'Whatever that thing is... it's not acting as mindless as the other mutants.'
Jason watched as the last of the mutants disappeared after the Cane Corso.
Under the crimson light of the sunset, the empty main street appeared quite ominous.
'Seems rerouting won't be necessary, at least for now.'
Crouching near the window, he pulled up the city map and started going through his route again.
'Judging by the direction it took, that creature is deliberately luring the mutants from the main street.'
Studying the main road that ran straight through the city, connecting the southern and northern entrances, Jason quickly mapped out a route of advance.
In the absence of any threat, Jason began his advance.
He dropped into a low tactical stance, pistol tracking the path ahead while his left hand held a combat knife in a reverse grip, his left forearm tucked beneath his gun arm to protect his centerline.
He moved through abandoned buildings, backyards, and narrow alleyways alongside the main route, never putting himself in open view.
At every intersection, he peeked around the corner before crossing. Other times, he would stop and quietly listen before continuing.
Stealthily and steadily, he covered more and more ground.
By the time it became too dark to see clearly, Jason had already put considerable distance behind him.
Jason pulled up the GEC device interface and checked the distance he had covered, as well as the time remaining on the timer.
'Less than sixty-eight hours left before evac, and I haven't seen any other players yet. Did they all die on day one?'
But at that moment, he noticed the world time displayed on the holographic screen.
20:03
'Is it already this late? or does this world run on a different time zone from reality?'
As his thoughts revolved around the question, the flickering, solar-powered neon sign of an abandoned minimart grabbed his attention.
The walls of the building were still largely intact compared to the others.
'This seems like a good place to log out for the night.'
He carefully slipped into the minimart and crouched, listening to the silence.
The sole flickering light bulb on the ceiling aided Jason in scanning the space around him.
'Clear.'
After a few seconds of quiet reconnaissance, he moved towards a nearby shelf and grabbed a flashlight he'd spotted earlier.
CLICK!
The bright beam from the flashlight took over from the flickering bulb, illuminating the whole place. Behind the counter opposite the entrance, a little corridor led all the way to the back.
Following the corridor, Jason arrived before a single door at the end of the corridor.
CREEAAKK!!
With a low creaking, the door crawled open and the flashlight revealed a cozy little office space behind it.
After briefly surveying the room, Jason went inside and quietly closed the door.
The office looked like a hurricane just swept through it, with items and furniture scattered all over the place.
Jason immediately went to another door inside the office and slowly opened it.
'A bathroom.' He thought as he saw the space beyond the door and quietly closed it as well.
'A single entrance, a small window and a bathroom with an even smaller window. Easily defensible.'
He proceeded to barricade the window and door, after which he double checked every corner of the room again.
Once he was sure that everything was safe, Jason sat in a corner of the room that gave him clear line of sight to the entrance, window and bathroom door.
'Now how do you exit this game?'
Activating the GEC device, Jason scrolled through a couple of options looking for the logout option.
'There isn't an options for exiting?'
Going through the device a second time, he spotted another option called Desynchronize.
Selecting that option, a message appeared on the screen.
[Do you want to Desynchronize?
Yes
No]
He pondered for a moment and picked Yes.
[Initiating Desynchronization...
T-10 seconds
9
8
7
...
2
1]
As soon as the countdown hit one, Jason felt the exact same pull he'd experienced when he logged into the game, and everything went dark.
*****
Jason's body stirred on his bed. He slowly sat up and took off the helmet.
GROWL!
As soon as he took it off, his stomach immediately protested in anger.
Looking beside him, Jason saw the digital clock sitting on the bedside drawer, calmly displaying the time.
8:15pm
'Seems the game operates on the same time as reality.'
He tried to stand but couldn't find the feeling of his legs anymore. Glancing down at the stumps after his knees, Jason just sighed.
'Right! I'm back to being disabled.'
Pulling his wheelchair closer, Jason moved himself to it and went to the bathroom.
After washing up, Jason changed and headed for the cafeteria.
'The others must have already had dinner. Let's see if the cooks still have anything for me.'
By the time Jason entered the cafeteria, the place was already empty, save for the staff and a few others like him who had come for some late supper.
He directly wheeled himself towards the counter where one of the servers was currently chatting with another lady.
"Good evening, Mister Jason." The server, a rugged-looking young lady with an athletic body, black hair, and sharp eyes, greeted him.
"Good evening." Jason replied and went straight to the point.
"I got caught up and happened to miss dinner."
'He is usually very punctual and disciplined. What could have possibly held him up?' Though surprised, she still answered professionally.
"I see, what would you like to have for dinner then?"
"No preference, anything light and quick to prepare would do." Jason replied.
"Very well, give me a minute." The server said and left.
"Mister Jason?"
Jason was just about to move to a table when a soft timid voice suddenly called out to him.
Turning to the source of the voice, Jason discovered it belonged to the lady who was previously chatting with the server before his arrival.
A young lady, probably younger than Jason himself, stood there. Her auburn-red hair was tied up in a ponytail, while thin-rimmed glasses rested on her little nose, giving her a scholarly look.
She was currently wearing a camo T-shirt along with combat pants and boots.
As soon as Jason's gaze locked onto her, she hurriedly lowered her head.
Jason observed her for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Mitchell, was it?" He asked.
"Yes, how are you doing sir?" The lady, Mitchell proceeded to ask.
"I'm doing fine." He replied, but inwardly
'So she hadn't been recalled, even when the patient she was assigned to rejected her.'
"That's good to hear." She replied and then kept quiet.
'She seems to have created some distance after that incident. Can't blame her though.'
At that moment, the server returned with a steaming plate of pasta and salad.
"Here you go, Mister Jason. Enjoy."
Jason received the tray and turned to leave then paused for a while.
"There's something I would like your help with, Mitchell. That is, if you're free and you're okay with it."
Jason's words not only stunned Mitchell, but even the server was surprised.
After a few seconds, the server loudly cleared her throat, pulling Mitchell from her speechlessness.
"Yes! Yes, what do you need?" She asked, quickly coming to her senses.
"Come with me." He said and proceeded to wheel himself away.
"There's something different about him today. Something in his eyes. I just can't tell what it is." The server whispered to Mitchell as Jason moved further ahead.
"That's what it is, Grace. There's finally something in his eyes," Mitchell replied and hurried after Jason.
*****
Hi everyone
Sorry for the long unexplained pause. Something came up at work and I couldn't find the chance to write. Please forgive me.