Chapter 03

The next day, I decided to put my confusion aside and try to cheer John up. Something that he likes to do besides basketball? Terra Forma! One of the most popular games that allow you to build worlds, fight mobs, earn XP, and fight in dungeons. I called up our friends on VoiceBox to see if they were logged in. I messaged them through the app on my phone.

[AdaMan42 HAS LOGGED ON]

AdaMan42: {Anyone online?}

ApexPredatory0001: {I'm here. @ListenLinda369 is here too.}

ListenLinda369: {Yup. I'm here.}

Hey1tsNotAbraham: {Right here. Was just grinding some experience on DungeonDays. What's up?}

AdaMan42: {@JohnThe420Menace this is for you too. I was wondering if you guys would want to go after some dungeons in Terra Forma today.}

Hey1tsNotAbraham: {I'm down for that. I was actually gonna check with you guys on that.}

[JohnThe420Menace HAS LOGGED ON]

ListenLinda369: {Look who decided to join.}

JohnThe420Menace: {A little bird told me you guys were planning a Terra Forma session. I want in.}

ApexPredatory0001: {Looks like a date. Meet up at the cafe in 30?}

JohnThe420Menace: {I didn't have any plans for today except for loafing. @AdaMan42 I'll be at your house in five.}

ListenLinda369: {I'll give my sister a call and let her know to reserve a room for us. And some coffee. The use?}

ApexPredatory0001: {Sounds like a plan. Anyone object?}

Hey1tsNotAbraham: {Seems like the plan is a go.}

AdaMan42: {Sweet. See you guys there.}

I packed my laptop and headset in my backpack. I grabbed some cash from my money jar. It's what I was saving up for the car, but working a couple of extra days to make John feel better would be worth it. I told my mom where I was going as I picked my bike up in the garage. She shouted for me to not be out past dark. I threw her an okay and saw John pull up on the sidewalk. His short, blonde hair flew in the wind.

"I know what you're trying to do," John said, "and I appreciate you trying to cheer me up. I might not be on my A-game today, just so you know."

"It's okay. The point of today is to have fun. That's all. Let's go before we're late."

Pedaling our bikes down the street, I couldn't help but reflect on what had happened a couple of days before. Maybe some divine being stepped in and saved my life that day. I'd like to think there was someone out there watching over my well-being. I let that thought relax me as we rode our bikes uphill. We raced to the top, where a line of stores was on either side of the street. After a couple of turns and accidentally making a couple of drivers angry from slightly cutting them off, we stopped in front of the Arcade Cafe.

We locked our bikes in chains and walked inside the sounds of beeps and button clicks. The lounge was full of teens and young adults playing Call of Duty. The walls were lined with old quarter arcade games. The bar was by the back door that led to the five pc rooms. This place was popular with people who play video games, D&D, Magic: The Gathering, and people who just want to unwind. You'd pay two dollars per person per hour for any game that you wanted to play with friends, including legacy consoles. That didn't qualify with the old arcades, but you would end up spending the two dollars anyways if you were really bad at them.

Linda's sister, Barbara, an expert at Uno, was behind the counter cleaning glasses. Her husband, Terrance, was filling cups with espresso and coffee. She saw us walk in and motioned for us to come to the counter.

"They're already inside," she said. "Give me a sec, and I'll make your caramel macchiatos." She looked at Terrance. "Two Carachos, please dear."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, my queen."

He handed us our drinks.

"Better hurry," he said, "before they start without you."

"Nonsense," I said. "I'm a forward. They kinda need me."

"And I'm a Paladin," John said. "Everyone knows you need someone tanky that knows healing spells. That's me."

"They're behind door number three. Have fun."

Door number three yielded our friends. Here, picture this.

Adaman42: Yours truly. My shiny brown hair shone from the conditioner I had put on this morning. I was wearing the geekiest of shirts (a Nintendo controller), some cargo shorts, and my black All-Stars.

JohnThe420Menace: John, of course. He can be a menace sometimes, which is ironic since he's the Paladin of the group. He had on a green tank top. I wish he was wearing his bike shorts to really complete the look, but he was wearing black joggers instead. He had on his jogging shoes that he likes to wear when practicing and tried wearing a black headband to keep his messy brown locks tamed.

ApexPredatory0001: his real name is Roy. He's a muscle hunk. He wore a rainbow muscle shirt and short basketball shorts. His black hair was short with a striped trim on the side. He was black with the build of a bear, but his heart was like a teddy bear. Until you made him angry. He wore white socks in slides, which means he just finished his morning routine. Also, if you couldn't tell by the rainbow shirt... he's gay. People would usually pick on him if it weren't for the fact he's almost seven feet tall. If anyone should be a basketball player, it should be him.

ListenLinda369: meet Linda. She's just like her name suggests. She's the one to go to when you need someone to talk to. She will always listen and somehow understands what you're going through. She has dark purple hair that goes a few inches below her shoulders. She usually wears glasses, but she had contacts today. She wore a sleeveless black shirt with black jeans and, you guessed it, black sandals. Some would say she's a bit gothic, but once you talk to her, you realize her looks are deceiving.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: this is Lynn-Coln. She's actually from Japan. When she first moved, the kids at school would make fun of the fact her name was spelled like Lincoln from good 'ole Abe. She didn't know much English, and what she did learn was from the people that made fun of her. Roy pretty much took her under his wing. He taught her English (He watched a lot of anime and learned Japanese as a third language) and taught her to fight back with different forms of martial arts. She had on a purple track jacket, matching pants, and white shoes. She had a pixie haircut and a cool backpack with game designs she brought from Japan. We bonded over the virtual world, and she became a close friend to us quickly. Just call her Lynn or she'll ground you into the dirt and do a backflip while she's at it.

"Look who almost showed up late," Roy said.

"I said if you two were late, I'd kick your ass," Lynn said. "That is a golden rule. Sacred."

"Hey, we're here, aren't we?" John said.

"I'm anxious to get going," Lynn said. "I'm already in the zone. Get me in the game."

Linda giggled. "You know how guys are. Slow as molasses."

"Sometimes slower."

In the most feminine tone he could muster, Roy put the back of his hand on his forehead. "Oh, Joni-chan, why must you torture us so with your completely predictable masculine tendencies. Oh, Joni-chan!" He fanned his face. "I'm just getting so flustered thinking about it."

Everyone keeled over in laughter. He belly-laughed like Santa.

John motioned his hand down like he was showing off fresh-painted nails. "Girl, you eva' thought about doing drag?"

"Actually, yeah. I'm designing my own outfits and learning some songs."

"Dude, that's actually epic."

"Quote of the day," Linda said. "T-shirt, please. I desperately need that on a t-shirt. Or a hoodie. Or both."

"With a D-20 die on the background," I added. "It's been decided. Our group motto will be that."

"Okay, boys and girls," Lin said. "Let's get his show on the road. We've got a few hours before our time is up. Let's do this."

"Okay, but I'm putting a mental tab on that. Linda, you're the graphic designer. Think you can whip that up?"

"You know it. Give me shirt sizes later. I'll print something up."

I pulled out my laptop and headset. Plugged in the mouse and headset and loaded Terra Forma. I opened VoiceBox and logged in the voice chat, along with everyone else.

AdaMan42: Mic check.

ApexPredatory0001: Check.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: Check.

ListenLinda369: Check.

JohnThe420Menace: Right here!

AdaMan42: Okay, Mickey Mouse. You be team leader. Invite us to a party.

We received the invite and joined with him as party leader. I took a sip of coffee as a dungeon loaded in. Every dungeon was completely randomized. It took the average player level and applied it to the rules of the dungeon. John played the most out of everyone on his own, so he was level fifty-six, averaging out about thirty-five. Level thirty to thirty-nine has rank B mobs. They'll be tough for Linda since she's only level twenty-six, but that's because her main is a healer.

Leveling is based on combat alone when it comes to dungeons. Her healing level is seventy-eight, making her massively overpowered, but her offense is very weak. Lin and I are forward. I'm a swordsman, and she's a huntress with a bow and a dagger. John is the paladin that will switch out if one of us needs to regenerate health. He can do some heavy hits, but they're very slow. His character can almost regenerate its own health, but the dungeon is just hard enough to make it go down more than go up. He'd be overwhelmed if it wasn't for more firepower. Roy hangs back as an archer as cover fire. Every once in awhile, he gets a heavy arrow set up to explode a horde of enemies. Lin can use an ability to regenerate everyone's health up to ninety percent only once per dungeon.

Yeah, it's intense, and fun as hell.

Once the dungeon was loaded, I checked my items and gear real quick. I had a few relics that gave me passive abilities. I had the palladium ingot that granted me six defense automatically before every combat and regenerates every twenty seconds. I also had a blue skull with five additional mana, a frozen flame that makes my first ten enemies take fifty-percent more damage on the first strike, and a floppy disk that gives me an additional three percent critical damage. I had chainmail armor granting twenty-three defense and a silver-plated iron sword that deals twenty-six damage. I had three +35% healing potions and two +55% mana potions. I also had an emergency fire potion that does fifty instant damage plus twenty-five fire damage in case I got overrun.

Don't let the technical terms scare you if you don't understand them. Just go do some research on the internet if you want to know more. Whether you know what I'm talking about or not, you'll still understand the events that follow.

Each dungeon has a three-hour limit. Since the dungeon is randomized, you have to search for the door leading to the next level every time. We were two hours in when we stumbled upon a tree in the middle of a large clearing crying. Wet tears ran down the tree as it sobbed loudly like a woman.

ApexPredatory001: Is that a... weeping willow?

Linda approached the tree slowly. She looked down at the exposed roots. They were black from rot and were cracking under her feet. The tree started wailing again.

JohnThe420Menace: Careful, Linda. It could be a trap.

ListenLinda369: I... don't think it is. Give me a minute, guys.

We watched her slowly walk up to the tree. She pulled out a harp and started singing.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: But that's your super healing ability! You can only use it once.

ListenLinda369: It's a test. I can tell. Are you willing to give your all to help someone feel better? That's the goal of this one.

When the song had ended, the tree wasn't crying anymore.

AdaMan42: Damn, that sixth sense of yours is on point.

A big smile formed on the tree's face. The roots turned a normal brownish color. The ground started shaking.

Hey1tsNotAraham: Step back!

Everyone backed away from the tree. The roots dug back into the ground, and it started growing. The bark turned darker. The leaves molded from vines to oak leaves. The tree kept growing and growing. Finally, it stopped. It was so high, it even made me dizzy to look up.

JohnThe420Menace: Look!

His character pointed to an object sticking out of the ground where a piece of wood lay twisted between exposed roots. Linda pulled it out of the ground and gasped.

ListenLinda369: It's a Legendary Relic!

Hey1tsNotAbraham: What does it say? Read the description.

ListenLinda369: It's called a Yule Log. I know what this is. It's an older Christmas tradition in some places in Europe. They believed keeping a piece of the log would protect their homes from lightning and fires. It says that the tree has undergone a metamorphosis and evolved into a giant oak tree that can withstand anything. It doesn't need this anymore. It grants a bonus of 5% extra defense on top of my total defense, which means the better armor I get, it'll exponentially increase. It also grants an additional 10% of healing for all of my abilities.

AdaMan42: That means your super healing ability can now heal us completely!

ApexPredatory0001: Girl, you are so overpowered. Are you sure you don't want to give that to me? My relic stash is looking a little shy.

ListenLinda369: Here, let me think about it... no.

She pocketed the log in her inventory.

JohnThe420Menace: We've been here for over two hours, and we still haven't found the door with the boss. Let's keep looking.

We started wandering around through unexplored areas of the map.

AdaMan42: Orc straight ahead.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: I got it.

She stepped forward with an arrow notched and quickly fired it at the green figure. It fell over and shattered into pixels. A few lay on the ground, where Lin picked them up to add to her experience pool.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: Speaking of orcs, did I ever tell you about my ex-boyfriend?

Johnthe420Menace: Ooh, yowzers.

ApexPredatory0001: This is gonna be good.

AdaMan42: Ouch.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: This was before Roy and I met you guys. His name was Charles. He had the stunning looks, the hair with the big cowlick.

ApexPredatory0001: I have to admit, I kind of fell for him a couple of times.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: Anyways, I had a crush on him for a while. He wasn't usually with anyone, so I thought I would give it a shot. Turned out to be a big mistake. At first, everything was normal. We did what normal couples do. Kiss. Hold hands. Brag about each other to our friends.

JohnThe420Menace: The norm.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: But then he started acting weird whenever Roy was around. He started getting jealous when I spent time with Roy. He kept questioning why I was spending so much time with him. I knew he thought I was cheating on him, but I told him he had a better chance with Roy than I ever did.

ApexPredatory0001: Also true. Some parts I like to stay away from. Others I don't. It happens.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: One day I caught him stalking us. Roy cussed him out when I told him he shouldn't have even known where we were. It kept happening, but we would just try to ignore him. That didn't last long. He was so obvious about his stalking that it was seriously creeping me out. When I confronted him, he said he was doing his job making sure I wasn't cheating on him. When I asked him how he knew where we were all the time, he didn't say.

ApexPredatory0001: I started getting threats on my Facebook Messenger from him. Every time I blocked him, he had made another profile to spam my inbox with. It wouldn't stop. I eventually went to Lynn and told her what he had been doing. She said she was about to just block him and drop his ass.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: When I broke up with him, it was over the phone. I said I was done with his crazy conspiracies and insane stalking. When he said there was nothing I could do to keep him away, I told him if he ever came up to me or tried to talk to me again, I'd get a restraining order and make him change schools. I had all the evidence I needed to prove my case. He stopped after that. I had him blocked on Facebook, and he stopped following me. It wasn't until a week later that I realized what he was doing. He knew the password on my phone and went into the location settings on my Facebook. He had it set so that no one except HIM would be able to see where I was.

JohnThe420Menace: Holy sheet Batman. Talk about sweet but a psycho.

ApexPredatory0001: We both got restraining orders after that. He doesn't live here anymore.

AdaMan42: Noice.

ListenLinda369: A little middle-school drama can end up being a huge endeavor. You're lucky it wasn't any worse.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: I just feel bad for any of his future girlfriends. They won't know what they're getting into.

ApexPredatory0001: Um, guys? I think I just found the door.

I looked around. We were in a thick forest. I couldn't see anything resembling a door.

AdaMan42: Where?

ApexPredatory0001: It's around here somewhere. My druid's senses are detecting it somewhere around here.

ListenLinda369: Can your familiar find it?

ApexPredatory0001: Good idea.

He held his arm. An green glow appears, followed by a small hawk outlined in a green light.

ApexPredatory0001: Okay, Tony. You know what to do.

With a screech, Tony took off through the forest. Within a few moments, he had come back and landed on Roy's arm.

ApexPredatory0001: He found it. Way to go, Tony.

He fed the bird a treat.

ApexPredatory0001: Follow me.

Roy led us to a tree that looked like every other tree in the forest. He placed his hand and spoke a chant with his character. A large doorway appeared on the tree and opened to a dark staircase.

Adaman42: That's gotta be it.

JohnThe420Menace: Let's go kick some butt.

John led the way down the long staircase. Red torches lit up as we passed them. The space was huge and cavernous. Our footsteps echoed into the darkness. I could hear dripping water in the distance.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: What kind of boss do you think this one is? Tree related?

ApexPredatory0001: Pretty far from it. My bard's natural instincts really don't like it here.

We reached the bottom of the staircase. A message appeared at the top of my screen.

(You sense an evil presence nearby)

JohnThe420Menace: Heads up. Here it comes.

Out of the darkness, a glow stepped into the light of the large rocky platform we were standing on. A large humanoid figure with cracks full of lava came into view. It opened its mouth and roared at the ceiling. Flames spewed from its eyes as they looked around at us. A series of four health bars appeared at the top right of the screen. It was called The Deforester.

ListenLinda369: John, what's the plan?

I glanced over at him and his laptop. His eyes glanced back and forth, thinking of a strategy.

JohnThe420Menace: Well, it's made of fire and rock. Does anyone have any water-related abilities?

ApexPredatory0001: I have some ice arrows from the frost giant a few dungeons ago. Get me a clear shot, and I can hit it.

JohnThe420Menace: Okay. Adam and Lin, we need to find its weak points.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: I'm on it.

She ran in and used her bow to land a couple of shots on its face, doing no damage. It roared and took a swipe at her, which she slid under on her knees. Using my big sword, I took a swing at its hand. It barely did any damage and only cracked the surface a little. It threw a punch at me with its other hand. It connected, and I went flying backwards. I rolled and fell right in front of Linda. She raised a staff with a purple jewel on it. Her character raised a chant.

ListenLinda369: By the power of the goddess of peace and tranquility, I purge this darkness into a light full of hope and healing. I summon the aura of regeneration!

A bight light glowed, and I could see my character's health bar start to refill.

Adaman42: Thanks.

I got up and watched as John used his massive shield to hold back another punch from the giant. Lynn used its arm to swing up and took a swipe at its face with her dagger. It did almost nothing, but it recoiled in pain.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: The arms and legs are strong, but it looks like the weak point is at the face!

An icy arrow in blue light zoomed right for the face. It hit the cheek and formed a small patch of ice with a sizzle. It screamed and scratched at its face.

ApexPredatory0001: Damn. I was aiming for the mouth.

It spotted Roy and threw its hand out. Balls of magma went flying at him. He dodged, but one hit him in the foot.

ApexPredatory0001: Ow! That really hurt!

AdaMan42: This guy is no joke. I thought his defense was tough, but his offense is ridiculous!

A small sliver of health was gone from the top bar. We weren't getting anywhere.

JohnThe420Menace: Roy, I'm going to try to get you an open shot to the mouth. We'll see if that does any more damage.

He charged in with an axe and threw it at the giant's neck. It roared in pain when it lodged itself below the chin. Roy took aim and fired another ice arrow. It landed inside and hit the back of the throat, causing ice to spread inside for a few seconds before melting. Looking up at the beast's health, a large portion of the health bar went down, resulting in a change from a green hue to yellow.

AdaMan42: That did it! That's the weak spot!

Hey1tsNotAbraham: I've got an idea!

She pulled out what was an unfinished potion bottle, an awkward potion with just water inside. Using her limber character, she grabbed a hand and pulled herself up. She ran across the arm, leaped in the air, and chucked it at the mouth. It went inside, dumping a significant amount of water inside its body. I watched as the health bar jumped down to a small sliver of red.

AdaMan42: The first bar is almost gone!

I watched an arrow sail into the beasts eye, causing it to be blinded by a mass of ice. The first health bar disappeared, leaving the second one half empty at yellow.

Adaman42: This might be easier than we thought.

JohnThe420Menace: We've got this in the bag.

It threw off what remained of the ice. Steam rose from its face. Three small balls of magma started to float around the head.

ApexPredatory0001: Now it's trying to block its weak spot.

AdaMan42: Hang on. Maybe I can knock them away. Linda, get ready to heal me.

I dodged one of the flaming fireballs and took a swing at its incoming hand. I parried it, leaving the monster open. Lynn saw the opportunity and notched an explosive arrow. She released it at one of the flying balls. It exploded, but when the smoke cleared away, the balls remained hovering. I tried to parry another hit, but it was a punch. I crumpled from the hit. A green aura surrounded me for a second, and some of my health returned. I got up and ran back to Linda.

JohnThe420Menace: They're invulnerable. I hope you know how to counter that, Roy.

ApexPredatory0001: It's all about timing, John. The game gives you an opportunity. Just don't miss it.

The beast held out its arms. Drops of lava fell onto the ground and molded into small minions wearing cow skulls with flames. They held axes with handles made from burned branches. Lynn, already falling from making another swipe at the face, landed on one and rolled off.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: We've got minions!

AdaMan42: I've got them. Keep the big man distracted.

The lower the boss's health got, the more minions it summoned. One of them shot a fireball at Linda.

ListenLinda369: Hey! No!

She swung her staff and crushed its skull. It fell in a heap, followed by a stomp from John's huge feet.

JohnThe420Menace: It's almost down to the final bar. We keep it up, it'll be down within the next five minutes.

Just as he said that, another ice arrow went into the mouth. The third bar emptied and trickled into the last bar, making it fifty-percent longer than the others were. I knew what that meant.

AdaMan42: It's making a final form! Watch out Lynn!

She ran back before she became crushed by a falling rock. It had peeled off of the giant's upper layer of stone. It started falling away, and it grew even bigger. Streams of lava whipped around and weaved into a whip in the hands of the giant. It bellowed, shaking my screen violently.

Hey1tsNotAbraham: Oh no. He's turned into Indiana Jones.

John laughed.

JohnThe420Menace: Indy, no!

He raised his shield, but the whip was so strong, it whacked him close to the edge. The rock where he was standing collapsed into the abyss, leaving a huge hole. Linda gasped.

ListenLinda369: Oh no. Guys! There's a time limit with his final form. If he destroys enough of the platform, it's game over!

JohnThe420Menace: Roy, I need you to pick up the pace.

ApexPredatory0001: I'm trying. I'm almost out of ice arrows.

JohnThe420Menace: Make them count!

John charged in with his axe, swinging it at the whip like he was going to cut it. It caught the whip, but it didn't break. In its brief pause, Roy was able to fire two arrows, one in the mouth and one in the eye. The health dropped down halfway. Roy reached into his quiver, but it was only a normal arrow.

ApexPredatory0001: I'm out! I'm out!

John pulled his axe free and chopped down onto a toe. A small amount of health went down.

JohnThe420Menace: Then fire explosive arrows! Poison! Anything!

Linda cast a spell on us, healing some of our health. She glowed, which grabbed the giant's attention. Throwing John aside, it threw the whip down. Her character was weak and slow. She couldn't dodge it. The ground collapsed beneath her. She fell into the abyss.

JohnThe420Menace: Linda!

Linda looked up from her computer. "I'm out."

Falling was an automatic death. Now that our healer was gone...

We're screwed.

"Ah!" John shouted as he was pushed too close to the edge by a horde of minions. I tried throwing a blast potion at his way to knock them away, but he had already fallen over.

"I'm gone, too."

Hey1tsNotAbraham: Dammit! I can't dodge him! There's no more ground!

She tried leaping over a gap, but was just barely able to grab the edge. The giant started bringing the whip down on her struggling character, but an arrow exploded at its face, causing it to fumble back. The whip missed her, but it still hit the ground she was trying to climb up on. Her character fell into the dark.

ApexPredatory0001: Sorry, Lynn! I tried.

"It's okay," Lin said. "You guys have got this!"

Another explosive arrow hit the giant, shaking the cavern. Loose debris and water drops fell onto what was left of the arena. Some of the water sizzled on the boss's exposed magma.

AdaMan42: Wait! That's it! Roy, the ceiling!

He looked up for a moment. A steady stream of water drizzled from the roof of the cave onto the platform.

ApexPredatory0001: That's too high, man. My arrows can't reach that.

Adaman42: I'll give you a boost. Hurry!

Just as the whip came in to swipe across the ground, Roy's character had landed on my outstretched hands. I launched him toward the ceiling. The whip connected, and I was sent over the edge. I threw down my headset and ran over to his laptop just in time to see his character fire an explosive arrow at the ceiling. It detonated, sending the rocks and a massive waterfall of water down. It hit the giant, causing it to fall into the void. A large "VICTORY" sign appeared at the top of the screen.

"Oh, my god!" Lynn said, "We did it!"

"Yeah, baby!" Roy said.

"Nice work, guys," Linda said.

"Dude, that's actually epic," I said with a smile.

I looked over at John. His smile was bright enough to light the room.

"Everyone got a lot of exp.," Roy said. "Some potions, a couple of epic weapons. But I also got a relic. It's called a Magma Toe. It gives me a twenty percent chance of firing an arrow that deals fire tick damage."

"That's awesome," I said, taking my seat and putting my headset back on. "Should we do another round? We've got a couple more--"

A wave of ice went through my body. I felt a slight shock in my body for a brief moment.

"What the hell?"

I turned around to see a figure of me moon-walking backwards. Everyone's motions were slow. It even sounded like someone had hit the rewind button on a CD. I jumped up, knocking the headset onto the floor.

Then, the wave of ice washed over me again. It was like someone had snapped their fingers and hit the play button on the remote, except the other me was gone. Linda and Roy were looking at his computer. John was still at his own. Lin was drinking some more of her coffee.

"Guys?"

Everyone looked up at me.

"Didn't you--"

A loud *pop* went off behind me. I yelped and jumped. John shouted a swear. I turned around. My laptop was smoking. The screen was frizzing out. Electricity sparked between the ears of my headset. It only lasted for a couple of seconds, then it stopped. The smell of burned electronics filled the room. I thought I was going to vomit.

"Damn," Roy said. "That sucks."