The Outlanders

In the Dark

KASPER

I wake.

I try to sleep--

It's hard to do so, and I think I've been trying for quite some time now. 

My room smells like coffee, but it's difficult to take in. Especially with my face planted firmly against a pillow. The caffeine's been doing it's job, and I regret ever drinking it. I've been tossing and turning for what feels like an hour. I look up at the ceiling, it's dark, but not because there wasn't a light source, I just choose to make sure it's off. It's more peaceful that way. Even from across the room while my laptop's whirring it's inner mechanisms, the screen is dim so it wouldn't interrupt my sleep. I regret the coffee again.

My phone lay beside me, too dangerously close to my body I fear I might sleep on it. I'm far too lazy to actually do anything about it. Instead, I raise it to my face, a burst of light flashing against my eyes while the device shows me the notifications I've missed in the last two hours while I attempt to get some well deserved sleep. Mars has been texting. My first assumption is that he wants to play some video game, and for a while I decide not to read, instead choosing to scroll my social media for anything to interest me. Nothing catches my eye. I let out a few amused chuckles at images my friends have been sending me, but that was about as entertained as I could get. I stop procrastinating, and finally open Mars' messages. First two were just as I figured. He needed my help ranking up in one of the video games he's bought for me again. I don't give him enough credit for how much he's given me, so I try my best to return the favor. Not tonight though. Mars was talented enough to win any game he wanted. If he wanted.

The third message, sent a few minutes after the first two was about him asking me to give him a call. I'm not sure if he's fallen asleep. Out of everyone I knew, my best friend was the one person who didn't have a proper sleep schedule. Ever since we got to college, he's made sure that his classes were concentrated on the first half of every day ensuring he got more time to focus on his video games. Mars was incredibly efficient like that. But again; he had to want to be efficient.

I give him a call.

The phone rings for a few seconds, my eyes focus on an action figure posed across from my bed on a table with a lot more figurines. I get so caught up in inspecting it, that I almost ignore Mars' first words. "Hello?"

"Yo." I respond as if he were the one who called me up.

"Dude, Kasper--" There was excitement in his voice. I want to match it, but I can't. I'm tired, and the coffee won't let me hibernate. "--I sent you a video earlier, did you see it?"

I did. I didn't watch it though. Not because I didn't care, but because at the time, my mind thought assembling plastic robots were of greater importance. "I haven't watched it." My honesty earns me a groan from him. He wasn't angry, he was almost never angry, but his displeasure came loud and clear.

He clicked his tongue a few times, a feign of mockery as if he was judging me for not even trying. "They announced a new game."

"They always do, don't they?" There was a hint of sarcasm, he laughs, it makes me snicker. "What is it?" I ask, just so he knows I'm actually listening, and not treating the conversation like a passing note.

"VR."

"That's new."

"No dude, seriously. This shit is-- Oh my GOD." He sounded ecstatic. Immediately I could tell Mars was seconds from popping off. He had a way of explaining things with a certain exuberance that only a few people in my life ever matched. "Think Dungeons and Dragons, but VR."