Chapter 1

Ronan meets mysterious player inside of game.

I

Ronan Edge looked up at the sleet grey sky above him. The ashes of the fallen down temples clung to the air stubbornly and made it nearly impossible to move through the city. He heard a beating in his ear, constant and ominous, only because it was confirming his life was slowly depleting. He had only twenty minutes to get to the top of the remaining tower and renew the energy or he would die and everything he'd worked so hard for would be lost. 

He held the glowing blue sphere in his hand, containing the only remaining energy in the entire game. If he could get it returned to its rightful place. He could save the world. He opened a pocket in the chest of his combat suit, the most protected area of his armor, and tucked the sphere inside. He could feel the warmth radiating from it, transferring him energy that he wasn’t plugged into. He closed the pocket and clung to the rubble around him like a snake in tall brush. 

“Roan!” He heard through his headset. “Do you have it?”

“I got it.” He confirmed and peaked around a cement pillar hanging on by mere rubble. There was a skeletal image a few feet from him. It stood seven feet tall, with long white arms and legs. It’s skull was shaped like the carcass of a wolf. It slumped across the road, its shoulders hunched as it sniffed the air for the precious energy he held near. 

“I’ve got a Grendal.” He whispered over the speaker. “It’s about twenty paces to my left. I can try to get past it.”

A picture of his comrade with the avatar StewthePot came on, also known as his best friend Stewart. He spoke through the video monitor. “Bad idea. I’ll be there in five. Stay hidden.”

“I don’t have much time.” Ronan argued. His energy was depleting fast, especially with the extra shield he activated. “I can get past it.” The Grendal looked injured. There was a large gash on its left leg that was sparking red and blue lights as wires became discord. 

“Dude, I’m almost there, don’t risk it-” Ronan cancelled the call before he could continue. 

He checked the energy monitor on the left hand side of his screen. It had one red bar and fading fast. He could feel the energy depleting from his body. He glanced around the pillar one more time. The Grendal was no longer in sight. It must have moved on farther down the road in search for other life sources. Ronan waited for any sign of Stewart’s arrival. The air was so filled with smog and dust that he couldn’t see much of anything five feet in front of him. 

His window was closing. He had to move quickly. 

He unstrapped his machine gun from his back and held it out in front of him. He drew in part of his armor so that he could run and obtain a good speed. He picked up a steady pace, his eyes alert around him, as he cruised through the street with ease. There were others flying over his head, giant orbs floating over him that were being sucked dry of their energy by Grendals or other players. He didn’t have much time to catch one for himself. He had to keep moving.

He kept himself hidden in the rubble as he ran towards the lone tower, stopping only once behind a beam when another Grendal slunk past him towards the lone tower. Ronan held as still as possible as the creature marched past him. The sound of it taking in the air through its black nostrils was low and guttural as it picked up his scent. 

He could see the tip of its boney toes on the other side of the pillar. He could use his gun. It would take up most of his energy and cancel him from this mission or worse. Ronan looked around for another resource, anything to distract it, when it was suddenly done for him. The Grindal lost interest and turned towards the lone tower. Ronan turned around at the same time another player entered through the doors, the Grindal running straight after them. 

Ronan got on his monitor again. “Stewart, it’s right behind you!”

“What are you talking about?” Stewart replied. “I’m coming up behind you.”

Ronan looked over his shoulder as Stewart ran up beside him in a sage green suit. “Where is George and Nibbs?”

Nibbs appeared on his screen, right below Stewart. “George lost power and I’m on one bar and all the way over by the portal. I can’t get to you in time. I’m sending you the last of my energy, Ronan. Good luck.”

“Thanks man,” Ronan watches as his energy level went up a bar. “See you trig.”

With a groan, Nibbs vanished from the screen and it was just Stewart and Ronan again. He watched from his safe distance as the Grendal pounded its clawed fist on the door where the other mysterious player disappeared inside. The two players walked slowly out into the short opening towards the entrance. Ronan kept himself low, his eyes and his locator device searching the surrounding areas for any sign of threat. The only threat that he could detect was the Grendal they were about to walk right into. 

As they made their approach, the monster stretched up and pointed it’s beaked nose into the air as it smelt the energy that Ronan carried on his chest. With black holes for eyes, it turned in their direction and saw their approach. It let out a cry and started marching towards them. Grendals don’t move very quickly, but they take large steps and could clear a courtyard in three if necessary. Four more white beasts appeared around the corners of the building, and six were emerging behind them from the rubble. 

It was calling to them.

Ronan clicked on his gun but Stewart is the one that took the shot to draw the attention away from Ronan.

“Get in there!” He yelled as the first Grendal turned its direction. “I’ll see you on the other side!”

Stewart vanished from his screen yet again as Ronan ran to the door. He used the strength in his mechanical arm to pull the steel away and rushed inside the dark building.

The light on the top of his helmet came on and scanned the room for an opposing threat.

“Suit, search for other players.”

A list of players came onto his screen. He scanned through it for any that were familiar to him or that were within his vicinity but the only one was Stewart. Maybe that other player got spooked and logged off. He’s seen it happen before. He found the stairs and started climbing them with ease. He’d have to get to the top to renew the energy. He could hear the sound of the monitor blaring at the top of the tower. He was nearly there. 

He came through the door at the top of the stairs and felt the weight of a truck hit him from the side and drag him across the room. He slammed into the opposing wall, knocking rubble to the ground around him. He was cornered and trapped against the wall by a Grendal. It opened its wide mouth and was screeching at him, sniffing his exterior for what it was looking for inside. 

Ronan grabbed it by the face and with what strength he had left in his suit he squeezed until the metal groaned and gave around the Grendal’s jaw but it wasn’t enough to stop it. Only enough to make it angry. With its claws, it shoved Ronan back against the cement wall. A warning sign started blaring in his ears that his energy was nearing depletion. 

He was about to loose his first mission. This was the closest he’s come to renewing the energy on this level. No one has been able to finish this mission on the first level. He was going to be the first.

He coward against the wall as the Grendal opened its jaw again and pointing the tip of its spiked claw into the triangle on his chest. He waited for the energy in his suit to be gone when a flash of a light hit the Grendal behind the back. After a moment, its eyes flashed for a moment, no longer black but white, and it fell backwards away from him.

Ronan looked down at the destroyed machine as it froze, locked in its last position. 

When he looked back up, another player was standing in front of him in a bright turquoise suit. They looked at Ronan for a second. He pulled up the list of players in his vicinity again, but none came up. Not even Stewart. 

“Who are you?” He called across the hall.

They pointed at their chest and then at the door to their right before disappearing from his sight all together. Ronan has never seen anything like it before in this game. 

An angry alarm sounded in his ear as his energy bar flashed empty and red. He had seconds before his suit died. He ran towards the door as he opened the pocket in his chest. He found the station in the center of the room, a light pointing out of the skybox in the center of ceiling. He grabbed the sphere and threw it towards the center just as his suit was shutting down. 

It only took a second. The monitor grabbed the sphere out of the air and levitated it. A burst of pure blue light shot into the sky.

A message appeared on Ronan’s screen, Congratulations RUNRONANRUN. You have defeated Level 5. 

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. This is the first chapter. Let me know what you think. It's a work in progress, still developing the game and the players but I think it's opinion time.
Song of choice:
The World I Used to Know by We Came As Romans