Chapter 8: Book 1: Chapter 5 (Part 1 of 2)

Now I had another question to answer. I had packing tape in a drawer in the kitchen that I appropriated from the BuyMart. Did I get it and use the tape to restrain Shana before I woke her up?

I decided to get the tape and fudged once again. I didn’t tape her hands together, but I did, as gently and quietly as I could manage, put a couple of strips around her ankles. I didn’t make it very tight for two reasons. I didn’t want to wake her early, or for Shana to feel like a prisoner. I only taped her ankles in case she proved unwilling to listen and tried to run as soon as I woke her up.

Then as a final touch, I put a strip of tape over her mouth on the off chance she tried to scream.

Although the risk was low even if she managed to. If people hadn’t come running for five gunshots, they wouldn’t for a scream either, but I didn’t fancy explaining the dead body in case they did. I finished just in time, as I affixed the tape on her mouth, Shana began to stir.

Her eyelids fluttered and I stepped back and crossed my arms. Then her eyes opened, and she looked around. She tried to say something, but it was muffled by the tape. She levered herself up on the couch into a sitting position at which point she discovered her ankles were taped as well as her mouth.

“Hello again,” I greeted her, a bit lamely.

In my defence, I had never taken someone prisoner before and wasn’t sure what you were supposed to say.

Her eyes narrowed as she glared at me, no longer with fright, but ire. Then she ripped the tape away from her mouth.

Oh, shit!

God damn, but I felt like an idiot. You didn’t tie her hands, obviously she would just pull the tape off, dumbass, I admonished myself internally.

Maybe if I was lucky this would work in my favour, convince her I wasn’t some Ted Bundy type. Shana hadn’t screamed yet, so that was a good sign.

“What the fuck do you think you are doing?” she snarled angrily instead.

“Umm, trying to encourage you not to scream or freak out,” I reasoned.

“You thought trussing me up and taping my mouth shut would encourage me to not ‘freak out’,” she snapped.

When she put it that way the whole plan did sound pretty fucking stupid. I was a regular bundle of dumb right now and would need to get my shit together if I wanted to survive this.

“Well, a few minutes ago you didn’t react too well to my new look,” I remarked, and gestured to myself from head to toe, trying to cover for my boneheaded decisions. “I’m kind of making this up as I go along and wanted to talk it out before you ran for the hills in fright,” I finished.

Shana didn’t immediately try to get out of the couch. At my gesturing, her eyes roved up and down my body, drinking me in. For a brief instant, her demeanour of displeasure gave way to something more hungry and speculative, and I definitely caught sight of her tongue poke out and run over the base of her top lip.

But then she switched back to being nonplussed. She did however remain seated.

“I’m no longer frightened,” Shana informed me coolly. “I admit my first reaction to what’s happened to the world was…hysterical, and I made a few poor decisions too, but I’m back to being more like myself. I had a bit of time to think it over while I was out, and I’m very much leaning towards anger, not fear.”

 “What? You thought it over when you were asleep? That’s not how sleep normally works,” I said, questioning her.

Shana gave me a withering look.

“I’m not some shrinking violet, you know. Apparently, I failed some sort of ‘check’ and was forced to faint. My mind was active during this fainting spell and I was able to collect my thoughts,” Shana explained.

“Ah, that makes sense actually,” I agreed. “The long and the short of it is that the world now runs on rules similar to a video game. Did you play any RPG games at all?”

“Not personally,” she answered. “I had a few boyfriends in high school who dabbled and talked about it incessantly with their friends. Those relationships didn’t last, but I understand what you mean.”

“Good,” I said. “That should make things easier.”

“So, are you going to try and stop me if I pull this tape off my ankles? It’s not very comfortable, you know,” she asked.

“That depends. Are you going to do a runner when you’ve got the tape off or hear me out?” I asked back.

“In these heels? I wouldn’t get very far,” she stated, and lifted her legs and wiggled her feet. Her high-heeled cream shoes were still fitted snugly in place.

“Fair point,” I muttered.

I got down on one knee and clasped her wiggling feet and unwrapped the tape. Shana yelped a little as I pulled it away but she didn’t swear or tell me off. I flashed her a wide grin and let go of her legs, standing up in a smooth motion.

“Thank you,” she said. “Is Victor really dead?”

I had been dreading that particular question. His body lay on the other side of the room behind the couch, currently out of sight. I scratched at my scalp before answering.

“Unhh, yeah,” I confessed. “In my defence your stepfather did shoot at me five times,” I added hesitantly.

“Good riddance,” Shana replied with surprising vehemence. “He was a deluded fucking asshole.”

Okay, killing her stepfather wasn’t going to be the serious impediment I feared it would be.

“You’re taking his death awfully well,” I queried.

“Would you rather I wail and cry? Call you a monster like he did,” she grumped, and crossed her arms.

“Another fair point,” I conceded. “What about your mother? Won’t she be upset?”

“She passed last year, cancer,” Shana said simply.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories,” I apologised and consoled.

She waved my apology off. “Don’t. I loved my mother and grieved for her death, but she left me in a really shitty situation with Victor. Honestly, I’m as much angry with her as saddened, but you have solved that problem for me it seems. Although, if the world really has gone mad then it wouldn’t matter any longer anyway. What now? Are you satisfied I’m not going to run straight to the cops? Can I go?”

“I have a proposition for you first,” I said, deftly avoiding the question of whether I would let her go.

“Really? I don’t think now is the right time, all things considered,” she laughed.

I couldn’t help but smile at the innuendo myself.

“Not that kind of proposition,” I clarified. “Something a bit more relevant to our current gamified situation.”

I paced in front of her, trying to figure out the best way to approach my ‘offer’.

Shana tapped her wrist on an imaginary watch after a moment to hurry me up. “I don’t live in Flint,” she said. “If I’m going to get back to my house and wait this out, I need to get on the road.”

“Yeah, about that. First, I’m fairly sure the Merc outside isn’t going to work. Not if anything we were told about what is happening is true and I’m inclined to believe it all is. Second, I’m a pragmatic kind of guy and as crazy as all this seems, I think we have to run with it. I can’t deny that I’m physically…different from a few moments ago,” I admitted.

“You can say that again,” Shana interrupted. “It’s not all bad, though,” she finished with a welcoming smile.

Was she flirting with me? It seemed like she was, and she was an exceptionally good-looking woman.

Oh, dear, I thought next.

I was a young guy in the prime of my life and couldn’t help the inevitable direction my thoughts followed. Unfortunately, my boxers and shorts, which were already a little uncomfortably tight since my recent physical changes, suddenly began to feel a hell of a lot more…constricting.

I saw the look on Shana’s face when she also noticed my perfectly natural biological response to her flirtatious behaviour. Her eyes widened with surprise and then she started giggling as my cheeks reddened with embarrassment.

I coughed and angled my body away from her. This failed to have the desired effect as presenting my profile probably exacerbated what was on display. Shana’s giggles intensified.

She was very cute when she laughed like that.

God, but that didn’t help either. Focus, Torin.

“The way I see things,” I started, trying to get things back on track. “We have two general options. Option one, we behave much as we normally would. Toe the line, keep our heads down and wait for the authorities to sort things out.”

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I couldn’t help but glance over to the far side of my apartment door to the dead body I had recently ‘made’. Shana saw the direction I was staring in and levered herself around on the couch to look over the back and saw Victor’s corpse. She flipped back round, and our eyes met then. With that simple look we mutually acknowledged that option one was pretty much a no go, for me at least.

“Option two,” I re-started. “We accept the world has changed. There is no guarantee the government or army can save us in time, or maybe ever. In which case our best chance to survive is to embrace the new normal as fast as possible. If we adapt and act first our odds of survival improve dramatically. This means we should stick together and do whatever we possibly can to level up.”

I finished the first part of my pitch and waited to get a hint of how amenable Shana was. What I got surprised me, but it was not unwelcome.

Persuasion check was successful. Target will be more receptive to any offers you make.

This had to be something similar to what had caused her to pass out earlier. My increased social stats making it easier for me to convince her to accept my offer.

For a fleeting moment I was conflicted about what this meant in terms of consent and free will, but there comes a point where you just have to go with it. Dead is dead and I had no intention of joining Victor, if these checks made that less likely, I was all for it.

Shana closed her eyes when I stopped talking and sighed loudly. “I hate to admit it, but I agree with you. Trying to get back to Detroit on my own if the car won’t start is a tough ask. And I don’t know anybody else in Flint, none that won’t associate me with Victor at any rate, which I don’t think will help my case.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t the first person your stepdad tried to shakedown for money,” I informed her.

I wasn’t trying to make her feel bad, but at the same time, I wanted to encourage the idea that I was the only viable game in town.

“To that end,” I said, taking the plunge “I have a new ability that would allow me to bond with you and help us work together better as a team. It grants us a few benefits that would help us get stronger quicker. And not to toot my horn, but I had a personal interview with the head administrator, and he said I was pretty badass. You could do a lot worse” I finished with an attempted disarming wink.

I wasn’t lying to her precisely, just leaving a few of the more dissuasive details out.

“I also can’t help but notice you picked Civilian when you created your character build. Mine is a bit more combat orientated, which I think we will need,” I went on.

“Don’t mention the character thing,” Shana groaned. “I had a full-on meltdown when it happened. I thought I was losing my mind and refused to participate; hence I was made a Civilian.”

“If I recall my own interview correctly, I think you will get a re-do when you get enough experience to level-up for the first time. But we have to get you that XP first, which I think will be easier if we bonded,” I suggested, pressing the pro’s of my case again.

“I’m inclined to agree with you,” Shana started. “…but what aren’t you telling me?”

“I’m not…” I began, but was cut short by a scornful look from the dark-haired beauty sitting in front of me.

“Fine. I will technically be the one in charge…and…and I don’t think it’s reversible,” I conceded.

“So, I’d belong to you, is what you’re saying,” she said carefully.

“I wouldn’t describe it like that,” I hedged.

“But that would be an accurate description,” she finished for me.

The conversation was no longer going as well as I’d hoped after seeing that persuasion notice. However, Shana hadn’t told me to sling my hook or made a run for the door. Maybe it wasn’t going as badly as I thought it was.

“You said your character was combat-oriented. What did you pick?” she inquired.

“Just so you know, I didn’t pick mine. My character was imposed as a kind of penalty for being better than what most people got. That being said, I was given Dungeon Corsair Captain and had my species changed to Acheronian,” I said, answering her question in as positive a manner as I could.

“Corsair huh? So, you’re a pirate. A real bad boy,” she grinned with amusement.

“Kind of,” I admitted, with an air of defeat.

“Oh, don’t look so dejected. I like bad boys,” she laughed.

Damn, but that laugh and the look she gave me was so fucking sexy.

“Quick, let’s do this before I change my mind. This might be a terrible mistake, but I’m feeling reckless,” Shana said, and stretched out her hand.

I was a little taken aback at her sudden acceptance but recovered rapidly. This was the result I was after. My hand shot forward and clasped hers firmly but gently. Then I followed the instructions I had been given and felt my will stretch out and envelop Shana. My will settled around her and pushed through a tiny amount of resistance. The bond suffused her body and settled into every corner of her soul.

I hadn’t realised it, but I had closed my eyes when the bonding started, and they snapped open now. I looked down upon her with fresh appreciation. I didn’t just see her but felt her presence too and smiled in satisfaction. She was mine. Then there were the inevitable prompts.

You have bound Shana Colton to you. As a level one character it will be three months before you can bind another.

You have used seduction and persuasion to coerce your first target to consensually agree to soulbinding. This choice has a permanent effect on your path of power.

All those bonded to you consensually are granted a 10% bonus on earned XP when in a party with you. Those bonded against their will be taxed 10% of earned XP when in a party with you.

Alright, despite the somewhat suspect word choice I wasn’t about to complain if this sped up Shana’s advancement. And it’s not as if I had wanted to bind people against their will, so now I had a good argument against doing so if it should ever come up.

“Whoa,” she cried. “That felt really strange. I was also just told I would get ten percent extra experience when I’m in a group with you, so you weren’t lying about the benefits. It is weird, though. Even casually thinking about stabbing you to death as soon as you turn your back feels horrifically unnatural. I literally don’t think I could bring myself to do it,” she finished nonchalantly.

“Hang on,” I muttered with a hint of concern. “You were contemplating murdering me?” I choked out.

“Well, sort of, but only if you turned out to be some creepy fuckwad that had been lying to get in my pants. Which it seems you aren’t, so it’s all good,” she explained, dismissing my concerns.

I narrowed my eyes at that, perhaps I should assert my authority.

“What makes you so confident I’m not trying to get in your pants?”

Shana laughed heartily at that. “Oh, I know you are trying to do that. I’ve just come down on the side of you not being a creepy fuckwad.”

Not exactly a compliment but I’d take that from a girl who looked as good as she did any day of the week. And she hadn’t said I was going to fail in any attempt to get in her pants either. Before I could come up with an adequate verbal riposte to her teasing, I was interrupted by Quixbix’s tinkling quest update.

<Quest ‘Path of the Soulbinder 1’ completed. 3,468 XP awarded. Simple Oak Bow, Simple Leather Quiver, 20x Simple Oak Arrows and Leather Bracers of the Bound added to your inventory> he intoned formally.

“Holy shit! Who was that?” Shana cried out.

She shot up from the couch and stumbled in her heels and I reached out and caught her. I held her close for a moment and inhaled deeply, relishing her scent. She smelt of lavender and honey, or at least I thought so, it was intoxicating and very arousing. I forced myself to let her go once she had righted herself.

“Ah, that would be Quixbix. He is my quest imp; he was one of the boons I got with my character. Quixbix can give us quests and help us advance. He is just informing me, us, that I have completed a quest,” I explained quickly.

<That is correct, and welcome to team Torin Rules the Waves, Shana. In the future, I can address each of you separately if you prefer> he offered.

“Uh, hello Quixbix,” she responded to the imp.

“What did you have to do to complete this quest?” Shana nudged me.

I didn’t have a chance to reply before Quixbix filled the gap.

<To bind you, of course. I was a little bit concerned that he was going soft when he didn’t bind you in your sleep, but he’s a wily one is Torin. He prefers to keep people unaware of his deplorable deeds. Have them smile and say thank you as he plunders and conquers to his heart’s content> he announced.

I would have facepalmed if I didn’t think that would make me look more guilty.

“Oh, really,” Shana breathed warningly. She crossed her arms and arched her eyebrow. Her earlier sexual playfulness gone. “What was I saying about creepy fuckwad’s, I might have to change my assessment.”

Fuck me sideways, but this was awkward.

I wanted to reassure Shana I wasn’t a creeper, but I also didn’t want to alienate my bloodthirsty imp. I couldn’t do both, and well, now that she was bonded, technically Shana couldn’t hurt me. I wasn’t convinced Quixbix was similarly held back. So, I chose not to directly contradict the imp and change the subject.

“Quixbix favours the direct approach to getting the job done, while I prefer to explore alternative, mutually beneficial, avenues of success,” I evaded the truth, and hoped it would hint I wouldn’t have taken her unwillingly, while not exposing my reluctance to act as a desperado to Quixbix.

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