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It was January 2nd, and all Avery wanted to do was bully random children on Call of Duty.
He wasn't usually that toxic, no. But it was so much easier than thinking about what had happened on Wednesday, than thinking about the man who no longer existed.
It was Friday now, and Avery was back at his job. He worked at a fast food place, and simply viewed it as an obstacle in the way of him and gaming. And now, he was forced to flip burgers all day. The monotony of it was exhausting.
Avery flipped a burger. It was now browned, good. He flipped another burger. And another.
His mind drifted. He couldn't get the images of Minecraft out of his head. D3rlord's skin was still so vivid in his mind, but Avery knew he didn't even know who Derek truly was.
But he was dead now. And maybe Avery would never find out what he was like outside of Minecraft.
Avery moved on to assembling the burgers. He read the orders, put them together how the customers asked, and he did it without thought, without emotion. It was too familiar, just this time, it was 8 hours instead of 12.
Maybe it would be better if he was unable to think, if he just went into a trance like he had in that garden. Maybe then he wouldn't have to think about Derek, the man he barely even knew. The man he failed.
But instead, the boredom and loneliness swallowed him whole. He wanted to lash out at his coworkers, like he did to those Call of Duty players. He knew that would get him fired, so he simply continued to assemble burgers.
What was even the point of this anymore? Making money, and for what? Just so he could continue his lonely, depressing existence?
Would dying be better than this? Did Derek have the right idea? Would it be better if Avery had sacrified himself, if he didn't have to deal with this loss?
It was too late for that. He failed to save Derek, he let himself get tricked by opening his inventory- he was stupid, he should've seen it from a mile away! D3rlord was so much smarter than him. He should've been the one to live.
But there was nothing he could do anymore. His existence was now limited the flipping burgers and playing Call of Duty. With the small addition of contemplating what he'd lost.
Nothing had changed, yet everything had. But the burgers were the one constant.
God he hated burgers.