Into the Game

Graveyards freaked me out.

I had only been to human ones. Even those I tried to avoid. In the two years since our parents had died I had gone to visit their grave only once. Some people get comfort from talking to a headstone. It had just made me sad.

“An elephant graveyard?” I repeated

“Yep.” Michael’s smile was too big.

“Why?”

He shrugged. "Stealth? Courage? The developers are twisted? I don’t know.”

“Is that all I have to do?”

He shook his head. "You have to go to the graveyard, find a skull and pull out a tooth. Once you have the tooth, we take it to Trumpit and you give it to the shaman.”

“That’s all?” I asked

“The gist.”

“What’s the catch?”

“The graveyard is full of vultures and hyenas. Not to mention goblins use the skulls as houses.”

“Goblins?” I asked

He held his hand hip high. "About this tall, green. Nasty disposition. They ride the hyenas. It’s kind of cool.”

“Great, so we have to fight our way through a camp full of goblins and hyenas to pull an elephant tooth.”

“You forgot the buzzards.”

“What about them?” I asked. "They’re just birds.”

“They don’t like it when people touch their food.”

“They’ll attack me?”

“Don’t worry.” He gave me that rogue grin he wore too much. "I’ll shoot them before they get close.”

“My hero.” I mocked

He did a fake bow. "As you wish my lady.”

I laughed. I didn’t want to, but it was funny. I bit the inside of my cheeks to keep the smile off of my face. For a moment I had forgotten about the dangers in the game. I had forgotten about Billy.

The smile vanished. "Where is the graveyard?”

“So serious.” Michael grinned

“Look, my brother is out there playing a game that could get him killed. I don’t have time to goof around. I need to go to the graveyard, get the tooth, and get to the next zone.”

Michael held up his hands. "Okay.” He pointed to his right. "That way.”

I pulled out my sword and stepped into the grass. I came up to my hips and was so thick; I could have stepped on a snake and never known it.

I tried not to think about snakes. Instead, I focused on my brother. I would have liked to believe he was scared and alone, but I knew he wasn’t scared. Nothing scared him. He ran into dangerous situations like the one we were in right now without a thought about safety. That was why he needed me. He needed someone to keep him from getting in over his head. I held onto that thought as I pushed my way through the grass.