Chapter 3 - Healer and the Tank

Gamer Vocabulary:

A.O.E.: stands for area of effect, usually used for spells or ranged attacks. This decides what radius the attacks are effective.

XP or exp: experience points which are accumulated to gain levels.

Dexterity stats: refers to a character's statistics. Dexterity refers to how well they can move Maggie stared out in front of her, watching the street. Her jaw clenched so tightly that it made her teeth hurt. This had to be a nightmare. That was the only explanation. This was a nightmare and, worse yet, she couldn’t manage to wake herself up. It was taking all she had not to hyperventilate. That would be the icing on this horrid cake. She already knew the cop thought she was a freak. This was why she never left her house. Why she hated the real word.

In the real world she was the weird and freakish loser. In her game, Maggie was Styrene. The hot, sexy, powerful healer that everyone wanted in their group. Guys would do anything to get her to join their party. Who wouldn’t choose that over “real life” any day? Who cares it was technically not real? Not Maggie that’s for sure! Maggie’s eyes closed as her throat tightened. She knew Hannah’s boyfriend was bad news but Walter White bad?

Her eyes snapped open as the car slowed to a stop. They were at her house. Without a second thought, she opened the door and ran into the house. The cop yelled something at her, but she didn’t stop to listen. As soon as she stepped into her living room muscles loosened and relaxed.

“Are you crazy?” The cop snapped at her, making her jump. She turned to face him as he continued to lecture her. “Someone could have been here waiting for you! Don’t ever do that again Ms. Kent! Grab only what you absolutely need and let’s get out of here.”

She bit her lip, embarrassment assailing her and she nodded. God, he was pushier than Hannah ever was. “Stay here, don’t touch anything, and I’ll be right back,” she told him then raced to her bedroom. Taking off the hospital clothes she changed into a Black Mesa t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of black converse that had seen better days. When dressed, Maggie threw open her closet and dug through the mess to get to her dusty luggage.

She had no idea how she came to own them, but there they were. Smacking the dust off, Maggie started to cough and waved her hand in front of her before filling one of the two with clothes. With everything she’d need, Maggie cracked the door open. Seeing the cop wasn’t looking her way, she took the remaining suitcase and went into her gaming room. She quickly dismantled the computer and packed everything carefully in the suitcase. There was no way she was going anywhere without it.

Once finished Maggie returned to the living room, glad to see the cop at least kept his hands to himself and didn’t touch any of her figurines.

He turned to face her, looking irritated, broody, intimidating, and kind of hot. “Are you finally ready?”

Her throat tightened, feeling herself flush. Maggie quickly nodded and jumped back as he walked towards her. He gave her an all too familiar ‘what the hell’ look and grabbed one of the suitcases. Her eyes widened with horror as she realized he grabbed the one with her computer. “Careful,” Maggie cried before she could stop herself, following him out of the house and to the car.

“What the hell did you pack? This thing weighs a ton,” he said, opening the trunk and dropped the suitcase inside.

Maggie’s heart leapt to her throat as she barely kept her cry of dismay back at the rough treatment. She put her suitcase in the trunk with careful precision, hoping it would buffer and protect the one holding her baby. It earned her an odd look from the detective as he closed the trunk, but she was starting to get use to those looks. Maggie sighed as she got back in the car. Hannah was probably laughing her ass off wherever she was at.

As they drove off, Maggie took one last longing look at her house. Her only sanctuary in this cruel, uncompassionate world. She clasped her hands in her lap in a white knuckled grip, wishing she’d never left her house to check on Hannah.

They were driving for hours when the cop decided to stop for lunch. It was one of those tiny places that you always see next to truck stops. As they waited for their order, Maggie glanced at the cop from under her lashes. He really was hotter than the flame of Arnor. His A.O.E. was definitely covering the whole place. Their waitress practically eye raped him as she took their orders. Most women would kill to be in her shoes right now.

Maggie knew that, but all she could think about was how in six hours her guild would start to raid. The mere idea of not being there made her want to burst into tears. All the epic gear, the xp, and the other loot she was going to miss was breaking her heart in two. Life was so unfair!

“So Ms. Kent,” the cop started. Tank, as Maggie had come to dub him since she didn't remember his name.

“Maggie,” she told him as the waitress brought their food.

“Okay, Maggie…” Tank started again, when the waitress left. “Um…what do you do? I mean like work or study?”

Shaking her head side to side, as she picked at her grilled cheese. “N-neither.”

“Then what do you do with your time?”

The sharpness in his tone made her stiffen. He was judging her and Maggie knew exactly what he was thinking. Same thing everyone had always thought when they met her. Weirdo, freak, loser… “S-stuff,” she replied with a shrug then taking a bite of her sandwich.

“Stuff?” Tank repeated with an irritated tone then grumbled to himself.

Maggie couldn’t tell exactly what he said, but she did catch the words “odd” and “kidding me.” She hated that it made her cringe and feel small, and part of her wanted to tell him what to do with his grumbling. Too bad she was suffering a -50 bravery penalty right now. Either way he didn’t try to talk to her as they ate.

When they finished, Tank flashed the waitress a brilliant smile that made her almost melt at his feet. Maggie felt sick as he paid their bill and went back to the car. It was a sleek, sporty, and black. It was the kind of car a guy got when he was compensating for something. A small smile formed her lips at the thought.

“Something funny?” Tank asked walking to the driver’s side.

The smile disappeared from her face and her cheeks flushed as she shook her head side to side.

“Whatever,” he mumbled as they both got into the car and started driving once more.

It was nearing five o’clock in the evening when he stopped at what looked similar to a log cabin. It was a quaint, remote, rustic looking house. One wouldn’t be far off if they called it romantic. “This is the vacation home of a friend of the family. He lets me use it whenever I want,” Tank told her as they got out of the car.

Maggie looked over the house with dread. Rustic meant there was a strong possibility of no wifi. Her life was officially now hell. With another cringe, she watched as Tank removed the suitcases. She hoped the computer would be alright from his barbaric treatment. Why couldn’t he be more careful? Maggie stared in awe as soon as she stepped in the place. It may be quaint and rustic on the outside. Inside looked much more modern than she expected.

A large flat screen television with an epic sound system and several other electronics screamed man cave. Excitement filled her, realizing the place had to have wifi. “Here let me show you around,” Tank offered.

She gave him a little nod in reply. The house was a lot bigger than it first appeared; it even had a gym room! “This is your room,” he told her as he opened the door to a decent sized room. Maggie scoped the room nearly jumping for joy when she saw the empty writing desk. She could at least set up her computer there. Now if Maggie could get a connection, she might be able to survive this nasty experience.

“Now for the rules,” Tank told her and she turned her attention to him. “First rule, you don’t go anywhere alone.”

Where was she going to go? They were outside of town, near the back of the house looked to be a huge ass forest. Did he not know that wild animal attacks were on the rise? And that’s not even counting werewolves and vampires! Okay. Maggie didn’t really believe werewolves or vampires existed. That didn't mean she wasn’t going to give them the chance to prove her wrong.

“Second, you don’t make any contact with anyone without my permission.”

Damn who perma-died and made him guild leader, she thought and fought off a smile.

“Third, since I’m from this town I suggest it’s best that if anyone in town asks we are dating. We came here for a romantic getaway.”

A loud strange mix of a snort and laugh escaped Maggie and Tank gave her another odd look. She covered her mouth with her hands feeling so embarrassed.

“There a problem with rule number three?” He asked, crossing his arms.

That was obvious. Him and her? Romantic getaway? It was like saying a human paladin was dating an orc warlord, no one would believe it, even if they did see it with their own eyes! Maggie shook her head no and muffled, “Sorry,” through her hands which were still covering half her face.

“Okay,” he said still with the odd look on his face giving his head a little shake. “The fourth is that if you are alone here, you do not, for any reason whatsoever, open the door to anyone. The fifth and final rule is, if I tell you to do something, you do it and don’t ask me why. Chase Hancock is looking for you, and I’m pretty much the only person preventing him from finding you. I know you don’t like this any more than I do but until the court date arrives this is how it’s got to be! This will all be over in a couple of weeks.”

“Now do you understand all that, Maggie?” he asked with a demanding tone.

Yep, he definitely got a guild leader complex. Maggie smiled behind her hands and nodding that she understood. If she had it her way, this place would have kick ass internet connection, and she wouldn’t leave this room.

“Good.”

“I’ll unp-pack now,” she told him, closing the door before he could say another word. Maggie sighed with relief then remembered the raid. She had twenty minutes to set up her computer and get ready. She rushed to her suitcases and started removing the computer components, setting them apart. It took her ten minutes, leaving her ten to get provisions. Maggie opened the door to her room and listened for signs of Tank.

When she didn't hear anything, Maggie crept out of the room. She spied Tank sitting on the couch in the living room on the phone talking to someone. Perfect. With a smile, Maggie tip-toed into the kitchen. She grabbed some fruit, chips and a large cup to make a good sized coffee. Checking once more to see if Tank was still on the phone, Maggie snuck back into her room. As soon as the door closed, she jumped with a quiet joy.

“Yes, my dexterity stats are epic! I am so ninja,” Maggie cheered in a hushed voice with a corny ninja pose. Sitting down at the desk, she logged into her game.

The next morning, Maggie went to the gym to run on the treadmill. It helped burn some of her pent up energy and forget her dreams from last night. It was weird even for her, and that is saying a lot. Chase was after her. Tank kept telling her to follow orders. Hannah, with wings and a halo, kept laughing at her and saying she was finally going to pop Maggie’s bubble. Next thing Maggie knew, they surrounded her for a hug.

Maggie shuddered in horror. Once again she was sure Hannah was laughing her ass off. Maggie ran faster as if she could somehow escape this stupid situation she found herself in. Why couldn’t she just have called the police from her home? Why did Maggie have to go over there to stick her nose where it didn’t belong? She huffed with frustration and exhaustion slowing down to finally get off the treadmill. Feeling a little better, Maggie grabbed her towel. She squeaked in surprise to see Tank leaning in the doorway, watching her.

“Didn’t take you for an exercise nut,” he said, giving her a strange look.

Maggie shrugged, feeling her throat tighten. Realizing she was in a tank top and yoga pants self-consciousness hit Maggie hard. It took all she had not to grab the town and cover herself.

“Did you call someone yesterday? Because it sounded like you were talking to somebody,” Tank said in a pointed tone.

Oh no! He heard her raid chat. Maggie shook her head side to side in reply and squeezed past him. She grabbed a change of clothes and started towards the bathroom. Her breath hitched as she saw Tank was still standing in the hallway watching her. Why was he looking at her like that, she wondered as she almost ran into the bathroom.

She shook her head again, waiting for her heart to slow down. The man was super intense when he wanted to be. Good Lord! Maggie got under the hot water and tried not to think. Not about Tank or why he was watching her. Not about the situation or how long this was going to last before she could go home. All she ever wanted was to be left alone. Why was it that was the one thing she couldn’t seem to get?

When Maggie left the bathroom, another startled squeak escaped her. Tank was standing right in front of the doorway. Oh my God, Really, she thought as she stared at him wide eyed.

“Hello again,” he told her with a small smile. “I know I heard voices from your room. I want to remind you of rule number two. Do not make any contact with anyone without my permission.”

She crossed her arms giving him her best evil eye stare. Her irritation getting the better of her. “I’m not a child.”

“I can see that,” Tank replied his smiled growing ever so slightly.

Maggie's stomach flipped-flopped and her eyes widened. What did he mean with that? It almost sounded like...she stopped that train of thought. Now that was impossible.

“Maggie, you don’t seem to understand what situation you’re in,” Tank told her, seeming to loom over her.

She knew her situation perfectly well and tried to tell him so, but her words came out in a jumbled mess.

“Want to try that again?” He teased.

Maggie flushed with embarrassment which made her angrier. Yeah. She was weird, but that didn’t give him the right to bully her. With determination, she told him just what she thought. Only it came out sounding like angry orc speech.

Tank smiled at her. Not a teasing smile but what looked like an actual genuine smile. Her heart stumbled over itself for a moment before she could speak. “I, uh, know my sit-tuation just fine, Tank.”

“Tank?” He repeated with a laugh. “Did you just called me a tank?”

Maggie's mouth fell open as her stomach plummeted to her toes. Humiliation blossomed inside her. Snapping her mouth closed, Maggie wished for an invisibility spell right now. She pressed her lips together and shook her head side to side with no intention to answer him.

“That,” he started, laughing. “Is a new one.”

Maggie's flamed with embarrassment she hadn't felt since high school. She slipped passed him, and her breath hiccupped as her shoulder grazed him as she passed. Maggie ran to her room, slamming the door shut and slumped against it. She looked at the ceiling with the realization this could only be the work of one person and one person alone. This is your doing isn’t it, Hannah?