"Is it true? Tyler did you confirm from the update post?" Ben stuttered as he tried to catch his breath.
He was panting heavily and Tyler rushed to shut the door after checking if Ben had been chased by someone.
"Is everything alright? Were you chased by a panther?" Tyler asked after he had shut the door.
"Chased? Did I say I was chased when I walked in here just now?" Ben asked.
"Do you call that walk? You almost kicked the door down," Tyler replied sharply and returned to his phone.
"Sorry buddy, I didn't even realise that until now. My phone is down and Tonia mentioned that the Holozing game had been launched. I had to rush home because I couldn't confirm it," Ben replied and joined Tyler on the couch.
"You ran from school just because of a game?" Tyler stuttered.
"It's not just a game, please don't start now. Let me just check quickly," Ben replied and tried checking for the Holozing game update but Tyler didn't give him a chance.
There was disappointment written all over Ben's face as he stared at Tyler but there was nothing he could do.
"Now you know what it feels like when I want to use your phone or PC and you don't allow me," Tyler teased.
"Really? It has come to that now? I don't blame you because if electricity had been restored at the right time, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Ben replied angrily and stormed into the bedroom.
He was restless and pondered on how to power his phone as he moved from one end of the room to the other. The thought of charging outdoors crossed his mind but he was scared of losing his phone like it happened some months ago.
"Did you leave some food for me," He asked Tyler some minutes later.
"Yes, I did. Check the Orange food flask," Tyler replied.
Ben dragged himself to the kitchen, he ate and rested after hoping that power would be restored any time soon.
"Yes! Yes!! This is the best thing that has happened in the whole of 2024," Ben screamed immediately he powered his phone and checked the Holozing latest update.
"Tyler! Tyler!! The game has been launched," Ben screamed from the bedroom but Tyler didn't respond.
"Where did he go?" Ben thought as he stared at the empty couch immediately after he came into the living room.
He gently placed his PC on the centre table and sat on the floor to check out the newly launched Holozing game.
"Easy peasy," Ben muttered and there was a huge smile on his face as he successfully logged into the game with his Hive account. He browsed through the Holozing creatures first and stopped when saw Miu.
"Oh my dear Miu, you are so adorable. I wish I could keep you as a pet" Ben said while staring at the screen and deep inside his heart, he really wanted Miu.
Ben moved on to the other creature and his excitement was cut short immediately electricity went off again.
"What on earth is happening to these people?" He screamed and checked his battery percentage.
"Just 5%, what am I supposed to do with this?" Ben muttered and just turned off the PC.
He sat down hoping the electricity would be restored immediately but it didn't happen. Ben changed the spot where he sat almost every minute and he was frustrated.
He was pondering on whether to use the little battery on the PC to continue exploring the game when he heard a crash in the kitchen.
"Tyler, is that you?" Ben asked but didn't get a response.
"Stop this joke, Tyler. I am not in the mood for this?"
Ben waited a few minutes hoping Tyler would come out of his hiding but he didn't.
He heard the crash sound again and his heart skipped for a second.
"Are you for real?" Ben screamed and rushed to the kitchen immediately.
There were broken plates scattered everywhere but there was no sign of Tyler. He gently moved around the kitchen to avoid being cut and while thinking about how the plates fell from the rack, Ben noticed two glowing objects in the dark corner of the kitchen store.
He was frightened and rushed to get a lamp. Upon returning to the store, the glowing objects weren't there again.
"I thought I saw something here just now," Ben muttered and immediately he turned to leave the storeroom, he saw a strange creature standing at the store entrance.
He was shocked and passed out after screaming. Immediately after he regained consciousness, Ben felt a wet object dancing around his face and he could tell that it was the creature's tongue. He gently opened his eyes and quickly stood from the ground.
"What are you? Where did you come from?" Ben screamed and rushed out of the storeroom. One of the broken plates pierced his leg and he didn't feel the pain until he got back into the bedroom and shut the door.
He was busy trying to get the broken piece out of his leg when he saw the creature pass through the door.
"How is that possible? Miu?" Ben muttered as he watched the creature walk majestically towards him.
Ben moved back slowly as the watched the creature glow while coming to him. He felt his cut closing up and immediately the creature got to him, the cut and pain had vanished.
"Did you do that?" Ben asked and Miu just stared at him with its beautiful eyes.
"I still can't believe this. Am I Hallucinating?" Ben thought and rubbed his eyes hoping Miu would be gone when he finished rubbing but it was still there.
"Miu," Ben called gently and the creature started rubbing its body on Ben's feet.
He couldn't comprehend what was happening and had a lot of questions to ask but there was no one to ask.
After a few minutes of trying to comprehend all that had happened, Ben summoned the courage to pick up Miu from the ground.
He carried Miu gently and while staring at it, Ben couldn't resist the beauty of the cat.
"I don't know how you got here but I have always thought of having you as a pet," Ben said to Miu and returned to the living room with it.
He gently placed Miu on the couch and went to clean up the mess in the kitchen. Ben returned to the living room after and sat close to Miu, he kept admiring the cat until Miu moved closer to him.
He gently rubbed Miu head and that activated Miu's play mood. The play started slowly until they ended up running from one corner of the house to another.
Ding dong! Ben heard the doorbell about an hour later and quickly stopped Miu from still running around.
"You need to hide until I tell Tyler about you," Ben whispered to Miu and rushed to keep the creature in the storeroom.
The doorbell sounded again and Ben went to get the door.
"What took you so long?" Tyler muttered as he got in.
"I was busy inside," Ben replied sharply.
"Where have you been?" Ben asked.
"I went to get some foodstuff. I didn't get much but it will last a few days," Tyler replied and went in the kitchen direction.
"Wait, you can't go there now. I..." Ben stuttered and immediately rushed to block the kitchen door.
"You what?" Tyler asked.
"Something happened while you are away and I don't want you to freak out when you see it," Ben replied.
"What's that? I am really tired and won't be happy if you are messing with me," Tyler replied.
"You remember Miu, my favourite Holozing creature I showed you the other day," Ben asked.
"Yes, I do. What happened?" Tyler replied.
"Miu suddenly appeared in the room and right now, it's in the storeroom," Ben replied and Tyler burst into laughter.
"Are you okay? Can I see the Miu you claimed to be in the house?" Tyler asked and Ben led the way to the storeroom.
He slowly opened the storeroom door and Miu wasn't there. He checked every corner of the room but didn't find Miu.
"I kept Miu here," Ben stuttered and Tyler just smiled.
While Ben was still checking beneath pots and plastic containers in the kitchen, Tyler screamed at him.
"Ben! Ben!! You know it's impossible to have a game character in reality. Wake up, bro."
Tyler's voice echoed in Ben's ears and he turned to look at Tyler. At first, his sight was blurry but they became clear a few seconds later.
He saw the ceiling fan rolling and wondered what was happening.
"I have been calling your name since they restored power. You sleep too much bro," Tyler said to Ben and left the bedroom.
Ben was confused and couldn't tell if all he saw was a dream. He looked around and saw the plate he ate from still lying on the floor.
He smiled and thought about the good time he had with Miu even though it was just a dream.
Ben dragged himself out of bed a few minutes later to charge his device and immediately it was powered, he checked for Holozing update and saw that the game hadn't been launched.
"Tonia, you got me. I won't let this slide," Ben muttered.
The thumbnail background was designed by me, I made use of cardboard and got the Miu image from the Holozing announcement post.
Craft belong to me
