Somnia Online by K.T. Hanna (reading strategies book txt) 📕

necessary to get the gravity of the current situation across to everyone who is playing.” Telvar shook his head. “Not everyone will understand. Not even those who are fighting with you, Murmur. But you have to understand this won’t just be computer generated opponents. These iterations have gone rogue; they have been made of and consumed a bulk of the shards for the last few months. They’ve been growing, sealed away in their area where they only fight themselves. This is going to be dangerous.

“Take your naps, eat some food, have a shower, and make sure Neva can replenish your stock. You’re going to need them.”

Summer Residence

Home of Laria, David, and Wren

Summer Condo

Early Morning Day Thirty-Two.

Wren pulled her headgear off and gave herself props for not standing up while doing so. Her head spun so violently, she would have fallen on her arse. Harlow sat next to her, her own headgear already in her hands, studying her fingers like she was deep in thought. But Wren knew the signs. Harlow was worried. Probably about everything.

It was amazing what a near death experience could do for a relationship.

“Hey. You okay?” She gently placed her hand over Harlow’s, eliciting a small smile from the redhead.

“Better now. Just…oh, hell, Wren. I am so fucking tired.” She let herself fall back onto the pillows but didn’t let go of Wren’s hand. “Can we just sleep forever?”

Wren shook her head. “We’d have to take turns. So one of us can always wake the other up with a kiss.” She grinned down impishly.

“With full consent of course, though.” Harlow grinned back. “Not like those princes.”

“Of course!” Wren laughed. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t sock you one in the jaw if you woke me that way.”

They fell silent, and Wren wasn’t sure why. Was it the changes they’d gone through this summer? She raised her hand, willing it to turn invisible. It worked, with just a thought. Shivers ran down her back.

Harlow gasped. “I didn’t really think it would work, you know?”

Wren nodded. “Yeah. I know what you mean. It’s really weird.” Harlow reached over and slipped her arm around Wren’s waist, hugging her. Wren returned the gesture, enjoying the tangible warmth.

“You okay?” Harlow whispered. Wren just nodded into the top of Harlow’s red hair.

She had one more test to try before she attempted sleep, but she would wait for Harlow to fall asleep first. This wasn’t something she wanted to try while anyone around her was awake.

The shower felt hotter, and the food tasted better. Maybe they were just reveling in being able to take their time for once. And the bed and pillows were softer than Wren remembered. A night without waking up in a panic because they might have missed their window for the zone. They might be locked out. It had been a hard couple of days, but they could do this, she had no doubt about it.

Harlow fell asleep almost immediately after eating. As soon as her head hit the pillow, try as she might, she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Wren watched as the redhead’s chest rose and fell so peacefully, her headgear on the nightstand on that side of the bed. Wren glanced at the pod now sitting silently in her room, all of its pretty lights off.

She ran her fingers over the electric lines of her suit, the feeling they gave her with their lights like a motherboard, and the way they seemed to tap into her system. She knew it all ran through the headgear; it all ran through her mind now.

The only thing she wasn’t certain of was her own abilities. Sure, she could freeze things in time. Just to prove it to herself again, she Mez’d the old-fashioned clock that hung on her wall, effectively halting the second hand. It stayed there, in limbo, just like a monster would. It made Wren wish she had a cat, although that might be very cruel, so maybe it was good she didn’t. Her sensing net worked with and without the headgear, both in and out of the world. It made drawing that line of reality so much more difficult.

Her hands felt clammy, and she was nervous about trying this. But to be honest what could go wrong? At most, it wouldn’t work, right?

At most.

Somnia’s voice startled Wren somewhat. Not that she wasn’t used to the world speaking to her, just that it wasn’t usually so clear outside of the game world. This time, for the first time, the voice was mostly clear of static.

I’ve got to try it. You understand, right?

She could almost feel Somnia nodding in her mind.

Wren eyed the pod again, and Harlow, sleeping peacefully already, curled up partially to her left-hand side, red curls splayed over the pillow like she was an artist’s muse. Trying to be considerate, Wren pushed herself gently off the bed, leaving her headset carefully on her side table, and lay down on the floor. This wouldn’t involve being gone for any length of time. It might only take five seconds to prove she was out of her mind about this.

Closing her eyes, Wren willed the HUD to pop up for her and allow her to enter the game.

 

Summer Residence

Home of Laria, David, and Wren

Summer Condo

Early Morning Day Thirty-Two.

Wren opened her eyes to find herself in Mikrum Castle, as Murmur.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What have you done to my head? She pushed down at the panic trying to get a hold of herself. It wasn’t going to help anyone, least of all herself if she began to panic now. Telvar walked into the same room suddenly, his brow furrowed in concentration. He stopped short, staring at her.

“Murmur, what are you doing here?” He reached out to touch her, and withdrew his fingers before he made contact, a frown on his face. “What’s different? What happened?”

Murmur took in a breath of air. The lake air was soothing, calming, as were the sounds of the birds that flittered about the