Adam Drake - Blackout

He squeezed, and I kicked futilely at his prominent belly. I must have looked like a tiny temperamental child caught in an adult’s bear hug.

Fighting was not an option. But I had one trick up my sleeve.

I turned my head and set my eyes on a nearby hill, about fifty paces away. My screen wavered as my avatar began to lose consciousness.

Hold on a few more seconds.

The top of that hill was all I cared about in that moment.

Set Recall Point .

“Gonna put this death video up on the forums. For posterity,” Kragg said with grin. He was enjoying my final moments of high-level living.

Then the message I was practically dying for appeared.

Recall Point Set .

Finally!

Use Teleport Ability .

I then appeared on the top of the hill.

Suddenly free of Kragg’s grip, I collapsed to my knees on the ground. Air sucked back into my lungs, and I used a Health Boost to shoot my health bar back up to 100%. But I was still in immediate danger.

Stunned, Kragg looked down at his empty arms, then locked onto me. His face boiled with rage. “You FILTERED!” he shouted.

My language filters were set to maximum. It helps me pretend that my fellow players are as civil as I am.

Although I had escaped, it was only momentary. I needed to get some distance from this freak and fast.

The yellow unicorn was hopping about begging for an order to attack me again. Kragg had different plans.

Like a sumo wrestler preparing to fight, the ogre lifted one thick leg up in the air. The unicorn, ducking his head, scooted underneath. Kragg dropped into the saddle. He looked ridiculous. A giant, green, oversized ogre riding a mustard-yellow unicorn mount far to small by comparison.

But neither he, nor the unicorn, cared about aesthetics. They both locked angry eyes onto me. Kragg kicked the unicorn forward and the small creature who easily carried his weight, shot forward.

My instincts kicked in and pulled me out of the incredulous spectacle of the ogre and unicorn. Fight or flight?

Flight!

“Two can play at that game,” I said, and selected an icon from the bottom of my view-screen.

Summon Shadow Steed .

A beautiful black horse, with full rider’s tack, blinked into existence beside me. It was partially transparent, which was why I had given it the name Smoke.

Smoke noticed the incoming ogre/unicorn threat and nickered, tossing his head about in alarm.

I leapt up into the saddle, and without delay, kicked at his sides and lashed the reigns.

Smoke charged ahead and in moments we were at full speed. We raced away from the forest’s edge and into a dry grass plain.

After a few moments of exhilarating speed, I risked a glance behind us.

Kragg and his mount were closing fast. The ogre had brought out a large iron mallet from his inventory and gripped it in one hand. Its comically huge size was nearly as big as him.

I was dismayed. The unicorn was faster than Smoke!

As the distance between us evaporated, I felt a growing sense of dread. This would not work. I needed to buy more time, slow the green maniac down. Scanning the horizon I looked for anything that might help save my life.

Then I spotted something. Up ahead to the left was a trio of what looked to be raptors. They were loitering in the shade of a small copse of trees.

I angled Smoke in their direction, and he didn’t protest. With another look back to ensure my pursuers were still with me, I then focused on the raptors and called up the stats of one them.

Species: Raptor

Subspecies: Emerald Claw

Level: Unknown

Hit Points: 320

Mana: Nil

Armor Class: 15

Attack Rating: 30

Damage Rating: Unknown

Weapon Type(s): Hind-Claws, Fore-Claws, Tail, Teeth

Abilities: Jurassic Bite, Run Like The Wind, Claw To Arms.

Special: Pack animal, can summon others to its aid.

Yup, that’ll do, I thought.

As I drew closer the raptors perked up and turned their heads to point an eye at me. They were fearsome to look at, let alone intentionally approach.

Smoke and I flew passed them at top speed. The killer dinosaur pack became agitated and appeared to be trying to decide if I was worth attacking. Maybe they had just finished hunting and weren’t interested?

Regardless, I didn’t draw their aggro, and they watched me ride by. I was now moving away from the idle pack.

Frustrated, I selected my bow from my inventory and it appeared in my hand. Barely aiming, I fired into them.

I scored a hit.

The raptors issued screeches and animal barks and ran after me. They fanned out from the shade and onto the grassy plain.

It was at this moment Kragg and his unicorn barrelled straight into their midst. Either he didn’t notice them or, most likely, didn’t care they’d been pulled in my wake.

With me moving out of range, the raptors turned their attention to the new arrival. The deadly trio ran up alongside Kragg looking for an opportunity to attack.

One bright green raptor leapt onto Kragg’s back and tried to bite his neck. The ogre looked annoyed and shrugged the beast away. A slight motion for him, but was strong enough to send the animal tumbling off. The two dark green raptors snapped at the unicorn’s legs. To deal with them properly, Kragg slowed down. He swung his huge mallet in wide arcs, keeping the raptors at bay.

This gave me a chance at getting some more distance. But I knew it wouldn’t be for long. I got my bearings and turned back toward my original direction.

I came upon a wide river that cut across my path. On the other side towered a high rocky cliff which stretched out of sight in both directions. Turning east, I followed along the riverbank. My eyes scanned for a clear path on the other side. I was running out of time.

Then I saw it. A break in the cliff face which presented a narrow chasm north.

This was the place.

At that moment, a bellowing roar came from behind. Kragg was coming.

I slowed Smoke and made a wide turn so we were facing the river. If we didn’t make it, this would be embarrassing.

Noise of clomping hooves approaching through the high grass spurred me forward. I kicked at Smoke and we charged at the river.

To my left, Kragg broke through the tall grass. His eyes locked onto me. His mallet was spattered with blood, and crimson patterns sullied the unicorn’s yellow hide. Only a short distance away, and seeing what I was about to do, he picked up speed.

The second Smoke hit the edge of the riverbank we jumped. I then gave Smoke a much needed boost.

Use Leap Ability .

My leap transferred to my mount and added to Smoke’s already substantial leap ability. We sailed across the raging waters as if carried on wings.

I’d learned the hard way not to neglect Leap. Over the last two hard earned levels, I put all four subsequent skill points into the ability. Before, making any jump was wrought with doubt. Now, I felt tremendous satisfaction when we easily landed on the other side.

But the satisfaction did not last long. The chasm entrance I had jumped to was only a small bite in the cliff face. High walls confronted me.

Nestled in the side of the cliff face was a tunnel entrance. Its door frame etched in strange runes, much like a travel gate.

With nowhere else to go I spun Smoke around.

Kragg was already flying over the river. Even before they landed, both ogre and blood splattered unicorn glared at me in triumph. They knew they had me trapped.

As Kragg landed, I jumped off Smoke. I made a show of looking about for an escape. A trapped, frightened animal. This only got Kragg’s blood-lust up more.