Ch 5: Buried In The Wastes

The lab didn’t stay quiet for long.

Even after the fight ended, even after the last body stopped moving, the building felt like it was holding onto the damage instead of settling from it. Dust still drifted lazily through the air. Something creaked overhead every few seconds, the kind of sound that made it clear this place wouldn’t last much longer, whether anything else attacked it or not.

Dr. Gan moved quickly through what remained of his workspace, pulling open drawers, sweeping papers into stacks that didn’t stay neat for more than a second before getting shoved into one of several duffel bags. Glass vials clinked together as he packed them, careful but not slow, like he had done this before and expected to do it again.

“We cannot stay,” he muttered, half to himself. “Structural compromise, resource loss, compromised concealment. Yes, relocation is necessary.”

Erica leaned lightly on her bat, watching him work while her breathing finally settled back to something normal. The adrenaline had faded enough that her limbs felt heavier now, the aftereffects of everything catching up all at once.

“So we’re just… leaving?” she asked.

Dr. Gan didn’t look up. “This facility is no longer viable. I will require a new location to continue my work.”

Teresa stepped past him, wiping the last traces of blood from her blade before sliding it back into place at her side.

“Not just a new hole in the ground,” she said. “You’ll want somewhere secure.”

Dr. Gan nodded once. “Yes. Preferably a structure with historical reinforcement. Existing defensive systems would be ideal.”

He paused, then added, almost casually, “We should deliver the remaining serums to the ancestral home.”

Erica felt that land before she could react to it.

Ancestral home.

Right.

Teresa disappeared briefly down the side corridor, the one they had sealed earlier, then returned a moment later, her blade carrying fresh streaks of blood.

“Cleared the tunnel,” she said simply. “They were trying to force their way in.”

She rolled her shoulder once, then looked back toward Dr. Gan.

“Yeah,” she added, almost as an afterthought. “We can head to the ancestral home. I’ve got some business there anyway.”

Erica straightened slightly.

This was it. Her chance.

If she went with them, she’d be pulled deeper into whatever this was. If she didn’t, she could find Nathan. Or try to.

“Um,” Erica said, stepping forward just a little, “but… they threw me out.”

Teresa stopped.

Actually stopped.

She turned slowly, staring at Erica like she had just said something completely unreasonable.

“…What?”

“I mean,” Erica said, gesturing vaguely and trying to stay consistent with the story she had already committed to, “training. Arnold. He didn’t really think I was…”

Teresa blinked, then let out a short, incredulous breath.

“Look,” she said, stepping closer, her tone sharpening just enough to cut through Erica’s attempt at backing out, “you just crushed the head of an elite vampire.”

Erica hesitated. “Technically I—”

“I don’t care how clumsy you think you are,” Teresa cut in. “You’re a Van Helsing.”

The words landed with weight.

“Arnold might be in charge of the training corps,” she continued, folding her arms, “but he does not get to decide who belongs to our bloodline.”

Erica opened her mouth, then closed it again.

“If anything,” Teresa went on, her voice tightening slightly, “he should have sent you back to the ancestral home instead of throwing you into the wilds like that.”

She shook her head once, irritation flashing across her expression.

“Honestly, next time I see him, I’ll make him apologize.”

Erica felt something drop in her stomach.

Fuck.

She really should have looked up the lore before jumping into this.

“Okay,” she said carefully, nodding once. “If you think it’ll be okay.”

Teresa stepped in a little closer, her tone shifting again, softer now but no less firm.

“Trust me, cuz,” she said. “If anyone gives you a problem, they answer to me.”

A soft chime sounded.

A screen slid into Erica’s vision.

───

AFFINITY INCREASED

Teresa Van Helsing +12

Current Affinity: 22 / 100

───

Erica blinked.

“…Huh.”

So that was a thing.

She let the screen fade, glancing briefly at Teresa as she processed it.

Affinity system.

Okay.

That was useful.

If this worked the way she thought it did, then getting that to one hundred probably meant something big.

Definitely worth aiming for.

“Ready!” Dr. Gan called, pulling Erica back to the present.

He stood near the doorway, multiple duffel bags slung over his shoulders and arms, somehow managing to look both overburdened and completely composed at the same time.

Teresa crossed the room toward a large reinforced fridge set into the wall, opened it, and pulled out one final duffel bag. She checked its contents quickly, then slung it over her shoulder.

“Alright,” she said. “Let’s move.”

The path back up wasn’t clean anymore.

The stairs had taken most of the damage during the fighting above, sections of them collapsed or completely gone. What remained was uneven, broken, and unreliable. Teresa went first without hesitation, stepping lightly across the intact portions, her movement precise enough that she barely slowed. Dr. Gan followed more carefully, balancing the weight of his bags as he climbed.

Erica brought up the rear.

She paused at the first broken section, looking up at the gap. It wasn’t huge, but it was enough.

“…Okay,” she muttered.

She stepped back once, then hopped up onto the remaining ledge. From there, she pushed again and triggered the second jump instinctively. Her foot pressed against that invisible resistance midair, launching her cleanly to the next section. She landed lightly this time, adjusting faster than before.

“…Okay, that’s actually kind of nice,” she admitted under her breath.

She repeated it twice more on the way up, each time a little smoother, a little more controlled. By the time they reached the upper floor, it didn’t feel awkward anymore.

It felt like something she could use.

Teresa paused near the exit, raising a hand slightly.

“Hold.”

She stepped forward alone, just enough to see beyond the broken structure, her gaze sweeping across the desert outside. Her posture shifted subtly, attention sharpening as she scanned the horizon. A few seconds passed before she stepped back.

“Clear.”

Dr. Gan moved first this time, heading out into the open, his pace steady despite the weight he carried.

Erica followed.

The heat hit immediately.

The wind too.

The desert stretched out again, endless and hostile, the ruins of the city fading into dunes the farther she looked. Teresa stepped out last, her eyes already moving, tracking, reading the environment in a way Erica couldn’t yet match. Then she started walking without hesitation, without second guessing, like she already knew exactly where they were going.

Erica adjusted her grip on the bat and followed.

Nathan would have to wait.

They kept moving, and after a while the desert stopped feeling like something they were crossing and more like something they were being measured against. Every step had weight to it, not just from the shifting sand but from the quiet pressure of a place that didn’t care whether they made it through or not. Erica found herself settling into the rhythm Teresa set without being told, short bursts of speed when the ground allowed it, slower, controlled movement when it didn’t. It wasn’t something Teresa explained, but it was obvious in the way she moved that this wasn’t just travel to her. It was habit. Practice. Survival done so often it no longer needed thought.

Erica couldn’t help watching her.

Not in a distracted way, not enough to lose focus on where she was stepping, but enough that her attention kept drifting forward to Teresa’s back, to the way she carried herself even when nothing was happening. There was something almost unfair about it. The confidence, the balance, the way her movements stayed efficient without ever looking stiff or rehearsed. Her dark hair shifted slightly with the wind, tied back just enough to stay out of her way without looking like she cared about styling it, and even covered in dust and dried blood she somehow still looked composed.

Erica frowned slightly at herself, then looked away.

Focus.

Still, her gaze drifted back again.

There was a sharpness to Teresa’s features that hadn’t fully registered back in the lab, something more noticeable out here in the open light. Not harsh, but defined. Her jawline was clean, her expression usually neutral in a way that made the smallest changes stand out more than they should. Even now, scanning the horizon, there was a quiet intensity in her eyes that made it clear she wasn’t just looking, she was reading the world.

Erica swallowed slightly and forced her attention back to the ground ahead of her.

Okay. Yeah. She’s cool. Just… cool. That’s it.

That was definitely all it was.

Probably.

She pulled up her interface again, more to give herself something else to look at than out of necessity, her eyes flicking to the clock in the corner.

It hadn’t changed.

Or rather, it had, but only the way it should.

Steady. Consistent.

Her brow furrowed slightly as she let the panel linger longer than she meant to. Most games sped things up, compressing time so players could get more out of shorter sessions. Days passed in hours. Entire arcs unfolded in what would barely count as an afternoon outside.

This didn’t.

Time here moved exactly the same way it always had.

Which meant if you had an hour, you had an hour.

No stretching it.

No bending it.

Her gaze lifted slowly from the interface, drifting back out across the desert.

Maybe that was part of it. Part of why everything felt heavier. More grounded. Less like something designed to entertain and more like something that just existed.

She let the thought fade and closed the panel.

They passed another group of players not long after.

This time three of them, walking toward them with the kind of loose confidence that came from not having been punished yet. One of them raised a hand as they approached, calling out something casual, something normal for a game like this.

Erica’s eyes moved upward automatically.

Names floated above them, bright and clear against the muted tones of the desert.

ShadowSlayerXx

FeetFetixh6969

Albert Hemingway

She had to bite back a reaction.

That was a combination.

For a brief second, the absurdity of it almost broke through everything else, the contrast between the world they were standing in and the names hovering above those players so sharp it felt out of place.

Teresa didn’t even glance at them.

She walked straight past, her pace unchanged, her attention still forward like they didn’t exist in any meaningful way. It wasn’t dismissive in the way someone ignored something annoying. It was closer to how someone ignored background noise, something present but not worth processing.

The players tried anyway.

One of them stepped slightly into their path, calling out again, louder this time, expecting a response.

There wasn’t one.

Teresa moved around him without breaking stride, and Dr. Gan followed without hesitation, leaving Erica to trail just behind them.

“…NPCs,” one of the players muttered as they passed.

“Yeah,” another replied. “Look at the names.”

They lost interest immediately after that, the conversation already shifting as they moved on to something else.

Erica didn’t say anything.

But she noticed.

Not just the names themselves, but the pattern. Every player they passed had something different. Jokes, references, attempts at sounding serious that didn’t quite land. They felt disconnected from the world in a way that was hard to explain but easy to recognize.

And then there was hers.

Erica Van Helsing.

And Teresa’s.

Teresa Van Helsing.

Clean. Simple. Belonging.

No one else had it.

Not even close.

Her grip tightened slightly around the bat as she walked, the weight of it grounding her in a way she hadn’t expected when she first picked it up. It still wasn’t impressive. Still just a bat, even with the system calling it enhanced. But it felt real. Solid. Like it would do what she needed it to if it came down to it.

Which it probably would.

Her eyes drifted forward again, landing on Teresa without meaning to. On the way she adjusted her footing slightly as the terrain shifted, never looking down, never hesitating. On the way her shoulders stayed relaxed even while everything about her posture said she was ready to move at a moment’s notice. On the way she existed in this place like she belonged in it.

Erica felt something twist slightly in her chest.

Not uncomfortable.

Just new.

She looked away again, a little more deliberately this time, pretending the sudden warmth in her chest was leftover adrenaline from the fight and not because Teresa looked annoyingly good while covered in dust and vampire blood.

Focus.

Ahead of them, the shape of the land began to change. The dunes flattened slightly, and the silhouettes of larger structures appeared in the distance, more intact than the scattered ruins they had left behind. These weren’t broken remnants half-swallowed by sand. They had walls that still stood straight, towers that still held shape, and dark gaps between buildings that looked too much like streets to be random.

Teresa slowed just enough to confirm what she was seeing, her gaze sharpening as she studied the horizon. The wind shifted around them, carrying something faint, movement or scent or pressure, Erica couldn’t tell which, but she saw the moment Teresa registered it. Her expression hardened.

“There’s vamps a couple miles ahead,” Teresa said. “Can’t tell how many though. Looks like we’ll have to take the long way around.”

Dr. Gan trudged up beside her, adjusting the weight of the duffel bags across his shoulders as he squinted toward the distant structures. The sun was sinking lower now, bleeding red across the horizon and dragging deep blues into the edges of the sky. The whole world seemed to darken by layers, like someone was slowly lowering a filter over it.

“Well,” he said after a moment, “they seem to be headed somewhere. And it’s getting dark.”

His gaze lingered on the horizon before he turned back toward the dunes behind them.

“Perhaps we make camp there and continue in the morning.”

Teresa didn’t argue.

Which, Erica was starting to realize, meant it was probably the right call.

───

They moved back toward a cluster of dunes that offered just enough cover to break line of sight from the direction of the vampires. The process of setting up camp was strange, but efficient. Teresa and the doctor worked without explaining much, unpacking compact frames that extended outward into low, reinforced tent structures designed to sit almost flush with the sand.

Dr. Gan drove a narrow tube into the ground at an angle, feeding it outward into the dune before sealing it into the side of the tent. Ventilation, Erica realized after a second, though it was done in a way that kept the entire structure hidden from a distance.

Once both tents were secured, they covered them.

Not lightly.

They pulled sand over the structures until they blended almost completely into the surrounding dunes, leaving only the smallest openings to slip inside.

“Heat insulation,” Dr. Gan said absently as he brushed sand from his hands. “Also reduces detection.”

“Also makes it feel like we’re burying ourselves alive,” Erica muttered.

Teresa smirked slightly. “You get used to it.”

There were only two tents.

Erica noticed that immediately.

Then tried not to.

Then realized she couldn’t not notice it.

Teresa didn’t hesitate.

“You’re with me,” she said, already ducking into one of them.

Erica stood there for half a second longer than necessary, then followed.

───

Inside, the space was tighter than Erica expected, but not uncomfortable. The sand muffled most of the outside noise, leaving the tent quiet in a strange, sealed-away kind of way. After hours of wind and open desert, the closeness almost felt safe. There was a small lantern emitting just enough light so they could see within the tent.

Teresa moved like she had done this a hundred times before, unstrapping her gear and setting each piece within easy reach instead of tossing anything aside. Even relaxing, she stayed practical. Her blade went near the entrance. Her boots stayed angled toward the opening. Her jacket came off last, and when she pulled away the outer layers of her clothes, Erica realized too late that she had been watching.

Teresa was left in simple, worn underclothes, nothing fancy, nothing meant to impress, but it did not matter. She had the kind of body that looked built by surviving things. Lean muscle, small scars, smooth control in every movement. Erica looked a second too long.

She knew she did.

And Teresa noticed.

“Like what you see?” Teresa asked, her voice light with amusement.

Erica froze.

Oh no.

Her brain scrambled immediately. Roleplay. Right. I’m supposed to be shy, aren’t I? Or clumsy? Or whatever fake version of myself I accidentally invented?

“I… mhm,” Erica managed, the sound coming out smaller than she wanted.

Teresa paused, then looked Erica over in return, not rushed, not crude, just deliberate enough to make Erica suddenly aware that she also had a body in this world. A body Teresa could see.

“Mm,” Teresa hummed softly. “Me too.”

Erica’s mouth parted before any words were ready.

“Ah…”

Teresa laughed, softer this time, and leaned back on one hand. “Relax. I’m kidding.”

Erica exhaled, only realizing then that she had been holding her breath. “Good.”

“Mostly,” Teresa added.

Erica looked at her.

Teresa’s smile widened just a little, and Erica immediately looked down at her own hands because that somehow felt safer.

“Though,” Teresa said after a moment, “you are totally a virgin, aren’t you?”

The question landed harder than Erica expected. Not because it was wrong, but because it was so completely, painfully true. She thought of hospital rooms, of years passing in spaces she couldn’t leave, of conversations through screens instead of experiences, of having a body now that could blush and tense and react before she was ready for it.

She let out a small, awkward laugh. “Yeah. Are you?”

Teresa raised an eyebrow like the answer should have been obvious.

“Fuck no,” she said. “Sex is honestly one of the few things in this world that actually lives up to the hype.”

“Ah.” Erica looked down again, fingers brushing against the fabric beneath her. She tried to make her face neutral, but apparently failed.

Teresa noticed.

Of course she noticed.

“Hey,” Teresa said, nudging her lightly with her shoulder. “Don’t make that face.”

“I’m not making a face.”

“You are. It’s subtle, but it’s there.”

Erica didn’t argue this time. For a moment, the fake backstory, the game systems, the affinity screen, all of it slipped just far enough away that the truth came out before she could hide it.

“I just don’t know what that’s like.”

Teresa’s expression shifted. Not dramatically. Not enough to turn the moment heavy. But some of the teasing softened, and when she leaned closer, she did it slowly.

“Well,” Teresa said, quieter now, “we survived today. You killed your first vamp. I didn’t die. The doc didn’t die. That’s worth something.”

Erica nodded. “Yeah.”

Teresa held her gaze for a second longer than necessary.

“Life’s short. Especially here.”

The space between them felt smaller than it had a moment ago.

“Want to celebrate a little?” Teresa asked.

Erica’s heart skipped.

“Celebrate… how?” she asked, though she already had a feeling.

Teresa smiled faintly, but there was no pressure in it.

“Relax. I’m not going to do anything you don’t want.”

That sounded sexier than it should have.

Erica hesitated, thoughts spinning faster than she could sort them. Part of her waited for this to be a joke, a test, something tied to the system or the affinity number that still wasn’t even that high. But another part of her, the part that had run and fought and felt pain and fear and victory all in the same day, didn’t want to overthink it.

“…Okay,” she whispered.

Teresa didn’t rush. That was the first thing Erica noticed. She closed the distance naturally, slowly enough that Erica could pull away if she wanted to.

Erica didn’t.

When Teresa kissed her, it wasn’t overwhelming. It was warm. Real. For a second, Erica’s mind just stopped because she could feel it. Her lips. The warmth of Teresa’s breath. The slight pressure. The way the moment lingered instead of fading into some generic simulated response.

Erica kissed back without thinking.

And for the first time since she entered this world, she forgot it was a game.

Tent Image

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