Sean's hands started to shake as he sat in the dark abyss. It didn't matter if his eyes were open or shut. There was just nothing. Had something gone wrong with his headset? Was he trapped like this? He didn't want to be trapped alone. He didn't like being alone. He'd already spent so much of his life feeling alone. He didn't want to imagine an eternity of it like this. Had his girlfriend tried to remove the headset? Was he in a coma? Was he dead and mentally trapped inside the game? His mind swirled with thoughts, until his whole body was shaking. That's when he felt it. Slender fingers sliding over his to hold his hand. Jerking his head up from his knees, he yelped and clutched his own hands together, but the feeling didn't go away. Through the darkness a soft familiar voice whispered close to his ear. "I'm here. Can you hear me?" Straightening up, he called out just as softly. "I can hear you." There was no response and the grip on his hand faded away. He reached out into the dark, calling out to the voice, but no answer came.

Then there was a sudden pulse of light. It rippled over the box he was in. Illuminating it briefly in shimmering white rainbow light. Sean stood up as the darkness came back, pressing his back to the wall. Faintly he heard a beeping sound steadily increase. Another pulse rippled over the box and Sean yelled out. "What's happening?!" This time when the light faded, it was replaced with green binary code starting to run down the walls. Sean followed the code to the floor and gasped. The floor seemed to disappear out from under him and he fell through a swirling void of colors. Screaming as he fell through the long tunnel of swirling colors, he blinked and instantly found himself jerking upright on a bed with a startled scream. Slamming his back against the headboard, he gasped for air. He felt like he was going to have an asthma attack. Where was he now? He tried to focus his eyes on the room, when someone sat down on the edge of his bed and gripped his shoulders to keep him still. Grabbing the man's burly arms, he struggled to breathe.

The man's grip tightened on his arms, before Mark's deep soothing voice told him seriously. "Sean, it's ok. You're ok. I'm here. I've got you. You're safe." Sean moved a hand to his throat, feeling ghostly hands on him there as his breathing leveled out. Allowing himself a few deep calming breaths, he asked Mark a little confused. "What happened? Where are we now?" Mark relaxed his grip, his hands sliding down to Sean's bare elbows when he told him gently. "We're in Northumbria. According to the map this is the second town in Midgard. We left Jorvik. Remember?" Sean sat up, glancing at the open square window in the room. The sunlight streaming in felt warm on his skin and the smell of fresh foods entered on a crisp cool breeze. Swallowing, he uttered out under his breath. "I'm still in the game...?" Mark nodded, running a large warm hand through his loose brown hair as he answered. "Ya. Your avatar went into sleep mode. I was so worried. I couldn't wake you." Fixing his hair from the way Mark mussed it up, he asked him groggily. "How did I get here?"

Mark scooted back from him a little to give him room to breathe, before answering with a shrug. "I carried you. Went up a few skill points in strength doing it too." Sean blinked, taking in the small wooden room. There was a little wooden bed on either side of the window and a wooden trunk set at the foot of them. By the door was a simple wooden desk with a candle and over the beds were little shelves with unlit candles and guidebooks. Mark gestured to the room, telling him coolly. "I used my starting money to buy the room. I wanted to keep you safe while trying to figure out what happened to you." Sean wrapped his arms around his legs, trying to take it all in. He didn't know what had happened to him. Mark patted his leg comfortingly as he informed him. "You weren't the only one. When I arrived here, there were several others whose avatars just went into sleep mode like yours did." Sean shrugged meekly, mumbling out a bit shaken. "Why? And why didn't yours do it too?"

Mark removed something from his pocket. It looked like a piece of tin about the size of his palm with a sigil carved into the back. Turning it over to a smooth mirror surface, he touched it and brought up a small menu. Pressing the button for something in a language he couldn't read, Mark held it up for him to see clearly. In the little mirror was a clip of real world news. The broadcaster announcing clearly. "Today after the devastating news involving the VRMMORPG known as The Nine Realms. Thousands of relatives around the world are discovering their loved ones and admitting them into hospitals for observation. While we have been warned that removal of the headset is fatal. It has been confirmed by the game company that the headsets come with an internal battery. Allowing doctors, the ability to transport victims to the hospital carefully with a temporary power source. We are advised by the game company to not rig anything up yourselves. It is unclear yet, how this effects your loved ones. Doctors have confirmed though that the equipment they have been supplied by the company is working to transport loved ones to safety. More on the overcrowding of hospitals next."

The clip ended, allowing Mark to inform him softly. "There is no way to access the news in the real world, but these little clips keep filing in on these communication mirrors. I overheard a few people talking about it and have been watching them." Sean raised a hand to draw the symbol to bring up his menu, only to have Mark grab his wrist tightly. Staring into his eyes, Mark told him with guarded eyes and a concerned tone. "Don't. Trust me. You don't want to see the others. They'll just scare you... They scare me. I don't want you thinking about it. Not now. I..." Mark released him and looked away. Sean looked him over, noticing now how tired Mark looked. How... relieved he was? Glancing at the sunlight streaming in the window, Sean asked softly. "Have you been up all night?" Mark opened his mouth, turning his head like he was going to answer. Only to close his mouth and turn away, giving him a simple nod. The thought of Mark worrying about him and desperately seeking answers on what had happened made a small smile tug at his lips.

Unable to stop himself, Sean scooted up to Mark's side and wrapped his long arms around his broad bare shoulders. Resting his head on Mark's shoulder, Sean closed his eyes and enjoyed Mark's warmth. He needed a hug. He needed to feel someone else after sitting alone in the dark. Mark didn't shove him off like he often did in his usual playful manner. Instead, he placed a hand on his arm and leaned his head closer to him in a more reserved hug. He had worried about him. He had needed a hug too. Mark was just too proud to admit it. Without breaking the hug, Sean uttered across Mark's shoulders softly. "I wouldn't be surprised if those clips are the Game Masters way of documenting information for this 'experiment." Mark nodded, replying in a deep distant voice. "I thought that too." Sean's grip tightened a little, when he asked Mark in a quivering voice. "What do we do, Mark? I don't wanna die. I always die in games like this... I... I don't how to build my skills up yet to survive the best against the things in here. If I mess up... If I make a mistake..."

Sean sniffled, feeling tears brim his eyes. Mark's hand gripped his arm firmly, telling him in a strong deep voice. "You're not going to die. I won't let you. I've got your back. We'll do what you said. We'll start slow and build ourselves up. We can do it." Sean lifted his head to meet Mark's eyes. Mark's dark eyes locked with his, full of confidence and determination. Mark gave him a powerful smile, before telling him without any doubts. "There isn't anything we haven't been able to accomplish together. It's just another game. We can beat it. Together." Sean's heart skipped and he hugged Mark tighter to his chest. Hearing Mark say that filled him with hope. He chose to believe that. They stayed in the hug a bit longer, before Sean forced himself to release Mark. He didn't want to let him go but knew Mark would eventually coax him off. He had already started shifting a bit. So, he took the hint. Rising to his feet, Mark moved to the window as he told him casually. "I overheard a few players in the square talking about the first boss key being here in Northumbria. Maybe we should wander around and see if we can find it."

Swinging his legs off the bed, Sean asked him curiously. "You believe them?" Mark nodded, staring at something outside the window when he replied coolly. "Ya. One of them mentioned an NPC for his friend to find in order to accept the quest. They hushed up when they noticed me listening in. I think we should look into it." Sean shrugged, asking curiously. "Why not let them find the boss. We should focus on leveling up our skills first." Mark pressed his back to the wall by the window, crossing his arms when he told him seriously. "I agree. But I don't think we should pass this up. First level bosses are pretty easy to knock down. We could get a lot of the points we need to level up our skills faster from killing it. We should take advantage of the lower level bosses while we can." Getting to his feet, Sean exhaled and told Mark cautiously. "Alright. I see your point. The quest to get the key should help level us up close to the boss's own skill level anyway." Putting his hands on his hips, Sean asked after a deep breath. "Let's go NPC hunting."

Mark closed and locked the window, then led him out into the slender hallway. Sean watched him close the door and use a special iron key with the Inn's logo on it to lock the door. Giving him a smile over his shoulder, Mark informed him lightly. "No one can open the room without this key. So, we can store stuff in our room until we check out or until we run out of gold. Be careful though. If you leave stuff in the chests and we check out or run out of money, the stuff in the chests gets transported to the innkeeper. She'll sell them back for a fee, but it is time limited. After so long, she'll sell it to the shops in town." Huffing, Sean told him seriously. "So, don't leave anything in there." Mark chuckled, before telling him curtly. "Then don't fill up your inventory. According to the guidebook in the room, you can only hold onto so much stuff. The rest has to be stored at a house. However, you can buy bags that allow you to access your home inventory." Sean staggered, blurting out in amused shock. "Mark? You read a guidebook?! You must have been worried about me."

Rolling his eyes, Mark shoved him playfully into the wall, blushing out. "Shut up. I was bored." Sean chuckled to himself, his wings fluttering behind him a little. Heading down the steps, Sean saw other people sitting with their shaken friends and feeding them water. Had they just woken up too? It surprised him to see how young some of these people were. While it was no secret that kids had an easier time to play games, he just never considered they'd be in a game like this. Though he felt silly for thinking that, he just couldn't help it. He didn't like thinking about young kids being trapped like this. Mark walked him past the front desk and out into Northumbria. The town was huge with cozy looking cabin homes and shops. Unlike Jorvik, Yggdrasil didn't rest in the center of this town. Instead, there was a miniature version of the tree set in the square. The town looked creepy with the light fog that hung around, but it felt safe. The town was protected and built snug against a snowy mountainside. Which explained the chill in the air.

Stopping to admire the gorgeous mountain view, Sean smiled as he saw the sunlight glint off the distant waterfall that flowed into a crystal clear river that then flowed through the town. Following the mountain water through the town, he eventually saw it fall through a stone gate and down another waterfall to a lake in the valley below. Leaning on the stone wall of the bridge that overlooked the water gate, Sean let himself enjoy it. It was so pretty here. His eyes drifted to the dirt road that Mark must have carried him up to enter the town. The place was similar to a mini fortress. Beside him, Mark leaned on the bridge wall with him, saying sweetly. "It looks better in the daylight." Sean filled his lungs with the mountain air, then turned to Mark and blushed out. "Sorry. I got distracted..." Mark ruffled Sean's hair a little, telling him in a beautiful deep voice. "I know. I'm used to it." Fixing his hair, Sean turned his gaze to the floor, mumbling out a bit sadly. "Ya... You're always looking out for me."

Mark gave him a light shrug, tapping his arm with the back of his fingers when he walked away telling him. "I don't mind. Come with me. We can start by talking to the NPCs in the tavern. I'll buy you something to eat. Your health looks a little low." Sean glanced up at his health bar and swallowed anxiously. He had four bars to keep track of. His red health bar, his green stamina bar, his blue magic bar, and his yellow energy bar. His hunger would eventually drain all of his energy bar and then his stamina, before eventually draining his health. However, right now his hunger had put his energy bar at half. It would go down by the hour, except when in sleep mode. In sleep mode it was set to go down every two hours. Since his avatar had been in sleep mode for a while, his energy bar was still pretty healthy. He had to eat and drink soon though. Eating and drinking allowed his stamina to recover continuously throughout the day. If he didn't, his stamina would eventually deplete until he was barely able to move.

Biting his lip, Sean mumbled out to Mark as he mentally made a note to keep an eye on that. "I forgot about that..." Mark waved him to follow, stating over his shoulder excitedly. "I know. I'll take you to the tavern I went to last night. It's got some good selections. Came highly recommended by a cute NPC lady." Sean discreetly rolled his eyes and tried not to groan audibly. He didn't want the image of Mark flirting with an NPC in his head. It only made his jealousy unbearable. To Be Continued...