I was startled when something popped up in my vision as I peeked at the man's back. It was my heads-up display. Luckily, I didn't squeal out like a rookie when it did. On the top left was a countdown at fifty-six minutes. Top right was a blinking message that read large rifle. That was an upgrade over mine, if I could snag it, and caused fifty percent more damage than mine should I get in a shootout with it. A small word was blinking on the second line of the message. It read acquirable.
Okay, new plan!
I looked around to make sure there weren't any other guards close by to surprise me. When my guy turned his back and began walking away, I stood up and followed him as quietly as I could muster. My boots looked like they were made of steel but created no noise as I walked. I increased my pace and remained just as silent.
Aiming my gun at the guy's back I was prepared to shoot as soon as he turned around. My pulse was racing as I hurriedly gained ground. Once within close combat range I lifted my rifle and brought the stock end down on the back of his head. He suddenly fell forward, but somehow remained on his feet making a sound like he was confused by what might have hit him.
It took him a couple seconds to turn around, remarkably unaware of the danger that he was in. By the time that he did, I had the barrel of my rifle in both hands and swung it like a club. When the butt stock struck his face, he went down hard and stayed down. I had knocked him out.
Crouching down by his limp body I could see that it was indeed armor. A human face rested behind the clear faceplate with its eyes closed. I snagged up his large rifle and a clip of ammo from his belt. My small rifle had a carrying strap, so I slung it over my shoulder. Sadly, games didn’t work that way. I could only carry one rifle. The ammo that I was saving for Zaya’s pistol dropped when I picked up the pack that fit my newly acquired and more powerful gun.
Large rifle acquired, appeared on my HUD, followed by large rifle ammo acquired. That was helpful. Would it also tell me if I scored a kill?
Leaving the guard unconscious seemed like a bad idea. He might wake up and sound the alarm on me. If I could register a point in this game by taking down an opponent, I would already have accomplished more than my team expected of me. I got the distinct impression that they weren't anticipating me making it to the second building. More likely, I was meant to be a distraction.
I didn't feel like bludgeoning the still form of a man, and I didn't want to waste ammo that could draw attention either. So, I pushed his body toward the outside edge where I had been hiding. My avatar's strength was considerably more than I had expected. The guy flew right over the side. A moment later my HUD read confirmed kill.
Awesome! This was going even better than I had hoped.
The occasional gunfire at the first building had muted quite a bit. I figured that meant that my teammates had entered the structure. I wanted to be at the back door of the second building before any of them could make it that far. Wouldn't that surprise them?
I decided to run and got halfway there before I noticed another man directly behind the building. When he spotted me, I dove forward onto the ground as he began firing shots above me. My recently found large rifle remained in my right hand despite my fall, so I used both hands to aim it at the new bad guy. My first two squeezes of the trigger sent bullets over his head. He returned fire as I took my time to adjust my aim.
The guy's head flew back when I pulled the trigger the third time. Confirmed kill.
Hey! I'm getting good at this!
Another guy exited the building looking around in all directions. Prone as I was, and over thirty meters away, he couldn't see me. That gave me enough time to line up my shot. Confirmed kill again. Then, skill point earned for aiming.
I began laughing. Three kills and an aim skill point. I was kicking butt. I didn't know if Rhese would appreciate it, but my dad certainly would. I assumed that he was watching the live feed of the game and my progress was being covered. If not, they would surely play the recording later to show off the skills of a rookie.
I waited a little while to see if anyone else would exit the rear door of the building. When no one did, I got up and ran toward the structure. By the time that I reached it I heard more gunfire out front. My team was coming.
The rear entrance was on the far end. Slowly rounding each corner that I came to, I entered and made my way around a wall. I spotted another guard, but he ran toward the front door before I could shoot him. Not knowing where the rocket rifle component would be, I searched the back part of the building first as a battle raged on out front.
Sure enough, nestled in an alcove was a case with two handles. Painted on top of the case was a pattern of movement required by each knob to open the case. They were each different. When I tried the left grip, it wouldn't budge. I had to put my new rifle down and use both hands at the same time.
Detailed manipulation of my avatar's hands eluded me at first, but after a couple tries, I finally got it down well enough to open the case. Inside was a wide barrel about a meter long. It looked heavy but I was able to lift it with one hand. I quickly retrieved my large rifle and turned around. That's when I heard footsteps.
It was a bit brighter inside the building than outside. When Zaya's computer generated form came around the corner I was able to hold off pulling the trigger. Thankfully, she did, too. In the couple seconds of her shock at seeing me alive, I studied her avatar more closely.
She was a good bit taller than me, and very sleek looking. What I had originally thought were pants turned out to be the dark skin of her slender legs. Her arms and midriff were also bare. Though not really buxom, her scantily clad upper half revealed a distinct feminine form. This selected avatar body was very sexy in my opinion.
"Boone," she said with what resembled a smile.
"Are you looking for this?" I asked, holding the component forward.
"What the?" Rhese's voice uttered as she came around the corner to stop beside Zaya. This was the moment I was waiting for. A compliment from the captain, maybe. Acknowledgement that I wasn't worthless after all. Something resembling praise at least.
Instead, Rhese barked out orders. "Give me the piece," she demanded. She already had the first assembly part of the powerful weapon. "Give Zaya the large rifle."
"What? No way," I told her. "I earned this..."
Then Zaya held out her hand as she nodded. "It's for the best, Boone," she said calmly. "Here. Take my fast rifle. It still has twenty-two rounds left. Give me the large rifle clip, too. Stay behind us and you should be okay."
"He's not coming with us," Rhese said plainly.
"Who's not coming with us?" Memphis asked as she came around the corner. "Boone!"
"There's no time," Rhese shouted. "You are supposed to be guarding the door!"
"It doesn't matter," Zaya told her. "We're leaving now. All of us. Boone. Stay behind me. Memphis, exit the door and go left to provide cover fire."
"No," Rhese shouted. Then a few seconds later while everybody waited for her contrary instructions, she shook her head. "Yes, Memphis, do that. Concentrate fire toward the third building. Boone, you go right once outside and provide cover fire toward the hill straight ahead. There is a sniper up there somewhere that we haven't take out, yet. Between that hill and the third building is our cache. That is our next objective, but it doesn't require all of us."
Memphis and I did as we were told. She took a shot from the sniper right way, disabling her left leg. I fired in his direction causing him to duck for cover.
Rhese bolted out the door firing her fast rifle on three-round-burst, somehow picking out targets quickly. One went down as another took cover. Then she got shot in the back from a guy that had been hiding on the far side of the building that we had just exited.
Zaya tumbled forward elegantly to clear the corner of the structure and popped up firing a single shot from my large rifle. The guy apparently went down, because she hastily turned and aimed at the sniper hill right after that. One more shot sent the guy wit
h the long-range weapon flying.
Zaya was right. She was much better with the new rifle than I would be anytime soon.
Memphis and I continued to fire off shots at any opponents targeting us as Rhese pulled a health pack out and applied it to herself. She was then right back up beside us. And as bossy as ever.
When Zaya tossed a health pack to Memphis, Rhese asked her what she was doing. "We can't waste those!"
"I'm not wasting anything, but you are wasting time," Zaya replied. "There are three more health packs in the cache. We'll be fine."
Rhese let her anger subside as she looked across the road. "Where is it? My HUD can't locate it."
"It's behind the boulder beside the third building," I announced. Evidently, I was the only one at an angle wide enough to see it."
Then something happened that I had not expected. I had even given up on it ever happening.
Rhese said, "Thank you, Boone."
Chapter Twelve
Zaya sprinted forward like a badass as the rest of us provided cover fire. A man appeared on the large rock beside the cache. Rhese took him down with one shot before I even noticed him. Two more appeared in front of the final building. Memphis sent some shots their way, but they continued to fire in our direction while squatting down. We all had to dive for safety.
Another enemy popped up just behind the cache that Zaya was intent on reaching. When she got shot in the left leg, I thought maybe all was lost. Instead, she dove forward with her rifle in both hands. Knuckles into the dirt she propelled her feet skyward to somersault onto the side of the boulder. One leg lopped around like a broken toy as she used the other to kick off the rock. While spinning in midair she fired a single shot to take down the new enemy before landing on the one good leg. Quick use of a health pack put her right again.
"That's my last pack," Zaya informed us. A moment later she punched the lid off the strange-shaped box to reveal its valuable contents. "Now I have three more," she said. "And ammo. I'm leaving the guns. We don't need them. They are dupes anyway."
"Let me know when you are ready," Rhese yelled to our most impressive player. She may have been the captain and in control of our squad. But it was clear who was the truly dominant force in the game. The fact that Rhese allowed her to do so was actually a credit to her leadership in my opinion.
"Go!" Zaya yelled. Instantly, Rhese and Memphis bolted for the entrance to the final building. We still needed that last part to complete the rocket rifle so we could exit the level successfully. The two guards waiting there began firing. Rhese took out one while Zaya sniped the other. Unfortunately, it wasn't before one of them could land a good hit on Memphis.
My favorite teammate's head flew backwards, causing her feet to flip through the air. She hit hard when she landed awkwardly. I knew that it wasn't her real body, but it was shocking just the same.
Memphis down. Ten seconds to heal or the player will be eliminated, my heads-up display announced.
"Don't waste them!" Rhese screamed when Zaya crouched to ready herself for a sprint to our fallen teammate. Bullets from an unknown enemy ricocheted off the rock just beside her head to encourage her to stay put.
"Give me cover fire!" Zaya yelled.
I stepped out to draw fire from the shooter so we could identify his location. But he didn't bite. Either that or he was too focused on Zaya. When she popped her head out again more bullets threw dirt just a meter in front of her. She quickly ducked back behind cover.
Memphis eliminated from game play; the message scrolled across my HUD.
I wanted to be angry, but there was no time. We still had a job to do and a running clock. Rhese wanted to sacrifice Memphis for the team, to save on health. I guessed that I could hate her for that, but given the circumstances, it was hard to disagree with her. My friend's body was out in the middle of nowhere. Besides, Zaya would have disobeyed that order if she could. There was simply nothing that we could do.
Rhese had made it to the front of the third building and no one was rushing out to attack her. However, she was opposed to entering alone. Zaya had told me that they always make the last checkpoint the hardest to achieve. They needed to go in together if we had a chance of winning this game.
Since I currently wasn't being targeted, I ran for the large rock halfway between the two buildings. To the location that Rhese had just left. That put me closer to Zaya's position as well, which got me noticed.
"Boone!" Rhese yelled. "Run to me!"
That would be suicide, I thought. Was she serious? Was she expecting me to take Zaya's place by her side to retrieve the final component? That didn't add up at all. Not even close. No, she wanted me to draw fire. I should have realized that right away.
Ignoring Rhese, I popped my head out to locate the shooter. It turned out that there were two. Both were by the wall that needed to be destroyed in front of the exit.
"This game is much harder than we expected, Rhese," Zaya said. "I'm not sure if we're gonna make it."
"Don't talk like that," Rhese told her. For once I agreed totally. Never give up. I nearly teared up when I realized I had an opportunity to make my mark with this team. Originally, I was dead set against a suicide mission. But things were different now. I had proven my worth. And a sacrifice here would be to rescue our best player from being pinned down.
"Zaya," I yelled. "I'm going to draw fire so you can join Rhese."
"Don't do it!" Zaya yelled. "There has to be another way."
"We studied the map," I told her. "Is there another way into the final building?"
"No," Rhese announced. "There isn't. If I go in alone while you two are pinned, its game over. You're right, Zaya. This is much harder than we expected. I'm sure the last component is heavily guarded."
"On three, Zaya!" I yelled.
"No," she replied. "Let me think."
"One, two, three!" I screamed, leaving cover a half second early in my adrenaline-fueled eagerness. I sprayed what bullets that I had left toward the exit. One guy went down, but I was sure that it wasn't a bullet from my gun that did it. Zaya had followed my instructions and was firing one shot per second as she walked confidently from the cache site to Rhese's location.
She was nearly there when my display went blank. The sudden darkness was accompanied by searing pain in my forehead. I had been shot.
I fought to hold onto consciousness, but it felt like I was being held down somehow. Was Zaya on top of me trying to hold me still so she could administer one of her health packs? That had to be it. I worked on slowing my breathing so I could calm down. It took a while, but my vision finally returned.
Instead of the dark featureless sky of Skotopia, I saw a white ceiling above me. Then a face.
I was back in the hook-up room. My avatar had died.
I quickly glanced around at the other beds. Memphis' was empty, her hook-ups lying on the thin mattress. Both Rhese and Zaya were still playing. How much farther would they get? Did my heroics help them get the last component?
My brain was recovering from the sleepy fog quicker this time, but I pretended that it wasn't. I was hoping to delay long enough to see how quickly my remaining teammates would return to reality. Once I left this room, I wouldn't see them again until the next social hour. Maybe the mission results would be available before then, but I couldn’t wait. I had to know if my sacrifice was worth it.
My hook-up technician finally insisted that she escort me back to my quarters. I was nearly out the door when I heard a flurry of activity behind me. Both Zaya and Rhese were coming awake.
"Boone," the technician insisted. "We need to go."
"Wait. I have to know," I replied as I rushed back into the room. Two android guards popped right out of the wall to block my return to the beds. I hadn't even noticed them there before. "Rhese! Zaya! What happened?"
Zaya slid off her bed as she helped remove the strips of sensory connections that held her to the game computer. "We won, Boone," she said with a smile. "Nice job."
> I stood there smiling as I watched Rhese slide off her bed as well, to land suddenly on the floor face to face with Zaya. She looked anxious. Was she excited enough to give her teammate a hug? Would I get one, too?
The skimpy clothing that we wore as our bodies rested during game play were quite revealing. I had been given my robe to cover up, but both of them were essentially still in their underwear. I wanted that congratulatory embrace, but I was too timid to push past the androids blocking me. I wasn’t sure how much force they were programmed to apply to keep me from reentering the room.
Rhese's arms extended, but not in a loving way. Instead of hugging Zaya, she pushed her shoulders to propel her back into her game bed. "Don't you ever disobey my orders again!"
Zaya's face took on a dark expression in a hurry. Instead of screaming back at her captain, she leaned back on one leg. The other leg suddenly shot forward to strike Rhese in the gut. Our captain doubled over as she fell backwards onto the floor.
Gamer 1 - Skotopia: A Gamelit novel for science fiction action fans Page 7