THE MOMENT
"Oh God, what now?" Thomas suddenly became aware of the sound of someone whining. But instead of looking for the source, he was frozen stiff with unease. He woke up standing in the corner of a dim warehouse. He could feel fabric on his mouth and he could feel a tightness around his head as if he were wearing a balaclava that was too small. But, he couldn't be bothered trying to figure out how he got there; he realized he had more pressing matters. A black duffle bag loaded with blood-stained cash sat on an empty crate in front of him. To the side of it stood a lean teenager with coppery red hair and his back to Thomas. The teenager chuckled and turned to face Thomas.
"It's Crystal," he chuckled as he roped Thomas into the conversation. "It sounds like she needs a favor. What should I ask for in return?" the pale teen grinned at Thomas and crossed his arms. He conversed to himself mostly. Thomas got the impression the teen didn't expect much from him and he was happy to let the situation play out. He hoped he was dreaming and would wake up soon. As he watched the teenager, he noticed blue glowing text appear and disappear around his wrist. But, slowly, his expression changed. He went from the typical smug teenager Thomas would have loved to put in his place, to showing an expression of obvious concern.
"Thanks for meeting!" a new voice spoke up and startled Thomas. He heard the voice at the exact time he registered a girl with double-plaited blonde hair stepping out of a portal. Thomas jumped slightly but neither of the two teens noticed.
"Yeah, any time," the red-headed teen nodded. "You were practically groveling in your Whispers...," he didn't finish his thought. As soon as he had that much out, the girl fell to her knees in front of of the boy. Thomas noted her eyes were swollen red from tears.
"I'll grovel right now!" the girl said. "I don't care! I'm begging you, I need your help!" The boy turned back to look at Thomas and he tilted his head a the girl.
"Can you believe this?" he asked with a chuckle as he shook his head. Then, he reached forward and pulled the girl up to her feet with a single hand. "Stand up, you're embarrassing yourself in front of the NPC," he said. Thomas was thankful neither one of the teens was focused on him at the moment. His eyes shot wide as soon as he heard the term NPC. Thomas was a gamer and knew what Non-Player Characters were. He didn't know the depths of what was happening; but, he knew he went to sleep in his own bed the night before. However it was that he ended up there, there was a lot more going on. If he stayed quiet maybe they'd ignore him and leave.
"Alright, what do you need help with?" the boy asked.
"Alis and Surge were kidnapped!" she said.
"Okay, bummer...," he nodded. "So... what do you need help with?"
"I was showing them a secret in the forest and we got ambushed by a giant white spider! Surge and Alis couldn't hurt it and I got separated. By the time I got back, they were gone and the spider was just strutting around like he won! I want your help to beat that spider up to find out where Surge and Alis are!"
"A giant white spider?" the boy asked. The girl nodded.
"Big as a house, Sharp logo on the abdomen?" he asked.
"You know it!??" The girl nodded again. The teen laughed obnoxiously and turned back to Thomas.
"She's a moron, isn't she?" he chuckled at Thomas. "She thinks I can beat Spider up," he laughed some more before turning back to the girl. "You might as well be asking me to fight Flutter," he shrugged. "Spider is older than the universe, and he's one of Ms. Sharp's personal projects."
"The spider's name is Spider?" the girl asked. The boy shrugged.
"A monster like Spider gets to choose his own name," he said.
"Wait, who's Flutter? If they're as strong as Spider maybe they can help!?"
"How long have you been in the AlterNet?" the boy asked. But, he immediately shook his head to dismiss the question. "Nevermind. Flutter's the best Paladin in the AlterNet, and the strongest Calavera there is. Not to mention that she's the friendliest person you'll find anywhere; I'd be surprised if she didn't help you," he said. "She's easy to find, good luck," he waved at her.
"That's it?" The girl was already stepping through a new portal when she paused to ask the boy. Thomas had seen her throw a black card on the wall to open the portal; but, he had no idea where the card came from.
"Yeah," he shrugged. "You asked for help, I pointed you to help. I'm not gonna mess with Spider though; no point sticking my neck out," he said. "Besides, you won't need my help anymore with Flutter on your side. And, I'm in the middle of a quest," he pointed at Thomas.
"I shouldn't have expected anything more from you," the girl said as she walked into the portal. "It's not like we're even friends, right?" she added the last sentence as the portal closed and disappeared.
"What the hell was that?" the teen growled at Thomas in annoyance. "I've been nice to her, right?" he asked. Thomas tensed every muscle to keep from nodding sympathetically. "I got friends, it's not like I need her friendship," he added. "It's not like I stand a chance against Spider, I'd be useless. There's nothing I can do, right?" he asked rhetorically. But, after pacing back and forth for a few moments he stopped and sighed; his shoulder slumped.
"But, my mom says I don't have to be friends with someone to be nice to them...," he flicked his wrist up and Thomas saw a large, grey glassy slate appear in front of him. Then, a black portal opened on the wall. "...and, I guess I can still help her find Flutter," he sighed one last time and tapped the glass Slate. "I'll do this quest later...," the teen walked into the portal, then waved at Thomas. Thomas felt a sudden, intense burning and itching sensation at his fingers; but, he managed to keep still while the teen said goodbye.
"Thanks for all your advice," he chuckled. The portal closed and disappeared. Thomas panicked and looked down to see what was wrong with his hands; the burning sensation was spreading across his body. He felt like he was on fire. But, when he looked down his hands were gone and his arms were disintegrating into white powder along with the rest of his body.