"So Omi...is that even your real name?" Eve asked as they were sitting hidden under the trees waiting for their HP to replenish.
"That's confidential information Eve. Sorry, can't tell you here." Kenji replied, and added a wink emoticon to it. It appeared right above his head as a comic bubble.
Eve responded with a frown emoticon.
"Anyway, I noticed you're always here a lot. Don't you have school or something?"
"No. I no longer do those things."
"What do you mean?"
Eve faced herself to him as she said "I no longer belong in the real world."
A question mark popped over his head. "What?"
"You obviously have not heard of the most interesting things about the Forsaken. It's something only very few players know about. People think it's a rumor actually. *chuckles*"
"You're pulling my leg."
"Nope. Am not. I've transported myself to this game. It wasn't easy looking for the equipment and setting it all up. Don't even get me started on the expenses."
"But why...why would you want to do that?"
There was a pause before the reply arrived.
"I just found the real world boring and cruel really. Real life is nothing like a game. In games you have a say on what you can do, and get easily rewarded for it. Real life...like work for example. Your pay may not necessarily be enough for all the work you get, and you don't always have control of what you do. It's hard in real life...honestly. Not to mention there is no...fantasy or anything. We have no magical creatures or powers. I have many reasons really."
"What about your family and friends?"
"I have no family; I've been abandoned really. I've been living on my own for a long time. As for my friends...well, as you can see, they have left me for the real world and I will not go back anymore."
"Can you still go back?"
"I don't know really. I never thought of learning how to go back, but maybe at this point it's impossible."
"...I still think you are pulling my leg."
"Well, why don't you research about it now? Go search for 'Missing teens playing MMO' or something."
Kenji considered this. He opened a browser application on his laptop and did some searching. It didn't take too long before he could find some articles about people disappearing from playing online games. It was one article however, that hit home.
It has been weeks since Evelyn "Eve" Walters, age 16 had been last seen by anyone. Melinda Smith, the owner of the condominium she was staying in had not seen her for weeks and decided to check on her. When she managed to enter the unit she saw that it was empty and that her computer was left on. There had been a note on the keyboard that said "All my things belong to Lucy now. I no longer need them." She insisted that she never saw the girl leave the premises and that she had just disappeared.
'Eve was always a sweet girl, but she was lonely and cooped up in her home and never had visitors save for Lucy.' Smith said. 'She was so addicted to this video game that she no longer went out. It's that video game I tell you! It was a horrible influence!'
The game in question was the MMO entitled "Forsaken", which has been quite popular among the teenagers. There have not been any other cases of online video game addiction though with regards to the game.
The only odd thing about Walters' home was a lot of heavy computer equipment around her bedroom, but the police never understood what it was for. Smith theorized that Walters' may had been working on something for the government but there had been no evidence to that.
Walters' family is now still on the search for their daughter with the help of the police. As Evelyn Walters' request, her friend Lucy Qiu now takes care of the house while and hoping for her return.
Kenji went back to chatting with Eve.
"Your name...is Evelyn Walters?" he asked hesitantly.
"Yes. You saw the article then?"
"Yeah. Your family claimed to be looking for you. Isn't that a good thing."
A laughing emoticon was displayed above her head. "They don't really mean that. They just need to look concerned since the police informed them I was gone."
"How do you know that?"
"I'm their daughter. I just know. Plus, they never tried to check up on me after that. I have a friend in the real world who testified it. They don't call or write to her asking about it, even if my friend said to do so."
"I see."
"Omi, it's no trouble really. I don't regret what I did. When I came to Forsaken I had loads of friends and I enjoyed being here. In the real world I was always struggling to make enough money to get by. My family never sent me money or tried to help me."
"What about that friend? And if that's so, why do you need me to be here with you?"
"You mean Lucy. Well, I admit she has been a great friend so the least I can do is let her have my home and my belongings. She kept this Forsaken thing a secret, so the police never bothered trying to search for me here. It's kinda stupid really, but am thankful for it. And as for lack of allies..."
A smiley popped over her head. "Oh...but am already content with you, and it would be even cooler if you could join me here."
The only reply Kenji would give was "..."
In the real world, Kenji could hear his sister calling for him. He typed quickly "I need to go now. And sorry, am not interested in being here. I don't want to leave my family. Bye."
He had logged out immediately and turned off his laptop.
The facts he had learned today were still running through his head.
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