by Jamie Davis
Phillip shook his head. “That’s impossible, I know what Barry sent in his text.” Phillip turned back to Quinn. “You said you got the target. Did one of the others kill your target, like before?”
Quinn shook her head. “No, nothing like that. I killed her. She ran, and I chased her for a long time until we ran through an industrial park. We were fighting right by the docks. I tackled her, and she wrestled with me. She was stronger than I thought she would be, so I kicked her off me. I got up and reached for my Bowie to finish her off, but before I could do anything, she lost her balance and fell off the pier into the water. She splashed some, but by the time I got to the edge, she was slipping under. She must’ve been injured or something and just drowned.”
Phil glanced at Velma.
She shrugged and looked back at her bank of screens. She tapped a few keys on the keyboard and stared at the results. “That makes sense. If she’d registered the kill, it would show up here. The target shows as dead according to my information. It’s just not giving her the kill.”
Phillip shook his head, scowling. “So it’s likely that her kill wasn’t official?”
“That’s what it looks like, even if it’s not fair,” Velma said.
“It’s not about fair or not fair.” Phillip stopped as if about to say something else. He paused and then said, “At least all the targets are dead. That’s another potential group of adversaries out of the way. In the meantime, we’ll have to figure out another mission quickly so she can catch up with the others.”
Quinn worked at keeping her facial expression blank as she stood there. She wasn’t sure how much of the charm and control spell would still be in effect after her time in the VR system.
Phillip glanced at Quinn’s face. She tried not to return his stare and kept looking past him at the wall. “Dammit, she’s still caught under that spell she had when she got here. That Audrey has no finesse. As usual, she’s poured it on too thick.
He raised his arms, sketching invisible shapes in the air inches from Quinn’s face. At the same time, he muttered something in that same strange language Quinn didn’t understand.
Beneath her bodysuit, a flare of sharp cold from the amulet almost made her bring up her hand to rub it. She caught herself with her arm raised halfway and shifted her hand to rub the side of her head.
Quinn squeezed her eyes shut for a second and then opened them, locking eyes with Phillip. “I feel strange. What did you do?”
Phillip smiled and shook his head. “Nothing, really. It’s just a little post-hypnotic suggestion trick that seems to help with the transition from the VR system. You should be fine now.”
Quinn smiled at him. “Thanks. How did I do?”
“You did satisfactorily, but we will need to put you back in again tomorrow in order to get you your first registered kill. The target today didn’t count, even though you were responsible for chasing her into the water. Next time, you need to use your knife on the target and do it right.”
Quinn attempted to look disappointed, letting her shoulders sag while she frowned. She hoped that would be enough.
“Go get changed. We’ll see what’s going to happen next. I don’t know if they’re planning another assembly since you all have already been through the process once. Come back here after you’ve changed. Velma and I will have an idea of what time we’ll be ready for another session tomorrow.”
Quinn nodded and turned toward the door. Once in the hall, she headed back to the locker room. She’d once again avoided killing, but she knew she wouldn’t be as lucky a third time. She had to get out of here with Taylor tonight. Then she could contact Clark and get him to help her do what was needed to save Taylor’s soul, or whatever had been done to her in the VR system.
When she entered the locker room, the other female candidates were already there. Taylor was already almost completely dressed in her street clothes.
She smiled at Quinn as her friend walked over to the lockers. “I’m so excited you got your first kill in the system, Quinn. Didn’t it give you a rush?”
Quinn nodded. “Um, yeah, I guess so. Pretty cool.”
“Wait until you get your second. It’s even stronger. I felt like my skin was vibrating all over when my target died under my blade today. I still sort of feel it now.”
Taylor held an arm out to show her forearm covered in goosebumps. She rubbed the arm with her other hand as she dropped it back down to her side.
Quinn listened as Taylor described every detail of her kill, one of the women who’d been with Miranda in the protection circle.
She hurried to dress, half-listening as a candidate named Cindy chimed in to describe her second kill once Taylor was finished.
The other two women fell into comparing different aspects of their kills, marveling at the realism they’d experienced.
Quinn wanted to shout at them. She wanted to tell them it was real, and they’d just killed real people with families and friends and others who would miss them now that they were gone.
Instead, she pulled on her sneakers. She had to get out of here and take Taylor with her. An ominous feeling of dread had crept into her mind, as if something terrible was about to happen.
As Quinn was tying her shoelaces, the system monitor named Audrey came in the locker room again. She pointed at Taylor and Cindy. “You two, come with me. You both did a great job getting your second kills today. We want to reward you.”
Taylor beamed with pride, as did the short redhead named Cindy. Both girls shut their lockers and followed Audrey out of the room.
Quinn called after Audrey. “Hey, wait up. I want to be there when you go up on the stage.”
Audrey glared at Quinn. “This is a private ceremony for a select few of the best candidates. There seems to be some discrepancy surrounding your kill today. My colleagues are investigating what happened. I’d suggest you focus on whether you’ll still have a job here this time tomorrow.”
Taylor gave Quinn a half-smile and shrugged before following Audrey and Cindy out of the room.
Quinn called after them, “I’ll wait for you in the parking lot, Taylor.”
Audrey held the door for the two candidates she’d summoned. “Go home, Miss Faust. We will see to getting Taylor back home this evening if she so desires.”
The woman let the door swing closed. Quinn glanced around and realized all the other candidates had left while she was dressing. She stood alone in front of her locker as she struggled with what to do next.
Quinn suspected what was going to happen to her friend and the other girl. If she was right about their fate, she needed to figure out a way to help Taylor before it was too late. Once her friend was possessed or whatever they planned on doing to her, Quinn didn’t think it would be easy to get her to leave again.
She stuffed the rest of her clothes into her gym bag before shutting it and looping the strap over her shoulder. She had to hurry if she was going to catch up and figure out where Taylor was being taken.
Quinn darted out into the hallway. Looking both ways, she turned right in time to spot Taylor and Cindy turning the corner at the far end of the hall, heading toward the stairwell that led to the basement level.
Cursing, Quinn ran through the options in her mind. She was sure they were being taken downstairs. Audrey was going to cast a spell on them so they could be stripped naked and covered with runes in preparation for some demonic ceremony.
Quinn started after them when Phillip’s voice sounded from behind her.
“Quinn, where are you going? You were supposed to come back to meet with Velma and me about additional mission options tomorrow.”
Quinn turned and smiled at Phillip, trying to come up with a reason to chase her friend.
He stalked up the hallway in her direction. “I asked you where you were going?”
“I wanted to ask Taylor something. She and Cindy were headed off to an awards meeting or something like that.”
Phillip glanced past Quinn down the cor
ridor and shifted his gaze back to her. “Don’t worry about her. You can catch up with her later if she’s available. You’ve got other things to worry about. Come with me.”
Quinn followed her system monitor. She spared a quick look over her shoulder at the empty hallway, trying to figure out some excuse not to go with Phillip.
Unable to come up with anything, Quinn resigned herself to going with him and getting through this meeting as quickly as possible. Then she could try to track Taylor down.
Chapter Fifteen
The meeting with Phillip and Velma wasn’t long, lasting only about ten minutes while they tried to find another target scenario on short notice. Quinn knew that probably meant they were scrambling to find another victim for her to hunt down and kill.
The whole process disgusted her, but she waited patiently while Velma scanned a list on one of her screens until a likely scenario came up.
Velma pointed at the screen. “I found one. I can probably program a suitable scenario interface by late tomorrow afternoon. Quinn, can you be back here at four tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Quinn lied. She had no intention of ever coming back to this place once she got herself and Taylor out of here.
Phillip nodded. “Good, we’ll see you then. None of the others will be here. It’ll just be you since this is a custom test session. Don’t be late.”
“I won’t. Can I go now? I want to catch up with Taylor.”
Phillip shook his head and said, “You can go, but Taylor is in a private meeting right now and won’t be available for a while. Go home. Her monitors will make sure she makes it back safe and sound once things are finished here. Don’t wait up. She might be here a while.”
Quinn resisted the urge to shout her suspicions at the man. Instead, she nodded and said, “Sounds good. I’ll see you both back here tomorrow.”
She left them inside the control room, letting the door close behind her as she leaned against the wall outside. Quinn let out a long, slow breath, calming herself. She had to think carefully to work out a plan of some sort to get Taylor out of this mess.
Going through her options, Quinn started down the hall, heading through the doors to the long hallway that lead both to the front lobby and back to the gym and stairwell down to the lower level.
After making sure no one was in sight, Quinn turned right and started toward the gym and stairwell. When she reached the far end where the gym was located, she glanced over her shoulder for one last check.
Still in the clear, she turned the corner and moved into the stairwell. She waited to see if anyone followed her by watching through the small window in the stairwell door.
Voices drifted up from below. Quinn moved to the edge of the landing and peeked over the rail to the lower level.
She didn’t see anyone, and the voices started to fade as if they were moving away.
Her heart thumping inside her chest, Quinn moved as silently as possible down the steps. Reaching the basement level, Quinn went to the door and peered through the window. Taylor and Cindy stood in the hallway on the other side, along with Fergus. The three of them followed Audrey and another monitor down the hall toward the room with the metal tables at the far end.
Quinn leaned back and struggled to come up with a plan. She didn’t know how she could possibly follow them without being seen. Then she remembered what Clark had told her about her amulet giving her additional abilities.
If she could use that hiding ability Clark had described to her, she might be able to get close enough to find a way to free Taylor before it was too late.
Quinn reached inside her shirt, pulling out the amulet and grasping it tightly in one hand. She stared into the shadows at the base of the stairs while she thought about being hidden, trying to concentrate on making herself unseen. She didn’t really expect it to work, but she had to try something.
Whispering the word “mist,” Quinn backed into a shadow by the doorway at the bottom of the steps.
To her surprise, the amulet grew cold in her grasp and her vision became cloudy, as if she were seeing through fog.
She glanced at her hand and realized the fog covered only her body. When she focused on the stairs or the door, her vision cleared, although a hazy blur lingered around the edges.
Quinn marveled at the effect but wasn’t sure she’d achieved what she wanted. Would it work?
There was only one way to find out. Quinn took a deep breath and pulled open the door. She stepped into the basement passage at the same instant a man entered the far end of the hall and started in her direction. He wore the strange black robes with the red lining she’d found in one of the rooms down here earlier. He gave no indication he saw her when she stepped into view.
As he approached her end of the hall, Quinn moved to the left-hand side, keeping her back pressed against the wall. He passed her without noticing her and stopped at one of the locked doors near the stairwell entrance. After pulling a keycard from his pocket, he used it on the panel next to the door, and it clicked open. He went inside.
Quinn glanced past him as he entered and saw a rack filled with an assortment of bladed weapons. She even saw a Bowie knife similar to the one she carried inside the VR system.
Moving closer to the open door, Quinn waited until the man came out again. He walked past her, back down the hallway. She spotted a dagger with a thin, curved blade in his hand before he tucked it under his cloak.
Quinn dodged past him as he went by, catching the door before it closed all the way. She slipped inside the room and let the door shut behind her.
Turning to scan the racks of weapons, Quinn pulled down the Bowie knife she’d seen from the hallway. Its polished blade reflected her image as she stared at it.
The grip fit in her hand as naturally as the one inside the VR system. She stared at it while twisting it to catch the light from overhead. Did she really need this?
Considering the dagger the man just left with, as well as the fact that they had a room like this, Quinn decided she did. She also noted several open slots on the weapons rack. It appeared others might be carrying blades as well. It would be better if she was armed.
The blade’s razor-sharp edge meant she couldn’t just shove it in the waistband of her jeans. On the rear wall were assorted sheaths and belts, both leather and tactical webbing.
Quinn found a black leather sheath matching the Bowie and threaded a black canvas web belt through it. She settled the belt around her waist so the Bowie hung on her left side, angled to the front so she could reach across and draw it with her right hand.
She practiced drawing it a few times. It felt strangely natural to her, as if she’d done it before in real life and not just inside a VR game. She squeezed the bowie’s hilt, testing the feel of the pebbled leather under her fingers. Nodding, she sheathed it as a big grin spread across her face.
Armed now, Quinn opened the door a crack to make sure no one was in the corridor before stepping back outside. The hazy film around her visual field told her the hunter amulet’s magic was still in play.
Quinn passed the short hallway with the elevator entrance and finally reached the end of the hallway. She expected to see the man with the curved dagger in there, and he was. But he wasn’t alone.
Inside the room with the metal tables, the man with the dagger stood next to Audrey. Both wore the black robes. The two of them had their hands and arms raised beside one of the tables. They chanted in deep tones while sketching invisible symbols and shapes in the air with their forefingers.
Quinn stifled a gasp as she caught a view of the naked form on the table when Audrey and the man shifted their positions to stand at the head and foot of the table.
It was Taylor. She lay there, her body as rigid as a board, with her arms at her sides and her eyes open, staring at the ceiling. She didn’t blink or shift her gaze as the two moved around her working their magic.
The two continued chanting for a few seconds, then lowered their arms and stared down at Taylor.<
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Quinn glanced at the other tables. Each was occupied, with Cindy on the one closest to Taylor. Quinn spotted two other candidates, also naked on the final two tables. One of them was Fergus. All seemed to be in the same comatose state as Taylor.
The man reached into his robe and pulled out a small jar with a cork stopper and a thin-handled black stick.
No, not a stick. It was a narrow paintbrush.
He walked over to Cindy and uncorked the glass jar, then took the curved dagger from beneath his robe. Lifting Cindy’s hand, he cut an inch-long gash in her palm and held the dripping blood over the top of the open jar.
After several dozen drops of fresh blood had made their way into the bottle, he put her hand down at her side and stirred at the jar with the paintbrush. He then began painting black runes and geometric shapes on Cindy’s bare skin like the ones she’d seen on the earlier candidates in this room.
Across from him, Audrey had produced a similar bottle and brush and repeated the process on Taylor. They both moved quickly, with the efficiency that denoted long practice at this process.
Quinn stood outside, watching them through the window in the door. As she did, a red flash at the edge of her vision caught her eye.
She twisted her head to see what it was, expecting an attack or something. When she saw nothing behind her, Quinn tried to understand she had seen. It took her a few seconds to notice it came from the masking spell she had in place. The red flashed with increasing frequency and intensity.
Realization dawned on her. The amulet’s magic was fading or getting ready to end. Quinn glanced around; she needed to find a place to hide and quickly.
She pulled open the door closest to her, slipping inside what turned out to be an empty closet.
Quinn waited to see if anyone had seen the door open and close. She stood by the door, her hand touching the hilt of the sheathed Bowie, ready to draw it and defend herself.
While she listened for footsteps, the haze flashed red one last time and disappeared. Quinn touched the amulet with her right hand, finding that it was no longer cold.