Trapped in a Game Pt. 06

He fought against it for a bit, before finally, the weight of the spell fully restrained him.

"We just want to talk!" she yelled.

The man's eyes were panicked, but she needed to get her point across, and quick, because static field was not an easy spell to maintain for long.

"My brother went unconscious three days ago. He still hasn't gotten up. Help me," she pleaded, and the look on the man's quickly went from panicked, to pitying.

He gave a little nod, and she released the spell, but as she did the man raised his hand, only for a dagger to shoot out of the nearby window, pinning the hand to the wall.

"Agh!" he cried out. "Fuck, alright, I give up!"

Kelly shot Karn a look that said, 'I had it covered', but he quickly made his way through the window.

"Sure you did, bud."

She rolled her eyes at him, before turning back to the man.

"We really don't want to hurt you, but we need to know more about your wife. Please. Tell us what happened."

The man let out a pained cry as he tried for a second to pull the knife from his hand, and he quickly abandoned the effort.

"Fine, fine. Just- don't hurt us," he replied.

The man winced as Karn pulled the knife from his hand, and moved to a corner of the room, keeping the knife ready in case the man tried anything, and Kelly took a seat on a nearby stool, indicating to the man to have a seat as well.

"Tell us about your wife. She went unconscious for a day, right?"

The man looked away, a panicked look on his face, and Kelly studied the expression with interest.

It had been three days now since the battle.

Since Josh went unconscious; and he still hadn't woken up.

It was an anomaly for sure, since the unconsciousness condition was coded to last no more than four hours.

Yet, he still hadn't woken up, and she was worried as hell.

This was their only lead.

"Look, I'll tell you everything, but you need to get out of here before she comes back."

"We'll leave when we get what we need," Karn answered, and the man gulped.

"This doesn't need to get messy, okay. Just help us. Please?" Kelly pleaded, and the man nodded.

"Look," the man began, rubbing the back of his head. "There's no easy way to say this, but your brother is dead. He might wake up. He might even look and sound like he's fine, but he's dead. If you know what's good for you, just destroy his body now, and save yourself a world of pain."

Kelly shot Karn a questioning look.

"I don't understand. They told us that your wife woke up. You just mentioned her. Why do you think my brother won't?"

The man stood up, and Karn raised his knife just as Kelly lifted a hand, indicating to him to stand down.

The man went to the window, and looked outside, that panicked look on his face.

"I... need to make sure she's away, before I can..."

Kelly nodded.

"We have eyes outside. I'll ask him to keep watch," Kelly offered, and the man considered the proposition, before nodding quickly.

"She needs to be at least half a mile away," he clarified, and Kelly nodded, despite the oddity of the request.

"Zeph. Do you have eyes on the woman?"

"I don't, but Maia does."

"How far away is she?"

"Three, maybe four clicks south. Bathing at a spring."

Kelly relayed the information to the man, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"My wife... I mean that... thing. That's not my wife. My Stephanie is... is dead."

His voice broke, and Kelly gulped.

Josh is not dead, she told herself.

"Explain. What do you mean?" Kelly probed.

"We went into a goblin lair. It was supposed to be an easy hit, but it was infested with bugbears. We were overwhelmed and, in the fight, Stephanie went unconscious. She wouldn't wake up no matter how many heal spells we cast. But her body remained with that 'unconscious' status, and after a day went by, she woke up. I was ecstatic, relieved beyond words. Then I got the message. It was a death announcement, letting me know, as her listed emergency contact, that she'd died after suffering brain damage; but... I- I was looking right at her. So, I called my outside contact; Stephanie's mom, and she was crying, asking how it could happen. I had to calm her down, and explain, but she said what I was saying was impossible. That she'd identified the body herself; confirmed that she was dead... my baby, she was gone..."

The man broke down again, but as a message alert distracted Kelly, his face went from tears to terror.

"She's coming. Is she coming?" the man asked, and she shook her head.

"She's far away and not on the way back. I don't get it. Is that a program then? Replicating your wife?" she asked, and the man let out a wail.

"I don't know. I don't know. She knows everything! Where we went on our first date. The secrets I confided that no one else knew. I can't even tell! I can't see a thing that's different from her. I just. Am I a bad husband? Why can't I tell? Why can't I tell what's different?!"

The man fell to his knees, overcome with tears, and Kelly shot Karn a worried look.

"Did you ever get a message?" Karn asked, and she shook her head.

"I'm not his emergency contact."

"Who is? Your mom?"

She shook her head, sighing.

"His ex-wife."

She rubbed her chin worriedly.

Her mom should be able to find out, after all she was frequently in and out of the hospital where Kelly had been placed; and Josh, logically, should have been taken there too, considering that they were together when it happened.

But she had been placed under contact restriction, after her mom had tried to give her info on what was happening outside after a hard ban was placed on that.

Her restriction would be lifted in... two days.

Two days...

What if Josh was...

No!

He couldn't be.

That girl who showed up; she said he was alive, right?

Serra had gone off with her, to do something to help him.

Serra would never give up on him.

Kelly was sure.

Serra would help him...

As she looked out of the window, trying to contain her feelings of uncertainty, she decided to place her trust in Serra.

Bring him back to me, she thought. Please. Do whatever it takes, just bring him back!

***

As my eyes fluttered awake, I found myself staring face to face, not with the woman I'd married, but with the woman I right now, least wanted to see.

"Wakey wakey, Joshie bear."

I rolled my eyes, as I turned my gaze upwards and away from her.

This wasn't my room in Serra's house.

This was my apartment; the last place I'd slept before playing the game.

"Do you remember this day?" she asked, and as I thought about it, I finally remembered waking up next to Kelly that morning.

"Yeah."

"You would have probably kissed me if I let you that day, huh. Such a disgusting bastard."

She spoke so sweetly, just as Kelly always did, and it made her words sting all the more.

"Hey, you know, Katie kinda reminds you of me, doesn't she? She's cute, she's smart. She's all of those things you say made you fall in love with me... Doesn't she even kinda look like me? You're not... you're not gonna, like, lust over her when she gets older, are ya?"

I let out a bitter laugh.

"You're not Kelly," I said, as I finally understood.

These weren't the things that Kelly thought.

These were my own fears.

"Really? Let me tell you something that only she knows then. I made out with Robbie the week after your tenth-grade dance recital."

"Was that before or after you kissed me?" I asked, a little derisively.

"After. Had to get that disgusting feeling out of my mouth. Anyone would have done, really."

"Well did it work?" I asked, turning away from her.

"Yep. If only I could have found something to cleanse me of that disgusting way you looked at me all the time. Ugh*. I get chills just remembering it."

She's not real.

She never felt this way.

It's all in your head.

I tried to tell myself all of the logical things that I knew without a doubt to be true, but that anxiety appeared in my chest nonetheless, and it continued to tighten until I could barely breathe.

"You okay, there, bro? You need me to come... give you some of that, good ole' sisterly lovin'?"

She put a hand on my shoulder and I shook it off.

"Just leave me alone-!"

Serra was staring at me, her eyes wide, and I looked between us at the hand that I'd just slapped away.

"Fuck me, I'm sorry-" I began, and she quickly moved close, wrapping her arms around me as tears began to form in my eyes.

"It's okay, baby. It's alright."

I was back in her room, and as she held me, I felt... safe, again.

"I hate myself for the way I loved Kelly," I said, and she moved away just enough to look into my eyes.

She scooted over, getting behind me, then pulled me close, wrapping her arms around me from behind.

"Let's talk about it," she said, and I shook my head.

"You've endured so much for me. You don't need to hear this pathetic crap too."

She flicked my ear, with murderous intent, it seemed, and I looked up to study her expression.

"I'm quite capable of deciding for myself what I want to deal with, and what I want to hear, thank you very much. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to fix my broken idiot husband. So, talk. Why do you hate yourself for the way you loved your sister?"

"You know why," I muttered, and she flicked my ear again.

"Hey. That hurt," I complained, but she was unapologetic to say that least.

"Not as much as it hurts seeing you be so pathetic," she replied. "Now stop assuming what I know, and start talking."

I took a deep breath, then began:

"What kind of scum gets intimate with his own sister?" I said, and Serra laughed.

"She loved you that way too, dummy. Does that make her scum as well?"

I shook my head.

"She wasn't... I'm the one who started the whole thing. She would have just had an ordinary, simple life, if I'd just let her be."

Serra studied me.

"Don't you think she could have had that life whether you felt that way or not? Or, did her choice not matter to you?"

I sighed.

"You don't understand. Kelly was kind. Too kind for her own good. I exploited that. She was always going to love me back, as long as I let my feelings show. If I'd hidden it better, she never would have... she'd still be alive."

"And would you? Could you have lived like that?"

I shrugged.

"It would have been better that way. She deserves this life more than I do. I mean, look at me. What point is there to me being alive?"

"It means a lot to me, you know. I love you, Josh. Every day, I want nothing more than to be here with you. Hell, what kind of life do you think Kelly would have had without you? Do you have any idea how crazy she went when you got hurt back in the game? She was inconsolable."

"None of that would have happened if I wasn't so useless."

"Sweetie. Look at me," Serra replied, turning my head to face her as she cupped my face in her hands. "You are not useless."

"I am. Maybe you don't want to see it, but I am. If I didn't have you with me right now, I would be less than nothing. I basically woke up in a life I don't deserve, with a girl I could have never gotten, and a daughter whose basically perfect, and living in a house that has more than I could ever need. And none of it is because of me. You made all of this happen."

"Fucking hell, Josh. I'm a rich girl who grew up playing video games because my daddy didn't have time for me, and I'm making millions not just because I was good at it, but because a hot girl gets a thousand times the views streaming than any guy of comparable ability. Doesn't change the fact that what I do has no real significance in the world, but, fuck, that's just how the world just happened to be. You don't feel valued by the world, but that's not your fault. That's theirs. And fuck them, because nobody should make you feel like nothing when you are my EVERYTHING!"

Serra was panting, and I studied her with interest.

"Why do I mean so much to you?"

"I'll answer every question, but can we, for the love of God, shower. I'm practically leaking cum over here."

I groaned, looking away as she gestured obscenely, and she quickly leapt on me.

"Oh, come on, we're married. You can look at my vagina."

"Give it a year or two," I replied, and she grumbled, leaning on me as I walked her to the bathroom attached to our bedroom.

"Strip!" she commanded, and as I reluctantly began to undress, she made sure to keep her gaze glued to me.

"You're having fun with this, aren't you?"

"It's literally the only bonus to having you lose your memories constantly. You're so shy. It makes me wanna grab things just to see you squirm."

As I stepped out of my underwear, I put my hands on my hips, displaying myself, and Serra stared at me, then grabbed my cock.

"Oh? Not even a flinch?"

I turned away, smirking, when suddenly I felt her fingers brush against my ass, a finger aimed at my anus, and I leapt, almost losing my footing on the tiled bathroom floor.

Serra was cackling, and I let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Oh! The look on your face; priceless!"

"Are you gonna show me how to turn on this thing, or what?" I asked, trying my best to look entirely unimpressed, but Serra, apparently, was only just getting started at screwing with me.

"Activate shower," she said, raising a hand, and adding a 'voila'.

She stepped up behind me, and as the warm water cascaded over me, reached for my cock and started stroking it gently.

As she did, however, her finger found its way to my rear entrance again, and I shot her a mild look of irritation.

"Did I ever tell you that your sister sold your ass to me?"

"Which sister?"

"You only have one sister, jackass."

I sighed.

"Kelly would never-"

"It was back when I'd saved your life, for I dunno, the umpteenth time. She hugged me and said she would do anything I wanted."

"And you asked for my ass? Specifically?"

"No, I said I wanted a threesome; naturally. But then she's all like, I dunno, I'm not into chicks, and I'm like me either, I'm just looking for an excuse to sleep with Josh, and he probably won't have sex with me unless you're there to hold his hand. Shoulda seen how red her face went."

"Did this actually happen?"

"Swear to my godly gamer-skills."

I rolled my eyes as she continued.

"So, she's like 'I dunno,' and I'm like, 'come on lady, tell me what I can get here,' and she says 'I dunno, a hand job?' and I'm like, 'bitch, seriously, what is a hand job gonna do for me?' So then I ask if your ass is off limits, and her eyes kind of light up. She says, 'you want his ass? Like literally?' and I'm like, yeah, he's got a sweet ass!"

She smacked my ass suggestively as she said this, and I grimaced.

"Literally, none of that, happened."

"Oh, it did. And you better believe it, because I'm gonna cash in one day."

She winked at me suggestively, and I gulped, as her expression seemed dead serious for some reason.

"Hey, can you help me get some of these hard to reach places?" she said, offering me a bar of soap.

"Sure, like where?" I asked, as I naturally started with her back.

"Like my breasts," she quipped, displaying her chest to me, and I smirked as she wiggled her assets suggestively.

"You're a real smart ass, aren't ya?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"If it's too much, you could always spank me till I behave," she replied.

As she turned around, and worked some shampoo into her hair, I lathered up my hands, and stepping behind her, I reached under her arms and began to massage the fleshy mounds on her chest.

"Mmm. I could get use to that," she cooed.

She reached back and grasped my cock again, brushing the head against her slit when-

*Whack!

-the sound of our bedroom door bursting open quickly stopped us in our tracks.

"Mommy! Grandma wants to know what we're doing about dinner."

"Tell Grandma momma's in the mood for some pizza. Daddy and I will go pick some up, okay?"

"Okies!" she called.

The sound of the bedroom door closing never came, and Serra groaned.

"She knows the rule with leaving doors open," she complained, and I laughed.

"I'm just relieved that she's a normal kid and not some perfect super soldier you're raising," I replied, and Serra rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, she can be a handful."

We quickly finished up in the shower, but as we began getting dressed, Serra was smirking at me again.

"What?" I finally asked.

"Oh nothing. I just, really, can't wait to see you driving."

"Oh? Am I driving? Why do we even need to go pick up the pizza? Is delivery not a thing anymore, or something?"

"We don't exactly live in the heart of any city centre. Besides. We're getting real pizza, not the kind that you Americans would call 'take-out'."

I stared at her, unable to hide my appal at her derisive use of the word take-out.

I mean, I'm not wrong for feeling personally attacked by that, am I?

"So how far away is this 'godly' pizza place?"

"About an hour or so."

"What the fuck?" I replied, and she smirked.

"I told you. This place is pretty remote. Plus, I'm sure we'll find something to do to keep ourselves occupied for the drive."

She winked exaggeratedly, and I rolled my eyes.

As soon as we were dressed, we headed downstairs where my mom was waiting, a protest rehearsed and ready for us.

"I can cook you know," my mom began, and Serra turned towards me and rolled her eyes, so that only I could see.

"I know, mama. But this Josh hasn't experienced any of my local favourites. I want him to experience something new, you know?"

My mom folded her hands, and bit her lip, before grabbing a coat and handing it to me.

"It's cold. Put it on before you get out of the car."

"I will, mom," I said, though the gesture, which I think I might have ignored at any other time, made me feel something I couldn't quite describe.

"And I don't care what she says, you don't drive anything over three hundred," she called, as Serra pulled me down the hallway toward the garage.

"We'll be safe, mama. You can relax~!"

Serra was smirking, and I suddenly felt a little worried.

"Three hundred? Am I driving a plane, or a car?"

"You'll see~," she said in a sing-songy way, and I sighed.

As we got the garage, she tossed me a key-fob, and I studied the thing, confused.

"There are no buttons on this thing," I called, and she shot me a patronizing look.

"Talk to it," she chided, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and I sighed.

"Uh, open car?" I said, the uncertainty in my voice quite obvious.

For a second, nothing happened, then I pictured in my head the car's doors opening as I thought they should, and to my surprise, it happened.

"Now we're talkin'!" Serra exclaimed, jumping into what I assumed was the passenger side.

"Wait. Is it the left side of the road, or the right?" I asked, and Serra rolled her eyes at me.

"Right-side. This isn't fucking Britain; also, that really doesn't matter anymore."

I sighed.

Why didn't you just lead with that.

"Am I gonna be flying?" I asked, and Serra giggled.

"Well, you're about to find out, aren't ya? There's a steering wheel, or a joystick control if you like."

"Steering wheel please," I said, clinging to whatever normalcy I could find in a situation that was quickly inducing a panic attack.

As I entered the car, I marvelled at how much leg room I had, as I could sit pretty comfortably, and as Serra did something, I'm not sure what, a steering wheel up from somewhere under my feet, and I gulped as it looked a lot more like an airplane control wheel than anything I'd ever driven with.

"On a scale from ordinary to filthy rich, where does this car rank?" I asked.