Half-conscious, Rowan’s head lulled on the wall behind him, eyes tracking in Jeff’s general direction. Ikara sat in the water, head bowed, her tangled red-tipped ponytails almost dipping into the puddle. Kaidu tried to kill Jeff with his eyes alone, upright and immobilized behind the man.
... 2021-09-11 20:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostIn a flurry of white, Kaidu dropped from the sky. Startled, Jeff leaped back, but too late. He shouted and raised a hand to his face. Blood spurted where Kaidu’s razor carved a line down his forehead and cheek, barely jumping Jeff’s eye.
The red circle around Rowan and Ikara faded, and ...
2021-09-10 20:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostMore and more water accumulated underfoot, until they splashed through ankle-deep puddles. Clutching his arm, Rowan stared at the sky and wished for the rain to end. The cut’s never going to close like this.
Ikara glanced over. “Is it still bleeding?”
“Huh? Yeah,” R...
2021-09-09 20:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostAnother clone hit the ground. Rowan looked up, wiping the rain from his brow as he peered after Kaidu, searching for a snatch of white amongst the oppressive gray. Still no sign of Red? She should be around here somewhere.
He glanced at his upper right-hand corner, where the clone ...
2021-09-08 20:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostTossing and turning, Rowan finally gave up on sleep early in the morning. Scribbling in his notebook, he took down everything they’d discussed earlier: teams, composition, names and preference order. Staring down at the notebook, he blinked, then shook his head and snapped it shut.
In the...
2021-09-07 20:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThey’d barely settled the bed before the door clunked against it. Brown eyes and dyed red hair stared at them through the gap. Rowan recognized the woman immediately. Red!
“We’re full up in here, thanks,” Gills said, and slammed the door shut.
“Hey! Let us in! You c...
2021-09-06 20:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“No,” Kaidu snapped, not even a breath later.
“No thank you,” Ikara said softly.
Rowan looked up into the taller man’s eyes and shook his head firmly. “We came here to climb the Tower on our own. We don’t need a combat class to drag us along like dead weight.”
Gi...
2021-09-05 20:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostKaidu closed the distance. In the same moment, the man charged. They met in a clash of sparks. Too fast for Rowan to follow, their blades flashed. Swinging two-handed, the man lost in speed to Kaidu, but made up for it with raw power. Unable to match the man’s blows, Kaidu dodged and backsteppe...
2021-09-04 20:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post“If you have anything you want to take inside, call it out now,” Kaidu said, a hand on the door.
Rowan paused, then held out his hand. “Manifest!”
His garden box plopped down into the road. The one plant in the box stood tall, much taller than he remembered it. A thick bud sat...
2021-09-03 20:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostRowan’s phone buzzed. At the same second, Ikara’s went off. Ikara fumbled hers out first. She squinted at the screen, then whispered: “From the northwest.”
“Which way’s northwest?” Rowan whispered back.
Ikara shrugged. “I haven’t seen the sun.”
Rowan glanced ...
2021-09-02 20:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post“Kaidu, you run into anyone?” Rowan asked.
He nodded. “I spotted ten teams. Three had high level gear, party cohesion, and well-built parties, so I marked those for avoidance. Four further were full parties with low cohesion and lower-level gear. Those are marked as possibilities. The...
2021-09-01 20:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a few seconds, Rowan rolled his eyes. Alright, cool guy, I need more than that. He jogged up beside Kaidu and stretched out his legs, mimicking Kaidu’s long gait. The few inches Kaidu had on him made it harder than he expected, but there wasn’t enough of a difference for the wh...
2021-08-31 20:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostShoulders wet, hair plastered to his forehead, Rowan blinked away the rain. It's not raining that hard, but damn, it gets annoying.
He wiped the rain off his forehead and shivered, just once. The apron dragged at his shoulders, weighed down with rain. His eyes drifted to a dry nook...
2021-08-30 20:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostFuck. Game over.
The sword plunged toward him.
Rowan jumped back, drawing his hand spade at the same moment. The spade barely met the sword in time. Red’s blow overpowered Rowan’s parry, but the interception knocked her blade askew. It glanced across Rowan’s ribs, drawi...
2021-08-29 20:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostThrough the door, he watched the ruined fountain vanish. The door swung shut, eclipsing the gray sky, the gray buildings, the half-moon golden windows. Jacob’s startled face filled up the silver of remaining sky, and then the door closed.
Down and down, on into the black. Rowan closed his...
2021-08-28 20:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostA slender man in a loose-fitting t-shirt and torn jeans stood up from one of the tables, a smirk on his face. Rather than artistically torn, the jeans were half-sewn in some places and ripped awkwardly in others, more the pair of jeans kept around to paint the house in than fashionable. He saunte...
2021-08-27 20:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostWatching Terry approach, Rowan’s mind spun. Run now? No, he’s too close. And he’d almost certainly attack. Putting aside his stupidity, the game, points, yadda yadda, he’s no friend of mine. If I give him the opportunity to get away with a sucker punch, he’d do it.
St...
2021-08-26 20:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post“I don’t have any points,” Rowan grit out.
Another chuckle. “I don’t care about points. Got anything from outside? Snacks? News?”
“O-outside?” Rowan stuttered.
“Outside the Tower. Don’t be a fool.”
“Er…” Rowan reached over his shoulder and scram...
2021-08-25 20:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe stone city bustled with clones. Half-moon windows glowed with gold light. Drizzling rain and oppressive clouds left a perpetual haze over the world. Rowan walked evenly down the street, mixing in with the stream of clones, men and women he didn’t recognize and a few familiar faces. An Ikara...
2021-08-24 20:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post“The… Scenario?” Ikara asked.
“Wait, this is part of the game?” Rowan added.
Just as they asked, white text appeared in front of their eyes, floating in a green box.
Welcome to the Second Floor! Clone Game Begins!
One hundred clones of yo...
2021-08-23 20:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostThis time, rather than falling, he stepped onto a floor exactly where the floor should be. He kept walking, confused. White light suffused them all around, glowing from all directions, no indication of the floor, or the ground, or distance, just the three of them floating in the white light. Afte...
2021-08-22 20:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe line stretched out of the Tower’s doors and coiled around its side, half-full of cheery families with stuffed-full daybags, luggage, and sugar-buzzed kids, half-full of grizzled climbers in scared armor, grimly clutching weapons and weighed down with over-full backpacks.
Rowan sighed....
2021-08-21 20:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post“Hey, Rowan?” Ikara said.
“Hmm?” He glanced back.
She walked behind him, kicking her feet, hands clasped behind her. At his glance, she looked up, ponytails bouncing. “Should we cook tonight? Something more than eggs or soup, I mean.”
“Oh, right!” Rowan said, rem...
2021-08-20 20:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostOne Week Later
Rowan pressed his back up against a corner and peeked around it, holding the spade tight. A massive, clawed footprint cracked the asphalt ahead of him, revealing strata of asphalt, substrate, then dirt. Dirty water obscured the depths, thick weeds peeking out of the ...
2021-08-19 20:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostAt the apartment, Kaidu glanced over his shoulder and scowled at them. “Find your own place.”
“We’re still broke,” Ikara reminded him.
“Once we beat another floor, we’ll find somewhere else to stay, I promise,” Rowan said.
Kaidu snorted. He unlocked the door and ...
2021-08-18 20:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe sun hung low in the sky. Mouth hanging open, bruises all over his body, Rowan staggered over broken glass and sunk into an abandoned apartment, pressing his back against the cool sheetrock walls for a moment’s cool. A quick noise startled him back to awareness. He jumped and drew his spade....
2021-08-17 20:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post“Yeah? What, you don’t see it?” Ikara said, tipping her head.
“I mean… no. I guess I could understand ‘hot,’ but not ‘cute.’”
“What? He’s totally cute.” Ikara shook her head adamantly, her ponytail thrashing around.
This tiny girl has a lot of spunk...
2021-08-16 20:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostAround the corner from the arena and tucked away behind a building, the three of them slowed to a halt. Ikara plopped down on the curb and sighed, breathing heavily. “Damn, that was scary! Awesome, but scary.”
“I know, right?” Katy agreed.
Ikara squinted against the sun up at ...
2021-08-15 20:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe three of them burst out of the window, Katy first, Rowan and Ikara close on her heels. Katy leaped high in the air and dropped down on the mass of monsters between them and Henry. Her spear flashed, and monster bodies went flying.
“Going out with a fight, huh? Then why don’t we thro...
2021-08-14 20:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostKaty pointed her spear at the trio. “Stay back!”
Henry chuckled. “Oh, I will. I’ll stay right here until you call uncle and hand over those credits.”
He gestured. The monsters surged forward, fierce, sharp teeth bared.
“Quick, in, get in!” Rowan shouted, yanking Ik...
2021-08-13 20:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post