by J P Carver
Peyton looked to Geo in question and when he didn’t answer she let her shoulders drop. “No, Aya’s attack is a good excuse to do some searching on our own. But, while you’re at school, maybe do some digging into others? The floor boss will probably be someone prominent. I’d have guessed the principal, but he was strung up already.”
“I’ll see what I can find.” Klara stopped on the sidewalk and pointed toward the house beside them. “This is it. Come on, I’ll find some blankets you can use.”
Day Off
Peyton and Geo were out of the house by sunrise and walked around town for much of the early morning. They found there were limits to how far they could go as they would run into hidden invisible walls that kept them leaving the town. It was strange to come to a fence and not be able to climb over it.
The NPCs were simple, they could talk and hold a conversation, but they seemed more happy with just ignoring Geo’s existence and continue with their routines. He wanted to push them out of these routines but Peyton talked him out of it.
By mid morning they found themselves in front of an apartment building that still had the remains of a police investigation. Geo couldn’t say how exactly they had ended up there, because neither of them had discussed it beforehand. But since they were there, it seems like the best place to start as it was the apartment building from the news report the night before.
They hung around until someone left and grabbed the door and entered. It wasn’t too hard to find the apartment their principal had lived in as the police had taped it closed with yellow police tape across its front.
“Think this is a good idea?” Geo asked as Peyton took a folding knife from the pocket of her skirt.
She pulled it open and ran it across the tape. “What’s the worse that could happen? They arrest us?”
“I mean yeah, being stuck in a jail cell would make it hard to find the second floor boss.”
“If that happens, we'll figure something out.”
Geo followed her in and ducked beneath the police tape. “So you keep saying, but lots of strange stuff has been happening. The game could glitch and trap us here like you were worried about before.”
She shook her head as she pocked the knife and stopped in the entrance way. “I’d be more worried about finding some clues as to why this man was targeted.”
“Told you, I hate mysteries,” he said as he looked around. The room was large for an apartment with a half-wall separating the living room and kitchen. A small hallway went off to the left where it looked like the bathroom and two bedrooms were. Geo walked toward the balcony and looked out at the town. It looked almost sterile in the afternoon sunlight. He turned back to Peyton. “Guessing it was a bedroom just like with Aya.”
“There isn’t any signs of someone breaking in that I can see. But… there is blood here on the rug.” She pointed to the runner rug that ran into the living room. “They might not have broken in, but they left through the door.”
Geo looked at the splotches and then down the hall. He moved slowly, but didn’t find any blood on the wooden floor. He stopped and looked between the two doors and picked one. It opened to a spacious room set up as an office. He stepped in and made his way to the large desk in the middle of the room.
Drawers were misaligned and papers were scattered from the police during their investigation. Nothing looked too interesting as he paged through a stack of papers.
“Anything?”
“Not yet,” he said and looked up to find Peyton standing in the doorway. “Then again, I’m not sure what we’re looking for.”
“Anything that points us toward who wanted him dead. The Puppet Master did the deed, but the second floor boss called for it.” She turned to look at the other door and then paused. “Geo?”
“Hm?”
“I’m worried,” she said, and he looked up again to find her watching him, eyes narrowed.
“About?”
“I think that’s obvious.”
He put the papers down on the desk. "Can't ever just answer a question, can you? You worried about me?"
“You haven’t been the same,” she said and came into the room, arms crossed. “Not since… well not since the first time we left the otherworld. Is something going on?”
“I thought you wanted me to change, that was the whole point of this stupid game, wasn’t it?” He sat down in the leather chair and looked around at the rows of books on shelves. “I’m fine.”
She rounded the desk and pushed herself up to sit on it. It was so reminiscent of the time in the control room that he flinched as he looked to her face. It was still human. “You aren’t fine. I can tell something is eating at you and it’s not a mental condition, at least not one you’ve had before.”
“You think so?”
She nodded and bent so they were eye to eye. “I know what happened to your sister and I also know that Aya being hurt would have caused a new psyche status in you… in the old you. But you’re fine. Cold even. That doesn’t suit you at all, Geo.”
“Too long living on a cold space station can change you,” he said and went to stand. She put her feet on his thighs and kept him in place. He looked at them and then to her. “Wasn’t it your idea to search this place?”
“How did you kill the puppet master,” she asked in a soft tone that caught him off guard. He stuttered for a moment and she canted her head at him. “What?”
“I—I just killed him, all right? I got lucky.”
“How? I didn’t die right away Geo, even as the wires cut me into pieces I could see you for a few seconds as I fell to the ground. The wires were coming right for you. They hit you. You should have met the same fate as us and yet… you didn’t.”
“Guess I just put my numbers into the right stats.”
She smiled. “Or maybe you’re relying on something again that you shouldn’t be.”
He glared at her. “Are we talking about the armor you destroyed for no reason?”
“There was a reason, but you still don’t seem to understand it.” She got off the desk and rounded it to stand in front. “You can’t look to items for support, Geo. You can’t hide behind a wall and keep everyone at bay. You’re hurting yourself and you should be looking to us, Klara and me, when you need help. We’re here for you. You should look to your friends and to yourself before you look to things.”
“Wouldn’t I still just be relying on things then? You’re AIs after all. I’m the only living thing on this station.” He saw the hurt in her face and felt a pang of guilt run up into his chest. She dropped her head and turned her back to him.
“So you see me just an object… even after all we’ve been through? Maybe you’re right. I’m just a bunch of code and machine learning… but I still act more human than you.” She left the room and went into the other bedroom. It was the room the principal had died in, but she didn’t even slow as she went in.
He cursed as he stood, not sure what he was planning to do, but as he did so a pain shot up his arm. It came so brilliant that he saw stars for a few seconds. He dropped to his knees and his breathing came as a hiss between his teeth.
Just as it became unbearable, the pain disappeared and left a mark. A vein in his right arm had become raised and turned a deep red color. He could see it pulsing.
New Mental Status gained: Bloodburn -8
Psyche is now 84
New Weapon Status unlocked!
Bloodburn
To stifle anger, one must find the root of it and tear it out before it festers. Otherwise it will control and harm you in its search for satisfaction.
If Sanguine Rage goes too long without blood, it will sate its hunger on the bearer of the weapon. The time between blood need is halved if Bloodlust is used. Causes damage and negative mental status until stated. Will take more and more blood from host if outside blood is not gathered from attacks on a creature with blood.
“Hey, Geo?” Peyton called as she walked back into the room. She stopped in her tr
acks as she found him on the floor. “What are you doing?”
Geo pulled down on his sleeve and got his feet, using the desk to keep upright. “Checking for clues, like you said we should do.”
She eyed him and he blanked his face. “Right… I found this,” she said and held up a picture frame. He reached out and took it.
In it was the principal and a woman. They were pressed cheek to cheek and grinning at the camera. He knew the woman, but it took a moment to place her. “Miss Flagg?”
“She’s one of your teachers, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, but she didn’t seem strange. Hell, she reminded me a lot of my old homeroom teacher.”
Peyton took the picture back. “She’s our top suspect then. You were only recently transferred to her homeroom.”
“Why?” he asked.
“You and another kid were getting into fights or something… the backstory on that wasn’t very detailed,” she said and looked back at the picture. “At least we have a lead now.”
“Do we? She’s a teacher, it’s not like we can just attack her in this world and we don’t know how to get into the other yet.”
“We’ll figure something out, for now we need to let Klara know and try to keep an eye on this Miss Flagg as much as we can.”
“And do what? Attack her and hope we're right and she pulls us into that other world?” Geo asked. The idea sent his blood pumping, and he swallowed against the thumping in his chest. Flagg’s blood would keep Sanguine's Rage quiet.
Peyton shook her head as she put the picture down on the desk and grabbed his hand.
“No, we have to be sure she’s the floor boss. If we attack her and we’re wrong, it’ll make it much harder to find the real boss. We do this quietly, okay?”
Geo sighed as they went out the front door. “Fine. But if she does anything to try to stop us I’m killing her.”
“Killing who? What are you two doing here?” The voice startled both of them and Peyton fell back into Geo, knocking him into the doorjamb. The owner of the voice stared at them, anger bright in her blue eyes.
“Miss Flagg?” Geo and Peyton said together.
Caught
“I won’t ask you again, what were you doing?” Miss Flagg stared at them, her cellphone in hand. Geo cursed under his breath, at this rate they would spend time in a cell. He had to come up with something to tell her.
Peyton spoke before Geo could fumble through a lie and held up her bag. “We… we came to pay our respects and found the door was open. I know we shouldn’t have gone inside, but we were worried someone had broken in.”
“Wait… you’re the Wilsons, aren’t you? Your sister…” she trailed off and dropped her phone down to her side. “I’m so sorry about what happened to Aya.”
“Thank you. After we saw on the news that the same thing happened to our principal, we thought it might be a good idea to say goodbye to him. I just wish someone had been there to help him like we were for Aya,” Peyton said and Geo looked over. The accusation was there under her words and Miss Flagg had picked up on it.
She gnawed at her bottom lip for a moment, eyes on the door. “It was very dangerous for you to go in there. You should have called the police.”
“We haven’t been thinking straight since last night. You’re right. We didn’t find anyone and touched nothing. Honest.”
“Good… He was a good man,” Miss Flagg said and looked forlorn at the apartment. “He didn’t deserve to die like he did.” She then shook her head and looked back to Peyton and Geo. “I’m sorry, got lost there. How is Aya doing? School was closed for half the day to… think of them both and keep them in our prayers. What are you two going to do the rest of the day?”
Geo shrugged and looked at Peyton who gave Miss Flagg a sad smile. “Going to hospital to check on Aya and then… we don’t know.”
“Well, we’re having memorial at the school this evening if you’d like to come.”
“That’s a wonderful idea. We’ll be there,” Peyton said and grabbed Geo’s arm. “Well, we’re off to the hospital. We’re very sorry for your loss, Miss Flagg.”
“Thank you,” she said with a curt nod.
The two of them stopped at the end of the hall and watched her disappear into the apartment. Peyton held her hand against Geo’s arm until she seemed sure that Miss Flagg wouldn’t be coming out again.
“She might not be our suspect,” Peyton said and Geo cocked his head. “You saw how distraught she was.”
“She’s an AI, you guys can fake any emotion you want.”
“It’s not that simple, we don’t fake emotions the way you think we do. We were born and taught and learned, quickly, yes, but learn we did just as you did. Our emotions are regulated, but mostly out of our control.”
Geo rolled his eyes. “If you say so. I don’t know who else to look at then if it’s not her. She’s the only connection we got between the principal and his killer.”
“But she has nothing to do with Aya, right?”
Geo shrugged. “Hell if I know. I don’t know anything about either of them.”
Peyton nodded and headed for the door to the stairs. “Then that’s where we start. Aya should be awake now, we can talk to her.”
“Are we really going to the memorial?” Geo asked as they went down the first flight of stairs. “Since you said something not showing may raised eyebrows.”
“We’re going, it’s our best chance of catching our killer,” Peyton said. Geo narrowed his eyes at this and she sighed. “Who ever it will be there just to enjoy the pain they caused. That Mania Cube you found, it was Control, right?”
“Yeah, and that puppet guy seemed to enjoy hurting people.”
“I’ve been thinking about that since last night. I can remember bits and pieces of my AIs if I concentrate. All last night I kept breaking through blocks. There were two twins, a brother and a sister that were more deranged than the others.”
“You created deranged twins?”
“Not on purpose. They’re splits not programmed by me. I have no control of what traits they take on.” She frowned as they stopped at the exit for the building. “Kelson liked to harm things, used to spend hours tearing apart digital creatures, down to their bits, so he could understand how they worked and then rebuild them how he wanted under his control.”
“And his sister?”
“Lupa. She is as bad as her brother, but she did not kill. She caused harm to her subjects, but never ended their suffering.”
Geo stared at her for a moment and then turned to look at the dim sunlight on the street. “Your sub-AIs are messed up.”
“Says a lot about me, huh?”
“Well, if all your worse parts are sub-AIs, then I guess you kept the good that was left,” he said and headed toward the door. “Come on, let’s go see Aya before we find something else to get in trouble with.”
Together they went out into the cool autumn afternoon, walking together almost like friends.
But Geo couldn’t enjoy it. His arm was itchy and painful and it took everything he had not to go scratching it. Worse, it felt like it was growing up his arm with every step.
Among the Candles
They spent some time with Aya, but most of it was sitting beside her bed while she woke for a few minutes and then fell back to sleep. It was a nice way to remind themselves that they had saved her and she was on the mend, but Geo had to keep reminding himself to care.
It was strange to look at her and feel nothing. Especially when he had lost his own sister in an accident… one that everyone blamed him for. He didn’t try to stop the thoughts that floated in his head, or cower before them. He could still feel and taste the hatred of his family as it fell apart around him. Their words and threats echoed in his head. Darkness would normally engulf him remembering so much, but he felt… nothing. It was almost like a wish come true, for years his emotions had tortured him and now they were finally gone. It just happened and there was nothing to do about it.
He watched Peyton take Aya’s hand and so took her other and squeezed. It was as he did so that a tiny voice seem to call out from the cold that his emotions were frozen in. A little tinkling voice that said three words and then fell silent. This isn’t right.
That knowledge was still there and as he rubbed his arm against his leg, he knew that something was taking over and that he should care. He didn’t, however, and it was a relief to have the burden removed from his heart.
“Geo?”
He looked up to find Peyton watching him, eyes narrowed slightly. He glanced at the window. The sky was growing dim. “We should get going, that memorial is gonna start soon.”
She watched him and then gave a tiny nod as she gently placed Aya’s hand down and patted it. Geo mirrored her and then stood.
They walked the short distance to the bus stop and took a seat on the bench there. No words passed between them, not on that bench and not on the ride to the school. Geo was glad, but there was a reason she wasn’t saying anything and that it wouldn’t be long before he learned why.
He could see the flickering lights of candles as they walked the last few blocks to the school. It was like a hundred tiny fireflies were dancing in the evening, blocked by the silhouettes of students and adults alike.
Geo slowed his walk as they came to the first ring of people and candles. Faces were aglow in the flames, looking almost devilish in the way the shadows played over them. A few took notice of their arrival and after a second or two of looking, they realized who they were.
Hands came from the flickering shadows and touched them as they passed, squeezes that should have brought comfort, but just annoyed Geo. There were quick words, but they were lost in the jumble of voices from the small crowd. Geo stopped moving through the crowd after a few minutes as he didn’t want anyone else to tell him how sorry they were. It felt hollow.
A girl approached Peyton. She held two unlit candles out, their little papers disks cocked to the sides. Peyton gave a faint smile and a nod as she took them. Without asking, those around them offered flames, and she was soon holding two lit candles. She gave quick thanks to those around her and weaved her way back over to Geo.