Hell's Gifts - Complete Series Boxset

by Mark Russo

  Hell's Gift

  Volume 1-3 Boxset

  Mark Russo

  Published by Mark Russo, 2021.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  Hell's Gift Boxset

  First edition. March 1, 2021.

  Copyright © 2020 Mark Russo.

  ISBN:

  Written by Mark Russo.

  Table of Contents

  I How Everything Began

  EIBM 1 Emma

  2 Mr. Sweet

  3 Emma

  4 Mr. Sweet

  5 Emma

  6 Mr. Sweet

  7 Emma

  8 Mr. Sweet

  9 Emma

  Plane K 10 Maria

  11 Emma

  12 James

  13 Maria

  14 Emma

  15 James

  II 1 Charles

  2 Laura

  3 James

  4 Maria

  5 Emma

  6 Charles

  7 Laura

  8 James

  9 Maria

  10 Emma

  11 Charles

  12 Laura

  13 James

  14 Maria

  15 Emma

  16 Aaragul

  17 Laura

  18 James

  19 Maria

  20 Emma

  21 Kelm

  22 Laura

  23 James

  24 Maria

  25 Emma

  III 1 Valu

  2 Emma

  3 Vaim

  4 James

  5 Valu

  6 Emma

  7 Vaim

  8 James

  9 Vagras

  10 Emma

  11 Vaim

  12 James

  13 Vagras

  14 Emma

  15 Vaim

  16 James

  17 Vagras

  18 Emma

  19 Vaim

  20 James

  21 Vagras

  22 Emma

  23 Vaim

  24 James

  25 Vagras

  26 Emma

  It has been an intense year. Yes, it took me around twelve months to complete the first volume in the Hell's Gifts series.

  The main idea came much earlier.

  Putting my thoughts on "paper", meaning composing my first draft, having it edited and ready for my readers was both exhausting and immensely gratifying.

  This complex, challenging process would not have been possible without the support of the friends and professionals who contributed, one way or the other, to the final shape of the first volume of Hell's Gifts.

  That is why I have to thank all those people.

  I have to thank Lee and Richard for reviewing my drafts and "beta reading" as they say.

  I have to thank Tomek for his amazing art and the ability to put my words in the drawings I am now so proud of.

  I have to thank Brian for the amazing work done in polishing the draft and making it a book.

  To all of you, thanks a lot guys!

  Mark

  I

  Hell's Gifts, Volume 1

  Mark Russo

  How Everything Began

  September 2071

  It was not possible. I scanned those few lines of text at least ten times, every one of them checking out the words in a frenzy. Emma Ricci was one of the ten people selected in a competition involving at least one million other applications.

  I had no neighbors. They would complain about all the noise I made jumping around the room. I was excited; it was like I could do anything. All I saw in the mirror on that day was a winner, hands down. Success was all I could think of.

  I turned on my pad and called Tess after reading that email for the tenth time. I didn’t want to wear my haptic lenses that early in the morning. Okay, it was 5 a.m., but I had big news. It couldn’t wait.

  She answered my call despite it being that early. I must admit I didn’t expect that.

  “Emma, what the fuck?” she said while hugging her pillow.

  “Guess what? Wake up!”

  “I already am, Emma. Again, what the fuck?”

  Okay, she was not following. I should add a little detail. Where to begin?

  “I’m in, Tess. I made it into EIBM.”

  She sat on her bed while rubbing her eyes and stuttering gibberish. “You made it? For real?”

  “Yes, you silly. Yes. God, this is the best day ever!”

  “We need to celebrate, like now. OMG. We may even think about meeting,” Tess said.

  “We may … I think. Do we do something in the real world“ I cringed about the idea.

  “Of course not! I’m not that crazy! Let’s create an event in Third Life. I’m talking a virtual reality kick-ass dancing party on the edge of a volcano or something.”

  “Oh, okay. This sounds much easier to plan. I’m on it. I’ve wished all my life to get a chance in this business school. All my life. We are morally obliged to party. It’s mandatory.”

  “I remember all of that. I’m already working on the invitation. I’ll send it to you, and we’ll share it in all the public groups we’re in. When do we do it?”

  “I’ll be in Langren, German part of Switzerland, as of next week. So it has to be, like, tomorrow?”

  “So, it’s real. You get to be there, in person. I mean, wow!”

  “Yes. I’m a little nervous about it but 200% happy at the same time.”

  “It’s okay. You can handle this. Easy. Short notice, though. Crap. There're tons of shit to do. Go to a random Third Life store and buy five thousand costumes. You choose one. We use it as a gadget for those who’ll take part. Do you agree, future business lady?”

  “Tess, I already see myself, ten years from now, with this important managerial role. One of those fancy companies with pantsuits and formal Third Life business review meetings. Should stop daydreaming. I’ll get the costumes ASAP.”

  I sat in my second-hand rig, launched Third Life and wandered through one of my favorite places in its virtual reality multi-verse. TL is an immersive augmented reality platform with tons of things to do there. That day, I was shopping.

  The Mall. Oh, how much I loved that place. You could meet many people there and some of them became friends, for some time at least. A friend was someone I had talked to at least twice.

  Exploring The Mall’s every room and hallway was not an easy task, since they say it’s much bigger than Europe. You can fly, teleport, or horse ride through it. The only limits in TL are the money you have and your imagination. You can always send your request to one programmer, and, if you got the dough, they would create your dream-come-true space and fulfill all your desires.

  At some point, I entered this medieval store. For a moment, I imagined everyone at my party wearing full metal plates. But I guess it was not what I wanted. It would look appropriate but too common; everyone is doing that all the time. Lots of geeks in here, you know. I’m one too, somehow.

  While roaming those endless corridors, I kept scrolling through Sailor—the search engine embedded in TL—for EIBM-related stuff. I wanted to know everything about the place—pros and cons, opinions, 3D videos or tours. I think I was born being multi-tasking.

  To be honest, while researching my future business school, I also found someone bad mouthing them. I read some negative reviews, a few very negative ones, and a crazy one. A guy ranted in a random arena forum about someone torturing him inside the school premises. He also claimed that people would disappear and then reappear there. Well, that did not sound like anything worth paying much attention to. Crazy, that’s it.

  The superb thing is that m
ost described the European Institute of Business Management like one of a kind. They have this old-fashioned campus, and each student gets to be there in person. I mean, I will have real colleagues, and I will meet them each day! Ain’t it amazing?

  That very same evening, we were at my party. It had been a lot of work, but we made it.

  Like any random party in TL, many more people than those who I had invited were there. You couldn’t help it, but I didn’t mind. I would have been way too busy in the next few months for these things.

  I think I visited over a hundred different shops before picking a theme for my party. My final choice went to business casual clothing. The reason? It was unusual. In TL, the latest fad is to have elvish avatars wearing leaf clothes. Suits, ties, and briefcases are not something you see every day around here.

  I was walking there, where the crowd was denser and the elbows closer, and it looked cool. Jesus, I thought I had organized all of that.

  It was your standard party: people flying, some others engaged in hyper-complex dance sequences while others hurled fireballs into the sky—you know, way cheaper than ice or fireworks.

  I wandered along the edge of this volcano—I could not afford an erupting one—and I was talking and smiling to everyone around. People were there because of me. I had to do the honors. Not that I didn’t like it, but, you know, I am not a crazy party animal. I never attended a party in person, which is not that unusual. There are few occasions when people need to meet in person these days.

  I would find a similar situation in the non-augmented world weird, very weird. People would get to see my body and not this super thin and hot avatar I got myself.

  “This was a cool idea,” a random girl wearing fishnet stockings shouted at me while I passed her Nancy Spungen look-alike avatar. Okay, that was not matching the party theme, but I said nothing, while smiling passing her.

  I walked farther ahead, following the crater’s curve to the main dance floor. My head bent backwards, and I looked up to the DJ’s console, and it did not surprise me when I saw Martin using his standard zebra-headed avatar towering up there. No clue why he liked it so much. That was just meh.

  As soon as Tess saw my avatar, she jumped on me, hugging and kissing me in a way I would find inappropriate in the non-augmented world. “Here’s my future business kick-ass manager. We did quite a good job here. Look at how many people answered our call,” she shouted, despite Third Life having a feature that allowed me to hear her voice even in this very noisy environment.

  “Yes. Here it’s very cool, but I’m super tired. I won’t stay very long.”

  “Oh, come on. You’ll sleep when you’re dead. Who’s that hottie down there?” Tess pointed at a great-looking redhead guy. He looked hot in TL.

  “I don’t know who he is. Why are you asking me?” I bounced my gaze from Tess to him a few times.

  “Look! He’s coming this way. He asked me about you a few minutes back. Talk to him. Go!” Tess pushed me towards the handsome stranger’s avatar.

  “Emma, right?” his sharp Scottish accent hit me.

  “Yes, in person … well, more or less.” Good. We are already making an impression.

  “So, EIBM selected you. Congratulations,” he added.

  While I was trying not to choke on the spot, I replied, “Well, thank you. Do we know each other?” I had no recollection of that blue-colored face.

  “No, we don’t. I attended EIBM two years ago though. I thought you might be interested in hearing my opinion.” He smiled.

  It was my turn to smile. I had more than one question I wanted to ask. “Well, yes. I’m more than happy to hear your opinion about the place. Tell me, I’m all ears.”

  He stepped back, tilting his head to his right. “Mind if we walk or fly this direction?”

  “I wouldn’t mind seeing this party from above. Let’s go.”

  He had a very reassuring voice. I couldn’t wait to hear all he had to tell me.

  We jumped and flew above the volcano crater. I do not find flying in TL that amazing anymore. I have been doing that for years now. Flying was the very first thing I did in TL when I joined in 2065.

  We were up there anyhow, in the dark sky of the late night, both staring down at my party and the volcano.

  “My name’s James,” the former EIBM student stated. “Forgive my poor manners.”

  I chuckled longer than I intended. “Don’t worry, James. I’m all ears. So, what will happen at EIBM? Is it as cool as most say?”

  I would have remembered the next sentence for many days, often asking myself what he meant by those words.

  “Well, there’s much more than meets the eye down there.” He plunged his hands into the front pocket of his jacket.

  “I’ll take that as something positive.” I expected him to comment on that.

  “Oh, look. I didn’t know you hired someone for air dancing. It’s cool.”

  I looked down, and two people were performing the dance known in TL as Kuul. It’s some kind of traditional dance of some part of Africa. The only thing cool about it is that you do it while flying. Those two were dancing as one, and the result was convincing, but my mind was elsewhere.

  “I hired no one to do that. I’d guess they are just enjoying the party.”

  “When you get to EIBM, try to learn the most you can. You’ll face very specific types of tests in Langren.”

  “Will it be that tough?” I hoped he could reassure me at that point.

  “Some things are tougher than others, but EIBM is one of the most intense experiences I had in my life.”

  Okay, he scared me. I smiled and moved the conversation to small talk. “Want to grab a drink? I don’t have the tasting implantation, so I won’t feel anything, whatever we get.”

  He nodded while smiling.

  I didn’t know yet, but he was right. I needed to get ready for a series of events that would have had a huge impact on me.

  Back to the non-augmented reality of my room, I still thought about what James had told me. What did he mean by ‘there is more than meets the eye there’? I could not find an answer to that question.

  For sure, that was something unexpected. I mean, the success with my application to EIBM proved exceptional, but I felt concerned at the same time and talking with him didn’t improve things much.

  To be honest, what troubled me the most was that for me, and most people my age, my entire education had existed online up to that point. I had a few sessions of home schooling but no experience with classrooms, frustrated teachers, or anything of the sort. I didn’t know what to expect. Would I even like what this was all about?

  My generation has social skills close to none. I have to admit I struggle to understand what people are feeling by looking at their faces sometimes.

  I should stop torturing my brain. Positive thinking, Emma!

  It will be a fresh challenge. I’ll meet and work with these guys to improve those skills I lack. This was what I should have focused on. I was so glad they granted me this chance.

  Another positive thing was that the place was only like 100 kilometers from my parents’ house, so, when and if I would have felt like seeing them, it wouldn’t have been that difficult. Being there on my own will not be any different from my daily routine.

  I had been alone in my parents' house for three days at that time. They both had important careers and were never around. I looked forward to starting this new chapter of my life. You know, it’s time to do something with all the ambitions I inherited from them.

  EIBM

  1

  Emma

  Suddenly, the day came. I was travelling to Langren in a black bus with some other students. My initial reaction with meeting them was to shut my mouth and make no eye contact. I took my seat and plunged my face as deep as I could into my jacket. It took me quite some time to peek around.

  I had left behind my parents’ house but not my social anxiety, so I checked my live feed. Almost everyone else did the sa
me.

  At some point, I looked out the window; mountains and woods were the only things I could see. My haptic lenses’ enhanced-perception system informed me that those were spruces and pines. This TeachMeStuff embedded app I had just downloaded was getting a little out of hand, giving me details about everything I looked at.

  The bus was comfortable beyond my expectations. I had this huge ergonomic chair, and I’d have fallen asleep in it if I had not been so tense. I was so rigid my neck hurt from my stiffened muscles.

  Only two of the guys there with me exchanged thoughts. I tried not to eavesdrop, but I heard at some point, “She’s so hot. Her specialty is gangbangs.”

  I imagined the two guys were discussing porn, so I refocused on my live feed. I couldn’t tell if stepping in their conversation would have been awkward.

  A moment later, I heard the voice of the self-driving bus announce, “On your right, you can already spot the building of the European Institute of Business Management. We will arrive in less than five minutes. Please gather all your belongings. Having the items you forgot on the bus delivered to you in EIBM will cost you five hundred Swiss Francs each.”

  After that pleasant automated message, I peeked between the seats, and I spotted someone looking at me. I would have appreciated it if someone told me what to do. I raised my hand and waved it in the clumsiest way I could. That girl smiled; I did the same. I was not confident enough to go there and talk, so I looked through the cold window on my right, where those trees were still passing as fast as before.

  When the bus stopped, I waited for everyone to leave first. Again, no eye contact. I followed them from a safe distance, and when we reached the main door, my emotional state changed from the pure anguish I had experienced up to that moment.

  The school looked exactly like it did in the 3D pictures and videos I saw, a bricks giant in the middle of the woods. EIBM featured this immense building—Victorian style, they said, no idea what that means—creepy from the outside but with this sinister beauty that forces you to stare at it. It would be the perfect spot for a haunted house TL adventure. I never enrolled in any of those; I’d die from fear.