Alterlife III

by Matt Moss

  I smile and play like I don’t know that he’s packing a pistol right now. “We’ve done it! You, me, and the Saviors.” Look up and stretch my neck around. “I can’t believe it. It’s finally over.”

  “Thank you, Ace. Alterlife will forever be indebted to you. The whole world will, though they may never know about what you’ve done. You just saved us all.”

  “Even if we had failed in Alterlife, I’m sure people would have found a way to stop the virus, somehow.”

  “That may be so. But now they don’t have to. No more lives will be lost because of it.”

  Gio walks into the main room of the cleaners.

  Standing in the doorway, I look at my room one last time—my jail cell. I’m not even going to take the NueView when I go. Alterlife, for me, is finished. I’ve made my mark and staked my claim; both the good and the bad.

  It’s time to go home.

  Giology spins around and walks backwards into the room, recalling the battle, ecstatic in his telling. I’m not really listening. I just want to get out of here.

  Yuna joins us from the lobby of the cleaners. She meets my gaze briefly before looking away, and stands at Gio’s side.

  Gio finishes his talk and looks at his hands. “I’m still tingling from it all. What a rush!” he says, smiling, the levels his gaze on me. It lingers for an awkward moment. He turns and grabs Yuna’s hands. Speaks in her native tongue with excitement. She smiles, wraps her arms around him, and he holds her for a moment, tenderly, like a lover would.

  Time to make my exit. “Well, it’s been real. It’s been fun. But it’s not been real fun.” I walk towards the lobby.

  Gio cuts me off, but keeps his distance. “Where are you going? There’s no need to rush. Come on, let’s celebrate.” He looks to Yuna and tells her to grab the wine.

  I step left, aiming to press past him. “I’m not in the mood.”

  He cuts me off again, more aggressive this time, and his smile quickly fades. He’s about two strides away from me.

  I throw my arms up. “Gio, what the fuck, man? I thought we had a deal. What’s the damn gun for?”

  “Gun?” He acts dumb. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  I point. “The one you got tucked behind your back. You lying son of a bitch.” I move to take it from him.

  He steps back, pulls the pistol, and points it at me. “Slow down, Ace. Let’s have a seat and talk, shall we?”

  My fists clench white-knuckle tight. “I got nothing to say to you.”

  “Sit!” he yells and points at a nearby chair.

  I walk to the chair, kick it over, and stare at him defiantly. “You wanna shoot. Go ahead. But I’ll be damned if you think you’re going to keep me here for one more minute, one more second.” I point at him, warning for the last time. “You better be ready to squeeze the trigger, because I’m about to shove that gun right up your ass.”

  He pulls the trigger and shoots me in the leg, just below the knee. I fall to the ground and my hand goes to the wound. It’s a sharp pain, but right now, I don’t pay it much mind because my adrenaline is so high. I’m pissed off and ready to break his neck. My eyes shift from the bleeding hole in my leg to his gaze. After a moment, I can’t help but laugh as the pain slowly starts to seep through my numbness. “You mother fucker. You shot me!”

  “I told you to sit down.”

  “Oh! A man of your word now, huh?”

  He gives me an apologetic look and lets his grip on the gun loosen. “Again, you gave me no choice. Don’t you see? Everything is in your control.”

  “Fuck you, Gio. Eat shit and die, you miserable prick.”

  “Stop cursing and making threats.” He sighs and pulls another chair over to sit in. “I don’t want you to leave yet; not before you re-establish the Black Knights once again and promote trade between our guilds. Together, we can shape Alterlife for the good. Do that, and you’ll be free to live the rest of your life however you want, I swear.”

  I glare at him. “All you want is control. That’s what gets you off. You have control over Thannadas, but it’s not enough, is it? No. Now you want all of Alterlife. You want to rule the world.”

  “I want to make it better,” he replies and rests the gun in his lap. “Ambition can be mistaken for greed. I’m sorry that you think I’m only serving my own interests, but I can assure you that I have the greater good in mind, and I put that above all else.”

  I lean on one hand while keeping pressure on the wound with the other. “You’re a fucking tyrant. A sycophant. A maniac.”

  Giovisi clenches his jaw, looks away, and takes a deep breath. “I’m giving you one more chance, Ace. You have my terms. What do you choose?”

  “This.” I flip him off with both hands, my left one covered in blood from compressing the wound.

  Gio shakes his head. Pats the gun on his leg and stares at the ground, contemplating his next move.

  This bastard’s about to kill me…

  The front doorbell jingles.

  The sound causes Giovisi to jump. He turns to Yuna. “I thought I told you to lock up for the day,” he scolds in a hushed voice.

  “I did,” she says, then proceeds to the front desk. “I’m sorry, we’re closed,” she says out loud, picking up a shotgun that’s leaning against the wall.

  “Where is he?” a man’s voice asks from the lobby.

  A moment later, Yuna returns, barely holding the shotgun, her face ashen. She looks like she just saw a ghost.

  “Who is it?” Giology asks.

  Three people walk into the room—three people that I know.

  The first is the punk from the game store that sold me the copy of Alterlife. I haven’t seen him since then. His once short, blonde hair is now brown and has grown out slightly more. Now, he looks like a GQ punk.

  The second is V from group therapy. She’s aiming a pistol, alternating her sights between Yuna and Gio, coming into the room like she’s part of a SWAT team.

  The third is my wife. Jenny. My heart melts at the sight of her, and she breaks into tears when she sees me. Runs and falls by my side.

  I look to Giovisi for his reaction, thinking he might pull the trigger.

  Instead, he falls to his knees, limp and staring up at the punk in disbelief.

  Yuna drops the shotgun and does the same.

  The punk holds his hand out to Giovisi. “Give me the gun.”

  Gio hands it over.

  What the hell?

  “John, oh my god. You’ve been shot!” Jenny says and is afraid to touch me after seeing the blood.

  “I would say that getting shot is a first for me, but we both know it’s not,” I reply, and meet her gaze. “Jenny, what are you doing here? Why are you mixed up with these people? Please tell me that you’re not risking your life to save mine.”

  “Oh please, Steve, we’ve got everything under control,” V says, emphasizing my fake name. She must know who I really am. V walks behind Yuna and places handcuffs around her wrists. Raises Yuna to her feet.

  “Send her back home,” the punk tells V.

  V nods and walks Yuna out. “I’ll put her in the car.”

  The punk admires the pistol, turning it over in his hand. Meets Gio’s desperate gaze. “Why did you keep Ace against his will?”

  “For the greater good, Creator. I had to.”

  Hold the phone…

  The punk is the Creator?

  “You? You’re the creator?” I ask the punk. He looks at me, but doesn’t say anything. I shake my head and chuckle. “No shit…” Anger and adrenaline take over and I slowly stand to my feet, keeping the weight off of my wounded leg. I hobble towards him. “I’ve got a score to settle with you. A big one.”

  He puts his hand up and speaks with authority. “John, please. We can settle our differences shortly. Right now, I’m attending to Mr. Giovisi.”

  Jenny gently tugs my arm. “John, just hear him out.”

  I turn back to her. “This is the guy that
ruined our lives! He’s the one who gave me the virus in the first place.”

  Jenny puts both hands on the sides of my face. “He’ll explain everything. Please, just give him a chance to.”

  I stare into her eyes and wonder how she even came to know the punk in the first place.

  He speaks to Giovisi. “I created Thannadas to be a beacon of hope—a light among the darkness. I chose you to take care of it; to nurture the goodness that Thannadas stands for. I chose you because I thought you were a just man.”

  “He’s a fucking psychopath,” I chime in before Gio can respond.

  Gio snaps his angry gaze at me.

  I give a sharp nod. “Go ahead, Gio. Tell him about how you want me to re-establish the Black Knights and won’t let me go until I do. That you want to start a trade between the guilds; one that will give you power over all of Alterlife.”

  “Shut up,” Gio tells me.

  I look to the creator, then back to Gio. “Tell him about how you tried to use the Staff of Deity to control Thal and kill every single person on the battlefield that wasn’t a Savior. Tell him about the NPCs you have in your palace and how you watch them…”

  Gio rises to his feet and lunges towards me. “Shut up!”

  The gun goes off.

  The shot causes Gio to freeze before he can reach me.

  I look up and see a bullet hole in the drop-tile ceiling. The punk levels the gun back down at Gio. “Is this true?”

  Gio turns around to face him, and his shoulders slouch in shame. “Yes.”

  “Why? Have I not given you everything? If what Ace says is true, why do you want to control all of Alterlife?” he asks, his voice still calm and collected.

  Gio just shakes his head, doesn’t have an answer.

  The punk sighs and looks down. “Such is the folly of man. Greed. Temptation. Lust.”

  Gio steps close to the punk and falls on his knees. His voice shakes and tears fall from his eyes as he pleads. “Please, forgive me.”

  “I can’t,” the creator replies. He tosses me the gun and I catch it, surprised. He speaks to Gio. “I’m going to remove your account. You’re no longer a part of Thannadas, the Saviors, or Alterlife.”

  Giovisi begs, his face to the floor, groveling at the punk’s feet. “Please, don’t do that. I beg you. Don’t take it all away from me. Please, have mercy and don’t forsake me!”

  “I’m sorry. But you’re not the man I thought you were.” The punk steps back, away from Gio’s groveling hands.

  Gio sniffs, wipes his eyes, and looks up at the creator and then over to me.

  I stare blankly at him, thankful that he’s through.

  Still on his knees, Giovisi straightens up and looks at the creator. Ashamed, Gio turns his head to the side. Slowly, he moves to pick up the shotgun.

  I raise my pistol, ready to take him out.

  Calculating and methodical to the very end, Gio places the barrel underneath his chin and pulls the trigger in one smooth motion. The blast makes Jenny jump and then scream.

  I can’t take my eyes away from what I’m seeing—the gaping skull and the fragments of bloody matter that are painted on the wall and ceiling. His body lying in a pool of blood on the floor.

  And in that moment, I know that I’m free.

  It’s finally over.

  Well, not quite yet.

  I rip away from Jenny and aim the gun at the punk.

  He turns to me and holds his hands up in surprise.

  V returns from the car, her pistol held poised after hearing the gun blast.

  “Move to the wall, now.” I tell them.

  “John, put the gun down. We came to save you,” V says, aiming her pistol at my chest.

  Jenny moves towards me and I hold a hand out, telling her to stop.

  “John, please listen. They’re with me, and we’re here to rescue you. Don’t do anything stupid,” Jenny tells me. “Just put the gun down and listen.”

  “Set the gun on the floor and kick it over here. Real slow-like,” I tell V.

  “Fine.” She bends down and places the pistol on the floor, kicks it over. I pick it up and tuck it behind my back. “You got any more?” She shakes her head and puts her hands up.

  I aim the gun at the punk and put pressure on the trigger. I want to squeeze it more; to lay everything to waste and put it all behind me. To start over.

  If you pull the trigger, you’ll never be able to put it behind you. You’ll never be free.

  Tears fall from my eyes, and I can practically feel the promise of freedom that I hold in my hands.

  Just one moment, one choice; it’ll all be over. I just want it to be over...

  “John, listen to me…”

  “I am the one in control here!” I yell back, cutting the punk off.

  “John,” Jenny pleads.

  I clench my jaw, turn my head and take my finger off the trigger. Wave them down with the gun. “Sit on the floor,” I tell them. After they do, I let the gun fall by my side.

  Beside me, Jenny sighs in relief.

  “Baby, you want to tell me how the hell you got mixed up with them?” I ask Jenny, never taking my eyes off the two on the wall.

  “You might want to ask them that,” she replies.

  I meet Jenny’s gaze. “Alright.” I turn back to them. “Start talking.”

  “Damn, man. You’re just as on-edge as I remember,” the punk says with a grin.

  “I told you he was fucked up,” V says.

  I aim the gun back at them. “Now is not the time to be smartasses. I wouldn’t test me if I were you.”

  The punk’s grin fades away and he raises his chin. “You asked for help. So, here we are.”

  “I asked for help? I haven’t seen you since you sold me the game at the mall. And V, since our last group meeting together. How the hell could I have asked you for help?”

  He lowers his eyes and speaks. “You didn’t ask either of us specifically for help. You asked someone else.”

  Confusion sets in as I try to think. The answer suddenly hits me.

  Deakins...

  I lower the gun. “You’ve got to be shitting me. You’re Deakins?”

  The punk grins at my revelation. “No. I created Deakins. But we share a common bond, so-to-speak; similar to the bond you share with him. By the way, my name is Pete.”

  “I’ve always called you Punk. That’s your name to me, and it’s going to stay that way.”

  “Fine.”

  “You’re connected to Deakins? Can you talk to him right now?”

  “Yes. He says ‘hello’, by the way.”

  I run a hand through my hair, not able to comprehend it all right now. “At least I’m not as crazy as I thought. Now, there are two of us who can communicate with Deakins.”

  “You both are bat-shit crazy,” V comments.

  Since we’re all getting to know each other... “What’s your story? Who are you, really?” I ask her.

  “I’m with the FBI,” she replies.

  I narrow my eyes at her. Before I can ask another question, she answers it for me.

  She sits comfortably with both arms resting on her knees as she speaks. “Yes, I know your friend, Jim Pattocks. He’s the one that assigned me to your case after he realized that you’d been kidnapped. We had suspicions about this place, but there was no hard evidence to go on, so we couldn’t really do anything. That was our mistake. We should have just stormed the place.”

  That would have been nice. “Did you know about me and who I was the whole time? Were you at all of those group meetings just to keep tabs on me?”

  She shakes her head, eyes widening momentarily. “Oh, no, I had no idea who you were. That shit was for me. Everything I told you is real.”

  I cross my arms. “And they let you in the FBI, even after knowing how messed up you are?”

  She narrows her eyes at me. “I’ve been with the bureau for some time now. Long before I was ‘messed up’. They’re helping me put everything
back into perspective, and group therapy is part of it.”

  I speak to Pete. “So Deakins told you everything?”

  He nods. “About your location here at the cleaners, your wife’s home address. It was by a twist of fate that when I arrived at your house, Victoria was meeting with your wife. We came here immediately after that.”

  I turn to Jenny. “So you’ve only known these two for less than a couple hours?”

  She nods. “Pete, yes. But Victoria and I have been in communication for the past few days now. Ever since Jim had urgent business at the White House and placed her on your case.”

  Urgent business in DC? I wonder what that’s about.

  On second thought, no. I don’t even want to know.

  Pete speaks. “John, I want to say thank you for taking care of Alterlife. Without you, the virus would have spread into this world, and I don’t know how severe it could have gotten. It may have very well been the end for all of us.”

  I tilt my head, curious as to why he couldn’t have fixed it himself. “You’re the creator of Alterlife, right? Why the hell couldn’t you have eliminated the virus—which you gave to me, mind you—and destroyed the gods yourself? Couldn’t you have just patched them all out; along with the Gamemasters, since they’re artificial intelligence? AI that you wrote?”

  He nods. “I can see how it would be hard to understand. How you think that I could just snap my fingers and fix it all.”

  “An all powerful creator normally has that kind of clout.” I throw my arm out. “How do you know that the virus would have even done anything at all? It only affected those connected to Alterlife through the NueView, right? What, would people have suddenly become carriers in the real world, like zombies of a sort, and spread the virus that way? It doesn’t make sense.”

  He holds his hands up, helpless. “I have no idea how it would have worked. I have a theory—something similar to what would be described as raging humans, and the reaction to them, either through physical touch or sight, would have caused it to spread among those not linked to the NueView or Alterlife.”

  “Given that they had the X12 vaccine back in the 30’s,” I note.

  “Almost everyone had the X12 vaccine,” Victoria states. “What’s that got to do with anything?”