Alexander Reyes, you have died. You are now in your home. 

Alexander blinked. He was in his bed, and he felt, well, off. The world, blurry in his mind, was spiraling around him. Vertigo came on suddenly, and he fell out of bed. Cursing, he tried to steady himself, his hip now throbbing in pain. 

Alexander Reyes, you have died. You are now in yo-

“I know, dammit!” Alexander shouted out. He slammed his fist against the floor, a loud “thud” ringing out. The administrator in his home looked on dispassionately. 

You have died. However, since you did not have any experience points, and you were without credits, we have exacted other penalties. Alexander exhaled sharply, muttering another curse under his breath, his eyes bloodshot. Your necklace, “Prizes,” has been taken away from you. You cannot get it back unless you defeat Riverman. 

“So he took it?” 

Yes, along with your item “The Death Knight’s Hand.” If you are defeated once again by Riverman, twenty levels will be deducted, and your class will be revoked, never to be offered again. 

“Fuck…” Alexander’s bottom lip shook.

Do you have any questions?

“No.” Alexander picked himself up, his muscles throbbing. Without my class, I’ve got nothing…

- - - - 

Alexander spent most of the time curled up in a ball. His stomach felt like a pit, like a black hole that continuously churned out darkness, and the pain would not relent. His muscles ached, his head throbbed, his heart pounded, and the hairs on the back of his neck would not lay down. 

Rivermna kept appearing in his mind. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see the trident. Every time he would move, he feared that his heart would fall out of his chest. And every time he spoke, he felt like the world would laugh at him.

His toes curled and his body shivered. He felt sick, the life ebbing away from his soul, and feeling like an empty shell. Emotion kept welling in his stomach, though, making him nauseous. But he could not cry. His eyes would bulge and tears threatened to run down his cold face, but they would not fall. He felt like an animal trapped, just waiting for death. 

I tried. I gave it my all. I gave every part of my being to that fight, but I couldn’t do anything. Alexander heaved, his shoulders rolling into himself, but he could not cry out. He looked at the clock. There were seventeen hours of tortue left. But even though this home of his was suffocating him, with every second that passed, nervousness shot through his system, making his feet feel frigid and shaking his body. 

Alexander could not fall asleep. Every time he dozed off, flashes of pain and panic emeninated through him. Throughout the hours, he stayed laid in a ball, drifting in and out of consciousness in a state of constant dread. But the time still passed, and soon, the timer was edging to its finale. 

A goose egg showed, and a chime went off throughout his home. But Alexander dared not move. He pressed a button, silencing the alarm, and shivered. Worse, however, another chime sounded. In fact, several sounded. With all the determination he could muster, he opened his messages. They were all from Jade. 

What the hell just happened? I saw you die, Alexander. Please tell me you got something. I just got a message from Obadiah, I don’t know what to do. 

Alexander, this really isn’t good. Obadiah is asking if we’ve gotten anything yet. I was able to record some footage of your fight, but only some of it near the end. I’m going to send him a progress report. I’ll keep you posted. 

Alexander took a moment to breathe. There was a gap in the messages, and the next few were sent recently. 

I was able to get away from the city, and I’m near where you died. In fact, I’m looking at your corpse now. But I’ve got nothing. The city is still on high alert, so doing any spying was impossible. And the nets are empty, so no news on that front. All is silent, including Obadiah.

Ok, finally heard back from Obadiah. He’s asking a lot more questions, most of which I don’t have the answer to. He’s requested I give him a call, so I’ll let you know what happens

Alexander… I know you’re going to get back soon, but please, for the love of God, get back here ASAP. Obadiah has called off our mission, and it isn’t looking good. He’s talking about some sort of “plan B.” I don’t know what he means by that, but I don’t like the sound of it. 

This last message was dated to four minutes ago. 

Alexander, oh god, just, stay in your home. 

The last one caught his attention. He raised an eyebrow, the dread he felt compounding by the second. But curiosity was stronger, and he feared what was happening to Jade. With a burst of strength, most of which he did know he had, he stood up and selected the option to teleport back. Instantly, he regretted it. 

The ear-splitting sounds of sirens echoed in the evening sky. The sun was finishing its descent, but instead of beauty in its hues, the colors ebbing from the sky felt more like a coffin being shut. Alexander panicked, and sweat beaded on his forehead. 

“I told you not to come.” Jade was right behind him, and her voice seeped with horror. It was barely a whisper, but he heard it like church bells through the sirens. 

“What’s,” Alexander gulped as he saw blinking lights filling the sky, signaling a fleet of aircraft slicing through the air. “What the hell is going on.” 

“Obadiah said something about numbers.” Jade stepped forward and looked at Alexander. Her eyes, wide with despair, bore into Alexander. “He said that he couldn’t spare any of his high-level men to fight Riverman.” 

“But we were the ones assigned to-”Alexander darted his eyes around. 

“We were only bait.” Jade paused. “We were only meant to test his strength.” 

Alexander felt a shiver run up his spine, making him shake his head. The sound of the aircraft drew closer, and their engines roared hate throughout the air. 

“Please, tell me, the hell are you talking about?”

“Obadiah said that is was easier just to bomb the town, Alexander.” Her words hung in the air. And while Alexander wished only silence would follow, the opposite happened. A sickening, thunderous sound reverberated, and the night became day. 

But that was only one bomb. The rest of the fleet came into position, and a thousand lights dotted the sky as that horrible whistling noise only meant for movies came next. Then, the ground started to shake. 

Alexander was knocked off his feet instantly, and Jade joined him mere moments later. They picked up their heads, their minds too weak to look away from the carnage, and saw the city ablaze. Fire surged through the streets, and smoke obscured the last twinkles of sunlight. Millions of voices rang out, only to be extinguished right after. Alexander was frozen solid. He felt like a statue in the midst of a battle, just staying still, watching, unable to do a thing. Buildings fell with tremendous force, the once glorious arch crumbled to pieces, and the infamous bridge collapsed, sending a wave of water shooting out in all directions. It was accompanied by the fierce wind now blowing past their faces, and Alexander struggled to keep sane. 

But the water was now a threat, and he robotically forced himself up, also helping Jade. They shambled to safety, struggling to move in the quake of explosions. They were able to go far from the shoreline, collapsing onto each other again. 

Alexander watched more of the scene unfold, bearing witness to the city being leveled. Alexander forced himself to breathe. His stomach churned. His head started to spin. His hands started to shake. 

Jade lay lifeless against a tree, her blank eyes mirroring the raging fires of St. Louis. 

Alexander stood up, his body flooding with so much adrenaline that he could not lay still. He twirled around in agony, his hands pulling at his hair. His eyes bulged. He screamed, but he could not hear it. He doubled over, and fell to his knees. But that’s when he saw it. He saw a small raft floating peacefully in the now-settled waters of the Mississippi river. And on the raft was a man Alexander recognized immediately– it was Riverman. 

Alexander took a few steps forwards and screamed out, calling desperately for Riverman to help. But Riverman just stood there, almost admiring the destruction. Alexander rushed forward again, sprinting up to the waters. He screamed for all he was worth, but Riverman only nonchalantly turned his head. Alexander got on his knees and pleaded; he begged for all he was worth. But Riverman only stared.

After Alexander stopped, his voice now hoarse, Riverman took a second to look back at the city, then started to row away. Alexander watched on in horror as his rival slowly, yet surely, vanished from view. Alexander collapsed onto the ground, his face near the waters, and felt like throwing himself in.

Minutes passed, Alexander just laying there, his body shaking with every boom. But then, he heard a different noise. And as it got closer, he recognized the sound. It was a helicopter. He scrambled up and looked towards the noise. A large, blacked out military transport helicopter was getting ever closer.