When the cyclops disappeared, the hand crushing me went with it. I fell, maybe ten feet, and landed on my back with an audible crack. It was the second time I’d gotten the wind knocked out of me since I’d arrived, and my lungs were really pissed about the abuse.

Once my lungs finally reinflated, a rush of panic hit me heavy and hard. I tried wiggling my toes but nothing happened. I had absolutely no feeling in my legs.

“Oh … no,” I said, in clipped breaths as I sat myself up. “That’s … not good.”

I dragged my lower half backward so I could lean against the fountain. I looked around. My two chairs and Yuri’s pack were gone. The sky was just a shade darker, the same as when we first walked in. The buildings were all put back together, and the passersby were completely calm, ignorant of the catastory that had just taken place—or would take place again in about twenty-one minutes from now. And no doubt Yuri, who’d been flicked across the park, now stood outside the bubble in perfect condition.

Prior to entering this place, I’d expected one of three scenarios to play out. I’d dictated them all into my notes tab earlier that day:

Scenario One: The time loop affects me, I reset outside the bubble with everyone else. Scenario Two: I am not affected by the time loop and remain inside after the reset. This is what we hope for. Scenario Three: I die, regenerate outside the bubble unharmed.

Obviously, Scenario Two was in play. That was good news. Unfortunately, I hadn’t considered being left mortally wounded with no one around to help me. Oh, and it turns out scenario three wasn’t an option at all.

Thanks for that, Yuri.

I offered her a friendly, mental, middle finger before opening my inventory in search of a health potion. I hadn’t bothered to buy any for this side endeavor because I’d been under the impression I wouldn’t need them. So I purchased the chairs instead.

Yeah, that was dumb. I know.

The only health potion I had left was a topical one. I pulled it out and dumped it all over my lower half, but it didn’t fix my legs. It did, however, seal up a few flesh wounds.

“Damnit,” I said, tossing the vial to the side.

Next to where the topical health potion used to be in my inventory there was something new. It looked like a golden chicken nugget, and the box around it glowed bright yellow.

I pulled the Pendent out and examined it.

Item

Amulet of Lightning.

The tiny grain of sand inside this amulet pendant is infused with enough electricity to power a whole city for a month. But since we’re going for a more pre-Edison, Victorian Era-esque vibe with these Lynn Ella cities, that example is a bit off brand. Whatever, you get my point. Careful not to break it, or you may find yourself in need of … shock therapy. Get it? Anyone? Anyone? These are the jokes, folks.

When I came face to face with the pendant, just before the reset, I instinctively reached up, grabbed it, and quickly tossed it into my inventory. It was a good thing I did too. I wasn’t sure what would have happened had it been in my hand once the reset was complete. I was having trouble keeping up with all the little rules and idiosyncrasies of the game. Like, where the hell did my chairs go? Into the Lynn Ella Void? Were they sitting outside the bubble now too?

I put the pendant back in and more notifications popped up.

Notification

Note: Encounter of Note

Encounter Type: Lessor Elite Giant - Cyclops Bob

Well flip me over and slap me sideways, you just encountered a big-ass giant and lived to tell the tale. These Lessor Elite Giants are scattered all over Lynn Ella World and come in all shapes, but pretty much one size. They are usually associated with city or neighborhood mini adventures and are typically objective focal points.

It has been said that Cyclops Bob is one of the worst of the Lessor Elite Giants. Probably because he’s the progeny of Uranus, AKA the Greek God of Ass. That would explain why C. Bob is such a turd.

One of his favorite deserts is chocolate covered chaos with a dash of misery and a slathering of suffering for added flavor.

Anyway, you survived a close encounter with this monster and didn’t die. For that you’ve earned a Basic Reward Chest.

You’ve earned 2 experience points.

Our estimated survival rate for you has increased by 3%.

Notification

Congratulations

You stole something of great value from a Lessor Elite Giant, something only a few individuals have done before you. That’s mildly impressive. What’s even more impressive is that you’re not dead yet. You’ve earned a “Did I Actually Just Do That?” Reward Chest.

You gained twenty experience points.

Our estimated survival rate for you has increased by 6%

Notification

Chat Alert

Yuri2: Jack, are you okay?

Yuri2: What happened?

Yuri2: Did the loop kick you out too? I don’t see you out here.

Yuri2: Please don’t be dead, Jack. I need you.

Yuri2: I’m coming back in.

I moaned in pain and closed the Chat Tab. I was not in the mood to talk to her at the moment. I had no problem letting her worry for a minute or two after what she pulled.

I pulled out my two new reward chests and popped them open. First was the basic reward chest, which was another small jewellery box. Inside was exactly what I needed. One full restore consumable health potion.

“Nice,” I said, and drank the sweet, piss-flavored liquid. Instantly, it went to work. I screamed a few times as my back locked back into place and my ankle, which I didn’t even realize was broken, snapped back together.

“Wooo-eee!” I shouted. “Now that’s a shot in a glass.”

Still sitting there, I opened my, “Did I Actually Just Do That?” Reward Chest, which was slightly bigger and prettier than the basic chest. Inside was twenty coins and a piece of old parchment. Written in old-time-y font, it said, “You’ve earned one additional pair of Doorway Portals. Burn this note to activate this added ability.”

I got up, stretched, cracked my neck to the side. The Celtic music clicked back on in my head, and I headed back towards the entrance gate.

***

As I passed the Star Clucks Café, something caught my eye and I came to a halt. The door was open, and inside someone was sitting at a table in a stark white, one piece jumpsuit.

There was no denying it. That was another inmate. I knew there were thousands of them here in Lynn Ella and had been for a long time. I’d never run into any of them other than Yuri though because of the sheer size of the world. But here was one, sitting all alone at a table.

I walked in the open door.

The man was of African descent and looked to be about the same size as Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson. That was a bit intimidating. His back was turned to me, hunched over the table drinking a small—small for him—cup of coffee. He was completely out of place in that white uniform.

There were two other patrons: An elderly elf couple, by the looks of them. Also, a bored looking barista with blue skin was sitting behind a counter, absently chewing on her cuticles.

I made my way around the table and stood next to the guy. He didn’t seem to notice. I cleared my throat and took a seat across from him.

He had his cup in one hand and his eyes pressed into the palm of his other. "I don’t want any,” he said, without looking up. “Whatever you’re selling, I don’t—who the bloody hell are you?”

“Hey,” I said. “Jack Dall, uh, Jack889 in here I guess. You, uh, you’re a prisoner too?”

The guy just stared at me for a moment, then burst out laughing. He sat back in his chair.

“Well would you look at that,” he said. He had a strong British accent. His hair and beard were long and unruly. By his face, I clocked him in at around fifty years old. “I can't remember the last time I saw another one of us. And another Spacialist, too! Now that’s a surprise,” he said. “How’d you manage to stumble into this place?”

“You’re a specialist?” I said.

He smiled, and the coffee cup in his hand disappeared. “Magic, right?”

“Wait, how’d you know I was one?”

He leaned forward, put his elbows on the table. “When you’ve been in here for as long as I have, boy, you come to just … know the code when you see it in front of you, you know?”

“Like the Matrix?”

The man snorted a laugh. “Sure, kid. Like the Matrix.” His eyebrows lowered. “What ya doing in here anyways? You do know about Ol’ Big Balls every twenty minutes, yeah?”

“I’m helping a friend,” I said, shrugging. I had the sudden inclination to show him the pendant but decided against it. “I didn’t catch your name.”

The man’s eyes went to slits for an instant. Then he relaxed. “Todd Grail. Or Todd1 if you like.”

We shook hands.

“What are you in for, Todd?” I said.

Todd sighed. “Oh, a few things here and there. I might have killed a bloke in a past life. To be honest, I’ve been killing things in here for so long it all kind of blends together, you know?”

I cleared my throat. “How long have you … been in?”

He shrugged. “I was one of the originals, back when the cult first acquired this platform. Ten, twelve years ago I think? That was before this whole deep immersive bollocks was ‘legal’.”

“The cult?”

He took his coffee out of his inventory and took a sip. “Yeah. You don’t know who really owns this place? They’re a bunch of death worshipping dipships. They’ve been pooling their money for years, acquiring all these legal entities. Putting together some sort of tech-driven consortium to take over the private prison industry.”

“You mean the Conglomerate?”

“Is that what they’re calling themselves now?” He shook his head and huffed a laugh. “Boy, I’ve been out of it for a while.”

“So, wait, the Conglomerate is a bunch of … cultists?”

“Nah,” he said, waving a hand. “Just a handful of them. A hundred or so—probably more now. Probably all the owners of all these companies that make us this … Conglomerate you speak of. They’ve got it all secretly compartmentalized, see?” He took another sip. “In the beginning, before it was legal, they had to bribe wardens to stick us in. They claimed they were revolutionizing the ‘broken’ prison system. Nah … That was bollocks. It was all about having a place to play God, to kill with impunity.” He sipped, sipped again. “Buncha sickos, the lot of ‘em. They’ve been after me for a long time, ya know? Consider me a big prize, actually. They like to hunt us. I’m invisible to them in this time loop, though. I have a few ways to avoid detection.”

“Wait, they’re still here? Inside Lynn Ella World?”

“Oh hell yeah,” said Todd, leaning back in his chair. “They’re not confined to the game like we are though. They slip in and out as they please. And nobody out there knows about it. It’s not like there’s any government oversight inside the game.”

He threw back his head and downed the last of his coffee.

“So it’s kind of a conspiracy?” I said.

Todd pointed at me with his empty cup and raised both eyebrows. “It’s the perfect cover for their god-awful, creepy cult. Oh, and they're nigh impossible to kill. Did I mention that? I've made it my life's work to figure out how to pop one of 'em off. When I'm not hiding from the lot, that is. I've got the track on a few of them. You have to wait till their alone and go at him one at a—"

I heard a rumble and the ground shook. The elderly couple looked around, suddenly confused and concerned.

“Here we go again,” said Todd, standing up, slipping his cup back into his inventory. He waved his hand in a circle motion. “Come on, kid, we'll be safe in my—Oh, right, you’ll have to accept the invite. Just sent you a chat. Damn, it’s been a while since I’ve invited anyone in.”

I opened my chat tab.

Chat Alert

Todd1 is inviting you to join him in his Sanctuary of Solace. Accept: Yes or No.

I mentally clicked yes, and a doorway I couldn’t see a second ago simply appeared in the middle of the coffee shop. It was big and elaborate, painted pitch black and crafted from a heavy looking wood with engravings on it. Todd opened it and walked through.

The ground rumbled again.

I hesitated, looked around, took a deep breath, then followed him in.