StarDuster: Comrades

* Beep *

* Beep *

* Beep *

* Thunk! *

...Another morning... Good Morning world... let's see what's in store for me....

I pull away the thin sheets that lay over my scrawny body, rolling out of bed I stand up and give a big yawn... I take a small look outside the shoddy, dusty window. The sky is gray as usual, and the ground is ever plagued with brown snow. I hear hustling and bustling in the other rooms, everyone else is awakening as well. Good too, that means the electricity is still up since last nights... scuffle.

I throw on some old clothes of mine before heading outside to pull some water, grabbing a small metal bucket I make my way to ' Town Square "... it's covered in Brown Snow for the most part of course, but larges patches and pathways of Stone and Dirt line my way... it's cold this morning, yet... I still feel so warm inside, I guess I finally caught it.... I got a few more months then, and there is a chance after all. A chance for me to live on.

After waiting behind the many others that gather around the Well around this time, I fill my bucket and head back inside my small ' House ' to boil it. Because electricity is up I can keep it cool in the fridge, but obviously it still is going to taste terrible. Even with an insanely lavish thing like a fridge in our times, I can't forget my life before hand.

To argue against it though, is heresy. Living with any amount of luxury since the... nevermind. Well, at least I got water. My friends might of ended up worse off then me.

* Knock Knock *

A Visitor huh? A soldier or tax collector... I wonder which one it will be today, or it could be some of my friends... gotta try to look on the bright side.

I opened the door slowly, to my surprise it was neither soldier or tax collector... neither was it a friend but at this point I'd take anything positive. Before me stood a man in a white coat.

- " Hello, anything I can help you with? "

" Yes, is this the residence of the former Pathological VRMMO player Arch? "

- " The one and only, you know me? "

" Yes, its great to meet you Arch... I was wondering if you'd be willing to try out a new Full Dive System, this one without the obvious drawbacks of Pathological. "

- " What if I say no? "

" You and everyone else in this complex will be turned to ash. "

- " Good thing I'd obviously agree then, so... can you give me a rundown on what's going on? How do you even have the tech to run a full dive? "

" That's a secret for the most part, but I can tell you one thing... I have contact with a few of your friends, they are already signed up. "

- " Sign me up then... alright, what do I gotta do? "

" I must ask you to elaborate. "

- " Sell an Organ? Test experimental tech? Sign away my life? What's the catch? "

" Oh! There isn't any catch, we just need you to give input on the system, its free for the most part... but eventually I'll have to re-brief you on it. "

- " What's that supposed to mean? "

" When we... well, when the system is ready for a full launch... you and many others will... actually...sorry, that's classified... I nearly got sidetracked. I've very excited for it. "

Hmm... while I'm doubtful, I got a few months on average to live... I might as well do something besides sit around all day doing nothing.

- " Alright. I'll do it. When do we start? "

" Right away preferably, I have a truck ready for us if you can go right away. "

- " Sure, let's go then. "

Now, the number one rule around these parts is to never trust anyone who doesn't live near you... and especially if they have a truck... but, he not only mentioned my old username but my friends too. Either he's a very rich stalker or he needs me for some very important project when it comes to FD VR games.

I turned off the boiler before heading outside to meet with the man again, looking at his cloak some more it... seems like a lab coat. A very nice one indeed... there isn't stains or dirt on it. Unlike my clothing... a long black coat covered in patches of varieties of greys and whites, his is very nice... nearly sparkling.

Well, time for a road trip.

We took the broken old highway, through the windows I saw spans of wastelands and craters full of ashen material. Metal of tanks or fragments of bombs, both lay equal through every space I set my eyes upon.

Eventually we rode into a big city, only a few hours away by car... a few days it would of been by foot. For that I'm grateful, this city is full of lights and wonder... and spore. Opposed to Brown Snow like my town has this place seems to be infested with giant mushrooms of various degrees, as we enter I'm instructed by the driver to put a mask on.

I wonder how it would feel to have both Brown Snow sickness and the Spore Sickness inside of me, probably horrible... but who knows, maybe it will cancel out haha... well, I better put the mask in any who.

After a short drive around the city we arrive at a big complex... going through it we are led to an elevator and eventually get our ways into a hallway, at the end of which is a Large Metal Door.

Entering the door with the man, I'm greeted with a lovely white laboratory spanning nearly miles wide, large amounts of people are gathered here for many different purposes I presume... eventually I'm told by a large security guard that I need to head to... A-1

Wherever that is.

After some help from various signs and instructions from different people I end up in a small room filled with large tubes which are in turn filled with either people or green gel.

As I enter, I see a few of my friends too!

Most are sitting on top of small benches surrounding the tubes, after a small meet and greet we are given instruction to enter the tubes. I'm... a little nervous, but this gel feels nice and cool on my skin. Beyond that, Melody and Luriel are here... so, I have very little to worry about.

After being sealed in the tube, the gel overtakes most of my skin before a needle pokes me... filling me with whatever it should need, then I feel a bunch of wires strap into my neck... not... cool... but, I can... handle it.

Yeah. I'm feeling... alright.

That's when my senses were taken away, eventually replaced with other.