First Encounter

The tunnel was dim, but there was enough light to see. There was a light red haze throughout the tunnel. The only thing keeping him from losing his mind was the slick walls.

John hadn’t seen much of Icarus. All he’d done was walk in a dark tunnel with red fog, but if the game was anything like the beginning it would be considered the best game ever created.

Walking through the tunnel he found a door. Wooden planks were rotted out; it looked like it was going to fall apart. He could hear something on the other side, something different than water droplets hitting walls.

He froze. The floor was littered with human skeletons. The corners of the room were piled high with bones.

There was another rustling of bones, and another. John looked over.

There was a squeak, and another. John looked over. One of the bone-piles was crawling with rats. He immediately considered going back.

Something stopped him. Through the canyon of bones, there was another door, set into the opposite wall. The hint of flickering orange light darted under the wood slats. He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to know what was on the other side. But...this was an adventure, right? What did he have to lose?

He approached the door. He could hear a muffled sound on the other side. He opened it slowly, trying to avoid making a creak.

John could see a goblin walking in the room. Its skin was a nasty green with warts coming out of his body. Its eyes a beaty yellow and it looked like it was wearing rags.

The smell and the disgusting sounds of the goblin digging in made his stomach flip. It picked its current bone clean and tossed it over its shoulder. It clattered into the pile. It used its knife to cut another segment of human from the half-eaten leg on the table, then began to feast again. It hadn't noticed him yet - it was fixated on the meal.

John was about get the hell out of there when he saw a sword. It was across the room from him, past where the creature was sitting. Firelight gleamed off its point. Next to it was a wooden dagger and scattered bits of leather armor, most of it shredded.

He weighed the risks.. He could go back and try another path, but this wasn't a nice place. Sooner or later he'd run into something nasty again.

He dashed forward.

The thing grunted as he ran past. Wood scraped on stone as it pushed back its chair. John decided that the sword and dagger would both be useful.

By the time he'd gotten a grip on the sword, the creature was facing him. Sharp yellowed nails lined its hands. It snarled at him, then ran forward. Before it reached him, it threw the bit of meat it was holding.

John dodged the projectile, but he didn't see the goblins other hand. It flashed into its rags and came out with a dagger. The weapon plunged into John's abdomen.

John’s health bar dropped significantly. The creature's spittle-filled growl rolled over his face. It twisted the dagger. The health bar started grinding down at a steady rate.

John was more surprised, than anything. The blade currently puncturing his body felt like a strong, very uncomfortable pinch. Definitely not something he wanted, but not so bad.

John casually raised his right hand and plunged his sword into the goblins neck. It made a sort of gurgled shriek, then fell back. It twisted on the floor in pain. Its hands quivered over the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood.

It clearly hadn't expected him to counter. Most people probably dropped after a dagger in the gut. John reached down and pulled the weapon out of himself. His health bar stopped dropping. It was still three-quarters full.

He checked where the curved dagger had been. There was no wound, no indication that he'd ever been stabbed. He stretched his stomach. No lingering pain, either. Aside from the hit to his health, he was unharmed.

The creature was still twitching. Tyler rose his left arm and lined up the dagger tip, then jabbed it into John rat.

The game did not spare him the brutality of his act. Where the dagger struck, the rat's flesh ripped open. He stabbed again, tearing a larger hole in the creature's abdomen. Its organs burst onto the ground. He jabbed it again in the chest, and it stopped moving.