Magi Legend

by Andrew Dobell

Shining his torch into the inky black he saw a broad set of stairs descending into the earth. They looked a little worn, but would still be fairly easy to walk down. His teammates were beside him, following his gaze. He had to admit, this was a little unexpected. He’d been excavating ruins and tombs for years, but he’d never seen anything like this before.

  “So, err, what do we do?” Lillia asked.

  Bryn started down the steps, before turning and looking back up at them. “We go down.”

  “Are you sure that’s wise?” Lillia asked. She seemed scared, and Kennedy couldn’t really blame her for it. This was more than a little bizarre, to say the least. But even if the find was unprecedented, it was still just another tomb.

  “Not scared of the dark, are you?” Sandy asked following Bryn. Kennedy raised an eyebrow at his friend. That was a little harsh, he thought, but understandable.

  “No! It’s just… we don’t know what’s down there,” Lillia explained.

  Kennedy looked over at her. “There’s only one way to find out, though, isn’t there?” he asked, making sure to appear confident before the young graduate.

  “I guess,” she said.

  “We’re here to do a job, and exploration is a part of that job. Come on, it’s just a tomb like all the others. Everything down here is dead,” he explained, trying to assuage her fears.

  “That isn’t helping matters,” Lillia protested.

  Hard Target

  The Dark Web

  “True, it’s not the best outfit for a game like this, but I do like the dress. Looks good on you.”

  “Thanks,” Amanda smiled.

  “Is it a Matrix reference?”

  Amanda winked at him.

  “Thought so,” he answered with a nod and a smile. “Alright, bring up your control panel, it’ll give you some basic clothing options for the game. Everything else you can pick up during the session itself or get as rewards.”

  “Right,” Amanda answered, feeling a little overwhelmed, but she wanted to see what this game was all about, so she concentrated and brought up her control panel. The holographic display hovered before her. It looked different and had the Hard Target logo at the top. There were various options, including one called appearance. She clicked into it, and then into wearables, and saw a range of outfits. There were combat boots, cargo pants, slacks, sneakers, tank tops, jackets, and more. Looking around, she saw others wearing some of these, as well as players wearing items that didn’t appear in the list before her. They were probably gained through gameplay.

  She scrolled back up and picked out some black cargo pants, boots, and a grey vest, and then clicked apply. Immediately, her clothing flickered, and she was suddenly wearing the items she’d picked out.

  “That’s better,” Matt said.

  “Thanks,” Amanda answered. “So, where do I get a gun?”

  “What? Like this?” Matt asked, holding up his weapon.

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “Well, they’re all around the lobby, but they’re just here to practice with, you don’t take them into the game with you. You have to find and pick up your weapons during a match.”

  “Oh, I see. So, the aim of the game is to kill everyone else?”

  “Basically. I’ve registered us as a duo, so we’ll be in a game against other duos, okay?”

  “Sure, no bother. You know this game better than me. I’ll follow your lead, she said, when a timer suddenly appeared in her vision counting down from five.

  “Okay, here we go,” Matt said.

  Two seconds later, the scene shifted and she found herself sitting on a bench, on board what could only be some kind of aircraft. A cargo plane, perhaps?

  Whatever it was, it was noisy. Matt was next to her, and there must have been over a hundred others in the plane with them. The plane bumped through some turbulence that made the backpack she noticed she was wearing jump about on her back. Everyone here had one, and she could see the ripcord hanging from the left strap.

  It was a parachute.

  “We’re going to jump out of here?” Amanda asked Matt, a little incredulous.

  Matt nodded. He was focused on looking out the window behind them, as were most of the other players. She looked out as well to see they were just starting to approach the coast of a large island.

  “Hah, we got a noob.”

  Amanda looked over to see one of the other players looking at her with a smug grin. He made a gun shape with his hand and pretended to fire it at her.

  Amanda rolled her eyes. Metal screeched against metal as hydraulics hissed. The ramp at the rear of the plane levered open while several doors on either side of the main fuselage opened also. Wind ripped through the plane drowning out all other noise with its roar. They were close to the back of the plane, so she figured Matt would want to jump from the rear ramp.

  Leaning into her, Matt shouted in her ear to make himself heard, “I’ll tell you when it’s time to jump.”

  Amanda nodded and watched him. He was apparently waiting for what he thought was the right time and the right place. As she waited, the plane passed over the edge of the Island, and people started to get up and head for the exits, jumping in pairs.

  After another thirty seconds, Matt grabbed her arm and motioned for her to follow him. She got up and went with him to the rear ramp, where he waited for what she could only assume was the right moment. A few seconds later, Matt pulled on her arm. She took two steps and tumbled from the plane. It took her a moment to orientate herself, but she soon spotted Matt off to her left and followed after him. Below them, the vast island could be seen in its entirety, with small villages and towns spread out beneath them. She could see others falling as well. Some of them pulled their chutes early and were making for the edges of the island, while others were heading pretty much straight down, opening their parachutes late to get down as quickly as they could.

  Matt seemed to be taking the middle ground. She kept an eye on him and noticed that he was waving at her and mimed opening his chute.

  She grabbed her ripcord and pulled at the same time he did.

  Her chute unfurled from her backpack and she slowed dramatically. The roar of the wind fell to a stiff breeze rather than the gale it had been. Matt pointed to a collection of houses not too far away and turned towards them. Using the chutes controls, she followed.

  Before she got too low, she looked around and spotted others landing not too far away at another cluster of buildings. Amanda frowned. They would need to gear-up quick.

  She aimed for a gap between houses and landed smoothly, taking a few steps to slow herself down and come to a stop. She pulled off the backpack as she looked up to see Matt following close behind her. He floated over her head and landed a short distance away. She was impressed with the world that had been created for this game—it was incredibly realistic. If she didn’t know she was in a game and just woke up in here, she’d be hard-pressed to know this wasn’t real based on first impressions.

  She realised that the entire time she’d been in here, she hadn’t actually tried to use any Magic. She guessed that given these were just images projected into her mind that her Magic wouldn’t work in the DWeb, but she tried it anyway attempting to look into the Magical Spectrum, but nothing happened.

  “Are you alright?” Matt asked.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m grand. I take it Magic doesn’t work in here?”

  “From what I hear, no, it doesn’t, but I’m no Magus so…”

  “Well, what you heard is true.”

  “Awesome,” Matt answered, seeming a little nervous. “Look we need to start looting and finding some gear. Otherwise, we’re dead.”

  “Oh, sure, okay. Where do we go?”

  “You check that house, I’ll check this one,” he answered and moved to the house on her right.

  “Right you are, young man.” Amanda jogged over to the other one. It was a two-story box-like building, nothing exciting. She opened the door and moved inside to find an open-plan l
iving space and kitchen, all of it looked like it had seen better days. The paint was peeling, the floor was covered in dirt, and there were bullet holes sprayed all over the walls. No doubt from previous games.

  Moving further in, she spotted several items on the floor in the kitchen and some more on the table in the living area that looked like they didn’t belong.

  She walked over to find a few boxes of ammunition on the table and a pair of trousers. Amanda raised her eyebrows at the clothing but didn’t pick anything up yet. Looking to her left into the kitchen, she saw a backpack and a coat, but no weaponry. She quickly grabbed the pack and coat, pulling it on over her vest top before placing the backpack on the table and stuffing the ammunition inside. Shouldering it, she saw two doors and stairs leading up. She checked through one door and found a small first aid kit in what turned out to be a bathroom. Picking it up, she moved to the other room and opened the door. Inside, she found a pistol on the floor.

  “Perfect,” she said to herself and grabbed it. Pressing the magazine release, she found that it already had a full complement of bullets and noted that they seemed to be the same type as the ammunition she’d found on the kitchen table.

  Pleased with her haul so far, she ran up the stairs to find a single large room with boxes and other household items scattered around. Walking around the room, she discovered another gun on the floor. It was an assault rifle and looked like one of the M-16 family of guns, although she certainly wasn’t an expert.

  She picked it up and the ammunition that was on the floor beside it, putting the spare bullets into her backpack before ejecting the magazine. The magazine was full so she pressed it back in, pulled the charging handle, and chambered a round.

  Feeling kitted out, she made her way downstairs, holding the rifle ready. She was partway down when she saw the main door opening. She stopped and aimed, careful to keep her finger off the trigger. After all, she’d hate to accidently kill her partner.

  “Matt?” she called out, not too loudly.

  “It’s me,” he said as he waved his hand through the door, swiftly followed by his head. “Don’t shoot.”

  Amanda smiled. “You get anything good?”

  “Got a shotty,” he answered her, holding up a pump-action shotgun. “A few other bits as well. You?”

  “Yeah, not too bad, actually.” She brandished the gun for him to see.

  “Excellent. Let’s go check out the other houses. We’ll need to move soon, before the plasma field gets here.”

  “Sorry, the what?”

  “The plasma. As the game progresses, a circular wall of plasma encircles us and starts to shrink, pushing us all towards one another. The plasma is painful and will kill you if you stay in it too long.”

  “Wow. They thought of everything.”

  “I guess so. You enjoying it?”

  “So far. Though, I’ve not been shot yet, so, we’ll see.”

  “Yeah, it stings, but it’s not too bad.”

  The sound of an engine grew in the distance, getting louder and closer. It brought their conversation to an end as they both heard it. Matt walked to a window. Amanda followed and saw the car, a boxy sedan, pull up a short distance away.

  “Think they know we’re in here?” Amanda whispered.

  “They might have seen us land, or maybe they’re just here to loot. Find some cover; let’s see if they come in.”

  “I thought you said that the plasma would be here soon?”

  “It will, but we have time. We’ll have to run or get a vehicle if we can find one.”

  Amanda nodded and looked around the room. There were two doors into the building that she could see, and there were a few places she could stand to cover them. She chose to head for the kitchen and ducked behind a wall. Crouching, she readied her weapon. Matt hid behind the side of the sofa, and the room fell silent. She listened and could just make out the sound of voices outside.

  A minute passed, during which she could hear the occasional movement and voice as the other duo walked around. Moments later, she heard one of them approach the door through which she’d first entered the building. It opened, and there was movement as someone stepped inside. Leaning out, Amanda aimed and squeezed the trigger of her rifle. Matt also fired his shotgun, filling the house with the deafening sound of gunfire.

  The man staggered and fell as blood, clearly faked by the game, flew off him.

  “Kill him and then head outside that way, let’s get the other one,” Matt called as he ran to the other door and made his way outside, checking his corners as he went.

  Amanda rushed over as the man they’d shot got to his hands and knees and started to crawl out of the building. She aimed at him and fired once more. The man dropped to the floor and stopped moving. After another couple of seconds, the body disappeared, leaving behind a small pile of items, including the weapons, ammunition, and another first aid kit.

  Amanda crouched and picked up the ammo that was compatible with her own guns and the healing items, placing them into the pack she wore, before shouldering her weapon once more and moving through the door, checking all around for the other team member. She was between the two houses, and as she looked left, towards the road out front, she saw Matt pass by the alleyway. He nodded at her.

  Amanda nodded back and moved right, to the back of the buildings. With her gun up and ready, she reached the end of the house and checked both directions. It was clear, so she stepped out.

  Something moved out of the rear of the other house to her left. Spinning, she fired at it, knowing it wasn’t Matt. Her first few shots were wide of their mark, but Amanda pressed in towards the man as he ducked and tried to run for cover. Getting closer, she adjusted her aim and finally caught him in the flank. The man spun like a top and fell to the ground. This one died with the first shots, disappearing after a couple of seconds just as Matt ran out the back of the house.

  “Awesome, you got him,” he said.

  “I’m not bad with a gun, don’t ye know.”

  “I can see that. You want first dibs?” Matt asked, waving at the pile of loot.

  “No, you go for it.” Amanda looked around. Far beyond the house she had looted, she spotted a strange-looking wall of rippling orange energy moving ever closer to them over the hills.

  “That’s the plasma,” Matt explained.

  “I figured. Looks like we need to get out of here.” Looking around, she saw more houses dotted around the landscape.

  “Wanna jump in the car out front?” Matt asked.

  Amanda smiled. “I have a better idea,” she answered, spotting another vehicle. Matt followed her gaze and then looked back at her. “You sure?”

  “Of course.” Adjusting the strap on her rifle she slung the gun onto her back as she walked between the houses towards a waiting motorbike.

  She could see the keys already in the ignition and was looking forward to riding it. It had been a long time since she’d ridden her old Fireblade. She had a hoverbike on the Arkady—a sleek, futuristic-looking machine she used off-world—but there was something about a petrol-powered crotch rocket that just thrilled her.

  She mounted it and turned the key, starting the machine up easily, making it purr beneath her. “Oh yeah, that’s the stuff,” she muttered.

  Matt walked over, admiring the bike.

  “You look good on that,” he said.

  “Thanks,” she answered brightly. “Get on, that plasma is getting closer.”

  “Sure thing.” He swung his leg over the machine and wrapped his arm around her body as he pulled out an Uzi 9mm.

  “Did you just loot that from that guy back there?”

  “Sure did,” he answered, cocking the weapon.

  “Tasty.” Gunning the engine, she pulled away with a wheelspin that kicked up a nice fantail of dirt behind them.

  “Which way?” Amanda asked.

  “Doesn’t matter, just keep away from the plasma,” he answered. Amanda nodded and rode through the countryside, bou
ncing over hills and dodging through small thickets of trees and bushes.

  This was fun, Amanda decided. She didn’t have to abide by any rules of the road and could go wherever she liked. She couldn’t resist taking a couple of jumps as she went, although the noises Matt was making behind her suggested he wasn’t as keen.

  She could hear the rapid-fire popping of gunfire in the distance as they went, and as they passed by one of the larger groups of trees, bullets came screaming out, missing them by inches.

  Matt gripped her tighter. She could feel him tense up and move about behind her.

  “What’s up?” she asked.

  “We’ve got company, there’s a car on our tail.”

  Glancing in her mirror, it took a few seconds for it to come into view as the car pulled in behind them. Dodging around a few rocks, she looked again and saw one of the team members in the vehicle lean out the window. Matt fired on them, while the man leaning out of the car did the same.

  The shots went wide, the movement of the bike and the car making it nearly impossible for either to hit their target. Amanda weaved the bike back and forth, doing her best to keep from getting hit. She wished she had her Magic in here, it would make things so much easier, but then, that wouldn’t exactly be fair to the other players.

  She laughed at herself. She was starting to take this so seriously. It was so realistic, though, it was hard not to get caught up in the adventure of it.

  “Amanda!” Matt called. She looked in the mirror, just in time to see the car right on their tail a second before it hit their back wheel.

  The bike bucked and she lost control. It hit a pothole and was launched into the air, sending Amanda and Matt flying.

  “Ah, shite,” Amanda cursed.

  - Somewhere in the Middle East

  Kennedy reached the bottom of the steps and looked up. Lillia wasn’t too far behind, silhouetted by a faint glow from beyond the top of the stairs.

  Those stairs felt like they had been going down forever in the darkness. They were easily a few hundred feet beneath the surface of the earth now, and the temperature was cool but steady.