Expedition:Overdrive

Chapter 4

"Wake up! We gotta head over to Ruften!" Culir shouted as he pounded on my door. I groaned as I pulled the pillow over my head. "Five more minutes," I groaned. "Five more seconds! Hurry up kid! It's a long way and we still have to stop at Abrig on the way!" Culir shouted. I really wanted to stab him in the chest at that moment, but I wasn't. "Fine!" I shouted back. I heard the wooden stairs creek as Culir walked back downstairs. I slowly lifted my head, wiped the drool off my cheek, got up and took a bath.

About thirty minuets later, I walked down stairs to the lobby. "Took you long enough," Erin groaned. I stared at her with dead eyes. She gave me a cold smirk and rolled her eyes. "We already bought you some bread and cheese. Do you have everything?" Culir asked me as he handed me my food. I nodded as I took the bread and cheese. "Great. Let's go. Faris is waiting outside with the horse and buggy he rented," Durai said as he began to walk towards the door. 

I leaned back in the wooden buggy, letting my arms and hands dangle out. "Why don't we just teleport to Ruften?" I asked. "Because kid, you have to be a level 10 in order to receive a teleportation crystal!" Durai barked. Jealousy was written all over his face. I knew if I brought up my level, or anything that contained it, he would blow a fuse. I turned my head and looked at all the green land. It was all flat, and a small farm way out. "Besides Aldan," Culir spoke, "It isn't just the level. Since the Axel's dungeon is on the outskirts of Ruften, and it hasn't really been defeated, we still couldn't teleport there. You can only teleport to towns and places that HAVE been discovered or if their monster has been defeated. You get what i'm saying?" I nodded. 

Hours passed, and we were all getting hot and hungry. "WHEN THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO GET TO ABRIG?" Erin yelled. Faris stopped the buggy and turned around. "WHEN WE GET THERE! YOU'VE ASKED THAT QUESTION A HUNDRED TIMES ALREADY!" Erin snorted. "THIS BUGGY SMELLS LIKE CRAP, I'M GETTING SPLINTERS EVERYWHERE, AND I'M HOT AND HUNGRY!" She shouted back. I covered my ears to the sound of them arguing. "THAT IS ENOUGH!" Durai shouted. The two both shut up. "Now," Durai said calmly to Faris, "When will we arrive in Abrig?" Faris looked back at the dirt road. "I think I see it!" He said pointing to a small little dot in the distance. "Finally!" Erin groaned as she laid back. We finally were on our way.

I had fallen asleep in the bottom of the buggy, but was awoken to a stop of the buggy. "Finally! Sweet Abrig!" Erin cried as she jumped out of the buggy. "Wake up!" Durai commanded. "I sat up with a piece of hay stuck to the side of my mouth. "I'm awake," I groaned as I pulled the hay off the side of my mouth. I got out of the buggy and rubbed my eyes. As we walked around the town, I looked around like a kid in a candy store. There were cobble stone buildings everywhere, and a moat that went around the edge of town. I walked on a bridge that connected to another part of the town. "Looks like you've never been here I suppose," Culir chuckled. I turned around and looked at him. "I actually never have. I was actually planning on coming here though some time this week," I said. I'm glad I didn't wait. "Well that's good. Come on, the others are already at the restaurant!" Culir said as he started walking towards a building with smoke coming out of the chimney. I ran over to catch up.

When Culir and I walked inside the restaurant, a wonderful smell was in the air. I couldn't help but take a sniff. "I see them!" Culir said, walking towards the back. I followed him, tripping over people. The place was full of people and it was very loud with the chatter of people. We finally got to our table. It was a normal size, made with a soft wood. "I'm going to the restroom real quick. It won't take long," I said. They all nodded. As I walked towards the restroom, I bumped into girl. "Sorry," I said. The girl turned around and looked at me. I felt my heart stop and cheeks get warm. "It's okay. This place is a little too crowded," she said, smiling. She had crystal blue eyes, long brown hair that slightly curled at the bottom, soft looking lips, and a smile that lit up the whole room. She was wearing a red spaghetti strap top, a white skirt, and white ankle boots. "So what's your name?" she asked me. I began to stutter. "I-I-I'm... A-A-Aldan," I said. I sounded like a total retard. She began to giggle. "Nice to meet you Aldan. I'm Elizabeth," she said as she shook my hand. I felt my face become warmer. "Y-You too," I said. She gave me a warm smile, and my lips quivered as I tried to return one. "I guess i'll see you later then," she said as she let go of my hand. "Y-Yeah," I said. She giggled and walked off. I think I was in love.

I walked back to our table and sat down. I saw that our food already came. Was I really gone that long? I pecked at my food with my fork. Culir noticed and spoke up. "Not hungry?" I shook my head a little. "Your face is pink. You meet someone?" Culir chuckled as he nudged my arm. I gave a slight smile and nudged him back in the arm. "None of your business who I met," I chuckled. Culir chuckled and shoved a forkful of boiled carrots into his mouth. My smile soon faded as I looked back down at the grilled salmon that was on my plate. Should I tell him about everything that's going on? That I have the biggest crush on a girl I just met or that his friends are trying to kill me? "I just miss home a little," I said. It was sorta true, I mean, I did miss my mom, dad, and Henry a lot. It just wasn't the reason why I was so quiet. Culir gave me a pat on the back. "Don't worry dude, we'll get out of this hell hole of a game soon," he said with a smile. 

After lunch, we headed over to the Training Field for a quick workout. "So, I decided to put Aldan and Erin in the front row," Durai said. I stopped walking and felt as if I had just fallen into a bottomless pit. "No way!" I shouted. The group stopped walking and turned around and stared at me. Dammit, I really don't know how to play it cool do I? I cleared my throat. "It's just that, I think Culir should be in the front. He's had more experience in this group than I have. Durai got up in my face. "Look here Kid! I'm the leader here! So if I say you're going to be in the first row, YOU'RE going to be in the first row! Got it?" I nodded and gulped down all the saliva that was forming in my mouth. Durai got out of my face and continued walking with Erin and Faris. Culir and I looked at each other with an uncomfortable look on our faces. "Why me though?" I asked as we were walking. "Cause, you and I are the most skilled fighters on this team," Durai said. "Okay, okay!" I grumbled. I needed to think of a plan quickly.

As we got to the Training Field, it seemed as if everyone already knew what to do. As soon as they opened the wooden fence, they began to start training. Faris was using spells and magic on a few decoy dummies, Culir was using a bow with Erin at the targets, and Durai was using throwing knives on a few other decoy dummies. I looked around and just decided to use my sword on a decoy. I took my sword out of my inventory and started slashing away. I think I was doing pretty good, until suddenly I felt a delicate tap on my shoulder. I quickly turned around with my sword out, and saw Elizabeth. She squealed and jumped back. "E-Elizabeth! I didn't know that was you. My apologies," I said as I lowered my sword. "It's fine. I just wanted to tell you that, that decoy is for bows and throwing knives," she said as she giggled. I soon saw a man stare at me as he held a bow in his right hand, and signaled me to move out of the way with the other. "Sorry," I said as I moved. "I see you use swords. You are pretty good with one too," she said. I blushed. "Thanks," I said as I rubbed the back of my head. I couldn't help but grin. "Well, I also use a sword. I was kinda wondering if you'd like to train with me?" she asked. I felt my smile grow bigger. "Sure! I'd love to train with you!" I blurted out. She giggled. "Okay then. The training field for swords is this way," she said as she grabbed my hand. We walked in the back of the small field, opened the back of the gate door, and walked along a cobblestone road.

As we walked down the path, I couldn't help but look away. Every time she talked, my face seemed to get warmer. She really was a cute girl. "Hey watch this," I said as I grabbed a few purple berries off of a bush. I threw the berries in the air and caught them in my mouth. She started to giggle, and then clapped. "Bravo! Bravo!" she said as she giggled. "Sorry to inform you though, but those are poisonous. They will lower your health as soon as you swallow them," she said. I quickly spit the berries out. She laughed. I rubbed the back of my head, and let out an embarrassed chuckle. "Don't feel bad. I've actually swallowed them before." My eyes widened. "How badly did it lower your health?" I asked. "Not bad. I upgrade my health every chance I get. It only took about one fourth of it," she said looking up at the sky. I looked up at the sky too. "It's amazing. Not a single cloud in the sky," she said to herself. She was right though. Not even a speck of clouds. "Even though it IS just a game, it feels too real," she said as she looked back at the path. I nodded in agreement. "You really do know a lot about this place," I said. She gave a slight shrug. "My dad and I go camping every summer, and he teaches me a lot about survival," she said. "Wow," I said. She gave a slight smile. Even though she was stuck in a game, she never showed sadness or fear. Elizabeth always seemed happy as far as I could tell. I liked that about her.

A few minutes later, we got to the second training field. I opened the wooden gate for her and we walked in. I took a second to look around. It was a medium sized field, with about four hay barrels scattered around. There was also a large oak tree that was behind the back of the gate. Elizabeth pulled her sword out of her sword carrier and scratched off a piece of dirt. Her sword was thin and white, with a silver ring around the handle. It looked like a elegant sword that fit her perfectly. "Ready?" she asked with a smile. I took my sword out of my inventory and got into a stance position. "Ready!" I said.