Dr34dn0ught was coming around through the forest while neither Chex or Agrippa were responding in lane. Then Orb showed himself top.

“Go go go!”

Alice pinned Chex in place and yanked herself towards him with a flick of both blades, Dr34dn0ught’s shock collar flew through the air and Chex was rendered incapacitated for the few seconds Alice needed to finish him off with a flurry of deadly attacks. Agrippa had attempted to respond, but caught off guard by the sudden ferocity of the assault, was quickly locked down by a quick embrace from Serendippity. Alice turned to him and proceeded to eviscerate the helpless support.

Alice would have punched the air, but with the game balanced on a knife edge as it was a quick in game taunt had to do as they pushed up the lane to take the tower. Orb rotated to try and put a stop to their push, but a lucky lash from Serendippity sent him scurrying away on half health. The tower crumbled and Dr34dn0ught called a retreat.

“Time to go people, lets not get greedy.”

The game lasted maybe another ten minutes, but the final push had allowed Alice to pick up a Scissor blade and the ensuing carnage led to an even bigger lead, and eventually, victory. She sat back and rubbed her eyes, “ok guys I think I’m going to call it a night there, I’m kinda tired.”

Dr34dn0ught responded in kind, “same for me too, well played tonight guys, same time tomorrow sound good?”

There was a chorus of affirmatives, and one by one everyone signed out of the chat. Alice’s aging computer meant she had to quit out of the game first and eventually it was just her and Dr34dnought left.

“Are you sure you’re ok Regicide? It’s no big deal if you need some time to… you know…”

Alice nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. “I think I need this Dr34d, I need… I can think about something else while I’m playing…”

There was a moment of silence, “ok, well if you ever need a break it’s cool, sleep well Reg.”

“You too.”

They both signed out of the chat and Alice stared at the desktop for a moment. It was true, she couldn’t talk to her dad about it, and her mom was hardly at home right now, but Alice was struggling. She needed to come off early for reasons other than being told. She was missing the ball tonight, but she didn’t care, she didn’t want to be there and have people watching her because she was in a chair. She didn’t want to have to answer questions about it, or remember the fact that it was NESTs fault she was in this chair, and that Sophie and Michelle were dead.

She wheeled herself back from the desk once the computer had begun its shutdown, her bedroom was on the ground floor now, a couple of her dad’s friends had helped him to manhandle her bed down the stairs and put it in the small room of the hall. It felt strange being in a new room, and Alice wished it didn’t have to be the case. There were too many new things in her life now, just the way she moved around had to change, and her operational therapist was having to teach her new ways to deal with what had once been the simplest operations for her. She felt awfully selfish for it, but she wished that at least one thing could be the same in her life as it had once been. At least Vorpal hadn’t changed. It was something. Even if it was only a video game. Maybe she was lucky, Sophie and Michelle couldn’t worry about how people would look at them. It was their funeral next week. Alice had already decided not to go, she didn’t think she could look at their parents, let alone meet their no doubt accusing stares.

She did not sleep well.

---

Alice woke to the smell of frying bacon and fresh coffee, her dad must be cooking. He was guessing, correctly, that the smell of bacon would entice her from sleep. She levered herself up in bed, it was awkward on a soft surface, but eventually she was sitting up and awkwardly reached for her dressing gown. It was clear that her dad had already been in, her dressing gown had been hung over the back of her chair where she could reach it instead of the floor where she’d left it. In the past she would have hung it on the back of the door but there was no way she would have been able to retrieve it now. It was strange how she could miss something that simple.

She pulled it on and threw the covers back, awkwardly dragging herself into the chair, or at least trying to. Unpracticed as she was she placed too much weight against the chair and it rolled backwards, away from the bed. Suddenly devoid of support and unable to react fast enough Alice slipped and fell. It wasn’t loud, but even so she heard her dad pause in the kitchen.

“Alice..?”

“It’s fine dad I just fell.”

The sound of footsteps crossing the hall preceded his entry into the room. “Let me help you honey.”

Alice barely spoke as he helped her into the wheelchair, just a grumbled thanks as he settled her into it. Her dad smiled faintly, aware that she was embarrassed, and left her to it, “breakfast will be ready in a minute.”

She adjusted the dressing gown and tied it shut awkwardly, everything seemed more awkward when you were perpetually stuck in a seated position. Still, it was only a few minutes later when she rolled into the kitchen. Her dad placed a plate loaded with bacon and pancakes in front of her, then brought his own to the table. It was a heavy dining table, and something of a squeeze in the small kitchen, it had originally been in the room Alice now slept in, but her parents had moved it when it became apparent it was not realistic for Alice to sleep upstairs anymore. Unfortunately there was no shower downstairs, and they would have to work out a different solution for when her Dad went back to work full time. They couldn’t afford the mortgage on the house if he wasn’t working now though, but his boss had kindly offered him a part time job at the depot until he could drive again. It would last for at least a few weeks, maybe even months, but then he would have to go back to fulltime work again, or risk losing the house, especially considering the extra expense having a disabled daughter would bring.

Alice ate in silence, her dad attempted to broach conversation a few times, but it didn’t last long, and they finished their breakfast in silence. Michael Shepherd put the plates in the sink and put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder.

“I have to go to work, just don’t stay in the house all day ok? You still talk to Jen don’t you?”

Alice nodded non-committedly; she did, though she hadn’t really spoken to anyone since the fair. “you should go around and see how she’s doing.”

 He left, but not before getting a few things from her old room, they were still in the process of moving things downstairs, and they still needed to buy a new wardrobe, her old room had a built in one, and the old dining room was not so well equipped. She dressed, it was awkward and time consuming, but at least it was something she could still do without help, and texted Jen.

[u]Hey I’m going out today, feel like hanging? I’ll probably be heading past your house anyway so I’ll call in.[/u]

Maybe her dad was right, she needed to spend some time with someone, to be reminded that the world wasn’t quite over. About half an hour later Alice was outside Jen’s house, she would have used the bell, but it was uncomfortable and embarrassing to reach up, so she texted her again.

[u]You in? I’m outside.[/u]