Page 100 of Mud

But the woman and her cat disappeared under the branches completely.

Even so, I didn’t have time to worry or wonder or fear. Seconds later, there was a flash of white light coming from a couple levels above me, and when I raised my head, I realized exactlyhowthat woman had made that orange cat into her familiar.

The man was standing on the same side of the world as me. He seemed to be Greenfire judging by the green leathers on him. I used the ropes hanging from the branches to climb up and see better—and I did. His hands were reaching out in front of him, and at first, I didn’t see what for. When I got closer, I realized asnakewas moving in place barely five feet away from him. A snake that hissed, with a forked tongue, grey-white scales, and big green eyes that were focused on the player.

Then it moved, the snake. A miracle I didn’t scream when it jumped in the air—because snakes don’t fuckingjump like that, not while spiraling in the air like they were holding onto invisible strings. They didn’tspin aroundwithout anything holding them up.

It wasn’t big, maybe three feet long, but its body was thicker than my forearm, and to watch it spinning in the air while it hissed, as if it wasshowing offfor the player…

It was.

I saw the magic—Greenfire, like tiny fireflies—coming off the snake’s body as it spun in a perfect spiral a foot over the surface of the branch. It was letting off magic as it went, like it wanted to show the player exactly what it could do.

When it was over, the snake slowly lowered onto the branch again, wrapped its tail around itself, and held up its head as it continued to lick the air every few seconds.

“That was good,” I thought the player said, nodding his head. “That was very good. Good job.” He brought his hand to his forehead and wiped it—probably sweat. When he did, I realized how badly he was shaking. “Now it’s my turn, is that it? My turn to show you?” His voice was dry, too. Hoarse. The guy was fucking terrified.

The snake hissed as if to confirm it. It hissed and remained there with its head up and its tongue flicking out, waiting for the man to begin to showcase his magic.

He did. Blinding green light gathered into a ball between his hands as he gave energy to it with every whispered word of his spell. He was showing the snake what he could do, and I had no clue how he was doing it, if it was a random spell he chose, if it even mattered what kind of chanting he did, but the snake was steady.

The bigger the source of light between the man’s hands, the closer he slithered, stretching out as if to lick the magic with that tongue. To taste it. To understand it.

I stood perfectly still, waiting, watching, trying to thinkabout whatIwas going to do in his position, until the light between his hands faded.

He smiled, the player.

He shouldn’t have.

The snake hissed—so much differently from how it had done it before, but even so, I didn’t expect it to move as fast as it did.

Neither did the player.

That’s why, when the snake jumped him, he had no chance of moving away in time. The snake wrapped its thick tail around the player’s neck and squeezed.

I don’t know what the hell I was thinking—orifI was thinking at all. I just ran again and jumped on the branches, tried to climb as fast as my body allowed because I still couldn’t even imagine walking upside down.

B ut by the time I was close enough to shoot the damn snake, it had already done its job.

The player had his eyes wide open, two lifeless windows to show nobody was home, and his once pale skin was now blue, and his big lips parted, but he wasn’t trying to draw in air anymore. He was dead, strangled by the snake that was slowly unwrapping its tail from around his neck like it hadn’t just ended a man’s life. It wasslowlyslithering over the player’s dead body and coming toward me, and I was paralyzed for long enough that I didn’t move away. I just aimed both my guns at the snake and pulled both triggers at the same time.

Useless.

The snake moved so incredibly fast it turned to a blur in front of my eyes. He moved away and my bullets hit only wood instead. The snake simply continued to slither right between my fucking legs and to the other side, as if I wasn’teven there. As if it wasn’t fazed in the least that I’d tried to shoot it.

No, it just continued on its merry way, hissing as it went, leaving me to stare at the lifeless body of a Greenfire player who had been fine and breathing just a moment ago.

Closing my eyes, I turned my back to him and brought my hand to my mouth, just in case I couldn’t control myself and I actually threw up.

A game, a game, it’s just a game.

A game that cost people their lives, which I knew. I’d heard the stories. I knew the statistics. I got whatsixty percent of players died last timemeant—but it was different to talk about it, to hear about it, than to actually witness it. It was different to see numbers on a screen—so much different than to see how the light had gone off in this man’s eyes or to see another being torn apart by an animal.

And that wasn’t the end of it, either.

The more I walked the branches of that giant tree, the more I understood how the whole thing worked. A man showcased his magic for what looked like a chameleon a couple levels below me, and this time I knew not to try to intervene if things went south. I just watched from a distance as his Blackfire magic grew and exuded energy until the chameleon was happy with what he was feeling. He then climbed the man’s body lightning fast and settled on his shoulder. Licked his beard. Snuggled closer to his neck.

The man laughed.

---