Lost in the Game

by Christopher Keene

  But what was on there was mostly details of the Screamers we already knew. The only new information we have from doing this are the grainy security photos of the doors they are supposedly kept behind. What good is that if we don’t know where they are?

  Unlike when we returned by boat, we weren’t intercepted at the jetty and simply flew over it. No one stopped us at the bay, no one stopped us in the town, and no one stopped us when we arrived back at the shack, where Keri was waiting outside with Barky. We landed the drones on the gravel pathway and selected the option to wake up. We awakened blearily as Keri entered the hut.

  She still looked solemn, but something akin to expectation rose to the surface. “Did you guys find anything?”

  I shook my head, pulling myself to consciousness. “We found something. Don’t know how useful it will be yet.”

  Chloe was the first up, pulling off her Dream Engine, pulling out the RSD card, and inserting it into her phone. She looked through it, trying to find the recording.

  “Did we get it?” David asked.

  She held up her phone and grinned, showing us a play option with the footage duration time at the corner. “All three hours, twenty minutes, and fifty-one seconds of it.”

  Brock gritted his teeth and pumped his fist. “Oh, yeah!”

  Chloe got up and embraced Keri. “We got the next clue: photos taken outside where they’re being kept. Now we just need to find out where these photos were taken.”

  Keri smiled and disengaged. “I’m so happy for you.”

  David leaned back on his deck chair. “Now, how are we supposed to get out of here?”

  Brock nodded. “We can’t necessarily use the buses again. Undoubtedly the Sonics guys will be watching. They might even confiscate any electronics we have with us just in case we took a photo of something we shouldn’t have.”

  I had complained about Brock’s paranoia in the past, but it was becoming awfully handy now. If such an event did occur and they did demand we hand over everything, not only would we lose the clue we worked so hard for, but there was nothing we could do to stop it. I thought for a moment before an idea came to me.

  “We work for one of the biggest companies in the world,” I said, shrugging. “It’s time to start pulling out our own big guns.”

  Chloe grinned. “You’re going to call Daddy Wona?”

  “It’s the safest bet. If he can afford to lift us out of here with a helicopter, then we can slip away without anyone noticing. Not even Sonics Corp.”

  David grinned. “Flying away in a helicopter would be pretty badass.”

  Keri nodded, and I followed suit.

  “Okay, I’ll call Windsor tomorrow.”

  ***

  After going into town to call my mother yesterday, I knew where I needed to go to get a call to the Wona facility. Nevertheless, I checked every corner before walking down the path to make sure there were no soldiers searching the area. I managed to get to the call center without being seen, and paid for an international call. Because of the time zone difference, it was rather late back in Silicon Valley, so I was lucky anyone picked up at all.

  “Hello, Wona Industries.”

  I knew from the voice that it was Wanda. “Hello Wanda, I’m calling from East Timor. This is an emergency; I need to talk to Windsor.”

  “Mm, no. I was told not to let any calls go through.”

  I felt panic rise in me, as she sounded like she was going to hang up. Nevertheless, I kept my voice calm. “Wanda, we didn’t get caught. We succeeded, we got the information he wanted. Never trust me again if you find out I’m lying, but I swear that Windsor will want to hear what I have to say.”

  Wanda breathed in and out slowly over the phone.

  “Wanda, please, just this once.”

  “Okay, fine, but if I get in trouble, I’m blaming you.” I heard her clicking a button. “I’m putting you through to his GC connection.”

  There was a blipping sound, and for a moment I thought I was cut off. Then Windsor’s voice came over the line.

  “So, did you get it?” he asked.

  “We did. We got a clue to finding the betas, and we also learned more about Malcolm’s secret to immortality.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I’ll tell you everything as soon as we get back, but that’s the problem. We need an out. Is there any chance we can get a Wona helicopter to pick us up from Tutuala?”

  “A helicopter?” Windsor sounded amused. “Are my drones still with you?”

  “Ah . . .” I decided to forego telling him that we had destroyed one of them. “Yes, we managed to get them out unnoticed.”

  “Well, I guess the drones would be worth more than getting you a ride from our branch in Bali.” He went silent as though thinking this through. “Alright, I will send the coordinates for the pickup after I’ve arranged a time and place. In the suitcase I gave you should be a new SIM card that I included in case of this very situation. Put it in and then go into an area with Wi-Fi to pick up the message.”

  I recalled the older-looking card that had been in the suitcase. It had resembled a SIM card, and even though they were old technology, Occam’s Razor turned out to be accurate in this regard.

  “Okay, will do. Thanks.”

  “Oh, and Noah, before you go. Malcolm’s in-game personality . . . It was an A.I., wasn’t it?”

  I frowned. “You knew?”

  “I suspected. After all, you can’t think I’m so superstitious that I’d believe his ghost is actually haunting the Dream State, and him being an A.I. was the next most obvious possibility. Even so, with how it responds, it’s still quite impressive, and I’m eager to know how he pulled off such a feat.”

  “I’m going to save that for when we talk face to face.”

  “Sure, sure, just use that SIM card and keep an eye on your phone for the time and place. You should be out in a day or so.”

  I felt my shoulders relax when hearing this. “If anything happens to us before then, the Sonics Company is to blame. They’re the ones who’ve bought the island, and they even killed a man in front of us.”

  “Just be at the site.”

  “We will.”

  I disconnected the call and made my way back to the shack. It was quite a walk, but it allowed me time to think of how we were going to get to a place where we could get Wi-Fi and receive Windsor’s message.

  If we can get the connection to the drones, we should be able to hotspot the area by satellite.

  I returned to Philippe’s hut and told the others of what happened. As soon as I mentioned that we would be getting lifted out by a helicopter, a wide grin spread over David’s face.

  He patted me on the shoulder. “Noah, I’ve always wanted to be a spy. And now, watching enemy bases from afar, using state-of-the-art tech to infiltrate them, and being lifted out by chopper?” He shook his head, looking like he wanted to hug me. “Man, way to make a dream come true.” He then turned to the rattled expressions of the others and changed his tone. “Now, let’s never do anything like this again.”

  I smiled. “It’s not over yet. We have to get off this island before this mission impossible can be considered a mission accomplished.”

  Brock shook his head. “As for me, I think this is the last IRL mission I want to go on. I spent years feeling like Wona was chasing me and having to sneak around collecting information. I’ll admit that seeing someone get murdered in cold blood right in front of me was a step up from what I went through, but even after seeing my friends die, the age-old saying still comes to mind: ‘At least it wasn’t me this time.’”

  Keri frowned and her brow furrowed. “Was that supposed to be a joke?”

  We all stopped and looked at her.

  Brock’s mouth was opening as though someone had forced his foot into it. “I’m sorry, Keri, I didn’t mean . . .”

  Keri shook her head roughly. “I know, I know!”

  Chloe went to
reply, but I raised a hand, knowing Keri needed to express what she had been dealing with internally.

  “Listen, I chose to play games to escape the stuff we’re doing right now,” she continued. “The pain that comes with the real world. We go from fighting against one organization to being faced with another until we don’t know what’s right and wrong or even who we’re helping!” Keri was breathing heavily, her face turning red. “But now we’re so tangled up that we’ve become the ones at fault here. We’re the ones who got Philippe to take us over, we’re the reason he got shot, all to find some grainy photos of doors we don’t even know the locations of! I’m beginning to think Siena might be right in trying to distance herself from us. At least she didn’t have to watch someone get gunned down!”

  There was a silence after her outburst. In it, I saw Chloe’s eyes begin to well up with tears. David looked worried, as though seeing another split in our group—one much more powerful than a disagreement or misunderstanding. It was a schism of values. Where Chloe and I believed the ends justified the means, seeing Philippe’s death proved this transparently incorrect to Keri and Brock. Deep down, it had rattled me as well, revealing our search for the betas for how dangerous it could be. The very prospect of searching for those doors made me pensive even now.

  “I should never have brought you, Keri,” Chloe finally said. “It was selfish of me to ask knowing what we might be getting into.”

  David raised his hands. “She’s not only one who feels like she doesn’t belong here. I’m way out my depth doing things like this as well. But I want you all to succeed and would gladly come here to help you achieve your goals. I guess I’m guilty of assuming the same of you as well, Keri. I’m sorry.”

  Keri shook her head, her own eyes tearing up. “It’s not your fault. I-I didn’t know what I was getting into. I-I just want to go home.”

  Brock covered her hand with his own. “I was on the run for years after my friends were killed. Keri, I know your home sickness all too well.”

  I nodded. “We’ve all been through a lot. Just know, Keri, it’s less that I think the ends justify the means and more that I’m willing to take the risks needed to reach those ends. I admit, people might die, and I’m as unhappy about it as you are, but I’m not going to stop. If we can find the locations of these doors, we’ll be one step closer to finding the kidnapped beta players, and we’re heading home with valuable information on Malcolm.”

  “How many bodies are you willing to leave in your wake, though?” Keri asked, her voice shrill. “Because one is already too much for me. That’s when I get off this ride. I want off now.”

  “Well, we’ll be home soon, and when we are, you can get off.” I decided to ignore her original question, as I knew it was something I need to think over before I would have a satisfactory answer. “Chloe and I will go it alone.”

  Chloe wiped the tears from her eyes and grabbed my hand. “We have to find them ASAP.”

  “Does anyone else want off the ride?” I asked, a small part of me wanting to raise my hand also.

  David raised a hand. “I mean, isn’t there a way we can do this while lowering the risk of someone else dying?”

  Brock nodded. “Within the game.”

  David clicked his fingers and pointed at him. “I’ll stick to that, then.”

  Keri nodded silently.

  “Fair enough,” I said. “You guys can help if we need anything in the game, and we’ll leave you out of anything IRL. Deal?”

  “Deal,” Keri said.

  David and Brock nodded in agreement.

  With the pact struck, we all settled in for the night. As Chloe connected her Dream Engine to her phone and began poring over the footage, I opened up the suitcase, pulled out the SIM card, and replaced it with the one in my phone. Then I turned on a hotspot with my credit, and right away I received a message from an unknown number. The message had a map with a set location and time for tomorrow.

  I forwarded the message to everyone and said, “Check your phones. Turns out this will be our last night on this island after all.”

  There were sighs and smiles all around. My only concern was the message typed out underneath the time and location: “Abandon all excess luggage. Travel light.”

  Chapter 26: The Cloud Coliseum

  The wind from the propellers swayed the grass around our ankles as the large Wona helicopter landed on the open patch of grass in the center of Pousada Lautem. We waited at the back of the reception room, having dropped off Barky with Riccardo as soon as we arrived. None of the military or Sonics personnel showed up to intercept us, but after everything we had been through, I thought it was about time we had some good luck.

  The pilot didn’t speak a word to any of us, only gestured for us to get in as soon as he had landed. He must have been told to only pick up five young people, for as soon as we jumped in, he took off again. As Brock got in behind Keri and slammed the door closed, I caught the grin on David’s face.

  “What a smooth exit,” he said, but then gripped the seat in panic as we ascended.

  Chloe rolled her eyes at him and shifted to rest her carry bag on her knees. With all five of us in there, it was a tight squeeze.

  I looked to the others. Keri was still being silent but didn’t look as solemn as she had been, clearly having gotten out what she needed to say. For all I knew, she was more annoyed by having to throw away the majority of the clothes she had packed than the discussion we’d had last night. The helicopter could only carry so much weight. Chloe seemed unbothered by having to leave her bag behind and looked eager to be on her way as well. We had our next clue and nothing was going to stop her from following up on it.

  How though? Is there some way we could copy the pictures in the footage we took and find their locations online? How far would they even get us?

  We touched down at the airport and booked the earliest flight back home that we could get. While waiting for our boarding at the terminal gate, I brought up my concerns to Chloe.

  “This is going to be hard to admit, but I think we should rip this Band-Aid off now rather than later. The photos we found on those servers might end up being a dead end.”

  She gripped her seat, suddenly on edge. “What are you talking about? The server said ‘we are here,’ and the clues we found . . . Well, what else could that mean?”

  I rubbed my face. “No, Chloe, what I mean is that, even with those photos, we don’t actually have the locations we need to find the Screamers. We’ll need addresses. Heck, we don’t even know what countries the pictures were taken in.”

  Her jaw tightened and she shook her head. “No. I won’t believe we went through all of that for nothing. We’ll just have to pool our resources when we get back. Surely someone would recognize the areas in those pictures!”

  “Who do you suggest?”

  “I don’t know!” she burst out. “Someone who works with databases, maps, or forums. Someone like Data or Dice—heck, Siena might be able to help us!”

  “Siena?” I asked skeptically.

  “She knows gamers from all over the place, plus she can hack, so . . .”

  Chloe sounded like she was grasping at straws, but the reverence with which she had said Siena’s name brought back the many times she had surprised me in the past. Siena was a very resourceful girl.

  If I was told to list off the people I thought most likely to find the locations of some random photos, Siena would be at the top of that list.

  Then I remembered our upcoming match. As had been my intention when we fought last time, my goal was to lose to Siena. Having been so engrossed in finding the betas, last time my emotions had gotten the best of me. This time, however, Brock’s argument that she might need to win to prevent her insomnia had given me more of a reason to follow through. Even what Keri had said about the strain of supporting Chloe made me feel a little guilty about trying to put that on her.

  Not everyone can share my prioriti
es, no matter how desperate I think they are, especially when they have immediate problems of their own.

  Our flight home was long, and this time we could only get economy seats, so the five of us spent the day in the Dream State. However, as we arrived in Heaven, we automatically noticed something was different.

  “The place almost looks deserted,” Keri said.

  “Full-on ghost town,” Brock agreed, then smiled and leaned over to her. “What do you think? Zombies?”

  Chloe peered around. “Unlikely. Look, there are players around, just not as many of them.”

  Suspicion pulsing through me at the sight of only several dozen or so avatars moving around the usually popular area of the steampunk setting, I summoned my Bird’s Eye to get a better view. From on high, I saw that the back of the floating city was a lot more crowded in comparison to the mostly vacant bridges leading to the dungeon Gateways. At first the sight didn’t make sense, but then I saw another island at the back of the city, an addition to the place I had mapped out from back to front before its grand opening.

  Chloe followed me up on her own Bird’s Eye and glanced in the same direction that I was looking in. “What’s going on?”

  “It seems Windsor took my advice seriously.” I pointed off in the distance. “Look, he’s already added a new Coliseum to the back of the city on a new floating island. I’m guessing that’s where everyone is.”

  She grinned. “Looks popular. You might have quite a crowd for your rematch with Siena.”

  I lowered my Bird’s Eye and told them what we saw. The five of us made our way over the bridges toward the new arena. Unlike the one in Galrinth, it appeared that this Coliseum didn’t need a surrounding city to buy last-minute gear and items, as the path that led to it was the same road where most of the items and equipment shops were located.

  Coming to the end of the district, we looked up in amazement, seeing that not only was the Coliseum about the same size as the island that held it up, but that there was no bridge, no rope, nothing linking it the main islands. Instead, at the end of the road was a glowing Gateway that radiated a bright red.