Page 52 of Evil Hearts

The wine goes down smoothly, warming me from the inside, and calming my frayed nerves. With the full glass in hand, I limp over to my small computer desk in the corner. The computer sitting there is the nicest thing in this apartment, and it boots up quickly. Haven’s Edge screen title flashes across my monitor, and I settle into the plush seat. A real smile pulls across my face for the first time today.

My body fills with an eagerness to escape. And an eagerness to pick up where I left off. The game is a refuge for me, a world where I can be someone else, someone important. Tonight, I’m not Katie the tired barista. I’m Aelia Delafosse, Esteemed Human Rogue on a mission to save the missing Orc Innkeeper, Gashna. Taken by bandits and hidden away within the Devilwood, a place where the War of Races hasn’t quite reached, yet. Though, I have a sneaking suspicion the war will make it here in the next expansion.

The storm beats against my windows, and lightning fills the sky, but with the help of my headphones, I ignore it all. Settling into the peace the game brings.

It’s not much, it never has been, but it’s enough. As the hours slip by unnoticed, I can’t help but forget about the dying mall, the strange encounter in the parking lot, or the restless feeling today has brought me. It all washes away because here in this world, I’m a hero, a force to be reckoned with.

And for tonight, that’s enough to put my heart at ease.

A sudden, deafening crash of thunder shakes the apartment, rattling the windows and breaking through the steady hum of the video game. I’m so close to the town where my last major quest starts, that I can feel it. But the sound is so intense, so close, that for a moment I thought the storm had somehow crawled inside the thin walls of my building. I flinch, the shock pulling me out of my trace as my focus snaps back to reality.

I take a deep breath, glancing around. Lightning flashes through the blinds, casting quick, eerie shadows across my room. My wine sits warm and forgotten on the desk in front of me, and I’m not even sure how long I was out. The weight of the world comes rushing back in.

And then the next sound hits, a loud glass-breaking pop.

There is no time to even react before my mouse and keyboard, still connected to the computer in front of me, start throwing electric sparks. The air around me hums with an unnatural energy. Before I can pull away fully, my fingers feel like they’re on fire as the electricity jolts through my body. My hands clamp down involuntarily, sending shock waves up my arm and through my chest.

My muscles seize, and I can’t seem to move. My vision fades to white, as everything fades away. This is how I die, isn’t it? This is not the adventure I thought I would go out on.

The world around me warps and dissolves as my eyes roll back into my head. I faintly hear the sound of glass shattering, the storm outside growing louder as if it feeds on the chaos.

Then, there was only darkness.

Chapter Four

My eyes snap open. The suddenness of the shift is almost dizzying. I blink, trying to clear my eyes, waiting for my ceiling to come into focus. The air around me is thick with moisture. The scent of damp earth fills my nostrils, and I’m not looking forward to the price of getting a window fixed in a rental.

My body aches and I have no idea how I ended up on the floor. My mind is so fuzzy, it’s like I’ve been asleep for hours, but something feels off. More real than the dream-like haze one would expect.

The first thing I notice when my eyes decide to work is large, gnarled tree trunks shooting into the sky, their branches swaying lightly in the breeze. I run my fingers through the soft carpet of moss and leaves beneath me. The faint sound of birds is the only sound that breaks the silence. But it all seems so familiar, eerily familiar.

My heart skips a beat as I sit up, glancing around in confusion. How did I get here? The mythical forest seems to be bathed in an almost ethereal light. It shines off the leaves, casting dappled patterns of green, gold, and violet along the forest floor. I know this forest. It’s one I’ve been traipsing through a lot recently. The same one I’ve been playing in for hours, exploring, battling creatures. A world so unlike my own, searching for the missing Orc.

But… how?

My hands fly to my body, patting myself down in a frenzy. Armor covers my body where PJs had once been. A tunic of dark leather, worn boots, and a belt with pouches and small daggers strapped to each side. A short sword is strapped to my back, cold to the touch, and its weight feels familiar, despite my inexperience with such a weapon. My fingers dance over the fine details of my outfit, every rip and cut.

It’s a perfect match for a character I spent months perfecting. I feel the inner lining of my tunic, feeling the sharp press of metal against my fingertips. Hidden throwing stars. As a rogue, Aelia can’t cast elemental spells to aid in battle, I have to rely on her wits and weapon work. So, I made sure to take the quests that would allow me to trick her out the best. Even if that meant my outfit looks like a swimsuit of armor.

Games made by men… what can I say?

Aelia can’t cast any spells, but I can wield every weapon with deadly accuracy. I can wield every weapon? No. Right?

The feeling of wrongness swirls in my stomach as I stare at my body, Aelia’s body, unable to fully comprehend what is going on and how it happened. A glance at my hair confirms the changes, with two long braids hanging down past my ears and over my shoulders. Its lilac color shines brighter than my usual dull brown.

I turn my hands this way and that, looking at their tanned, and slightly purple skin tone. My nails are trimmed, and my fingers are calloused in a way that suggests a life of travel, battle, and adventure. Aelia’s life.

”No… no. This can’t be real,” I murmur aloud, shaking my head in disbelief. But my voice is steady, harder than I expected.

The storm I had been so absorbed in moments before, the lightning and the electricity, they feel like distant memories. Now, there is only the ancient forest that surrounds me, the cool air that brushes against my skin in the softest caress, and thesense that everything is… wrong. My brain can’t seem to register what is going on, it’s like I’m in a dream, but it’s too vivid. Too tactile.

I stand slowly, taking a few tentative steps in my new body. The movies always make it look easy, you body-switch and walk away like it’s normal. But I can’t seem to find my balance in the shorter stature, stumbling over roots and rocks. The crunching of the damp forest floor under my feet is the only sound around, and a strange sort of unease crawls up my spine.

Every small sound, every rustle in the trees, seems more intense, more alive than anything I’ve ever experienced before.

I swallow as my eyes skim over the forest. Am I still in my apartment? Maybe I hit my head and passed out? Maybe this is all a dream…

But if this is all just a dream, how do I wake myself up? And what do I do from here? I pinch myself, hard, to see if it would work like in the movies. I shout out in pain, the noise echoing through the forest around me. My hands fly to my mouth in shock and I want to smack myself. If I’m in the game, I’m sure the bandits are too. Way to bring all the bad guys to you, Katie.

---