It took me four years to make it through college and get a graphic design degree. School was never particularly difficult for me, so I never had to try too hard to be successful. I really liked the work and found it enjoyable making something that people could use or see every day. The theories behind logo creation were fun, and web design was very entertaining. It was just a shame how many designers were already on the market. When I started the major, the job market looked rather good, with many available positions. It’s quite impressive how quickly that changes year to year, as now the job market was kicking my ass around town. I am only 22, and already feeling the burn of the working woman.

I graduated three months ago and was currently working at a coffee shop downtown within walking distance of my apartment. I had been working there for almost a year and a half now. Originally, it was supposed to be a temporary position. I didn’t mind the work and making coffee could be fun. There was almost a rhythm to it; a constant motion that I had grown to appreciate. It was almost like grinding in a video game, every action slightly increasing my budget.

Currently, it was 1:45. I had started my shift with the opening at 5 am and had been working since with only a small break around noon to get a sandwich. At least there was free coffee. Just as I finished up with a customer, I was shaken out of my rhythm by a hand touching my shoulder. It was my coworker, Donny.

Donny was a nice guy. He was about 5’9’’, and had dark brown hair, matching brown eyes, and olive skin. He was there when I interviewed for the job at this coffee shop, and he’d ben a good friend through the ups and downs of college the past year. We both played video games and had even managed to make it through a Dungeons and Dragons campaign together last year. It was always nice to have someone to talk to and just chill with.

He had asked me out about 7 months earlier, but I let him know clearly that I wasn’t interested in a relationship then. He took it like a champ, and we managed to stay friends through it all. It really was a testament to Donny, as I’d known many people that couldn’t get past that subtle awkwardness.

“Hey, um, Vic, any plans for tonight?”

“Nah, nothing yet. I’m going to see what my roommates are doing, then go for a run maybe. Feeling all flabby. You?”

Donny hunched his shoulders a bit, and rubbed the back of his neck, slowly stammering out, “So, ah, Did you see that the sonic movie came out? I was going to try and see it tonight.”

“Oh, I definitely want to see that. Can’t believe that they changed the design of sonic so far into their development cycle. You know how hard that is?”

Seeing my interest, he brightened up immediately, standing a bit straighter. “For sure, for sure. To be fair, the original design was a nightmare out of the uncanny valley, but still, good on them for listening to the fans.”

I smiled, replying, “I’ll ask the roommates and see if they want to go. If you hold off for a day or two, I can make it with you for sure. I’m probably going to be busy tonight.”

We continued with the idle chatter for a few minutes, but it was already 1:50 when we started. Before I knew it quitting time had arrived. Ah, quitting time, my favorite time of the afternoon. I quickly grabbed my backpack from the back room, and headed out the door, bidding farewell to Donny.

I practically ran all the way home. I would have taken off at a full sprint as it was only two blocks, but it was still 75 out, and I didn’t want to sweat in my work clothes more than I already had. Texas; the place to live if you ever feel like sunbathing in January and experiencing a deep freeze three days later. The weather here is insane.

My apartment sat above a small classic corner store, which was run by the Garcia family. Their family had been running this corner store since the 50s and had been making a living off of it the whole time. Enough to send their kids to business school, I knew for sure. The store was always busy and was in a good place to get scoured clean by tourists walking downtown. As I passed the front of the store, I gave Mr. Garcia a familiar nod. He saw me and nodded back, so I headed into the alley adjacent to the building.

The window to the fire escape was always unlocked, and I only lived on the third floor, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. I hopped up on top of the dumpster and climbed over the railings to make it up to the apartment. As I got to the window, I could already hear the sounds of 70s rock blasting through the windows. I reached under the sill and climbed through into the living room, where I was greeted by Cindy.

I currently have two roommates, Cindy and Taylor. We met on an online forum for people looking to share apartments. I used one of these sites during my freshman and sophomore years of college, but it didn’t really work out, as the roommates were annoying, or too clingy, or just plain crazy. You’d think I would have learned my lesson, but I rolled the dice the third time and struck it rich with these two girls.

Cindy was in law school, and she was ridiculously smart. She acts at all times like a princess, and Taylor and I have teased her about this to no end, though she annoyingly takes it as a compliment more often than not. She attends the University of Texas and was taking the difficult courses in stride. I honestly don’t think she’s ever even gotten a single B in her life, but that’s just the kind of person Cindy was. She studies almost religiously and has always taken her education as the most important thing in her life. She was fit and had clean blond hair that she always wore in a ponytail or a bun, high and out of her eyes. Her bright blue eyes hid behind a pair of trendy dark-framed glasses.

Taylor, on the other hand, was almost the complete opposite. She started ACC around the same time as me trying to get a degree in arts, but she didn’t really like the experience. She dropped out of her freshman year and started a band with a few friends she had met in her classes. She was incredibly laid back and liked to relax. But her music was very important to her, and she liked to take it seriously. Judging by the music blasting from her speakers, I’d guess she was either sitting in a fit of inspiration or getting high. Maybe both. She had dark black wavy hair that she kept long, down to just past her shoulders. She always dressed in trendy, hipster clothes, and her black irises had a way of just drawing you in.

Cindy looked up from making her lunch and gave me a slight nod. Her back was ram-rod straight, and she looked me in the eyes, asking, ”Vic. How was work?”

“Not bad. I’m just tired. It was a long day with an early start, you know?”

“Oh yes, I certainly understand. You should be pleased to note that you have mail, by the way.”

“Oh? Who from?”

A small smile rose to her face.

“You should go see for yourself.”

Oh? Well that was either very good or very bad. After a longing look at my comfy recliner, I reluctantly made my way down the hall to the small table where we put our unsorted mail. I could tell that Cindy must have gotten it, because our “unsorted” mail was in three neat piles, with the junk mail all sitting on the bottom. My pile was small, only consisting of three letters, and I could already see why Cindy had told me that what was in my letter could either be good or bad.

The top letter was a business style envelope, with a familiar logo on the top for Sunlight Design Studios. They were a group of graphic designers that got together about 10 years ago when the graphic design industry started to get busy. The cool thing was, many of their members got their degrees at ACC, so I wouldn’t need to worry about any snide remarks about a community college education.

I could almost feel my hands shake as I picked up the letter. Wait, my hands WERE shaking. I should probably cut back on the caffeine.

I grabbed my pocketknife and opened the envelope, pulled out the letter, and started reading.

Ms. Victoria Gale,

After reviewing your portfolio and your academic credentials, we at Sunlight Design Studios would like to schedule a formal interview next week.

We particularly liked your website design sketches and would like to bring you in to interview a junior-level web designer.

Please contact us at the email below to schedule your interview dates.

Natalie Smith, HR at Sunlight Design Studios

After reading the letter, I immediately ran into the kitchen to tell Cindy the good news. I was elated, and all of my fatigue from the morning work seemed to fade away.

Cindy smiled, and said, “Congratulations Victoria. I am willing to give you some mock interviews this weekend if you are interested. I'm sure it would help abate your nerves.”

Oh, sweet, beautiful Cindy.

“Did you know that you’re the best Cindy?”

Cindy put on a serious face and began to nod her head.

“Yes, yes, I'm sure. You’re welcome.”

This immediately made me begin to crack up. After I regained control of myself, I decided that I needed to work off some of this energy.

“Alright, I think I’m going to go for a run. Is there still rain forecast for today?”

“Yes, it’s supposed to start up around 4. If you still plan on running, I would go to the park now.”

“Alright, sounds good to me. Running in the rain is fun anyway. Oh yeah, do you want to go see the sonic movie with me and Donny later tonight? Jim Carrey is in it, and it looks pretty fun.”

After thinking about it for a bit, she seemed to be amenable to the idea.

"That sounds enjoyable. Can I ask if Taylor wants to go?”

“Absolutely. Let me know though, and I’ll tell Donny were all on board.”

I went back to my room and took off my work clothes. I grabbed a sports bra and a tank top, as well as some running pants, and I was ready to go. I grabbed a hair tie and looked in the mirror to get my hair out of my face and to make sure I didn’t look like a crazy person.

Glancing in the mirror, I sighed. I really did look like the spitting image of my mother, and it always made me feel weird when I noticed. I had the same straight brown hair, but I have some natural highlights from all the time spent in the sun that she never had. My skin is tanned, and I have a scattering of freckles on my face and arms. I stand at 5’11’’, pretty tall compared to most women, and have grey eyes that I apparently got from my father. I also saw that I had a bit of food stuck in my teeth, so it’s a good thing I checked before heading out. I hate having food in my teeth.

Grabbing my keys, water bottle, and running pack, I headed outside. Going through the interior stairwell, I was let out into the store. I quickly left and went to my car which was parked in the small lot behind the building, easily accessible through the back door in the backroom of the shop. You can’t access the parking lot through the alley because of a fence, but honestly, I’m ok with the inconvenience in exchange for a little bit of added safety. Buying a new car does not sound fun at all.

My car was a grey-blue Toyota Camry from 2009. It was a bit dated, but it got 30 mpg city, and it was dirt cheap to purchase. Climbing into the driver’s seat, I started the car and headed out into Austin City traffic. Luckily it wasn’t rush hour quite yet, but I knew that I would run into traffic before long. Hopping onto loop 1, I headed south towards Zilker Park. (Loop 1 is, annoyingly, a straight line. Keep Austin Weird and all that jazz) Zilker was just outside of downtown proper and had some beautiful running trails. Hopefully because of the rain in the forecast there won’t be too many people running today.

Arriving at the lot, I parked my car, grabbed my bag, and headed to my favorite trail to start my jog. I put in my earbuds and quickly got lost in the rhythm of the act and the nice music. After the third or fourth song, I felt a water drop hit my face. I guess the rain is starting. Everything I had on was water-resistant, and it was pretty nice out, so I wasn’t going to let a little water stop me.

I continued on my way, and the rain picked up. It wasn’t the little drizzle that was predicted in the forecast. It was a massive deluge, and I was soaked through my clothes in a matter of seconds. I heard a peal of thunder echo across the sky and decided to head back to my car. The trail was a loop, and I was already more than halfway done so I just continued along the trail, albeit at a much faster pace.

It was the final stretch to the car. I was in a large open area, and I could see the parking lot ahead of me. I was breathing hard from the exertion, but I could definitely make it to the car before I needed a break. Suddenly, I stopped in place.

I blinked several times, rubbing my eyes to make sure I was actually seeing what was in front of me.

Congratulations! You have been selected as a beta tester for global upgrade version 1.0.1. Upgrade begins in 15 seconds. Enjoy! -H.G.

I froze in place, trying to overcome the shock of the strange blue box. Is it real? Am I going crazy? And who the fuck was H.G? I had read enough litRPG books online to understand the tropes, but there was really no telling whether or not what I was experiencing was some kind of delusion or something more.

I felt more than heard a countdown. It sat in the back of my head like an almost remembered thought. I attempted to focus on it, and I just managed to catch a calm feminine voice say, “…5, 4, 3, 2, 1, initialize.”

All of the hair on my arms stood on end. Goosebumps rose all over my body and I felt a shiver shoot down my spine. I looked up at the grey clouds, just in time to get struck by a lightning bolt, directly in the face. Then all I knew was darkness.

I awoke in a trance. The rain was coming down even harder if that was at all possible. Strange lights rose across the whole cityscape, and I could hear more thunder, explosions, and breaking glass in the distance.

I hobbled to the car and threw open the door. After sitting down, I began to regain some semblance of cognition. I knew I had been struck by lightning, and there was still a large blotchy spot in my vision like I had been looking at a light for too long and then looked away. My clothes were burned all over, but my pack was mostly unharmed. Looking through it, I could see that my phone was perfectly fine, but my earbuds were charred black and were also molten. I grabbed my phone to call for help, and just barely saw my reflection in the screen.

Opening up the front-facing camera, I took a look at my face.

I was grey. No two ways about it. I had thought it was a trick of my eyes when I saw my hands earlier, but I now realize that something much more insane was happening. My skin was clean and smooth. I could feel now that my clothes fit much tighter, and the seat of my car needed to be readjusted. If I was to guess, I was probably somewhere around 6’6’’, but I’d need to measure later to be sure. I was also muscular. I could see the lines and grooves along my skin, and holy crap, were those abs? Upon closer inspection, my grey skin was shifting, like rolling clouds, ever so slightly changing color. My hair and eyebrows were a softly glowing white. Sitting in the center of my forehead where the lightning struck me was a gem, a crystal with the same glow as my hair. Across my face, jagged marks reminiscent of lightning bolts moved past my eyes and down my neck. Trippy. My eyes were probably the most shocking (no pun intended) thing about my new visage; they were pure glowing iridescent white. There were no irises or pupils, but I could look around just like normal. It was simply weird.

After I got over the shock of what happened to me, I took a look at the clock in my car. It was 5:21, and I had been in the park for over two hours.

With an exasperated sigh, I tried the only thing I could think of. Out loud and under my breath I whispered, “Status,” and then I knew that I was fucked.