by Mark C. Wade
Henry said, “You’ll find someone. Look at you. You’re successful. You have muscles.” Henry shuddered. “So many muscles.”
Quillen pressed the button on the table for the robot to come back. It zoomed up, and Quillen said, “We’re going to need another bottle of this.”
Quillen continued, “No. It’s not that easy. Do you realize how many dates I’ve canceled because of my job? I’m always on duty. No one wants that. Trust me. I’ve tried. Muscles do nothing if they never show up for the person.”
Henry scooched his cushion closer. “I don’t mind a few canceled dates here and there.”
Quillen’s eyes locked onto Henry’s. They needed to get out of this place and soon.
~ ~ ~
Quillen opened the door to his house. Henry had only been in there a few times before, and it looked exactly as he remembered.
No one could keep a house this neat and tidy. Everything was made of whites and tile, yet there was not a speck of dirt to be found anywhere.
The lighting made everything shine with brightness and cleanliness. How did Quillen keep it up? He worked long hours. Even hiring a maid wouldn’t be good enough to keep this level of organization.
Quillen walked to the kitchen and grabbed something from a low cupboard. Henry moved up to Quillen to see what it was.
Henry watched in horror as he jabbed a device into his finger. Blood trickled out of the newly formed puncture wound. Talk about killing the mood.
Henry stammered, “What the fuck was that?”
Quillen laughed and kissed Henry on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re so concerned about me, but you don’t need to be.”
Quillen held the device up, and a bunch of numbers scrolled across the screen. It made Henry nauseous to try to keep his focus on it. He realized then how much wine he must have had.
Henry said, “Nope. That doesn’t help.”
“It’s a biometer. I’m taking a reading of my glucose and ketone body levels. I’ve put a bunch of crap into my body tonight. It will tell me what supplements to take to get back on track.”
“Figures you’d be one of those biohackers. Please tell me you don’t put the blood of teenagers inside of you.”
“Okay, I won’t,” Quillen replied with a smirk.
Henry punched Quillen in the arm, and the solidness of that muscle made Henry think there might be something worthwhile in biohacking after all.
Quillen walked over to the sleek white leather couch. The coffee table had nothing on it. No counter even had a stray cup or dish. There were no papers or books. Henry found the whole thing a bit depressing.
It didn’t feel like a home. It felt like a sterile hospital.
Quillen asked, “Can I get you anything?”
“I think you know what I want.”
Henry tried to move seductively toward Quillen. He didn’t have the nimblest body in the world, and as he tried to swivel his hips, his foot stepped on something unexpected. Suddenly, Henry’s solid body was flying through the air.
A look of horror crossed Quillen’s face. Luckily, he still had good reflexes despite drinking. He put his arms out, and Henry fell into them. They were both laughing on the couch.
Quillen had a big smile on his face as Henry pressed into him.
Quillen said, “See. Beneath that grumpy shell, there’s still some joy in there.”
“What the hell did I step on? You have literally nothing in this house.”
“Probably the cleaning bot. She zooms around so fast, I hardly can tell where she is.”
Their faces were so close together. The world had begun to spin for Henry, and his thoughts muddled.
“Quill, you’re such a good, strong man.”
“Okay.” Quillen pushed Henry off him. “I told you to never call me Quill.”
“I like it when you get mad at me. You’re so cute when you’re mad.”
Quillen said, “You’re not going to be calling me cute for long.”
Quillen stood and lifted Henry’s body like it weighed nothing and carried him into the bedroom.
The next thing he knew, they were naked with Quillen’s arms pinning him to the bed. Their kisses turned sloppy and desperate.
Quillen whispered, “It’s been so long.”
Henry shifted his hips up against the naked abdomen and almost shot with how pleasurable those ridges stroking his cock were.
Henry let out a gasp of pleasure, and Quillen’s devious smile returned.
Quillen said, “I love it when you make that sound.”
“You know what to do.” Before Henry could finish the thought, he felt that gigantic tip prod at his ass. If he didn’t know better, Quillen had figured out a way to lift weights with his cock. “Oh, God yes.”
Quillen struck right at the spot with incredible skill, and in one solid thrust was in.
Henry needed more, deeper. Quillen’s eyes rolled up at the sudden gratification. Henry could barely breathe as Quillen thrust loads of precum out.
It had been too long for him as well.
Quillen had let up slightly, and Henry used the opportunity to desperately gab at Quillen’s body. His arms wrapped around those broad shoulders, and he pulled his body harder.
The next set of pounding flung Henry’s body onto Quillen. The man somehow had lifted him up. Henry gripped onto the body for support as Quillen used the weight of gravity to drive deeper inside.
The standing fuck only lasted a few seconds as the intensity was too much for either of them. Quillen’s straining muscles rubbed against Henry, and he burst out shots of cum onto Quillen’s abs.
Quillen’s own choked spasms told Henry they come together before collapsing onto the bed in a drunken stupor.
Chapter 8
There he was, the big strong police chief, so peaceful and delicate. He let off a gentle, cute snore, and Henry just watched him for a moment. Henry began to move in to hold him tightly, but then he realized what he was doing, and he shook himself free of the thought.
He wanted to laugh or throw up, and the confused emotions disturbed him.
Instead, he fell back to the soft pillow. Henry liked how the folds of the covers looked on Quillen. They formed an abstract outline of a perfect man.
The bed shook under Henry’s weight, and Quillen roused from his sleep. Quillen rolled over and smiled at Henry for a second, but then a strangled look came across his face.
Pinpricks covered Henry’s body.
Quillen shouted, “No! This can’t be happening. We tried this. It didn’t work. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have drunk so much. This is all my fault.”
And just like that, the conflicted emotions resolved.
Henry said, “You’re right. I’m leaving.”
“Henry, don’t be like that. It’s okay. You don’t have to rush off and be super awkward about it.”
That’s where Quillen was wrong. Henry couldn’t help but be awkward about it. Maybe Quillen could just turn it off and treat it as a one-night stand, but something about this man kept pulling him back.
Henry grabbed his clothes and rushed out the door.
The dense morning traffic of the city engulfed him. It was disorder and chaos and it immediately made Henry feel better: all the miserable people around him trying to get to their horrible jobs.
Henry took an autocab home, and he knew exactly what would make him feel better now. He would go into Eburnean Passage. He didn’t know what he was going to do there, but he would go.
Henry told himself the case was about the money, but something inside him knew the truth. He wanted to win Quillen’s admiration by solving the case first. He wanted to prove his worth to someone that mattered.
Henry put the headset on and was transported to that magical wonderland. A display came up asking if he wanted to join a nearby raid. He didn’t know what that meant, but it sounded more promising than sulking in bed all day.
Thunderous war drums pounded in Henry’s ears. A string section surged, and it was l
ike he was in the middle of an epic final fight scene of a movie.
What the fuck?
He looked around and a dozen people surrounded him. He noted they each had humanoid bodies, unlike himself.
Henry slithered into the action, unaware of what they were doing. He didn’t even realize the game could play music like this. Last time, there had been no music. Then the shape rose up in front of them.
Henry had no idea what it was. It flew up from the sandy ground, using its large, brown papery wings. It looked part man, part bird.
Its sinewy, muscular body had splotches of red all over it. Its hands looked dipped in blood and long black talons curved outward, like demon claws.
The beast wore a metallic helmet and had a red face under it, but the rest of his body looked mostly like a human or devil. Henry trembled and tried to remind himself that it was only a game. The music and the fear of the people around him didn’t help his nerves.
The creature held a long chain with a gigantic ball attached to it in one hand, and in the other, he raised a wooden staff. Orange flames came out of the end of it, and it began its first attack on the group.
Henry heard someone say near him, “Good! A corrupter is here. Use your magic against it. We don’t have the strength or numbers to overpower it on our own.”
It was like the demon heard them. Its cat-like eyes penetrated through Henry, and it swung the spiked ball directly at Henry’s squishy octopus body. Henry tried to scream, but it all happened so fast.
And then it was over.
He opened his eyes and found himself back in the real world.
Fuck.
It had logged him out because he had died.
At least I know what it’s like to die in the game now.
There was nothing he could have done. Why would it start him in the middle of such a crazy situation? Henry wondered if it had to do with choosing the raid. He wondered if he could pick any starting location.
There was still so much he didn’t know about the game.
Henry paced around the room. His heart still fluttered at lightspeed. The experience had been so real; he thought he was really going to die. Now all he had to do was wait. The hour passed slowly.
Around forty-five minutes passed, and the helmet made a little chiming noise. Henry figured he was allowed to go back into the game. He put the helmet on, but it wouldn’t let him back in yet.
Instead, he found a black screen telling him he’d gained several levels worth of experience. Henry had no idea what that was about. He took some time to choose a few new spells and put his stats into Intelligence again.
He needed to remember to ask Nyissa if he should keep doing that, or if there was now a better option.
Then he waited in the darkness.
Eventually, the screen lit up again, and he opened the menu to show the world map. Henry had no idea there were so many continents and bodies of water and all sorts of landmarks in the world. He used his mind to guide the cursor around the map to see if anything stuck out to him.
Then he saw what he needed to know. A simple star on the map was marked Eburnean Passage. He selected the location and chose to go there. The world materialized around him in the same way that it had the past two times he’d entered the game.
Henry looked around to get his bearings. He appeared to be in a large open desert. Out of nowhere, a tower made of ash and flowing lava rose up. Nothing about it made sense.
Where did the lava come from?
Did it even matter?
The powerful display took Henry’s breath away. He moved toward the opening in the tower. He could see inside, and the whole thing looked like one long tunnel made of ice and crystals.
Another person stood at the edge of the entrance, and Henry walked up to him. He looked in again, and this time he saw someone inside of the passageway.
Henry asked, “Is someone doing the Eburnean Passage right now?”
“Yeah. He’s tried three other times. He wants to succeed before the final tournament of the year.”
Henry realized that he should probably be getting information like this from casual players that had nothing to do with the investigation. It would be far more accurate than listening to the suspect’s take on things.
They watched in silence for a moment as the guy moved forward.
Henry’s new friend asked, “Have you never watch this before?”
Henry said, “No. I’ve only been playing the game for a few hours. What’s your name by the way?”
“Tim.”
“Thank God, someone with a normal name in here for once. I’m Henry.”
“And…you’re a talking octopus? What is that, some sort of tentacle fetish thing?”
Henry felt himself blush, but he didn’t think it would show on his strange avatar.
“No. I used the random button on the character creation screen.” Henry needed to change the subject to get back on track. He raised a tentacle toward the passage. “Do you know what’s going on in there?”
Tim said, “Yeah. He’s performing a bunch of tasks that we can’t see. We can only judge his distance to see his progress. He’s probably fighting enemies, but I’ve heard from other people that there’s a bunch of mental tasks and puzzles inside as well.”
Henry squinted into the tunnel. It looked like something new was going on.
Tim said, “Holy! I think he’s done it.”
The passage darkened into shades of blue. The humanoid figure rose from the ground. He appeared to be hovering just below some large stalactite crystal. Electricity flowed throughout the air, and the guy’s body arched upward toward the crystal.
He vibrated as he hovered there.
Then his body shattered into a million snowflakes.
He was gone.
Tim said, “Well, I should get going. I can’t wait to congratulate him.”
“Are you going to ask him what happens in the passage?”
“It would do no good. The VR helmet wipes it from your memory, so no one can talk about it.”
Henry said, “What?!”
This was quite the twist. Henry didn’t want this technology messing with his memory. Wasn’t it possible that Zane’s had malfunctioned during that process? This raised so many questions and possibilities.
A deep voice boomed around them. It felt like it was materializing out of the atoms of the air. Henry had never experienced anything like it.
“In twenty-four hours, the Final Tournament format will be announced.”
Henry asked, “What does that mean?”
Tim said, “Every year the Final Tournament takes on a different format. This is so that no one can game the system by making a character specifically designed for the tournament. No one can train for it, either. It is supposed to be a true test of the best overall in the game.”
Now Henry really had to find Nyissa. He had a lot of new questions. The first of which was going to be: what would happen to his $1 million if she lost the tournament?
Chapter 9
Nyissa wasn’t responding to any of Henry’s calls, and that wasn’t a good thing. He knew she was busy preparing for the tournament, but it still didn’t sit right with him.
The announcement for the tournament had come and gone, and Henry was about to head out the door to the opening ceremonies.
What was she thinking?
Henry paced about the apartment. He had no idea how formal an occasion it would be. He decided casual wear would be fine because it wasn’t like the e-sports athletes would be dressing up. The stands would be filled with gamers.
Henry glanced at his watch, and then he rushed out the door. He was going to be late if he wasn’t careful, and he didn’t want to miss anything. Who knew what strange information he might find out if he paid close enough attention?
Luckily, the ceremony location was downtown in the convention center. The autocab picked Henry up, and it screeched away from his apartment complex. It spun around corners and darted int
o narrow alleyways. It was definitely taking the fastest way by avoiding traffic, but that didn’t make Henry feel any safer.
The giant domed building came into view, and swarms of people flooded at the entryway like water trying to get through a clogged hose. As much as Henry loved misery, he hated crowds. The autocab got stuck in the traffic, and Henry used his phone to end the trip early.
Even though Nyissa had not spoken to Henry, at least she had sent him a special VIP tag. He skipped to the front of the line and hoped for the best. Henry held up the tag. The bouncer had gigantic muscles bulging out of a skin-tight black t-shirt. The man grunted at Henry and then nodded him on.
Henry squeezed through the crowd. He occasionally showed the tag to people in red vests milling about. They guided him forward, and eventually, he found a seat near the front.
He’d never been inside the giant domed convention center, and the vast open space in such a densely crowded city made him hyperventilate.
Henry fiddled with his flimsy program made from recycled paper as he caught his breath again. The stadium filled up with alarming speed, and it was a good thing, too. There were only ten minutes until the start time.
Henry closed his eyes and waited patiently. He sensed the lights dim, and the crowd quieted. He opened his eyes and found golden rays shimmering across the ceiling. Henry’s heart beat faster. The lights dripped like water toward the crowd.
He panicked and braced himself to be struck by the falling star. But then he realized it was all an illusion.
Images from the game appeared throughout the air. It was so realistic to see Nyissa fighting a dragon and Aeden, with his crew close behind, battling a force of ugly orcs. Henry realized they must have been well-known fights and images from the year of playing the game. The crowd cheered and booed at various points of the presentation.
The whole thing was shockingly impressive to Henry who had never seen anything like it before. It was almost like he was in the game, but he didn’t have the helmet on.
The lights came back up, and a man in his late forties walked to the podium at the front stage. He stood with excellent poise and wore an expensive suit. Henry hated the man’s groomed goatee. He looked like the type of person who spent hours in front of the mirror every morning.