Shasta County, California

VALERY KONINGSBRUGGE

Blackness. A plume of fire exploded into the blackness, the flame rolling outwards like the smoke of a mushroom cloud. I had never been this close to heat before that it enveloped me in its euphoria.

I had seen underwater volcanoes while standing in underwater stations, but didn't expect the raw magma to affect the senses and elicit such a reaction of dire dread by me. It became an oppressive inferno that stopped before it could even begin.

My arm passed through the strong light at the end of the blazing tunnel and slapped against something solid. The ground maybe? I had never touched the ground before, was this how it felt? The glass surfaces in underwater stations didn't count.

I had never laid my feet on solid, rough, coarse ground before. The seabed sand I bounced on when I was in my Iko suit was the closest comparison. But this was hard. Not like water where the sensation of it would be soft and free to flow as I moved.

No, I had to push against this new surface with effort to be able to walk successfully or else I might sink through. What if I sunk through the ground anyways? I wasn't born a Compeller. I pushed myself up so that I could see where I was.

It looked like an underwater volcano with cracks in the rocky cave, revealing lava behind. I was in a pool of the hot sludge. Had it not worked? Was I still in that underwater volcano?

In the distance and in the corner of the huge cavern, two people in Iko suits crowded around a man at a table. It was Molly and Jennifer! I used my fingertips and clawed at the ground to pull myself above the lava.

"Help!" I said. "Help!" Molly and Jennifer hurried over to me, the man at the table staying in his seat and staring vacantly at the block of white propped up on the desk. They pulled me up slowly.

I was heavy because the Iko suit was still intact around my body, strangely showing no signs of char marks - which I remember profoundly from chem class as a result of exposure to extreme heat.

My body was heaved upon the scorched earth, a miasmal smoke rising from the red crevasses. My feet were still dipped in the lava.

Jennifer asked, "Can you stand up now?"

"Yes, but it's a risk," I spoke, knowing full well I needed to take it. I lifted myself to my knees with my arms. The temperature within the lair was unbearable. Sweat dripped from the top of my head. I could feel my face going red and veins creeping along my neck at the exhaustion from the task.

The heads-up display of the Iko suit became foggy from my inhaled breaths and exerted steam from evaporating sweat. I moved one leg in front of me and held my foot to the ground. It was doable. I planted myself on the terrain and rose to my feet. I threw my arms in the air, straining and stretching and bursting with exhilaration.

"I did it," I commented, "I can walk!"

Molly nodded. "Where's my grandson?"

"Who - Ben? For clarification, call him Ben. But I don't know."

Jennifer straightened her Iko suit. "He must be last then."

I turned pale. "Last?"

Molly winced. "Yes indeed. I was the first one to come away from the lava unscathed." We began to walk in the direction of the man in the corner. "Then it was Jennifer an hour after. And then it was you an hour after Jennifer. Now it must be Ben an hour after you."

To the far left of the cave, there was an opening - small but breachable. It was blocked by a stone parapet; not blocked, but rather an obstacle or hurdle. We stopped next to the glum man poking fingers at a board of stiffly-shaped blocks, each block containing a different symbol of the alphabet or numbers.

There was a random seat lying around and I sat on it to catch my breath. The seat was white and smooth but there was a wide hole in the middle and lying at the bottom of this hole was a motionless puddle of clear water. There was also a bed next to the seat which wasn't inflatable. It was made of this firm material that bounced back. I wanted to lie down on the bed but I was afraid of being told off by the owner.

I sank a bit deeper into the seat. "Who is this - who are you?"

The man turned his head slightly towards me, but didn't bother looking at me. He had eyebags that covered deep sockets and hung under puffy eyes. His cheekbones protruded as a factor of this but his cheeks were crumpled like an over-stored apple.

He wore a gauzy brown flat cap over his hazel-dyed hair, as well as a brown shirt and brown shoes. The navy denim jeans broke the colour scheme but it was a much-needed fashion choice or else he would have looked like a sitting turd.

The man's eyebrows lifted and his sharp eyes bore into mine. "Xyler Dachshund. I'm guessing you haven't heard of me just as your benign friends here haven't heard of me. But apparently, you are an exception." He leaned on his seat until he appeared obtrusive. "Apparently you are from another world."

I took a deep breath as my gut clenched. "It is a known fact. To me, you are from another world. It does not matter. I am here now and here to stay."

"And why are you here to stay?"

"And why do you question my motives?"

Xyler sat up. "I am sorry - sorry - very sorry. Let me continue. I am a game designer. I was working on a game called Lucid."

"You design games?" I asked. "Like hopscotch?" I looked back at Molly but she scoffed vehemently. She still despised me for what I did. I still despise myself for what I did.

"No. Compooter games."

"What games?"

Xyler's hand jerked and tapped the side of the white block with a moving picture on it. "Compooter games." I stood up from the white seat and looked in amazement at the compooter. "Would you like to play a game?" I didn't say anything. The pixels, the lights, the colours, the visuals had entranced me and no thought was given amidst pure elation.