“Damn!”

The exclamation brought Spence fully awake. He opened his eyes and stared at the boards forming the ceiling. He slowly rolled over and saw Morgan sitting on her bed. A dim light shone from around the curtains and through the holes in them. Her hair was tousled, and her black lipstick was mostly rubbed off. She wore a black tank top, which must have been underneath her Earth clothes. The sheet lay over her thighs, but her calves and feet were exposed. Spence instantly wondered what she wore beneath the sheet. He quickly tried to suppress those thoughts. “What’s wrong?” he finally uttered.

“I guess I need to give up on the dream thing,” she answered.

“Yeah, I think you’d better. For better or worse, we’re stuck in this world.”

“At least you want to be here, though.”

“I do enjoy the walking thing,” Spence replied, again wiggling his toes and feet under the covers to ensure he still could.

“A lot of good it will do you in the belly of a monster,” Morgan replied. “Well, I have to get dressed. You can either roll over the other way or go to the bathroom.”

Spence would rather have gone to the bathroom, but he thought it would be best not to stand for a little while. He rolled over to face the wall and tried to focus on the events of the past two days and the upcoming quest, not the sounds of Morgan dressing. He was only halfway successful, with his thoughts bouncing wildly between the different subjects. When Morgan finally went to the bathroom, he rolled out of bed and dressed.

Soon all four were gathered in the common room below, seated at a round table. Their breakfast consisted of eggs, sausage, and toast. Spence was glad to learn they served coffee to drink. They ate in silence for the first few minutes.

“So, Morgan, did you get your nerd on with Spence last night?” Trey asked.

“As much as you did with Caleb,” Morgan retorted, staring at her coffee. She ate the eggs and toast but gave her sausage to Caleb.

“What’s up with the meat thing?” Caleb asked.

“I’m a vegetarian,” Morgan replied.

“Why?”

“Is it any of your business?” Morgan asked, looking up from her mug.

“If it annoys me, it is,” Caleb replied, returning the glare.

Morgan held the stare for another moment before finally speaking. “I don’t think it’s right how animals are bred and raised just for food. They’re kept in tiny pens they can barely move in, fed steroids and all kinds of drugs, just to be slaughtered for us to eat.”

“What else should they be doing? I don’t think the cows and chickens would last too long in the wild,” Trey said.

“They could at least be allowed to roam free on farms and ranches.”

“What about animals that are hunted and killed?” Caleb asked. “They’re living in the wild and have more than a fair chance of surviving.”

“If it’s truly sporting, like bowhunting with no sites or aids, I could possibly tolerate it. But it’s not a sport when drunken rednecks sit on their fat, lazy asses in tree stands and shoot deer walking right below them with high-powered rifles with scopes. I’d like to see them use a bow like this and kill a deer.”

“Well, you’ll have to slay some game with your bow, and then we can all enjoy meat,” Caleb replied.

“Only if there aren’t other good options,” Morgan said. “Next subject.”

“OK. Spence, I’ve been meaning to tell you that you look cute in your black dress and necklace. Maybe you can find a wig and earrings at the general store,” Trey said.

“Screw you, Trey!” Spence spat without thinking.

Trey’s smile instantly disappeared, and he leaned forward. “I’ll put you back into a wheelchair, loser!”

“Enough!” Caleb shouted. “Damn it, Trey, this isn’t high school! You’re just a teenage kid in some weird world of monsters and magic. Knock off your bully shit.”

“Do you want to take it outside, Rambo?” Trey asked, turning toward Caleb.

“Spence and Morgan, I’m leaving and going to the general store. You can come with me or stay with the missing link. I’ll kill him if I have to hang around him any longer,” Caleb said, standing and slinging his pack on his back.

Trey stood too and reached out to grab or shove Caleb. Caleb caught Trey’s right wrist with his left hand in a move nearly too quick to see. In another flash, Caleb’s right hand held his dagger pressed to Trey’s neck, just above his breastplate. “Give me a reason not to slit your throat!”

Trey’s eyes bulged, and his lips pursed tightly. He moved his left arm slightly, and Caleb’s knife pressed tighter against his throat. A thin trickle of blood ran beneath the blade and down to his collarbone. “OK,” he whispered.

“OK, what?”

“I’m…I’m sorry,” he croaked.

“I’m telling you, Trey, I’m done playing. You’re either with us, on your own, or dead. Decide.” Caleb removed his dagger, sheathed it, and strode toward the door. He dropped some coins on the bar on the way outside.

“I’ll kill that freak,” Trey said, rubbing the blood from his neck with his finger and staring at it. He left the table and disappeared out the door.

“Boys,” Morgan said and also left the table and exited the inn.

Spence finished his coffee, grinning. Trey was out of his element here and outnumbered. Hopefully, his bullying days were nearly over. He was a little shocked at Caleb’s reaction and did not doubt that Caleb would seriously injure Trey if necessary. He shouldered his pack and followed the others. It was midmorning outside, and the day was gloomy and cold once again. He spotted the three heading down the street to the right of the inn. Caleb led the way, with the others spread out behind.

Most of the buildings on the main street appeared to be warehouses and businesses. They saw some Nephilim walking up and down the road and in and out of the buildings. Spence noticed no signs of horses or wagons—just foot traffic. The general store was a large two-story building in the center of town with a covered porch on the front. The sign hanging above the door read Petros’s Mercantile. Spence entered the building last.

The inside of the store was like a two-hundred-year-old Super Wal-Mart, with a little bit of everything stuffed onto its many shelves: weapons, tools, housewares, clothing, and food. Caleb was speaking to an old, white-haired, wizened Nephilim behind the counter in the store's back, and Trey and Morgan browsed through the weapons. Spence walked over and stood beside Caleb. He noted that the Nephilim wasn’t much over six feet tall.

“Petros, we need food and water for four people for a few days. Can you help us?”

“Ah, yes. Time for another quest,” the little Nephilim cackled. “I’m afraid my fare is kind of crude, but it’ll keep you alive…long enough to get killed.” He laughed and disappeared through a door behind him.

Caleb turned to Spence. “What do you think are in the vials?”

Spence was still getting used to playing a valuable role in the new world. “Potions. They’re pretty standard in RPG.”

“RPG?”

“Role-playing games.”

“How do we know what they do?” Caleb asked.

“There’s no way to know for sure. It appears someone packed our bags to match our classes, though. Mine are probably related to magic or energy. I’m not sure, but I’m guessing Morgan’s are healing since she also has bandages and most likely salves.”

Caleb shook his head. “This place is freaky. I’ve prepped all my life for surviving against marauding bands of humans. I never knew I needed to know about monsters, magic weapons and armor, and potions.”

Morgan and Trey wandered over and joined them. Trey didn’t make eye contact with anyone.

“That’s where I come in,” Spence said, grinning.

Caleb didn’t return the smile. “What else do you think we need?”

Spence stroked his chin and scanned thoughtfully around the store. The truth was, he had no idea. His online games left out a lot of trivial details. He searched his memory for how the various character classes were typically equipped in Warcraft. “You could buy a small shield since your sword is just one-handed. Trey might find bracers for his arms, and Morgan could replace her arrows. I doubt they have anything for me, but I might check for rings or anything magical. We’ll all need some type of bedroll and blanket too. Oh, and we’ll need coats.” Spence’s robe was warm, but he knew he needed additional protection if the weather was going to stay cold.

The four split up and searched through the store. The weapons and armor pieces were crude compared to what they already had. Caleb found a small, round wooden shield with a metal ring around the outside and metal strips crossing the middle. Trey found bronze-colored bracers that snapped into place over his thick forearms. Morgan bought a dozen more arrows. Spence didn’t see anything of use to him. They each found long, thick wool coats. Caleb selected a dull green color; Trey’s was brown and resembled a western duster; Spence chose gray, and Morgan stayed with the black theme. They didn’t find any bedrolls but bought coarse blankets instead.

When they returned to the counter, Petros was back with stacks of bags containing food and wineskins filled with water. They stocked their packs with the food and wineskins and paid for their purchases. After paying, Spence was the only one with more than a few coins left. They then donned their new coats, and Spence shoved Morgan’s blanket into his bag since her packs were too small.

“Good luck, questers,” Petros said as they headed toward the door. They heard his cackle as they left the store.

Titus waited for them outside, dressed in the same gray cloak and hat as the night before. He now had a brown canvas pack slung over one shoulder and a short sword hanging in a scabbard by his side. He was slightly over seven feet tall but leaner than most Nephilim. Spence couldn’t guess his age but had a feeling he was younger than he appeared.

“Are you ready?”

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Caleb replied.

Titus turned and descended the steps to the dirt street. The others followed, catching up and fanning out to both sides of him. His long legs allowed him to move faster than it appeared he walked.

“Do we get horses?” Spence asked. Although he enjoyed walking again, his legs were sore from all the walking over the past two days.

“Horses?”

“Big four-legged animals that people ride?”

Titus grunted. “We walk.”

The buildings were smaller and spaced farther apart as they progressed down the street. A few narrower lanes branched off to each side. Spence found it strange walking in a town with no cars, horses, or wagons. Even in the old western movies, horses and horse-drawn buggies filled the town streets. This town only had Nephilim bundled up, scurrying here and there.

“Is it always cold here?” Spence asked. He didn’t particularly care for silence, although he knew his talkativeness aided in getting him shunned by many at school and online. He tried to control it, but he usually found himself speaking before he had even finished forming the thought. He would have to try harder now that he was a real mage.

“Just depends on what Ra wants.”

“You don’t have seasons?” Spence continued.

“To some degree. But if Ra chooses to make it hot, it gets hot. Usually, it is some degree of cool, though,” Titus replied.

The street ended at another set of towers and a gate similar to the entrance of the town. The road appeared even less traveled, though. They walked through the gate and followed the trail east. The terrain seemed the same as it had on the journey to the town.