Aidan dropped me off inside, and I walked over as Lachlan finished talking with a bleached blonde woman. She wore a dazzling green dress that hugged every curve of her body. He laughed and gestured her inside as I came up.
“Kacey,” he said, wrapping me in an unexpected hug. He wore his usual three-piece suit. Each cuff link was a different game character, and the walking stick he leaned on was shaped like a broadsword. Dozens of golden coins decorated his blade, and it shone like the sun
“How have you been?” he asked.
“Good. Is she your type?” I joked, pointing at the woman.
“Not even a little,” he returned, grinning as he stroked his sandy-blonde goatee. “It’s been a while.”
“I came last week.”
“You used to come every day.”
“Yeah, sorry. Life is a mess.”
“Then you’ve come to the right place,” he said, giving me a wide grin. “Laurie’s already been in there for the last few hours.”
I reached into my pocket, but Lachlan waved his hand.
“Your money’s no good here,” he stated.
“Wow, are you sure?”
“It’s your birthday, and you’re my best customer. What kind of person would I be if I took your money?”
“Wow. You know, if you stop taking money from people, you’re going to go out of business real fast.”
“I doubt that,” he said, chuckling as he gestured for me to go inside. The top floor of Elysium had hundreds of free versions of the old coin-operated games. A pavilion with dozens of consoles and massive televisions. No one came to Elysium for that. They came to compete in the Stadium.
The Stadium was the official name for the lower levels of Elysium. Whenever a player would step into one of the pits, the neon green and pink floor would light up, filling the air with a laser light show. Transparent figures would fill the room, each one paired with the theme of the game. Every day people would fight holographic pirates, zombies, and pit fighters for the privilege of having their name light up the standings. The names of the top fifty gamers scrolled across the marquees on the wall. Anyone on that list was a celebrity with hundreds of fawning fans. Spectators argued over who would win in the same hushed tone they used to describe star athletes.
I walked over to the ledge with the other spectators, trying to drown out the screams and cheers that boomed through Elysium. Laurie stood in the middle of one of the pits, firing her plastic light gun at a horde of realistic zombies. The zombies wouldn’t stop attacking unless they were shot in the head (because Romero). She wore her black shirt, with a black and red checkered skirt. Her usual bright pink headphones hung on her ears. I chuckled as the transparent zombies struggled to grab and claw at her, defeated by her five-foot frame. One by one she took down the shambling horde. Her last bit of competition lost, and the stands boomed with music as Laurie jumped up and down to the roar of the crowd. I waved as she basked in the crowd’s adulation. She rushed over to me, chugging from a water bottle as she wiped the sweat from her eyes.
“Thirsty?” I teased, watching her pant from all the running she’d done in the arena.
“Killing the undead is hard work,” she returned, wrapping me in a hug. “Happy birthday, girl!”
“Thanks,” I replied, grinning as she plopped down in a chair, moaning as if she was dying. She plopped her leather boots up on the table in front of us. I watched her exhaustion with amusement.
“How many rounds of that game have you played?”
“Ten, fifteen maybe.”
“Do you ever think that you might get better scores if you wore sneakers?”
“Fashion requires sacrifice.”
“Yeah okay, don’t you have little errands like, I don’t know, a job, classes, homework…”
“I quit my job,” Laurie replied as a waitress walked over. She was bright scarlet from head to toe and wore a black dress that left little to the imagination. Laurie set the drinks across from me, leaning in low. I looked away to avoid the sight of her ample cleavage and gave her an awkward smile as she sauntered away.
“Why?”
“Oh come on, I hated working at the gas station. It was forty hours a week of people screaming at me and trying to cop a feel. The pay sucked, and I had to come home at two in the morning and be ready for class at six. Screw that, besides it was worth it to be on this,” she said motioning at the scrolling list of names.
“You quit your job to get good at a game?”
“Not good, the best. Thousands of people come every day, and I’m number…well, five. I’m a legend, Kacey,” she said, motioning toward a group of people who shouted in greeting at her.
“That sounds great, but-”
“Besides, I was hired for an internship today, and I deserve to celebrate. It’s a great one too at…,” Laurie stopped in mid sip, frozen as she stared at me like a ticking bomb.
“How’s your soda? I’m not digging mine; I’m going to go-” she started.
“Hey,” I interrupted, “that’s huge!”
“What’s huge?”
“The internship, where’s it at?”
“It’s all over,” she evaded, taking a long sip of her soda.
“What does that mean?”
“It’s Aidan! Hi, Aidan! How are you? Sit down,” she babbled as Aidan walked up. She thrust Aidan into a chair, raising an eyebrow at her while he adjusted the long, white box in his lap.
“Aidan,” Laurie announced, pointing toward him.
“I know who he is,” I returned, concerned about Laurie’s manic energy.
“What did I miss?”
“I’m on the scoreboard!” Laurie bounced up and down in her chair at the statement, her eyes flashing and a wide grin on her face.
Aidan scowled as he watched the names. “Huh. Number five, that’s…odd.”
“Why’s that odd?”
“Because you’re not that good,” Aidan returned as Laurie shot daggers at him. “What happened to the other names on the board?”
“What other names?” Laurie returned, continuing to glare at him.
“Patrick, Stevie, Jimmy…” Aidan listed off.
“Oh that,” Laurie said. “No one knows. Lachlan took their names off a week ago. I think they moved.”
“As fascinating as this is,” I said, interrupting their rapt attention on the standings. “Laurie was sharing some good news; she has an internship.”
Aidan stood up, glancing back and forth between Laurie and me. “You told her about Olympus already?”
“What?” I shot back as I felt the blood rush to my face.
“I didn’t, Aidan, but thank you,” Laurie said as I glared at her. “The internship is with Olympus’ applied sciences division.”
“Olympus,” I said as I gave her a wide-eyed stare. “You do realize they’re the devil, right?”
“Oh come on, they’re not that bad.”
“They bulldozed my mom’s clinic! They created the Shade! They're responsible for turning the town into a piece of crap!"
“I realize it’s not ideal…”
“Ideal? You’re working for the people who are carving up this city and selling it!”
“Kacey,” Laurie said, her voice so low it was almost drowned out by the music and screams of the crowd. “The only other internship for my field is in Wisconsin. Not to mention this city has no actual jobs. They're offering me a paying internship, which means I can focus on my studies. It’s my entire future served up to me. I need this. Can you at least be a good friend and be happy for me?”
&n
bsp; I was about to shout back several brilliant and cutting retorts that I would be sure to regret tomorrow. I rubbed my eyebrows as I struggled to calm down. Laurie had been fascinated by the sciences for as long as I can remember. She always had her nose in a book, and when her parents divorced, she became obsessed. She set up a chemistry set in our garage. The damn thing exploded, destroying some old furniture and turning the walls bright green. I beamed at the memory of her, desperate to explain the accident to my mystified dad.
I groaned. “Fine, but if they rope you into creating giant, mutant lizards, I’m going to say I told you so.”
“That’s our Tokyo department,” she quipped at me, loosening her ponytail. Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders. Everything in my life felt like it was changing. Laurie was moving on with her life and would become some big name researcher for Olympus. Aidan was a creature I couldn’t even recognize and had been lying to me the entire time. My mother was a complete stranger, and both she and my dad had hidden this whole world from me. The relative comfort of high school was gone, replaced by the uncertainty of the future. I had no idea what I was going to do, and I was alone. The more I watched Aidan and Laurie laugh and have fun, the more I realized that soon enough they would disappear. They would all leave me. In the middle of my brooding, I noticed Laurie and Aidan staring at me.
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, snapping back to reality.
“I said do you want your gift?” Laurie replied, amused by my distraction.
“You two bought me something?” I returned, delighted and surprised. “You didn’t have to!”
“Oh. Well, in that case, I’ll take it back then,” Laurie teased, pulling the white box away from me. I laughed, opening it, and gasping at the contents.
“It’s not a big deal; I remember you admiring it when we were cruising the mall. Aidan and I chipped in to buy it for you.”
Inside the box was the most amazing leather trench coat I’d ever seen. It was pure black, the color of the deepest midnight. The buttons were polished steel, and each one was emblazoned with the strange symbol of three ovals intertwined. The image of a raven in flight was stitched on the back, its golden eyes glaring out from the frozen image. I threw the jacket on and beamed at the sight of matching gloves, each one with bands of steel going down each finger, and metal studs on the wrist. I smiled at Laurie and Aidan, wrapping my arms around him in delight.
“How do I look?” I asked them both, grinning.
“Amazing,” Aidan returned, smiling back at me. In that minute, I realized how close I was to him. I felt the steel muscle of his chest beneath my hands, and the calm drumming of his heart drew me in. His emerald eyes shone into mine, and I became flushed as they gazed deep into me. Electricity shot from through my body, making me warmer and warmer each second I held him close. My heart raced as I inched closer, my lips aching to be close to his. Every instinct screamed at me as I closed in, watching the space between us disappearing.
A howl erupted in the back of my head, and I saw Aidan plunging deep into the icy black waters where my mom died. His hand stretched out, as he sunk into the pond. I shook my head, and Aidan stared back at me. He cocked his head as I backed away. I gave him a weak smile and waved my hand.
“It’s hot,” I muttered, backing away from him. “I need to get some air.”
“Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I lied, waving him off. “I …I need a minute.” I walked into the icy chill of the alleyway, bunching my new jacket around my shoulders. The sight of Aidan stuck with me, and I heard his screams echo in my head again and again in a macabre symphony. I cursed myself for letting it get that far, for indulging in my feelings. I was an albatross. My mother's death was my fault. God knows what would happen to Aidan if he was too close. I knew I had to push him away, but my head swam with images of kissing him, feeling his body pressed against mine, and seeing the light shine from his grin. I kicked a can into the alley, grumbling as I leaned against the dirt-stained wall.
“Hey,” Laurie said, walking over to me. “What’s up with you?”
“Nothing,” I lied, sulking.
“Yeah right. You and Aidan had a moment in there, what happened?”
“Nothing, I’m…I’m not into him.”
“Bullshit,” Laurie barked. “I’ve seen how you look at him. So why’d you blow him off?”
A shuffling noise broke through the still of the night. A strange man in a tattered hoodie limped over to us. His hungry eyes glared at Laurie and I. His skin was pale, and he had the bloodshot eyes of an addict. He grinned at the two of us, his teeth dark shades of yellow and orange.
“Excuse me,” he hissed, his voice deep and raspy. “Do you two have any spare change?”
“No, sorry.” I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as he moved closer to us. He regarded our rejection with a broad, satisfied smirk.
“Please, I’m so hungry…” he moaned, grabbing Laurie’s arm tight. I moved to her side and wrapped my hand around his wrist, snarling at him as I did.
“Let her go,” I threatened, as he let out a rasping chuckle.
“No,” he hissed. He tossed her down the alley, causing her head to crash to the ground with a sickening crunch.
“Laurie!” I moved to help her, but the strange man slammed the back of his fist into me, sending me crashing into the back of a dumpster. He snickered as he towered over me, licking his lips like a dog anticipating a meal.
“Pyrus told me you wouldn’t go down easy. I’m disappointed to see he was wrong.”
“Who’s Pyrus?” I asked. I spotted a rust-colored piece of rebar under the dumpster. I grabbed it and stood, hiding it behind my back as the man snarled down at me.
“No one you need to worry about, girlie. Sit still; this won’t hurt for long.”
He lunged for me, but I ducked out of the way. He sailed past, and I slammed the rebar into the side of his head. I slammed it into him until blood poured from his brow. Huffing from the exertion, I walked over to Laurie, kneeling beside her. Blood dripped from the back of her head, and her breathing was slow and shallow. I reached for my phone, dialing 911 as I tried not to think of how hurt Laurie could be.
“Emergency,” a feminine voice on the other side answered.
“Yeah, my friend was attacked. She’s hurt bad and…”
“I know. Help is on the way, but you have to hold out for a while, Kacey,” the voice responded, causing me to stare at the phone in shock.
“Who are you?”
“I’m a friend. I can get the two of you out of there alive, but you have to keep your cool. Grab whatever weapon you can. You’re going to need it.”
“What? Why?” I shouted as I heard a shuffling behind me. The man who attacked us stood, his bloodstained face immaculate and unharmed.
“That hurt,” he spat at me. I watched in horror as he grew, filling the air with the sickening sound of bones breaking and skin stretching. It tore and popped along his face and arms, sending inky black blood dripping on the asphalt. His fingers stretched and elongated into razor sharp claws, and black talons burst out of his shoes. He cackled in glee and pounced, pinning me against the wall so hard the brick splintered. I slammed the rebar against him again and again, but the creature acted as if I was attacking him with a feather. He gave a single swipe of his claw and the steel clattered to the ground, split into five pieces. The pages of my mom’s journal flew through my head, and I gasped once I realized what the creature was.
“Vampire,” I gasped, my heart plunging into my chest as I squirmed. I bit and clawed at him, desperate to loosen his iron grip. He gave a victorious smirk as he leaned in close to me as a connoisseur savoring the next meal.
“This is the part where you beg for your life,” he said, running a claw down my cheek. I winced in pain as he sliced open my skin. A single drop of blood rolled down my cheek.
“Beg, little girl. I may be merciful.”
“Eat me,” I replied, spitting in his face. “I’ll kick your ass for this one day.”
“I doubt that.” He took a long, savoring sniff before plunging his fangs into my neck. I screamed as I felt searing pain surge through my body. It felt as if he plunged my body into molten steel. I thrashed, desperate to tear him off. My vision began to blur as he drained more and more blood. I felt it surging into his waiting mouth as my heart began to slow, its feeble beat slowing to a near stop.
I slumped to the ground, and the world took on a white haze. Each breath became a struggle. Each inhale felt like a knife stabbing into my chest. The vampire moved away, and strode over to Laurie, picking up her unconscious body. His fangs hovered over her neck for a second, and I grabbed at his leg. My grip was weak and feeble as if I was a child struggling against him.
“No…Laurie…” I gasped, as I tried to pull him away. The creature gazed down with contempt as he shook me off. The light at the end of the alley intensified, and I saw an angel step toward us. A cold, hardened scowl lined her face. A metal staff clattered against the concrete as she strode in a calm, confident stride.
“Leave,” she commanded, her voice ringing with authority. A white light coalesced like a halo around her golden hair.
“Who the hell are you?” the monster asked, annoyed by the interruption. The question was drowned out by the howling of wolves. Two of the creatures, each one as big as a horse, snarled as they moved to flank the woman.
“I won’t ask again,” the woman barked, her voice as cold and hard as steel. The vampire dropped Laurie and moved toward the woman. Rage burned like an inferno in his eyes. The woman gave him an icy glance and held her hand in the air. She moved it like a conductor commanding an orchestra. The clear skies howled and blackened as thunder began to drum with a fierce beat. The vampire hurled itself at her, and a bolt of white lightning crashed into him. The alley filled with a brilliant silver light. The creature howled as the smell of burning flesh filled the air. He slumped to the ground, moaning as the woman gave him a savage glare.
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