Mark
Exhausted and knowing there would surely be a briefing in just a few short hours, he crossed his arms on the desk, then rested his head on them for a makeshift pillow. Mark closed his eyes, letting his fatigue wash over him. Each time he began to doze, something nagged at him in the back of his mind. It was like a buzzing in his ear that just wouldn't go away. He opened his tired eyes to just a sliver to peek at the time on the computer screen. The bright light stung his eyes, vision blurred by sleep that would not come. As the time on the screen came into focus, the numbers 3:15 am blinked into view. Just over an hour had passed since Phoenix had logged out.
The footage of her gameplay repeated itself in his mind again. The way she had ran and romped through a digital forest he and his fellow developer teammates never designed had him puzzled. Although, she had reported that something strange was going on with the game she made no effort to log out and wait to be contacted. She hadn't tried to actively search for unseen treasured or look for monsters to hunt either. Phoenix did none of the things most other players would have done.
He rapidly tapped on his keyboard until her file came up. In the top left corner, an image of her real-world appearance was framed by the text of her personal info. Long brown hair that had already turned half silver, framing a ghostly pale face. Two toned hazel eyes of brown and greenish blue that had lost their light. It was nothing like the vibrant beauty that had been on the monitor just over an hour previously. There had to be a clue in her file. He began really reading through it. Once he reached to section for health history, he felt his heart drop. He had found the answer to her unusual behavior.
Lillian
Soft rays of morning light beckoned her from slumber. Still groggy from staying up so late, she stretched lazily on the bed. Every part of the left side of her body protested each pop of her joints by sending little spikes of pain through the overly sensitive nerve endings. Her mouth opened in a wide yawn before snapping shut. She proceeded to rub the last remnants of sleep from her eyes, then scanned the small dorm room.
The day before had been a whole new experience for her, and she was still trying to wrap her head around it. The email informing her that she had been one of the chosen to test the game. The long bus ride halfway across the States to the testing facility. Being dropped off at the college-like campus with nothing but a duffle bag containing some clothes, a map of the campus and just a little bit of cash.
Night had just set in and she was worried that the doors would be locked or the receptionist at the front desk would turn her away. She was met with neither. The middle-aged woman at the desk was waiting for her with a copy of Lillian's file, a key with a single piece of tape kept it in place on the cover. "Ms. Frost?"
Lillian adjusted the strap of her duffle bag on her shoulder. "Yes, ma'am."
The receptionist welcomed her with a kind smile. "We've been expecting you, dear." She peeled the key from the file. The sticky tape was removed from the key, then she held the key out to her. "You'll be in dorm room 214. That'll be just down the hall and to the right."
Lillian bowed in gratitude, "Thank you." She then let the other woman drop the key into her hand. She followed the receptionist's directions, finding the room with ease. After unlocking the room, she shoved her duffle under the bed. She remembered locking the door, finding her assigned VR equipment on the desk. Memories of home had hit her like a ton in the small lonely room. That was when she decided to don her VR gear to get an early start.
In the light of day, it had all come flooding back to her. The gnawing ache in her stomach served as a reminder of her lack of nourishment since yesterday's humble sack lunch. Clean up first, food, then back to beta testing.