The Eden Crisis
Chapter 3: Regular Life

Now that I am out of the game I am overcome with hunger. The VR equipment disrupts certain signals to allow the connection to be maintained. It’s essentially like being asleep and dreaming.

Once the equipment is turned off, the signals flow like normal, thus my major hunger. I walk out of my room and down the stairs to see if Jon has made dinner yet.

“Jon! Dinner ready?” He pokes his blonde head from the kitchen. “Not yet, little brother. A few more minutes. Get Jason. He’s downstairs doing God knows what.” I listen to my older brother and run downstairs to replace my twin.

He’s sitting on the couch in our entertainment room, watching TV. I hop over the couch and sit next to him. He looks at me and smiles. “Hey, bro-bro, had enough of Eden yet?” I don’t think it’s possible to get enough.

I shrug as though I don’t care too much. “It’s OK. I’ve got better things to do with my time.” Jason smiles and stifles a laugh. “That hooked, huh?” I nod sheepishly and he explodes in laughter.

I punch him in the shoulder and he stops. “Come on, dinner’s ready.” We run upstairs to join Jon, taking our places at the table as he serves us. He then sits down and we begin eating.

Jon makes such great food. He is in culinary school and wants to open his own restaurant one day. He’s not only a great cook, he’s a great person. He sacrifices so much for us. Since our parents died last year, he’s done everything possible to keep us together.

He got a job working for Dignitas, the company responsible for the creation of Eden. Jon guards the president of the company, Lucien Crescent.

Eden came out six months ago, and Jon is in the game playing alongside Lucien. My big brother tells me his in-game tag is the same as his name and he is in charge of the guild SOLDIER.

This job of Jon’s pays well and because of it we don’t struggle. I just wish there were something I could do to help him. Jason feels the same, but we have school, which limits what we can do.

At least we can spend time with Jon in the game, seeing as it is his job. Then, my reverie is interrupted. “I’m sorry, what did you say, Jon?”

He chuckles. “I asked how your day was. You know, school, friends, Eden?” I laugh sheepishly. “School was fine, thanks. Friends are OK, I guess. Eden was interesting; I did a quest and met some girl. We made it to the end and got our asses kicked by the boss enemy. Then out of nowhere that guy Cain from Shadow XIII saved us. He is so strong! I can’t believe what he did to the boss.”

Jason rolls his eyes. He obviously has issues with Cain. Almost sensing my thoughts, he says, “No, Jordan. Leave those feelings to yourself.” I sigh. Jason changes the subject. “So, who wants to go to the concert tomorrow afternoon in Eden?” Jon and I both look at him with interest.

“What concert?” I ask. Jason pulls out his phone and shows a picture of an email he got about a concert being held in Convivium, a city in the second continent.

The entertainment is a singer named Sion Aquaria. I have never heard of him, but I do remember seeing a commercial for Eden showing a concert. It was one of what seemed like a million commercials for the game.

It turns out that Jason is friends with Aquaria. They are both part of Shadow XIII. However, like Jason, he is no longer involved with them. Jon and I both say we’ll go to the concert with Jason.

We finish dinner and talk for a while. Jon eventually leaves to go to Dignitas to help Lucien even though it’s in the evening. Jason and I go downstairs to watch TV for a while.

After a few hours I yawn and look over to Jason. “I’m tired bro see ya in the morning.” I walk off as Jason continues to watch TV. Even though being in Eden is as if you are asleep, it doesn’t restore your energy like real sleep does.

The morning comes too soon. The rays of the new day force me awake. Jason is lying in his bed near mine sleeping soundly; I remember that nothing wakes him up. I quickly get ready for school while he sleeps.

I look in the mirror to make sure I am as perfect as I can get, and I realize I’m forgetting one thing: the necklace that my family has had for the last seventy years, a key with a lion’s head at the end.

I put it on and look over at Jason. “Get up, Jase!” I yell. He doesn’t move. I sigh and walk over to him. I give him a shake and he finally stirs. He looks up at me. “What are you doing? I want to sleep!” I roll my eyes. “You can sleep in first period; now get ready. We’re outta here in ten minutes.”

He reluctantly gets out of bed while I leave to wait downstairs in the living room. As I sit and watch the news, I can hear him moving around upstairs and the occasional curse word. This is the norm for him.

I grab my keys to my awesome black motorcycle; Jason will be running down the stairs in a minute or two. I yawn and look at the time. We need to leave, like, right now.

“Jason! Hurry up!” I yell. I hear more swearing and soon see him flying down the stairs. “All right, let’s go,” he says. I roll my eyes and we are out the door.

I hop on the bike, and Jason takes a seat behind me and holds on. I start her up and we are on our way. I love riding my bike. It is the best thing to do, especially in the summer.

Living in Missouri can suck during the summer. The humidity is ridiculously high, but even so there is so much I love about this place. For one thing, it’s the best for riding my motorcycle. Jason isn’t as much of a fan of my bike. He’s terrified of it, but it’s either the bike or the bus, and who really wants to ride a bus?

The school is just ahead. Seckman High school is an OK place. It’s no different than any other school, I guess. I park my bike and force Jason to release me from his death grip.

He and I have two classes together, the last two classes of the day. So, arriving just before the start of the first period, we part ways as soon as we get inside. He’ll look for his friend Nik, Asher from Eden whom he’s always talking about. Nik actually prefers the name Asher and has most people call him that.

I’ve met him a few times. He’s pretty cool, I guess. The truth is I don’t know him all that well. God, I hate school. It is so boring! I think how I’d rather be playing Eden right now. I’m becoming my brothers! Fortunately, I am smart, so I go to sleep while my teacher gives his lesson.

The bell wakes me. I gather my stuff and go to my next class and then my next and so on till all my classes are over. I think about how glad I am for that final bell when I’m interrupted by a familiar voice. “I thought I recognized you, Dante.” I look up, and there she is: Claire.

“Claire!” She smiles. “Surprised? I recognized you as Vergil’s brother and here you are. So, what is your actual name?”

I’m speechless. “I, I . . . um . . . Jordan.” She laughs but in a nice way. “Nice to meet you, Jordan. My name actually is Claire, by the way.” I’m glad that we go to the same school.” I try to fight the heat threatening to rise to my cheeks.

“Yeah? Why is that?” She smile and slaps me lightly on the back of the head. “Because doing that in the game isn’t enough!” I wince at the slight pain. “What the heck was that all about?”

She crosses her arms. “Because, you pinhead, you almost got me killed in that quest!” “What? If anything, I saved you! You wouldn’t have got past the golem without me!”

She shakes her head. “I had that fight in the bag! I didn’t need you. Where were you in the fight with the Fallen Knight?” I laugh in shock at her words. “If I recall, I saved you! In the end it was that guy Cain who saved us!”

Claire clearly wants to continue the back and forth, but by now everyone is staring at us, including Jason and even the teacher. She waits for us to stop talking. “You’re done?” she says.“That truly was amusing, but let’s get to history now, all right?” We both begin to blush and sink into our seats.

The lesson is about some war in 2034, I think; I really don’t care. I draw in my notebook until the bell rings and I am free to go. I’m heading back alone because Jason and Asher are going to hang out.

I get on my bike and get ready to start it but Claire stops me. “Hold on there, hero.” I look back and wait for her to come up to me. “Thanks for waiting,” she says, sounding genuine and, I think, maybe even a little contrite. “I was thinking of doing another quest tonight. Want to join me?” It sounds cool, but I need to hit the books.

“I wish I could,” I say. Claire nods in understanding. “I understand. See you tomorrow, then.” She waves and walks to her car.

As I expected, my work keeps me going up to dinner and after so I don’t get to play Eden with Claire or even Jason and Jon, which really sucks. It’s OK, though, because tomorrow my brothers and I will make up for today’s lost time.