Rescue Island by Stone Marshall Read Free Book Online Page B

early Earth explorers felt. What is out there? I hear the call of the unknown, much like ancient voyagers. Stories of Vikings enter my mind. What a dangerous experience, getting in a wooden ship and sailing into the unknown to explore and discover new worlds.
    Maybe that will fulfill my life. Maybe I need to explore. I consider this as I look north, beyond Safety Cove. I look to the land on the north. The bay that surrounds Rescue Island is surrounded on three sides by a larger land mass. North are jagged cliffs, much larger than the rocky cliffs of Safety Cove. Directly east is Spider Sands. I shiver at the memory. Beyond the sands, in the distance is a mountain and between the beach and the mountain is a jungle. To the south the biome looks different, as if it's the edge of a desert.
    I watch the sun set over the water and think about my future. I have a great home. I am safe and secure. I have the love of a companion, the sort of love you get from a pet. But I don't really belong here. Something is missing. I don't know what it might be; but I do feel a void from within. This is something my human body might be able to understand, more than this virtual blocky body.
    It's dark now; the sun has dipped out of sight. I notice some rustling in the distance. Time to go in. I'll rest tonight in my bed. My mind will be able to deal with this tomorrow.
    I feel hunger pains. Better eat something before bed. I open my food chest. It's nearly empty. I totally forgot to hunt for food. I spent so much time working on Citadel Fort that I neglected to gather food, something vital to life. The garden isn't ready to harvest. I'll hunt tomorrow.  
    In the chest I find a couple of strange chunks of fleshy meat. I don't remember where I got these. Was it from the great pixelator revenge battle? I've not thought twice about this stuff. I originally placed it in here when I emptied my pocket inventory weeks ago. I might as well try some to curb my hunger pangs for the night. I eat and my hunger subsides. I do feel strange though.
    I make my way down to my basement bedroom. It's nice to sleep down here. No windows. I keep a single torch next to the bed. I stand on the bed, but before I lay down to sleep I break the torch. Lights out. Total darkness. I'm not sure why it matters, but I prefer the darkness for resting my mind. I lay down. Virtual sleep is a funny thing. If you are playing the game and lay in a bed, the night flies by in seconds. But living in the game, nights are long, and sleep gives my mind time to relax. Sleep is just as vital to my digital mind as it was to my physical body in the real world.
    What's that? I see a zombie, walking around Citadel Fort. Wait! It's full of zombies, pixelators, and spiders. I get up to survey the scene. They are laughing with one another. Bit busters seem to be in charge, laughing and eating sloppily at a long table. Where did that come from? The zombies are servants to my pixel-bombing enemies.
    It's a crazy scene.
    The spiders spin webs of trip wire. A zombie trips, spilling a plate of food it's delivering to the other creatures. The spiders laugh with their spooky hiss. The zombie groans and returns to wherever it came from to get more food. The pixelators are agitated, not happy about the delay. What is happening to me? I'm a zombie!
    I blend in. I slowly walk toward the other zombies; maybe I will discover what is going on.
    I trip on a spider web and fall into a hole, deeper and deeper before I'm caught in a giant web. I bounce up and down with the web, but it doesn't let go of me. I turn, tangled. I look up. It's dim down here. I see a tiny light above. It's coming through the opening of the hole I fell down. I hear hissing, spiders crawling toward me. The red of their eyes is closing in on me.  
    I'm no longer a zombie, it's me! I hear something from far above. A bit bomber topples over a tripwire and is falling into the pit, falling directly toward me. One after another fall, a stream of