and the numbness faded.

A flash of three cats tearing into my limp body filled my mind.

…

I felt a searing phantom pain in my jugular and my calf.

My heartbeat was sprinting.

I twisted and sat up in the water.

Stuttering, I took a deep breath, holding my shaking wrist tight.

‘10

9

8

…

3

2

1’

*sigh*

The tension was trickling away, left bare was the rage underneath. 

“Those little bastards are feral!” I punched the water.

Robins called out in alarm at the splashing.

“Right.

Enough’s enough!”

‘Six tall metal light poles, one cement and ceramic water fountain stretching between them.

Cobbled floor.

Shops, stores, houses surrounding us.’

Looking around the plaza, I analyzed my options.

“Time for some good old scavenging then!”

— — —

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