Into the Game

Rescue wasn’t coming.

Michael was bound on the other side of the peak and Mei was busy replacing her runes. If I was going to get out alive I was going to have to do it on my own.

I looked around. There had to be something I could use to fight off the PKs. There weren’t any rocks I could grab that would start an avalanche. Actually, I was holding the last free rock.

I spied a couple caves that I hadn’t seen before. Most of them looked normal, but there was larger than the rest. There were large claw marks on the outside. I didn’t know what kind of monster lived in there, but I hoped it was home. It was the only chance I had to get rid of these PKs.

I pushed off the rock and slid down. I threw the rock at the archer. It bounced off his shoulder, but that gave me a few extra seconds before he could raise his bow again.

The cave was behind the players and up the path. I grabbed a handful of rocks and threw them at the players as I hit the ground. They staggered back as I ran past them.

“Grab her!” One of them yelled

I was glad that they were trying to grab me instead of hack me, but I knew what would happen once they caught me. Mouse wanted me dead. It probably wouldn’t be quick or painless either.

I ran as fast as I could. One of the players grabbed me just outside the mouth of the cave. We rolled into the cave.

I punched him in the throat and kneed him in the crotch. He groaned and let go of me.

I turned and ran deeper into the cave. I didn’t get very far before I couldn’t see anymore. I moved to the wall and moved deeper by touch.

There was a low growl from deeper in the cave. I pressed my back up against the wall. I hoped it wasn’t a bear. I didn’t want to tangle with another one of those.

The other players caught up to the mouth of the cave. Torches were lit and they began arguing about who was going to chase me into the cave.

I kept moving down the wall until I could barely see the light. I kept both hands on the cold walls and shuffled my feet, so I didn’t step off a cliff or into a hole.

My foot hit something solid. I tried to step over it, but it was too big.

I ran my hands over it. It was warm and smooth, too smooth, like it had been polished.

The rock split at my knee. Red light rolled out, followed by a growl.

I took a step back. A yellow orb came to life a little ways further down the cave. A black slit in the middle focused on me. The red light got brighter and the growl shook the whole cave.

I turned around and ran.

Three players tried to block my path, but the light behind me got brighter. They dropped their torches and moved out of my way.

I pushed past them. I heard one scream before the cave shook again.

The players tried to catch up to me, but neither of the remaining ones was fast enough. I heard another one scream just before it died.

The players at the mouth of the cave caught me. I strained against the two large men that held my arms.

“There’s a monster in there!” I screamed. "We have to get out of here!”

“There are no monsters here.” The archer laughed

The third player ran out of the cave. He was panting hard, but he gulped for a deep breath. "DRAGON!”