My System has a Glitch

"The jungle!"

Members of the crowd erupted but William wasn't paying any attention to it, it was all behind him now at least for now, he was searching for the old man.

More and more people walked past him and a couple more people were making their way out of the tunnels by Willaims estimation there should be about two hundred people left.

'Just a hundred had died. Just a hundred?' William thought. 'I'm talking statistics like they weren't living, breathing people. like an anchor at the nine o'clock news.'

He spots the old man's gray hairs and runs after him. He had enough freedom to move as he had made his way out of the crowd.

The old man saw him coming,when got there he realized the old man looked a bit solemn.

"I'm sorry my boy."

Willaim saw the empty treasure chest by his side and asked, "what is it pops?"

"They stole it,* the old man said. "They stole all the grenades, it's my fault, I went out there to hear what the man was saying, I got carried away."

"It's alright, don't worry about it, pops, you still have the rifle right."

The old man nodded and said, "and the ammunitions too"

"See? Silver lining, we can make due with that and by the sound of things we're in store for a whole lot of trouble."

"Yeah," the old man nodded. "It would have been better if we had the grenades."

"Don't worry about it, pops. it's no big deal."

Willaims puts his arm around the old man, now let's get on the ship.

The old man finally smiled back and said, you really remind me of my nephew.

"Yeah, how old is he?"

"She's sixteen."

"She? Sixteen!? So I look like a girl to you!"

"No it's nothing like that."

"I gotta break it to you old man, I'm a masculine forty four years old, with abs and everything, even a chiseled chin, I have to walk around with a cane just to keep the girls away."

The old man stared at him with a cold indifference then he said.

"You should wear your hair long,I'll look good on you, that's how she wears it."

"I'm an old man, I already told you back. In the tunnels."

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"Huh? I must be losing my head."

"Keep calling me a girl and you just might."

The old man laughed it off but William could sense a coldness dawn on his face and for a brief moment he seemed out of it like he was stargazing with worry in his eyes.

"Are you alright pops?"

The old man nodded and said, "yes, yes, I'm alright."

They continued walking to the ship.

"Why the hell anyone would think me as horny teenager would be me at my prime is beyond me."

The old man chuckled a bit but William could tell something still troubled him. He ushered the old man through the crowd as the crowd had lessened a bit.

After a while it came their turn and William helped the old man up the rope ladder and climb on after him. They went up and on board.

They stood on the deck of the ship and looked around the place. a lot of the detail stuck out to them but before William could speak the old man said,

"That's odd, there's no sails or mast anywhere"

"Yes," William replied as he continued to scan the place.

"Do you think it's powered by an engine?"

"But it's wooden pops? Would it really work?"

"Depends, it'll be quite dangerous either way, let's just go inside."

They both turned toward the large doors that were the entrance to the interior of the ship then they heard the clipping of a knife. They looked back and saw a few people who had just come on board but instantly they knew that didn't come from them.

They saw a man squatting by on the he's of the snake statue that ran from the prow and ran round the shop. He seems to be working on something, he was messing with the snake.

William had learnt enough lessons on messing with statues, so he could sense trouble was in store here. They was a pop sound that came from the snake then the man chuckled and said,

"Told ya I'd recognize that shine anywhere."

William saw what the man held in his hand and he recognized it. "That's a ruby," he said.

"A ruby?"

"Yeah and a big one too, woah that should be worth millions must have been the eye of the snake."

The man stuffed the ruby in his pockets and went to work on the second eye.

Many players walked them and into the ship's interior while they watched.

"Greed, you can never really separate the man from his greed."

William and the old man were startled by the sudden presence, it took a second for them to recognize the voice that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and the man that was now standing beside them like he had been there all along.

Even looking at him something still felt off, it felt like he wasn't even there at all, it was the gentleman who had spoken to everyone from the head of the snake. The guide.

The man walked up to the head of the snake and said to the man stealing the rubies.

"I'd really advise against that."

The man looked at him, his eyes were filled with violence, though he seemed calm.

"Are you going to stop me?" He asked him.

"Oh no you misunderstand me, I can't stop you from doing anything you want I'm only here to guide you."

"So what do you want then!?"

The man interrupted his soft spoken words with yelling as the gentle man continued

"Well it's that those rubies you're taking are cursed and they will only bring harm to yourself and others."

The thieving man stopped and thought about it for a moment then said. "Alright I'll only be taking this one, that's half the curse if I'm correct right."

"I suppose so but you don't understand"

"Do you think I'm dumb or something!?"

"I don't mean it that way at all."

He pointed the knife at the top of the gentleman's nose and said, "then how did you mean it?"

The gentle man sighed and dropped his head, his red tinted glasses slid down the bridge of his nose and for a moment the brute got a glimpse of his eyes and felt shivers run through his spine.

The gentle man shook his head and said, "why are people always so damn difficult?" He sighed again and said, "you'll regret this, you'll all regret everything you've ever done."

"Huh?" The brute was stunned by his change in demeanor suddenly he turned and walked off into the ship leaving all of them behind.

William and the old man shared a worried look. "Hey you better put that back" William said but the brute didn't reply and William could sense he was a bit shaken by the guide's remark.

William and the old man walked into the ship through the large wooden doors, the whole place was simply a large dining hall with long rolls of white tables and benches on both sides, with chandeliers hanging above them.

There was a large wooden podium at the end of the room with a large screen on the wall.

"Where do we sit?"

[CONGRATULATIONS]

{You've Made It To a Lobby Near You}

"Huh? Did you see that pops."

"The notice right?"

[YOUR TIME WILL BE ON HOLD,ENJOY]

"Hold?" William expected the worst afterall, he had been through enough already to expect nothing else.

[TIME LEFT: 15 HRS:58 MINS]

"That's not so bad?"

"Yeah," the old man replied.

"Hey pops, how much time do you have left?"

Instinctively the old man slightly grumbled and William who had been adept at reading the smallest behavioral quest picked up on this.

"Don't lie to me, he said."

"I've got enough."

"Come on pops, remind me to give you some later."

"Oh don't, don't worry about it."

"Let's find a seat first."

*****

"You're all welcome, I will now begin the briefing for your next game. It'll be a simple game, Just a simple game of snakes and ladders."