Dre stiffened and squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, Just Blaze was studying his face. “Thank you.” A weight lifted from him. She nodded.
“I assume they’re more people like you in game,” he said. “People in this fight against Equitane.”
“No doubt. Some are players like us. Others are NPCs like Adesh Hamada. NPCs programmed by your dad.”
“How do y’all hide from the GMs?”
She held up her hand. “While tracking may be near impossible to avoid, we can mask our chat and whereabouts with our aether rings.”
“How? What do they do in game?”
“When activated, they create a zone that scrambles the game’s monitoring.”
Dre’s brows climbed his forehead. “Really?” Just Blaze nodded. Dre tilted his head to one side. “Wouldn’t the admins see when that happens? Be able to pinpoint the disruption?”
“Your father said security would see an anomaly. But most times it would be in a completely different region or even continent from where the safe zone activation took place.”
“That’s amazing.”
“Your dad truly was.”
Hearing those words hurt. And yet they felt great. “Why not keep it on all the time?”
“After ten minutes, they can pinpoint the anomaly. Same with using the same ring more than five times in a nome in a day. Leave it on any longer and they’d be able to find the person using it.”
Dre studied the small 2 engraved into the middle of the ring along with a pattern of lines and marks like runes. “How do you turn it on and off?”
“Spin left twice to activate. Opposite direction to deactivate.” She emulated her words.
Dre nodded. He recalled her doing just that on more than one occasion. “Not long after I logged into Void Legion, I ran across a few people who I’m sure were NPCs that seemed to believe they were in a game. Hearing them say it was strange. Nebsamu and Tia called them dreamers. Are those the gameborn?”
“Some might be. Most aren’t,” she said. “The name dreamers came about when a few players began a cult. They convinced some NPCs they were part of a game played by the gods, and everyone were its pieces. The story spread, eventually being connected to shevla. Gameborn don’t know they’re playing a game. For them, Ataxia is life.”
Dre smiled. “Leave it to us players to influence the game in ways the devs probably didn’t consider.”
She returned the smile. “We do what we gotta do. It’s why we’re the best.”
“We?” He glanced around.
Just Blaze giggled. “You big dummy.”
“I couldn’t help it. Ryne’s funny. And he had a thing for you.”
“Pfft. You mean you had a thing for me.”
Dre glanced away. “You wish.”
“I’m not the one blushing. And I’m not the one who can barely look at the other person.”
“You’re naked!” Dre exclaimed.
“Half-naked,” she corrected.
Dre cleared his throat and looked directly at her but tried not to see Just Blaze. The chatter of distant weapons fire echoed. “How do you think your people are doing?”
“Well… I hope.”
“If they can’t help my mother and Kai, I got no choice but to stay,” Dre said. “I gotta at least clear Imanok Sanctum.”
“You know Sidrie won’t stop with the Sanctum. And probably won’t ever let you and your family go.”
“That might be true, but I agreed to do something.”
“She forced you. It’s not the same.”
“But I still gave my word,” Dre said. “Not just to her, but I promised Mom also. I’m gonna keep my word. For my family’s sake. I’ll see what Sidrie does in return. If this rescue fails, it’s the only hope for Kai, Mom, and the twins.”
“Personally, I wouldn’t trust her.”
“I don’t.” But inside, Dre had to make himself believe Sidrie would keep her end of the bargain.
“Good,” Just Blaze said. “The truth of the matter is that both my people and Sidrie think you can help locate the protocols. That you might figure out where your father hid them. The rest of his team who survived Sidrie’s efforts hope you can too. They’re currently hiding down in the First Ward.”
“I can try,” Dre said.
Weapons fire reverberated once again. Assault rifles and pulse guns. Closer and louder this time.
“Should we head out when they’re almost here?” Dre asked.
“No. Someone might shoot us in the confusion of a firefight. If Equitane wins, let them come get us. Once surveillance is back online, they can see every room in the building and detect heat signatures. We can play the victim then. Claim we escaped our would-be captors.”
Dre frowned. “Why would they believe that?”
“Because the people fighting to free us are mostly DeGens. I’m a DeGen.”
Dre gave her an incredulous stare. His natural thought was to shy away, but he didn’t. He stopped to think. Her anger over people’s opinions on DeGens made sense now.
He recalled the DeGen who’d jumped in front of the Maglev. The DeGens on the news. He couldn’t reconcile her or their would-be rescuers with either of those memories. Those DeGens on the news barely seemed human, had faces covered in lesions, misshapen bodies, and stank of death and worse. He abruptly noticed the cold again. He hugged himself.
“We might end up waiting here most of the night,” Just Blaze said. “The only way we don’t freeze to death is if we make a little hut out of these boxes of MX1s and stay close to each other. Use our body heat.”
Despite his trepidation only moments ago, Dre’s heart sped up at the prospect of being close to her. But not out of fear. Or loathing. Deciding that the best way to control himself was to work, he got up and began the process of moving the boxes containing the androids. The boxes were relatively heavy and soon he was focused on the task.
Just Blaze did the same. He couldn’t help but to sneak glances at her. She seemed to be having an easier time than he was, picking up the boxes and stacking them. Her arms and legs were quite toned, muscles bunching while she worked.
She soon had a sweaty sheen, which became intoxicating to watch. Once, she caught him looking. And smiled. He returned it. Barely. His face grew hot.
He cleared his throat. “You work out often?”
“Not often enough,” she said.
He nodded to her body. “Sure looks like you do.”
“I used to at one point. I had to. Staying fit went hand in hand with being a thief.”
“Looking at you makes me wish I did more often.” Dre stacked another box.
“I’m lucky if I get to work out more than once a month since I became a tester a year ago.” Just Blaze bent to pick up a box. Dre stared at her ass in the white spandex. “I spend almost all my time in-game.”
“And you still look like that?” Dre shook his head.
She shrugged. “Good genes. Despite what the government and social media would like you to believe about DeGens. You’re not too shabby looking yourself for a sixteen-year-old.”
“Thanks,” Dre said. “And I’m almost seventeen.” Frowning, he considered the days and nights in Void Legion. “How long do you think we were under?”
“One day in-game is like three days IRL, so you do the math.”
Dre gaped. “That’s like nine days. My sister must be worried sick. And then there’s Mom and the twins.” Panic rose in his chest.
“Nothing you can do about it now. At least you know they’re in a safe building under the care of the very best doctors.”
Thinking of it that way eased the pressure from Dre’s chest. Still, the worry lingered in the back of his mind.
Soon enough, they had built a hut tall enou
gh to duck inside. He entered first and sat. She followed.
“We’re gonna have to spoon,” she said.
“Spoon?”
“Yeah. Lie on your side, facing me with your legs curled a bit.”
“I know what it is, but–”
“Just do it.”
He did as she asked. Working to build the hut had already eased the chill from his body, but he was warmer still.
“And now, my turn.” She scooted around until her back was to him, her butt in spandex brushing against him, then positioned herself so her back was to his chest. The rest of her body fit like a glove against him.
Dre swallowed. His heart thumped loud in his ears. He begged himself not to rise to the occasion, to the raw emotions running through him, the emotions that dwarfed those he felt when he dove into VPorn. His body refused to listen. He got so hard it hurt.
Pulse assault weapon fire echoed again. Farther away.
“Hmm,” she said, voice low and husky. She reached behind her and grabbed his butt and pulled him closer onto her, nails digging into his flesh. “It’s ok. Trust me. You trust me, right?” He nodded numbly as she continued to whisper. To coax. “This will be the best way for us to stay warm. Take off my pants.”
Dre’s hands shook as he complied. Just Blaze coached him in that low voice of hers. The rest was a blur. A dream of sensations, primal instinct, pleasure, moans, heat, and slick wetness unlike anything he had experienced in his entire life.
He thought he knew what sex felt like, what sex would be like. But the examples and experience in VPorn were a pittance compared to this. Just Blaze felt so good. So perfect. Beyond perfect.
“Harder! Faster!” She cried from on all fours, head down, back arched.
He rammed into her. She thrust back with each slap of his hips against her ass. Sweat poured down his face, its taste salty in his mouth. A feeling overcame him, from deep in his gut. His soul. His toes curled. With a final drive, he came. Ecstasy.
When he was spent, he hunched over her, trembling. And then he slid off to the side and sprawled next to her, the perfume of their sex thick and musky in the air. She placed her head on his chest and kissed him. She worked her way down, her mouth soft and warm.
And then she took him into her mouth. Her mouth!
His eyes bulged. Within seconds he was hard again. But she kept going. Sucking. Licking. Kissing. Stroking him with both hands. If he thought his first release had been ecstasy, the second was beyond as she made love to him with her mouth, lips, tongue, and hands.
The act left him shuddering, caused him to make guttural sounds, sounds he didn’t recognize as himself, even as he threw his head back, eyes closed. A part of him wanted to pull away. The other part didn’t want the feeling to end. He felt as if he could break something. And then, it ended. He felt… drained.
But she wasn’t finished. In turn, she showed him how to kiss her, lick her. The smell of her privates was intoxicating. Her reactions drove him. Her moans. Her cries. Wetness. She grabbed his hair tight in her hands; her back arched; she shook; and with a final moaning whoosh of breath, her body went slack.
Afterward, they spooned.
Dre traced a line with his index finger down her toned arm and leg. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“What we just did. And with me.”
“Why the question?” she said.
Dre shrugged. “I wanna know. And I won’t know if I don’t ask.”
“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do,” Just Blaze said.
Dre chuckled. “Nah, seriously.”
“I wanted to. And we needed to generate more heat so we wouldn’t freeze to death. Also, I had to make you see us DeGens in a different light. Most of us are as normal as you norms.”
Dre made to speak.
“We can talk later. Let’s get some sleep.”
Hours later, a man’s voice shouted, “This is Equitane security. Come out with your hands up. Don’t make any silly moves.”
Dre and Just Blaze pulled on their spandex and went out to meet them. They were greeted by soldiers in full tactical armor toting NGSARs and AVP41B pulse guns. EQUITANE CORP or NYPD was emblazoned upon their chests and backs.
CHAPTER 27
The Upper Ward floors were abuzz with activity when Dre and Just Blaze arrived with the other testers. On the way up, Dre found himself snatching glances at her and smiling. He felt like a new man. He couldn’t quite put a finger on the difference. Describe it. But it was there. Intangible. So was the memory of their time together. It was intoxicating. And quite unlike anything he had experienced after a VPorn session.
He could still feel Just Blaze. Smell her. Touch her. Taste her. The soft silkiness of her skin, her warmth, her breath, her voice, her salty sweetness. He sighed.
Techs and security hurried along the corridors, scanning Holo Tabs. Equitane guards, in tactical armor and armed with NGSAR5s or AVP41Bs, stood at every entrance. Doctors fussed over the testers, making certain they were in good health. When a doctor finished, a tech led the tester in question back to their pod.
All except for Dre. He was to wait for Sidrie. The thought of the woman curdled his insides, twisted him into knots.
His ire was almost forgotten when Just Blaze smiled at him as she departed and mouthed that she would see him in game. He blushed. Once again, he relived their night.
And nearly jumped out of his skin at Sidrie’s voice. “You look better than I might have expected after your ordeal.” Sidrie was wearing a gray and black knee-length pencil dress with three quarter sleeves and a scoop neck, the gray portion sitting within the black, which followed her curves.
Dre’s lip curled, his loathing for her a tangible thing that crawled across his skin, left a sour taste in his mouth. The heat of his emotions rose. He balled his hands into fists and forced himself to calm by stroking his aether ring.
“Tut, tut.” Sidrie gave a slow a shake of her head. “You have such hate for the person who saved your life twice.”
“Saved me from my rescuers?”
“Is that what they told you?” She chortled. “And you believed them?”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because they were DeGens?” she said with a wry smile. “Human traffickers? They planned to harvest your organs. My security team is the only reason you are alive.”
“Bullshit.”
She arched an eyebrow and made a steeple of her fingers just below her waist. “You should be thanking me.”
“Thanking you?” He grimaced. “For being the reason I’m here in the first place? That my family is here? That they’re hurt?”
Her lips twitched but the smile did not touch her eyes. “The reason for their injuries? No. That was you.”
“Liar.”
Her hands dropped to her sides. She stared at him, unblinkingly, her predatory eyes obsidian beads. When she spoke, her voice was flat. “You really think it wasn’t an accident, don’t you?”
“You tell me.”
“I have no reason to lie to you,” Sidrie said in the same monotone. “You already have little choice but to do as I wish. So, I will tell you this now. The crash was an accident. Part of the reason I called it fate or luck.”
“If you say so.” Dre didn’t believe her. Not for one minute.
Her face went slack, her eyes dead. “You forget Theresa and the twins are under the care of the very best doctors in the world. My doctors.”
Dre bit back his next rebuttal and controlled his tone. “I just want to return to Void Legion to fulfill our deal.”
She nodded once, but her expression did not change. “And you shall. I actually came to ask your opinion of Total Immersion. Seeing that you doubted its capabilities.”
&nbs
p; A part of him wanted to lie, but he could not. Doing so would be childish. “It’s impressive. A little scary and disorienting all at once.”
“And amazing,” Sidrie added, her face lighting up. “This is why Total Immersion is better than reality in every way.” She raised her hand and gestured, her tone filled with conviction. “When perfected, it is the only experience any man will need to live his fullest life. Take you, for example, you were in Total Immersion for nine days, and yet here you stand with no ill effects.”
The mention of time brought worry surging back again. Dre fought down his concerns. “I guess.” He shrugged.
“You disagree?” She appeared taken aback.
He met her questioning gaze with a straight face. “The last thing I remembered was crashing, pain, and blood. Soon after, I was out of the pod. No downtime. No pain in the real world. No experience to draw from it. What did I learn? What did I gain?”
She folded her arms at her midsection, left index finger tapping her bicep. “Another bit of luck on your part. The game went offline at the same moment your simurgh was crashing. Before TNT registered any major injuries, before it left an impression.” A distant expression encompassed her face.
Dre frowned at her knowledge of his whereabouts in Ataxia. “I guess it’s good to have dumb old luck. Can I go now?” He wanted so badly to ask to see Kai and Mom, but he was certain Sidrie would use any sign of desperation against him.
Sidrie smiled wryly. “A moment ago, you seemed to have a high opinion of the DeGen attackers. I wonder how you would feel knowing Equitane was not their only target. That they struck several other skyrises and hydroponic silos.”
“I don’t care,” Dre said. “None of it had anything to do with me. Or my situation.”
“Really?” Sidrie’s brow arched. “They murdered dozens of people. Even a senator. Their EMP shut down Equitane’s systems, including the medical facilities.”
It took but a moment for the implications of her words to dawn on Dre. His chest grew heavy with dread. “Mom. The twins. Are they alright?”
Sidrie gestured to the closest guards. “Return this boy to the pod room.”
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