(Not So) Easy Mode - Beta - Chapters 1 - 3

Got a friend who is wanting some feedback and eventually we're doing a Collab on a choose your own adventure (readers get to pick each direction each week). In the mean time, he's getting ready to launch later this year on Royal Road and wanted some feedback. Dropping 20k words for ya all. in 3 x 3 chapter blocks. If you would - feedback would be great!

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1 - Please, Do Not Panic

“Why?!” I demand.

I’ve been working on this stupid algorithm for months, and every time I think I’ve finally gotten it working properly, it just goes and breaks. It wasn’t even an edge case this time. It’s supposed to be matching college applicants with their ideal schools, but there is no way that a music education applicant from Wyoming should be getting matched with MIT. It doesn’t make any sense. It will probably take me a few hours to even find where it’s going wrong, let alone figure out how to fix it. 

I sigh and lean back in my chair. It’s already 11:30pm. I have work in the morning. Should I just call in sick? No, I did that last week. It’s too soon. 

Maybe I should just take my week of vacation now, and spend it all just finally getting this algorithm working once and for all. And then, maybe I just won’t go back to work. Once the algorithm is working, the rest is simple. I can sell my product to someone rich, and spend the rest of my life saying “fuck you” to anyone who wants to tell me what to do. That would be the life.

Of course, that’s only if I can actually get it working while on vacation. Maybe I shouldn’t have used so many different variables. But if I used any less, the product would be worthless. It’s because it’s so complex that I’ll be able to sell it for so much. And it’s also why I might never finish.

No, that’s pessimistic. I will finish, and I will sell it for “fuck you” money. No algorithm’s ever gonna beat me. 

Not permanently at least. I really need to give up for now though. I need to sleep. If my next performance review is any worse, I might not have a choice about coming back to work. 

I kill the program and close the IDE, but when I go to close the browser where the site was being displayed, my eye catches on one of my bookmarks. It’s Princely Path, a web serial site that one of my coworkers turned me on to. I don’t understand why I enjoy it so much, but late at night, when I’m exhausted from work and working on my other project, turning my brain off and reading about some edgy kid blowing up gods feels nice.

I can afford to read a couple chapters. If I stop right at midnight, I’ll be able to fall asleep by 12:30, and if I wake up right at 7:30, I’ll have just enough time to get to work by 8. I just need to stop right at midnight…

Ha. Fuck it. I’ll just be tired tomorrow. It won’t be the first time.

I open the site and then open my follow list, and smile. I’ve got 3 new chapters in ongoing stories to check out, and after that, I still have 200 chapters left before I catch up in Dungeon Delver. Should I finish them all tonight? I probably could. I really can’t afford to stay up for that long. Tomorrow is Tuesday. If I do that, I’ll be a zombie until the weekend. But I could…

Fuck it, I’ve already made one bad decision tonight. Might as well make another. Between work and the algorithm, I’ve been working 12 hour days for a month now. I can reward myself with a little bit of rebellion. Rebellion that I will most definitely regret later, but it’s more exciting than going to bed, at least.

I click on one of the recent updates, and start reading, and the time starts flying by. Before I know it, I’ve already finished all three new chapters, and have gotten 4 chapters into Dungeon Delver. I look down at my computer’s clock. It’s 12:00, on the dot. If I go to bed right now, I’ll be able to function normally tomorrow. 

The clock ticks up to 12:01. 

Well, I missed midnight. I’ve passed the point of no return. What a shame.

I turn back to the chapter I’m on and start reading again, but before I can get more than a few sentences in, a loud voice right in my ear makes me fall out of my chair. 

“Attention, citizens of Earth!”

I look around frantically, trying to find its source, but there’s no one there. The voice continues on, still right in my ear. I reach up to see if somehow, someone snuck in and put earbuds on me, but of course, there’s nothing there. That would be ridiculous. There’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed.

“Attention, citizens of Earth!” repeats the voice. “Please do not panic. This is an emergency alert from the Interdimensional Council. We have detected an impending breach in your reality. The estimated time of arrival is 9 years, 7 months, 4 days, 9 hours, 47 minutes and 13 seconds from this moment. Your planet is woefully unprepared for a breach of this scale. With its current technology, humanity will be eradicated.

“Please do not panic. The Interdimensional Council has prepared countermeasures. Starting in 12 hours, every human on Earth will be transported to a special dimension created by the Interdimensional Council. This dimension is called the Tutorial Zone, and in it, all humans will be given the opportunity to earn the power required to save your planet. Further details will be given momentarily.

“After this announcement ends, a screen will appear in front of you. Please do not be alarmed. The screen will allow you to select the difficulty of your tutorial. Lower difficulties will be able to be cleared by even the weakest of humanity. However, the rewards and power you can earn at lower difficulties are much lower than what can be earned at higher difficulties. Please be advised that in all difficulties, your survival is not guaranteed.

“Thank you for your patience. Please do not panic. Your planet is safe in the hands of the Interdimensional Council. Please do not forget to make your difficulty selections. If no selection is made before the tutorial begins, you will automatically be sent to the lowest difficulty, which also grants the least rewards. Further details about the transfer to the Tutorial Zone will be given shortly.”

I wait a few seconds to make sure the voice is done, then take a deep breath.

“What the fuck was that?”

As I finish speaking, I flinch and fall back again as two bright blue rectangles appear right in front of me.

[ Please select your difficulty: 

Easy

Medium

Hard

Death Wish ]

[ Further information on the dimensional transfer:

• When the dimensional transfer begins, every person on Earth and all that they are carrying* will be transported to the Tutorial dimension

• Those under the age of 18 will be sent to Tutorial City, a special safe zone maintained by Interdimensional Council employees where their needs will be provided for in their entirety

• Those with qualifying disabilities** will be given the option to also be sent to Tutorial City.

• All registered house pets will also be sent to Tutorial City, unless their designated owner specifies that they wish for the pet to remain

• Each human will have their own discrete Tutorial Zone, separate from the others. They cannot enter together.

* For an object to be considered carried, its full weight must be borne by the human, while still allowing the human a moderate range of mobility.

** Qualifying disabilities are as listed:

• Paralysis (partial or complete)

• Limb amputations

… ]

Is this real? It doesn’t feel like it, but I can’t think of any way this could have been faked. Even if someone could have broken into his apartment and hidden speakers to scare me, as far as I know, hologram technology as sophisticated as what I’m looking at doesn’t exist yet.

If it’s real, what does that mean for me? What happens to life on Earth? More importantly, what happens to my university algorithm? This “Interdimensional Council” thing claims it can help us stop the apocalypse, but it’s still the apocalypse. There won’t be much need for college when the world is fighting for its life. And there will be even less need for it while we’re in whatever Tutorial dimension we’re supposed to be heading to.

“Fuck!” I say.

I’ve only been working on it for a year, but it still feels like my entire life’s work just went down the drain. I guess that’s how everyone’s feeling right now, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. All those long days and late nights spent working on the project, all for nothing. 

My phone starts vibrating on my desk, but it takes me a few seconds to recognize what the sound is. After the announcement and what it told me, something as normal as a phone ringing feels almost foreign. I stand up and check who the call is from, then hesitate before accepting the call.

“...Mom?”

There is no response. 

“Mom, are you there?”

“Xavier baby izzat you?” 

I groan internally. “Xavier baby” is what she used to call me when I was a kid. She hasn’t called me that while sober in years.

“Mom, where are you right now.”

“I’m in… I’m in my bed. Didja hear thatjust now?”

“Mom are you drunk?”

“No. No, I only had… 7?”

“7 what?”

“Tequila!”

“Mom!”

“Xavierbaby calm- calm down. I’mfine. It’s been hours shince then.”

“Mom, you can’t be drinking that much. Do you even hear yourself?”

“Psshhhhhhhh.”

“Mom, why don’t you just go back to sleep. I’ll call you again in the-”

“Why didn’t you come?” she asked.

“What?”

“Why didjn’t youcome?”

“Come where?”

“The grave!”

“Mom, I said I couldn’t. I was busy.”

“Too busy for your own father?”

“Mom, it’s been 8 years. I can’t just fly across the country-”

“I waited for you! For hours!”

“Mom…”

“It’sh one day! One daya year! You can’t make time forthat?!”

I don’t know what to say. Obviously Mom is being unreasonable, but her words still make me feel guilty. It’s been 8 years since Dad died, but she still hasn’t been able to move on. She’s been barely holding it together ever since. I tried getting her to move down to Arizona with me, but she couldn’t bear to leave.

Now isn’t the time for rehashing all this again though. I need to make sure she doesn’t make a dumb decision while drunk. He was going to live his apocalypse life on Easy mode and he was going to make sure his mom did the same thing.

“Mom, this isn’t important right now,” I say.

“Was it ever important to you?”

Her words sting, but I need to get her safe.

“Mom, do you see those blue screen in front of you?”

“Shtop trying to change the subject.”

“Mom, this is life or death. You could-” No, that won’t work. “I could die. If we don’t talk about this, I might die. Do you see the blue screen in front of you?”

“...Yesh.”

I pause as I realize I don’t actually know how to select a mode yet. I try to tap on the Easy on my own screen, but my finger passes through it. I mute myself on my phone and say “Easy”, and that works. A new blue screen appears, asking me to confirm my choice. 

“Mom, say ‘Easy’ out loud,” I say, unmuting myself.

“Eazhy. Oh!”

“Now say ‘Yes’.”

“Yesh. Oh! One of them is gone!”

I breathe a sigh of relief. “Okay, thank you, Mom.”

“Are you going to die?”

“No, I’ll be fine, Mom,” I say. “I’m not going to die any time soon.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Good,” she said. “If you died… I would die too.”

“I’m not dying,” I reaffirm. “And you’re not either. We’ll both be fine.”

“I’m shorry for yelling at you. I’m jusht so… Ever since Sammy died, I jusht… It’sh jusht sho hard.”

“I know, Mom. I- I’m sorry too.”

“I love you, Xavier baby.”

“I love you too, Mom. Why don’t you head to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. You’ll need to be rested. I’ll call you in the morning.”

“I’mnot tired.”

“Mom, please. Can you do it for me?”

“...Okayyy”

“Thank you.”

“Xavierbaby?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom. Good night.”

“Good night.”

2 - Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance

I wait for her to hang up, but the line stays live. A minute later, I hear faint snoring from the other end. I wait a little bit longer to make sure she’s fully asleep, then end the call.

I breathe another sigh of relief. Mom is safe for now. She’ll probably panic when she wakes up, so I’ll need to make all my preparations before then, so I can help her in the morning.

I glance wistfully over at the computer screen, chapter 404 of Dungeon Delver still open. I won’t be finishing that tonight. Maybe not ever. And I still won’t be able to get any sleep.

I pinch my thigh hard enough to leave a red mark, just to double check that I’m not dreaming. Then, I pull up Y.com on my phone, just to double check that it’s not a localized phenomenon. The internet confirms the worst. Every single person from every country heard the same message, translated into their own native language. The apocalypse is real and it starts in less than 12 hours.

I look back at the blue screen in front of me. The confirmation message is still there. Am I really going to do this? Am I really that much of a coward? Of course, I want the cool powers that will probably come with going in at a higher difficulty, but do I really? I’ve been working my ass off for a year trying to make it so that I would never have to work again. If I choose a higher difficulty, I’m just making more work for myself, all so that when I get back to Earth, I can do… more work.

I put in all that effort so I could kick back and live life without worries, not so I could fight on the front lines in a war for existential survival. That’s selfish of me, but so what? I’m no hero. Even if I don’t do it, someone else will. 

“Yes.”

The moment the word leaves my mouth, both screens disappear, leaving me with only the one detailing the dimensional transfer process. I read through it again, just to make sure I got all the details down properly. I don’t have any disabilities, unless you consider inability to put on weight a disability, which the Interdimensional Council apparently doesn’t. Living in a city with all my needs provided for sounds nice, but I guess I’m stuck with this.

In that case, I need to prepare. I chose Easy difficulty so I wouldn’t have to work as hard to survive, but I would feel really dumb if I managed to die anyways. I have half a day, so I should be using this to prepare. Modern weaponry usually isn’t that useful in these kinds of stories, but it can’t hurt to stock up on it a bit. I still have Dad’s old shotgun and hunting rifle, and that handgun in my nightstand. I don’t have enough ammo to keep using them for a long period of time, but they’ll give me some breathing room in the beginning of the tutorial at least.

I don’t really have anything for melee though. I guess I could use my kitchen knives, but I doubt those will last very long. They’ll be better than nothing, but I really wish I hadn’t left all Dad’s hunting knives with Mom. Then again, if they’re with her, that means she can use them. That’s probably better anyway.

I look down at my phone again and take a closer look at the news stories. The response is honestly a little weaker than I expected, but around the world, there is still mass looting going on as people try to stock up. I need to get going too, if I want there to be anything left. Food isn’t worth trying to collect. I doubt they’d make us survive without providing food, especially on Easy difficulty. And in the worst case scenario, I have some beef jerky and peanut butter in my pantry, so that will have to be enough.

What I really need are other supplies. Weapons, first and foremost, and also first aid and some survival items and utility. I’ll need to be able to bandage wounds, start fires, filter water, hold water, tie things down… There’s a lot. I have an old pack from when I used to hike, but most of that stuff is ancient and also cheap. I’ll want to replace them with better ones if I can.

There’s a hardware store across the street. My area of town is pretty safe, and it’s only been 10 minutes since the announcement. If I go now, I’ll probably be able to snag a crowbar or a sledgehammer and a couple other things before the looters swarm it.

Before I head over though, I need to get rid of this other blue window. It’s translucent, but it’s still intrusive. I spoke out loud to control the other ones, but usually with these kinds of things, it’s possible to just think them away.

Minimize!

The screen disappears. I shrug, then stand up, not wanting to waste any more time. I grab the pistol from my nightstand and a belt from the floor and strap it on, as visibly as I can. I don’t want to have to use it, so it’s better to show it as a deterrent. 

Thankfully, the hardware store is still mostly empty. There are a few other proactive people like me who have already broken in, but we all have a tacit agreement not to mess with each other. For now at least, there’s plenty for all of us. 

The first thing I grab is a crowbar. I have exactly 0 experience in hand to hand combat, and even less with weapons, so there is no better weapon for me than a solid hunk of metal. Good damage, and no chance of it breaking if I swing it wrong.

Once I have the crowbar, I move on to other things. I don’t want to spend too much time here, since the longer I’m here, the more people will come, and the more desperate they’ll be, but I estimate I still have 10 minutes before then. I grab a box of matches, and after some consideration, a few of those little green tanks of propane. They could be good as makeshift bombs if I really need them.

It takes a little while, but I do eventually find the first-aid kits. They’re hidden at the back of the store. There are two other men grabbing them, but neither are being greedy. I make eye contact with one, a short man built like a refrigerator, and we nod at each other before he walks away. I grab one first aid kit, two rolls of gauze, and two ace bandages, then go on my way as well. 

I’ve now gotten most of what I came for, so I turn to leave, but on my way out, my eye catches on the rack of sledgehammers. I pick one up to test out the weight. I’m not very strong, so it wouldn’t be easy, but I feel confident I could do some serious damage with this thing, given the opportunity. It would be unwieldy though, and would add extra weight to my ever-growing list of supplies I’m taking.

After some deliberation, I decide to take it anyway. If worst comes to worst, I’ll just leave it behind. The crowbar will probably serve me better in the long term anyway.

Outside the store, traffic is starting to pick up. People are flying down the road, ignoring all traffic laws as they try to get wherever they’re going. One pickup truck looks like it’s going nearly 100 miles an hour. I hope they have a good reason for that. Not only are they going to get themselves and someone else killed driving like that, they’re also going to clog up traffic for everyone else.

With traffic picking up, it’s kind of hard to cross the street to get back to my apartment, but I find an opening eventually. Once back inside, it’s time to pack up. My hiking backpack won’t be big enough to carry everything, but I have an old hunting back that should do the trick. It’s been so long that I’ve forgotten what the recommended ways to pack this thing is, but it doesn’t matter. I can prioritize.

Clothes go at the bottom. They’re the least important thing I’ll be bringing. Next is food. Absolutely necessary in a survival scenario, but there’s very little chance that I’ll need to get my food at a moment’s notice in an emergency. My other survival items go in next. The propane tanks don’t fit super well, but I manage to shove them in, and then I put the matches above them, and and then an old rope, a water filter, a bottle of iodine pills, and a few other useful knick knacks. 

Now, it’s time for the important stuff. If I get injured, or I’m running for my life, these are the things I want to be as accessible as possible. First aid and extra ammunition are priority 1. I don’t have much extra ammo, but the last thing I need is to run out and have to go digging through my overstuffed pack to get at it.

I strap a sleeping bag to the bottom, and shove some water bottles into the side pockets, then pick it up to test its weight. It’s heavy, but I can handle it. Though I haven’t strapped my weapons to it. Between the guns and the crowbar and the sledgehammer, that will be another 40 pounds. I’ll probably have to leave the sledgehammer behind.

I’d love to be able to take it, but I’m a twig. Not an ounce of muscle on my body. Not only would I not be able to lift it easily, my tendons would probably snap if I tried to take a step with more than 50 pounds on my back. So the sledgehammer stays. The guns need to come with me. So does the crowbar. I’ll want to bring a couple knives as well, but they’re light, and I can probably find a way to rig up a strap to put them on my waist instead. 

I need to confirm that though. It takes me about an hour to figure out how to set everything up. I have to make a really shoddy sheath for my knives out of some fabric cut out of a shirt, and some duct tape, but I’m able to get them onto my belt. It’s not comfortable, but it’s functional. 

When I stand up to test out the weight of everything though, I am met with another problem. The weight balance is all off. I have to lean really far forward to maintain my equilibrium. I unpack everything and repack it, trying to keep that in mind, and the second time, it’s much better.

What do I do now? It’s barely past 2am. I still have almost 10 hours before the Tutorial starts, and another 6 before I need to call Mom again. I should really get some sleep. Will I be able to sleep? Probably not. I’ve never been able to sleep well on the nights before big days, and tomorrow–or I guess, later today– will be the biggest day of my life.

That’s a terrible excuse though. Going to work with no sleep is one thing. Going into an apocalypse? Absolutely not.

I force myself to lay down in my bed, but I’m still just as wide awake as I thought I’d be. I need to try though. Maybe I should do what Mom did and drink myself to sleep. Would a hangover be worse than sleep deprivation? Probably better not to find out. 

What will the Tutorial be like? I realize that I’ve been thinking of it as what I typically see in the novels I read, where the characters are just thrown into a deadly situation and expected to adapt and survive. What if it’s actually a legitimate tutorial though? They said that our survival isn’t guaranteed, but what if that’s only a disclaimer to account for stupidity?

Maybe that’s the case for Easy mode. I’ll have a nice, easy, guided tour of whatever this tutorial zone place is, and clear instructions on how to use whatever powers I earn. That would be nice. Death Wish will probably be more like what I’ve read before. 

I need to stop thinking about it though. I won’t be able to get any answers just by wondering. Sleep is far more important right now. 

My mind races through possibilities for another half hour, but I do eventually manage to fall asleep. I was already exhausted, so just forcing my body to stay still and letting my mind wear itself out was enough. 

When my alarm goes off at 9, I’m wide awake immediately. Usually with that amount of sleep, it would be much harder to get up, but not today. I check my phone; I have a few texts from Dillon, but nothing from Mom. That’s both good and bad. It’s good because it means she hasn’t been panicking, trying to get ahold of me while I was sleeping through it, but it’s bad because that means I now have to wake her up and try to get her caught up through her hangover.

I open my phone and tap her name on the recent calls list. It rings. And rings. And rings.

“Hi, you’ve reached Sandra Wilson. Please leave a message at the beep.”

3 - And So It Begins

It takes until the fourth call for her to pick up, and when she does, she’s clearly still out of it.

“What,” she says. “It’s too early, call back-”

“Mom, if you don’t wake up right now, you’re going to die.”

There’s a brief silence before she speaks again.

“What?” She sounds a little more awake now.

“Mom, check the news. Also, there should be a holographic blue screen in front of you right now.”

I hear some rustling from the other end of the line, which hopefully is the sound of her getting out of bed and checking the news. I use the opportunity to check on it myself, since I haven’t looked since before going to bed.

Most of it seems to be going as expected. There are some people trying to take control and calm people down, but at this point, with no one stepping up to say with confidence that what’s happening is fake, the world is in full panic mode. There’s almost nothing left on the shelves in any store. There are car accidents ranging from minor to major at just about every intersection. The freeways are so backed up that anyone who tried to go anywhere is now more or less stranded on the roads.

There haven’t been any super major disasters, thankfully, but crime all over the world is up to unprecedented levels. Even if you discount the looting, there was still a lot of violence as people tried to settle grudges once and for all before the world changed.

“Is this all real?” asks Mom.

“Yes. Do you remember what happened last night?”

“Last night…? I got home from work, and then I had a drink… I don’t remember what happened after that.”

I’m honestly glad that she doesn’t remember our talk. It would make things more awkward for both of us. 

“You called me right after the announcement was made. I helped you pick the Easy difficulty.”

“Easy difficulty?”

“Basically, everyone on earth is going to get a ‘tutorial’ on how to survive. There are four difficulties, and the higher the difficulty, the more likely it is that you’ll die. I was worried that you would accidentally pick something dangerous while you were drunk, so I helped you pick Easy.”

“Oh…”

I can kind of guess how she’s feeling. I know I wouldn’t be especially happy if someone used my drunkenness to make a potential life-altering decision for me. But I’m pretty sure she would have taken Easy anyway, and even if she wouldn’t have, I would have convinced her too.

“I chose Easy as well,” I continue. “I don’t want to die. I don’t want you to die. We’ll get through this, and as soon as I’m done with the tutorial, I’m coming to visit you.”

“...Okay. Are you sure this is all real?”

“As sure as anyone else. Now that you’re awake though, you need to get ready. You’re going into Easy mode, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be dangerous. You still have that old handgun that Dad bought for you, right?”

“Of course I do.”

“You’ll want to take that with you. And if you can, try to fill up a bag with survival essentials. First aid, water, food, and any extra ammo you can find. Don’t leave the house though. It’s dangerous outside right now.”

“...Xavier?”

“Yeah?”

“If I die-”

“You’re not going to die.”

“Listen to me. If I die… I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being such a useless parent.”

“You’re not useless, Mom.”

“Ever since Dad died, I’ve done nothing for you,” she continues. “All I’ve done is lay around, barely surviving. I’m even making you send money back to me, just so I can hold onto this house. I’m just a burden, and-”

“You’re not a burden. I don’t want you to have to sell the house either. Besides, I’m making a lot of money out here. I can afford to send you a bit of it.”

“Parents are supposed to provide for their children, not the other way around.”

“Only when their children are young. I’m an adult now. It’s my turn to provide for you. Don’t feel guilty about it. I don’t mind. I prefer it this way.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. But we can talk more later. For now, let’s get you ready. I want you to have the best chance of survival possible.”

“...Alright.”

It takes another hour and a half to get her to a point where I’m comfortable with her equipment. Our old house is big and full of Dad’s old stuff. It takes her a while to find everything she needs among it. She also doesn’t have much food for herself. Mostly frozen meals and junk food, apparently. Hopefully that won’t be a problem. It shouldn’t be.

After that, we stay on the line, but neither of us say a word. I don’t know what else there is to talk about. Should I just say goodbye and hang up?

“Mom, I-”

“Did I ever tell you the story about how your father and I first met?”

“...A few times.”

“I hit him with my car. It wasn’t very hard, but there was a crosswalk, and I wasn’t paying enough attention, and I knocked him over. He wasn’t hurt, but I was panicking like I had killed someone. I was apologizing so much and spouting so much nonsense, that he hugged me to make me stop. He was the one that just got hit with a car, but he was the one comforting me.”

She’s told me this story at least a dozen times since he passed away.

“You remind me of him a lot,” she continues. “You got all his best traits. You’re kind, and thoughtful, and smart, and rational. The world is ending, and here you are, spending hours on your poor old mess of a mom.”

“Really, it’s nothing, Mom. I’m doing this because I want you to survive.”

“I know, but it should be me helping you. Do you remember when you were a kid, and you would scrape your knee, then come crying to me to kiss it and make it feel better? Or when that nasty other boy broke your science fair project, and I yelled at the principal until they gave him detention? Or in high school, when you came home crying after you got rejected by that stuck-up priss-”

“Mom!”

“What happened to me? I used to be the one you came to when you needed help. Now I’m the crying mess, and you’re the one resolving my problems.”

“It’s really no big deal.”

“It is to me!”

I am taken aback by the emotion in her voice. I knew she wasn’t doing the best, mentally, but I didn’t realize it was this bad. I also realize, that this is probably at least partly my fault. Dad died, she fell into a depression, and I just… abandoned her. 

“...I’m sorry too, Mom.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I should have been there for you more. I shouldn’t have gotten a job so far away. I know the pay is better, but I should be there with you, not over here on my own.”

“You’re just doing what’s best for yourself.”

“I wasn’t thinking enough about you. I was being selfish. I knew how much you were struggling, but I just didn’t want to deal with it. I hoped you would figure it out on your own, and I left you alone, and barely talked to you. I should have been better.”

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s my fault. If I wasn’t such a mess-”

“Maybe if I tried harder, you wouldn’t be.”

“Xavier, no-”

“Mom, I forgive you. You don’t need to keep apologizing and making yourself feel worse.”

“Xavier-”

“Mom, no. I forgive you. That’s it. You don’t need to feel guilty anymore. The world is about to end. We shouldn’t spend our last few hours apologizing to each other.”

“...You’re right,” she says. “I’m being stupid.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I am.”

“Enough of this,” I say. “We’re just going to keep going like this forever if we don’t stop now. Let’s talk about something else. Did anything interesting happen at your work lately?”

“...I got fired.”

“Oh.”

I’m a terrible son.

“But it’s fine. I hated that place anyway. They kept hiring these stoner high schoolers who almost never showed up to work, and when they did, they could barely string a sentence together. And yet somehow, whenever the customers would complain about the service, it was my fault for not managing my subordinates properly. Well, maybe if they let me in on the hiring process, I would have been able to acquire some manageable subordinates! Honestly…

“I was more glad than anything when they laid me off. It meant I wouldn’t have to deal with them anymore. And now I don’t even have to worry about finding a new job!”

“Hey, there’s some silver lining,” I reply. “Yeah, honestly, I was thinking of quitting my job too.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, it’s just been really tedious. And I’ve been working on this side project…”

The conversation turns to more mundane things, starting with my work, then moving onto some weather talk. It’s the middle of the summer, which means it’s hell outside for me, and a nice cool 75 for her. She can go on midday walks whenever she wants, while I can only do that when I decide I want to be a masochist (which is never). 

As we talk, the time flies by. I don’t even notice what time it is until a blue window suddenly appears in front of me with a 15 minute timer on it. I check my phone to see that it’s exactly 11:46, and that our phone call has lasted for over two and a half hours. It’s been a long time since I had a conversation that long with her. It feels nice. We’ve been growing apart lately, but now, it feels like we’re right back as close as we were before Dad died.

“So,” says Mom. “I guess it’s time.”

“It’s time,” I agree. “We should probably get our stuff ready now.”

“Yep.”

My phone is on speaker, so I just set it down while I go to pick up my stuff. We continue talking while I double check all my things and strap everything where it’s supposed to go. It’s heavy, and even after repacking it, it still feels like the weight distribution is off, but it works. I have, as the notice called it, “a moderate range of mobility”, even with it on, so it should all get taken with me.

I can hear Mom struggling on the other end of the phone. She always had a slight build–it’s where I got my scrawniness from–and age hasn’t done her any favors. Still, we managed to come up with a survival kit that she was able to carry mostly without issue. Hopefully, neither of us would need to trek for miles, because then we would both encounter some problems.

“Are you ready?” I ask once I finish strapping myself up.

“Al-most,” she grunts. “There! Everything’s set. Whoo, I hope I don’t have to carry this for very long.”

“Same. I don’t think I physically can run while I have this thing on.”

“Oh, I don’t think I could physically run, even without this.”

I give her a short laugh, but my heart isn’t in it. Has she really deteriorated that much? She’s only 52. She shouldn’t be having trouble running unless something serious is going on.

“Hey Mom?”

“Yes dear?”

“I really don’t want you to die.”

“How can I die when you’ve helped me make such a great survival kit?”

“I know, but… I really don’t want you to die.”

“...I really don’t want you to die either, Xavier baby.”

“I won’t. And neither will you.”

“Well, then why are you saying things like that? You’re going to jinx it.”

“I know, I just wanted to make sure that you knew. I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, Xavier baby.”

I glance over at the timer again. There are less than two minutes left.

“Do you think that there will be any reception there?” she asks.

I snort with laughter. “I doubt it. But I guess we’re about to find out.”

“I guess,” she says. “Are you sure that we’re going to be alright?”

“Of course. We picked Easy difficulty. They said that even the weakest humans could make it through on Easy.”

“But what if I fail anyway?”

“You won’t. I believe in you. Remember, as long as you stay calm, there will always be a way to get through.”

“I know, but… Well, you know how bad I am at staying calm.”

“You can do it. Just trust yourself.”

“Hahaha…”

There is less than a minute left now

“Mom?”

“Yeah?”

“You can do this. And so can I. When we’re through with this, we’re going to go out to eat at that spaghetti place we always used to go to, and we’ll catch up again, but this time in person. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“And Mom?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The timer ticks down to zero, and the world turns white. When the white fades, I’m no longer in my room. My phone is still in my hand, but the call has ended, and it shows that there is no signal. Dammit.

I’m standing at the lip of a grassy valley surrounded by pine trees. There’s not really anything interesting about it, other than perhaps the odd uniformity of the valley and the placement of the trees. Above me, however, the sky is strange. Rather than a solid blue color, it looks like I’m in a dome made of hexagonal segments. A few of them are taken up by what seems to be a replica of the sun, while the rest are sky blue. 

In a circle around me about five feet in radius, there is a thin, glowing blue line, and what looks like a blue-tinted glass barrier. I step forward and reach out to touch it. It’s solid, and doesn’t give at all beneath my fingers. After a few more seconds, a blue screen appears in front of me.

[ Welcome to the Tutorial Zone, Challenger! ]