《The Law of Averages》Chapter 11
Advertisement
Dan was in Brunswick, on the coast of Georgia, sitting at a corner booth in an ocean themed restaurant. The seats were made of old surfboards, layered on top of each other to form a semi-circle. The table was an artificial clamshell, flattened out and missing its top. The walls surrounding him depicted majestic waves rising high into the air. A concealed speaker above him played the sounds of squawking seagulls and turbulent water.
This new Earth sure loved theming its businesses. Dan might've presumed it a brief fad had the trend not been going strong for over a decade. Themed restaurants, hotels, arcades, parks, if it had a theme it would have an audience.
Once again, Dan was forced to conclude that people were weird.
This particular restaurant had been recommended to him by Margaret, who had visited it some years ago with her niece, Abigail. Said niece would actually be meeting Dan at the restaurant. She was a personal trainer, and Dan desperately needed someone to hold him accountable for his physical fitness. In addition, he hoped to find another reasonable adult to socialize with, as his own circle was sadly lacking. Margaret had arranged the meet, chuckling to herself in an oddly devious way when he mentioned that distance would not be an issue.
A waitress approached him with a menu and a smile. Her skin was lightly scaled and tinted sea green. She seemed to almost sparkle in the light as she approached.
"Welcome to the Lagoon!" she said exuberantly. "My name is Galene and I will be your Nereid for the evening. Have you dined with us before?"
Her voice reverberated oddly, giving it an echoing effect. Fitting for a Nereid to sound as if she was speaking underwater, Dan supposed. Still, the extent that the woman was modified intimidated him slightly. He could see three thin lines along either side of her neck, where gills were concealed. Powers were permanent from what he understood. Did she love the water that much?
"I haven't," he told her, finding his voice.
Her smile widened, showing off stunningly perfect teeth. "Well I'm glad that you've chosen us! Here at the Lagoon we strive to bring you the freshest seafood available anywhere! We also provide an upgrade and modding service for any of your aesthetic needs! Would you like both menus?"
Dan wilted slightly under her hopeful gaze. "I'm already upgraded, ma'am, so just the food menu for me."
Advertisement
"Oh that's quite alright," she replied, bouncing in place slightly. "Our aesthetic mods are compatible with most mainstream upgrades. I can provide a complete list if you'd like to look it over?"
"Ah, no. I'm not interested in that," Dan fumbled about for a polite form of refusal. Mods were a concept that Doctor Mercury had been wholly unfamiliar with. While some powers came with bodily changes, such as the Purrfection upgrade that Dan seemed to see everywhere, the vast majority did not. This was seen as a problem to some, who immediately went about researching ways to safely add body parts to themselves.
They succeeded, wildly so, and a new industry was born.
"That's alright," Galene offered cheerfully. She put a thick binder down on the table. "I'll just leave this here for you to peruse at your leisure."
"Uh, thanks," Dan said awkwardly
"I can see that you are waiting for someone. Should I come back for your drink orders or are you ready now?" the girl continued.
"Just water. Please." Dan added.
"Of course! We love water here at the Lagoon!" She flashed another dazzling smile at him and sauntered off, hips swaying in a motion that would've been hypnotic if she hadn't looked so damn alien.
Dan felt like hyperventilating. This was not his idea of a relaxing meal Margaret! He really needed to expand his horizons if this was considered normal. Before this moment, cat appendages had been the extent of Dan's experience with upgrade aesthetics, and the internet had already prepared him for such sights.
A television screen flicked on in the distance. Dan could just make out the images on the screen. A woman swam through deep water without goggles or a wetsuit. Only her upper body could be seen, performing some sort of butterfly stroke. A dolphin passed her by, chirping happily. She latched on to its fin, and the sea creature dragged her body fully into view. Bare legs kicked at the water, imitating the dolphins manner of swimming. In mere seconds, the limbs fused together, forming a glittering mermaid's tail. She released the dolphin's fin, pumped her new appendage, and shot past it, smiling triumphantly.
"Experience life under the sea with the Little Mermaid Upgrade, only found in the Lagoon," a woman's voice issued from the wall speaker. The sound of seagulls returned moments later, leading Dan to wonder if he'd heard the advertisement at all.
Advertisement
He fidgeted uncomfortably or several more minutes while waiting for Margaret's niece to arrive. Dan's room on Mercury's space station was not particularly large, and he hadn't bothered to stock his closet with much in the way of clothing. This put him in a bit of a pickle, as the nicest outfit he owned happened to be the button-down shirt and slacks that he'd arrived in.
Hopefully Abigail's sense of fashion trended towards business casual. Regardless of whether Dan ended up using her services, he wanted to make a good impression.
As if on cue, a woman fitting Abigail's description entered the restaurant. She was built like an Olympic swimmer, tall and lithe with well-defined muscles. Her dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail that trailed down past her shoulders. A form fitting blouse and tight jeans completed the vision of perfection. Frankly, she looked like she could break Dan in half and he would thank her for it.
Her eyes fell on him in his little corner of the ocean. She approached him swiftly, her posture all business.
"You're Daniel, then?" she asked sharply.
Dan froze like a deer in headlights.
The woman who was almost certainly Abigail continued to stare at him, clearly unimpressed.
Daniel managed to find his voice. "I'm Daniel. You're Abigail— Er, that is, are you Abigail? Hi." It was a poor showing, but at least he'd got his mouth moving again.
"My name is Abigail Summers, Daniel," she said, lowering herself into a seat. She somehow made the act of scooching along a booth look both easy and graceful.
"My aunt told me about your particular needs," she continued, "and advised me to take a firm hand with dealing with you."
Margaret had failed to mention that. What tall tales had that old bat spun about him?
"Call me Dan," he implored. Dan appreciated formality in the workplace, but this just felt odd.
"Dan," Abigail tested the word, then shook her head. "I think not. I will be deciding the rules Daniel, and you will obey. I will be working you hard for the next month. Expect no mercy from me. I'll draw out every speck of endurance that you have and leave you begging for—"
"Let me stop you right there," Dan interrupted quickly. "I don't know what Margaret told you about me, but I was under the impression that this was just an initial meeting."
Abigail stiffened.
"You know, to feel each other out and maybe talk about a specific program...?" Dan continued carefully.
Abigail slowly flushed red. It was actually fascinating to watch; the cherry blush started from her shoulders and slowly crept its way up her neck.
"I wasn't even sure that I'd go through with the whole personal trainer thing," Dan finished.
He could probably bake an egg on Abigail's face. The girl tipped forward, all signs of formality leaving her body, and buried her face in her hands.
"Damnit Nan!" Dan heard her curse beneath her breath.
"Sorry," Dan offered. He didn't know why he was apologizing, but he found it was best to do so anyway, in these sorts of situations.
"It's not your fault," Abigail mumbled from within her hand fortress. "Nan was just playing a joke on me."
Dan frowned. "What exactly did she say to you?"
"She said you were committed to a workout plan but you needed your trainer to act a certain way. Then she... sent me a movie with the character I was supposed to emulate."
Morbid curiousity forced Dan to ask, "What movie?"
"Nevermind!" Abigail squeaked. "There was no movie, don't worry about it!"
"Okay," Dan agreed helplessly.
Abigail continued to weakly groan into her hands.
Dan grinned, trying to salvage the situation. "At least you don't have to be all stern, now? You seem much more approachable like this."
His companion's hands finally dropped away from her face. Hints of red lingered, but a tentative smile appeared. "That's right! I was worried about keeping it up, anyway."
Her eyes briefly flicked over to him. "And I'm sorry for thinking you were a pervert."
"What was that?" Dan asked. The sound of squawking gulls had drowned out her words.
"I said to call me Abby," she repeated with an innocent smile.
"Abby," Dan tested the word, and nodded. He held out his hand. "I like it. Let's start over, shall we? I'm Dan."
They shook hands over their clamshell table, both feeling a little bit more at ease.
Advertisement
- In Serial90 Chapters
Far Behind
The continent of Ranfel is a savage one, where humans are at the bottom of the food chain. Their known history is short and their territories are small, only being able to live on the plains at the coast where beasts are rare. When they are not fighting against each other, they have their hands full with monsters attacking their borders.This is the place where Quin was born, in the capital of the Duchy of Ade Lai, Crows' Road. Having a hatred for exercises, or anything that is tiring and thinking the legions will protect him from the harsh outside world, he does not care about cultivation. However this all changes when a certain incident happens, altering his life forever.----------------------------------------------------------------------Hey everyone, I've been working on this story for more than a year now, but this is my very first novel and english isn't my mother tongue, so I'd be glad to get some (constructive) input/feedback on it!Schedule: check the announcements thread for the current schedule.If you can't decide whether the story is for you or not based on the synopsis, check out the first thread below.I'm also looking for an editor, if you’re interested, pm me. Proofread by Genbor. The cover is made by me.
8 148 - In Serial70 Chapters
The Devil King
This story is a Frame Story (story within a story), and as such will contain two summaries to denote both. A man was summoned from his home world to another to serve as a Hero for the desperate Human race. Where, in between the worlds, he is tortured whist obtaining specialised abilities and a Class. However, just as he enters this new world, he is slain by way of dragon fire. Afterwards, his soul is picked up by a Goddess called Azazel and strikes a bargain with her. For a new life upon her world, he will give her entertainment. Unbeknownst to himself, she has more plans for him than simple “entertainment”. Ah, but the Universe has its own plans for the man who was summoned. Be it for good or for ill, the worlds will note the rise of something more. ***** Sarah, the Goddess of Iridescent Colours, is the Goddess Queen of the Terran Pantheon after marrying a being called the Ageless who is the God King of said Pantheon. However, after many a century of being together, and giving birth to their only child, she has come to suspect her husband of breaking the oldest laws set aside within the Universe. Tampering or re-writing a being's Story. Of which contains a being's everything; from birth to death, everything is written within their Story. Tampering with such books would not only mark the being, but cause the Librarians who take care of such items to fly into a rage and slay the perpetrator. However, with the Ageless being the fifth strongest being within the Universe, she doubts if she could find a Librarian strong enough to slay her husband for the crimes he has committed. How did she come to suspect him? Her own story contains many pages which were re-written, and the one who has access to it is both herself and her husband. Therefore, she searches for answers, and has been given the story titled The Devil King in order to find that which she desires. Even if the cost is to read the whole book before she could act fully. Special thanks to Hot-Gothics/Agelyn Starr for the cover art. If you would like to view the full artwork, click here. This can also be found on a website run by a good friend and fan of my work. One that I've both bought and given my blessing to run. https://terranlibrary.com/
8 155 - In Serial23 Chapters
Gemma Go Home
It was just meant to be a favor to a friend. Gemma would babysit Nellie, and Mia would go to her appointment, issue solved. But on a walk to the park, Gemma and Nellie are transported to Travalar. Travalar is a world with a different set of rules and inhabitants. Babysitting has been taken to a whole new level, and it is so not worth the pay. Sometimes you have to go above and beyond for friends, but this is really pushing it! This is a story I've had in mind for a while... ~Hiatus
8 130 - In Serial13 Chapters
Rise!
[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] In a Post-apocalyptic Draconian society of Ascendant superhumans. One woman decides to take society down from the inside.
8 237 - In Serial11 Chapters
Firechaser
Ragnar Haram, an infamous hacker and escaped prisoner, has been living off the grid for years when a single mistake sends him to a virtual prison he cannot escape. Every step forwards leads to a worse situation until the AI governing the world he is in reaches out and offers him an escape; and more it offers answers to the question that got him into prison in the first place, "What happened to his sister?". Join our hero as he has to keep a band of criminals together to escape a fantasy world and expose the system that trapped them there to begin with.
8 191 - In Serial32 Chapters
Hand of the Goddess
If you had the choice to escape your life, would you? That was what Nicole was offered one night when a mysterious woman named Lillian appears in her room. Lillian gives her a deal: kill a demon and she would cure her cat's cancer and make her life better in return. Seduced by Lillian's beauty and wanting to save her cat, she accepts the agreement. But little did she know that entering a parallel dimension to kill a demon would lead her to meet the mysterious Lord Phillips. As she begins to develop feelings for the stern lord, she begins to wonder if she ever wants to leave the dimension. The clock is ticking and there's demon blood to spill. Can she put her personal desires aside and complete her task?
8 233