The Heroes of Little Springs

Quiver groaned as Jet sped down towards the basement.

Below, the basement was completely and utterly empty. There wasn't a trace of the intricate collection of statues that had been there previously except maybe a few small chunks of chipped marble.

Quiver waited at the top of basement steps. She wasn't even going to bother running after him.

"You done yet?" she called from above.

It was clear that Quiver was waiting for Jet to ascend the stairs at any moment, with a expression that said it all. However, that was not to be. Instead he magically appeared upstairs and behind her. A large sucking and slurping sound followed, as he drank from a super gulp he apparently just bought.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Quiver jumped and spun around to find Jet. He was lucky she was used to this sort of thing otherwise she might have accidentally hit him.

"Good, now let's see if there's a computer anywhere," Quiver said. "and see what else we can find about this Thin Man."

Quiver was about to begin searching but then stopped. "You didn't by any chance notice a computer while you were speeding around here, did you?"

Taking one more gulp with gusto, Jet refreshingly gasped, before pondering what Quiver had asked him. It didn't take him too long, as he remember a peculiar something through his speeding spree. Of course he wasn't looking for said piece of electronic, but it vividly resurfaced in his memories.

"Wait, I think I saw something." He said, as if not entirely sure, but his tone held enough positivity to it. He lead Quiver to one spare room. Lead was used so loosely, because with his super speed, she would still have to quicken her own pace or trail behind.

In this particular room was a desk, holding a very thick and bulky monitor. It had the size and shape of an old television and its keyboard was anything but small. It was a commodore 64, but it appeared to be connected and hooked up still, and everything seemed to be running in order. The screen emitted a bright blue, as it hummed ungracefully. "See, what did I tell ya?"

Quiver examined the large, outdated computer. For a moment, she wondered why on earth a wealthy woman would still own such an old computer. But then she remembered the piles of VHS tapes hidden under her bed, most of which she also had DVDs of.

"Let's just hope this thing can handle whatever it is we're looking for," Quiver remarked as she sat down.

Although the computer was outdated, it seemed to run at a decent speed. Its owner must have had the skills or the money to hire the skills to keep this computer at its best shape. Once online, Quiver scrolled, clicked, and combination of the two as she hopped from one page to another. Normally she knew her fast pace would annoy whoever was behind her but since it was Jet, she figured it wouldn't be a problem.

The pages all seemed to reference a computer game. Apparently, it was very popular. There was a link to the game's website and she clicked it.

The screen was dark as an intro video loaded. Suddenly, an ambiguous figure appeared on the screen while a sharp static noise played in the background. It couldn't have been more than a second. Still, Quiver jumped in her seat. The words The Legend appeared on the screen.

Unclear voices overlapped over one another, some giving eye witness accounts, others yelling that there was something nearby, and other horror conventions. Quiver recognized some of these quotes from movies and guessed they were all just clips from various things edited together. Pictures of a tall, thin figure in various locations flooded the screen in addition to some footage of people in the woods, apparently trying to 'locate' this thing. The music was rising as the images cut from one another at a quicker pace.

8 pages

The screen suddenly went dark again and all was quiet except for someone breathing heavily.

Will you find them in time?

Another flash of what Quiver guessed was the Thin Man. She was more prepared this time and didn't jump in her seat.

The video disappeared. An unsettling crackling noise still played in the background while the following filled the screen:

Download Now...if you dare.

An arrow pointed below to where a download link appeared.

Quiver sat back in her chair.

"Well then...that was...interesting."

Jet had little to do, but watch Quiver navigate through the world wide web, with the seriously outdated computer. At least it worked, if it hadn't, they would had to find another place or electronic. There was no way he was going to be any good at getting this thing running, let alone online, had it not already been connected.

But, that wasn't the case luckily for them. He watched all the sites Quiver was going through, often folding his arms. He did so more often, when the computer would have difficulty rendering some of the sites they were currently attempting to log into.

Then she entered an interesting site, which he wasn't quite sure what to make of. The creepy breathing, various frantic reports, color scheme, and flashing images seemed a little ridiculous. "Pft, are you serious?" Jet muttered, stiffing a laugh from exiting. "These people are trying too hard." He added, especially after reading the dare.

Quiver didn't say anything. She stared at the screen, debating if it was worth it to take a look into this game. A part of her thought it was pointless. But then, the 8 pages featured in the trailer stuck out at her. If there were 8 pages in total and this culprit was leaving a page at every crime scene, did that mean there would be 8 kidnappings? And, if that were the case, were there other things in this game that could potentially aid them in finding the kidnapper or at least having a better sense of their plan.

Quiver clicked the download link.

Whatever Quiver was doing, just seemed like random web surfing to Jet. His mind was not on the same page as hers, when she was going through all the possibilities. In fact, he hadn't been keeping track of anything, what she was actually searching, about the disappearances, the pages left behind, nothing.

In fact, all this boring information retrieval was just not up his alley. He was hoping she would be done soon, so he could go get a quick snack. He didn't want to miss anything, in case she did need his help for some reason though.

Sure he was one of the fastest people alive, if not the fastest, but even he couldn't get to a food store and back in time. Then a thought occurred, there was still a lot of stuff left behind in this old abandoned house. Perhaps that creepy old lady forgot to pack her food as well. With that new and delicious idea in mind, he quietly retreated into the kitchen and pantry room, all the while super-speeding, for a snack of any kind.

Quiver watched the screen as the download began. Out of nowhere, she got the sense that there was no longer anyone behind her. She turned around and sure enough, Jet was nowhere to be found. She sighed and continued looking at the screen.

Because the escape from the house had been in a rather large hurry, there was actually a decent amount of food left. The fridge had been cleaned eventually and there was no longer anything there except for a pitcher of water. But the cabinets contained an array of canned foods, some cereal, chips, and anything that could potentially last a good while in an abandoned house.

The only thing residing inside this abandoned kitchen's fridge was a glass of water. It bubble from the shaking tremors Jet created, when he opened the door a tad forcefully. Disappointed at the lack of variety, he frowned, before moving on.

The cabinets and other storage were much more promising however. There were a lot of canned goods, but he didn't have any means of opening them, and was in hurry or interest to search for a can opener or any other type of sharp object. Instead he decided he would mix it up a little, and try some cereal with chips. Sure it was a strange combination, but when you're hungry, you're hungry, and you gotta eat.

Sampling a handful from the box of cereal, he chewed it as delightfully as he could. "Flavor must have been before this crows time." He remarked, after observing the bran flakes box art and labels. He then zoomed over towards the fridge again, taking the entire pitcher to wash down the taste after he was finished with the cereal and chips.

Meanwhile the computer continued to download the link, while Jet was on his search for food. When he came back, sure enough the downloading sequence was still continuing. "So what's new?" Jet asked, reappearing, almost magically, with a pitcher of water in one hand, a bag of chips in the other, and a box of cereal between his arm and side, as he now chewed on the salty chips.

"Almost done," Quiver said as she strummed her fingers along the desk. She turned to Jet and noticed the odd selection of food in his hands. Although she didn't say anything, the look she gave him upon seeing his taste in food said it all.

A sound emitted from the computer signaling the download was complete. Quiver looked back towards the computer and opened the file.

The game needed to be installed. Quiver groaned and began the installation process. Luckily, it seemed to be moving quickly.

"For a guy that can break the sound barrier...this is going painfully slow." Jet remarked, as he alternated between eating cereal, chips, and drinking from the chilled pitcher of water.

Quiver rubbed the temples of her forehead trying not to say anything in regards to Jet as she heard a variety of eating sounds from behind.

A ding noise emitted from the computer. Quiver's gaze shot forward. The game was done.

"Well, here goes nothing."

She clicked play.

The screen was completely black; the sound of crickets chirping in a quiet night filled the speakers.

They were suddenly in the woods. The graphics were decent for a fan-created game. It was night, first-person and all they were given was a flashlight. Collect All 8 Pages was written in white across the screen.

Quiver started to move the player forward. Her movements were jerky and the camera zoomed in and out as she tried to figure out the controls.

As soon as the file was finally downloaded fully, Jet watched as Quiver entered into the game. The screen projected nothing but a pitch black screen, and some night ambient noises. The insects and creatures of the forest played their harmonic tunes, yet nothing was happening.

If this thing is downloading again, I'm ready to send this outdated tech out of the window. Jet thought impatiently. Fortunately the game began, just in time, before he had an impatient outburst of any kind. Jet thought the plot of the game seemed easy and obvious enough, as he watched Quiver attempt to learn the controls with limited success.

"Don't tell me you've never played a game before." Jet remarked as Quiver tried to adjust herself to the controls. "W, A, S, D." He stated, which seemed four random letters. "Use those to move around with the mouse."

"Yes I have!" Quiver remarked. When she was six or seven, she played a hockey game on an Nintendo. That had to count for something.

However, Quiver listened to Jet and began to use the controls to move her player around. Her movements were gradually becoming more smooth but she still seemed to be an idiot spasticly wandering around virtual woods. Whether or not that was just the nature of the game was a bit unclear.

"What, Pong?" Jet remarked sarcastically, as she readjusted to the controls, and doing better, but only slightly. He tried to watch her play, but the jerky camera motion, in addition to the really dark background, which not even the game's flashlight could fix, was difficult to keep track of.

Quiver didn't say anything but she did raise an eyebrow as if she didn't know what Pong was for a moment. However, her deadpan expression resumed once more.

There was a tree on screen. A very large tree. Significantly larger than the rest of the trees. It was also a different color compared to the other trees. There was a page stuck to it. It was a pretty decently sized note.

Quiver walked passed the tree.

As Jet watched Quiver, he folded his arms, and gave a weak smile. She seemed to be getting the hang of this game, as she navigated around this dark forest. When she came across a peculiar tree, that seemed to stand out amongst all the other similar sized and colored trees, he was certain she had adjusted herself to the controls and plot.

It clearly would had been the path he would had taken, and anyone with some gaming experience for that matter. And there it was, one of the eight pages they had to find. However, what happened next was something he didn't expect.

No, it wasn't a creepy crawler, a monster, ghost, or anything popping out of the shadows, it was Quiver's obliviousness to the game's task. "Woah woah! What are you doing?" Jet asked, dropping his folded arms. He was shocked she would even think to skip by something as peculiar as an odd tree or page. "When a game tells you to collect pages, you don't just leave them."

Quiver turned slightly towards Jet.

"What?" It was clear she was annoyed. However, after listening to Jet, she looked back at the screen. She noticed the note on the tree, not having seen it before. "Oh."

Quiver fumbled her character towards the tree. There was an option to grab the note. She did so. Not surprisingly, the note possessed a crudely drawn stick figure with the words "Behind You" written on it, its letters equally crude.

"That was the first note. From the kidnappings," Quiver remarked.

"Yeah, I remember that." Jet remarked as Quiver's game character picked up the crudely drawn and written note. "You act like I haven't been paying attention at all. Give me some credit, it's not like it's been months."

After finishing and giving his two cents, he then registered the note's content. Not the note that he had found, but its purpose in the game. "Also, I never played this game. But when a note tells you to look behind you, don't."

"So then what do I do?" Quiver asked. "How am I supposed to get the rest of the notes while standing in front of a big tree?"

"I didn't tell you to stay put, just not to turn around." Jet pointed out, before tapping the screen with his finger, where Quiver's character's first person view was currently, and where they should probably go. "Just go the opposite way you came from and look for a peculiar path. That's how most games work."

"Okay," Quiver said.

However, as she started to move her person forward, a white noise emitted from the game. The screen quickly became grainy as the white noise increased and an image of a very thin, all black creature appeared. It stared at them as a high pitched noise came. The sound reached a high point before the screen went black.

The title screen appeared.

"What the heck was that?!" Quiver asked.

Although Quiver seemed very agitated, Jet couldn't help to just be confused. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened immediately, but it then donned onto him. "I'm guessing you lost. You weren't quick enough, when you picked up the note and ol' creepy got the drop on you."

After assessing his theory, Jet calmly backed away, shaking his head with a weak smile. "Leave it to a rookie 'gamer' to lose right at the start."

"Hey, you're the one with the super speed and experience. Why don't you play the game then?" Quiver asked. She didn't even bother to wait for Jet's response: she got out of the chair and motioned for him to sit. She was tired of playing this stupid game.