When she concentrated, she realized it was more than that. She hadn’t rested, eaten enough, or had enough to drink for what felt like days. She’d found some resources in this game, but food was scarce, and she’d grown increasingly weak.
It must be how the game was run. They wanted the prey vulnerable and terrified.
Avril stifled an angry sob. No one could win in here. This was set up for the entertainment of others. There might even be aliens watching this game. They must think it hilarious to see this tiny, scraggly-haired human race through the trees making a pathetic attempt to stay alive.
She stood and brushed dirt off her ruined warrior dress. As her fingers brushed over the grubby red fabric, she gritted her teeth. She wasn’t weak or pathetic. Avril knew how to play a great game. It wasn’t all about killing and bloodshed. In a situation like this, she needed to gather resources and find allies. If she could work with others to find a safe way through this nightmare, she could get out alive.
On her own, she wasn’t strong enough, but if she could find enough gamers willing to help, she might beat this game.
Avril knelt briefly and touched the back of the dead goblin creature. “I’m sorry. Maybe you didn’t have a choice about being in here either.”
She swiped a hand across her cheek and marched into the forest. Before she’d been attacked by the creature, she’d been tracking what looked like human footprints. There were other humans in this game. Rachel had said so. And she’d seen enough tracks to believe that. If Avril could find them and convince them she didn’t want to hurt them, they could work together.
Avril retraced her steps until she found the boot marks again. They were recent. Someone had passed by this way when the ground was damp.
Taking a deep breath, she began to walk.
Avril tracked the boot marks for an hour, ignoring the growing hunger pangs in her stomach as she did so. The gnawing ache would subside. She needed to keep going and find others she could work with. That was the most important thing.
The footprints tracked down a short slope. Avril followed them and stopped when she reached the entrance of a low-ceilinged cave.
She stood staring into the unsettling darkness. Anything could be hiding in there, watching her and wondering how easy she would be to kill.
“Get a grip on yourself,” Avril whispered. “You’re the Warrior Princess. You know how to handle yourself.” She swiped her tongue over her dry teeth and cleared her throat. “Is anybody in there?”
There was no response.
“I mean you no harm. I want to find a way out of this game, but I need help.” She tilted her head when she heard shuffling sounds from within the cave. “I ha-ha-have no weapons.” Excellent, her stutter was back.
The noise stopped.
Avril raised her hands to show she carried no rocks or sticks. “Please don’t be more of those evil gremlins,” she muttered.
There was more shuffling before the face of a young woman peered out at Avril. “You don’t want to kill me?”
“No, I don’t want to ki-ki-kill anyone.” Avril let out a sigh at the sight of another human. “Not even the creatures that are hunting us. I’m looking for an ally.”
The woman blinked several times. Dirt smeared across her coffee-colored skin, and there was dried blood in her matted dark hair. “Do you know a way out? I want out of here.”
“Me too,” Avril said. “We can help each other find an exit.”
“Show me your hands again.”
Avril held out her hands.
“Are you carrying any weapons I can’t see?”
“Nothing that works,” Avril said. “I came in here with my plasma blade, but it doesn’t activate in this game.”
The woman crept closer on her hands and knees, remaining in the safety of the cave. “None of the virtual reality stuff works in here. I came with a full arsenal of kit. I had to get rid of it all. It weighed me down. The only thing that works in here are these.” She held up her fists.
“I figured that out.” An image of the dead goblin creature swum through her mind. “I’m Avril.”
“Malka. How long have you been here?” She remained inside the cave.
“I’m not sure. Maybe a day. I’ve been playing longer than that, though. I was inside a virtual reality game when a new level opened.”
“Let me guess. You tried to pause the game and then this amazing level opened, and you walked right in like a dummy?”
Avril shrugged. “I guess it wasn’t the smartest of moves. Is that what happened to you?”
Malka’s smile was cautious. “Something like that. You always grab the chance for a new game, don’t you? Get to the next mission and beat the ass off somebody.”
Avril smiled ruefully. “Always.”
Malka shuffled forward until she sat on her knees. “Do you know how we can get out?”
“Not yet, but I’m not getting out the way the game wants me to.”
Malka’s dark brows rose. “You know about the kill points?”
“In a way. I met someone else in the game. She didn’t make it.” Avril looked at the ground.
“Don’t beat yourself up about that. She won’t be the first to take her last breath in here.”
Avril nodded and swallowed her sadness. “Before she died, she told me you needed to kill to gain points.”
“That’s it. You need a certain number of kill points. The more you get, the better your chances are of living another day. If you’re a good fighter in here, you get little bonuses, food, and water that sort of thing.”
Avril twisted her fingers together. Would Malka kill her to get her hands on these resources? She didn’t look in great shape, and desperate people did desperate things.
Malka shook her head. “Relax, I’m all about the peace in here. I wasn’t gifted this cave. I found it on my own. Actually, I was running for my life when I stumbled across it. There’s some dragon thing out there that likes to pick off humans as a snack.”
Avril shuddered. “I met it. That’s what ate Rachel.”
Malka’s eyes widened. “You survived an encounter with the dragon?”
Avril pointed at the wounds on her legs. “Just about. I’m going to be left with some unpleasant reminders of my encounter with him.”
“Then we must team up if you know how to deal with that monster.”
“I’m no expert.”
“You’re a gamer,” Malka said.
Avril nodded. “You?”
“All the time when my boss isn’t nagging me. What level are you at?”
Avril smiled. “I’m in the top five percent.”
“No way!” Malka stood and stepped out of the cave. She was a short, compact woman with generous curves and a mess of black curls.
“It doesn’t mean I have all the answers.”
“I bet a smart girl like you can figure out this place.”
Avril shrugged, not used to the praise. “There will be a way out. These games have safeguards; they have to. Even if this game is designed to trap us here and make us play against each other, there is always a master switch in case of emergency.”
“You know how to find that?” Malka’s eyes gleamed with hope.
“Not yet, but maybe we can figure that out between us.”
Malka nodded. “It’s worth trying. I’m sick of hiding.”
“Is there anyone else you think we can team up with? Anyone who’s been in the game for a while and knows their way around?”
Malka’s mouth twisted. “I’ve not met anyone in here who has survived longer than three weeks. I’ve been here at least ten days, and that’s considered a good amount of time. Everyone else I meet is either a newbie or has gotten really good at hiding. Or killing. They won’t be found unless they want you to find them.”
Avril studied Malka. She seemed genuine. She had to trust her, but Avril wasn’t letting her guard all the way down. This was a dangerous situation, and people acted irrationally when their backs wer
e against the wall.
“How about we move to higher ground?” Avril said.
“Good thinking. It will make it easier for us to scout out the game. I know just the place. We need to be careful of the volcanoes. They have a tendency to go off without warning.”
“Volcanoes!” This really was a place of nightmares.
Malka walked closer and smiled. “You don’t know the half of it. Come on. If we get out of prime hunting territory, we can work out how the hell we can get out of here without having to check who might be stalking us.”
Avril felt a sliver of hope as she hurried through the trees with her new companion. This could work. She needed a strategy and a way to beat this game.
She’d done it hundreds of times before, beating the odds, winning points, and gaining respect. Avril would do it again.
She needed to. Her life depended on it.
Chapter 14
Iska knelt and dragged his fingers along the ground. There’d been a fight here. The earth was torn up, and blood was scattered in a wide arc around the clearing. He sniffed the blood on his fingers and dabbed it against his tongue.
He grimaced. It was human. There was also a familiar smell in the air. It was a slight floral tang that suggested Avril had been here. He stood and brushed his hands together. Was this Avril’s blood? Was he too late to save her?
A sense of protectiveness hit him. Iska’s predator urge rushed to the fore, but he didn’t want to hunt Avril. He wanted to hunt down and destroy those who’d hurt her and taken her away. He’d take them down and get revenge for any damage done to Avril. It wasn’t right she was in here. She was too innocent to go through this.
He glanced around the forest and grunted in disgust. Despite the setting, this was no different from any fight club he’d been involved in. The audience wanted a show. They wanted blood spilled and drama to unfold.
If they wanted that, he’d give it to them, but this game wouldn’t end how they anticipated. Iska would bring this place to its knees. Once he’d done that, he’d go after whatever sick fucker had invented this game and destroy them.
He froze as he heard movement in the trees behind him. Iska slid a slim blade from his boot. He had no virtual reality weapons with him but always carried his trusty blade wherever he went. It had come in more useful than he cared to remember when hunting criminals. You didn’t need a plasma weapon or a laser. A good old-fashioned piece of steel pressed against a delicate piece of exposed flesh made anyone behave.
The movement came again, the faintest of rustles as something brushed through leaves.
Whoever was tracking Iska was good. They moved quickly and quietly as they completed a circle around him. He tracked their movements with his ears, not turning, so they wouldn’t realize he was on to them.
Iska puffed out his fur. It was an excellent defense against an attack. It wasn’t like ordinary fur; it acted like a shield, deflecting blows and minimizing weapon damage.
The attack came from his left.
Iska was ready, crouched with the blade in his hand. The thing that exploded out of the trees was a bizarre combination of feathers and scales. It half-flew and half-ran, extending its arms to reveal spindly muscles that would not hold its weight if it became airborne.
The creature screamed, the noise making it sound mad as it raced toward him.
Iska ducked at the last second and sliced his blade through the feathered arm of the creature.
Green blood splattered down his arm. He shook it off as he turned to study his attacker.
He squinted at the beast. Along with the feathers and scales, it had the snout of some sort of bear. What the fuck was he looking at? He’d never seen anything like this before.
Whatever it was, it wanted him dead. From the crazed look in its eyes, it would stop at nothing to achieve its ambition.
“Sorry, pal. I don’t have time to play.” Iska drew back his arm and landed the blade straight between the creature’s eyes.
It gargled out a breath as it slumped forward and smashed to the ground.
Iska ran over and kicked the beast onto its back. He pulled out the blade and cleaned it.
He knelt and studied the creature. This was not a thing of nature. Whatever this was, it had been designed. It looked as if parts of different aliens and Earth creatures had been welded together to create this insane, monstrous nightmare. It was designed to instill terror in the humans who’d been shoved into this game.
Bad luck to those who’d created this monstrosity. There was now one less mutant to worry about.
Iska shook his head as he tucked his blade back in his boot.
“Congratulations, unknown player. You’ve earned water and a hundred points,” a male voice spoke above Iska.
He looked around the clearing with suspicion. A hole appeared in the ground, and a post rose up. On top of it was a bottle of what looked like water.
His eyebrows rose. This was how the place worked? Every time you made a kill, you got a gift. People in the game were rewarded for slaughtering others.
Iska grimaced. This wasn’t so different from his life outside the game. As a bounty hunter, you got rewarded for bringing down criminals. Often, it didn’t matter whether you dragged them in dead or alive; you still got your pay.
His work was different, though. It was better. He had a reason for hunting criminals. Maybe it wasn’t because he cared about whether they committed any more crimes, but the end result was the same. One less piece of scum in space and more money in his account. Everything worked out in the end. Everyone got what they ultimately wanted.
An anguished scream shot out of the forest.
Iska ducked and grabbed his blade again. A few seconds later, a human raced out of the forest, her arms and legs pumping so fast she was almost a blur.
She was closely followed by a group of what look like stubby-legged rocks with huge fangs. They snarled and snapped their fangs as she tried to put distance between them.
Iska could see she was losing the fight. The human left behind an impressively gruesome trail of blood. These evil rock bastards must have already taken a few bites out of her.
He hissed out a breath. He was here for Avril. He didn’t need to be the hero and save some stranger who looked mortally wounded and would bleed out in a couple of hours.
“Bollocks.” Iska gritted his teeth as he raced after the vicious-looking fang critters. He couldn’t leave the human to be mauled to death. He’d cause a distraction and give her a chance to get away, but that was it.
And if he could keep one of the critters alive, it could tell him more about the game. It might even know about Avril.
Iska grabbed a handful of stones and continued his pursuit. He aimed carefully as he slammed the stones into the tough gray backs of the creatures.
Several slowed and turned to look at him. As he grew closer, he could see they weren’t made out of stone, but their skin was a dark gray-brown color. He’d blunt his blade trying to get through that.
“Hey, you rock-assed shits, pick on someone your own size.” Iska propelled himself into the air and slammed his head into the gut of the closest creature.
He wrapped his arms around it as they flew through the air and smashed his fist into the side of its head.
The creature gave an angry screech and writhed beneath him, giving off a stench like rotting meat.
Iska felt its teeth scrape against his fur but dragged his arm away and continued punching.
The creature was down, and Iska was on his feet when two more ugly bastard biting rocks launched at him.
He swung his blade and sliced through the skin of one as his foot connected with the throat of the other.
Hot black blood leaked onto his fur, and he hissed in anger. Iska took pride in keeping his fur in pristine condition, and this fucked up monstrosity would mean he’d have to take a long bath to get the stench off.
He drew back his blade and aimed it at an exposed throat.
The crit
ter slumped to the ground, the blade jutting out of its neck.
The other one was already on its stubby feet, its short fingers clenched, and its teeth bared.
“What in the hell are you?” Iska growled, keeping a low position as he yanked his blade from the dead critter’s throat.
The one remaining rock critter hissed and spat through its teeth.
“Are you just a damned fighting machine, or do you have a brain in there?”
The critter gurgled a response. “I am death.”
Iska snorted. “You look more like a turd on legs to me. What’s going on in this place? Who’s running it?”
“I am death.”
“I heard you the first time, and it still sounds like bullshit. If you value your life, you’ll tell me who I need to talk to, so this place gets shut down.”
The creature sounded like it laughed. “No hope. In here, all hope is lost.”
Iska gritted his teeth. This thing wasn’t going to help him. He tried one last time. “Where are the other humans? I’m looking for a female with red hair. Have you seen her?”
The creature’s tongue slid across its sharp teeth. “Humans taste delicious.”
“If you’ve tasted this particular human, I will carve out your insides and use them as decorations on these trees. Have you seen a human female with red hair in this place?”
The creature gurgled out another insane sounding laugh before throwing itself at Iska.
Iska’s knee made contact with the creature’s face, and he slammed the knife into the back of its head. He pulled out the knife, threw the creature to the ground, and pressed his knee into its throat.
“Where is Avril?”
The creature spat blood in his face before it died.
Iska swiped his hand down his face. He grimaced as it came away smeared with black blood.
“Unknown player, welcome to the next level of the game,” a pleasant sounding female voice announced.
Iska Page 10