Hollow Twilight - A LitRPG Novel

Chapter 22

The ceiling in Reid's room never changed. He felt like he knew every bump at this point, every little line and detail in how the paint had dried. It had been this way for as long as he could remember. And he looked at it a lot.

Reid's phone was balanced on his forehead. He could feel it buzzing as his friends messaged each other. Somehow, Maple had acquired Kari's number, dragging her into the mix. They had been chatting since school ended, figuring out what time they'd get online and where they would go. Reid had forwarded a bunch of info to Tim, asking him to join as well, and he had instantly agreed.

How would Issac ask?

Reid rolled to the side and his phone slid off, landing in front of his eyes. The screen was facing away so he could no longer be reminded of the endless chatter. They'd be expecting him to show up soon. He squeezed the little brick in his hand and forced all the air out of his chest, feeling it shrink down until he was just a stick. It was time to go.

Whenever he shifted over his body realigned. He wasn't lying on his side on the ground but was instead righted, standing in the middle of a street, lengthy shadows from dilapidated buildings curling around his feet. The sun tip-toed along the horizon, forever unmoving.

So much gained, so much lost in so little time.

"Shut up." Reid spat to the side. There was still too much saliva in his mouth. He spit again but it was only a couple of drops. He just couldn't shake the feeling. And he wasn't in the mood to hear Gilphorus. The more he pushed through, the less everything would push back, for now at least. His emotions could unravel some later time.

It took a bit for everyone to meet up within the game, sending each other their locations and slowly co-ordinating together. Reid had invited Tim as well, doing his best to loosely explain what was going on. Tim had been his usual eager self, showing up to do battle with the new threat of the Pariahs. He was visibly ecstatic when Reid met with him, fists punching into the air around him, eyes shining brilliantly. He had jumped right into a lengthy ramble about the new techniques he was mastering with his scythe, new ways he would chop up the next Pariah they encountered for sure. He brushed right over Reid adding him to a Flock, unphased by working with others. It was all to play the game.

Kari was her usual disappointed, especially when Tim went to shake her hand. She had to fend him off and shoo him away, though he barely got the hint and continued to bother her with constant chatter. He and Maple bounced off each other instantly, each one following the other's statement with their own in escalating excitement.

Reid watched Issac behind them, saw him laugh along them, smile at Maple. It was the little moments in between that really revealed it. Issac was almost always looking at her. Now that Reid knew it was obvious, it was frustratingly obvious. He glanced away but the only other person he could speak with was the teacher he had met before, Mr. Crawford. And they had nothing to talk about outside of school. It was weird enough having some older guy like Tim around, even stranger to have a middle-aged adult hanging out with mostly high school kids.

"The pain we feel in these types of moments," Mr. Crawford said, apparently unbothered by being with kids, "it dulls over time you know." Reid eyed him but stayed silent. "I know in the moments it feels like the biggest stuff, and it is. We all feel it just kind of doesn't matter as much when you get older." Mr. Crawford paused and Reid could feel him staring at the side of his face but he wouldn't turn. He grit his teeth together instead so he could hold on to his rage. "Maybe that will help some day."

The teacher walked away to join the group and Reid followed suit to avoid being the weird person on the fringe.

"Can we go kill Paragon?" he stated as he arrived, cutting through the existing conversation.