Congratulations! You have pet a cat!

  You have met sand kitten 1.

  Congratulations! You have pet a cat!

  You have met sand kitten 2.

  Congratulations! You have pet a cat!

  You have met sand kitten 3. {So new, so crispy. These baby sand cats nest like birds on the dunes of the beaches, and their parents are often neglectful or callous. We don’t know which. Perhaps species preservation has determined that many easily killed offspring will create a stronger species over time.}

  As Flor continued to pet the cats, they began to mew happily. Sparks moved up next to the nest, pulled a few pieces of something from his jerkin, and fed it to the little ones. “They are happy. The mother should come soon. Just stay calm and quiet. She’s bigger than these.”

  Flor continued to pet sand kitten 1, who began to purr a bit and then wandered from the nest into Flor’s chest. Flor looked to Sparks. “I hate this.”

  Sparks raised his eyes. “The repetition.”

  “More than that. This place isn’t a repetition. It’s new. I’ve not seen it. But it’s not reality. It’s not even cursed Holst’s. It’s a subgenre of fantasy RPG that I’ve always hated.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Wasn’t meant to be. We didn’t sign up for the playtest.”

  Sparks eyes got even wider. “Oooh. You didn’t know what you were getting into, then you got into it anyway. It’s impressive that you are still pushing forward then.”

  “What do you mean by that? I only found out about the playtest from Maelstrom, but she seemed to know more than us.”

  “How much do you want to know?”

  “All of it, I guess?”

  “You should read the terms of understanding and agreement paperwork, then.”

  “What?”

  “It should be an option under your settings.”

  Flor felt a bit stupid for not having seen that before. “Can you give me an abbreviated version?”

  “Sure. Playtest. Awards for solving it. Awards for most bugs found. Possibly lesser awards for other unique things accomplished. Extra awards for starting in the keep or the tower, but with excessive difficulty and expressed pain settings. Standard non-disclosure. Non-transferability of awards or skills to beta or other games. I might have missed one or two, but that’s the general overview. The full document is dry legalese. But you should have signed a disclaimer to be part of this, meaning you assumed the risk.”

  Sand kitten 1 nuzzled deeper into Flor.

  “No. We didn’t read the disclaimer. We were fast-traveling after a mining operation and ended up here. In the city. Repeatedly. You don’t wake on a boat heading to the city?”

  “That’s strange. I don’t know, dear. Life is hard sometimes, and maybe so is the game. Maybe we’re being tested beyond just normal playtesting. Solar Cell certainly hasn’t lived up to their end of the bargain.” Sparks took a breath. “Be calm. I think the mama sand cat is close. Must appreciate that you’re taking good care of the kittens.”

  Flor held her breath. Sand kitten 1 purred deeper. A shadow fell over the nest, then a big, fluffy face peeked down. Large paws hit the sand soundlessly as she hopped down, then nuzzled kittens 2 and 3. The cat’s eyes narrowed at Flor, seeing kitten 1 there, but she moved into the nest and opened her mouth. A bunch of tiny sandworms were deposited in the center of the nest and the kittens pounced on them. Sand kitten 1 flexed its claws, digging into Flor’s shoulder, and it took Flor’s best self-control not to flinch. Sand kitten 1 pounced on the wiggling worms beside her sibs. The larger sand cat came over and rubbed against Flor.

  Congratulations! A cat has pet you!

  You have met sand cat. {The sand cats have large, splayed paws that let them stalk silently on the sand. They prefer to go after the beach insects rather than birds since the birds are known to fight back. Cowards. But cute cowards!}

  Flor leaned toward Sparks. “I don’t feel like staying on the beach all day. Four new cats is more than I’ve pet in a day.”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Sparks petted the larger sand cat then stood and helped Flor to her feet. “The next several are more difficult to get.” They wandered over the dunes back into the monument proper. Sparks turned, “Look. I’ll be honest. It took me days to find these cats. You promise you’ll take me around to the city tomorrow?”

  “Sparks, I’m uncertain where I’ll wake up tomorrow.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “For however many days I wake as a slave freed into the city. It was only yesterday that I became Brawler 1. And that was after completing the city. We’ve been at this exploration for days, and I can’t claim to know where or when the cats I pet are. I want to help, especially if helping you helps me, but this rain sucks, I’m pissed off at my husband, I’m stuck in a game, and I don’t understand what we’re trying to do.”

  “You’ll wake up in the city, right?”

  “I don’t even know,” Flor’s rage had turned to despair, and she felt a sob coming on.

  Sparks was there a second later, wrapping Flor in his arms, and Flor sobbed into his shoulder.

  “I don’t know you. I shouldn’t be doing this.”

  Sparks patted her shoulder and pulled Flor in a bit closer. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Your rage probably expresses as depression. But I don’t know if that amplifies any underlying depression you might have going on.”

  So much was happening at the same time in Flor’s brain. She felt frightened, relieved, nervous, cautious, embarrassed, concerned, and happy.

  “Did you enchant me!?”

  Sparks pulled back. “I’m not a witch. I just read emotions, I thought you might need a hug.” Flor started to feel affronted. “Look, I need you to listen, please.”

  Flor pulled back, feeling as if she was being taken advantage of. “No, thanks for the cats.” She started to walk toward the exit. “I’ll keep my bargain, but meet me at the city tomorrow.”

  Sparks said, a bit louder, “I’m a sixty-eight-year-old woman playing a young man.”

  Flor kept walking. But something in her head connected to something else.

  She slowed, then turned. “You called me dear, earlier. That’s not something young men call women my age.”

  Sparks walked up to her. “Nor me.” She waited. “I’ll talk, fully, but I want you to listen too. Please.”

  Flor nodded. Sparks began walking back to the hotel.

  “Yes, I’m sixty-eight. Vietnamese. You know what that means, right? No, probably not. You’re young.”

  Flor stood up straighter. “I’ve worked with several young Viets. They were all shocked by the suddenness of the brutality.”

  “The people were shocked in general. Shitheads take control suddenly, then make things worse even faster. No one fought back. They didn’t know they needed to.”

  “I’m…I don’t know what to say. Or what to feel. That was half the world away.”

  Sparks lit up a bit. “I escaped. To the stars. At least in video game fashion.”

  “But why are you here, then?”

  “Because I can live each day fully, even if those days might wrap up. No, that’s not it,” said Sparks. “I did that out in the asteroid belts of Holst. I’m here because I’m a coward…I’m powerless to affect the real world, but empowered to affect this world.”

  “You mentioned you avoid the rage?” said Flor.

  “It’s…” Sparks took a moment. “Wilted sprouts! You don’t want to know.”

  “I think I already do.”

  There was a silence. It wasn’t pretty, or pronounced. But it beat back the calm that had existed until there was an underlying tone that warbled.

  “Every evening, I take a walk. Up that cliff. It’s easy in this body. I look at the sky, a sky you can’t see in the real world, even on a clear night, because you know there are no clear nights. And then, when the stars align to 31:00, I jump. I fall to the crags below, and my body is washed away to the sea. And then I wake up, it’s 05:00, and I’m in the plushiest bed I’ve ever imagined, and I wait again to throw myself from the cliffs.”

  Flor had leaned in. “And you live your day again?”

  “Yes, but there is no rage. I don’t ache for the stars. I don’t pine for those in Vietnam. I live my life, which may not be the life I wanted, but it’s a life.”

  “Why do you want me to take you to the city cats?”

  “Because even in a life of repetition, there might be beauty in something different.”

  “Okay. I’ll take you tomorrow. The more I talk with you, the more I expect I could wake up in West Shilgrave. So, I’ll come out, escort you there, and we’ll go cat hunting!”

  “I’m not sure I believe you,” said Sparks. “But I’m hopeful. Let’s go find those other cats here.”

  Congratulations! You have pet a cat!

  You have met monument cat 1.

  Congratulations! You have pet a cat!

  You have met monument cat 2.

  Congratulations! You have pet a cat!

  You have met monument cat 3. {Monument cats wander the monument, waiting for “things” to land or be left behind. The developers say they need additional personality.}

  Congratulations! You have pet a cat!

  You have met cliff cat 1. {Cliff cats are daredevils. They like to chase birds until the birds take flight, then leap and ride upon that bird until it lands.}

  Congratulations! You have pet a cat!

  You have met cliff cat 2. {The longest known flight is 18 days, after which the cliff cat returned weak and starved. The cat looked at his owner and scoffed at his food bowl.}

  “You completed the monument, right?” said Flor.

  “Yeah. But only.”

  “I’m not sure I can help you complete the city…it’s complex. But what about we try something else? Let’s go north to the Lighthouse or the Keep?”

  “I’m sure I’m underpowered for any other location. But appreciative that you accepted me, finally.”

  “There is no way the lighthouse is more complex than the city.”

  “Oh, that’s not what I meant. Wait, are we disagreeing on the same thing?”

  “Probably. You get distracted.”

  “Blame my rage.”

  “I will, but I also demand you get in control of it.”

  “You’re like a madre.”

  “I’ve been a mother more than once. Take good advice.”

  “Puf,” Flor blew her cheeks. “Fine. But help me clear this place first.”

  Sparks raised his arms, then turned around toward Flor. “It is with great reverence that I appreciate today. I thank you for granting me new perspectives and new discussions.” Sparks bowed low. We shall meet in the morning as planned.” Then he stood and leaned backward and fell off the cliffs. {Just like in the Nestea commercials of old.}

  “…Goddess…” At Spark’s request, Flor watched until the body hit the shoals. “That’s by choice?”