Despite my wishes, we couldn't hide in the shop forever. Soon enough, flashlights illuminated the front shop through the windows. Despite my doubts, I still hid behind the counter with my hands above my mouth to stop any sounds from coming out.

Jennifer was still next to me. She took a peek over the counter. Her recklessness scared me. I wanted to berate her but the click of a door opening made me reconsider. The shop silence was broken by the loud breathing and the steps of our pursuers.

My breath caught in my throat. I debated between staying where I was or moving away. Without conscious thought, the decision was made. I walked on all four along the counter, praying to be invisible as I headed to the door that led to the back of the shop.

Jennifer watched me with wide eyes. She didn't say anything, she didn't make any noise when I passed by her. I glanced back to see if she was following. She hadn't moved. Her breaths were short and fast. I made a sign to tell her to follow. Even though her eyes were fixed on me, it was like she couldn't see me.

I was close to the door and whoever was walking through the shop hadn't seen us yet. I backtracked to where Jennifer was. I shook her slightly. At first, she didn't respond but then she started.

“Wha-” I put my hand on her mouth muffling her voice.

I shook my head in disbelief. How could she be distracted in this kind of situation?

I waited until I was sure I wouldn't be seen. I opened the door.

*Creak*

The door creaked loudly. I gasped in horror. The footsteps coming in our direction accelerated. I opened the door all the way and rushed in dragging Jennifer with me. While closing the door, a man reach to stop me. If looks could kill, his gaze would have sent me into an early grave. With a squeak, I shut and bolted the door.

My back pressed to it, I looked around for something heavy to block the door. The room we were in was bare apart from broken cardboard on the floor. There was no window and no other door. We were trapped.

A thump on my back made me jump. The door rattled once. They were trying to break in. Another thump shook the door. I went to Jennifer. I stood by her side as the door was kicked in. It fell of its hinges.

Two men drenched in sweat entered the room. Their eyes were filled with anger. I backed into the wall with each step they took in the room. Jennifer stood her ground.

“I don't know what you want with us but we don't have anything. Leave.”

She had balls but after her erratic behavior, the courage she tried to display fell flat. I know I shouldn't talk smack because I was cowering behind her but it was her damned fault I was here.

The two men gave us a brilliant smile before they lunged at us. I was a black belt in karate, I got my certificate on the internet but who cared? I could beat them down. I took a stance. Jennifer struggled like a Tasmanian devil, keeping the two men from reaching me. I stared down as they struggled on the ground.

Jennifer bit, scratched and kicked for all she was worth. I stood like an idiot on the side still in a karate stance. I would like to say that I was waiting for an opportunity to strike but that would be a lie. I was lost. I had no clue what I should do. Should I kick? Punch? Pull them away from Jennifer? But if I did that, they would come after me, wouldn't they?

It was stupid of me. It was my first real fight. Well not my first but the first where I wasn't angry or scared out of my mind. My thought process was clear and I finally noticed the problem with me taking karate lessons on the internet.

I had no fighting experience at all. A punching bag was good for training but it didn't fight back like an opponent could. I couldn't prevent myself from thinking of ways to beat them without hurting myself.

Also, as I never trained with anyone, I wasn't used to the chaos a fight truly was. I knew how to counter strikes. But a real fight didn't follow a choreography. I never learned how to predict an opponent next move.

With all the time Jennifer bought me, I took stock of what I could or couldn't do.

I couldn't use magic as I didn't have my StaViCon avatar. I couldn't call my pets either. I had no weapon so I couldn't use the things I learned from the training master. He was an asshole but he did teach me useful things.

When I was his apprentice, he didn't just teach me skills but also how to handle weapons. With him, I learned simple moves that could be used even without mana. If only I didn't brag about knowing karate, he would have helped me to get experience.

My only option in the situation I found myself in was to fight barehanded with the knowledge that I had. I took my courage in both hands, I closed my eyes and kicked. Too late. I didn't remember in time one of the training master's most important lesson. Never fight with your eyes closed.

When I opened my eyes after delivering a solid kick, I could only watch in horror as Jennifer slumped on the ground with a trickle of blood coming out of mouth. The two goons she had been fighting stared slack-jawed. I didn't dwell on my mistake, I took advantage of the distraction and delivered a vicious kick to the closest's face. Under my leg, the crunch of his nose was loud. Blood sprouted from his mouth.

Even though I was in a dire situation, a smile appeared on my face. I was fighting using the skills that I learned by myself. I didn't overthink things. I had to do what I could do and let the future take care of itself. It was like a weight got off my chest. The doubts I had disappeared in smoke like they never existed.

The second man got back to his feet. He put some distance between us. He crouched and in the next second lunged again at me. I was ready for him. I sidestepped on the left. I delivered a chop on his neck. It didn't do anything apart from pissing him off even more. Nonetheless, my confidence was at an all time high.

He turned around, his arms extended to grab me. I took a step back, ready to counter when a pain blossomed on my neck. My face met the hard floor before darkness assailed my eyes.

I didn't know how long I stayed unconscious. I was laid on a cold ground. My eyes drifted opened slowly. I blinked to clear my sight. The light hurt me, I squinted. The pain in my neck was still present.

One look around and I knew that I wasn't in the shop anymore. The cage I was in was a dead giveaway. And if that wasn't enough the wooden walls and the forest peeking out of the window said it all.

With a second sweep of my gaze I finally spot the guy seated right in front of me on a chair. I didn't know how I missed him the first time. He was a good 300 pounds soaking wet. He was eating out of a bag of chips. Crumbs fell all over his shirt. His tongue sneaked out of his mouth sweeping the ones it could reach on his face.

I had no problem with heavy people but fat people who behaved worse than pigs, just no, I couldn't. I dry heaved in disgust. In self-preservation, I decided not to look at him.

“Where are we?” I asked with my gaze lowered on the ground.

“Shut up.” Crumbs flew everywhere. Thank god I wasn't too close to him. “I didn't give you permission to talk.” His words were haughty and didn't sit well with his appearance.

“If you don't answer my question, at least clean your face.” That wasn't what I meant to say. When I opened my mouth, I wanted to complain about his words not embarrass the heck out of him.

He turned an ugly shade of red. His bag of chips in one hand, he swept his mouth with the back of his other hand. It was useless. When he ate, crumbs went everywhere: on his shirt, on his face, on his hands, on the floor. Cleaning with something dirty, not a good idea.

I watched as he got even more embarrassed when he couldn't clean himself. I felt bad. What I said was kind of mean. However, taking my situation in account, my self-reproach took a backseat.

Behind his back, the door opened. In his frenzy, he didn't notice the old man standing behind him.

“Grandpa Terry!” I recognized him. He wasn't hunched back like the last time I saw him. His eyes weren't dull either. He had a spring in his step that wasn't present before. All in all he looked different like 10 years had been shaved of his body.

“Akira.” He said my name without any emotion.

“Grandpa! Please get me out of here!”

“I'm sorry Akira. No can do.”

“Why? I don't understand I didn't do anything to deserve that.”

“We know your kind and we're sick of letting you destroy our lives.”

“What?” His voice was calm and showed his seriousness. However, I just didn't understand what he meant. I didn't do anything to destroy his life “Grandpa Terry, I didn't do anything.”

“No, you didn't but the others...” He didn't finish his sentence.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. “Grandpa Terry, please talk to me. I'm scared and confused. I don't get what's happening and why. Today was the first time I came here and all of this happened.” My tone held some of the frustration I felt.

Grandpa Terry whispered something in the fat man's ear. They both left the room without saying anything more.

I exhaled loudly. I was already sick and tired of this game. I vowed silently to never ever come back to this game when I'd be able to log out.

They left me alone for almost an hour. The moon outside shone among the trees. The air was cold and fresh. A light drizzle cast a veil all over the outside world. I shivered in my cell. The clothes I wore weren't meant for this kind of weather. A shirt, jeans and a sweatshirt couldn't protect me from the elements. The roof leaked. Water fell one drop at a time over my head.

The creak of the door pulled me out of my thoughts.

Grandpa Terry was back and he brought three of his friends with him: a man just as old as him, another man in his forties and a guy slightly older than me. The cold was forgotten as I saw what they had in their hands. Earlier I wanted answers but right now, I would be ecstatic not to receive them if it meant that they would all leave. The iron bar in the youngest hand struck the cage I was in.

*clank*

*clank*

*clank*

*clank*

“Stop!” My protests went ignored. My head throbbed with each strike. It continued for several minutes. They said nothing in all this time, they just kept on hitting the metal cage over and over.

I didn't notice when they stopped. My hands were above my ears. I stayed as far away as I could from them but being in a cage, I couldn't go far. My face was pressed on my knees.

The lack of noise finally made me raise my head. I looked at them. They had smiles on their face. I wanted to believe that they came back to their mind and that they would leave me alone but the gleam of the tools they had in their hands wasn't reassuring.

The uncertainty of what they wanted ate at me.

“What do you want?” My voice broke. I was tired. Even though the strikes on the cage had stopped, my head was still throbbing.

“We want peace.” Seriously?

Previous/Next

A.N: sorry guys! Several problems came up and I can't guarantee Thursday releases for awhile. There will be one chapter every week, that's for sure but when? I don't know. Chapter 37 was last week 's chapter that i didn't have time to post, so 38 should come out this week.