Chapitre 30: Level Up!
After saying our goodbyes to Dima and Brutus Luca we admired our tattoos covered in plastic wrap. In his work truck he threw me a glove to shade the ink from the light. It was getting closer to dusk and the canary-yellow sun was teasing us with a long goodbye.
I smiled at him as he helped me up a nearby hill so we could look at the sun setting on the ocean water nearby. We sat down on a bench and stared out at the glittering golden flickers of upon the partly tranquil sea.
The wind was gently blowing my hair back and I could feel the sun on my face. It was the first time in a while that I felt at peace.
"What do you think this means?" I asked him.
"Wot?" He glanced at me.
"We communicated with OUR creator. Now we know there is more than one."
"And they can hear us," he said. "You had a silly wish wanting to give me my favorite flower to thank me. They take that thing seriously. Just don't wish for anything dangerous!"
"Sure, it was to thank you," I said, trying to mask my shyness. When he glanced at me, I turned my face away from him. As he slid closer to me, I closed my eyes.
"Hey," he whispered. I opened my eyes and looked at him. "I'm not sure how you're feelin' right now but whatever it is, it's alright." He nodded once.
"Thank you, Luca. We have been through so much. I think I'm overwhelmed with emotion."
"Perfectly normal," he insisted. I was so grateful for his acceptance. I'm not sure if the feeling would remain if he knew I was beginning to crush on him but either way, it was comforting.
"So, what should we do to leave here?"
"Um," he began, holding his chin with his gloved hand. "Perhaps the way out is in the truck."
"Good thinking."
We walked back to Luca's truck and scanned it front to back. There wasn't anything obvious on the outer parts. He opened the back doors showing me the inside. Hundreds of colorful flowers and petals spilled out until we were covered in fuchsia, crimson, and amber orange petals.
I spit a few green, bitter-tasting stems out of my mouth.
"Bloody hell. I'd say this must be our spot."
"Mm-hmm," I said, picking one that pumpkin orange petals. I handed it to him, and he accepted.
"Why thank you," he said, placing the stem behind his ear. I giggled when he did that watching the apricot orange flower against his head like a barrette. "Sure, sure, have a laugh at me, but I love these flowers. I'll wear 'em anytime, anywhere and not give a toss whether people find it odd."
"I'm sorry. It's fine. It looks ..." I paused. Should I tell him how it really makes him look?
"Go on, then. I can take it."
"It's ... cute." That was the truth.
Luca's mouth dropped open, but he hastily closed it. I pursed my lips uneasy about my confession. When he didn't speak, I cringed.
"Oh, no. I've made things weird. I'm sorry!" I turned and covered my face. I could hear him chuckling behind me.
"You're mad, you know that?" he asked. I heard him walk up behind me. "Have you not seen how I look at you?" I spun around and our eyes met. Studying him, I tilted my head shyly in question. When I gazed into his eyes, I could see he was telling me the truth.
"I hadn't before now," I admitted.
"Well, I've fancied you for quite some time, yet I've tried to keep it professional which we must continue to do. If we get too personal in these simulations, it could cause a problem."
"I think I understand what you're saying," I said, trying to hide how disappointed I was. Luca came closer to me and petted my head once.
"Let's leave. We can chat about it once we're on the other side, yeah?" he asked. I nodded and we climbed in the truck together. "Go on, then."
"We should try having you go first."
"Not this time, love. We best see what's going on with our creator's communication and such. I wonder if Yǔxuān can tell us anything."
"I wish we could get into contact with him again." I grimaced in confusion. "Should we search for green Really World tickets here?"
"Hmm, I suppose we could but let's wait on that as well. We're newly inked and we need to take care."
We both removed our gloves and checked out our new work placing our hands together. We grinned.
"Okay, let's go," I said.
We climbed in the back of the truck, dug out several more heaps of flowers, and felt around for the exit. He flipped on the interior light. Directly in front of us we could see one square of metal with hexagon shapes.
"Perfect!" he exclaimed.
"Here I go!"
After jumping into the metal grate, we fell through to the Really World intermission hub but it was upgraded. There weren't any exposed PC towers haphazardly hanging from the ceiling. Everything was clean and bright. In front of us where the former RW had only monitors blinking, in place of that were functioning computers on and ready to be logged into.
"Let's try these computers!" I exclaimed.
"But what would our login creds be, eh?" Luca asked, taking a seat beside me.
"True. I wonder if Sallan is here too."
We both glanced back at where the pewter-colored railing and smiley face glass with the vapor had been. It was covered with off-white carpet that appeared to be soft to walk upon now that I was studying it more carefully.
I rose from the computer chair and walked over to the area with the carpet. I reached down and brushed it with my hand. Indeed, it was soft, but it was not a carpet. It was a mixture of feathers and animal fur. I gasped as I moved more of the pile away from that area.
"Come here, Luca! Look at this!" I shouted. Luca hopped up and walked over.
"Oh, lord. That wasn't the best way to hide them, was it?"
Luca and I turned to face a robotic man noting his long and fluid strides. He walked over to the pile and began to push it back.
"Wait a minute. You've already seen it so covering it up won't do anything," he mumbled quietly.
"Seen what?" Luca asked. I slapped him, hitting one of his blue lights on the suit.
"Ow!" we cried in unison.
"Now you've done it. You've gone and wrecked my suit. Good one, Janessa." Luca crossed his arms. I watched his suit blink for a minute and then come back on.
"Ha! You're fine." I pointed as he rolled his eyes. The robot glanced up at us. I could see his expression.
"You two should get a room," the robot said, waving his hand at us. We both turned away, blushing. Luca cleared his throat, determined to change the subject.
"Just who are you, anyhow?" he asked, pointing at the robot with a stern expression.
"Oh, I'm Daliana but most people just call me Dale."
"Good to meet you, Dale," I said reaching out to shake. He slowly stood up and reached for my hand. When he had ahold of it, he used the perfect pressure. Firm but not crushing. Then he shook Luca's hand. That looked like it may hurt.
"So, you may be wondering why I'm here but more so why you're here, right?" He pointed at us. We nodded. "You're here because you leveled up. Before you were in the basement of Really World. Now, you're a floor up."
"Only a floor?!" Luca exclaimed. Dale nodded.
"It takes a while to get to the surface but don't worry. There are only fifteen floors."
I did the math. That would make sense since Chase wanted us to go through one hundred and fifty simulations.
"So, every ten we level up?"
"Yes, but you always have the ability to gain more powers as you explore the sims. They aren't all just business, you know."
"But these are not simple fun simulations. Most of them are stressful and even life-threatening," I said, crossing my arms.
"I understand. Nothing in life is worth getting if it's easy!" He laughed which vibrated his metal, but Luca and I glared at him. "Right, sorry. Just pay attention when you're out there. Really World tickets can be found and other power ups."
"Can I use my suit anytime?" Luca asked.
"Yes, you can. Hadn't Sallan explained that."
"She did but it's confusin' since I haven't used it since."
"But please, use it at anytime."
Luca and I glanced at one another.
"What's under the fur and feathers?" I asked.
"Oh, Sallan and her friend."
"Bloody hell," Luca whimpered.
"Don't worry, Luca. I'll protect you." I flashed him a smile. He smirked at me.
"You want to tease me?" he asked then tried hitting me but accidentally hit his tattoo. "D*mn it!" he hollered. I giggled at him. "Thanks, for that Janessa." His voice sounded gruff from his annoyance.
"So, which one should we do next?" I asked.
"Well, you're going to remember this time," said Dale.
"Great!" Luca and I exclaimed.
"Why not try the one on another planet?"
Luca and I exchanged a glance.
"What do you say?" I asked him.
"Let's go."
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
AL_Grey
AL_Grey Luca is based on one of my favorite characters who will be in a trilogy I'm publishing in the near future.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone