Zone and Grace were sitting in front of a big church just taking in the scenery. They each have a stick of squidballs and were chasing it with a sugary drink with unflavored gelatin.
"These are kick-ass street food right here," complimented Zone. He was on his fifth stick and second glass of beverage.
"Yep, I often come here when I have the cravings for some decent street food," agreed Grace.
"While it's true that these are just simulated flavors, I guess you can use the phrase 'it's the thought that counts' and it would apply here," she grinned.
"And this is a hidden stage?" Zone gulped the last of his gelatin.
"It appears so. This one is so uniquely designed that it doesn't feel to be part of the game yet it is. We are here but there are no other players here. Just a bunch of NPCs. The algorithm is so well thought of that there was not a single scenario where you can see a repetitive pattern. Except for one," she explained.
"Uh, huh," Zone ate his last squidball and walked to the edge of the gutter. He had to admit that this was by far one of the coolest stages he had seen. The rendering was surrealistically real.
His eyes followed a candy wrapper being played by the breeze generated by the passing vehicles. There was a relaxing quality to the way that it dances smoothly to the forces that wanted to sweep it away. It oddly stays within the same general space even though it would have been easy to knock away.
A running man bumped into him as he was getting back to where Grace was standing. The man was trying to run but the crowd was so thick that it was hard for him to move freely. He was clutching at a woman's bag.
Zone shrugged and went to Grace.
She was looking at the wares of a street vendor. It looked to be various crucifixes and other religious items. She pointed at a bracelet with a cross attached to it.
"Is it pretty?" She happily showed Zone her latest purchase. He nodded noncommittal and she pouted.
He laughed and she crossed her eyes at him.
They both turned as a bus suddenly stopped near them and blasted its horn. Several people got off and a bunch of the other NPCs crowded the entrance of the bus.
One very suspicious man was busily sidling up to the eager passengers but Zone and Grace saw that he was not really trying to get inside the bus.
"Pickpocket," they both said at the same time and again marveled at the realism of this stage.
They walked a little ways from that scene and Grace was lightly touching every vendor stall they passed by as if committing them to memory. She certainly looked distractedly engaged with what she was doing.
They have known each other for quite a time now but this is the first time they got to share a moment like this and Zone was surprised to realize that he liked this girl a lot.
Sure, she was pretty but there was something in her that warned Zone to stay away. He just saw her as a clerk. Somebody friendly for sure but also someone that is untouchable in a certain way.
He often watched her in the cafe when she was not playing and there was something in her that frightened him. He pictured her as somebody hard and controlling. Somebody who would use her charm to make anyone do her bidding like what he first suspected when she befriended him.
Seeing her now in this manner made him revise his opinions. This was a very vulnerable and delicate person hiding in a rocky exterior. He decided that even if she was deceiving him, he would gladly do anything for her. He examined himself if he was allowing himself to be gullible because he has fallen to her charms. He found that he simply wanted to be her friend.
It was a strangely comforting feeling and he sighed a breath of relief. It would be bothersome if he did feel anything else for her.
She suddenly slapped his shoulder and that broke his train of thought.
She laughed at his startled expression and pointed at the front door of the church.
"Take a pic of me at the front door," she pulled him towards that direction and he scratched his head as he allowed her to.
The front of the large church is also filled with NPCs but they amazingly parted sideways to allow Grace to pose for a picture. In the real world, this would be similar to people reacting to a celebrity. He would not be surprised if these people would go to her for autographs later on.
They did not and Grace flashed her the victory sign signalling that she is done posing for photos.
He took one more.
This was a good day. It was a bit hot but he didn't mind. It was dusty and humid but since he knows it is a game, he welcomed the realism.
They went back to the side of the church where the vendors were. He wanted to get another drink.
An old woman tugged at his sleeve and was offering necklaces, colored candles and small bottles filled with tiny roots.
"What are these for?" he said without any real curiosity.
The old woman kept pushing her wares to his face that he turned to Grace for help.
She had a nasty twinkle in her eye.
"Do you know these?" he asked, starting to feel annoyed.
"Yep, I asked one of the NPCs when I first came here," she said suppressing a giggle.
"...and?" He was trying to politely dismiss the old woman with gestures but she was still insisting.
"You might need them." She was obviously enjoying the moment.
"For what, exactly?"
"Well...that necklace is a love amulet. The red candle will make sure that your loved one will remain...amorous." She actually giggled this time.
"And the bottle?" He had a suspicion that this is a 'set' but he asked anyway.
"It ensures that you have enough vigor at night," she winked.
"Do I look like I need those?" he asked her blandly.
"I don't know. Do you?" she laughed.
He deliberately turned his back.
He was still fuming when Grace, already composed but still red-faced from laughing, went after him.
"Relax, I was just obviously teasing you. Quit being a baby," she smiled.
He did not say anything. He turned his head away from her.
Then he saw something that sparked his interest. He walked away from her and let her think that he was still mad. He bought the item and hid it behind his back when he went back to her.
"You still mad?" she asked timidly.
"Nah...I'm fine. Hey, I bought you something," he said.
She held out her hand upon seeing that he was holding something on his back.
He almost balked but he remembered how nasty she looked as she teased him. He deposited the item in her hand.
There was a silence as she stared in horror at the plopping pink dildo in her hand.
She screamed and threw it away in disgust. It hit an old man in the face.
He exploded in laughter even as he tried to dodge her punches.
"Grosssss!!!" she tried to catch him and punch his shoulder at the same time.
When they both calmed down, they leaned on the side of the church, both laughing weakly.
She was still trying to punch his arm but they are much weaker now.
"Hey, you remember what I told you earlier about the algorithm?" she suddenly exclaimed.
"About how nothing repeats?" he confirmed.
"Except one. It is coming now. Watch. The vehicles movements look random and I think they are, but for 5 minutes, something appears and disappears in the middle of the road. Its timing is such that it can be seen just before a car hits it and then appear again after a while, only to blink out before another car hits it." She pointed to a spot in the middle of the busy highway where speeding cars and large trucks roar past them in the blink of an eye.
For a moment, he could not see anything but as his eyes adjusted, he saw a gem floating in the air. True enough, it vanished before a large delivery truck hit it then it reappeared after a few seconds.
"Is this what you asked me here for?" he looked at her quizzically.
"Yes, and no. Are you mad again?" she said, teary-eyed.
"Stop fake-charming me." He rolled his eyes and she laughed.
"I will treat you to real food later...and no, I asked you to come because it is really cool and I wanted to show a friend."
"I get it now why you asked if I could run fast…" he suddenly remembered their past conversation.
"Yep. This is it. Could you get it please? It is certainly valuable, seeing that this is a hidden stage."
He timed it and dashed at it when it reappeared. His fingers barely touched it and he barely managed not to get hit by the speeding car. He quickly got back to the side of the road where Grace was anxiously waiting.
"I thought I had it but I could not hold it. Are you sure it was not just a glitch?" he asked.
"Nooo. I clearly saw that it blinked out before you could touch it. Be faster next time. You can do it," she encouraged.
It would still hurt a lot if I got hit," he complained.
"You won't die…" she brought her hands together in a praying gesture.
"You are an evil woman," he said but he got ready. He wanted as much as her to get it now that he started to attempt it. He could not walk away from a challenge.
Some of the NPCs started staring at them and some are starting to gather around Grace to gawk at his foolish attempts.
Some started asking if they were shooting a movie.
He clenched his teeth and focused.
He felt the asphalt as if he was not wearing shoes. He vaguely remembered a childhood happily spent barefoot on the hot pavement, throwing his slippers on a tin can and chasing other kids as they run and laugh in reckless abandon.
He smiled at the memory and imagined his foot absorbing the energy from the ground and slowly storing it on his toes and heels up to his calves.
The ground vibrated from the energy he generated and the speeding cars slowed to almost a stop.
He saw the gem - not a gem at all but another world where 5 individuals are inside a small sphere. They were all standing transfixed, looking at a massive door.
He launched himself between the now unmoving vehicles and felt as if his mind's eye focused on the candy wrapper dancing in the wind. He suddenly understood why the piece of plastic was anchored in place. The gem was a mini black hole and it grabbed at anything it fancied. Now, it latched on to him and even as he reached for it, it reached back.
In his panic, he called to Grace who immediately sent her thoughts and emotions to him to help him. The black hole pulled at her too and together, they vanished from that busy piece of mystical real estate.
Everything turned normal and the cars and people started moving again.
This time, the candy wrapper was blown skyward.
It spiraled higher and higher until it was no longer visible.