[attr="class","wesleft2"]

[attr="class","westitle"]Sweater Weather

When Wes clicked [ ] Yes after the completion of his tutorial, the System transported him to Los Angeles. He had never been, and wouldn’t have known it was LA, except for the friendly notification that appeared before him letting him know he was in the "Safe Zone LA." A safe zone, Wes learned was an area where “Players” were safe from monsters and events, like the lovely “Tutorial” he just experienced.

Everyone here, then, Wes figured, was also a survivor of a Tutorial--they had also experienced their own version of that nightmare. As he took his first steps through the streets, looking for a place to rest, he avoided making eye contact with others. He couldn’t handle seeing the sadness, the anger, the guilt that he felt reflected on the faces of others. He needed a reprieve from the trauma.

As Wes continued down whatever boulevard he was on, he couldn’t help but notice that the city looked fine despite the world seemingly ending. Electricity and water worked, and there was a whole new system for renting a place to live and buying food and other commodities. "Points" were the currency of the new world. Wes had accumulated a few from his "efforts" in the tutorial and was able to find a decent apartment that he could call home for the next month.

Realizing he needed more points to survive, he developed a routine of finding a small group of other Players to travel with via waypoint to hunt low level monsters. It was low risk and even lower reward, but it kept himself and others afloat.

When not forcing himself to risk his life fighting oversized rats and green-humanoid things he learned were called "goblins", Wes spent his time exploring the new LA. He learned from others that the city had been reworked by the System. The buildings weren’t the same, nor were the streets, but they had a similar feel. It was like a new version of LA, an LA 2.0.

Wes’s favorite spot in this new LA was a small pier, the end of which, for whatever reason, bordered the outer limits of the Safe Zone. The wood was worn, with gnarly knots and big, rusted nails, yet it was also firm and sturdy. The boards didn’t creek, and they were free from any signs of real rot. Wes theorized that the System had created a perfectly imperfect spot, a pier that was frozen in time to always have a rustic, seaside aesthetic.

He spent most evenings at this pier, and today he arrived with a book he loaned from another Player. "Mythology: Tales of Gods and Heroes", it was one he had read before, but given the state of the world, he felt it necessary to brush up on his knowledge of gods and monsters. He sat along the edge, his legs dangling over the side of the pier and placed the book beside him. Closing his eyes, he leaned slightly back and angled his nose to the sky.

He listened to the steady rhythmic sloshing of the water. It was always the same peaceful tune. Not too harsh, not too quiet. Like a perfect white noise he’d have had Alexa play for him in a past-life. He inhaled, deeply, taking in the sweet-salty sea breeze. It was brisk and sharp, but not overpowering, and bless the System, there was not even the faintest tinge of fish.

He opened his eyes, gazing up at the setting sky. A gentle breeze rolled across the water, sending the slightest of chill across his body. It was a kind, cool air, that teetered so neatly along the edges of sweater-weather.

Wes smiled to himself. Being here, it was almost like nothing had happened.