Chapter 56

  I awoke in the middle of the night to a dark room. I was bundled in a rather comfy bed, Guy having kept his word and treated me both to a delicious dinner at what would arguably be seen as an upscale steak restaurant back home… with a variety of different types of meat I’d obviously never tried, followed by showing me a really nice inn. With a rate of 100 Muney a night, it was comparable to hotels on Earth, but much, much nicer. Yet… even with the luxuriously soft bed, and the pleasant bath I’d soaked in… I was awake now.

  At the very least, I was apparently rested. Or… restless. My previous weariness was gone, replaced with racing thoughts and a buzzing, itching energy running through me. I couldn’t rest, couldn’t relax. I was being swarmed by too many thoughts. Too many questions, what ifs, and memories.

  With a growl I threw off my blankets, put on my clothes, a left my room. The door slid open silently, and closed behind me, no lock or handle in site. It was keyed to my gauntlet, and only I could enter. Another spiffy perk of the world. It was like those high-tech RFID badges or proximity keys some cars had. Yet even more advanced, since to get into my room, I had to accept the open option through the interface only I could access with my gauntlet. Talk about security.

  I took the elevator down, ignoring the fact the lobby was empty and even the receptionist seemed about ready to fall asleep, and stepped outside. A crisp breeze filled the air, and I couldn’t help but shiver. While my pants were warm enough, the loose fitting, blouse like t-shirt I had on definitely wasn’t cutting it. My muscles twitched though, my body filled with unspent energy, and I decided I’d make my way to the Mun Center first. There had been a ton of shops within it, and if they were closed… which wouldn’t surprise me, considering my Gauntlet told me it was just past two in the morning, then perhaps I could purchase something from the Mun Center Crystal. There was a Shop option, after all.

  The streets of Silver Springs were well lit, even though I saw no other people on the streets as I hurried towards the Mun Center. The city was broken down into multiple sections; Guy had shown me. The outskirts were residential, with a middle ring comprised of inns and restaurants, and the center the Mun Center, the Keeper’s Tower, and other important facilities. It was about a twenty-minute walk from the inn to the Mun Center… for a normal pace.

  I walked fast, even without Pep Step, and had no doubt I could cover that distance in fifteen minutes, maybe even ten if the cold air got too crisp. The increased pace also helped my blood flow, warming me but doing little to get the restless energy out of my body. Back home whenever this happened, I’d head to my apartment’s gym and just run on the treadmill for as long as it took. I wasn’t sure how it would be taken though if I was running around randomly, so, brisk walk it was.

  As I made my way to the Mun Center, I gazed up at the Guardian Crystal, from which power continually pulsed. The night sky above was filled with countless stars, glowing brightly even with the light pollution from the city. Perhaps the lights the city gave off weren’t strong enough to dim the sky? Or perhaps the night sky, the stars I could see, were closer, brighter, than those back home, so the light pollution didn’t effect it much?

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Either way, as I stared upwards, my mind wandered, thinking about everything that had happened since I got here, and drifting back to Earth… to my old home. I’d stared up at the night sky so many times back home. I replayed memories of laying against the hood of my car on a mountain road, taking in the stars, the cool autumn chill in the air. I’d been younger then. Still in high school. Definitely past curfew. But I didn’t care. I’d been free.

  My mouth tightened as I pushed that memory aside. Those nights, that special spot, had been robbed from me. The memory tainted a little later by someone I thought I could trust. It had shattered a part of my innocence, and sadly, wouldn’t be the last time.

  I pushed those thoughts down, steadying my breathing as phantom touches flooded my body. My heartrate jumped, and I felt myself growing twitchy, jumpy. Hearing random sounds, drifting between the present, and nightmares.

  The Guardian Crystal up above was the guiding light to the center of the city, my destination, but it was so hard to follow. It was flickering in my mind, as memories resurfaced that I’d thought had been buried deep enough that I’d take them to the grave.

  Even though they were memories, my body reacted. Adrenaline pulsed through my veins, my restless limbs grew even more frantic. That was the thing about panic attacks, or perhaps this was closer to PTSD? I never really got a clear answer… my parents just dismissed me as being hormonal or hysterical. Either way… you could never predict when an attack would come. And even though you told yourself you were safe, that you weren’t in danger, your body and mind remembered. And reacted as such.

  My steps became more frantic, my pace increased, as I tried to run from my memories. I couldn’t be out in the dark right now. Couldn’t be under those stars. I’d been doing so well… but, perhaps my anxiety had found its way through my exhausted cracks. Or my mind was catching up, no longer in shock from the vast life changes I’d just had thrown at me over the past week. Whatever it was… I was having a panic attack, in a dark city, in a world I didn’t know, with no one to talk to.

  Within my chest my heartbeat to some unheard EDM rhythm, doing little to help me calm myself. My breathing came in short, panicked gasps, depriving me of oxygen I sorely needed. But, just before me, I finally saw the Mun Center. It’s lights were on, and the whole building was illuminated. If I could get in there, I’d be safe. Brightly lit, away from the cold air… I’d be able to sit down, to rest, to calm myself. To push away the past, and remind myself that I was safe. I was as far away from those memories as possible… hell, I was further away from that world than I’d ever imagined I could be.

  This was Mutopia. I was safe here. None of the monsters from my past could get me. They were just memories. Just dreams, just—

  A shadow pushed away from the Mun Center, and I saw a flash of light as a Mun was summoned. A brilliant, white fox caught my eyes, before a blast of cold air ripped past me. I could barely turn, before I heard the sound of a crystal clattering to the ground. The fox picked up the crystal and happily carried it over to the mysterious individual that had pushed off the wall. Clad in a cloak that seemed to blend in with the area around him, even against the lit Mun Center, he was all but invisible. However… I recognized that fox. Especially as the man knelt down to rub its head while it dropped the crystal into his waiting palm, and he pocketed it.

  “You,” I said softly, coming to a halt, realizing all of my fears, my worries, my anxiety, it was all, instantly gone.

  The man looked at me, all but his mouth hidden, as he stood. His lips smiled though, as he looked down at me, eyes nothing but shadows.

  “Me,” he said with a chuckle, before he snapped his fingers, and his Mun, who he called Ghost, returned to its crystalline form. He stepped past me, gently patting my shoulder as he did so. “Take care of yourself, Traveler.”

  And then, he was gone.