The Eternal Sleep

By Quincy

Virtual world gaming becomes a deadly affair when a game developer turns his best design into a world wide competition to find the reigning team. Join Luca and his team as they battle deadly opponents and fight in dangerous missions all for the sake of finding the truth of this reckless affair. But what will he do when their virtual reality starts leaking into the real world...

This three hundred paged book is filled with endless action and adventure, from high diving from sky castles and battling ancient beasts underground, to fighting in rings and breaking the rules, all within a virtual reality... or is it? 

There's only one way to find out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Quincy
• Release date: Apr 13, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215737309

Book preview

Chapter 1 - ‘Hello, World;’

He sighed as he pulled his hood over his head, the soft pitter patter of rain reaching his ears. The noisy city quieted as if in respect to the blessings of the cool, afternoon rain. The school day had finally come to an end, students milling about, waiting on a parent, a friend or simply for the rain to pass.

Luca, however, could only feel trepidation for the idea of going home. It was late enough that his family would be home. He did not like the idea of an entertaining two hours being having a seat near a table and listening to his mother praise her stepson for his university goals and accomplishments.

He looked around, the muted, grey skies and low sounds of passing cars mercifully distracted him from the loudness of his thoughts. A boisterous shout catches his attention and turning his head, he spots a young child waving to an older woman, possibly his mother, with pure joy on his face. Luca thought of being in that position, the world narrowed to just you and your parent or guardian, no worries, no fighting, just innocent joy.

It’d been a while since he’d felt this powerful longing well up in his chest. He smiled sadly, trained his eyes to the ground and made his way home through the empty streets. Nothing has been the same since his mother married his stepfather a couple of months ago. Luca was understanding when he’d learnt his mother had a boyfriend, happy to see the look of pure delight on her face as she talked about him. Luca even met him many times... but being present in their life and being a part of it happened to be two very different things.

Luca never had any issues with Sean, he was a very kind and understanding man, willing to go above and beyond to keep his mother happy. Jasper, his son, was very easy to talk to, someone close to his age that he could hold an easy conversation with relatable topics. Luca never really felt any connection with them, however, not like his mother did. There was always a mild distance between him and the others, like standing on two opposite sides of a small river.

His father walked out when he was twelve, and he’d spent five years trying to keep the smile on his mother’s face. After seeing his mother at her lowest points, he silently made the decision to always bring home the highest marks, keep himself out of trouble and never complain, trying his best to make things a little bit easier. He’d ignored the small number of friends he’d had so that he could spend more time with her and helping her out.

Since Sean and Jasper had walked into their lives, however, one thing had led to another and suddenly, it felt like he was being swept under a rug and forgotten. His mother went from happily chatting with him to Luca being happy if he even got a sentence of acknowledgment. It was like black had turned white and the world was upside down.

It’s not like he hadn’t tried to fit in, any attempts to speak to Jasper was mostly a quiet affair. Being a young adult, his stepbrother often preferred chatting to his friends online or watching shows that made little to no sense to Luca. Conversations with Sean would always trail off into awkwardness due to their lack of chatting skill, Luca knew nothing of sports and Sean knew nothing about the technological advancements appearing in modern society.

The day his mother told him that the wedding was coming up, he’d thrown a fit. He knew he was wrong, but he hadn’t even known that they were engaged, and even less, ready to marry. What made his dispute worse, he’d easily learnt that he’d been the last to know, every other family member and friend had been aware to some degree.

The argument was loud, starting as a simple question and ending with a yelling match between Sean and himself. Despite living in the same apartment, Luca has hardly talked since, both indignant and shaken at the fury he’d seen on Sean’s face that night. He’d avoided the trio as much as he could, staying in his room or late at school. Sean often tried to start a conversation with him again, but it always ended in deadpanned responses, Luca was terrified of the backlash from his mother if he’d used the sarcasm ingrained in his personality.

Luca took a moment to brace himself before he opened the door to his apartment. He was surprised for a moment to hear the absence of lively chatting or the sounds of the television, it was silent. He walked in slowly, and to his surprise, the apartment was empty. Significantly more relaxed, he walked in, intending to head straight to his room upstairs, when a note on the counter caught his eye.

Interesting - his mother had decided to take a late-night shift at the restaurant. Much less interesting, his stepfather was on a trip to pick up Jasper so that he could spend the weekend with them. He pondered why they didn’t just send him a text message but just shook his head to clear the irritated thought.

‘Must have been why his mother decided to take the late-night shift, there was no one of interest home.’, he believed. He sighed and chucked the note in the bin, grabbing a cookie from the jar at the end of the counter and headed to his room.

He tossed his bag at the foot of his desk, accidently knocking over the small bin and leaned himself heavily on the chair. Absent-mindedly, he booted up his computer and grabbed his VR headset from the shelf above him. Luca had the house to himself and he could do his homework tomorrow. For now, however, all he wanted to do was kill some time and frustration.

The game was already open from his gameplay last night, the chat launched to reveal a single message for the day,

<<Personal Chat – ‘Jay’ to ‘Chat’: ‘Had half day of school today, if anybody’s free I’m at Willow’s town Centre.’>>

It was from Jay, his online friend that insisted on being his best friend. No one from the group of five had responded, so it seemed like time to give Jay some company.

<<Personal Chat – ‘Luca’ to ‘Team’: ‘I’m here, two minutes, wait for me at the edge.’ – Luca>>

Luca pushed back from the table, switching on the REM sleep headgear and cleared his bed of his books before lying down comfortably on his back. He slipped the head piece securely over his head and waited for the real world to fade around him.

Taking him to a place where he felt far more powerful, much more important, and a lot more at home.

THE ETERNAL SLEEP WAS a game created by the most technologically advanced gaming company, Black Crown Industries and its owner, Naijal Sun. It was the highest rated game and headgear of the decade. The Luna Gear’s headset used specified brain waves to send the users into a form of lucid dreaming where they would be able to access the game as though they were still in a form of reality.

Aidan Jhonnes, the creator’s right-hand man, created the heart and soul of the game they centred the gear around, ‘The Eternal Sleep’. It was essentially an advanced version of a social media platform. This was a world where you could customize how you looked, interact with people from around the real world,  while fighting monsters, earning medals and coins and doing anything you loved without the real world’s social standards, traditions and flaws.

Luca had been hooked on the game since it was released to the stores, a year ago. He’d build himself a place where he felt safe and strong. At the beginning, he resembled a lone wolf, taking on quests and earning both coins and a name by himself. That was until he met Jay at least, the guy insisted on getting himself in trouble on every quest he took. Eventually, Luca began helping him out a couple times and finally Luca became close enough friends with him to share his real name.

Along the way, he met others, people kind of like him, who used the game as a place to get away from the real world. They formed a small team, doing whatever made them most happy and comfortable in their own form. Olivia, the best racer they knew, Rena, a street artist and high-risk photographer, and Armando, the smartest person that they knew.

Chapter 2 The Willow Town

Luca felt weightless , and a distinct awareness that he was falling. Despite doing this many times, he doesn’t think he’ll ever get accustomed to it. His centre of gravity settled, and light flooded into his eyes. Taking a moment to re-orient himself, he glanced around and took in the hustle and bustle of the game world.

The Willow Town had been crafted like an old-time village, medieval buildings and old taverns, and the centre was thriving with life as usual. He could hear the composer's music that played softly in the air, and the sounds of chatter that followed you, no matter where you went. It was the only town that placed itself between the rest of the game and the ‘Edge’.

He looked at himself in the mirror as a compulsory check that came with the rules of the game, to ensure that no glitches appeared in the created avatar and that the player is aware of any recent updates. Neck length, blue hair was absentmindedly combed to the side as he adjusted his leather jacket and fingerless gloves, feet shifting from habitual movement in the calf high boots that were a tasteful insight by Rena.

After the mandatory check, he tore bright, silver eyes away from the mirror and stepped off the portal platform, acclimating to the rush of music in his ears. Some players waved at him in greeting; others continued their conversions with friends, magic and weapons casted around like every-day utensils.

The portal platform where he arrived was, as the name suggested, a platform between four fancy poles that allowed players to portal from one town to another in a matter of seconds, it was also the place where players respawned if they died on a quest or in a street battle, giving them full health again with the price of coins and inventory items.

Now, it was time to figure out what Jay had been up to in the last hour or two, he had the tendency to wander if something interesting caught his attention. He walked to the ‘Edge’, absently noting how the lighting became dimmer and the sound of the music faded, in its place was a mystic reverberation that faintly resembled a lo-fi beat that washed a sense of peace over the area.

The ‘Edge’ was the end of ‘The Eternal Sleep’ platform. Instead of just linking the world like a sphere, the creators allowed it to be flat, lining the underneath in clouds and filtered it with serene music. It was lined with a waist-height banister painted with characters from fairy tales found in the game.

It was a popular place to hang-out and talk, and less significantly, jumping off the platform without the real-life consequences. Luca, along with the rest of his rag-tag crew had tried it, it far more resembled skydiving rather than something to be weary of. Players simply respawned in the portal platform without any loss of inventory items.

Unsurprisingly, a figure was already sitting on the banister, feet dangling calmly over the side. The figure had short black hair that faded into green, a black hooded, knee-length jacket, boots similar to Luca’s own and a rifle strapped to his back. 

Luca thumped his hand on Jay’s shoulder as a greeting before leaning against the banister, looking over the endless expanse and never-ending sunrise. The breeze moved gently, a soft wave through his hair and clothes, allowing his jacket to float like a dramatic movie.

Odd seeing you so quiet for once. Luca smiled at Jay.

Haha, I can be quiet. At Luca’s raised eyebrow, he relented, But that’s so boring though, I mean we already have one guy that barely talks.

"I guess we do need someone to talk twice as much to make up for it. Luca laughed, Speaking of, any idea where the others are?"

Nope, well Rena’s here but she went to paint in this new place she found in the old city. Jay turned around and jumped off the banister, nodding his head to the town before walking slowly, Luca followed him silently, I was with her for a while when I realized I had time to get some coins.

And did you?

I tried... but it didn’t end well. Jay stopped and waved his hand, a small screen appeared in front of him, Luca leaned next to him to get a better look. It seemed like Jay lost more coins than he earned them, unfortunately. My small quest turned out to be a fight to the death... and I lost.

While that sucks, I hope you plan on earning these coins by yourself. Luca jogged to catch up with Jay, the mystic music fading back into the light-hearted tavern music.

Nope!

LUCA STILL COULDN’T understand how he’d managed to get roped into his. One minute he was standing next to the ‘Edge’, having a peaceful moment, the other, he was handed a flier for a high paying quest from the board in a tavern and dragged through a portal platform to the centre of the old city of ‘Porta-res-Fernada’.

Sure, he was willing to help Jay earn some money back on a quest, but if he failed, he’d lose half of his own coins as the game’s form of payment to respawn. It would be even worse if they took enough health damage to lose things from their inventory.

Jay was a formidable fighter in the game, skilled with both knives and guns, Luca had trained with all in the simulations that the gyms offered but he was most proficient with a sniper’s weapon. If Jay couldn’t manage this quest with his skill level, Luca had no idea why he thought adding a sniper would be of any extra use.

So... you want to explain the quest to me? Or am I going in blind as usual. Luca distractedly asked as he glanced at the damaged buildings and empty roads.

"Ouch, one, that was one time and two... it’s a find an’ retrieve mission." Jay sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"You lost a find and retrieve quest, really? Luca stared at him in shock. You have to be kidding me."

"Hey, look, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds, okay, there is a reason why this quest pays so much, besides, you do not want to see what that little kid turns into when you don’t find all the things she wants."

Dear Eternal Sleep, this is so dumb.

Jay led them into an open area, a single water fountain in the middle. On the benches surrounding the plaza, there were a couple people milling about and chatting, the grey cobblestone design of the ground muffling the sound of their boots. Jay wasted no time walking up to the fountain and resting his hand on the water, a blue screen appeared.

"Several things, little things. Very dear, for much I care. Find them, Retrieve them. Or face my fear." Luca read the rhyme to the side of the description screen, That last part doesn’t sound too reassuring.

Like I said, you don’t want to see what she turns into. Jay glanced back at him.

How did you manage to lose this?

It’s timed, I didn’t realize. Every five minutes, things move around and at the last five minutes, she turns so we have to be quick, you in?

Fine, if I lose though, you own me half of the coins you earn for all three quests you win after this. Luca huffed and double tapped his chest to pull up his stats screen.

Deal. Jay entered the information and clicked the ‘Go’ button. We have ten minutes prep time.

Luca grabbed Jay in surprise as his weight disappeared, his breath stuck in his lungs. He stumbled as he was abruptly lifted thirty feet in the air, Jay pulled him closer so he wouldn’t fall. The ground stabilized and the city rebuilt itself in seconds. The streets now empty of life and unnervingly quiet.

You need to warn me before you do that! Luca punched Jay in the arm, not that it mattered, they couldn’t feel pain.

If there are other people present that are not in a quest, the game would create a second copy of the area above that would be invisible to anyone except those in the quest. It allowed both groups of players to remain uninterrupted or not be distracted. It was very disorienting, however, if the players were not aware it was going to happen.

Why, this is far more fun! Jay dodged another punch.

I hate you. Luca said without malice and waved his hand to pull up his screen again as it had disappeared when he fell. Okay, what is it exactly you want me to do?

Eyes from the buildings, it’s easier if there’s a pair of eyes overlooking the whole thing. You look from on top and tell me where anything is on the comms so I can get it faster, rather than both of us being back and forth.

Luca hummed an affirmative, looking at his stats screen. On it was an outline of his avatar on the left, his clothes and weapons translucently blueprinted on his person. The right was his health bar, the amount of coins he carried, his achievement list and a couple other options such as weapons choice, inventory and avatar design. He clicked the weapons list and quickly scrolled through, adding a standard scoped sniper and a teleportation totem that he’d earned on a previous quest.

Time’s up. Jay nodded at him, a bat in his hands and a standard handgun in a holster on his thigh.

I’m ready. A five-second countdown appeared in front of them.

Chapter 3 Find and Retrieve 

Luca activated the teleportation talisman attached to his wrist and teleported to the top of the building next to him, leaving Jay to accept the list of things to find from the Non-Player Character disguised as a child.

The teleportation charm was a simple totem that he’d earned on one of his first quests as a sniper. It was easy to work with, the user just had to brace themselves as though they were going to jump and look at the space they wanted to appear, it was usually accompanied with a flash of blue and a sound of a wind chime knocking.

He swiftly glimpsed the roof-top’s layout before giving Jay a thumbs up, he placed the gun in one hand and pulled up his screen again, accepting the permission for a two-way communication line, a map and the list that had appeared in his inventory.

A small earpiece materialized in his ear; the list remained a floating screen to his left side for reference, the small map of the area floating to the right . I’m ready, you remember anything on this list?

Yea, but I’m certain they’re not in the same place as before.

I forgot to ask, how much time do we have?

Uhhh... a half hour. Jay grinned at him in defiance to the curse Luca returned in response. Less chatting, more searching, these things move every five minutes.

Luca nodded, running to the edge of the building, scope already by his eye, searching for any items on the list. He set his gun to flare, a special charm that came with his weapons, a single shot lit up an area on his map like a marking, anyone who he linked with his map could see it.

I have one! He fired a shot, watching the area light up red on his map before teleporting to another building. He could hear Jay running to the marked area immediately, the item disappearing on the list as he retrieved it.

He swept the area as quickly as he could with the scope, teleporting back and forth on buildings. There’s another one here! He fired two more shots, waiting for Jay to keep up.

I can’t reach fast enough; the first five minutes are almost up! Jay panted; a player could feel breathless in the game, it was a natural reaction to running rather than a part of the coding for player’s avatars.

Luca teleported to a building next to where Jay was standing, searching for anything that could help him. There’s a motorbike half a block that way. He jumped back to the building above where he’d last seen it and fired a shot.

Thanks, Luc!

I don’t plan on losing any coins today! Luca shouted back with humour in his voice, already teleporting to a building a few blocks away. He watched items on the list disappear as Jay followed the marks on his map.

"The best motivation."

Luca aimed for a small mug that was floating on a table outside a café. As he fired, it abruptly disappeared with a flash of blue light. Don’t follow that one, it’s gone, the first five minutes are up!

We have fifteen more things on the list.

How much things does this kid need? Luca rolled his eyes.

Stop complaining and look for the stuff, I’m gonna search for anything on the ground. Jay’s bike rushed past him on the street below as he teleported to another building.

There’s a toy train on this side! They moved from block to block, trying to find items on the list as fast as they could. Several times they argued good-naturedly at every five-minute interval when they lost the items that were marked out.

The final five minutes were approaching, and there was one more item they were struggling to find. Why would a kid need a locket anyway? Luca asked as he rapidly teleported from building to building, ignoring the scope for now as he searched for the item in a panic.

It’s one of the things I couldn’t find either last time! Jay frantically searched through the streets.

A thunderous howl echoed through the empty streets. Startled, Luca landed roughly on the roof of a building, rolling a few times before pulling himself to his feet. "Jay... what the holy heck... is that?"

I did say you don’t wanna see what they turn into when you’re running out of time. Jay said woefully.

"For real? I expected a child throwing a tantrum, not becoming a tantrum!" Luca screeched on the comms in his ear. He teleported a couple of buildings back as the beast smashed its hand through the building that he was standing on just moments before. It resembled an ogre-like giant, almost fifty meters tall, with green and grey spotted skin, claws on its hands and spikes on its head. Its golden eyes swept the streets like a flashlight.

Clever placing of words. Jay calmly stated as he pulled to the side, watching him on the roof of the building.

I’m guessing you didn’t defeat it?

Nope, squished me like a bug. Jay shrugged his shoulders, immediately shifting his focus as Luca appeared right next to him. Got any ideas?

Not yet, we have under five minutes. Luca turned himself in a circle, trying to figure out where a kid could lose a locket, or at least find one. There was still a sizeable portion of the city they hadn’t checked but they didn’t have the time now. Where would you keep a locket?

Usually, I’d say in a store or at home, Jay revved the engine as he pulled out of the way of flying debris, Luca teleporting a block away, next to an empty bookstore. But if it were important to me...

I’d keep it as close as possible; I have an idea. Luca jumped onto a building roof, watching the beast. What if, the reason why we can’t find it in the city, is because-

It wasn’t lost in the city, Jay pulled up as much as he safely could to the beast without getting hit by debris. It was always near the kid, but he’d forgotten about it or something.

My thoughts exactly, Luca spotted a shining circlet on the beast’s neck, And I think I just found your prize.

Can you get it?

No, I’d get swatted away easily, I need a distraction. Luca jumped from building to building, trying to stay out of sight of the beast while keeping an eye on the locket.

Understood. Jay didn’t hesitate to start waving his arms and start screaming at it. He drove off in a rush as the beast roared in response and chased him, leaving a trail of destruction behind.

Luca genuinely chuckled, Jay had such a determined look on his face despite knowingly being bait. He jumped from building to building, waiting for his chance to land on the beast safely. The ruins left behind by the creature’s path gave him shelter to hide from its searching eyes.

He took his chance, landing on its shoulder. The beast roared in anger and swiped at him, he teleported mid-air for a moment before landing on its fist, then on its head. It was actively trying to protect the locket. I can’t get through to it, it knows I’m after the locket.

Heavy artillery then? Jay pulled the motorbike to the side as Luca teleported from building to building, distracting it for him. Jay swiftly swiped and tapped away on his screen before materializing a bazooka.

"Since when did you have that?" Luca barely missed the claws that swiped at him.

Does anyone ever tell you that you freak out a lot? Jay chuckled as he aimed the weapon at the beast. I doubt this can do any real damage; you’ll have a few seconds.

Ready when you are. As the bazooka hit the beast in the stomach, Luca teleported on his chest, grabbing the locket and teleporting into mid-air above it.

The smoke blinded his visions, he couldn’t teleport if he couldn’t see where he was going, it was the one downfall of the charm. He could hear Jay call his name, claws were coming straight at him, he closed his eyes and braced for impact.

The beast exploded into golden sand before it could touch him, thinning out the smoke. Luca teleported behind Jay, landing hard on the ground, he pushed himself up to see the golden sand land on the ground in a wave. The pair stayed quiet, waiting for any more surprises.

When the ‘You Win’ screen appeared, they screamed in joy like a pair of excited toddlers. The world dissolved into code, dropping back into the actual game world. A small child was sitting on the edge of the fountain with an innocent smile on her face.

Looks like the locket is more than a toy. Luca nudged Jay, showing him the opened locket, inside was a small picture of the child and an older woman behind her, both had bright smiles on their faces.

Guess if I lost something like that, I’d be pretty devastated to. Jay took the locket, closing it and keeling down near the young child. He placed the locket in her hand and placed his own over it, not moving until the child giggled and faded away completely.

It was always in the back of his mind, but it was times like these, Luca was reminded that Jay had lost his mother two years ago to illness. He never showed misery or anger over it, honouring her wish of living an eventful life.

I really thought I was a goner though, coming down to the end. Luca prodded Jay, trying to lighten the mood. It worked like a charm, their minds still high off the adrenaline from the fight.

Yea, that was really cool though! Jay swung his arms back and forth to recreate the scene, You were like this, and it was like this, and then it turned to sand!

"Yea, I definitely do not want to be a part of that again. Luca scrubbed a hand over his face. Come one, let’s find Rena, maybe the others are here too."

Chapter 4 Up atop A Building High

They traipsed through the streets of ‘Westmist City’. According to the description given in the dictionary, automatically available to them on their stats screen, it was once a thriving city that fell into chaos after an economic downfall, the city’s people abandoning to find home in other surrounding cities.

The streets were filled with damaged cars and broken glass, bin haphazardly turned on its side and the buildings themselves in varying states of disrepair, planks of wood boarding it shut. On the walls, however, there were works of art, painted pieces depicting famous places in the game or players who were well known for their achievements and stories.

Luca and Jay were checking through their screens, returning their weapons or replacing them with simpler ones. While the sum of coins were hefty, they’d also gained a new defence weapon, a locket that could be placed around their neck and act as a shield against a certain number of attacks.

Any idea where Rena might be? Luca waved away his screen, putting his hands in the jacket pockets.

In her usual element. Jay grinned at him, High and dangerous.

Rena was a part of a community of high-risk painters and photographers, they earned coins by just climbing dangerous, risky, deadly places. Their pictures were ranked by the danger of the fall, and the paintings ranked by how hard the area would be to access.

"She’s up there?" Luca shuddered at the height of the unsteady building. He was never afraid of heights exactly; it was the falling that bothered him. Luca could easily admit that having the teleporting charm greatly eased his fear, but he still hated the idea of standing on such unstable ground without control.

Yep, could you ‘port me up there? Jay elbowed him as Luca rubbed the charm on his wrist, it wasn’t bulky and it gave him confidence, so he never really took it off. With a wrinkle of his nose to judge the height of the jump, he placed his hand on Jay’s shoulder and teleported.

The charm could only carry two people at once, the user and a friend, he’d first believed that it was another downfall of the totem. Studying the use of the totem Olivia had noted to him in confidence that - while it would be an issue if he were carrying people - if he were trying to get away from battle, he’d only accidently bring one person with him, allowing an easier fight.

They appeared in mid-air for a millisecond, next to the fire escape before teleporting in a flash of blue again, ground solidifying under their feet. Luca kept an arm under Jay's shoulder as he stumbled, slowly letting him down to the ground to sit. I still don’t know how you do that; that thing makes me so dizzy.

I don’t know, I was like that at first, but any dizziness usually lasts a second for me now. Luca muttered back absently, looking around on the empty fire escape level, the permanent seven o’ clock sunrise giving the area a soft glow. I could have sworn-

Guys, up here! a shout came from above. Luca didn’t hesitate to grab Jay and teleport to the level above them.

He promptly leaned Jay onto the handrail, cringing as the green haired teenager gripped it in slight distress, "I could’ve just walked!"

R-r-right, sorry. His panic was cut off by the sound of soft laughter. He looked in the direction of the sound and was genuinely blown away. The wall was covered in a realistic painting of ‘Fiesta Town’, multiple colours spread across the canvas, shaded in such a way that Luca was certain he could just walk right though, Wow.

Fiesta Town was a big place just north of Willow’s Town. It held endless parties resembling cultures from around the world and a theme park with every game and ride possible. Essentially, Fiesta Town was a party heaven for people who loved crowds, loud music and games. Luca had visited once with Jay and blown far more coins in his inventory than he’d even consider in the real world.

You like it? the teenager looked at him, hand on her hip, the other holding a can of paint.

Like it? This is amazing! Luca could barely tear his eyes away from the painting, I didn’t even know you’d gone to Fiesta.

I hadn’t actually, I don’t really like crowded places, I’m just using pics I got from the community site. She leaned against the rail, her long, red hair pulled into rope braid design swayed in the slight breeze. Her avatar was wearing a white tank top, speckled and stained with paint and skinny jeans with normal sneakers.

"For real? Luca jumped as Jay’s voice echoed far too close to his ear, he hadn’t realized that he’d been able to pull himself up, distracted as he was at the painting. That’s insane."

I’ll take it as a complement.

Damn straight.

So... what have you two been up to the last hour. She returned to painting. With an open ear, she listening to their epic tale of bravery and terrifying moments, laughing at their greatly exaggerated moves and achievements and never once judging.

They spent almost an hour just enjoying the synthetic sunlight, the breeze and chatting about their terrible day. Luca enjoyed moments like this, just getting to relax and not worry about his home life.   

Rena had told the group in confidence that she’d actually been in an accident. A few years ago, her legs had been injured in a car accident and she hasn’t been able to walk without crutches since. Surgery was possible, to fix the damage that had been unfairly brought upon her, but it cost her a lot more money than