VL) Chapter 2 Part 4

I was currently experiencing something I have never felt before. A sharp pain in my stomach. A protruding bulge in my lower abdomen. The feeling as if I moved even a single inch I would end up popping like a balloon. The only thing I can do is sink into the comfy couch and wonder if I will be taken off to heaven someplace. Umm… heaven is a place I read about in a book called the bible. It seems to be where dead people go after they die. It is said to be a paradise. But if such a place existed and there was someone watching us humans from above, where the hell were they? You would think after the world went to shit that, they would have done something to fix the world they created and supposedly loved. At any rate, the couch is now my heaven.

“Alicia, you really love this couch, huh?” Elara sat next to me. For some reason, she seemed to be sitting way too close.

“Mmm…” I answered. I made sure to answer this time because I did not want to be called out for ignoring her again. I might really get punched if I did. But there was one thing I could not fight off, and that was the sinking of my eyelids. They just kept drooping, and I could feel my head swaying ever so slightly.

- - -

“Elara, come here,” Nina called out softly. She did not want to wake Alicia. She knew many things had happened recently and that now that she had a full stomach, Alicia would probably be sleeping for the rest of the night.

“Mom, what’s up?” Elara got up from the couch and walked over to her mother who then led Elara into the kitchen.

“First, I want you to relax a little. I know you have been stuck training with the instructors I got for you and that you can’t leave the building until after you enter the academy, but you need to take things slow if you wish to befriend Alicia. She is a survivor. Someone who had to live every day wondering if she would be able to eat or not. Everything to her is new, and it falls on us to try to get her up to speed on things before enrollment day. You have to put yourself in her shoes. If you come on too strong after always being alone, would you warm up to the person right away or feel like you had no choice but to put up with them or be kicked out?

“Alicia is being courteous at this time because this is your house. If we were to kick her out because she got annoyed with you and said something about it, where would she go? She probably has many fears and is restless at the same time. So we need to ease her into this new life and hope she can adapt easily. Tomorrow, you can go to the middle floors and do some clothes shopping. Get some clothes that fit Alicia and a few outfits for yourself. Teach her how to use money and what is in fashion. I know you keep up on all that stuff. Think of it as a means to get to know her.” Nina reached up and scratched her daughter behind the ears, making them twitch.

Elara was very happy she could go down to the middle floors with someone other than her mother. She had been there before by herself, she had gone to get some clothes and maybe make a friend or two but she found that no one dared to get close to her. They seemed to be afraid of her. She did not know why, but this was just how it was.

Many players who had saved people were actually quite popular but it seemed the no named players were seen as loose cannons. This was why she was excited that Alicia had come. She was hoping to make her first friend. She had to take all her classes online, so she never got to play with other kids. She was what was considered a second generation Player. Her father had also been a player but died when she was young.

“I will slow down.” Elara nodded her head. She wanted to befriend Alicia, not scare her away.

“Good. Now, help me put Alicia to bed. She seems to be down for the count.”

- - -

I think I am dead. There is this fluffy softness surrounding my body. It is a softness I had never felt before. It was even greater than the softness of the couch. This felt like I was one with the clouds. There was not just softness on my back but also on top of my body. Even the back of my head was being smothered in a soft cushion. “Bliss…”

 “I am glad you are comfortable, but you need to get up, Alicia.” A familiar voice rang in my ears. I slowly opened my eyes to see the light of day shining in through the window. “I guess I did die. There is no way I would ever sleep on such a soft thing and have light shining through my window. Wait… just having a window is already quite amazing!”

“Haha, no, I am sorry, dear, but you are far from being dead.” I familiar figure appeared in front of me with her hands on her hips. Her lips were curled up into an amused smile.

“Nina?” I asked, scratching my head. Now that I think about it, I do remember something about being brought to Nina’s house and given my own room. “I’m alive?”