At night Sam and I went down to the bar and had herbal beer. Sam told me food was not a requirement in the game world, nor was toilet, but people ate and drank for fun. Even though I was from the real world, this seemed to apply to me too. My bladder and my bowels were unusually quiet over the many hours I had spent in Dharti.

We strolled in the streets in the neighborhood of the inn, never straying too far. Sam said he would take me to the land of the Eviluns the next day. A few hours into the night Sam logged out. I slept on his bed.

It was twilight when a sound roused me from my sleep. For a brief moment I thought I was in the hospital room, but then I recalled the day's events.

A shadow shifted in the dark.

Queasiness unsettled my stomach. Afraid, I didn't budge. Was I imagining things? Or was there an unwelcome person or thing in the room?

More people-like shapes entered my room in the darkness. I could distinguish the outline of the wide open door. I had bolted it before sleeping. Somehow the intruders had managed to quietly break in.

Voices.

Low whispers, but audible enough that I knew I wasn't presuming things. An internal alarm rang within me, alerting me that whoever was in the room might not be a friend.

I stayed still on my bed in my reclined position, brainstorming all I could do to protect myself. Faint moonlight was flowing in through the closed window panes. Any chance of escape through the window?

“Is it really him?” I heard a male voice say.

“Well, there is no one else in here,” a female responded.

“Who is it?” I asked aloud. My heart was pulsating.

“Ah, so you are awake.”

A snap of fingers and a blue ball of fire illuminated the room. The ball of fire was hovering over the hand of a man with a thin mustache ending in a curl. He wore a hood and had three companions.

One was a female, but she had a bald shaven head. Still she was strikingly beautiful, dressed in colorful robes. Was she the same woman I had seen during my first visit to Dharti? The other was a man who seemed to be made entirely of steely muscles. He had arms like cannons and his fists reminded me of massive hammers. He must have had to stoop through the door.

The third was a scrawny man, with a long nose that lent him a fiendish appearance. He had a compass of sorts in his slim hands.

All four of them slowly began to approach me.

“It could not not be him,” the scrawny man with the compass verified.

“Who are you?” I asked, struggling to hide the scare in my voice. “Why have you come here?”

“You are not a player, are you?” the hooded man said.

“Be careful, Zan,” the woman said, “we don’t know what powers he possesses.”

“I don’t have a doubt that he is the one we are supposed to hunt,” the scrawny man said, excitedly fidgeting with his compass. “Unless of course, it’s the bed that we are supposed to hunt.”

“Why don’t you get up from the bed once?” the hooded man, Zan, said. “Just to be sure.”

A hunch informed me that the four had come for me, not the bed. I got up from it and moved as close to the window as possible, wondering if I could jump through it and still survive. Would it be easier to escape through the door?

“Confirmation,” the scrawny man said, “it’s him, not the bed.”

The moment he said these words that the barbarian leapt for me. I dodged him but ended up closer to the scrawny man. From a scabbard in his belt he quickly took out a knife and, before I knew it, he had stabbed the side of my stomach. I fell to my knees, the cold metal in my flesh bringing explosions of pain.

The barbarian yanked me up by the throat. And then I did something that I never thought hemophobic Vicky would have the courage for. With my free hand I wrenched out the knife from my stomach and gored the man’s eye. The man bawled in pain, letting me go. I fell to the floor.

Zan hissed, and the fireball sailed towards me. I rolled away in the nick of time to avoid the fireball, which set the wall ablaze behind me. I kicked Zan’s knee, so that he lost his balance and toppled down. Despite my injury, I was able to pull myself back to my feet. I dashed for the door. The woman transmogrified her hands into roots and shot them at me.

I closed the door on the roots just as they were about to snake around my torso. I ran downstairs. The bartender and the few drunks below widened their eyes as I dashed out of the inn. Which way is it now? I was weary from the loss of blood.

I heard the scuttle of footsteps and I needn’t glance behind to know that the group of four had reached the bar.

I took off in a random direction. My stomach was bleeding copious streams and I knew it would not be long before I fainted. Panting heavily, I reached a carriage standing beside the road. The driver was dozing lightly. I shook him awake.

“What?” he cried, startled. Before he could say anything further, I had already climbed the box on wheels, praying that the four had not seen me.

“Quick,” I said.

“You wanna go somewhere?” the elf asked in a throaty voice.

“Yes,” I said, “come on, fast!”

I took a peek towards the inn. The group of four were probing for me. The scrawny man checked his compass and pointed in the direction of the carriage. My heart pounded.

“But where do you want to go?” the driver asked. He had apparently not observed that I was bleeding, or that there were people pursuing me.

“To… to the West Bridge,” I said, grateful that I could remember the name of the place.

“Fine,” the driver said. He kicked his sleeping unicorn awake. “To the West Bridge!”

The carriage took off. The group had not spotted me on the carriage till now, but they were scouring for me. The barbarian’s eye was already healed. Miracle of a health vial. I wished I had one too.

“Can you make it go faster?” I asked the driver.

“You’ll have to pay more,” the driver said. “If you want me to ditch speed recommendations.”

“Sure, just make it go faster.” I had no money with me. I was sure that after I reached the bridge, I would have to run from the elf just as I was fleeing the four. For now I gazed at the starry sky above. Fake man-made stars. But nevertheless a beautiful replica.

I was weak, the pain worsening with the minute. I let out a sardonic chuckle. I was really out of the frying pan-- the hospital room, and into the fire-- Dharti. A tide of drowsiness splashed over me…

A shake on my shoulder. My eyelids were made of bricks as I parted them. The elf. He was looking at my stomach nervously. The gush of a river played in the background. We were at the gate.

“That doesn't look good,” the driver said. “You don’t have a health vial?”

"No." I tried to get up. But I realized I didn’t have the energy.

“You might lose a level then,” the driver said. Lose a level? That applied for players. I wasn’t one. Would I die then?

The driver scanned the location.

“There is nobody here that can help you,” he said. “Why did you even ask me to bring you to the gate?”

A few minutes ago, the only goal I had was to get away from my pursuers, now I didn’t know what to do. I sat up somehow, assisted by the elf. My stomach wound puked fresh blood.

“Careful,” the driver said. “Why don’t you just lie down?”

Instead I dismounted the carriage and began limping towards the bridge.

“Why the hell do you even want to go there?” the driver said. He tried to stop me, but I gently pushed him away.

“You are crazy!” the driver cried. I kept making my way forward. I was considerably close to the bridge when a shout acquired my attention. Wearily turning my head, I saw that the four players had come on a coach, no doubt aided by the compass device.

“He’s there!” Zan bellowed.

He formed a ball of fire in his hand and flung it at me. I ducked. The fireball missed my neck by inches, scorching my skin. Zan threw a second ball and I leapt to save myself, without grasping that I was on the very edge of the cliff.

A free fall followed.

The seconds seemed to pass in slow motion. My mind ceased thinking. The wind whipped my face.

I impacted the water hard. Time sped up again. I was at the mercy of the river. The current took me along forcefully. I gulped in mouthfuls of water. On occasions I would find myself on the surface, but the moment I attempted drawing a breath, I would be pulled underwater. I tried to swim, but to no avail. The waters of the river were far more powerful. My prior weakness made everything worse.

There was nothing that I could do. I surrendered myself to the will of the river. I closed my eyes, and before long blacked out.

***