Chapter 5

'Stand by for construction? What could that mean?' Wendy thinks.

Other people around are staring into space, some are swiping their hands in the air. They have probably also gotten the notification.

"Hey Brandon, what does this…'

A violent earth tremor interrupts Wendy. The building is vibrating vigorously, and she is forced to lean on it's rotting wood railing to keep her balance. What is happening this time? Is it an earthquake? She has never experienced one before. What should she do? The other people on the balcony with them are also leaning on the railing, some against the walls.

She looks up at Brandon again. "What do you think they mean by…"

CRAACK!!

A fracture line crawls up once of the buildings walls, and sounds of breaking stone keep erupting. The building is surely about to collapse. Curses and exclamations start getting out as people quickly wobble their way along walls into their apartments, some start moving down the stairs.

People move as fast as they can passing past Brandon and Wendy to go down the stairs. Wendy lets go of the railing and tries to move, but cannot find good footing on the vibrating floor. Her body goes off balance and she is thrown against the railing. The impact causes the wood to crack but she quickly pushes herself off with both hands.

"Out of the way, the building is falling!" A man shouts and wedges her away.

She tries to grab Brandon, but she misses and falls back against the railing. Her back breaks though the wood and she tips of the balcony. Her mind is blank, she can only scream as she looks up and feels her body descending. Is this the end of her life?

Instead of falling, she pivots and starts swinging over the balcony. On the opposite building, the stair case falls under the pressure of the earthquake, and the fleeing people are sent down to their deaths. Wendy struggles to maintain her balance and looks up confused. Brandon is holding on to her leg with one hand, and the other is griping one the bars of the railing.

"I'm going to swing you to the floor below!" he yells

"What?" She tries to turn around to look at the landing spot but cannot as she starts swinging front and back. She gives up and tilts her head up again in time to see the bar Brandon is holding onto break. He immediately lets her go, and she flies into the lower balcony, knocking some people down.

A loud crashing sound deafens the area, and soon after dust blows up violently.

The building is still vibrating, and Wendy cannot get to her feet. She gets helped by one of the people who cushioned her fall. She thanks the woman, then cautiously leans on the railing and looks up, then down. Where is Brandon? She can barely make out anything happening on the ground. People are running helter-skelter in the dust filled area.

"Wendy!" She snaps her head left and Brandon's voice. She looks at him, then glances up and down the building again confused.

"We have to go." He grabs her hand and starts leading to the chaotic stairway. The railings have been torn off, and people are easily pushed down in the confusion and fighting. Brandon then lifts his hands to her soldiers and looks at her sternly.

"Don't thinks too much." She says after a while of staring. "How do we get off?"

"The same way we got here."

"What?" she looks down again. They are on the third floor.

"We'll be fine" he smashes through the railing with his leg, "Give me your hand and jump"

Wendy looks at the stairs again, then down the building and back at Brandon.

"We'll be fine." He says, then leads her to the opening he created.

Wendy looks down again and tries to steel her nerves. Another builing as collapsed, and there is more dust in the air. She looks at the pillars of the building she is on and finds them riddled with cracks. There's not much time …

She gets pushed off the balcony by Brandon. He grabs her hand and jumps after her, then uses one of the railing bars as a pivot, swinging them to the floor below. This time, no one is there to break her fall, and she smacks herself on the floor. Brandon quickly gets himself to his feet and helps her up.

"One more." He says, and breaks the railing once again.

Wendy swallows hard, then holds his hand and jumps off the balcony. Brandon jumps after her, repeating the same maneuver, swinging them to the ground. Their fall is broken by some people on the ground.

The ground feels stable. Is the earthquake over? Wendy gets on her knees and looks at the building. It is still vibrating violently, and one of the pillars at the bottom finally crumbles. She curses internally and struggles to get to her feet as the building starts crashing down. She has to run away.

Immediately she gets up, she is forcefully pulled away by Brandon. She stumbles after him as they run along with a wave of fleeing people. The booming sound of a crashing building echoes once again, drowning out the cries of the ones in its range. Wind and dust blow past them, further clouding their view. Bandon keeps leading the way, till they stop at road.

The usually empty street is now packed with people, a number of them are injured, and many others are looking around shouting our names.

'Where is Zeke?' Wendy's mind rings. She looks around and squints through the dust, trying to make out the faces of the people.

"ZEKE!!" Brandon calls out. He is also squinting through the dust. Wendy joins him, and they start moving about calling out his name. Brandon grows quiet after some time and stands still, but keeps looking around. Is this a good time for him to be lost in his thoughts? What could he be thinking about at a time like this? Is he still trying to figure out what is happening?

"Shit." Brandon mutters, and looks toward the town. Wendy follows his gaze, but the dust in the air blocks their view of the town.

"Wren." Brandon says.

Wendy's mind explodes. How did she not think about her sister? Has the same thing happened in the city? Was Wrenley able to get out of the building successfully.

Wendy looks up at Brandon. "Do you think the same thing happened there?"

"Probably."

"Oh God… We need go find her Brandon… I.. I … need to…"

"I don't want to leave you, I'm not entirely sure what's going on."

"But Wren may…"

"I know. But I also need to find Zeke." He looks around at the panicked crowd and sighs.

Brandon looks troubled, as he should be. Wendy never knows what goes through his head, but now she imagines he must be in quiet a dilemma. She does too does not want to leave him. Not when they don't know what is happening yet. What is the safest way they can go about the situation?

"Alright I got it. " Wendy finally says. "I'll stay here and try to find Zeke"

"What do you think is going on?" Brandon asks

"You'll go to my apartment and try to find Wrenley."

"What do you think they meant by construction?"

"Brandon!" Wendy snaps. "We can think about that later, Ok? Zeke is missing, and I have no idea what's going on with Wrenley in town. I'm scared to go on my own so I need you to go there." She then looks at him sternly

Brandon looks back at her solemnly. " I think we are adjusting to the game's geography."

"What!?" She squeezes his soldiers. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

"I heard you. But before the earthquake you asked..."

"I said this is not the time for that."

"I know, I just couldn't stop thinking about it."

Wendy sighs and lets go of Brandon's shoulders. How was he able to think through all that chaos?

[Stand by for construction.]

Another translucent blue notification pops up in her head. Again? Are they not done yet? What do they even mean by construction. Are they about to experience another disaster?

SREEECH!!!

The loud screeching sound silences the environment. Dust still clouds the atmoaphere, and everyone now strains their eyes and ears.

SCREECH!!

Another echoes from the dust and Wendy perks up. Did the sound come from behind? Why does it sound so familar?

SCREECH!!

Did it come from the right this time? It sounds like one of the creatures from the game.

"Rabid rats" Brandon whispers. " This could be dangerous."

"But rabid rats are hardly a threat." Wendy whispers back.

"We are not in the game. Can you imagine how dangerous those things would be in real life?"

'He's right.' Wendy thinks. She answered instinctively because rabid rats are the lowest and weakest grade of monsters in the game. In real life she imagines they would be as dangerous as wild predators.

The screeches are getting louder and more frequent, and other people also start whispering among themselves.

"THEY'RE RABID RATS!!" a man yells. "RUN AWAY!!"

A creature the size of a bulldog leaps from the dust and lands on one of the people in the crowd. The creature has a long pointed snot, its body is covered in thick black fur, and its llimbs look small and frail. it screeches and swipes and the man's chest with its claws, then bites off his throat.