Chapter 7

Walls and Giants

-Andrew-

My eyes flew open as a startling boom reverberated through the air, causing dirt and debris to pelt my face with stinging force. Sulfur and ash filled my nostrils as the sudden force of air brought an unbearable heat with it. I brought my arms up, covering my face which did nothing for the ringing in my ears or the rattling in my bones. My chest tightened and panic began to rise in my throat, causing a swelling of tears in my already stinging eyes. I lowered my hand to the ground, feeling cold rough stone beneath my fingers. My mind raced in confusion as I tried to sort out all of the new sensations and fear I had never felt before.

Confused and panicked, I pushed myself on to my backside and used my hand against the cobblestone walkway to scoot myself against a nearby wall. I heard screams as a roar nearby ripped through the surrounding noise. My heart froze and my blood turned to ice, causing me to breathe in small ragged breaths. My vision darkened suddenly around the edges of my sight and my breath came in ragged, short gasps.

“He-help!” I gasped, tears now freely streaming down my cheeks. “Someone, please!”

More screams of agony and terror were my only reply. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my blurry vision. Slowly lowering my forearm just below my eyesight allowed me to take in my surroundings for the first time; the view was more terrifying than I imagined. My mouth opened slowly, until it revealed my inward petrified shock. In my life I had only been truly scared once; when Tommy at school chased me through the locker room, threatening to kick my ass. I remembered hiding on top of the toilet behind the second stall in the boys’ bathroom, frozen in fear as I did my best to stifle my rapid breathing. I distinctly recalled the tingling in my body, the tightening in my chest, and my hand over my mouth muffling my breath as Tommy entered the bathroom and kicked each closed door.

While Tommy scared me more than anything in the world, I always understood that I was never in any real danger. Tommy would only hit me until I begged him to stop, laughing with his friends until one of the teachers came to help me. This new fear made Tommy seem incredibly small and I began to wish I was in the locker room dealing with the bully. I understood now that my fear back then was that of ignorance, with no understanding of real danger as my eyes drank in the scenes of death and fire around me. I was in-between two large buildings made of stone and brick, with half of the building I was now leaning against torn away. Large broken bricks and wood lay strewn around me, making me feel insignificant.

I chanced more of a look at my surroundings, which did nothing for the fear still gripping my chest. Wooden boxes were piled up in pyramid shapes against both building walls, some toppled over and smashed. The stone path leading further down between the walls ended abruptly in a tall stone half-wall that I knew I was incapable of climbing. My eyes flew back to the opening of the alley where more screams and blood-curdling laughter could be heard. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye to my left, drawing my attention. A sneaker and left leg with the hint of an arm wrapped around it caused a sudden flurry of hope and anxiety to flow from my constricting chest.

“James! James is that you?” I whispered, hoarsely.

No response came, but I could see the leg shaking as deep rough sounding voices drew closer to the alleyway. I felt a sudden burst of energy as the fear of being seen pushed me to scurry towards the towering boxes on my hands and knees. I moved past the outlying box where the leg was barely visible and slammed my back into the wall behind it, panting with terror as laughter carried down the dark alley. A fresh stream of tears fell from my eyes as I saw my brother for the first time.

His knees were drawn to his chest where his face was buried, arms wrapped tightly around them both. He shook with fear and I could make out his back rising and falling with each wracking sob in the darkness. I reached out tentatively just touching his right thigh, causing him to yelp and look up in surprise. His brown eyes were snaked with redness and puffy. As our eyes met and a sense of relief washed over me, releasing some of my tension. I brought my hand up to his cheek and placed my forehead against his.

“Where’s mommy and daddy? James asked through shuddering breaths.

“I don’t know James. We were on top of the stairs waiting for papa John and something happened. We were both dragged down the hallway and I must’ve fallen asleep, because I woke up and all of this is happening.” I said, gesturing towards the noise.

“I can’t see well, Andy. There’s stuff that won’t go away in my eyes.”

For the first time, I noticed an almost transparent writing at the top of my vision:

***Welcome to Sylvaria***

I stared at the words, causing them to brighten and focus. My mind raced as I instantly thought about the new game dad had been trying out.

“I can see it too, James. It says: Welcome to Sylvaria.”

“What is Sylvahrah and how do I make it go away?”

I didn’t respond as my attention was drawn back to the words.

***Choose Your Class***

“It’s saying we have to choose a class? I don’t know what to do.” I said, talking quietly to distract my brother.

More words appeared in the middle of my vision with a list:

Warrior

Paladin

Cleric

Wizard

Rogue

Ranger

Having played plenty of games before, I immediately recognized the classes listed, however the list went on and I wasn’t sure what to do with the information appearing. I stared at warrior and the list grew, showing more words under Warrior:

Warrior – With skills focusing on raw strength and tenacity, a warrior can unleash his or her potential in combat against all enemies. As a warrior, you will be on the frontlines of battle trading blows with the fiercest foes.

“James this is like a game, I think. I'm pretty sure we have to do what it wants to make the words go away.”

“No it’s not, Andy. This isn’t a game.” James said as he rested his chin on his knees, rocking back and forth slowly.

“Maybe it’s not a game, but it is like the one dad plays. I've played games with classes like this before.”

I continued to read down the list, studying each description. I wasn't sure which to choose, being that this was definitely not a normal game.

“Warriors fight up close and we don’t want to be close to anything. If this is a game are we in any real danger?” I asked more to myself than James.

With my attention on the words in front of me, my mind calmed slightly and the noises faded. I opened the description of Cleric by staring at it for a moment, causing a new flurry of words to appear.

Cleric – The ever watchful and attentive cleric has a great understanding of physical ailments and wounds. Clerics can use their magic to bring even those closest to death back from the brink. As a cleric, you will be responsible for keeping friends and allies alive through healing. Clerics are the lifeblood of all parties.

I understood what I was reading, but had a hard time applying it to our reality. Relief filled me knowing that cleric was an option, given that they could keep people alive by healing injuries. Knowing James couldn’t read, I continued down the list to find something suitable for him. Dread began to fill me with each passing word as I thought of my brother in the path of danger. Beginning to get the hang of how the list worked, I brought my attention to Rogue.

Rogue – Stealth is synonymous with Rogue. Rogues use the environment to their advantage by hiding in the most obscure ways. Shadows are their allies and surprise, their weapons. As a rogue you will learn to become one with deception and misdirection.

Frustration welled within me as I couldn't decide what the best option for James would be. I re-read the list several times trying to make the best decision to keep James safe.

“Rogues are good at hiding.” I mumbled.

“I want to hide.” James replied from his raised knees.

“I want to hide, too. I also don't want us to get hurt while looking for mom and dad. I think you should pick Rogue, James.” I said.

I spent the next 15 minutes quietly explaining how to navigate the list to James.

“Stare at the word that starts with an r.” I instructed.

“I see two big Rs, Andy.”

“Stare at the first one. There’s an o after the big r.”

“Arr, Oooh…” James sounded out.

“R-o-, then g.”

“James, there are more words now.”

“Hold on.” I said as I brought my attention back to my own list.

The list grew again when I stared at Cleric, showing me the same words as before.

“I want to be a Cleric.” I whispered, feeling a sense of belonging to the words.

*Ding!*

Welcome to Sylvaria: Andrew, Cleric lvl. 1

I jumped as a loud ding rang in my ears and gasped in surprise as new a new sense grew that I couldn’t explain. Two new flashing symbols appeared at the bottom of my vision, but I ignored them.

“Focus on the word and say that you want to be a Rogue.” I whispered.

“I want to be a Rowg - Aaah!” James said, releasing his arms and jumping with a fright.

“Was there a loud noise in your ears?”

“Yes, it scared me. The words went away and there are pictures blinking now.”

“Just ignore them.” I replied.

A loud crash from the back wall of the alley brought mine and James’s attention away from each other. I felt James’s hand on my arm, gripping tightly as we both stared at the towering half-wall. Another loud crash, followed by dirt and small bits of rock falling resounded from the wall once more.

“Andy I want to go home!” James said nervously tugging on my arm.

“Shhh!” I said, fear rising.

A loud roar filled the air and the half-wall blew apart in a spray of rock and dirt hurdling in our direction. We both cried out as James dove into me and my arms wrapped around him, squeezing as if we’d be torn apart from each other. I braced with every ounce of strength I had in my body, expecting to be knocked away with the force of debris as loud thunks and grating noises continued all around us. Large steady thumps that made me think of a walking mountain moving closer and closer. A new smell invaded my nose and made me gag with disgust as I coughed. Up until now, the worst thing I had ever smelled was Oliver’s poop after eating Macaroni and Cheese. This smell made me think of hundreds of Macaroni and Cheese filled diapers stuffed into a closet.

A gruff sniffing noise brought my eyes open and my breath caught in my throat as a large creature stopped just short of a person lying on the ground, covered in bent and battered metal armor only a little ways away. The creature was almost as tall as the half-wall that had just burst apart. Gray, rough looking skin covered in black boils caught my eyes as they continued to travel up to a large open mouth with a row of sharp teeth, pulled into a snarl.

“Andy! Andy!!” James cried, tightening his arms around me.”

Dread roiled inside of me as the large creature moved its eyes to us, breathing through its mouth and causing the hot and terrible smell to fill my nostrils. The metal-covered man on the ground grunted as he lifted his head in our direction, making eye contact with me. I saw fear in his eyes and it brought a newfound sense of fear within myself.

“Run!’ He managed to get out in a gruff voice as the large creature opened its mouth to yell.

James and I looked on in horror as the gray, smelly giant let out an ear-splitting roar. I covered James’s eyes with my hand as It raised its meaty fist high in the air and brought it down on top of the metal man. A sickening crunch filled my ears as the giant continued to pummel the ground where the metal-man lay only a moment ago. Bile rose in my throat, burning its way up as I coughed. Raw panic gripped me and I tried to stand, fumbling with James as each thump of the ground rocked us both.

“G-get up! Get up and run, James!” I screamed, pushing him towards the entrance of the alley as I struggled to move.

“I don’t want to die!” James cried as he tripped over himself.

I had no doubt that we would both die if we did not run, now. I stumbled forward, finally finding strength in my legs as I palmed James in the back with both of my hands. Giving up pushing, I leapt in front of him, grabbing his arm with my hand in a death grip. I pulled him as hard as I could, causing us to both lean forward as we ran for the alleyway opening. A roar of triumph cut through my sudden courage, cutting it short. Terrified, I pushed my legs harder than I ever had while pulling James with me.