by Wyatt Savage
“Is that so?” Jackie asked, coyly. “Are you certain that your superstructure’s nature as an entity which requires its biological predecessors as framework won’t be affected by a transformed infection? You’re not, are you? An infection operates the same even if it’s artificial. That’s how we design most vaccines—by creating artificial replicants of viruses and testing artificial vaccines on them in a simulation. And if your structure is dependent on its biological framework, then it’s vulnerable to a similarly transformed one as well. Because that’s exactly what happened in the first place, and why your sublevel core is damaged. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you didn’t know exactly what you were doing when you invited a doctor like me into your home. Tell me you’re not regretting that mistake now. I…dare…you.”
“Where does your wisdom come from, human? I demand to know.”
Jackie chuckled. “Mostly discount used books online. Medical school isn’t cheap.”
“You traffic in levity when you are on the cusp of your journey’s end? You are truly mad.”
“I’ve been accused of worse,” Jackie sniffed.
“What are your demands?” Threshold asked, showing his cards. “I’ve already promised safe passage through the shortcut to Level 3 of the Melee. I’ve already promised experience points as a reward for completing the side quest. What do you actually want?”
“You might be surprised,” Jackie replied. “You might also like it actually. I want the infected sublevel core.”
An awkward silence followed. Jorge did his best not to act surprised, as if he was on the same page even if he was only following her lead. Threshold kept quiet for several seconds, mulling his options. The monsters at Threshold’s command remained at the cusp of the sublevel’s mainframe, holding back, but eagerly awaiting a chance to strike and devour Jackie and Jorge.
“Why would you want such a thing?” Threshold asked, his voice booming from all directions, still reluctant to be in the same room as the infection and as Jackie—a force to be reckoned with. “You have already been infected once. Why would you want an additional infection that will require constant maintenance?”
“I can handle hi-tech invaders and intruders all day long,” Jackie began, “but nature is out of your wheelhouse, a wheelhouse that I run laps around. Nature makes sense to me in the same way the programmer who made your makeup possible understood numbers and data. Biology is data to me in a similar way. I master it out of passion and admiration. I welcome it, I love it, it’s been my life’s passion. I’ve helped countless people through knowledge. What you see as a problem, I see as an advantage, one that is damaging to you in the Melee, but an asset for someone like me. Also, this is the last time I explain myself. Any further hesitation on your part, and I let nature take its course. Good luck with that, Mister Dungeon.”
“You have not just helped people and saved lives with your knowledge, Jackie,” Threshold replied. “You have also used it to bring many participants to their journey’s end. Is this not in contradiction to your…personal nature and view of yourself?”
“Circle of life, biological cycles, life feeds death and death feeds life,” Jackie replied. “Life is life in all its forms. I don’t see a problem.” She no longer felt bothered by the nuances. She’d decided to embrace nature and the universe as it wanted to be embraced, in its true cyclical forms.
“I see,” Threshold said. “You are indeed what some in the local culture refer to as Santa Muerte, la Nina Blanca, la Madrina, Senora de las Sombras…Our Lady of Holy Death personified. Healing, protection, power, experience points, a path to the next level, the end of one’s journey…you have shown the ability and skills to bend external forces to your will.”
“Some souls have a higher ambition,” Jackie replied, not knowing where those words came from.
Threshold paused at this. The thing’s underlings, his monster-minions retreated, disappearing into the darkness of his corridors, leaving Jackie, Jorge, the damaged sublevel core, and the voice of Threshold all alone. “I must finalize our deal without my subordinates present. Do you understand?”
Jackie nodded, glancing at the sublevel core that was about to be hers. Her mind spiked with adrenaline at the unimaginable things she would do with it in her possession.
“First,” Threshold began, “you must receive the gift of the sublevel core into your possession, so that it no longer affects my dominion. Then, we will proceed.”
“No tricks,” Jackie demanded. “I’ve made it clear that Roundworms will be released if I die.”
“No tricks,” Threshold confirmed. “Your wishes are acceptable and rid me of my problem in a rather unexpected manner. Shall we proceed?”
“Be careful, please,” Jorge begged. “That thing is dangerous even if it appears to have given in.”
“You first,” Jackie proposed to Threshold, while sneaking in a quick nod to Jorge that she understood his worries.
“Don’t be alarmed,” Threshold cautioned. “It may be jarring, but if what you say is true, then you will be receiving all the things you wish for.”
Jackie’s body lifted off the ground and lit up in bright, luminescent green, as she received her changes. Her mind reeled, and her body trembled from the stark and immediate transformation that was a result of her journey thus far. She saw a flurry of holographic items, weapons, gear, floating in the air.
Simon kept Jackie informed as the changes took effect and she acquired the items. “You have acquired a scythe, symbolizing the cutting of negative energies and influences, a harvesting tool fostering hope and prosperity from biological growth. You have acquired a globe, representing death’s vast power and dominion over the world you inhabit, reaching anywhere and everywhere. No place is beyond your reach now, given the right choices and victories. You have also acquired an infected sublevel core, invaluable in its own right, and unlikely to have been obtained by anyone, let alone a level two participant. Congratulations, Jackie, you have continued to overcome the odds. Lastly, you have acquired an hourglass, symbolizing your commitment to the belief that death is not the end, and a lamp, symbolizing your intelligence which will light your path forward through the darkness of ignorance and doubt. The preceding items and artifacts possess extensive power and will prove useful when the time is right. Ten thousand experience points have been granted as a reward for eliminating the sublevel core infection and completing your agreed-upon side quest. Twenty points have been awarded for surviving an additional twenty minutes.”
Species:Homo Sapiens (Leon, Jaqueline)
Codename: Santa Muerte (Attributed by the Dungeon Core known as Threshold as a result of demonstrated actions)
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (Mandatory attribute determined by refusal to destroy an infected sublevel core while creating havoc simultaneously)
Infected: Chaos Cataracts – Disrupts the participant’s ability to decipher friend from foe, causing severe internal conflict (This is a direct result of requesting, inviting, and accepting an infected sublevel core into your arsenal)
Ragetags: Metamaterial Shroud; Metamaterial Disruptor (Stealth Defense and Navigation Enabled)
Chattel:5.7 mm pistol; Grenades; Scythe (Melee-class); Globe; Sublevel Core; Lamp
Health:22/30
Level:2
Class:Mage
Kills:122
Vitals:BP – 115/82; T – 97.28f; RR – 14bpm
XP:11,529
Sentient Party Members now include Jorge Arau and the sublevel core known as Poison Lair.
Jackie stood, rooted in place, basking in a demonic light that shone down from somewhere overhead. The light spilled across her and she trembled, absorbing the energy. She thrust out her left hand and her fingers ignited a gout of orange flame. She did the same with the right hand, drawing loops of fire in the air.
Numbers pulsed across her HUD, casualty figures, the number of persons who’d died in the Melee. Hundreds of millions had already fallen. The ghostly alien voice whispered, “A single d
eath is a tragedy, millions of deaths is a statistic.”
She clapped her hands and the flames dancing at her finger-tips vanished. She closed her eyes and absorbed everything. She felt bigger, more knowledgeable, and infinitely more powerful. She had reached this journey’s end, but not her journey’s end. Threshold followed through on his promise and agreement, teleporting her, Jorge, and Poison Lair toward what she was told was Level 3 of the Melee. It was unclear where the level was precisely situated, though it was eluded that it would be a structure built over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. She was not told what would await her inside, but was reminded that she had 18 days left to reach the Great Pyramid of Giza, the center of the Earth, using any means necessary. Any means necessary. Jackie smiled at this. She was only just beginning to realize that the Melee offered the environment in which to reach her full potential, and reach it, she would. After all, she had found truth in blood. This game was hers for the taking. She would not take a knee before anyone and would find a way to survive, survive and win.
THE END
Afterword
If you enjoyed this novella, please leave a review on Amazon!
AUTHOR NOTES
What drew me to this story was the notion of a character, struggling to survive, who was forced to go against everything they ever believed in. Jackie’s a doctor and has spent most of her days saving lives and now, trapped in the Melee, she’s forced to either start taking them or die. What does a person trapped in that situation do? In Jackie’s case, I liked the idea that she’d always had a darker side that maybe she didn’t even know about. The aliens constantly remind the participants that some people find themselves in the Melee, and that’s exactly what happens to Jackie. She discovers that she’s actually good at the game, excelling at strategy, manipulation, and yes, dealing out death. In short, she becomes villain by the end of the book, a bad-ass participant with a ton of XP who may or may not be facing off against the other characters from Melee Book 1 and Melee: Chicago (you probably noticed that the names of some of the other players from Melee Book 1, and Melee: Chicago were mentioned in Melee: Mexico). Rest assured, that all will be revealed as the series unfolds so keep checking back and thanks for reading Melee: Mexico!
Acknowledgments
Thank you, readers! Thank you for coming along on this adventure with me. If you’ve enjoyed the story and characters as much as I have.
Extra appreciation to those of you who take the time to leave reviews and share your experience. It’s incredibly helpful to have your support and encouragement, and your involvement makes future stories possible.
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Thank you, friends and family for your patience, thoughts, and support. This story and these characters have you to thank for their existence.
Thank you, to my incredible editors, illustrators, and feedback readers.
Creating and exploring Melee: Mexico as part of the larger Melee world has been a thrill unlike any other story I’ve written. If it weren’t for how dangerous playing as a participant in the Melee would be, I’d personally want to sign on and give it a go myself, which is the heart and crux of the game world our characters have been thrust into.
My best wishes,
Wyatt Savage
Also by WYATT SAVAGE
OTHER STORIES BY WYATT SAVAGE
MELEE
Logan James wanted nothing more than to make his parents proud and get his life back on track. Once a promising athlete, he suffered a terrible injury in a car crash that robbed him of his smarts and marooned him in a crappy dollar store along with his best buddy Dwayne and a cute cashier named Alicia.
Things are finally looking up for Logan when an alien armada arrives and announces to the world that a game is going to be played that will result in unimaginable benefits to the victors.
The game, called Melee, involves all humans between the ages of 18 and 54 and has been imposed on countless worlds since time immemorial. The rules of Melee are simple: compete in a global battle royale, kill other participants and an army of the galaxy’s worst monsters, amass experience points, level up, and use any means necessary to reach the center of the Earth in 19 days. Accompanied by Dwayne, Alicia, and an alien guide named Sue, Logan sets off to battle his way through the Melee, realizing that while hundreds of millions will play, only a few hundred will make it out alive.
MELEE
BLACK SPIRE: CHICAGO
Kurtis Evinrude was a broken man, a convict who’d lost his job, his family, and everything he’d ever cared about. But when the worldwide alien invasion battle royale known as the Melee begins, he’s given an opportunity. Saved by a mortally-wounded prison guard, Kurtis escapes into the mean streets of Chicago. Teaming up with a brash female fighter named Tae, Kurtis battles against nightmarish monsters and bloodlusting game participants as he fights his way on a quest to level up and fulfill the guard’s dying wish that he track down and protect his wife and young son.