08-03-2018, 05:25 PM
The figure made of ones and zeroes grinned mockingly at Aiden, making his blood run hot. A voice came from the thing, issuing vague statements and questions. Cocking an eyebrow at the thing, Aiden opened his mouth to answer but was cut off as the village scenery around the pair shifted to an eerie tunnel system.
Black shadows swirled around Aiden, cutting him off from the digital stranger.
“Did Dimitri put you up to this? Is this a new video game I haven’t heard about? Perhaps I’ve been selected for Beta testing?”
Aiden called out to the stranger, sounding more confident than he felt. Anger still raged in his veins, but a primal feeling started to mingle with the rage… It was fear.
The stranger began speaking out loud and the virtual scene responded to its voice. Ten sets of glowing eyes appeared in the dark shadows that surrounded Aiden. Sparing half a second, Aiden glanced above his head and was shocked to see the fairy fire manifesting in the simulation. Countless balls of fire darted overhead, in quick, frantic motions and sometimes swelling and shrinking in size. They looked more unstable than Aiden had ever seen them.
“Uh…”
Aiden murmured and then the shadows darted at him. He let out a blood-curdling scream as his hands tried to pry the VR headset off, but it wouldn’t budge. His eyes slammed shut as he pulled frantically at the headset but to no avail. A sharp pain began forming in his side and on his limbs. His scream deepened, but he dared not open his eyes.
Then it stopped. The pain in his limbs was replaced with a warmth as if he was standing directly under a summer sun. Hisses and snarls sounded around him, but those were also quickly replaced with a sharp sizzling noise. The warmth faded.
Aiden opened his eyes to see a black tar-like substance covering the ground at his feet. It stretched out a few feet from where he was standing, forming an oily circle around him. Aiden exhaled, not realizing he had begun holding his breath. The fairy fire was nowhere to be seen.
Did I do that?
Aiden thought to himself. That fire keeps appearing, but I can never control it... It always just dances overhead... It's never attacked me or anything else... What is going on?
“Just what exactly was that!? Who are you!? What do you want!?”
Aiden demanded of the stranger, who had been watching the entire scene. Aiden took a step towards the silhouette but jumped back as the tar-like substance at his feet began to writhe and shift.
I swear… If more of those shadow monsters pop up… And why can’t I get this stupid headset off!?
Aiden thought to himself, eyes wide as the oily stuff continued to stir.
Edited by Aiden_Finnegan, Yesterday, 5:28 PM.
Black shadows swirled around Aiden, cutting him off from the digital stranger.
“Did Dimitri put you up to this? Is this a new video game I haven’t heard about? Perhaps I’ve been selected for Beta testing?”
Aiden called out to the stranger, sounding more confident than he felt. Anger still raged in his veins, but a primal feeling started to mingle with the rage… It was fear.
The stranger began speaking out loud and the virtual scene responded to its voice. Ten sets of glowing eyes appeared in the dark shadows that surrounded Aiden. Sparing half a second, Aiden glanced above his head and was shocked to see the fairy fire manifesting in the simulation. Countless balls of fire darted overhead, in quick, frantic motions and sometimes swelling and shrinking in size. They looked more unstable than Aiden had ever seen them.
“Uh…”
Aiden murmured and then the shadows darted at him. He let out a blood-curdling scream as his hands tried to pry the VR headset off, but it wouldn’t budge. His eyes slammed shut as he pulled frantically at the headset but to no avail. A sharp pain began forming in his side and on his limbs. His scream deepened, but he dared not open his eyes.
Then it stopped. The pain in his limbs was replaced with a warmth as if he was standing directly under a summer sun. Hisses and snarls sounded around him, but those were also quickly replaced with a sharp sizzling noise. The warmth faded.
Aiden opened his eyes to see a black tar-like substance covering the ground at his feet. It stretched out a few feet from where he was standing, forming an oily circle around him. Aiden exhaled, not realizing he had begun holding his breath. The fairy fire was nowhere to be seen.
Did I do that?
Aiden thought to himself. That fire keeps appearing, but I can never control it... It always just dances overhead... It's never attacked me or anything else... What is going on?
“Just what exactly was that!? Who are you!? What do you want!?”
Aiden demanded of the stranger, who had been watching the entire scene. Aiden took a step towards the silhouette but jumped back as the tar-like substance at his feet began to writhe and shift.
I swear… If more of those shadow monsters pop up… And why can’t I get this stupid headset off!?
Aiden thought to himself, eyes wide as the oily stuff continued to stir.
Edited by Aiden_Finnegan, Yesterday, 5:28 PM.
Russian Dolls and Broken Gods, a new Fantasy novel by best-selling author, Aiden Finnegan, out this December! Preorder online and instore today!