STAR BOY ONLINE | PHAN

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D A N ' S P O V

One month. Only one month had gone by, and already the counter in the sky had risen to nearly 2,000 dead. I tried to stay positive, but I couldn't help but thinking that Starboy was one of them. I hadn't seen him since that day in the square. Granted, there were thousands of players trapped in SAO, but I couldn't help but assume the worst nonetheless.

I tried to keep my focus on the guild. Cat and I had managed to quickly find a few of our friends from the beta test and, within a few weeks, we were a force to be reckoned with. In the past month, we had managed to clear 20 floors which had made us pretty well-known and respected by the other players. Several fighters who hadn't been in the beta but wanted to help had joined our guild by now, but most people had given up the fight altogether, building in-game lives for themselves and relying on us to clear the floors. I hoped that Starboy was one of them. It would be a waste of his natural skill, but at least he would be safe that way: at least there would be a chance I could find him.

I couldn't help but think these thoughts out loud a little too often, especially around my friends, which lead to a lot of teasing.

"You got a little crush Dan?" Chris teased with a smirk as we shared the first night guard watch.

"No," I punched him playfully in the arm, "it's nothing like that."

"Then what is it?" he asked, scooting a little closer to where I was sitting a few feet away from him. "Why is he so important to you then?"

"I dunno," I shrugged, tugging at the grass around me. I did know of course, but I couldn't tell Chris. His father had helped with the programming of SAO. I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe he knew something-- anything-- that could help us clear SAO or, at least, understand why all of this was happening to us.

"Yo! Earth to Dan!" Chris laughed, getting my attention.

"What?" I looked up to see Chris raising his eyebrows at me, "Oh, sorry. Must've, erm, spaced out."

"Seems a little crush-y to me," he rolled his eyes, laying back in the grass.

"To each his own," I conceded, not pushing the argument any further.

"I think you should set your mind to forgetting him, Danny Boy," he said, "Let's face it, he's probably dea—"

"I know that!" I interrupted him, "I know, I just—" I was cut off by a blood-curdling scream coming from the forest not far ahead of us.

"Was that Cat?" Chris sat bolt upright, suddenly on edge.

"I thought she said she wasn't going to run off anymore!" I bounded up, grabbing my sword, running toward the sound, Chris close at me heels.

"She's going to be the death of all of us," Chris panted as we ran.

"Cat?" I called.

"Dan!"

"Cat?" Chris copied me.

"Chris?!" her voice sounded distressed as it echoed toward us.

"We're coming!" I shouted back, following the sound of her voice.

"The trees are getting really thick," Chris pointed out, grabbing the hem of my coat to slow me down. "Maybe we shou—" Another loud scream, this time only a few feet away.