Visitors From New Earth City

By Gregory Saur

AS TWO WORLDS COLLIDE, BE PREPARED FOR GIANT ADVENTURE!

 

The Game is Felix's life. Defeating monsters, racking up experience points, and moving up the rankings is all he cares about. Sadly, he is stuck at a low level and still needs his older brother to

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gregory Saur
• Release date: Sep 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781949317206

Gregory Saur

Gregory Saur lives mainly in Virginia but continues to visit his imagination daily. The most relaxing time of his adult life was spent overnight in the hospital having his appendix removed-this is why this book has no appendix. It was removed. You will find him mostly at home, but his mind... who knows? It could be anywhere. If you happen to find it, please return it. He may need it one day. If you find his appendix, you can keep it. He's been assured it is not needed.

Book preview

Chapter 1

This was it. This was to be greatest quest of Felix’s young career. It may just propel him to the top of the ranks, where he would finally be noticed by the big boys. Then he wouldn’t have to live in his brother’s shadow any longer.

That is, if he didn’t get blown up in the first two minutes.

Felix breathed in a mouthful of heat and dust and then sighed.

Really, Tayson? he muttered.

Being blown up was a real possibility. It could happen at any time, even after two minutes. At the moment it looked to be happening now. For the mission, Tayson, his loyal Muon servant, had armed himself with the Goldmine Rocket Launcher 200. And as soon as the two boys exited the elevator from Base Lobby, entering the Western Doomlands, they were set upon by a pod of Scorpion Roaches.

Really? Felix thought.

A missile screamed over Felix’s head before exploding into the giant boulder to his right. Yellow and orange flames burst over him. He ducked, even knowing no shrapnel could really harm him. Dirt and rock rained over his hair and shoulders. The rules allowed only a direct hit to send him flying out of action.

A familiar ticking sound caused him to look up in alarm. Through the cloud of dust, a Scorpion Roach skittered across the dirt-strewn path straight for him. Its mighty pinchers, blood red, clicked together in anticipation.

Biting his lower lip in frustration, Felix reminded himself to hide Tayson’s rocket launcher once they got back.

More Scorpion Roaches charged just behind the lead roach. They all stared at Felix with beady eyes as if he was a scrap of garbage to be feasted on. Felix crouched and gulped. If he didn’t get blown up, he might become a Scorpion Roach punching bag.

The size of tanks, these giant bugs were no joke. Each carried a pair of claws bigger than Felix. Extended in front of their red, scaly bodies, they could do some serious damage if smacked down on you. But the real danger of the Scorpion Roaches came from their long, upright-curved tails looming behind them. Needle sharp at the end, it could launch forward like a power drill to deliver a terrible jolt of energy. If struck by one, you would be stunned for several seconds. This would make you an easy target for more attacks or, more likely for Felix, a sitting target for a wayward rocket from Tayson.

Another powerful explosion thudded into the base of the steep cliff just to Felix’s left. More heaps of dirt and stone blasted in front of the boy. The lead Scorpion Roach, caught in the explosion, flew back and instantly lost half its hit points. The others slowed their approach.

Felix shook dirt from his face and felt a thin trail of liquid running down the nape of his neck. Just sweat. He hastily reached back and wiped it away. There was no blood allowed in this level. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t lose his health points.

His older brother Rafe’s voice crackled from Felix’s shoulder, where his communication radio was strapped. Get to high ground, Felix! Move your bum, dude! Pronto!

I know, I know, Felix muttered as he scrambled forward. He cradled his assault rifle in both arms but didn’t use it yet.

Immediately the lead scorpion screamed in triumph and charged. In an instant, the creature was on the smaller boy. Felix ducked under the scorpion’s pincher as it tried to pound him into the dust.

Where did all these scorpos come from? he yelled as he slid on his knees before twisting to his backside. Raising his rifle, he fired into the beast.

Screeching, the scorpion jumped back, waving an injured pincher.

Not sure, little bro, his brother’s voice crackled. They weren’t there when I arrived. It must be lunchtime, kid. You’re just in time to be their dessert.

Hardy har har. Felix scrambled to his feet and hastily slipped his arm through his rifle’s strap, securing it over his shoulder.

The scorpo eyed him warily and started a more cautious approach. With the other creatures just behind the leader, Felix was trapped.

It’s a good time to think lofty thoughts, kid, Rafe said lazily through the speaker. Get your buns to the high ground. Felix still detected a hint of worry in his brother’s voice.

The boy retreated toward the remains of the boulder reduced to rubble from Tayson’s rocket. Through the wreckage, he saw a ledge and made out a steep, rocky path leading up the cliff.

Felix didn’t hesitate. As the lead Scorpion Roach screeched in triumph, he raced for the ledge. About a foot over his head, the red sandy stone seemed to leer back at him. Felix never slowed as he flung his body up and rammed his waist into the ledge. His arms scrambled for a hold and for a moment he lay draped over the rock with his backside facing the charging creature.

Master! Tayson cried. I’m not loaded yet!

It’s coming for your sweet buns! Rafe yelled from Felix’s arm. Move it!

Felix kicked his feet and twisted his body forward, using his elbows to clamber the rest of way up. He just made it. The Scorpion Roach screamed in frustration as its claw pummeled the stone just behind him. Its tail and pinchers couldn’t reach over the ledge.

Getting to his feet, Felix turned and spat down in triumph. Below him, seven Scorpion Roaches swarmed the ledge, waving their pinchers. They seemed to be trying to climb over each other to reach the ledge. A claw nipped just below his boot.

Locked and loaded, Master! yelled Tayson’s voice. I’ve got them!

No! shouted Felix. Not so—

His voice, and nearly his health, exploded with a giant boom. A rocket fizzed through the air and blasted into the Scorpion Roach just below the ledge. A terrific force flung Felix back. His body sailed through the air before slamming into the wall of stone lining the main path from the entrance. Instantly he ducked his head and rolled forward, breaking the rest of his fall. He tried to stand, but got a mouth full of smoky sand and ended up slipping back. Suddenly he found himself sitting against the cliff wall. The smoky yellow haze slowly lifted. His legs splayed out in front of him, he sat on his sore backside. He heard a dull ringing in his ears. At least the scorpo was no more.

I got him, Master! Tayson cried proudly.

Yeah, you did, Felix wheezed. Great job.

Rafe’s voice chuckled into Felix’s speaker. Are you sure that Muon is on your side, Felix?

You bet he is, Felix said grimly, getting to his feet. A surge of energy spread through his body and a wicked gleam came to his vivid blue eyes. Just watch what we can do, big brother.

I will, kid, assured his brother’s voice. He stifled a yawn through the speaker. But hurry up! These scorpos should be sent to the farm by now.

Felix rolled his eyes. He couldn’t wait to not to need Rafe anymore. But he was glad for his presence.

His older brother had entered the Doomlands an hour prior to get into position and serve as lookout for his little brother. Their parents made Rafe promise to always be near Felix whenever the youngster went on a dangerous quest, anything above level 30. At the time, Felix had been incensed. Plenty of kids his own age and younger went on solo missions, missions way above their current level. But not him. At least until your experience level is up to 70, Felix, their dad had said gruffly. That’s when I’ll trust you not to do anything stupid, like lose a finger.

Having Rafe with him proved a continued annoyance, but at times, like this, it was also very welcome. This quest actually didn’t have a level attached to it, but was a very big deal.

See anything besides the scorpos here? Felix asked his brother.

Perched securely, hidden in the rocks on the other side of the valley, Rafe watched everything through his high-power sniper rifle—a rare Golden Stinger Mach2 that fired anti-material bullets. Getting hit by one felt like being clobbered by a barbell. You had to be at least a level 80 in experience to even carry such a weapon. Felix was barely a level 16. But that would soon change. First he needed to get out of this mess.

As he waited for his brother’s reply, Felix crouched at the edge of the damaged boulder. He eyed the remaining scorpos, still attempting to scale the ledge. Without their leader, they seemed less enthusiastic about attacking, but too stupid to retreat.

Yeah, hold on… Oh, man. Rafe’s voice lost his humor and went serious. I see a couple of Brutes possibly making their way to the party.

I hope they brought their own dip, Felix muttered.

Actually, I think they plan to turn you into some guacamole, Felix, Rafe’s voice crackled. You might want to scram, little brother. Brutes are no joke.

Felix made no reply. He carried two weapons slung on his back. Both had survived his fall intact. From his right shoulder, he selected the AR-19 Assault Rifle he’d used earlier. While much weaker than his brother’s weapon, it made up for its lack of power by its high rate of fire. It also carried a hundred bullets a clip. While great for taking down scorpos, it would be like shooting spitballs against Brutes. He licked his dusty lips and hoped the Brutes weren’t planning on stopping for the battle.

Standing over ten feet tall, Brutes were broad, muscle bound monsters with thick brown skin that acted almost as bulletproof armor. Completely hairless above their thick necks, Brutes had ugly misshapen heads that resembled boulders, only with bulbous yellow eyes, squashed snouts, square chins, and wide mouths full of sharpened teeth. Their mouths could open wide enough to swallow Felix whole, but they mostly used them to unleash mighty roars. Their roars were deafening and their tongues emitted noxious fumes that could knock a person out if breathed in enough. Fierce hunters with long powerful arms ending in razor-sharp claws, they liked to charge their enemies and bowl them over with brute strength before ripping away with their teeth and nails. They had tremendous bursts of speed for short distances. The weakest Brute easily surpassed a level 60 monster. Brutes were rare in Doomland, especially so close to the entrance.

Maybe they’re just taking a walk, Felix said hopefully, wiggling his nose nervously.

Rafe only grunted through the speaker.

Felix risked a glance back at the double gray doors of the elevator. The Doomlands entrance was built into the wall of rock that rose several hundred feet straight up back to the Base Lobby. Felix could always jump right back into the elevator to safety, but that would mean failing the mission. He shook his head. That was not happening.

You still doing this, Felix? Rafe asked, sounding a little nervous.

What do you think? Felix knelt and charged his rifle. He calmly lowered the barrel over the side of the boulder. Two scorpo roaches were just below, waving their pinchers wildly. Both received faces full of automatic bullets pumped in at a high rate of speed. Within seconds Felix had an empty clip and two scorpo roaches had gone down and vanished. Others quickly charged in to replace their fallen comrades. These quickly regretted the decision as they got the same treatment.

Felix squeezed the trigger and pumped bullets down. The loud burst of automatic fire drowned out Tayson’s voice, but Felix knew what was coming.

Still crouched just next to the entrance door, Tayson aimed his launcher and sent another missile streaking into the mass of Scorpion Roaches. Felix got a good view of beady eyes widening before ending in a massive explosion. He then ducked his head as rocks and dirt rained down. As the dust settled, the last of the swarm vanished.

Yes! screamed Tayson in triumph. We did it.

Quiet! Felix said, clutching his weapon tightly. Rafe, anything else coming? He glanced up the path nervously. The gunfire and explosions surely alerted the Brutes.

You can stop shaking, Felix, Rafe’s voice said, sounding bored. The Brutes decided your sorry bum was too small to worry about. But I see a swarm of Warrior Wasps are heading right for you. And there’re a ton more Scorpion Roaches heading down the path. Dude, you’re going to have to do a lot more fighting if you want to reach the town ruins by dinnertime.

Relieved, Felix knelt and ran a hand through his unruly mop of hair, damp with sweat. He brushed it away from his eyes and couldn’t help grinning. Relax, Rafe! This is cake. Besides, the more kills we get, the more experience points.

Only if you don’t become a kill yourself, warned Rafe. Now get your little bum moving! Here come more roaches!

Chapter 2

It was a fairly normal day in the Ritcher household, which meant another boring day with absolutely nothing to do. The sun stood high against the blue sky, supported only by a few wispy clouds too lazy to move on. Robins and bluebirds darted beneath, relishing the warm spring day. Bright orange and yellow flowers drank in the light, blazing in full bloom. But where were the Ritcher kids? Nowhere near.

Samantha and her younger brother Tommy lay splayed out up in her room doing what they usually did on Saturday afternoon… reading.

Their parents were out shopping and would not be home for hours. Samantha, who just turned twelve the month before, was finally trusted to watch her brother. Still, their neighbor Mrs. Smith promised to keep an eye out for them… just as long as they didn’t bother her as she watched her beloved Yankees. Pushing eighty, the spry old lady followed baseball religiously. To her, the players of the New York Yankees were saints. All others had the duty to follow their example, or at least watch their exploits on the field. The only sin she never forgave was interrupting a game for no good reason. Her number was stuck on the fridge next to the landline telephone that neither sibling cared to use. Not that Mrs. Smith or the kids ever need worry about that. Nothing happened in their neighborhood, especially during a weekend.

Ever since the horrible COVID-19 outbreak back in March of the previous year, when pretty much the whole world went on lockdown, the houses of Pine Falls resembled more a graveyard than a bustling neighborhood. Nobody had dared to venture outside those first few months. And now, over a year later, in mid-May, little had changed. Sure, more cars drove by—grownups going to or returning from work, or off shopping—but few people ever ventured outdoors for long, and absolutely no kids. The few kids who lived on the block either spent the day playing video games or turning into vampires…

Samantha, Sam for short, often imagined with vicious glee everything that happened during the late, shadowy hours of Pine Falls… She could just see it. When she and her brother were off in dreamland, their neighbors awakened... Suddenly the streets were filled with kids and adults, all on the prowl, hunting for blood… Red glowing eyes lit up the night…

But that was just in her imagination. In reality, the nighttime was just as dead as the morning. She knew this because back in October she once stayed up late to see for herself. She’d tried to convince Tommy to stay up with her, but that was not going to happen. On that night, just before bed, she’d told Tommy her theory. He’d promptly covered his ears, shut his eyes, and buried his face in his pillow.

Tommy, a year younger, did not like vampires. At all. He had his sister to blame. Their mom had the bad habit of not only reading bloodsucking novels, but also watching grisly vampire movies.

Back when Tommy was just seven, Sam had pulled him from bed late one night to sneak down and watch television. The noise of a movie had kept her awake and she knew their parents had been excited to watch whatever it was—they’d practically demanded an early bedtime for their kids. Brother and sister excitedly crept down the stairs before slipping into the family room. At that time, neither one was allowed to watch anything scarier than a G-rated animated flick. They couldn’t wait to see what their parents watched behind their backs. Like commandos, they crawled quietly across the carpet in their pajamas. The noise of the movie covered their grunts and let them know a chase scene had just ended. The music grew quiet but tense. The two kids stopped behind the couch where their parents sat cuddled together. Their mom and dad never noticed the visitors. All their focus was on the big, high-definition flat-screen television hanging on the opposite wall. They believed their kids were safely in bed. Instead, their kids peered around the couch, just below their dad’s elbow. Sam’s head rested on top of Tommy’s hair as she knelt over her younger brother. They looked just in time to see a young teenage guy tell his teary-eyed girlfriend that everything would okay. Then it all went terribly, horribly wrong. With a wild shriek, a bald, pale-faced fiend launched from the ceiling, sinking sharp fangs into the teen boy’s long neck. Red juice exploded like a geyser and spattered the camera. The teen boy yelled for the girl to save herself, just before collapsing in a bloody heap. The girl tried to do just that, but several more vampires rose up from behind her, beating large batlike wings and opening blood-soaked lips to reveal sharp grisly fangs.

At that moment, an earsplitting scream erupted through the night, nearly exploding Sam’s eardrums. Their mom and dad nearly jumped to the roof, as if electrocuted. The scream had come from Tommy. His body locked rigidly beneath Samantha’s as his wild eyes stared in fright.

In the end of that fiasco, Sam had been grounded for three days and Tommy was scarred for life. Vampires haunted his dreams for weeks after and now they still made him shudder.

So on the night Sam stayed up to watch Pine Falls nightlife, she’d spent it alone. She’d sat nodding off on the front steps as… nothing happened. Not a single car had passed by nor a single light brightened a single window. The next morning Tommy had been relieved to find her in one piece and with no sharpened teeth, but Sam had been angry. How could her life be so boring?

Only the many books supplied by her parents kept her entertained. After the vampire incident, their parents decided their young minds were too impressionable and the world too unregulated. No cell phones, no video games, and very little unsupervised TV were allowed for the siblings… which meant reading had to serve as the primary form of fun…

Samantha groaned softly as she closed the cover of her latest dud. Sure she liked reading, and she had read many fantastic books. But after a while, there were too many other books that proved too painful. Imagination was great, but sometimes it took too much to save a poorly written book.

Ugh, she said aloud. I never knew our FBI was so clueless.

Rolling to her back, she stared up at the white ceiling dotted with the colorful stars she’d put up during the quarantine the summer before.

She lay on her bed while Tommy rested on his belly on the soft pink carpet below her. If only the two siblings could find a way to reach the stars like so many characters in books always managed to do.

I mean, she continued, why hire a kid to solve a mystery that even I could solve in, like, the first two chapters? Really, I mean, the clues are so obvious. Tommy? Hello?

Hearing no response, she rolled to her side and scooted to the edge of her quilt. Tommy’s dark curls were just visible below her. You awake?

Quiet! Tommy hissed at her, sounding cross and a little choked up. I’m getting to the part where the dog dies.

Sam rolled her eyes. Serves you right. I told you, any book about a boy getting a puppy always ends up with the dog dying.

She could almost hear Tommy’s jaw clench. Her younger brother tried to hide it, but he was always a sensitive kid. When little, he used to have funerals for dead bugs he found around the house. He still forced their parents to carry out all spiders unharmed when found inside.

Not all dogs die in books, he said roughly. I mean, some have happy endings.

Sure, Tommy. Sam again turned to lie on her back. She breathed out in frustration. It’s like a rule. Kids are always treated as too little to do things unless it’s in a book. And whatever happens in a book has to be so far-fetched that it could never happen in real life. Unless it’s about a dog, and then the dog must die.

Tommy snorted. Not true. There’re a lot of books that could happen.

Yeah? Like what? Name one. I mean, are we going to turn into wizards or find out we have magic powers? Is the FBI going to hire us to solve crimes? Or are we going to go on some adventure or move into some rich relative’s mansion? Sam’s dark eyes flashed as she lurched back to her side and peered down at Tommy. The only good books are impossible. Admit it.

Sighing, her brother closed his book and moved to a sitting position to face her. His young forehead scrunched in thought.

Watching him, Sam twisted her lips into a grimace. Tommy, like her, had light brown skin, brown eyes, and dark curls. Her curls hung past her shoulders while Tommy had his sheared short on the sides while longish on top. That was the major difference between them— their hair.

Tommy’s curls flopped over him like plumage to a bird. Sam actually thought he resembled a browned, chubby carrot with dark leaves on top, but wisely kept this thought to herself. During the quarantine both kids had added a few pounds, but Sam had mostly slimmed down during the stress of school.

I’m thinking, Tommy said, pressing his lips tightly together. I know there’s one…

Sam couldn’t help but love him even more. Not only were they brother and sister, but they were best friends. Sure, they got on each other’s nerves at times, and certainly had a scrap every once in a while, but at the end of the day, they were all they had.

See? Sam said. You can’t think of one, can you?

Just give me more time. I wish I could phone a friend…

Sam snorted. That would require a cell phone. We don’t have that. And we don’t have friends here, do we? She fell back onto her bed in despair.

Tommy said nothing in return.

Both siblings were average height with average looks. Nothing special about either of them. No surprise, this didn’t help them in school.

Neither one fit in with their classmates at North Star Middle. There, they were sometimes teased for no other reason than the fact they were still considered new. Mostly they were left alone and largely ignored.

Sometimes, Sam thought, this was worse than being teased. At least being bullied meant they would have to have some part of school life.

They had moved to Pine Falls about a year before, a few weeks before the great pandemic struck. With the schools and much of the country being shut down for several months, the siblings lost any hope of making any new friends.

Before moving, their dad worked for a major computer company as a data scientist. They’d lived comfortably in northern Maryland where Sam and Tommy enjoyed plenty of friends and almost no worries. Then some kitchen appliance company had lured their dad to work in a new office located on the outskirts of Claxton, Virginia, a few hours from the coast. The job came with a significant raise, so without consulting the kids, the family gathered their things and headed south. They moved into a nice two-story, four-bedroom house in the friendly neighborhood of Pine Falls in Littleton, Virginia… unknowingly headed straight for the most awful, horrible pandemic known to many as the COVID-19 virus. To Sam, it was just the putrid virus.

When September finally came around for a new school year, the buildings were still closed to students. The two siblings had to suffer through months of virtual school, which proved virtually impossible. Both siblings spent hours trying to listen as frustrated teachers tried to overcome faulty technology to teach uninterested kids watching on tiny computers in their own homes while surrounded by millions of distractions. Sam and Tommy were given laptops from their school and worked mostly in Sam’s bedroom. With Tommy in sixth grade and Samantha in seventh, they were in the same school and so had similar schedules. This was good, because they also had little supervision.

Their parents both had jobs, but also had to work from home. While Sam and Tommy struggled with their online school work, their mom and dad fought to stay sane down on the first floor with their own computers. Over the summer, their dad had discovered online chess to keep him busy during down time. Their mom took to shopping on the internet for books for Sam and Tommy—which is why they never ran out of things to read. Every week another package of books seemed to arrive. Neither one welcomed distractions from their kids.

Then, a few weeks into the school year, the virus had started to weaken. Both their parents had leapt at the chance to return to their offices. Their mom worked as a secretary for a local dentist while Mr. Ritcher put his data skills to work on finding ways to improve sales of water faucets. Mrs. Smith, the only neighbor they’d met since the move, agreed to supervise the kids from her home (Just have them call if they need me, I’m right here and won’t be going nowhere.) and Sam and Tommy were mostly left on their own. It got to be pretty boring very fast.

Both kids had to admit, when their school district had finally announced school buildings would open to students after Thanksgiving, they were extremely happy. For the first time in their lives, they couldn’t wait to return to school… Only returning to school quickly became old news. Having no friends and starting middle school three months into the year was not very easy.

To make it worse, all the students and teachers still had to wear masks nearly the entire time and everyone treated strangers as carriers of the plague. Not being able to show your face, except when eating lunch—where you had to sit six feet apart—made it extremely difficult to make friends. So the year crawled by until it started zooming towards summer.

Sam shuddered to think of it. Facing another summer with no friends except for Tommy was unthinkable. The only good news, the school announced masks could be voluntary starting that Monday. In the winter, vaccines for the horrible COVID virus were given to teachers. Soon after, parents’ complaints finally pushed the Littleton school board to reconsider the mask mandate… which were helped tremendously by a series of viral videos taken by students with cell phones of the countless mask violations that happened routinely during a school day. Videos of kids sneezing into masks, chewing on masks, struggling to breathe during PE, and then playing a game of seeing how long a kid could go without a mask before being caught, flooded the local social media. But what really turned the tide was the video taken of a prominent school board member walking into a classroom without a mask and saying offhand how masks were mostly for show anyway.

Thankfully, with no COVID outbreaks striking during this time, the decision was made to do away with masks… for now. But if COVID ever returned to schools… it would mean the return of masks and possibly virtual school.

Thinking about it, Sam couldn’t help but feel a bit excited for Monday, but at the same time even more worried. At least with a mask you could pretend to hide behind something. You had a good excuse for why nobody talked to you or sat with you at lunch. Just thinking about it made her heart beat faster. With no cell phone and only a school email address, she had no contact with her old friends, which she had to admit were never really that close to begin with. That left her and Tommy alone… with books.

If only I lived in a book, she thought… Then, she knew, it would have to be the most boring book ever written. Still, at least then she could skip the bad parts and find out how it ended.

She sighed again. For a time, Sam always imagined that she and her brother were secretly extraordinary. That maybe they held dormant powers deep inside of them that would come to light as they aged… or that their parents were actually top-secret agents who routinely saved the world from evildoers around the world. But that was all silly. Their dad worked with data about water faucets and their mom scheduled teeth cleanings. Neither one could find a job more boring. Magic didn’t exist and new friends could only be found in the pages of books… and they would never know her name.

Sam’s eyelids blinked rapidly. She’d gone off in her imagination again. Rolling back to the edge of her bed, she looked down to see Tommy back to reading his dying dog book. She rolled her eyes before turning over to her other side to find her book. It was time to see what the genius FBI kid came up with next.

Chapter 3

What are you doing, Felix? Rafe asked through the speaker. Your Muon is hogging all the action. He sounded more curious than cross.

Don’t get frazzled, Felix muttered a bit waspishly. I’ll be right there. Concentrating in front of him, he knelt on the edge of a large field covered with tall wavy grass. The edge of the cliff was at his back. His sniper rifle and assault rifle lay abandoned there, along with his remaining ammo clips. He had ten rounds left for each.

Explosions from Tayson’s rocket launcher filled the air. The Muon seemed to be taking care of the new scorpos with little trouble.

What, are you trying to take a leak or something?

Hardy har har. Felix rose from his squat and jogged back to his weapons. He threw himself onto the ground next to them before crawling to the edge of the cliff.

Stepping out of the entrance to the Doomlands meant entering a narrow valley carved between a pair of steep rocky cliffs, each towering over forty feet high. Made of jagged, veined redstone, the cliffs had several rough paths that led to the top, making them perfect for ambushes. From the ledge, Felix had scampered up the right cliff, following the narrow path cutting diagonally up the cliff’s side. Tayson remained below in his position near the entrance to continue the battle.

Now from his prone position, Felix let his eyes travel down the valley. A rough dirt road wound between these cliffs and eventually led to the Ancient Ruins—a burnt-out town from long ago. This was Felix’s target. He’d been told he would find an extremely rare item there—something that would change everything and shoot him to the top. Nobody else knew about this item, but if found it could be sold to the highest bidder at nearly any price Felix could imagine.

Felix trembled with excitement. If all went well, which it would, in mere moments he was going to be legendary. He thought back to how it all happened…

Three days before, the strange man with one eye had approached him. Felix had just returned from a successful Snipe hunt—taking down ten Snipes in less than twenty minutes, a record for his age and level.

Snipes were among the smallest and fastest of the monsters. Scurrying on four legs, they were like a cross between wild dogs and beavers. With buckteeth and a long, angular muzzle, Snipes had almost no neck, but two pairs of powerful legs and a long flat tail to help with balance. They actually had no attack skills, but were very good at defense. They were companions to the feared Lionhurst Warriors.

Related to Brutes, only more powerful and with more intelligence, Lionhurst Warriors had orange and yellow fur and walked upright. They had the bodies of Brutes, but the heads of lions. No gamers had ever found a female version, but plenty had run into the warriors with long flowing manes and paid the price. Lionhurst Warriors not only had sharp teeth and claws, but also carried flaming swords that could set victims afire even if the blade barely brushed by them. Without proper protection and care, a gamer could become toast pretty quickly. This made Snipe hunting a very difficult feat.

Usually, taking out a Snipe meant dealing with an angry Lionhurst right after. And if you didn’t destroy the Snipe immediately, the creature could smack its flat tail against the ground to warn of the attack. This brought every Lionhurst Warrior in the vicinity right for you.

Yet, using some daring, a bit of cunning, a whole lot of speed, and perhaps a bunch of luck, Felix and Tayson had taken out the Snipes. To pull it off, Felix had hidden himself high up in a giant sycamore in the midst of a thick clump of trees known as a Snipe hangout. Tayson had crouched below. The two boys had hidden themselves there when the Snipes and warriors had gone for a midday swim at the water hole located just below the copse of trees on the north side.

The boys waited patiently—Tayson on the ground and Felix perched in the tree. Finally, with the sun high overhead, the Snipes returned feeling refreshed. Felix used his sniper rifle to blast the lead creature, dropping it in a single shot. Tayson immediately ran, screaming as he did so, to draw the warrior guardians.

While the Muon servant led the angry pack of warriors on a frightful chase, Felix casually lay out on his branch and readied for more shooting. With Tayson leading the furious Lionhurst Warriors away from the Snipes, Felix just had to wait patiently. Thankfully Tayson proved to be a fast and able runner when scared. Soon Felix was left alone with his prey. Under him, the Snipes huddled together, attempting to hide in the clump of trees.

Felix sat up slowly, his legs straddling the branch to keep his balance. He calmly raised his rifle and took aim at the defenseless creatures, finding the smallest one to be his first victim. It was best to shoot the smaller targets when they were not moving. Squeezing the trigger, he took down the Snipe. He then started firing as rapidly as possible.

By the time the warriors had reached Tayson and discovered he wasn’t the shooter, it was too late. Felix took down four Snipes before a single one could beat out a warning. As the tails finally struck wood, Felix quickly gathered himself and stood on the thick branch. Just in front of him was a long branch from a neighboring oak. After two steps, he launched himself onto a new tree, clutching his rifle in one hand and using the other to grab hold of a handful of leaves to keep from falling. From there, he shot another Snipe.

The Snipes were in a panic and had no protection. Not seeing the killer, they started running in circles. Felix only had to keep moving so they couldn’t identify where the bullets came from. After each shot, Felix quickly hopped to a different branch of another tree. Staying high enough to be covered by the lower branches covered in green leaves, he was never found.

After reaching double digits of Snipes, he slunk away as the Lionhurst Warriors returned and started a savage