Compile:Quest

Chapter 3:Fantasy Oasis V3.4

WePlay Centre, Lower Northbridge,

Africa Dome

A sea breeze caressed Peppermint's face, cooling the sheen of moisture on her skin. Waves broke on the shore, their gentle crashes mingled with the whinnying of unicorns at play. Earlier, the massive silver creatures had strutted past her and disappeared between the palm trees lining the beach.

Peppermint shifted in the padded deck chair. A slow tingle coursed through her skin as the sun baked her. Was she thirsty enough to retrieve the exotic cocktail wedged in the sand beside her?  She opened her eyes, her sunglasses filtering most of the glare from the sand as she stared at the ocean. A distant pair of dragons danced on thermals, their onyx bodies a stark contrast to the cerulean sky. 

A cotton-ball cloud appeared. Flickered. Then reappeared. 

The coconut's bendy straw beckoned her parched lips. She reached for it, but her fingers closed around empty air. 

"Ah, come on!" She grimaced and tried again.

As she watched, the coconut's fine brown hairs pixelated. Peppermint ground her teeth and looked back at the beach. She was enjoying herself. This was fun.

Drawing in a deep, steadying breath, Peppermint closed her eyes. For a while she thought of her morning spent with Nick, Maple and Titan and his clustermates — what a rager. Smiling, she let out a small sigh, her hand sliding over the deck chair and slipping into the warm sand. Maybe she should turn onto her stomach and get more sun on her back. Her eyes opened as she prepared to reposition herself.

A gigantic, three-dimensional 5:00 hung in the sky. Then the timer began a count down. 

4:59. 

4:58. 

4:57. 

She glared at it before turning onto her stomach and nestling her face into her warm, sweaty arms. The breeze carried a fine spray of sea water. She shivered when it touched her.

Peppermint's eyes snapped open at the sound of a wave crashing around her. Propping herself on her elbows she twisted her head around and groaned. A sparkling wave hovered above her. It flickered between the break line and her deck chair. 

Thousands of water particles shimmered in the surrounding air, cleaving to her skin when she swung her legs over the side of the chair. She watched impassively as the dragons fell from the sky, jerked ninety degrees and then exploded in a cloud of pixels. The roiling surface of the ocean shifted through the colour spectrum — pink, shifting into yellow, blue and finally an obscene purple. 

Her head sank into her hands. "Phoenix!" The word was muffled. 

"Good p.m., Peppermint. How may I be of assistance?" Phoenix, the Africa Dome's virtual assistant cum artificial intelligence program, spoke in a calm, androgynous voice.