As the sun rose over the lake, Rick and I snuck out of our little cave and walked along the bottom of the lake. Connor and Beth still hadn't returned from whatever special zone they'd entered, but we couldn't wait any longer. I hadn't eaten anything in the real world for more then 24 hours, and was just tired of being underwater. Rick was starting to turn purple from holding his breath too long and I'd been forced to create an air bubble for him more and more often.
As we got closer to the edge of the lake, the floor angled upwards and we neared the still feasting fish. The cannibalistic fish had already finished all the monsters, but in their frenzy they were unable to stop. So, they were tearing into each other with a savage ferocity. Making sure that both of us were covered in barriers, we moved through the mess. Blood of every color stained the water around us, kind of reminding me of a psychedelic rock concert I'd once went too. The colors moved in random patterns that had no meaning and yet sometimes created images that were both disturbing and surreal.
Finally, I took a deep breath and looked around as my head cleared the surface of the water. Besides me, Rick was panting as he breathed regularly for the first time in nearly 8 hours. Gasping, he said, "Never again! NEVER AGAIN!"
The monster hoard had dispersed long ago, leaving behind only bones and vultures who were picking through it. Rick's loud yelling only managed to startle them and they took off with cawing at us in irritation.
Opening up the map in my implant, I set a course for the village and started walking without looking back. Rick followed behind me, complaining as water leaked from his armor. "God damn it, it's going to take me weeks to get this cleaned out." Taking off his left boot, he hopped along behind me as he upended it. Sand and water poring out of it in a seemingly unending stream.
A minute later, he shook loose the last bit of it and switched over to his other foot. Still hopping along behind me. Stopping, I shook my head and said, "You know we could stop for a moment and let you take that entire monstrosity off."
"Nah, I haven't eaten in nearly 2 days. I'm going to sneak into old man Smith's ranch and eat an entire cow if I don't get out of MSE soon."
I nodded in understanding, and the two of us took off at as fast a rate as we could manage. A couple hours later we stepped through the gates to the village and immediately logged out.
Opening my eyes, I ran to the bathroom and took care of some business before heading downstairs to throw something frozen in the microwave. Chowing down on some Indian food, I went over everything that'd happened over the last couple of days before coming to a conclusion.
"I need a break!" Since I'd gotten my implant I'd done nothing but fight, train, and fight some more. Living in Colorado, there's always a ton of stuff to do. Normally I'd call up my friends and we'd go for a hike, or we'd take Rick's beat up truck into the mountains and skinny dip in one of the tiny lakes that appear every snow melt.
This time, I felt like being a vegetable and sitting in front of the TV doing nothing. A modern American's ability to function is directly proportionate to the amount of time they spend in front of a TV. Too much, and they become fat slobs. Too little, and they become stressed out alcoholics with ulcers who die young. A nice balance is what's required, and I hadn't gotten my dose of mind numbing entertainment in weeks.
Grabbing a quart of ice-cream and a spoon, I settled down to watch a marathon of Game of Thrones while thinking to myself, 'I could totally take out those ice zombies!'
Hours later, the empty tub of ice-cream had been joined by a box of Twinkies, Sour cream and onion chips, and some Twizzlers. I had fallen into a diabetic coma at some point. My mom walked in, taking one look at me and slapping me upside the head. Grunting, my eyes popped open and I started rubbing them as I sat up.
"Mom?" I asked in confusion.
"We leave for a couple of days, and come back to find you passed out in a coma surrounded by candy, chips, and ice-cream?" She started complaining as she went into the kitchen and came back with a trash bag, throwing it at me. "Clean this place up before your father sees it!"
Smiling, I stretched and yawned before getting to work. Honestly, it wasn't that much of a mess. I'm a clean eater, I never got people who leave behind crumbs as they eat. That's good food going to waste for no reason!
"So, how was the meeting?" I asked my mom as I sat down at the kitchen table, watching as she made some coffee.
"Annoying, now that I've been reinstated as a member of the Demitrov clan they want me to move back to 2nd Chance and take up a role in the clan. If it wasn't for father, I wouldn't of even bothered to show up." She had a look of disgust on her face as she sat down next to me. "Thankfully, the meeting got cut short yesterday. Something big happened and the heads of all the clans were gathered together by all the major powers."
I started sweating, I could guess what that was about. "Any news about the gathering?" I asked.
Her eyes narrowed as she saw the look on my face, "What do you know?"
No one had told me it was a secret, and even if it had been one I'd never been able to keep one from my mom. She has ninja powers and a disapproving gaze that would break the toughest mafia don.
Sighing, my mom shook her head in disgust. "No wonder father was so pissed off at the meeting. He's told me a little about the front lines and what the true powerhouses are capable of."
"I'm more pissed off about the clans planning to undermine the implant protocol. According to what I know the wave will hit sometime in the next 5 years and billions will die without a chance unless they start cultivating."
My mom stayed silent at that, staring into the depths of her coffee in deep thought. We sat there for a while, not saying anything until I received a ping on my implant. Rick had sent me a link to the MSE's forum. Opening it, I found an article from a fairly well known journalist who had left CNN not long ago.
"Senator Miller died of a heart attack not 20 minutes after several high profile CEO's and executives of some of the most powerful companies across the world went missing or died in mysterious circumstances. Federal Law Enforcement has been strangely quiet about the deaths and disappearances, but rumors have begun to surface that it is connected to the sudden changes in MSE. Over night several key figures in the alternate dimension have been arrested and executed, while the training halls have been filled with new instructors teaching everyone how to cultivate properly."
....
"No one knows for sure just what is happening, but the sudden influx of mysterious events throughout the world point combined with the intense focus of the authorities on increasing the citizens personal strength points towards one obvious conclusion. We are about to go to war!"
Thousands of replies had already been posted, and I scrolled through them absently as I thought about the claims of the article. "Did I just change the world?" I spoke without thought.
"What?" My mom asked, awoken from her thoughts.
Almost everyone in the world older than 17 had an implant by now, so I just sent her the link to the article while standing to get my own coffee. 'Man, I could really use one of those margaritas right now. I've gotta get Ariel to tell me where to buy some spiritual liquor soon.' I thought to myself as she read the article.
My mom just sighed as she finished reading. "Well, at least I know what your father rushed off to take care of after we got back to Earth. He always did like heart attacks. Nice, easy, nearly impossible to trace if induced with Elemental Energy..."