Rescue Island
CONTENTS
Title Page
Flynn's Log
Map of Rescue Island
Log Entry 1
Log Entry 2
Log Entry 3
Log Entry 4
Log Entry 5
Log Entry 6
Log Entry 7
Log Entry 8
Log Entry 9
Log Entry 10
Log Entry 11
Log Entry 12
Log Entry 13
Log Entry 14
Log Entry 15
Log Entry 16
Thanks for Reading!
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Flynn's Log 1:
Rescue Island
By
Stone Marshall
Contributions by Nabru Marshall
Edited by Joni Wilson
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part (beyond the copying permitted by US Copyright Law, Section 107, "fair use" in teaching or research, Section 108, certain library copying, or in published media by reviewers in limited excerpts), without written permission from the author at Stone@StoneMarshall.com. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Copyright © Stone Marshall, 2015
StoneMarshall.com
edition 2.0 January 2015
Published by Stone Marshall Publishing
Dedication
To Nabru, who has been inspiring me to write stories since 2005. Flynn's Log would not exist without the unflinching support of Karissa.
FLYNN'S LOG
How This Log Came to Be
EVER WISH YOU WERE IN CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE? Tired of being told what to do? Want to make your own rules and live life your way? How about doing something even bigger, like creating your own world? I always wanted that and I got my wish. My name is Flynn. This is the story of my epic digital adventure.
In the digital world thoughts can be logged as text. This log contains my thoughts. As you read this, you are entering my mind. Crazy, unexplainable stuff happens in this log. It's hard for me to believe, and it happened to me. Now it's in your hands. You must decide what to believe.
For the record, this story takes place in a video game. It's not a real place. People in the real world control pixelated characters on servers. People play the game on their computers, tablets, game consoles, etc. They DON'T become part of the game! I have no idea why I am in here.
MAP OF RESCUE ISLAND
LOG ENTRY 1
Sand in My Mouth and Ringing in My Ears
WHAT'S THAT SOUND? I'm cold, my eyes are closed, and I hear a loud ringing.
I open my eyes and discover that I'm face down in damp sand. The ringing sound in my head is getting quieter. Wow, what a crazy headache.
I lift my head to look around, and I see that I am on a beach, next to a large body of water. I can't tell if it's a lake or an ocean bay. Something seems familiar about this place? The temperature is pleasant, but the water is cold. I'm partially in the water, and my legs are wet. Weird, my legs are blocky. Wait! My whole body is blocky! I need to see myself. I turn around and crawl to the edge of the water to look at my reflection. I'm 8-bit retro digital! I look like a pixelated person! What is going on?
The ringing is now barely noticeable. My head is less achy, and my vision is clearing. I blink a few times. The sun seems to be setting. It's getting dark. I notice a new sound that's louder than the ringing in my head. It's like a creepy slurp sound.
"OUCH!"
I'm knocked on my side. I'm now looking up and see a terrifying sight! A huge black spider, as long as I am tall, with red glowing eyes is preparing to leap at me! That's what hurt me. This crazy angry spider is after me! It's making that slurpy noise. It jumps, and "ouch!" I see a flash of red.
I've got to get moving, I've got to defend myself, I've got to do something! My moves are clumsy. I don't know how to bend. Moving is difficult. Wait, it's not that difficult, it's just different. I can move if I don't think about the mechanics of it. If I just look at where I want to go, my body does the rest. My blocky body is responding to my thoughts.
Slurp! That crazy sound again! I turn my head and see red eyes glowing at me. It's going to pounce again. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I must take action now!
This feels like a game I've played. I've controlled my character from my computer, as a real person. The difference is that I am now the character. I hope I can learn to survive in this game. What would I make my character do in this situation? I don't have a weapon. I'm not wearing armor. It's getting dark. That is why I'm being attacked. Spiders attack when it's dark.
Wait! I'm near the water. Jump in! Spiders don't swim. At least they don't in the games I've played.
Screech! The spider jumps. But I am suddenly moving too, into the water. Am I fast enough? Can I outrun the spider? Wow this is cold!
The spider lands just behind me, at the edge of the water. "Yes!" I yell. I'm nearly up to my neck in the water now . . . And now I'm under water. Weird and eerie. I can totally see through the clear water. I see a squid swimming in the distance. It's huge—as big as me, or bigger. It is so strange to be in this game, to face creatures that are as big as I am!
The water is very cold. The bottom is uneven. It's like an underwater mountain that continues down, getting deeper and deeper.
Ouch! What hurt me? Ouch! I'm underwater. I can't breathe underwater! I need to swim!
I turn to face the beach. Through the water, I see the spider at the edge of the beach. Its red eyes are piercing the water, following my every move. Ouch! How do I swim? I look up, toward the surface of the water and . . . and my body follows my thoughts, I'm swimming!
Ouch! I must be nearly out of breath. In the game if I keep my character underwater too long, he dies. Of course in the game he will respawn. I have no idea if I'll respawn. I have no idea how I got here. Ouch! I'm so close to the surface. I need to make it; I can't die now, not here, not with so many questions to answer.
Gasp! My head pops above the surface of the water. I breathe in. But it's weird. I don't breathe air. It's like digital air. My body almost immediately feels better. The pain of not breathing is gone, but I still feel pain from the earlier spider attack. Speaking of the spider, I hope I surfaced far enough from the beach.
I turn, swimming. I can't tread water. I seem to need to be moving to keep my head above water. To the right, I see the spider watching me, so I swim left. It's getting very dark now. I know I'm in for trouble. Intuitively, I know the basics of this game. The spooky stuff comes out when it gets dark, so it's smart to find shelter and sleep through the night. If I were outside playing this game, it would be fun to build things, and easy too. It takes tools and resources, but building is kind of the point of the game.
I turn my head to look back at the spider. It's moving along the shoreline, watching me. If I had a bow and a few arrows, I'd kill that spider right now. Ironically I need string from a spider to craft a bow.
There is an island ahead. The island is completely separated from the mainland where the spider is. Playing the game, I don't usually like small islands. They generally don't offer enough resources for building. But I do think an island might be the safest place for me right now, even if I do eventually need to get to the mainland.
It's hard to think of eventually. I wish I knew how to get out of here. If I am stuck here for the long term, I will need to find a safe place to live, but right now I would love to wake up from this nightmare.
Maybe I am dreaming! But you don't feel pai
n in dreams, and I've felt real pain from the spider and from nearly drowning. If that didn't wake me up, then I must not be dreaming. And I can't remember anything that happened recently in my real life. I don't remember much of anything at all, let alone how I ended up in this pixel land.
I'm nearly to the island, but to be safe, I don't go ashore. First I really should make sure this place is safe. It's not a big island; I should be able to swim around it easily enough. Though I am cold, my swimming seems unaffected. My pixelated plastic body doesn't seem to be tired either. Weird.
I swim around the island. I like to orient myself as much as I can while making my character explore in the game, so I guess I should do the same, now that I am in the game world. The sun sets in the west, so I'll call the far side of the island the west side. The near side is the east side. It's large enough that I can't see across it in the dark.
There is a small mountain in the middle. It's like a big hill, really. The beach surrounding it is sand. That's good. Easy to dig, but it can cave in, so it's not good for building. The hill appears to be dirt, mostly. Hard to tell from this distance at night, but dirt is at least something I can dig into, if I need a safe place to hide.
My mind is strategizing as if I'm playing the game. I guess that's a good thing. I really should be preparing myself to live here, because I have no idea when this nightmare might end.
It looks as if something is moving on the island. Oh no! What is that? I hope it's not a spider, or worse. I approach the movement, but stay in the water. I hope I can out swim whatever it is, if it can swim too.
Wait, it's a chicken. Awesome! Chickens are super helpful! They lay eggs that can be used for cooking. They can be killed for their meat and feathers. I'll need feathers if I'm ever going to make arrows for self-defense. When my character gets hurt in the game, I make him eat to heal himself. I wonder if I eat something, will this pain from the spider bite go away?
I guess it's time to take my chances and go on to the island. I swim toward the north shore. It's sandy there with rocks forming a steep cove from the hill to the very small beach. I can sit here for a bit and hopefully be able to see anything coming toward me.
No trees or bushes growing from the rocks here. No place for dangerous things to hide. I remember in the game, that if I ever find my character in a situation such as this, where I don't get him home before dark, the best thing to do is sit still and be quiet. I can do that. Maybe I can relax for a bit. I do feel stressed, and there is a nagging pain from the spider attack. But the ringing sound that was in my head is gone. That's a positive thought!
LOG ENTRY 2
Danger Everywhere
SITTING QUIETLY ALL NIGHT does something to a person. At least it did something to me, to the digital me. I didn't sleep; you can't sleep in this game world if you don't have a bed. Even if I had a bed, I don't have a safe place to put it. I need a shelter of some kind. To get a shelter I need tools, and to craft tools I need resources.
I thought about lots of stuff during the night. I'm confused about many things. The biggest questions I have right now are, How did I get here and can I get out? Thinking about this made me realize that at this point, none of that matters. What does matter is survival!
I learned somewhere that there are basic human needs. It seems some of these needs are the same for both real people and digital characters.
Requirements for human survival are air, water, and food. I learned about the need for air yesterday. Even though the air is digital, it's still needed. I guess everything in here is digital, so I should think about it as if it's real. I know the pain is real enough. I haven't eaten anything since waking up on the beach yesterday.
I don't feel hungry, however, I do know that characters seem to need food every so often to keep their health up. And food helps heal injuries. Maybe I am hungry, but don't feel the pangs of hunger. I'll worry about that later.
Protection from the elements is the next most important requirement for human survival. This includes clothing and shelter. Shelter is my first priority in the game. It seems to be more vital now than food. I need a place to be safe when the night comes.
I remember a little more, now. In the real world I always kept my character safe at nighttime. Dangers lurk at night, but I can't remember what they are. I know there are dangerous creatures, such as the spider from yesterday. Why can't I remember? I remember explosions. A creature that explodes. What is it called again? Whatever dangers exist, I need to protect myself.
The sun rises in the east and lights up the island. I look to the east, to the beach where I found myself yesterday. I'm looking for the spider that attacked me. I see the beach area, but no spider. There are trees and some bamboo growing near the shore. That must be sugar cane. The spider could be hiding there. I suppose it won't attack me during daylight. Nonetheless, I think building a safe house on this island is a great place to start.
Tools always get me excited. Now I have the chance to wield digital tools in my own virtual hands. The hard part is starting out. I have to start with bad tools before I can craft good tools. The best tools are strong, last a long time, and work efficiently.
Iron tools are a great compromise. I can usually find enough iron ore with a couple of days of digging to make tools that last a week or two. But to mine iron ore, I need stone tools. I can't mine stone with my bare hands. I need the most basic tools made of wood. Wood I can get with my bare hands. But it takes time.
I climb to the top of the rocky cliff above the small cove. I can look around up here. The island has clumps of trees. That's lucky. If I were in a desert biome I would have more trouble. I want the tallest trees I can find. Spotting a cluster of tall trees at the south end of the island, I start walking. The south end looks like a large forest. I haven't moved since finding a safe place to sit last night.
In the real world, I might feel sore after a night of crouching, but my virtual body is unaffected. I move quickly along the cove. I find an impasse. I can't climb over some of the stones here; there are not enough stair-like blocks. I follow the shoreline to the east. Once I get around the steep cove the land becomes easier to traverse. I can climb up the dirt at the edge of the sandy beach and walk up the hill toward the south end of the island.
What a beautiful island! I pass a small pool of water surrounded by a jungle. I think I've made a lucky discovery by swimming to this island last night! I notice vines hanging from the trees in the jungle area. I walk up for a closer look and discover a deep cavern. Wow! I'd hate to stumble on that in the dark. I'd fall to my death.
I crest a hill to get closer to the trees. In fact, it's the highest point on the island. This is the spot where I will build my house. High places are easier to defend, plus it's easier to see from a long distance. Building on a landmark such as this makes it harder to get lost while exploring.
For my own reference, I start naming the places that are important to my new life. This place I call Citadel Fort, which means fortress on high ground. My original landing beach I call Spider Sands, for obvious reasons. And the north end of the island where I stayed my first night in the game, I call Safety Cove. The island I name Rescue Island, and the water between Rescue Island and Spider Sands, I call Clear Sea.
As I walk around Citadel Fort I decide there are plenty of blocks to use when building my fortress. I envision the finished building. Stone walls, glass windows, wood doors, and torches attached to many places on the outside and inside walls to keep the place well-lit and easy to find at night, if I happen to be away after the sun sets. Two stories high should be enough. Maybe I'll build a tower in the middle. Plus I think I'll dig a mine in the basement of Citadel Fort. I'll use a trapdoor to close it off from the rest of the building.
I reach the trees. Now is the moment to try what I've only done a few times when controlling a character, but never as a virtual being. Punch the tree until a block of wood falls out. An axe is the right tool for this job. I'll have one soon enough, if this works.
I touch the small block and it jumps into my hand. The tree remains standing as if physics don't matter here. It's floating there, a short stub of trunk attached to the ground, a blank space that I broke away from the tree, and the rest of the tree, the bulk of the tree, is floating there. It's so strange to experience these effects for the first time in this world. This is one of those things that make this digital world different from real life. A tree in real life would fall over. I love this!
Holding the block of tree in my hand, I hit the tree again. The work goes faster, the tree breaks up into smaller blocks easily. Each block that breaks away exposes the next tree block. Each tree block is surprisingly Dr. Seuss-like, twisty and colorful, but built from pixelated bits. I see the rings of the tree on the inside and the bark on the outside. I chop as high as I can reach, and collect all the blocks of wood, six in all, and put them in my pocket. No bulge, it seems to be bottomless. Awesome!
I finish by chopping at the leaves left in the sky. In the game, I like to chop until I get a sapling to replace the tree I chopped down. This is my island and my world for the unforeseen future. I better do my best to keep this digital world healthy. I chop until I get two saplings and plant them in the digital earth.
I know how to craft in the game. Basic crafting doesn't even need a crafting table. But I need a crafting table. I need a pickaxe. I'll have to settle on a wood pickaxe for now, but that will soon lead to stronger, stone tools.
Now, how to craft? I need to use basic crafting ability to make a crafting table. Maybe there is something in my pocket, so I open it as wide as I can and look in. I see a grid. It's my inventory, six blocks of wood so far. The next grid is a set two wide by two high with a single block next to it. The basic crafting grid!