*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*
Eric's hand slaps the top of his alarm clock, shutting the incredibly aggravating noise off.
"Ughhhhh." He rubs his eyes and slowly sits up, before pushing himself onto his feet and stumbling into the bathroom.
Letting out a groan as he stretches, he flicks the light on, walks up to the sink, and peers into the mirror.
"Goddamn, I look like shit." He cringes at his appearance and runs a hand through his shoulder-length blonde hair. He's a big guy, standing at six-foot three at seventeen years old. He's got wide shoulders but is a bit on the plumper side.
He looks into his own eyes for a second, before sighing and brushing his teeth. Finishing his morning bathroom routine he ruffles through his clothes that are strewn about and picks the ones that don't stink.
"Damn, I really don't want to go to school today." He sighs again, grabs his backpack, and walks out of his room, past his empty parent's room, and out the front door.
Eric takes a step outside, locks it behind him, and turns around.
"Uh, what the fuck?" Instead of seeing his front lawn, he stares into a white pearlescent hallway, with square glowing lights on the ceiling.
Eric spins around, seeing only a bright white blank wall.
"Wha-"
*DING*
A translucent screen, floating in the air, appears in front of him.
[ Hello Eric :) ]
"Uhhh…" Before he can say anything, more text appears on the screen;
[ Welcome to the system! Your brain chemistry is currently being altered to allow you to accept and understand what is happening to you! ]
Eric grunts and falls to his knees, a sharp drilling pain piercing his thoughts. In what seems like an eternity to him, the pain fades and another screen appears in front of his eyes.
[ You have been chosen! Rejoice, for you have been given a chance to become so much more than what you were previously capable! :)) ]
"What did you do to me?" Eric knows he should be shitting his pants right now but for some reason, his mind is incredibly calm. "What'd you do to my head?"
[ I have permanently altered your brain chemistry! Epinephrine, serotonin, cortisol, and a few other chemicals have had their effects on your mind limited! This is to prolong your sanity and survival! ]
"Oh…" He rises to his feet and scratches the back of his head. "Where am I?"
[ You're currently in the Nexus Halls, the bridge that connects you to the system! :) ]
"What is the system exactly, and why am I here? Also, how did I get here..?" Eric is used to feeling anxiety in the back of his mind, its absence completely replaced by a strong feeling of curiosity that felt odd to him.
[ Haha, so many questions. All will be answered in due time Eric. For now, please choose from one of the two doors and start your adventure! ]
The screens blip out of the air, and Eric turns and looks down the hall. Two doors, matching the whole pearlescent white theme, stood against the wall side by side. He glances around and sees nothing else of interest and walks up to the door on the left, twisting the handle and pulling it open.
"Hmmmm." Eric looks through the doorway, out at the scenery, seeing a few oak trees and large green bushes. Normal, average-looking trees and bushes. "I thought I'd be seeing, like, floating islands or a giant castle or something." He mutters to himself.
Taking a step back, he lets the door swing close. He then grabs the right door's handle and pulls it open.
"Oh."
Eric's eyes land on a waterfall flowing off a grey cliffside into a lake, which has multiple giant jagged gray rocks sticking out of the water.
"Okay, that's kinda cool."
He takes a step out through the doorway and onto the gravel, instantly getting hit with a cold moist breeze. He walks over to the edge of the lake, peering into the clear water and at his reflection.
"Wow."
Eric smiles, crouching down and waving his hand through the clear water. Small ripples spread out across the surface, making his reflection wiggle. He had lived in the far south of Texas and had never seen such pure water. Suddenly the sound of gravel crunching beneath a boot reaches Eric's ears, and he spins around, rising to his feet. His eyes land on a man wearing a dark brown cloak, his face hidden in its shadow.
He freezes, staring at the stranger, unsure of what to do. The man takes another step closer, his hand rising from his side and into the cloak, obviously gripping something.
"Oye, Lad. I ain't gonna hurt'cha, long as ya throw ya valuables mah way." He pulls the thing he was gripping out from the cover of his cloak, a metallic gun-like object. "I don't wantah hurt ya."
Eric puts his hands up, but the gun catches his eye. He likes to think he knows a lot about guns, but he's never seen one like that. It's made of a gray metal, it doesn't have a magazine or a chamber and he could see a blue light emanating from it.
"Well, boy? If ya don't wantah listen, I'll just have to pillage ya corpse." The man raises the gun at Eric, finger on the trigger.
"Wait!" Eric slowly lowers a hand to his back pocket and pulls his wallet free, tossing it to the man's feet. "Have my wallet, just please don't shoot me."
'I guess the system didn't lie to me, even though this man is seconds away from killing me, my thoughts remain clear.' He thought about rushing the guy but instantly thought better.
The man bends over and picks the wallet up, holding the gun at Eric the entire time. He pulls out a few of the cards in it and dumps the couple of dollars Eric has on the ground.
"Lad, ya better toss your chip over to me before I run outta patience." The stranger snarls the last few words, walking up to Eric and prodding him in the chest with the gun.
*VZZZT-CRACK*
The man drops like a puppet with its strings cut, a red hot hole sizzling eith heat appearing in the back of his head. Eric stumbles back, eyes wide.
'Somebody shot him!' The boy ran, as fast as he could and slid next to the nearest rock that could provide cover, hoping the shooter wasn't targeting him next.
Eric doesn't move for minutes, hiding at the opposite angle the shot came from. He doesn't dare peek lest he also receive a shot to the head. 'That did not sound like any gun I know. It seems to use heat to inflict damage, what is this, Star Wars!?'
"Come out, Lad. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have let you run." A calm, monotone voice rang out, making Eric's heart almost stop.
Eric, realizing he couldn't do anything else, steps out from behind the rock. He locks eyes with a man, wearing a light gray camo poncho, and a set of lenses sitting on the top of his head that look like bulbous night vision goggles. His right eye's sclera (the white of an eye) and pupil are black, while his left eye is a normal shade of brown. He doesn't look much older than 20.
A rifle is slung over his shoulder, definitely not any normal gun Eric has seen. The corner of the man's mouth quirks up a bit as he looks the boy over, his hands resting on his hips.
'He kind of reminds me of a cowboy.' Eric also spots a pistol at the man's side.
"What're you doing out here, lad?" The man harks and spits on the ground. "Actually, how'd you get out here? I've been following Metalhead for a while, I ain't see no sign of you."
"I, uh, walked, I'm kind of lost." For some reason, Eric thought it would be best to not share where he truly came from. It was not like the guy would believe him… unless people know of The System here.
"You walked through The Wastes without a gun or any cybernetics? You got a death wish, boy?" The man let out a chuckle, but his face quickly grew serious. "You have a destination in mind?"
'Cybernetics?' Eric scratches the back of his head, letting his guard down a bit. "The nearest town, I guess."
"Hah, the nearest settlement is fifty miles from here, lad." The man walks over to the corpse of "Metalhead", and crouches down pulling the cloak's hood back. "If you want, I can give you a ride to town,"
Eric says nothing, watching as the man pulls out a piece of wire with too square pieces of metal on the ends from his pocket. Metalhead's head is indeed metal, the back of his skull melted from where the stranger shot him. The man slides the wire under the corpse's neck and squeezes the squares, the wire turning bright blue with a hum and pulls it back towards himself. It slides through metal and bone like a hot knife through butter, beheading Metalhead's body.
"My names Kade, Kade Horn. I'm a bounty hunter."
The boy forces his eyes away from the head, meeting Kade's eyes.
"What? Oh. Sorry, my name is Eric. It's nice to meet you."
"Well Eric, it's nice to meet you too." Kade lets out another chuckle before raising two fingers to his lips, a loud whistle leaving his mouth.
Eric's ears pick up the sound of an engine revving before a square vehicle with six wheels drives over the hill. Its tires are giant, easily over four feet wide. The car is a dark gray, almost black, and the cabin is big enough for four people to fit comfortably. The vehicle drives up to them, turning itself to the side for easier access to the back as it pulls up, revealing the word "Rhino" printed on its side.
Kade walks up and taps the trunk, and it opens with a hiss. Eric walks up as well, curious, and sees nine glass cubes stacked in a grid. The bounty hunter pulls one of them out and turns, approaching the corpse of Metalhead. He bends over, picks up the head with a grunt, and places it into the box.
"All that damn metal just makes his head harder to transport." Kade looks up and chuckles at Eric's facial expression. "What, never seen a decapitated head?"