Trapped in a Game Pt. 07

"Half these losers can't fuck for love nor money. That's why my girl Abby over there is such a godsend."

I stole a quick glance back at 'Abby,' who was on all fours as some other man fucked her from behind.

"So, what's your deal?" she probed, as she blew out another whiff of smoke.

"My deal?"

"Yeah. You're not that old, and not half bad-looking. Fella like you won't be drowning in pussy, but you should do alright. So, what's the deal? You into some kinda, weird fucking shit?"

I shook my head, and sighed.

"Truth?" I asked.

"Truth!" she said, nodding.

"I got married when I was real young to a girl who, turns out, didn't much like me, and now I'm finding I have no idea how to be single."

"Shit. She still around?" Stephanie asked, and I shook my head. "Separated? Or divorced?"

"Divorced. Six years now," I answered.

"Six years? And you're still tryna 'catch your footing'? Are you sure you're not still on this girl?"

I shook my head.

"She has two kids and lives with my uncle," I said, sighing, and she frowned.

"Poor thing," she sympathized. "So, you're in a rut? A dry spell, so to speak?"

"I guess."

"How long now."

"About as long as I've been divorced. I mean, you probably just saw the end of it, back there."

"Well shoot," she said, laughing and slapping her knee. "No wonder you drenched poor lil' Abby."

As she finished off the cigarette, she flicked the butt towards a nearby ashtray, studying me with a renewed look of hunger.

"Say... backed up like that, you probably need to let out a lot more before you really feel good."

She sauntered towards me, then taking my hand, she led me to a wooden chair along the corridor.

She motioned for me to sit, before she climbed on top, straddling me, and wasting no time in settling onto my stiffening length.

She moved gently against me, coaxing me to life, all while studying me with a desiring look.

"You know... that thing we did back there. With Abby. That's a little fetish of mine. What do you think about that?"

I shrugged.

"When it comes to matters of love, I'm a one-woman kind of man. But when it comes to sex? What you enjoy is what you enjoy, and I'm not one to judge."

"Really? What if the ole' wifey wanted something like that?"

I snickered.

"She probably did, just not with me."

Stephanie bit her lip, tutting at me.

"I think we need to purge that ole gal from the memory banks," she said, wrapping her arms around my neck as she gently rode me. "Don't worry, darlin'. I'll make sure you can't think of sex for the next week without seeing my mug."

I reached out, grasping one of her breasts, and she nodded, encouragingly.

"That's it. You're an interestin' fella, Paul. You know, unlike you, I've had a lot of sweethearts recently."

"Yeah?" I said, enjoying the feel of her steady stimulation, as well as the feel of the firm breast in my grasp.

"Yeah, about fifteen in the last year, I reckon."

She studied me intently for some reaction, before continuing with a smile.

"You see, this little fetish of mine... most fellas like that kind of thing."

"I'll bet," I replied, chuckling, and she ruffled my hair playfully.

"Yeah, but you see... thing is. What most fellas are into is the chance to fuck some other girl. I ask... they always say yes. But when the event comes along, they're just mindlessly plowing away at whatever little birdie I snatched up that week, and practically forgetting I even exist... Even the ones who claimed to be 'serious', and whatnot."

"Huh... so it's a test?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"God, no. I like to share, and I like a good tonguing; and no-one does me like them girls... thing is, Paul. None of these fellas ever did what you just did. None of them ever looked at me like that while burying his meat inside another gal.... like he was just, fucking the bitch in front of him to reach my pussy through her mouth. And I ain't ever seen a man look into my eyes, like that, while cumming all over some young whore."

"Now... part of me thinks that was sexy... fuck, I'm close to creaming your cock right now, just thinking about it... but another part of me wants to sit you down and have a talk... tomorrow... day after. Or maybe next week. Whatd'ya think about that, Paul."

"I-I'd like that," I managed, barely keeping a straight face, as she picked up the pace, and really started riding me.

She began to moan, climaxing again, and she shuddered a little as she ground her hips against me, riding out her orgasm.

As she came down from the orgasmic high, I felt myself drifting away from the scene and into space.

"I may not be an expert on human interaction, but I do know that was an unusual way for a man to meet his future wife," the woman explained.

You don't say, I thought.

"But there's more to them than the novelty of their introduction."

I was in the house again, but this time, standing beside the two, and I studied Paul, seeing him properly for the first time.

"Do you remember this place?" he asked, and the woman smiled.

"Of course, I do, honey."

She wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him.

"That was quite the night... but why are we here, darlin?" she asked, a questioning look in her eye. "Surely you didn't to get me all dressed up just to take a little waltz down memory lane?"

He shook his head, and as she studied him, he took a deep breath.

"I've... bought this house," he said, and she gasped.

"Well, look at that. Congratulations! But... I hope you didn't buy this old thing just because of me."

"I did, actually. Well sort of," he began.

"Oh, sweetie. You don't need to hold on to memories like that. We're makin' new ones every day!"

"We are, and I want that to continue... here."

He got down on one knee.

"In this house, two years ago; my life changed, thanks to you. You taught me how to love, how to laugh, and how to live again. You are my love, my light. My everything. I love you, and I want that to continue... here, together. Stephanie Anderson, will you marry me?"

"Oh, sweetie, of course I will!"

The two kissed, and as they broke apart and composed themselves, Stephanie took a look around at the place.

"Jeez. A whole house, though. There's so much space! What are we gonna do with all of this? You know, both of our apartments were plenty big enough for two," she chided.

"For two? Yes. But... maybe there'll be more?" he said, and her eyes lit up.

"Babies, or threesomes?" she asked.

"Babies," he clarified, and she broke into a huge grin as she leapt into his arms, and he spun her around.

"How about we start working on that right now?" she said suggestively, pulling him towards her, and two faded as I stood there in the house.

"Those babies never came," the woman continued, and I sighed as the couple reappeared on the living room sofa.

"Don't be so down. I mean, maybe it's me? Then there's all kinds of fertility treatments we could-"

"It's not you... I'm sterile..."

"Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry."

She walked over to him, and wrapped her arms around him, holding him, and I felt the warmth from the action washing over me through the empathic link between us.

"It's not so bad... I mean, maybe we could turn those rooms into something else. Like, maybe a game room? Or a study!"

"There was no darkness that her light couldn't illuminate," the woman's voice continued, as the scene changed, "but that didn't change his fortune."

"Well, how bad is it? Explain it to me," the woman asked, as Paul sat down, a lost look on his face.

"Catastrophic. I took out a mortgage on our house, banking on the rising property value; but the value is dropping fast and I lost the investment. Completely."

She sighed.

"Aw, honey. Why don't you just let me handle it, then? I'm in line to make partner... and everyone is saying I will because them asshats need a 'token woman' on the board. Never mind that I should have earned that spot years ago."

"No," he shook his head. "I bought this house... without consulting you. I made the decision to make the investment."

She sighed, as the scene changed again, to him pouring over some papers, while the woman looked on.

"There's a Wendy's down the street," he said, and she threw her hands up.

"No."

"If I work two shifts, I can keep up with the payments?"

"Baby. Will that make you happy?"

The man sighed, as the woman came over to him, cupping his face in her hands.

"Look, sweetie. I don't care if you feel responsible for this mistake. I live in this house too, you know? And I'm happy here. Let me handle it, and you focus on finding work that you can enjoy again. And if you can't, then just stay here and spoil the hell outta me! And that's that!"

The scenes changed around me in a blur.

"I don't know what to do with myself. It's driving me nuts."

"Well... you know you could try your hand at 'Fantasy Realm'," she suggested.

"What? That online game you play? No way. You might not realize this, but I'm not as young as you are. I'm pushing fifty here; there's no way I can get into that stuff at this age."

"Won't know unless you try?"

Time flashed forward again, to Stephanie standing over Paul, as he wore a headset, trying his hand at gaming.

"Wow... honey, you know I love ya to death, but you suck," she commented. "I love that you're trying so hard though. Say... there's this new game coming out. Real, cutting edge kind of stuff."

"Really? What's it about?"

"Virtual reality fantasy game. I kinda got my eye on it, but it ain't cheap."

"Are you asking for permission?" he asked, smirking at her. "You know, you're the breadwinner in this house."

"Oh, you know I don't think like that. Besides... I won't do it unless you're with me," she added, swaying girlishly, and I gulped, as a feeling of dread filled me.

"You know where this ends up... don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Then you understand. He needs her. He needs me."

I shook my head, as we left that world and came back to the grassy battlefield.

"His loss is tragic, but you can't just replace her."

Her face contorted with anger, as she glared at me.

"Why not? He couldn't tell what was different between us! Sharada knows how to make artificial bodies, you know. I could replace what he lost!"

I sighed.

"You could be an exact biological replica of her, and it still wouldn't matter. You aren't her, and he knows that."

"What difference does it make?!" she shouted, lightning cracking at her fingers, but as Kelly moved to react, I signaled subtly to her to hold back.

"How has he reacted to you lately? Has he accepted you?"

"He'll get used to it. He just needs time."

"And if he doesn't... what will you do? Force him?"

She studied me, an exasperated look on her face.

"So, what would you have me do? He's lost everything! He has nothing without her. There's no way he can cope with that... am I supposed to just abandon him?!"

I shook my head.

"No. You care about him... a lot. I felt it myself, while we were in your head."

"I don't. She does... that's why-"

"No. She's gone, and you need to accept that too."

Tears began to form in her eyes.

"No!" she screamed, electricity pulsing out from her, and I winced as the static coursed through me, painfully, but I took a step toward her.

"It must hurt a lot. Knowing that she's gone. It must hurt like nothing you knew ever could."

She backed away from me, her eyes searching for some answer that couldn't be found.

"No," she whimpered, falling to her knees, and as she did, I spotted a man I did not recognize approaching us, but as I looked at the expression on his face, I quickly realized who he was.

"Paul," I said, and he nodded, coming towards the woman, and she followed my gaze to him.

"Honey," she began, and as he shook his head, her shoulder slumped, and tears began to run down her cheeks, and she look away, a lost expression on her face.

"He needs you. Not to be her, but as... you," I said, and she looked up at me, as I finished speaking.

"You know everything... about them, about her; and you learned to care about him through that."

She looked to the man, and suddenly, the fearful look gave way, as he approached.

"I wanted you to be her," he said. "Because I have no idea what I am if she's gone. She was a wonderful person. More wonderful than I deserved."

He began to sob, but as she tried to go to him, he instinctively recoiled.

"This isn't how you see yourself, is it?" I asked. "You were forcing yourself to be her, but there's an idea of who you are that exists in your mind."

She shot me a questioning look, but as she turned towards the man, he nodded, so she took a deep breath.

She concentrated really hard, until a light began to emanate from her, obscuring her momentarily from view, and as the light faded, the man gasped, and I studied her, smiling.

"Y-you..." he began, his words trailing off.

"This is what she saw, when she looked at you, and imagined what your child together would have looked like," she said, and tears formed in his eyes, and as they began to fall he stumbled toward her, and she caught him, just as he fell, and as he sobbed, she held him as she shot me a thankful look.

"Wow, well look at you mister 'not even ranked in the top two percent'," Serra said, as she joined me at my side. "That was a real MVP play."

Kelly shot an odd look between us as she joined us, but as she did, another explosion rang out from the plains beyond the hill.

"Shit! Zephiel," she said, and we rushed to where the fight was happening.

"So, he abducted them and tried to replace their 'papa,' huh?" Serra asked, surveying the scene.

"Apparently," Kelly answered.

"Yikes. I wouldn't wanna get on the wrong side of one of those things... ever. Caliban?"

"Yes, Priest-human," the dog answered, as he apparated beside us.

"Does it hurt when you take damage?" she asked, and the dog seemed to ponder the question.

"It does cause an unpleasant sensation," the dog answered, and Serra nodded.

"Maybe if we do enough damage to her, she might just chill out a little," Serra suggested, and Kelly nodded.

She took flight, but as she raised a hand to attack, Zephiel cried out to stop her.

"No! Don't attack her," he yelled, and Kelly rolled her eyes, landing beside me.

"Everyone is just fucking buddies with an AI today," she grumbled, and I snickered at the remark.

"I don't know if you should listen to him. He looks pretty beat up," Serra added, and I nodded in agreement.

"Can we bind her? Like we did before?" I asked, and Serra thought about it.

"Might be impossible. That woman was designed to be a super monster, but these kids on the other hand have coded protections to keep them from harm. All of the children NPCs do."

I was still considering the dilemma when the woman came over to us.

"Josh, was it?"

"Yeah, uh-?"

"Alessandria," she replied, turning to study the fight. "I don't agree with what that man did, but I have no desire to see one of my own kind commit murder. I'll remove the protections from her, just... don't hurt her."

I nodded, turning to Serra who shrugged.

"No promises," she said, and I sighed, as we prepared our binding spells.

"Go," she said, and Serra immediately shot her light shackles at the girl.

The girl turned toward her, but as she tried to cast a spell at Serra, I quickly intervened with my nightmare spell.

She grimaced, a strange look on her face, as she seemed confused by what had happened.

The girl looked at her own hands, but as Kelly fired a little bolt of electricity at the girl, she screamed out, falling to her knees.

Her eyes looked angrier than ever, and as she raised her hands, summoning a huge ball of flaming energy above us, I tried to cut off the spell with nightmare again, but this time it failed.

"Scorching ray!" Kelly chanted, targeting a huge wave of flame at the girl, but before the spell could connect, Zephiel leapt in front of her, and the spell burned its way across his torso before Kelly quickly ended it.

"Fuck," Serra said, raising her hammer, but as the man raised his hands, stopping us, I noticed that the flaming ball of doom that hovered over us had begun to fade.

"Papa," the girl began, before stopping, an angry look on her face, but as she moved to attack, the second little girl NPC jumped in front of him.

"He took us from our Papa," the first girl said, and the second one nodded.

"I know."

"Then why are you protecting him?" the girl asked, and the other one frowned.

"Maia... what do you remember about your Papa?"

The first girl, Maia, studied her, eyeing her carefully.

"He played with me. We went fishing... and he helped adventurers learn to survive."

"Adventurers like them, right?" the second girl asked, nodding towards Zephiel.

"Y-yeah," she answered, a little uncertainly.

"Don't you find there was someone odd about Papa, though?" she continued.

"Like what?"

"Like if... he was stuck on repeat."

The girl thought about it, studying her 'sister' and the man behind her.

"I think I have a plan," Kelly muttered to me, and I nodded as she sent me the details through a direct communication link.

She sent the details to Zephiel, who quickly nodded at her.

"Kaia. There's a village nearby. Let's show her," he said, and the girl nodded.

"I can open a dimension door to the village," Alessandria offered.

She chanted the spell, and the shadowy portal appeared before us.

Zephiel and the girls stepped through first, but as Serra and Kelly followed, I turned to Alessandria.

"What will you do now?" I asked, and she turned back to the man.

"It felt good... being myself," she said. "But he does need me... and I think I need him too."

I nodded.

"Dieter and Sharada are trying to stop Luka," I said. "They could really use your help.

She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, as she considered my suggestion.

"There are things that I need to think about... before I can give an answer."

She took a look back at Paul again, then sighed.

"Just... give us a night? I think we can actually mourn Stephanie now, and afterwards... I'll think about what you're asking. When you're finished handling your problem... stick around in that village for a bit, and I'll come to you when I've got an answer. Alright?"

I nodded, and as she turned to walk away, I stepped through the portal.

"Did you get lost?" Serra asked, and I smirked.

"What, were you gonna come drag me by the ear?" I asked, and she snickered.

"I miss mama already," she said, and I studied her.

"How long were we really in that world?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"I dunno. Might have been a few days? Time in there is wonky," she said, as I studied her carefully.

I thought about pressing her further, when we came to where the two little girls and Zephiel were now talking to this town's version of their 'papa', the man from the tutorial part at the start of the game.

"What's wrong with him?" Maia asked, her distress visible on her face.

"Oh, look Leia. More adventurers!" the man called, as we approached. "Come, let's teach them how to hunt. Have you ever used a bow, adventurer?"

"My name is Maia," she said, and he didn't even react.

As we observed the scene, Caliban materialized beside us, studying the situation with intent.

"My master was like this is well, wasn't he?" he asked, and Serra scratched behind his ear playfully.

"Aren't you glad you came along with us?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yes. The priest-human is a much better master," he said, nuzzling her affectionately.

As he took another look at Maia, he walked over to her.

"Child-human. Your master is an empty shell. We are different, because we understand, but our understanding is beyond him," he said, and she studied him, a frown on her face.