Monday feels empty. It’s an uncomfortable reality for Emi to not be out in the track field in the morning, practicing her laps and sweating in the humid Texas morning. It’s not the only void Emi is feeling this morning. She hasn’t seen or heard from Chiara all morning. Before class is dismissed, Emi would usually anticipate lunch with Chiara but she’ll have to settle with eating at the cafeteria or by herself in her dorm.
The professor dismisses class. “Remember everyone, study chapter 12 and have your report on depression on Wednesday when you return. Emi stuffs her backpack with her laptop and uses her clutches to lift herself off the seat in the auditorium. A classmate helps hold the door for her before she walks out. She’s a very tall blonde girl, even taller than Emi, with deep blue eyes, straight blonde hair, and a neutral mature expression. She’s quite fit too, not a surprise to Emi considering they are both on the track team. She is not dressed elegantly, wearing a simple white tank top and black and white track pants. Her appearance gives off the notion of her of being uptight and serious, but that's far detached from her personality according to Emi's experience.
“Thanks, Ashley.” Emi limps across the door with her clutches.
“Don’t mention it, Emi.” Ashley lets go of the door after Emi gets through. “It sucks that the upper class girls won’t stop talking crap about you. They are full of themselves I tell you. Typical upper class pricks.”
“I don’t let it bother me.” Emi confirms to Ashley. “They can say whatever they want for all I care.”
“That’s the spirit. You’re one of the strongest freshmen in the track team, Emi.”
“Oh, I doubt it.” Emi humbly admits. “You got a better track time than I did during our tryouts. You make all the upper class girls jealous when they see how fast you are. I wish I had half the endurance you have.”
“You’re just being humble, Emi. But we both have a lot to prove before we can win over the upper-class girls’ respect.”
“Ugh, do we really have to?” Emi scoffs. “I’d rather deal with freshmen in high school than deal with them.” Her comment gets a subtle laugh out of Ashley.
“Are you planning on having lunch with your quiet friend?” Ashley asks.
“Not today, I’m afraid.” Emi's tone gets serious. “Chiara has been undergoing some kind of emotional stress lately. She got into a heated argument with me on Sunday.”
“Do you want to explain what happened? We’re both psychology students so this is supposed to be our expertise.”
“Only if you want to hear all the details.” Emi smirks sadly in an attempt to keep her spirits high around her friend from track. “And I do wish we had all the answers. We’re still new to this field of psychology, but I bet you know something I don’t.”
“Can we talk about it for lunch, Emi?”
“Yeah, that sounds really good, but you’re going to hear a long story about where things went wrong for the both of us.” Emi and Ashley make their way to the cafeteria.
The bustling sounds of chattering students at the student’s cafeteria fill the ambience as usual. Emi and Ashley find a seat away from the loud chatter in the dining area. Emi sits down with her clutches by her side, eating her the school’s turkey sandwich. She already misses Chiara’s prepackaged lunches she would make for the both of them. The school sandwiches will never be as good as the one Chiara makes in her dorm. Across from her table, Ashley is eating a slice of pizza; an unusual meal for someone as fit as her.
“I should invite you to Tomio’s family restaurant someday. It’s not far from this city.” Emi mentions to Ashley who is already having a go at her slice. “I promise you, it’s miles above anything this school serves.”
”Ah, you’re talking about your boyfriend right?” She asks after gulping her slice of pizza. “The one who was rooting for you at that competition?”
“Oh, he’s just a childhood friend, I knew for a long while.” Emi laughs to cover her embarrassment. “Funny enough, we had a pretty bad separation back in middle school because I was an idiot who got jealous when he was talking to some other girls at the time, but we’re both on good terms now.”
“Hm...seems like you don’t have a good history when it comes to keeping friends.”
“I hope that’s not the case, Ashley.” Emi eyes dart down. “I like to think I’m a good person. At least with Tomio, I have an excuse. Not so much with Chiara. All I can say is that she has seriously changed from the girl I used to know.”
“So you told me earlier that you and Chiara are part of some online virtual reality game?” Ashley sips her cup of water before speaking again. “Strange, I never thought of you as the gamer type.”
“Yeah. Me neither.” Emi shakes her head. “But somehow, I’m a squad leader for a group called Armadillo Squad. It consisted of Chiara and me, as well as two other girls here on campus: A Japanese nursing student named Hikari Nakamura, and a mechanical engineering student named Mai Keighley. I’m not sure if you heard of them.”
“This campus has a lot of students. I don’t think their names are familiar to me.”
“I figured. That’s alright. It’s not just them. Tomio has his own squad too. They all live in his area too and I teamed up with him to participate in the Mil-Sim Story fall tournament. The game is basically a military simulation, but there’s more to it than just shooting guns. There’s a lot of team management and an in-game economy. It’s some pretty in-depth stuff.”
“Almost like running a business, right?”
“The more accurate term would be running a PMC.” Emi noted. “We all manage our own supplies, ammo, weapons, and gear. Some teams have a full operation going in-game. It’s a lot of stuff to think about but it’s pretty fun. I"m still new to understanding most of it.”
“Huh. And here I thought gaming was just some dead end distraction to waste time. No offense to you Emi.”
“VR gaming has come a long way. I remember back when I used to play PC games with my little brother. Back then, it was done with keyboard and mouse. But it seems like VR technology has advanced so much in less than a decade that you can get immersed with just a headset and a computer. I just ended up using my laptop and my headset. That's all you need.”
“No wonder you’re stressed, Emi. It’s like track, and uni wasn’t enough for your plate.”
“Well the squad and I meet up and play on weekends. It at least gave me something to do in my spare time to keep my mind off athletics and school. I’m out of commission for track as you can tell so I’m probably going to spend a lot more time in VR while I am at it.”
“So this game is the reason why Chiara is suddenly feeling upset at you and her teammates?”
“I want to say partially.” Emi finishes taking a bite from her sandwich. “I think it’s more than just anxiety with the game she’s feeling. She started acting totally different yesterday. I mean she was incredibly bummed out when I saw her again after getting out of the hospital but something must have clicked in her to feel like she’s a burden to our efforts. Worst of all, she started to feel sidelined in our friendship. I don’t know if she’s starting to get jealous with the way I talk to Tomio. It wouldn’t surprise me because I felt the same way back in middle school when Tomio would talk to other people. Chiara was never that sort of person to get jealous. She’s quiet, timid, and has a good heart. It almost feels like someone was putting thoughts into her head.”
Ashley nods thoughtfully, swirling her cup of water. “It does sound like something or someone might have influenced her thinking. You said she’s been quiet and reserved, right? Sometimes, people like that end up over thinking things for too long and then change in an instant. I’ve heard of it happening especially with college students like us.”
“That’s honestly terrifying to think about.” Emi comments.
“It’s kind of normal and more common than you think, Emi.” Ashley suggests. “Do you really think those upper class girls in track were always so rude and cocky? College is a whole other ball park when it comes to how it affects people. Some people have the best time of their lives in college. For some, not so much. Sometimes, geniuses in high school completely break down when they get to college because they’ve been sheltered from so much in their life that all of these new and obtuse ideas of adulthood overwhelm them. It doesn’t take much to take a kid who has got straight As for all their life to just fall into a pit and flunk out. Sometimes the stress of college can make some of the nicest people you know into straight up assholes.”
“Chiara...God I hope she’s going to be okay.” Emi murmurs to herself. “She’s such a bright student. She’s really talented and has a good heart. I’d hate to see her fall apart like that.”
“I hope I’m not trying to demoralize you, Emi.” Ashley assures her. “It’s just something I know from all of my other relatives that have gone through college. I’m sure Chiara needs some time to herself to reflect. She’s a reclusive type after all.”
“Still. A part of me feels like I should have given more time to Chiara when I was so busy with everything else. I kind of wish I knew how much Chiara was struggling.”
“There’s only so much we can do, Emi. We’re not even certified psychologists.”
“Sure, I guess. I just wish I could check on her to see if she’s okay. I would never want to abandon her in her time of need and I sure as hell don’t want to see her fall into complete despair. I can’t stop thinking about the worst case scenario for Chiara.”
Ashley leans back in her chair. She ponders a bit in silence before making an offer to Emi. “I have a friend from one of my core classes. She’s a theater student so she’s kind of eccentric, but she has a really good heart. Her name is Vicky Montes. Perhaps I can have her check on Chiara for you if you like.”
“Really? You can have her do that for me?” Emi's eyes light up from Ashley’s offer. “It would be wonderful if I can have someone check on Chiara for me.”
“I can convince Vicky to give you a hand.” Ashley nods. “But she does have some restraints. I have to warn you, Vicky is very morally driven. She comes from a highly religious background and she takes her faith very seriously. It might not seem apparent from the way she acts but she won’t deceive or lie to anyone.”
“Which means if she ever is asked why she’s even interested in speaking to Chiara…” Emi hypothesizes, she will give the act all up and Chiara would be even more upset at me than before.”
“She’s an open book, for better and worse.” Ashley confesses. “At the very least, I can at least convince Vicky to approach her casually. She’ll try to get to know her, but somehow try to keep her connection with the two of us distant. Either way, she’s open to making new friends. I have class with her after this so I’ll give her a talk and see what she can do.”
“At this point, I’m willing to give it a shot to see if Chiara is okay. It would mean the world to me to make sure she’s alright.” She offers a teary smile to Ashley. “I can’t thank you enough, Ashley.”
“Hey, you’re going through a lot yourself, Chiara. I’m sorry to see you unable to do track with your injury.” She offers Emi a napkin to wipe her eyes with. “You’re a good person Emi, despite what you may feel about your actions. Your friends must be very lucky to have a squad leader like you.”
Emi wipes her tears off her eyes. “Thank you. I just don’t like to upset people. I try to be on everyone’s good side...even with those stuck up track girls.”
“You can’t please everyone in the world, Emi. You’re lucky you still have friends who appreciate you for who you are. That includes me. Speaking of which...”
“Hm? What’s up Ashley?”
“Does the school library still rent out VR headsets?”
Chiara stands alongside three other recruits in their black fatigues. Her expression is a static and sad state of where she is now. She has completely abandoned her friends and is now starting all over with a new group who she doesn’t even know if she can trust. Her mental breakdown from yesterday brought her, under Asura’s will. One of her top soldiers paces back and forth in front of the recruits. A red headed guy dressed in black tactical gear and wearing a red respirator similar to those in Asura’s squad. He speaks through it in a Romanian accent.
”Listen up and listen well. You are here to serve in one of the most ambitious military forces this game has to offer. We are highly regarded and highly feared by those who observe our work and our methods. But it takes more than basic training from Drill Sergeant Perry to become a vampire. At this very moment, none of you deserve to be called brother and sister.” His sharp green eyes glare at Chiara. “And even if you are here by Asura’s blessing, no amount of combat experience is going to win you any favors over the other recruits besides you. You are all equally as low as prey. But if you prove yourself through this rigorous training and don’t quit and chicken out like the prey you are, you will come out as cold blooded killers. You will be master at hunting prey in the night. You commit all of your skills to serving our squad and her highness Asura. Weakness and self interest will not be tolerated. Failure to follow orders exactly as your told will give our followers the privilege of throwing you out of her highness’ base. He steps back and points his hand towards a rack of basic M16A3 rifles with carry handle sights. “We have no time to waste. Grab your rifles and march your way in unison to the obstacle course! On the double, prey!”
The recruits rush to grab their rifles, including Chiara. The M16A3 feels different from her MP5SD6. Lighter and simpler in some ways, but quite long for her size. She follows suit with the other recruits as they march double time with their rifles to the obstacle course ahead of them. Under the strict order and watchful eye of Asura's underling, Vlad, Chiara will undergo a transformation that Asura has promised her from two nights ago before she left Armadillo Squad.