Ona

Level 4

The large wood paneled doors opened with the screech of rusted iron hinges.

“I’ll wait here, you need the practice,” I said to Loaf as pondered exploring deeper into the cave.

The Source Aura grumbled about taking too long to decide, then pulled him into the dark cavern beyond the doors.

In a few moments, the red knight stepped into view.

“Hi,” I said to the red knight as she raced through the crystal cave. “Keep up the good work.”

Ona was standing quietly in the shadow of a large glowing crystal near the wood paneled doors. “Are you going to help your friends?”

“No, “I said. “Do you consider the red knight to be a challenge?”

Ona laughed. “The Source Aura is the challenge.”

“So true,” I said, “In the real world, Loaf does not have the confidence to speak to women. In this world, he started chatting with the princess the moment she appeared.”

“And how do you know this?” said Ona as she stepped into the light of the crystal cavern and pushed the large wood paneled doors closed.

“Loaf shares the account with me, so I can watch his progress in the game and offer advice.”

Ona said, “The game designers once prevented password sharing. It seems as though my game world monitoring has declined as the game is saved to the archive. Do you like cheese and crackers?”

The floor rumbled and the crystals in the cave flickered, then burst into glittering dust. The dust settled and small creatures stood in the cave holding large iron hammers.

“Should I run?”

The rumble increased to a near deafening volume. I could see a parade of blurred creatures step into the dim light of the caverns and vanish before forming into recognizable shapes.

“We are safe,” yelled Ona, both of her arms waving in the air like she was casting a spell. “I locked the door before the Crystal Breakers entered level 4, but the game world is breaking!”

“Ona, what did you say about emotions?” I wanted nothing more than a safe return to the open spaces above, the green fields and blue skies.

“The tower hill fairies have gathered,” said Ona. “I will help you return to the surface.”

The sound was the tiny fists of the Crystal Breakers pounding on the wood paneled door faded as we climbed out of the cave.

“The game is real to me,” said Ona. “Bromme will need to give in to his desire to help Loaf or all will be lost!”

“Bromme is standing right here,” I said, “Please stop talking like tutorial guide instructing new players on the rules.”

Ona pointed to the forest fairies surrounding the collapsed tower as the small creatures rebuilt the structure with amazing speed. “The tower will stand once more. Level 5.”

© J. Bateman

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