Ch.6: It Was Time Up!

Phew, that was a close one, right? But, what next? I needed to hunt for those treasures, but why can't I have my payback time for the ogre who swiped three of my lives?!

I mean, come on, I almost became a ghost before I could even fly! Thank goodness for divine intervention, or I'd be six feet under, or at least my avatar would be.

"Wish I could blow his stupid brains out," I thought, craving some kind of revenge. Just as I used to slash freaking monsters with MK's weapon!

I was totally ready to go all "Hasta la vista, baby" on treasure finding, when suddenly, I felt a strange sensation in my left—I mean Shiksa's left—hand.

It was like a magnetic force was pulling her arm toward the ogre's head below.

Before I could say "Steve Robinson," Shiksa's hand went full-on Jedi, shooting straight for the ogre's noggin.

BAM!

The ogre dropped dead, right there in its own field, axe and all. It was like something out of a crazy movie!

I couldn't believe my—I mean Shiksa's—eyes.

I was left there, hovering over the ogre's field while in the sky, going "What the f*** just happened?!"

It was wild, man. Absolutely wild.

As I hovered in the sky, it suddenly hit me. Shiksa had gone all John Wick on the ogre's brain, thanks to my wild thoughts about blowing the ogre's brains out!

I couldn't believe I hadn't figured this out earlier!

I mean, the game had been following my thoughts the whole time, and there wasn't anyone actually controlling Shiksa but me.

Geez, I was grateful, but man, I needed to think things through faster about the next thing!

With the ogre down for the count, I was ready to channel my inner Indiana Jones and hunt down those f**king treasures.

But just as I started scoping out the scene in mind and how I'd you know… get to action, a message appeared in the blue, glowing light sort of stuff

[Mission accomplished! Ogre obliterated! Congratulations! You have survived Round 1!]

Yeah, it was the damned TITAN System.

Barely able to contain the joy inside of me for achieving something or more than one thing, I prepared to bask in the glory of victory, when suddenly everything went Crash!, Bam!, and ….. void.

I face-planted into the ground like a sack of potatoes and lost my consciousness, slipping into darkness.

I guess that's what happens when your mind and an AI work together to blow an ogre's brains out. Who knew?

(Stuck out my tongue in displeasure).

Just as I was about to slip into the darkness, something flashed right in front of my face; a nano-second glimpse of my performance stats and the timer.

It was like a super-speedy slideshow of my accomplishments, so I could only catch a peek at the points, which showed a solid 59, and the timer, which read 00:00:01.

It was time up!

"Ughhh... goodness gracious, my freaking head!" I groaned like an ogre, myself, with a migraine as I snapped out of my weird dream.

"Wait, did I just hear myself speak?!" I exclaimed, testing my voice in disbelief. "I can talk! Yay, no more being controlled by that default avatar!"

As I rejoiced in my newfound freedom, a faint rustling sound caught my attention. Glancing to my left, I spotted—

"Holy guacamole!" I yelped, recoiling in shock and tumbling backward onto my chair.

With the grace of a bull in a china shop, the chair and I crashed to the ground in a tangled heap.

Nursing a sore bum and an aching head, I looked up to find a feminine figure in my room. "Hey, take it easy, okay? I don't bite," she said in a voice that was definitely not mine so yeah she was really here in my living room. shit!

She was none other than Maisie, my neighbor with the 'supersonic' hearing. "What the heck are you doing here?!" I demanded, utterly arrogant in my confused state.

Though, I still had more questions like, And how did you get in?! And how am I not in the ogre's field, hunting for the treasures?! But not everything is meant to be said out loud! Especially not to a sensitive hearing neighbor, pfft!

"Relax, Fred, okay?" Maisie said, using a strangely familiar, gamer-esque voice that was way too enticing for my own good.

Hold up, why did she suddenly sound like a pro gamer I knew? Not the flirty, heartbreaker type, but a famous, elite-level TITAN gamer kind.

Pfft, if Maisie was even a lowly ranked player, I'd eat my own socks!

"Whoa, slow down there, Fred," Maisie said, her tone eerily reminiscent of a pro-gamer, which was both intriguing and slightly disturbing.

"I just came by to check on you 'cause, you know, I didn't pick up any noise from your place all day yesterday. And boy, do I love my stealth mode!"

I rolled my eyes, muttering, "Snoopy much?"

"So, I knocked on your door yesterday evening, but you didn't answer. Your door was open, so I figured, 'Hey, let's do a welfare check!' Lo and behold, there you were, face-planting your keyboard like it was your long-lost lover." She paused for dramatic effect. "I left, thinking I'd swing by today, and, well, here we are! It's past 8 pm, by the way."

As she spilled the beans, I couldn't help but chuckle. I mean, who sleeps for nearly 48 hours? That's right, folks - me!

Guess time really does fly when you're hunting treasure and blowing up ogre brains!

"You okay there, Fred?" Maisie asked, her enchanting voice almost hypnotizing.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is precisely why I avoid women.

They're bewitching, and it's not a good thing! Plus, there's this whole deep-seated grudge I have against them. It's not just about my mom or Maisie or their spellbinding ways; it's mostly because my TITAN avatar's weakness is—you guessed it—women!

Yeah, call me irrational, but it is what it is.

Mustering every ounce of politeness, I said, "Thanks for being a nosy—I mean, good—neighbor, Maisie, but can I have my privacy now?"

Okay, so maybe I didn't sound as nice as I'd hoped. In fact, I probably came off as rude, arrogant, and ungrateful, despite the "thanks" part. Oops!

Maisie's face briefly morphed into a pale, crestfallen frown, but she quickly plastered on a fake smile. "Sure thing, Fred! Good night!" she chirped before turning to leave.

Once the door clicked shut, I exhaled the heavy breath I'd been holding. Plopping down on my chair and in front of my computer, I prepared to log into TITAN.

Soon, I was staring at Shiksa's avatar bouncing on the screen. "Worthless Shiksa," I scoffed with a hint of amusement.

I was still staring at Shiksa when a message popped up on the screen, interrupting my train of thought that I was having.

<Hey buddy, you're online?>

It was Lackney, my buddy and fellow TITAN enthusiast.

I quickly typed an annoyed response.

<Of course I am, birdbrain! Why didn't you reply to my text earlier?>

A barrage of laughing emoticons flooded the chat, followed by his reply.

<Sorry, bro! I was scouting a gig for us, and guess what?>

I couldn't hide my curiosity.

<What? > I typed back instantly.

<We're 5 hitting SandOffs Cafe tomorrow at pm to battle it out in TITAN against some other team! How epic is that?>

A grin spread across my face.

<Awesome news! I'll gear up for it, then.>

<You'd better! Wanna play a quick round of TITAN to get our game faces on?>

I pondered for a moment.

I wasn't feeling particularly up for it, so I came up with the perfect excuse.

<I'll pass, bro. Gotta do some house cleaning.>

I knew Lackney wouldn't buy it, but hey, it was worth a shot. I mean, everybody who knows me (barely anybody) knows I'm lazier than a sloth on a Sunday… okay, everyday!

<Alright, housekeeper. Catch ya later!>

He mocked, adding an emoticon spewing green stuff.

I chuckled and went offline, deciding to kick back and watch a TITAN episode to get myself pumped.

Strolling over to the couch, I flopped down in front of the TV, just as the familiar theme song filled the room.

TV: "Unravel the tale of the Moth King, born into a world of strife. His uncle claimed him as his own, paying the Moth King's mother, and taking baby Kenyon from his home..."

Just as the story about MK was beginning, I felt a sudden weight on my chest.

Purrrr! Mylo, our cat, decided to make himself comfortable, snuggling up against me.

Not having the energy or the will to argue, I hugged Mylo close and lost myself in the captivating world of TITAN wishing to have some peace but, as the story would always go, I couldn't get that peace…

Oh God!....