Who got access to the QuestMaster?

Alice - A Victim of The App

How's a town get a name like Silent Falls?

It's got a waterfall, sure. It's not a walkable distance from townhall, but I'll give it to them. But waterfalls aren't silent. They're loud AF, which means the people of the town just had to ignore the noise to name their town. Turn a blind eye, to the big loud mess happening right in front of them...

Sorry.

Who the fuck starts an introduction like that?

It's the snow, makes me feel poetic I guess.

I hadn't seen the snow for years, not since my last year in college, when I came to visit.

That's right, I'm one of those rare 'Kid who got out' you always hear about, but I didn't really get out did I?

The train was chug, chug chugging me back into the open maw of Silent Falls. My own little home town hell.

The train screeched into station, and I was the only one to get off. In my memory I was the only one on the train, but that's not true.

It is true that I was by myself when the train pulled back out of the station, just me and three suitcases, all I had left in the world.

My phone beeped, as I'd been expecting it wouldn't. I'd been hoping it wouldn't then all of this wouldn't have seemed so weird.

I pulled it out, and took a look.

Yep.

There it was, a notification from Life Quest.

Move Back to Silent Falls - Quest Complete!

Reward: A New House

"Yeah right." I whispered to myself, and stowed my phone away. Up until now the app had some some... impressive things.

Alright, magical things. But in this economy it'd take a lot more than magic to get me into a...

My phone started ringing.

No way.

With a trembling hand I brought the phone back up, and held it up to my ear. My cheeks were already red, I really wasn't dressed for the snow.

"Hello, is this Alice Nance?"

"This is Alice..." I said slowly.

"Hi Alice, this is Stacy with the Silent Falls Financial Union."

"Hello?"

"Listen, we just got out of a lengthy litigation and have to divest ourselves of some assets, including the house your family used to own."

What the hell? "Yeah, like eight years ago."

"Like it I said it was a lengthy litigation. Look we just need the thing off our hands. It won't cost you anything, just utilities and taxes."

I couldn't believe it. "Um sure... yeah." I mean this is what I was counting on. I had no other plans, no where to go. Just a stupid quest on a stupid app on my stupid phone.

"Great. Listen Alice we need to get this done by the end of the month, when do you think you can..?"

"I just got into town."

"Really? Visiting family?"

"I don't know what I'm doing."

"Well how about I give you a hint? Our office is open for another hour, why don't you make your way over to the union and we can put you in a house by the end of the day?"

"Beats a motel."

"That's what I thought. Okay Alice, see you in a bit. I'll text you the address." She hung up.

"Fuck." I shook my head. "I hadn't actually thought..."

"Oh my god." There was a masculine voice from the parking lot, real close to the station where the handicap parking is. "Alice, is that you?"

"No way." I turned and saw a man stomping through the snow towards me. "Eric?" I muscled through the snow and met him half way there. It'd been four years, do you still hug a person after...

"I hadn't actually thought..." He hugged me.

We hugged!

"What are you doing here?" I asked after an appropriately long hug.

He shrugged and looked guilty. Eric always reminded me a Seth Green, short, red head, and a big mouth. In both senses. He could fit so many grapes in there, and still keep talking. "Well I'm not getting on a train, if that's what you're asking."

Oh no. "Don't tell me. The app?"

He shrugged, and smiled all over again. Crooked teeth. I wouldn't say he was one of those kids who 'got handsome' after high school, but he had grown into his looks some, and this lisp was still cute. "You got it too?"

"This is fucked." I put my head in my hands. "What is it?"

He shrugged. "Hell if I know. Me and Blair both got it, a few weeks ago..."

"Same! Anyone else?"

"Not that I know of."

"So what? We're all connected or something?"

"Maybe so, I don't know."

"It's scary huh?"

"Definitely scary. I had an um... broken leg. When I got the app, right? And on my first quest ffft." He whistled through his lips and snapped his fingers. "Just like that, I'm walkin' around."

"Wow. Yeah, I um..." I shrugged. "I just got a house."

His eyes went wide. "Now way." He smacked me in the shoulder. "Lucky!"

I rolled my eyes, and smiled back at him. I didn't think it would be this easy. "Yeah well we'll see. It's my old house."

"Damn with the slide and everything?"

"The slide got given to Goodwill but yeah. There might still be some weed in the attic if we're lucky."

"Fuck." He giggled and blew some heat into his hands. "Wouldn't that be a trip? Smoking pot in attic like when we were kids?"

I smacked him back. "Oh like you ever stopped."

"I actually have." He looked embarrassed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm a teacher now, and they like **** test you know?"

Now I was the embarrassed one. "Wow, I didn't know that. I don't really do social media much. Don't tell me you're married?"

"Are you kidding?" He laughed. "Now no one really is. Just Kate and Marshall of course."

"Of course." I nodded along. "Did you know I was gay for her?"

"For Kate?" Eric laughed.

"Oh yeah." I mimed resting my hands on my arms. "I would sit at my window, and look across the gap between our houses, and just sigh and hope she'd forget to close her curtains before for the changed."

"Hot." He laughed. "Yeah I was in about the same situation, but I was looking across the street into your bedroom hoping for the same thing."

That was news but not surprising. "I wonder who Kate was looking at?"

"Pictures of Marshall!"

"So true." I laughed and looked over at his car. Definitely a teacher's car. A Green Sentra, I didn't even know they came in green. "So where did the app tell you to drive me? Is there a meat packing plant somewhere? Maybe a shallow grave?"

"Nothing like that yet." He shrugged. "I guess I was just supposed to taxi you wherever."

I sighed and started walking towards his car. "Well let's start with the union, I got some keys to pick up."

"Right away miss."

We got into his car, where the heater was blasting, and the snow melted on contact with the windshield. "I fucking didn't miss this snow."

"I hope you have some thicker clothes in the bag, it's supposed to be like this for the next two weeks."

"Two weeks?" I balked. "This is fucked."

"Are you staying?" He started to drive.

"I don't know." I pulled my phone out, and stared at it. "No." I said finally. "This is some serious I know What You Did Last Summer shit." I shook my head. "I should throw this phone out the window and go back home."

"You are home." Eric chuckled.

"Yeah right."

"Alright." He smirked, and rolled down my window, a perfect opportunity to toss the device.

I held it securely in my hand and desperately flailed to get the window pulled back up before I was drenched with melted now. "Asshole." I growled at him. "I have passwords on here, I can't just throw it out."

"Right the passwords, not the new house or whatever else the app can do."

I squinted at him. "Are you actually enjoying this?"

"Hell no!" He said, but still smiled. "I'm scared out of my mind. I get a quest this morning tell me a time and place to pick you up, and there you are? That's some black ops shit man. I am not here for that. I teach first grade, okay?"

"Okay." I paused and thought about the app for a bit. "So what level are you?"

"What?"

"Your level, don't tell me you haven't leveled up?"

"Shit, I've leveled up. I'm just being gentlemanly and not flaunting my success."

"Oh really?"

He shook his head. "Level 3, alright?"

"Oh dang." I laughed. "I didn't know I was being driven around by a high roller!"

He smiled. "That's higher than you?"

"I think I just hit level 2." I checked my phone.

"What?" He shook his head. "Shit where's my house? Pay me, know what I'm saying?"

"Yep there it is." I held my phone out to him, while he was driving, awful idea. "Level two."

"That's bullshit." He laughed. "I'm literally in an apartment. Pay me!"