"Watch your left side!"
Fane's character spun around a left corner, his rifle's reticle snapping to an enemy's head. The flash of gunfire lit up the dark hallway, and the enemy fell. Without wasting a moment, he controlled his character to run down the hall, and around another corner. His eyes fixed themselves on the silver briefcase lying on the floor among the fading bodies of allies and enemies alike.
"I got it, I'm making a run for it!"
He picked up the briefcase, his character automatically switching to equip the side arm, a simple pistol with 10 rounds in the magazine. He ran out the back of the house, straight toward the helicopter waiting at the edge of the map.
An allied character finally caught up, making it to the entrance of the house. A few bullets caught in his heavy body armor just as he reached the doorway, jerking his shoulder forward. Without a second thought, he whipped around and unloaded a generous hail of bullets from his LMG, swiftly mowing down 3 players from the enemy team before they could reach the building. He was low on HP, but still in the fight.
"We'll hold them back, go go go!"
It was Daniel, one of his long-time gaming buddies.
Daniel threw down a barricade, instantly blocking off the enemy's path. He started to reload immediately, unsure of how long it would take for the enemy to reach his position. He anxiously waited for the LMG to finish its unbearably slow reload animation, but luckily he wouldn't need any more bullets.
"Take that you ugly BITCH!"
A girl's angry voice came through the comms just as a massive explosion went off in front of the house, throwing the bodies of several enemies against Daniel's barricade. Numerous complaints instantly filled the game's text chat, cursing Lina for her explosive ambush. She wiped out the last few people who had any chance of catching up to Fane, effectively sealing the fate of the game.
Daniel and Fane bursted out laughing in response to Lina's unexpected outburst. She was normally a very sweet and quiet girl, usually the most composed of the three, but she had a long day at work and the enemy team really tried her patience throughout the match. Hearing her friends laugh, she couldn't really stay mad and ended up laughing too.
The trio laughed as Fane ran the final stretch to the exfil site, officially ending the game. The match ended, and the automatic highlight reel replayed the final moments for everyone to see. Naturally, it showed Lina's tiny character on a rooftop, taking aim with a rocket launcher while furiously screaming at the poor souls below. The explosion went off in slow motion, showing the enemies being ragdolled directly into Daniel's barricade before flopping helplessly to the ground.
All three of them were leaning back in their chairs or hunching over their keyboards, laughing over the game's absurd ending. It took a while for them all to calm down, eventually accepting the victory rewards and closing the game. The three friends stayed online a few minutes longer to just chat before saying their goodbyes and logging off for the night.
"I can probably be on again tomorrow night if you guys are down... Yeah, sounds good. See ya guys!"
Fane took of his headset, still smiling as he shut his computer off.
Life hadn't worked out quite like he had hoped, but he had to admit his life was pretty good. He had three real close friends he met in a VR game several years ago, and he spent at least a couple nights every week playing online games with them. Sure, he had never met them in person since everyone lived so far apart, but their friendship had outlasted most others in Fane's life, he could be completely open with them, and he trusted them far more than anyone else.
He moved to the bathroom to brush his teeth, where was met with his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He had an average-looking face and a somewhat athletic build, nothing too notable. He didn't have much success in the world of romance, largely because of how shy he was growing up. One of his greatest regrets was how he waited so long to ask any girls out on dates. Most guys had started dating in high school or even middle school, but Fane only developed the courage to try asking girls out when he got to college. So much wasted time! But recently, he had managed a few dates that hadn't gone too bad. In fact, the last few had been rather fun, and he got to know some really great women.
He continued his nightly routine, washing his face as he thought about his life. He had some education, but didn't manage to find work in his field of study. Instead, he was currently working as an equipment operator in a factory. It felt like a real waste of his talents, but his preferred kind of work wasn't common out here.
He looked out the window, appreciating the greenery of lush forestry. This place was home, far removed from the tech empire of the West. After college, he had moved back here so he could be close to his parents. No one knew how many years they had left to live, so he decided to spend a while living here, where he could see them more often. Sure, finding his ideal work out here wasn't currently possible, but it was a cheap price to pay if it meant he could see his family more often.
He switched off the lights and layed down in his bed, hands folded comfortably under his head as he stared up at the ceiling.
His life had a bit of a rough start, and things certainly weren't perfect, but he really couldn't complain with how things were turning out. He was content with his choices, and he was making progress in all sorts of endeavors. Yeah, his life was pretty good...
His thoughts quietly faded away as consciousness slowly slipped from his grasp.
Fane drifted off into a peaceful sleep, the last he would have in a long time.