T̷h̷e̸ ̵G̶a̴m̸e̵ - A VR Role-play

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

Evan didn’t necessary agree or disagree to her comment but he figured it was better than breaking something from the landing. “Good thing you didn’t get hurt though.. it was quite a fall.” he murmured, moving alongside her “But this sand is pretty annoying”

As he eyed the desert horizon, he could see the refracted sky appearing on the surface of the sand, giving the impression that there was water in the far distance. Rubbing his eyes, Evan refused to fall for the mirage. It’s just an illusion.. there can’t be water out here can it?

Distracted by the mirage, Evan failed to notice the shuffling and movement behind him and Lyra, and eventually bony skeletal hands started to emerge from underneath the ground. Followed by the hands were arms, heads, then entire bodies of skeletons that dragged themselves from their dwellings. Each of the four skeletons had some sort of tattered clothing stuck to their bones and a wooden club in one hand. Not a single sound was vocalized from them, besides the rattling of their loose bones.

Lyra heard shuffling and rattling and turned hurriedly “Evan” her voice rose above a whisper “EVAN!” She shouted this time. Skeletons. Dozens of them coming towards them, “we really...run! NoW!” She cried

 

[TamingMaster]

A giant scarlet claw punctured the pale sand beside Fabian, rattling the ground. As the crab lifted it out, it left an empty scar in its wake. The sand crept back in slowly as it poured off the exoskeleton.

Fabian dug frantically, motivated even more so by the ginormous sense of impending death. Their fingertips finally met with the chilled metal that lie underneath a thin layer of sand.
With enough hope, strength, and prayers to the Lord above, they could potentially pull it out and, provided it was weapon, they could use it to save their life.

So, that's what they did. They grasped the handle with both hands and pulled with all their strength. Out of the sand came a giant, two-handed hammer, which Fabian wielded confidently, grinning despite the danger.

Fabian dodged another jabbing claw, swinging the hammar at one of the towering beast's legs, knocking it off from the highest joint.

A gurgled clacking rumbled through the crab's jaws, pain and anger forcing the continuation of its pursuit. It snipped forcefully at the tiny person, grabbing only clawfuls of air and sand.

Fabian swung again, this time at the two, opposite front legs, breaking them off. It left sharp edges across them both as the creature toppled into the sand.

It tried to stand back up, pushing with its claws, but Fabian was already mid-swing. The hammer, lighter than they had imagined, smacked down in the center of the crustacean's body, splitting it in two. They had defeated it.
But, unbeknownst to Fabian, there was no smoke to mark the occasion, no coin, no reward, aside from some momentary relief.

A wheezing Fabian strolled over to the claws, unhooking the bag and slinging it over their shoulder. "That's what you get, you-"

Scuttling caught their attention, interrupting their witty insult, as two dozen smaller crabs crawled out of the skeleton left behind. They headed towards them, quicker than the adult had been. "Why is this happening to me?!"

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

Cassie continued to hum and walk, she was exhausted and just wanted to go home but she knew she couldn’t stop. That’s when it happened, the bushes behind her trembled, she froze glancing over her shoulder, the bush stopped and she thought she saw a yellow eye through the leaves but then again she could have been imagining things. When it shook again her heart jumped in her chest, she sped up without breaking into a run in case she provoked whatever it was to chase her down.
She looked around at the trees for any which had branches low enough that she could climb them but no luck.
Glancing back at the bushes this time she definitely saw a pair of eyes fixed on her, she swallowed feeling very anxious now. She was clammy in the hands and face as her anxiety got to her, “come out.” She called, her voice shook uncontrollably but she brushed her hair out her face “fight me. While you have the chance before I bury one of these arrows as deep in as it will go”.

 

[Yowza Wowza]

Aros watched Tem closely, finding a bit of humor in the shorter person's attempts at gaining an inch on his comparatively giant status, and noticed absentmindedly that they lacked a shoe.
But as Tem talked, he gave them his full attention, slightly tilting his head with interest. Their story and voice sounded genuine, yet they could always have been lying-- But they hadn't given him a reason to believe or disbelieve them, so he decided to just take the story with a grain of salt and not truly accept it as the full truth yet, therefore not eliminating them as someone of suspicion. Tem wasn't exactly a special case though, as he didn't fully trust anyone anymore.
He blinked as they inquired about his arrival on the scene of the vast forest, pausing a moment before opening his mouth to reply. "Yeah, this is way too real to be a dream. And... Same boat as you, I guess." He answered, stiffening a bit as they threw their arms back-- Before relaxing when he realized they were only stretching and it wasn't an aggressive movement. "I woke up in some cave awhile ago, with this pack--" He pointed at the item strapped onto him, noting that they had one too. "--and the dagger. Nothing else. And I've never been here before, and I definitely don't remember coming last night." He shared, fiddling with the strap on his chest, trying to think of more things to inquire of Tem to get more information on their seemingly shared situation. "I was in Memphis when I went to sleep, and last time I checked, cities don't just spontaneously turn into redwoods forests." He added blandly, shrugging as he waited for a reaction, curious to see if they'd give away if they were from the same area as him, as he assumed it would have to be local-- But maybe not?
He wasn't even sure of their location, let alone if either one of them were anywhere near their states-- For all he knew, they were from opposite ends of the country and were both abandoned somewhere insanely far from their local areas. But if Tem was from Tennessee, maybe the two of them were somewhere nearby there, if not... Then he was at an even further loss to their whereabouts.

Returning the gesture of providing them his entire attention, they keenly watched him point to the pack he also had fitted around his chest and the dagger he revealed to them. This reminded Tem of the butterfly knife that was hidden away in the pocket of their seemingly itchy jacket. With the person’s mention of Memphis, Tem hardly batted an eye, as the city had no relevance to them. Hardly giving any sort of response, they brought one of their hands back and rested their index finger and thumb on their chin as they became completely absorbed by thoughts. “Innnnteeeerrressstinggggg.....” they murmured, swaying their body back and forth.

Starting to piece things together, Tem came to the conclusion that the two of them had to have definitely been kidnapped somewhere to put their survival skills to the test. Certainly the last thing they remembered was having dinner with their parents before heading off to bed like any other night. Mom and Dad were just their usual selves... they couldn’t have any involvement with this..

Feeling the unusual flicker of one of their ears, Tem suddenly spun around instinctually and lifted their head up to the trees that towered over the two.

Tem was completely frozen stiff, as if they had seen a ghost. But what they were looking at where the thousands of squirrels that manifested on every limb on every tree that surrounded them and Aros.

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Heather heaved a huge sigh, breaking into a giant grin and slide-walked down through the loose sand, down toward the two strangers. She waved her shoes around over her head in greeting.

"Hi! I can't believe I found someone." She shouted half out of breath. "My name's Heather. I'm kind of lost, do you know where we are?" She asked coming to a stop in front of Hewitt who was slightly closer to her than Saturn was, though she'd been speaking to both of them.

“The beach dunes, of course,” said Hewitt. “Have you encountered any beach bugs? I can’t imagine you’re any good with that spear.”

Saturn watched the girl closely, lowering are spear. "Some...sort of beach." She murmured, wishing the old man would leave. The girl had the same pack as she did, and hopefully, she was in the same situation as her. "Where do you come from?"

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Zayne shivered, curling into himself as he squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t remember it being so cold in his tiny apartment, or his bed being so uncomfortable.
He let out a soft groan, rubbing his aching head. Everything hurt. As he began to wake up more, he became aware of the cold stone underneath him.
“Did I really roll of the bed?” He said to himself with a grimace. I’m too old for this.

He blearily reached up, grasping at his shelf. Instead of the smooth oak dresser, with random objects scattering the top—the most important thing being his bottle of pain medicine—he was met with a sharp, jagged surface.
Despite his head feeling on the verge of exploding, he forced his eyelids open, squinting through the darkness. This certainly wasn’t his bedroom.

Stone walls surrounded him, cobwebs in every corner and slime dripping of the walls. He wasn’t sure where the cold breeze was coming from, but he shuddered, pulling his thin, black, hooded jacket around himself.

He wearily got to his feet, brushing a lock of hair out of his face. As he drew his hand away, he saw the thick black numbers inked onto his palm. 32.
Panic overtook him, and for a moment he forgot about the pain in his head.
32? What does that mean? Oh god, did I get arrested?
He frantically wiped his hand on the side of his shorts, growing ever more concerned when it refused to fade.
Maybe this was a prank. If it was, it wasn’t a very funny one.
“Hello?” Zayne called, lowering his hand as he spun in a slow circle. “Come on guys, this isn’t funny.”

As he began to walk, he stepped in a patch of the slime, sliding forward and landing on his knees. He gritted his teeth, sucking in a breath. “Really not having a good time over here,” he muttered, his voice rising at the last few words. Something silver glinted in the edge of his vision, and upon further inspection he found it was a small switchblade. Picking it up, he noticed that next to it was a small leather pouch.
He cocked his head, reaching out towards the bag. As his fingertips brushed the cold metal clasp, he brought his hand away, shaking his head. Whoever left it there would surely come back to find it, and as curious as he was to see what was inside, he refused to mess with it.

With a wince, he got to his knees, blindly searching the cavern for an exit as he pocketed the knife. After what felt like hours, but was actually a few simple minutes, he found a tunnel, leading into the open.
He took a deep breath of the fresh air, closing his eyes at the painfully bright light. Shielding his face, he continued out, trudging through the vines that wrapped around his ankles.

Tap, tap, tap.

It trudged through the small, enclosed space, ducking its head to avoid the roof of the tunnels. Thick, sticky slime dripped along it's arm and down it's face, causing them to gag.

It was pitch black in the tunnels, illuminated slightly ever few hundred feet or so by a clump or two of glowing fungi, but otherwise they simply had to let their intuition guide them.

They didn't panic.

Normally.

They were always completely calm. Stoic.

But now, it was scared.

They had been walking for what felt like hours now, and the further they went, the more the walls closed in.

Closer, closer, closer....

They were going to puke.
There was no more light.
There was just enough space for them to walk through.
Hunched.
Arms scraping against the tunnels walls, tearing open their skin.

Blood.

Oh my god, blood.

It's heart was racing, chest heaving. Fear settled in it's gut like a heavy stone, gnawing away at their insides like a bug.

Out, out, out....
Gotta get out.

Bow clattering against the sides of the tunnel, they ran.
Ran, and ran, and ran, as fast as they could. Falling and scraping their skin repeatedly.

But there was light.

Light at the end of the tunnel.
Hah.
How ironic.

It paused as it entered the cavern, taking in ragged breaths of air, ignoring the blood trickling down their leg.
They observed the forest. Until their eyes settling on a person with dark hair, stumbling into the forest.
In a blur, they darted behind a tree. Trembling fingers reached back, snatching a arrow out of the quiver. It clattered against the bow until they strung it, pulling it back.
Xavier aimed at the boy, staring at him as it peered around the tree, just barely noticeable.
"Who... are you?"

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

Cassie continued to hum and walk, she was exhausted and just wanted to go home but she knew she couldn’t stop. That’s when it happened, the bushes behind her trembled, she froze glancing over her shoulder, the bush stopped and she thought she saw a yellow eye through the leaves but then again she could have been imagining things. When it shook again her heart jumped in her chest, she sped up without breaking into a run in case she provoked whatever it was to chase her down.
She looked around at the trees for any which had branches low enough that she could climb them but no luck.
Glancing back at the bushes this time she definitely saw a pair of eyes fixed on her, she swallowed feeling very anxious now. She was clammy in the hands and face as her anxiety got to her, “come out.” She called, her voice shook uncontrollably but she brushed her hair out her face “fight me. While you have the chance before I bury one of these arrows as deep in as it will go”.

Nothing even twitched, she backed up a bit more before loading an arrow and holding her bow at the ready. She continued to back away before she backed into a tree, she winced as the bark scratched her, the bush continued to rustle and she drew the string back ready to fire “I’m giving you one. Last. Chance.” Her voice was firm and she sounded far more confident than she felt “come out now or I fire”

 

[Rose Quartz]

“The beach dunes, of course,” said Hewitt. “Have you encountered any beach bugs? I can’t imagine you’re any good with that spear.”

Heather was taken aback by his straightforward answer, though it wasn't exactly clear if he knew or if he was just being a jerk about it.

"Uhh... no." She lied, tipping her head as if she had no clue what he was talking about. She smiled in a friendly manner, it might not go over well if he'd seen the smoke from the one she'd killed. She preferred he think she wasn't a threat to him though so she'd rather not let on that she knew how to murder a giant bug.

Saturn watched the girl closely, lowering are spear. "Some...sort of beach." She murmured, wishing the old man would leave. The girl had the same pack as she did, and hopefully, she was in the same situation as her. "Where do you come from?"

"Just over there." She answered gesturing to the dune that behind her that blocked the view of the rest of the beach. "I don't really know how I got here. Do you?"

 

[FrankieDoodle]

Tap, tap, tap.

It trudged through the small, enclosed space, ducking its head to avoid the roof of the tunnels. Thick, sticky slime dripped along it's arm and down it's face, causing them to gag.

It was pitch black in the tunnels, illuminated slightly ever few hundred feet or so by a clump or two of glowing fungi, but otherwise they simply had to let their intuition guide them.

They didn't panic.

Normally, they were completely calm. Stoic.

But now, it was scared.

They had been walking for what felt like hours now, and the further they went, the more the walls closed in.

Closer, closer, closer....

They were going to puke.
There was no more light.
There was just enough space for them to walk through.
Hunched.
Arms scraping against the tunnels walls, tearing open their skin.

Blood.

Oh my god, blood.

It's heart was racing, chest heaving. Fear settled in it's gut like a heavy stone, gnawing away at their insides like a bug.

Out, out, out....
Gotta get out.

Bow clattering against the sides of the tunnel, they ran.
Ran, and ran, and ran, as fast as they could. Falling and scraping their skin repeatedly.

But there was light.

Light at the end of the tunnel.
Hah.
How ironic.

It paused as it entered the cavern, taking in ragged breaths of air, ignoring the blood trickling down their leg.
They observed the forest. Until their eyes settling on a person with dark hair, stumbling into the forest.
In a blur, they darted behind a tree. Trembling fingers reached back, snatching a arrow out of the quiver. It clattered against the bow until they strung it, pulling it back.
They aimed at the boy, staring at him as it peered around the tree, just barely noticeable.
"Who... are you?"

Zayne shaded his eyes from the painfully bright sun, kicking at rocks as he walked.
“Stupid trees. Stupid rocks,” he grumbled through gritted teeth, tripping over the uneven ground. “When I get out of here, so help me I’ll—“ he stopped in his tracks, hearing a faint scraping sound coming from behind him. Please don’t be a bear, he pleaded, turning around.

Nothing stuck out at first, but after squinting his eyes and closely scanning his surroundings, someone with straw-blonde hair and elvish ears caught his eye, peeking out from behind a tree.
“Oh thank god,” Zayne said, letting out a sigh of relief. As he took a step closer, his vision went black, his head interrupting into a burning pain.
He let out a yelp, hunching over as he grasped at his head. Images of an arrow flashed through his mind, cutting through the wind like a dagger.

And just like that, it was over, leaving him more confused than before.
He looked up, blinking away the remaining images. Oh. . . He thought, noticing the bow the person held. That explains it.
“I— I’m Zayne. Zayne Martinez,” he answered slowly, dropping the knife as he raised his hands. “I— I’m sorry, I promise I didn’t touch anything in the bag, if that’s what you’re here for.”

 

[Yowza Wowza]

Nothing even twitched, she backed up a bit more before loading an arrow and holding her bow at the ready. She continued to back away before she backed into a tree, she winced as the bark scratched her, the bush continued to rustle and she drew the string back ready to fire “I’m giving you one. Last. Chance.” Her voice was firm and she sounded far more confident than she felt “come out now or I fire”

Emerging from the bushes was a massive two-headed diamond back snake, slithering in a intimidating winding motion as it made its way towards Cassie. It’s four piercing gold eyes held murderous glare as it’s tongues flicked in and out and rattled its tail. The rattlesnake was outrageously large enough to consume humans whole.