I skid to a stop in town 13, the air is heavy and I feel that same, lingering sense of dread, as if a meteor would decide I looked like a juicy target at any second. My legs give out underneath me and I crumple to the ground, a lifeless puppet with its strings cut. Who knew that running nonstop for several hours on end could make one so drained?

When I arrive at Aaron's apartment, a dingy little place with three rooms altogether. I have to have a verbal lash with an NPC that won't let me in. Finally, since I can't deck him (I'd set off the harassment alert), I convince him to let me up with the help of a large tip and the edge of my staff, which has never worked before.

I march up the stairs, noting the dusty and strangely decrepit looking floor. I stop at the door the NPC indicated and raise my hand to knock.

It flies open in a cloud of dust and, standing in the door frame like he'd been standing there all day, was Aaron. His usually bored, grey eyes looking like a cornered mouse, darting from right to left.

"Oh, you're here, get in here and make it snappy." He says flipping me into his room like a ragdoll. He's surprisingly strong.

I see that he's been busy. Crumpled sheets of paper lie scattered across the floor. The lamp's candle is completely melted and flickers pitifully. His desk is littered with newspapers lying pell-mell in a heap. The headlines read: Dramatic turn of events! Sudden virus turns beloved game into deadly world!

He drags me to his desk and points out the paper closest to me, "Check it out."

This one is more recent, probably the one from today, it reads: A hundred dead through removal of virtual headset. Government and game developers in disarray.

I swivel around to stare at Aaron, "How did you get your hands on outside info?" I demand.

"Seriously? That's all you've got to say?" He rubs his forehead as if my words give him migraine, "I have my means, keep reading."

I skim over the paper, words from the families of the dead, the dates of birth of the deceased, all that nonsense. One line catches my eye: Midgard's CEO,  Gaemo Bossu, states: "We don't know what caused this sudden turn of events. It seems that the game itself is taking control, as if it's becoming self-aware. It's like... the computer learned how to code itself... " 

"Self-aware?!" I exclaim, spinning to look at the merchant who'd retreated onto the bed. The bags under his eyes, his stumbling steps, his hair a mess. He's obviously been at it all day.

Aaron nods again, "That's what he said. The game itself, can you imagine? An entire world, a massive typhoon of coding so vast you can't see the end of it. Fields upon fields of constantly changing numbers, overlapping themselves in tidal waves of information. Disappearing and reappearing over and over. Spiraling into existence and non-existence."

I stare. "Sounds pretty wild."

He rolls his eyes. "It's more than just wild, bud. This is otherworldly stuff. Coding this game takes at least a team of several hundred professionals."

"Okay, this is unbelievable." I say, glancing at the newspaper again, as if captivated by it.

"I actually have my doubts," Aaron says, creeping up behind me.

"Huh?" I snap up from my thoughts, a creeping Aaron has that effect on you, especially with those grey eyes.

"That thing, when the world disappeared, it couldn't have been the game itself, that would've been like uncoding yourself. Have you ever tried to perform a medical operation on yourself?"

"I've heard of it," I mumble stupidly. "And, it's not like we understand  how computers work that well, anyway.

"Whatever the case, doing that to yourself in such a short amount of time without a pre-coded command just isn't doable. My best guess is someone else is re-coding the game."

Aaron begins to pace, "But that would take inside information on the coding of the game itself wouldn't it?" He says, mostly to himself, "Maybe it's a member of the development team, that could be plausible, maybe a personal vendetta? Or maybe it's a long time player who knows enough about this world and has been checking and skimming its data since forever, but there just isn't a high probability! Maybe..."

He keeps going like that, and I feel myself go into a mental stupor, the ones Akemi had been snapping me out of a lot, recently.

I leap up so fast it shakes the room and causes a layer of dust to shower down on us.

"Aaron!" I yell, coughing up my lungs.

"You've got something to say." He says, brushing off his shoulders mildly.

"That girl that accompanied me to your shop the other day!" I begin, my heart pounding. "Do you know where she is?"

He regards me, then smiles hesitantly. "Is this like some kind of damsel in distress thing?"

"I'm serious here, man!"

His face loses its smile immediately, his tired, grey eyes sharpen and his stare becomes steely. I am reminded forcefully of a wolf on the prowl.  "You should know."

"Huh? Why?" I ask, I think I'm about to feel really dumb.

"Because you friended her," He says this so matter-of-factly that I feel even dumber than I would if he had laughed his head off. Well, at least I called it.

"Oh, yeah."

I whip out my inventory card, partly to not have to look at Aaron's smirking face, select the map and select show friends.

There's Aaron, right where he is on the map, a pulsing red dot showing his presence in the game.

My eyes dart around, seeking out the second dot. Why did they make this map so goddamn difficult to navigate? 

Town 12? No.

Town 16? Empty.

Town 32? No dot.

Town 24? Nothing.

"There!" Aaron exclaims suddenly. "You just passed over it!"

Akemi's pulsing dot is drawn into view as I slide a canyon in place. She's moving fast through the middle, getting farther from us by the minute. 

"Aaron, we're going to get her," I say instantly. Something has risen in me, something I've never felt before. It feels like, not exactly determination, but drive.

He raises his eyebrows in surprise, "Not to be contradictory or anything, but I'm just a merchant, wouldn't I just be in the way if you're pursuing a damsel in distress?"

"I need as much help as I can get, and you're the toughest merchant I know. Can you still wield that club?" 

"Are you sure?" He watches me for a moment. "Yeah, you're sure." He sighs, scratching his head "If I Pretty sure I would be playing the harmonica, right about now."

He walks into the bathroom and comes out a few moments later in his battle attire.

His heavy looking leather vest increases his bulk, and his furry gloves make him look like he belongs in a movie called Nordic Crusades or something.

"Macho." I note, holding up my map, "Akemi is about twelve or so kilometers from town 20, let's go there."

"Righto."

"Then hold on to your vest so it doesn't slip off your flimsy ass shoulders."

I summon my command book and a moment later, the two of us are running through town at magically enhanced speed. The wind whistles through my ears and lamposts fly by, I leave a trail of dust behind, which must make me look like roadrunner from that old cartoon, or something

"Hey! Hold on!" Aaron protests, clearly not used to this velocity.

I turn in time to see him skim a lamppost, "Tone down the speed, Hide!"

"Just focus on running!"

"I'm too busy trying to live!"

"Then focus on that!"

"What?!"

In the distance I hear something a howl, the howl is answered by a chorus of howls and snarls. Something about them makes my hair stand on end.

"Hurry up!" I yell, pounding the ground with my feet.

"Slow down!" Aaron shouts from behind me. When I don't, I hear him curse and accelerate too.

We arrive at the canyon a few minutes later. Poor Aaron wheezing from exhaustion and sleep deprivation. A howl rips the sky, travelling through the canyon and rattling the earth. My ears ring as the howl fades into the sound of barking and snarling. A hunt.

I take off in that direction, with Aaron panting and cursing at my heels. "Don't wanna hear... just want... a bed... just... a normal guy... don't want... wolf..."

Out of the corner of my eye, I detect a flash of hazel. Down in the crevice of the canyon, Akemi is running for her life from a growling, slobbering mass of greasy fur. She's running fast, but has probably been at it for half an hour and is definitely tiring. As I watch, she turns and feints to the left. The wolves take the bait and pounce towards her as she sprints off right, throwing her cape on them as she passes to disorient them further. The pack rip it to shreds and snarl in her direction as they come up empty. The way they disemboweled the cape, I really am beginning to question what I'm doing here.

I bring up my inventory and pull out my bow. Next to me, Aaron grabs my arm, "It doesn't matter how many times you shoot! There are almost thirty down there! You'll never get them in time!"

Cursing I put away my bow and cast a spell of strength on Aaron with my staff. He shudders and grips his club defiantly. "Screw sleep! I can run a mile with those wolves on my back!"

"Go!" I scream, extending my staff.

Aaron and I charge in, howling a battle cry. He's definitely impressive, the sight of his strength enhanced grey eyes would be enough to scare off most monsters, and for those who weren't, they would definitely be at the end of their nerves when they saw him swinging a lightweight sawtooth club above his head.

I sprint in behind him, trying to make myself look small. Probably less of an impressive look.

Aaron swings his club, knocking aside a pouncing wolf and sending it sprawling, it's jaw hanging limply.  Another one attempts to bite him, but its teeth stop on his leather vest. With a roar, he carves through the wolves like paper foam.

Akemi shouts in surprise, either from our sudden appearance, or Aaron's change in personality and fashion sense, I'm not sure.

Aaron and I carve and slam our way through the wolves one by one. I hear the sound of a sword carving through the air and the idea that all three of us are working together fills me with elation. I slash this way and that in a completely berserk fashion, somehow dodging all the lunges and claws around me. Everything seems to miss me, claws swipe at nothing but air, jaws snap and come up empty. I'm invulnerable. My staff is no longer a feeble bladed branch, but a lethal reaper's scythe, carving through monsters with complete abandon.

Finally, before I know it, there's only one of them left. By habit, I blink five times to identify it.

It's a lycantropus, a level 10 monster, it's special ability... I freeze right as Aaron charges it. I don't have time to yell Wait! Before he brings his club down full force. The lycantropus howls before it slams into its side, just as I feared.

"Don't!" I yell, way too late.

"What?" Aaron asks. "You wanted to keep for interrogation or something? Where were you before the lady fell into your lap?"

I force the scathing comment to the back of my throat.

"That monster was a lycantropus, it has an extremely original special ability."

"What do you mean?" He says, staring like an idiot.

Thousands of howls erupt all along the canyon. All around us silhouettes begin to appear. Dozens, hundreds, thousands.

"When it's pack dies," I answer miserably. "It calls on an entire army with it's howl."

My companions look around with wide eyes.

All around us, wolves charge in like a tidal wave of darkness.