Earth. Drake's Duplex.
"Enough of this bullshit."
Drake tossed the tablet aside and thrusted his frame off the couch to his feet. He had been reading through the tab and arriving at new discoveries since the past twenty minutes he'd returned to Earth.
He walked straight up towards the wall as he called,
"Window mode."
And the wall was magically tucked in to reveal a four layer window frame. The panel curtain rolled itself up as he looked through to the duplex neighboring his.
"Why didn't I think of her while I was in the game?"
He remonstrated. Then his eyes bulged like he saw something move through the window of Chloe's duplex.
After remaining there for like several moments with no success, he decided to go petty. He began to scream on top of his voice,
"Chloe. Hey, Chloe. It's me, Drake, your neighbor."
He kept on doing that like a freak. But then he saw a figure move behind her window again.
"Oh, shit it worked."
He exclaimed, waving through the window as he persisted,
"Chloe, we have to talk. We really have to."
Suddenly, the figure he'd been seeing move behind her window stopped at the window. By hell, he could tell that someone was standing there and staring at him.
He continued anyways,
"Come downstairs Chloe, let's have a chat. Of course I know that we can't touch each other. We'll just speak from distance."
He took a pause, cussing inaudibly at himself,
"What are you doing foolish?!"
He looked up back at the figure he thought he was seeing behind the window,
"Or better still. Tell me your ID or whatever they call it, in the video game. If we can't chat here, let's talk somewhere else. In the game."
There was an awkward silence for a short while.
"Didn't she hear? Haven't she been listening?"
He complained, staring blankly at the windowpane. Then he looked through again and then saw the shape of a middle finger pressed to her window. He scoffed,
"Are you kidding me right now?"
He said more to himself as the figure behind her window disappeared. He rumpled his hair and bit his lower lip,
"That bitch. She walked out on me!"
He turned his back and pressed it to the window. Feeling uncomfortable, he switched,
"Wall mode."
The window was tucked in and replaced by a white interior wall. He walked away from that spot.
He started pacing a portion of his living room. From where he was to the single couch, then back to Adam. He kept muttering and mumbling,
"I can't just stand by and do nothing. I need to find my mom. I need to speak with Chloe. I need to make the government pay for the death of my mom and the deceit. Beyond that, I really need to know what the fuck is happening in these shitty worlds!!!"
He halted at the front of the couch, picking a strand of beard reaching from his chin,
"To meet my mom, I'll have to speak to Chloe. She lost her father too, she must have found a way to speak with him or connect with him in the video game."
He hesitated,
"Or did I really meet my mom in the game but didn't realize?"
Quickly, the memory of that little girl who gave him the wrapped milk zoomed past his memory. He chuckled wryly, dismissing it,
"Don't be stupid. How can she be?"
He got back on his thoughts,
"And to get to know more about the government too, I'd have to speak with someone who already knows quite a deal about the game. Chloe. Again."
He sighed, arriving at a conclusion,
"If everything points at her as my only resort, then Chloe it is."
He edged to one of his rooms with a wardrobe. He got changed into something a little bit catchy; a white hoodie, joggers and sneakers. Just to have a conversation with Chloe. Well he isn't trying to impress, duh!
As soon as he entered into the hallway which led to the door, he heard an engagement coming from Chloe's apartment.
"Fuck shit."
He hurried to the door, palmprinted, zoomed through the lawn, to the gate which opened itself, then took a turn to Chloe's apartment.
But then he halted suddenly as he saw her open her door and step out. His heart melted and he felt a wave of goosebumps washing off his caramel skin. For a moment, it seemed as though his eyes were plucked from his sockets and plastered on her proportion. His mind isolated.
She had a blonde long hair, gracefully beautiful, soft skin, high cheekbones, button nose, well chiseled pink lips, complementing bosom, 5"8. Slightly thick but curvy. His fantasy and fear. He lost it for a moment and couldn't pick his sanity.
He snapped back to reality. He didn't quite catch what she came out to do, but now she was walking straight back to her door. She had already palmprinted and was going to step in when he called,
"Hey, Chloe."
She froze like in shock, but then turned to him. Hell, her eyes were green! She walked away from the door towards him, but stood afar off; he was standing at the gate of her building.
She tossed her head aside expecting what next he was going to say. Words seem to elude him or he probably was caught up in another thicket of fantasy.
"Oh, sorry."
He snapped back, but now struggled to find his word,
"Uhmm... we need to... sorry. I mean, my name is Drake."
Her countenance changed as soon as he mentioned his name. She quoted, more emphatically.
"Drake?!"
Drake, now bold, edged towards her as the gate closed behind him. But he halted few steps away from her, conscious of the rules working his world.
He reached out his hand,
"Nice to meet you."
Then he withdrew his hand like someone in a shock, but before he could tuck his hand in, Chloe had grabbed his half stretched arm and pulled him close, so strongly.
"What are you doing? We both might die."
He tried to pull away, but she'd held strongly unto him, then spat in his face.
"You fucking ass. My dad died because of you and your mother. And now I can't unite with him. I'd rather kill you here and die myself so I can remain in the game until he accepts me as his daughter."
"What!
She couldnt let Drake process those word as she held strongly. Drake did all he could to pull away, but she was fierce. The harder Drake fought, the fiercer she was.
"Please let me go?"
He pleaded, but she decked his face up, brushing his nose,
"Let you go? No, we'd die here."
While they both struggled tirelessly; Drake struggling to be free, Chloe, struggling to kill. Chloe made to bite into Drake's chest but he was quick. But even as quick as he was, her teeth met his wrist and he screamed.
And when she almost kicked him very hard in his balls, a current coursed out of nowhere and kicked the both of them in different directions. The three judgement bots.
Drake struggled to his feet and looked, the leader of the bots walked to Chloe and declared,
"Player 234567, one lifeline left."
Drake hurried close and defended,
"Take mine, she did nothing. Subtract from my own life."
But as the leader of the bots explained to Drake that he couldn't possibly bear the punishment of others here, Chloe was taking long strides towards him. In her mouth was,
"If I lose the last lifeline killing you, there's no loss."
Drake put both his arms forward urging,
"Think twice. You don't want to do that."
"You wait there and make my decision."
She got to him and wanted to grab him but he dodged and started running in circle as he called at the bots,
"Please stop her."
But the bots created a portal and teleported immediately.
"Hey, Chloe. We can sort this out in another way."
He stopped, trying to make her see reason, but she had picked a long thick pipe. He picked the race and hurried out of her apartment.
"We can bring down the government together. They killed my mom too."
She kept pursing him till he got to the gate of his own duplex. He waited for her to catch up with him as the gate opened. He knew what she was going do and he seemed prepared.
Like he had envisaged, she aimed the pipe at him in a wipe, but he held that end and shot,
"I didn't even know that your dad died because of me. My mom only told that you're a sister to me, to take care of you."
"Then I'm about to commit a fratricide."
She replied with no emotions as she dropped her end of the pipe and made a run for it.
"Shit."
He ran too, now determinedly, towards his door. He would need time to palmprint but he was sure that she wouldn't give him that luxury.
As soon as he got to the door, he thought of what to distract her with. He removed his first footwear and aimed it at her, she ducked. But the second one hit her on the forehead.
While she savored that pain which heated her rage, he had pressed his palm backwards to the door and it opened.
"You are dead."
She growled and charged like a crazed buffalo, but he had closed the door behind him, panting heavily. He pressed his back to the door,
"What a girl."
He cussed, pressing both his palms to the door. Then he came to a realization.
"No -- no -- no"
He screamed as the door opened itself --