Neo's Quest

The unstoppable force meets the immovable object.

Neo rubbed her eyes, mildly irritated by the beams of sunlight invading her humble abode through the window by her desk.

“Dawn already?” She wondered to herself as she fanned her arms out, working out some kinks that had taken root in her muscles from a prolonged session of sitting still.

A quick glance at her laptop’s built-in clock told her that it was five in the morning. She had spent the whole night on the internet, sampling the various founts of entertainment and information it had to offer from.

Licking her lips in annoyance, she was greeted by a dry and raw sensation that tasted of blood and cracked skin. Without turning her head, she reached idly for the glass that was placed on the desk and tried to take a sip from it.

Empty. It was devoid of anything refreshing, save for the few ice cubes remaining that clinked within the confines of the glass, as though mocking her thirst. Fearing the worst, she leaned down and opened the mini fridge below her desk to grab a drink.

That too, was empty. Like always, the fridge would be devoid of drinks when she needed them most, much to her endless frustration. It was something inevitable, much like death and taxes, two other things that Neo dreaded.

It was already shaping up to be a horrible day. First it was already dawn, and now this. Worse still, she hadn't slept the entire night, and she would inadvertently fall asleep midday and throw her body clock into a state of chaos.

Truly, it was a tragedy beyond words, Neo lamented to herself as the full extent of her predicament reared its ugly head within her mind.

However, Neo was not one to sulk in the face of adversity. After all, she had overcome problems of far worse magnitude, such as that one time when the lift broke down. And now that she thought of it, the mere memory of climbing sixteen flights of stairs sent cold shivers down her spine even in the face of her current trials.

Past horrors aside, this situation was at least salvageable, as bleak as it seemed. All she needed to do was go out and restock her fridge, and everything would fall into place. In order to accomplish this, she was going to visit the nearby convenience store to buy some icy cold beer.

Armed with indefatigable purpose, a craving for alcohol and her purse, she stepped out of her apartment and walked towards the elevator. Wearing little more than a pair of slippers and pyjamas meant for bedtime rather than shopping, she began her quest to set things right. After all, wasn't that what all great heroes did to save the world? Well, at least if all those anime and cartoons Neo had spent countless hours watching were to be believed.

And besides, what would life be with no alcohol? Life was far too confusing to face sober, she thought to herself as she stepped out of her apartment and into the elevator. It was indeed a good thing that the elevator was functional. Otherwise, all hope would be lost.

After a minute or so of waiting, the doors of the elevator opened with the familiar "ding" sound, revealing the ground level of her apartment complex. As soon as the doors parted, she strode towards her quest, the morning sun shining down upon her like a holy beacon heralding her arrival.

However, before she could make much in the way of progress towards her destination, she felt a bead of sweat roll down her forehead, dampening the collar of her pyjamas. It was almost as if she had walked into the middle of an incoming heatwave, judging by the scent of burning sulphur and unnaturally hot temperature.

It was peculiar indeed, considering that she expected it to be much cooler at this hour of the day, with the sun barely in view of the sky. Then again, she knew little regarding the variations of outdoor climate. After all, Neo was never much of a morning person, being someone who preferred to seek refuge in her air-conditioned apartment when the sun was up. As such, the climate beyond her home was never really a concern for her, at least until now.

Unfortunately, her contemplations were abruptly broken by a thunderous uproar of what seemed to be a beast's bellowing followed by numerous, pitched screams. As soon as the screams were finished, an ear-shattering combination of metal crushing stone resounded across the landscape, sending tremors that made it seem as if the land itself was trembling in fear.

Ignoring the ruckus, Neo pressed on, her steps as stalwart as ever. Despite this, she couldn’t help but mutter curses in the direction of the disturbance. If anything, people needed to be more considerate and stop making such noise in the morning. After all, people were still sleeping at this time of day!

As she got closer to the familiar red and green sign of her destination, she began to notice that the ground was strewn with corpses. Some were pitch black, and others were decapitated in various erratic ways. On first sight, it seemed to be the work of maniacs with too much free time.

“This isn’t an everyday occurrence,” Neo mused to herself as she looked back and forth between the floor and her front while maintaining her footwork. After all, tripping and falling due to such gross negligence would have only served to make this day even worse.

Still, there were far more important things to worry about. The blistering heat was starting to take its toll in the form of a parched throat and large beads of sweat. She needed a drink, and nothing was going to get in her way.

After what seemed to be an eternity of walking over numerous corpses, she found herself standing in front of her destination. Looking at the red and green store front, Neo smiled, her mind set aflutter by the prospect of cold beer.

That said, she wasn't too fond of this chain of convenience stores, with their high prices and sub-par service. Then again, in the face of such dire circumstances, she had little choice but to cast such trivialities aside for the greater good. She would have gone to the supermarket for the better prices, but it wasn’t open for another three hours, and the beer there was never cold enough, unlike the ones in the convenience store. She hated warm beer with a passion reserved for only the vilest of her rivals. If it were up to her, it would have been illegal to sell unrefrigerated beer.

With a slight push, she opened the glass door and entered the store. Upon entering, Neo was greeted by a chaotic mess instead of was usually a paradise for after-hours shopping. The once neatly stacked rows of snack food now formed a pile of crushed wrappers and crisps. Even the soda dispensers were not spared, for their carbonated contents were all over the floor in a large, multi-coloured puddle. The machinery fared no better, now little more than a shattered mass of wires and metal, as though it had been on the receiving end of a sledgehammer.

It was at that very moment she felt an unimaginable despair encircle her mind, like that one time when the power went out in her home during the launch day of World of Warcraft. Clutching her face as tears streamed down with wild abandon, she ran towards the back of the store, fearing the worst.

Thankfully, the refrigerators at the back that held her much desired beverages stood relatively unharmed, much to her relief. Drying her tear-stained eyes with the sleeve of her pyjamas, she continued her quest with renewed vigour, her hopes restored by the undamaged beverages.

Opening the glass door by its stainless steel handle, she picked out a six-pack of beer, making sure to take the ones in the middle row, for she knew from experience that those were in the sweet spot of being icy cold yet not at any risk of expiring.

As she strode towards the counter to make her purchase, she noticed that the cashier was not present. Rather, there was a headless body wearing a red and green uniform slumped on the counter. Taking a moment to glance at the crimson splatters on the cash register, she fished out her purse from within her pyjama trousers and counted exactly ten dollars, the price of her purchase, and placed it on the counter. Helping herself to a plastic bag, she packed the cans into it and headed for the door. Before leaving, she made a mental note to complain to the store manager the next time she saw him. After all, such slow service could not be tolerated.

Goods in hand, she began to make the walk home. After a few minutes of walking, the same ear-shattering roar could be heard, much to her annoyance. This time however, it was much louder, and the force of it alone was strong enough to blow her hair to the side, causing it to become more untidy than it already was.

It was also at that very moment that she felt something standing behind her. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't very subtle, for its breathing was loud and frenzied, as though it was upset about something.

Turning around, she came face to face with a large reptilian creature. Its crimson hide was adorned with vicious-looking spikes, and its rear had a massive tail that boasted a sharp barb on its tip. The beast smelled strongly of sulphur as it towered over her on its hind legs, blocking out the sunrise with its shadow.

Looking at it quizzically, she realised that the creature bore an uncanny resemblance to one of those monsters she had seen from the various video games she played on her computer. It was also at that very moment that she realised that the whiskey she had bought last week was nothing but trouble. Staring down the gargantuan being in front of her, she resolved to stick to the local brew. While perhaps lacking in kick, those beverages didn’t cause her to see such weird things.

“PUNY HUMAN! PREPARE TO DIE!” the creature bellowed with voice that sounded like the gnashing of metal bars. Its large, black eyes glared at her, as though attempting to complement the intimidation of its words with an equally piercing gaze.

Ignoring the strange thing, she turned around and began to walk homeward, leaving the creature in a state of bewilderment. Whatever that was, it was standing in the wrong direction of where she wanted to go. By that logic, the creature's rage was none of her business.

“HEY!” the creature screamed in a mix of confusion and anger. No one had ever dared to display such defiance, especially not a pathetic mortal. Howling in rage, the creature leaped in front of her, landing with a shockwave that caused Neo to stumble a little.

“DON’T YOU DARE IGNORE ME, MORTAL! I AM LORD MALPHAS, MOTHER NATURE’S CHOSEN APOSTLE! I WILL PURGE THIS WORLD OF YOUR KIND AND YOU WILL ALL DIE SCREAMING!” the creature shouted at the top of its lungs, pointing a wicked claw at Neo as if to punctuate its point.

Beholding the full extent of the creature's fury, she blinked once as its claw came close to her face before turning to the left to resume her walk home.

Upon witnessing this, Malphas bellowed furiously, its temper exploding with rage. Her lack of attention to it was maddening indeed, for it was accustomed to choking pleas and sobs from her kind rather than being ignored.

“THAT’S IT! YOU WILL DIE WHERE YOU STAND MORTAL!” Malphas let out a warcry as it raised its arm in an attempt to maul Neo with its claws. However, just as Malphas was about to commence its attack, it saw her stick out her arm towards it with an open can of beer in hand. Flabbergasted, Malphas stared at her, its black eyes furrowing with confusion at her unnatural response to his act of aggression.

Realising that the large creature was hesitating, Neo decided to take a sip of the beer before offering it again. After all, what good was she as a potential friend if she was unwilling to drink from the same cup?

“HUH? I- YOU’RE OFFERING ME A DRINK?” Malphas questioned her, unsure of what to do next. As a demon, it was known for many things; however, thinking on the fly was not one of them.

She nodded, re-affirming her intentions with a wide smile. Hesitantly, Malphas snatched the can from her, emptying its contents in one large gulp. Upon finishing the beverage, its maw was no longer twisted with unbridled rage and fury, but rather an expression of satisfaction.

“I… thank you, mortal. I was parched. Breathing fire does that, you know?” it said as humbly as a large fire demon ever could.

Realising that the creature was facing the same predicament, Neo offered it another can while opening one of her own. Soon, they were sitting side by side on a park bench, drinking and chatting. It was a nice and sunny day to be at the park, Neo remarked to herself as she basked in the cosy glow of the morning sun. Sure, there were bodies strewn about on the walkway, and the field had a few patches of fire, but it was still pleasant nonetheless. If only she’d go out more, she would have more chances to enjoy such moments, she quipped to herself. Sadly, she was too lazy, being more of an indoor person at heart.

As they drank and talked, she learned they liked the same brands of beer, they enjoyed similar video games, and they both unanimously agreed that RWBY had cringy voice acting. It was almost as though they were kindred spirits, having so much in common despite their physical differences. She also found out that Malphas was capable of speaking in a manner that was not ear-shattering, and that it only raised its voice because it thought it was cool.

Eventually, she had to go. They were out of beer, and she had to go get some more to restock her fridge. While sad that she had to say goodbye to her new friend, she knew in her heart that even the best moments in life had to come to an end. However, as a mutual parting gift, they exchanged phone numbers (She wondered how a demon had a cellphone as they did this) before bidding each other farewell.

Perhaps this day wasn’t as bad as she had imagined it to be, Neo mused excitedly to herself as she walked back to the convenience store. After all, she had made a new friend, and friends were hard to come by.

Author's Note

Hi!

Do let me know what you think! If you've enjoyed this story, do check out my book on the Amazon Kindle Store, The Best of Aurafiex - A Short Story Collection.

Buy it now at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GX7EVLC

Have a nice day!

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

I did enjoyed the story.
"She nodded, re-affirming her intentions with a wide smile. Hesitantly, Malphas snatched the can from her, and emptied the can of its contents in one large gulp. Upon finishing the beverage, its maw was no longer twisted with unbridled rage and fury, but rather an expression of satisfaction."
The above lines are my favorite. I liked the conversation and the positive ending. Thank you for sharing the excellent story.
Coyote

[Tsubaki Kuro]

Omg that was funny. Great story here. Nice fourth wall break.

[Jacob Clifford]

Oh my god, I love this! I know I already commented on your other submission, but this is just too good. I love Neo's indifference, and it was hilarious with the demon and Neo sitting on the park bench.

[Aurafiex]

Haha, thanks! I pictured that scene to be Neo from RWBY and Diablo sitting side by side, if that helps.

[richieb]

Aurafiex, very enjoyable story. I admire your clever imagination, your main character is very cool. I think this would be a great story to place in a contest. Richie B.

[Aurafiex]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Lavorther]

This kinda made me think of the anime One Punch Man, where no matter what happens, Saitama is always like: "Ok".

This was really well written with a lot of detail, it was random and funny. The way she didn't care at all was amusing, and the last part was pretty unexpected. Well done, I couldn't find anything you could improve.

[Krizito]

Okay what is this? How can you keep one confused and yet intrigued at a time? Who is Neo? What sort of a demon is that? And how can something that had me in bewilderment, seem funny at the same time to me?
Congratulations...you've created the most confusingly brilliant piece ever_the irony is, I enjoyed it.

[Aurafiex]

Thanks! Its a very random story, I know.

[TheMalady]

The first time I read this, I thought, "okay, just a normal story about a girl waking up at five a.m."

Then, as I continued on reading I was somehow a bit confused, however, Neo doesn't seem to mind. Just what is going on here?

It feels as though she's living in Saitama's world (One Punch Man) where there are monsters appearing everywhere.

The girl doesn't show any emotions, it was so scary and cool at the same time. For the others who will read this, they may also be confused and will try to ask you to elaborate about the situation. However, I find the mystery and the ambiguity a spice in your work.

I also spotted a typo error:

- '...It was then she felt that her tongue was try and raw from thirst...'

Should be

- '...It was then she felt that her tongue was DRY and raw from thirst...'

Well done! :)

[Aurafiex]

Thanks! I've amended the typo.

Yeah, the theme of the story is Neo's indifference towards the the carnage happening around her. To put it blunty, she dosen't give a f**k. She is the "Buddha" of the story. Hopefully I did a good job conveying it in the story.

[TheMalady]

Oh my gosh... That explains the title! Really, this is a great story! Keep it up! Quite twisted indeed. And Neo is really cool! :)