Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Levin

For the second time in the same day, I awoke dazed and confused. I anticipated more burning white noise, so I gingerly opened my eyes only to be surrounded by mellow greenery. Slowly, I checked myself and my equipment. My wounds were gone, although my clothes were still riddled with holes. Even the blood was still fresh and moist. The magazine loaded in my rifle had only 23 rounds of 5.56 left. I wasn’t sure how long that would last or if I would ever find more ammunition. Worst of all, my radio was dead - in hindsight, that may have been a bad choice. At least my multi-tool was still good to go. It seemed anything relying on electricity was useless or broke during the transfer.

I fumbled for my locket and finally opened it to see Rebecca. The picture was almost three years old, it was taken right before she went to college. Before the war started. I wondered if she received word of my death. I hoped the government would take care of her needs in my stead. After snapping out of my depression spiral, I set the locket in my pocket above my upper arm. Military uniforms had pockets everywhere, so at least I could carry plenty of miscellaneous items.

Then I spent a few seconds trying to figure out how to use that Menu Seras mentioned. At this point, I had gone past insanity and just accepted the situation. Adapt and overcome - it was a familiar motto. Simply thinking of the word ‘Menu’ and visualizing a 3D representation based on what I recalled was enough to conjure it. The blue scrawl was flowery—not my first choice—and I wondered if I could change the settings or if it was Seras’ own sense of strange aesthetic.

There were three main options:

«Status»

«Map»

«Squad Chat»

“Pretty barebones for a video game.”

I had to at least make fun of the situation in order to cope. But with no one to quip back, I was crushed by a wave of anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

I opened my Status to distract myself. I had to keep moving forward.

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