Orc Wars : Uprising

Chapter 1 - Accident

"One more week and we're out of here."

"Yeah, any plans for the long break?"

"I don't know. Get a job I suppose. Catch up on my social life. The last few assignments really zeroed my social time," Ash rubbed his hands in anticipation. "So many girls, so little time," he lamented. "What about you?"

An intense look suddenly crossed Jace's face. As he lean in closer, he lowered his voice, "I've got something I want to check out." His eyes lighted up with excitement.

"Whoa! I know that look. What's up?"

"Shhh!! Not so loud. I just want to check out this mail I got. It pays well, comes with food and lodgings ... I'd have a real place to stay for a bit."

"Oh No!! You are not thinking of jail are you?" Ash held up his hands in mock horror. "A free place to stay with meals!! You could always go home ... your family ..."

"No!! Never!!"

"Or ..." Ash continued undaunted by his friend's outburst, "... you know you could always crash at my place again, no time limit. You know damn well the invite is still open, and will always be open. You don't have to resort to crime," he finished with a grin.

"Hmmm, pays well you say? What's the catch?" His eyes narrowed as he looked at Jace.

"It's the gaming Beta test we did last break. Remember? They sent an invite for the reality show ..." Jace said in a low voice and waited for the explosion. He was not disappointed.

"Beta gaming testing? Are you mad? I'd admit the Game was amazing but it paid peanuts! Totally not worth wasting our long break on. You said whatever you had in mind pays well."

Jace cocked his head, gave a crooked smile and waited for the full extent of the information he gave to sink in.

"Wait a minute, invite? The Email that was sent only to shortlisted Beta testers? Those that made the cut for the new reality gaming show? That Email?"

"You must have gotten the email too Ash. I know how good you are."

"Yeah I did but ..." his voice trailed off as his eyes widened. "You're serious ... but they paid us virtually nothing for all the Beta test. Weeks of wasted party time." Ash grimaced. "All those times we died, all the stress ..." He trailed off as he remembered the planning, strategy, yelling and sheer panic from dodging various pursuing monsters. Suddenly he grinned, "All the fun we had."

Jace's eyes swept the room. Ms.Thomas was still droning and the other students were all engrossed in their own worlds. Everyone was plugged into either their ipods or online on their various devices. Everyone was killing time.

"It's a whole different ball game. This time we will not be playing for Beta testing, that is over and done. They will be paying us to play for the show, it's the real thing Ash. This is the first MMORPG ever to be done on as a Reality Show. It's a breakthrough in entertainment and gaming ... plus it's the avatars that will be featured on the show ... not us. The Gamers will be anonymous." He took a breath. "I want to be a part of that."

Ash could see why this appealed so much to Jace. He could be another person ... he could be himself or more specifically, not be himself. "Not to mention 'lucrative payment' for participation in a breakthrough gaming experience. How does that work?"

"I don't know. They will only release the information to the shortlisted participants."

"When does registration start?"

"Accept the email for the next step. I've already done so ... we'll see where this leads to." Jace lowered his head, "I need the lodgings more than the money, you know?"