Walls Closing In

A lot transpired after the speaker finished. The most jarring was witnessing the magic of the Class prisms up close. The gems levitated on their own will, then beamed weapons out of thin air. They were according to the person's selection like the crystals had built-in storage.

After being armed, people naturally assumed the moment they departed from the beginning of the dungeon that monsters would pop up and raid wipe.

In fear of what would come, some guy pulled the largest sheet of people known to humans from his pocket. It had to have been folded up at least fifty times to fit in his pants. This was comical for Crush but also relieving because it meant his wallet was in his pocket. There wasn't much in it, just a few bucks, a photo, and coupons, but it was his first birthday present. A gift that Sprite purchased with actual money instead of swiping.

Crush and Sprite were still mixed into the disturbed mass

when they heard the paper magician make an announcement. Even though things were becoming turbulent, they had each other's company, which banded them in an unruffled bubble of faith. They trusted that they could ride the escalator of triumph out of misery no matter what world they were thrown into.

Nonetheless, even their modest mood was soon extinguished in that unmoving dark cave surrounded by grief-stricken mortals. Crush abhorred the closeness. People like dastardly, fetid walls that closed in with their weakness. He had previously asked Sprite why humans paced around or fidgeted when they were frightened, the boy had answered, but he'd long forgotten. The reply wasn't to his liking; it didn't make sense.

Not before.

A western cowboy roped his heart and drew the noose tighter. Deteriorating the flow of oxygen. Crush had shed more blood than sweat until then, but his back began to damp, and wet beads cruised down his arms.

His feet tapped the rigid ground once or twice, not to any rhythm, just out of untried habit.

"Shows over; get the hell out," he thought. Rapidly squeezing and extending his fist as if a stress ball with enclosed within.

"Please gather around," submitted the man with the paper, rising to the top of a small sloped on the terrain. He raised his unraveled form and an ink pen, then withered. The corners of his mouth sunk, his voice quivered, and Sprite was sure the man's eyes watered.

"One by one, everyone," he said, "please, tell me your name."

Closer inspection unveiled his black robe and white clerical neckband. A wooden Christian cross hung from his neck, illustrating his unabashed devotion to his religion. He asked a few, well, dozens of more times.

"Please, son, tell me your name," he'd say, motioning toward someone new.

"Tell me your name, so if god forbid anyone of us are sent to meet our lord early... Please, tell me your name."

It was a pre-obituary. The religious man was undoubtedly gathering names in that dark cave to document them as being there. He'd worded it nicely, but he was, in fact, saying, "Tell me your name, that way, we can find your family if you die in here."

After several minutes his voice reached. From those near to those dispersed in the back, people became hooked, which meant the walls squeezed tighter.

A body grazed Crush's flank, then another rose at his rear. There were hundreds behind him pushing through the swarthy space toward the pastoral man, and he felt ensnared. Locked in.

His breath cycled like a piston, consistent but swift.

Crush's body jittered with cold sweat, and he mumbled like a madman, "golden lights, marble floors, pearl walls, a king-sized bed. Golden lights, marble floors, a king-sized bed, an outdoor jacuzzi, a-"

A harmless elbow knocked into him, and he convulsed before lashing his around in survey. He noticed there were barriers on all sides. The cave's ceiling was just as merciless, looming over him like an enclosure.

"I'm sorry," he quietly muttered. "I'll be good; I'll do better; let me out."

He heard the despicable voice of his old caregiver in his mind. Very much there, from the other side of that wall, she said, "no, think about what you've done."

That voice was the undertaker in the void of shadows that buried him in a place where no light seeped in. Countless times, he was left with the odor of shoes and perfume-soaked dresses. Nothing existed there. But, occasionally. Very rarely, he'd hear an acquainted voice. One that rejected direct dictations.

It was always led by a thump and the jiggle of the locked door knob. Each time the voice promised, "hang on, Crush, I'm going to break you out!'

Even though it was near impossible, Crush always regarded that pledge and held faith. It was the sunlight in that emptiness.

-

Even in Crush's current wake, he heard that light, just as blinding as before.

"Back off!" Yelled Sprite clearly. His uproar affrighted even the largest of souls. "I said get back!"

He'd begun pushing and shoving anyone who enclosed them, simultaneously yanking Crush by the arm. "I got you; we're getting out of here."

Perpetual trudging ushered them from the tin can of packed sardines and further into the dungeon. They walked for roughly five minutes before a suspicious draft in the area halted them.

Crush sat and composed, and since they were alone in the unknown land, Sprite stood lookout for anything that could ambush them.

"Hey," started Sprite, seeking Crush's awareness. He'd peered into the glooms of the awaiting path and suddenly began taking lagging steps backward.

He pulled the granted Rapier from its sheath and directed it toward an incoming crunch of rocks. "I need you to get your mind together sooner; something is coming."

Crush inched his head from the floor. Exhaled, shook the screws in his head in place, then scanned for the window that'd disappeared. It was out of sight, so he tried mashing air-keys, but that didn't work. What did invoke the panel was his spoken intention. "Inventory."

With his word, the window returned and skipped directly to his storage. He anticipated more, something he'd vaguely associated with a light source.

"That's right," he said, regaining more of his sense. He recalled the window offering something called "Glow Stone" as a reward, but he'd yet to acquire it.

[ Tutorial Quest! ]

"Using Skill Points"

Description: Skill points are used to raise player abilities. Please visit the Race Attribute Page to see (Human) characteristics.

Directions: Open your Status Page and select a stat to increase by 1 or more points.

[ Rewards: ]

Glow Stone - Medium (5)

Adventurer Gloves

Utility Belt

_

The same menu was navigable with labeled buttons. Right next to the quest menu was a status page that he navigated to and hurriedly slapped a skill point into the first thing he saw: Health Points. The base stat increased from 40 to 41, which fulfilled the quest condition.

[ The Quest: "Using Skill Points" is now complete! ]

[ Rewards: ]

Glow Stone - Medium (5)

Adventurer Gloves

Utility Belt

-

All the items were sent directly to his inventory, which he immediately accessed to withdraw the Glow Stone. The object was about the size of a basketball, though cubed and coarse to the touch. The mini door expanded to puke out the item, then Crush tossed it past Sprite, where it landed and illuminated an attractive pastel yellow light.

The glow was unexpectedly substantial; it worked like a grounded city light-post and covered the distance of roughly two cars in a circular radius. The scope of brightness apprehended a group of three humans, who bucked and immediately covered their eyes.

The three wore different military uniforms, a mismatching trio likely pulled from varying spots. One claimed they'd gotten sick of the hysteria and took the liberty of performing recon on the location themself.

More importantly, this group had questions about how two young boys located a vital light source in an area they had already probed.

"Just lucky," Sprite had replied. To that one of the three, an older man with a concrete jawline, dark features, mid-length black hair, and goatee celebrated. He did so alone, kneeling and tossing the cube over his shoulder.

"Good find," he said in a spotty, German-English accent. His green camo uniform was pristine, yet he grinned with a particular filth that neither of the boys could describe. He looked like he'd relished their predicament and desired the new fictional danger inside the dungeon.

First impressions did not go well, and Crush uncapped a metaphorical bottle of salt and rubbed it into the man's eyes. "Don't touch our stuff, freak," he insulted.

"Americans, please," chuckled the bearded man, his eyes half open. "We need light to find the way out."

Crush hated being taken lightly, even more, having the stuff they owned taken. He stormed forward, fuming, "I don't care what you need."

"Oh, no, the boy is angry?" The man chuckled, darting at his two cohorts as if they'd tag along. Instead, a sharp-faced woman a few feet away stepped between the two. Her height capped both Crush and the slick-mouthed man behind her as she cordially requested they be allowed to keep the light.

It was a no for Crush. He and Sprite met the strangers face to face, intent on reclaiming their property.

"Aw, boys, give us a break," chortled the man in green camo. He began tapping the glowing cube on his shoulder like a bongo and jigging to a flat tempo.

Crush cracked his knuckles, peered into his eyes, then stated, "break? I'll give you a whole fucking vacation. Give us our shit back."

The woman, an Irish soldier in desert camo livery, removed her cap and let down her long, silk black hair. She held the headwear to her gut and used the other arm to salute. "Lieutenant Ripley Rosaleen, heavy infantry, Third ba-"

Crush could reach out and yank the man's shirt at the distance he stood, provoking its first wrinkle. "I give as many shits as there are toes on horses about who you are. Im not going to ask you again; drop our light."

Sprite discreetly leaned into Crush, still glaring at the trio. "I see what you're doing, but horses biologically have one big toe on each hoof. So, technically you give four shits."

Crush stiff-armed Sprite's face, then continued his bout as if nothing had happened. It was then that the woman reached for her side-arm and ejected the magazine to display the ten lead bullets. She reinserted the mag, pulled back the slide, then pointed the gun at Crush's head. "Enough's enough," she declared.

She could have owned every medal of honor for her country or come out as president, and Crush still would not have let anyone hang their authority over him. However, a gun was a gun. As the sly-faced male soldier grinned with mirth, Crush flattened. No longer enraged, he just glanced at the woman with a stale mug until Sprite suggested they back down. He intended to; after all, their advantage in the world had never been strength but intelligence.

"Fine," indulged Crush. He released the shirt he'd clasped, then eyed the woman while quickly and angrily slapping the glow stone. "Since it's so important to you, keep the damn box."

After a nod from Sprite, they both disengaged from the strangers. It was only a few yards away that Crush told the boy to run, and without a word of question, he did.

Both boys sprinted further into the dungeon where the trio had come from. Since the outsiders looked well, they assumed nothing dangerous was ahead.

When it seemed the strangers wouldn't chase them, Sprite asked why they'd taken off so fast. Crush responded with spirited laughter, then held his hand backward before exclaiming. "Link!"

[ Link is now active ]

In the rear darkness, the single source of sufficient lighting aside from the glowing moss moved. It traveled to them quickly, revealing parts of the dungeon they previously wouldn't have been able to fully make out. In no time flat, the glowing stone had cleared dozens of yards and coupled with Crush's hand.

It stuck to it like a spider to a wall, ignoring all laws of physics.

[ Starting Class Skill: ]

1) Link: Link entities together using the magic talent: [ Telekinesis ]

Upon activation, the player can link entities that they've recently touched.

[ Link Mastery = 4/100 ]

-

"How'd you know that'd work!?" Questioned Sprite.

"I didn't, but more impossible things have happened; telekinesis didn't seem so unthinkable anymore," replied Crush. The light made it obvious where they were, so he returned it to the inventory as they continued to run.

The possibility became endless with the confirmation of human-controlled magic; perhaps, a gun wasn't so frightening.