Gamer Girl

by Mia Archer

  Damn. I guess the profs had figured out a way to get into the game after all. I wondered if any of my other classes were going on that day, but suddenly me not getting any infractions for not attending any of my morning classes was making a hell of a lot more sense.

  It was hard to get an infraction for not attending a class that wasn’t going in the first place, after all.

  I turned away from the door with every intention of maybe hitting up the cafeteria and then getting back to the game, but jumped when I saw none other than Katie standing at the end of the hall.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I figured I might see you coming through here at some point,” she said. “We’re in this class together, after all.”

  I started walking. I brushed right past her, giving her one hell of a cold shoulder.

  “I have nothing to say to you,” I said.

  But of course it wasn’t going to be that easy. I heard her following behind me and rolled my eyes. Of course the one time I wanted one of these rich assholes to ignore me like the filthy rizon I was would be the one time that didn't happen.

  “We need to talk about what happened in the game,” she said. “You could be in serious danger.”

  I turned to glare at her. She actually flinched away from that glare. Not what I was expecting.

  “Why the fuck should I listen to anything you have to say?” I asked.

  “Because you don’t understand what was going on in the game,” she said.

  I wheeled on her and pressed my finger into her chest. I tried to ignore how nice that chest looked and felt. She was insanely hot, but I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of getting good and pissed off at her.

  “You were leading me off to someplace where you could get me captured by someone who’s doing the in-game equivalent of human trafficking or something, and I’m not going to put up with it. You can fuck off and leave me the fuck alone,” I hissed.

  “But that’s not what was happening!” she said. “And are you going to tell me what the fuck it was you did to get those people to fight for you? I’m serious. I’ve only seen that once before, and it’s dangerous.”

  My eyes narrowed. “When we were in the game you said you’d never seen it before, so which is it? Are you just going to keep lying to me until you get whatever you want from me? You’re not getting that screenshot and you’re not getting…”

  “I knew it!”

  That was a different voice. I wheeled around and found myself staring at Chelsey and Tori. And from the way they were staring at me I wasn’t going to like what they were planning to do to me. A bead of sweat ran down my forehead.

  It would’ve been bad enough if it was just Chelsey and Tori standing there looking pissed off and triumphant at the same time, but they’d brought some hired muscle with them: two dudes carrying stun batons.

  As I stared at them the guys held the stun batons up and let plasma arc back and forth across the front. One touch from those things and I’d be knocked on my ass, and I really didn’t want these assholes to knock me on my ass.

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  “For you to give up the screenshot,” Chelsey said. “Give it up nice and easy and maybe we won’t hurt you.”

  “Maybe you won’t hurt me?” I said.

  “Well you have been causing us a lot of trouble,” Chelsey said. “I can’t promise anything considering how pissed off I am.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You bitches are all the same, you know that?”

  Chelsey seemed genuinely surprised that someone would talk to her like that. I’m sure in her world it was a rare occurrence, but I was ready to give her a piece of my fucking mind.

  “Oh yeah,” I said. “You could’ve told me you’ll let me go and maybe we could’ve come to an understanding. Then you rough me up afterwards. You have no idea how to shake someone down, do you?”

  “And you do?” Chelsey asked, looking me up and down.

  “I’m from the surface,” I said. “I might just be a filthy rizon to you, but that means I’ve seen shit that would have you curled up in the fetal position crying.”

  Chelsey looked to Tori. For all that she was trying to project confidence here, she looked just a little put out by my threat. If they were going to see me as nothing more than a filthy rizon then I figured I might as well start acting the part and get a little something out of it.

  Stereotypes sucked, but if I could use what these bitches thought of poor people down on the surface to save my ass then I was going to use it.

  “Whatever,” Chelsey said. “Get her.”

  “Stand behind me,” Katie said.

  “Why the fuck would I stand behind you?” I asked. “You’re just going to give me to them.”

  “I said stand the fuck behind me,” Katie said.

  Now it was my turn to look surprised. Sure I was used to people talking to me like that, but it was a shock to hear that kind of language coming from Katie. It was a commanding voice that wasn’t anything I’d expected. So I moved behind her.

  “You know who I am,” Katie said, eyeing Chelsey and Tori. “You know what the fuck will happen if something happens to me.”

  “I don't care if your dad is the Director! I need that screenshot,” Chelsey said.

  Though she looked a little hesitant all of a sudden. Katie’s threat didn't stop Chelsey from motioning for the men to move in. They didn’t move. I guess even hired thugs thought twice before attacking the Director’s daughter.

  “I said get her!” Chelsey snapped.

  That snapped them into motion, though it was a half assed sort of threat. Like they didn't really want to do this now. The men circled around Katie. She held herself between them and me as she circled with them.

  “My father isn’t going to be happy about this,” she said. “You know who he is, right? Director Reynolds?”

  That was good to get the guys to stop again. One of them even lowered his stun stick and turned it off. He glanced at his buddy, and boy did the two of them look really unsure about what the fuck they were doing now.

  I’m sure the thought of attacking a girl who was the elevator director’s daughter had their balls retreating up into their bodies. They looked like the kind of guys who talked a tough game, but weren’t all that great about actually following through when they came across someone who was actually stronger than them.

  Also? I had no intention of waiting around to see whether or not this little standoff actually worked out in our favor. No, Katie still had herself between me and the hired muscle, but that meant Chelsey and Tori were between me and escape.

  And I hadn’t been lying when I said I was going to show them exactly what it meant to take on someone from the surface. They might think they were tough because they had some hired muscle, but I’d grown up in some of the toughest circumstances in the world and managed to make it out alive.

  So I turned and threw myself at Chelsey. I stayed away from Tori. She hadn’t done anything so far. After hearing the two of them chatting I got the feeling maybe she was as much a victim of Chelsey’s bullshit as anyone else.

  Either way she jumped to the side as soon as she realized I was heading for them. Her cry of surprise would’ve been hilarious if this wasn’t so fucking serious.

  Then I slammed into Chelsey and we went tumbling to the ground. I pulled my fist back and slammed it into her face once. Twice. The third time was the charm. Her nose bloomed with red as blood flew out of it.

  She put her face to that nose, something I’m sure was bought by her daddy for some birthday or another at some point, and started sobbing.

  I didn’t pause to see whether or not the others were pursuing me. No, it was time for me to get the hell out of there. I could be in a hell of a lot of trouble for hitting her like that, but something told me they weren’t going to be reporting this considering she’d showed up with some hired muscle of her own that would no doubt show up on the security footage
from the many cameras that were always running on campus but never checked unless there was an incident.

  Yeah, that’d be bad for both of them.

  I felt a little bad about leaving Katie behind, but something told me she’d be able to take care of herself. After all, she was the daughter of the most powerful man in the elevator. Anyone who dared touch her would be bringing down a world of hurt on themselves.

  Which made it all the more ridiculous that I’d ordered a bunch of people to attack her, even within the confines of a video game, but whatever.

  I kept running until a stitch in my side made it impossible for me to keep going. I finally doubled over and sucked in some air. I was almost to the building exit. I turned to look behind me and see if anyone was following, but there was no one there.

  Whatever the fuck was going on between Katie and those other four seemed to have kept them from following me.

  I wasn’t sure what to do from here. If those two knew I had that screenshot then I was in some serious trouble. I felt like heading back to my room, but there also wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to go somewhere obvious like that.

  No, the only other place I could think of was the Etherea lab. Sure I’d be popping back into a game where I was being held captive, but it was better than going to my room and inviting someone to try and take me captive in the real world. With a little luck they wouldn’t think to look for me there, though I knew that was probably wishful thinking.

  So I headed back to the lab. Back to Etherea. I wasn’t sure what the hell I was going to do there, but I figured I had a better chance of figuring shit out in there.

  It wasn’t much, but it’s not like I had much to begin with.

  29

  Dungeon Run

  My eyes opened and I found myself staring at a stone that was dripping with condensation of some sort. No sooner had my eyes opened than some of that condensation dripped down and landed right in my eyes.

  I sputtered a few times and that was good for letting another drop of water land right in my open mouth. The stuff tasted like mineral water, only the taste was way more intense than the crap they sold in the cafeteria.

  “Motherfucker that shit’s disgusting,” I growled.

  “Ah, you decided to join us at long last,” a voice said.

  I sat up and peered into the darkness. It was difficult to see much of anything since the only light was a fitful orange glow that reminded me of the Etherea crystal interface.

  “Take them all,” a voice whispered in my head, making me wonder if I was losing it. “You’re in the belly of the beast. Fulfill your destiny, take her power, and take your place as my champion!”

  I shook my head.

  “What the fuck do you want?” I hissed.

  “What I want is for you to come with me,” that first voice, the one that wasn't in my head, said.

  The flickering started to move, and it finally resolved into that blue haired elf girl. She stared at me through a set of bars that told me I was in a dungeon of some sort.

  Which made sense. That put the whole mineral water thing into perspective, at least.

  “Why the hell should I come with you?” I asked. “Seems like you’re the last person I’d want to go with.”

  The girl shrugged. She was pretty, for all that she clearly had me at a disadvantage here.

  “You can hang out here for a little while and see how long it takes you to get bored looking at the dungeon walls,” she said. “I’ll be sitting here playing some old school games while I wait for you to come around.”

  Huh. I hadn’t even realized that was possible. I’d have to see if I could get some emulators running, then it occurred to me how ridiculous it was to want to play a game within a game that was supposed to be fun all on its own.

  “Fine,” I growled. “I’ll go with you.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “Because I was really trying to get the last star in Tick Tock Clock and it’s a real bitch.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Tell me about it. Some of those levels at the end rely on luck more than they rely on skill.”

  “I know!” the girl said. “I mean it’s like every time I try to ride the clock hands to get that damned star something happens and I get electrocuted and then it’s all over.”

  “It’s all about timing and getting used to the shifting 3D patterns while using the crappy camera,” I said. “Sometimes it feels like the camera is your worst enemy.”

  “Yup,” she said, brushing her hand against the cell walls. She must’ve done something, because a moment later the door swung open and she stood there smiling and gesturing for me to follow her.

  “So where are we going?” I asked as we made our way through the dungeon.

  “You’re going to see Calixia, of course,” she said. “She’s been very interested in seeing you. I’m not sure what you did to piss her off, but…”

  She trailed off as she stared at me hopefully. She was about as bad as Katie when it came to trying to get something out of me I had no intention of giving away.

  “Yeah, if you think you’re getting anything out of me you have another thing coming,” I said. “Sorry.”

  She shrugged as though it didn’t matter all that much. “Suit yourself.”

  “So what’s your story?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  She paused to touch a random stone on one of the walls. I didn’t see what was all that special about this stone versus all the others, but there must’ve been something different about this one because the wall pulled back and opened to reveal a stair leading up.

  That was good to know. Basically there wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to be able to escape from this place because there was no way I’d know which stone to touch to get out of here. Not to mention there was also the little problem of not knowing whether or not that stone was tuned to everyone in here. Maybe it only worked with this blue-haired beauty.

  I sighed. “This sucks.”

  “It’s not so bad,” she said. “Usually when Calixia looks for someone like you it’s because you caught her eye.”

  “I'm so flattered,” I growled.

  “Rise to the occasion!” the goddess whispered in my ear. “You will know what to do when the moment comes!”

  “Y’know I’m getting really fucking tired of hearing you whispering in my ear,” I growled.

  “I’m sorry?” the blue haired elf said. “Did I say something?”

  She looked genuinely confused. Like maybe she was worried she was losing her mind or something. But of course I was the only one who was in any danger of losing her mind, if the way I was hearing voices all of a sudden was anything to go by.

  “No, you didn’t,” I said. “Sorry. I’m just dealing with some issues right now.”

  “Well you don’t need to worry about that for much longer,” she said. “I’m sure everything will be taken care of when you have your meeting with Calixia!”

  “Yeah, I’m sure everything will be taken care of,” I muttered.

  I didn’t add that I wasn’t all that hopeful about things being taken care of in my favor, but I figured this elf wouldn’t care either way.

  We moved up a dark and dank stairway that seemed like it was something straight out of some video game designer’s wet dream about what a dungeon should look like. Then we stepped out into something that looked nothing at all like what I’d expect from a dark and dank dungeon.

  “Well then,” I said, staring at my surroundings. “Someone certainly enjoys living large.”

  “I mean this isn’t much bigger than the summer home my family has on the non-irradiated Riviera,” my captor said. “But yeah. I guess it is nice if you like a small place.”

  I ignored the Richie Bitch routine and looked at our surroundings. It was the kind of place that would’ve made Versailles look like a country cottage in comparison. If this was small compared to what this girl was used to then I really wanted to get a look at that hou
se.

  Of course it’s not like I’d ever get a look at how the rich and powerful actually lived. The best I’d ever be able to hope for was becoming sort of rich and powerful within the limits my elevator overlords set down on the surface after enduring four years of hell at the Academy, but who knew if that would even be possible if I made the sort of enemies it looked like I was making in the game?

  “Whatever,” I growled. “Let’s just get a move on so I can see what this Calixia bitch is going to do to me.”

  The girl paused and looked like she was going to say something else, but then it happened again. That little wave of light moving out from me and causing her eyes to glow for a moment. Then she was all smiles.

  “Of course. Right this way!”

  “Wait,” I said, wondering what the extent of that new ability was. “Maybe you could lead me out of here instead?”

  The girl paused. Seemed to really think that over for a long moment. I figured the fact that she was thinking it over was something, because she should’ve just told me outright that there wasn’t a chance in hell she was going to take me out of this place.

  “Of course!” she finally said. “If you’d just follow me we’ll reach the front entrance and you’ll be able to get out of here.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. I couldn’t believe that worked. I still didn’t know what the hell this ability was, though I was getting a sneaking suspicion that goddess was the reason I’d gotten it in the first place.

  I looked at the timer ticking down in one corner of the screen telling me how much time I had before that ability finally wore off. Maybe fifteen seconds or so. As big as this place looked I figured it would take a little longer than that, and I really hoped I could use the ability on this girl again before we got out of here.

  I also wasn’t sure how comfortable I felt with an ability like this where I was basically controlling someone’s mind. Sure there were abilities like that in a lot of games. The sort of thing that let you do fun stuff like take command of someone’s character and throw them off the edge of a cliff in PVP or something, but that was nothing compared to something like this where I was presumably taking control of someone’s actual mind and not just pushing their character around.