TMI (2014 Collector's Dream Winner)

TMI - Chapter 8

Bailey sat alone in her room, steadily exploring Facebook for signs of Simon. He hadn't posted an update all day.

He was probably over at Caitlyn's house. She kicked the pile of clothes on the floor. She checked her email, too. Still nothing. Ooo, this was stupid and pointless and maddening so she turned to her game system. Maybe spilling some blood and guts in Call of Duty would get her mind off Simon. She signed in, loaded up the game, noticed someone had messaged her. She really hoped it wasn't another of those annoying Tenth Prestige Lobby invites.

Like she needed to cheat.

From: WyldRyd11

To: Goldilx

Hey, I got your gamertag off a Call of Duty forum and I thought maybe we could play a match together — I totally want you on my team. I'll be online Monday from three until about seven. If you're online, I'll invite you.

WyldRyd11. Wow, what are the odds? He probably didn't even know that her Goldilx gamertag and Taken for Granted blog were her. He didn't say what forum, not that it mattered since she was in about eight of them. With a shrug, she figured it couldn't do any harm so she decided to accept the invitation if and when it came through. She'd just made her first kill when the invite flashed. She accepted it and started a new game.

"Hi, this is Goldilocks." She spoke into her headset, but no one answered which was weird since she could plainly see WyldRyd11's avatar on the screen, leaping from an abandoned truck. She pressed the Guide button on her controller and found another message.

Sorry! Headset's broke. I can hear you, but can't talk back. My name's Ryder. What's yours?

Bailey smiled. "Oh. Hi, Ryder! My name's Bailey. I'll check for messages once in a while so if you have something to say, just do something to get my attention, like shoot the ground near me or something and I'll go read it." She ran up a flight of stairs in some abandoned apartment building, shot at a target on the street.

"Ryder, behind you!" She pressed down on the right stick of her controller to access her knife and stabbed his attacker before he could react. "Ha! Got him. No need to thank me."

A spray of bullets hit the ground nearby and she laughed. "Okay, hold on."

Holy crap, girl! You have some mad assassin skills. We should play Assassin's Creed after this.

"Sure! I love that game, too."

They played for twenty minutes or so, prowling through streets and abandoned buildings, shooting at enemies. When he took a knife in the back, she checked his next message.

Mistakes were made.

She laughed out loud into the headset.

His next message showed awe.

You got the Call of Duty joke? Impressive. Want to chat on Instant Messenger? I'm WyldRyd11 on IM, too. Send me your ID. Or you could friend me on Facebook if you want. My name is Ryder West.

Bailey nibbled a finger nail and thought about that for a moment. Meg would totally have a cow. She smiled, imagining Meg's perfectly logical and smart and safe and boring reply to Ryder's suggestion. First, she'd remind her of all her past mistakes. And then, she'd try to scare her with things like "What if he's a pervert?" "What if he's an ax murderer?" But really, what could possibly happen? It's not like he knew where she lived or anything.

"Okay."

She switched to her computer, turned on Instant Messenger, and found WyldRyd11.

Goldilx: Glad u invited me 2 play