Skinner could hear the clatter of feet below them. More infected. Can't go down. Have to go up.
Skinner looked at Harper. Wounded but stoic. "Ready Andy?"
Harper glanced back at the door they'd just entered, the voices sounded right outside.
"No time like the present Ben."
Skinner took the stairs two at a time, his right arm gripping Santos hard, almost lifting her off her feet. Harper followed right behind.
They reached the fifth floor landing, its door lying twisted on the floor, just as the fourth floor door burst open. Skinner and Harper grabbed Santos, and together they leapt through the open doorway and headlong into the pitch black of level five.
They were on their own in the dark, listening to the sound of pounding feet and heavy breath of a dozen deranged murderous lunatics pounding up toward them.
Skinner looked down and could see their shadows racing on the stairwell below. A few seconds more, and they'd be here. He closed his eyes, and squeezed Santos' hand tight.
#
"We won't make it if we stay together."
Skinner looked at Harper as the pack closed in on them.
"No time to argue Ben. You and Eva go right. Go north for about 90 seconds. The NOC entrance should be to your left. I'll take them round the long way."
Skinner started to speak, but Harper had already sprinted left and into the darkness. Harper was shouting at the top of his voice and banging hard against the closed office doors as he ran. "C'mon you freaks. Over here!"
Skinner grabbed Santos by the arm and darted right.
"Ben. What about Andy?"
"He'll make it Eva. We'll see him soon."
They sprinted forward in almost complete darkness. Skinner cracked his elbow hard on a vacant security desk and winced as the pain shot up his arm. Suddenly they hit a wall of humming, blinking racks. A dead end.
Skinner cursed under his breath, then pulled Santos down so that they were both resting on a knee. Navigating by the tiny green flashing lights under a row of steel and cables, he crouched down low and held his breath.
He looked back and could make out the shadows of dozens spilling out from the emergency exit. Skinner could sense a momentary confusion among the group. Should they spill into the darkness or continue chasing the clattering feet of Harper?
Skinner's heart sank as John Evans pushed through the pack and took control. He pointed in Harper's direction, and half the pack ran off. The rest knew they were to follow him as he set off in the same direction as Skinner and Santos. They could hear the sound of heavy boots crunching over broken glass.
Without warning, Evans turned sharply left and led the pack down a dark row of computers. Skinner waited a few seconds until the sound had faded, then turned to Santos.
"Eva. They'll be back soon. We need to move now. According to iSight, the NOC is behind this rack, and that's got to be the safest place to be. It looks like our only chance is to squeeze underneath then sprint for the NOC."
Santos looked at the distance between the bottom shelf and the floor. It would be tight for her, even worse for Skinner. The voices were getting louder again - they'd turned back already.
"Ok - let's do it." Santos winced as she leant forward, and kissed Skinner. Surprised, he squeezed her hand.
"We're going to make it out of here Eva."
With that, they both dropped to the floor and started pushing underneath the steel shelf. Santos could feel the cold steel scrape against her back and she inched her way forward.
Skinner spread himself as flat as possible, took a deep breath then exhaled. He could barely make it past his shoulders. The steel rack had him pinned. He forced himself forward, and felt the steel rip his shirt to shreds and scrape a layer of skin from his back. He kept pushing, but was pinned down so tight he couldn't inhale. Footsteps were closing in on him, the screeches and jeers of the chasing pack felt all around.
Skinner couldn't breath. He was jammed tight, and now he felt dizzy. Light headed. He knew he would pass out soon. He could hear the howling all around. They were here.
As the darkness descended, Skinner felt a powerful hand grab him roughly and pull. In the distance, he felt a scraping, tearing, along the length of his back.
'I hope Eva made it.'
He passed out.
#
Kaito Tanaka stood up, stretched and surveyed the chaos around him. He had been so proud of the NOC. It was a true state of the art facility. He'd poured money into employing the most advanced technology available, he hired a team of the world's best and brightest. He'd built the biggest, most lucrative game in history.
He scanned the dimly lit room. The few screens that were still working gave out more light than the low voltage emergency lighting overhead. How had it come to this? In the blink of an eye, his life's vision swallowed by the dark madness all around.
Tanaka watched Tait bark out instructions to his largely powerless team of technicians. He was struck by the contrast between Tait's raw panic and the cold, calm organisation of his team. He had led a charmed life - born into wealth and sailing through a glittering career. The man had never faced a fight. No, his big, brilliant, amoral brain had made sure of that.
Not for the first time, Tanaka wondered if Tait was a brilliant fraud, quick to take the credit and even quicker to pass the blame. A pretender propped up by the people who worked for him. Tanaka had never really liked the man. His unquestionable brilliance surpassed only by his relentless, dripping materialism. But for Tanaka to realise his dream, he had needed Tait. He had trusted him. Was that his mistake?
After a whispered conversation with two young technicians, Tait spun on his heels and strode purposefully toward Tanaka.
"Mr Tanaka, I might have a solution."
Tanaka silently registered Tait's use of 'I' rather than 'we'.
"Go on."
"Sir. If the power is restored, then I believe we can release code which will wipe out all virtual players, and then shutdown the game around the world. Once that's done, we believe we can trace the destination of every copy released. At that point, either through software or the legal department, we can start shutting them down."
Tanaka raised an eyebrow.
"Assuming, Mr Tait, that the power was to be restored in full now, how long do you believe that would take?"
Tait hesitated, glancing over at the two engineers he'd been talking to earlier. Turning back to Tanaka, he replied confidently. "It's difficult to say, but at this stage I would estimate the game would be out of operation for at least eight weeks sir."
Tanaka was incredulous. "Eight weeks? Eight weeks? Is this some sort of sick joke?"
Tait looked stunned by Tanaka's reaction.
"Mr Tait. I have built iSight from a small rented room in Tokyo, with my daughter in a cot by my desk. It has liberated people around the world. Freed them from the every day, opened their eyes to new and wonderful experiences. It has created friendships that span oceans, cross religious and political divides. And it has never, never, stopped working. That's why people love it. Because it's always there for them."
Tait's face flushed red. He looked mortified.
Tanaka pointed a finger at Tait, his fury unabated.
"ISight is much more than a game. It's a new way of life. Today hundreds of millions play. I believe the new game will see over one billion people join the iSight world. That's one in seven people on the planet, all experiencing the thrill of a new, better world. Nothing will stop that happening. And especially not the cheap tricks of a few teenage hackers."
"Sir, this is much more than a few teenage hackers ..."
"Mr Tait. You have become a very wealthy man by doing exactly what I say. That is what I expect of you once more. When the power comes on, you will find a way to restore the system to full operation within 24 hours. And you will do so after first ensuring Shou's experience remains safe, complete and uninterrupted. Is that clear?"
Tait looked at Tanaka, his face red
with rage, his chest rising and falling as the adrenalin pumped through him. Tait could see it now - see what others had whispered about Tanaka. He was delusional. Driven to the point of obsession, maybe even madness. There was no way - no way - that the game could be rescued in a day. Tait doubted it could ever be truly restored. And yet Tanaka - who understood the system almost as well as Tait - refused to acknowledge that reality.
Exasperated, Tait nodded yes, then turned and paced back to his desk.
Tanaka turned away from the departing Tait and gazed at the four security monitors still operating. He watched ghostly green shapes dart through the dark. He watched as a pack of green ghosts descended upon a single, kneeling shape, limbs flying. A moment later the green ghosts moved on, and the figure lay still on the floor.
Although he couldn't see what was happening, Tanaka could imagine it. The violence. The destruction. The anguished cries of the injured and dying.
He didn't care.
The only thing that mattered was Shou. As long as she could play, nothing else mattered.
It never had.
#
"Sir, we have the communications network working again."
The portly young Japanese technician beamed at Tait as he delivered the news - the first good news since the attack hit.
Tait leapt to his feet and with a curt nod to the watching Tanaka, flicked his eyes briefly up to the ceiling then started talking. Tanaka flicked his eyes up briefly and joined in the call.
"Sakura? Itou? Tait here. Respond."
A couple of seconds passed. Tait was about to repeat the request when Itou responded. He spoke calmly, clearly, as if it was just another day at the office.
"Mr Tait. I am on level five and have four visitors with me. We are being pursued. Please open the NOC door in exactly 30 seconds and ensure it is secured as soon as we're inside." And with that, he was gone.
Tait turned to Tanaka, who nodded in approval.
Tait sprinted toward the security door, shouting for assistance as he made his way there. Several technicians rushed to join Tait, and Tanaka walked briskly behind. As they arrived behind the reinforced steel door, Tait explained to the technicians around him.
"In exactly 20 seconds, we open this door for Itou and four others. As soon as they're in, we close and secure the door."
Tait held the door while a technician hovered, his hand over the manual override pad. Tait watched as iSight counted down the seconds. "7...6...5...4...3...2...1...now!" The technician's fingers flew over the pad, and a small red LED - bright in the dark corridor - flickered and turned to green. Tait pulled at the heavy steel door which swung inward silently. The wiry lawyer darted in as the doors opened, followed closely by the petite psychologist, her left hand pressed hard against a deep shoulder wound, and the tall CEO. As he staggered past, Tait noticed that the back of his white shirt was shredded and covered in blood.
Tait swung the door shut.
And was stopped by a vice-like grip on his wrist. Itou stared into his eyes, inches separated them, and simply said "Wait".
Itou sprinted back through the door and out into the hallway. He grabbed Skinner, lying unconscious on the ground, effortlessly swung him up over his shoulder and sprinted for the door. A few seconds behind, the rabid pack raced forward, howling, screaming and slashing at the air with daggers of shattered glass.
Horrified by the sight of a muscular shaven-headed man leading a pack of baying lunatics, Tait began shutting the door, but before the door clicked shut, the door burst wide open and Itou charged through, Skinner unconscious and draped over his left shoulder.
"Shut it now!" Itou barked at a slightly dazed Tait as he collapsed to the floor exhausted. Tait pushed the door closed while the technician's hand flew over the pad. As the doors shut, Tait watched in horror as a group of players roared toward him. They waved pipes, glass and broken bottles. He recognised some of them from earlier game immersion sessions. An hour ago they were students, accountants, stay at home mums and teenage game enthusiasts. And now they were a rabid, murderous pack.
"Lock it! Lock it!"
"Done sir. The door is secure."
Tait exhaled, a combination of fear and relief. Just as the door clicked shut an enormous thud reverberated through the darkness. Then another. And another. And it kept going. The sound of bodies crashing against the door again and again. Tait looked nervously at the door. It was built to prevent corporate espionage - not a mass assault.
He turned and walked back into the NOC. Itou had moved the professor on to the raised platform, and was now attending to Harper while nearby another technician was treating Santos' shoulder wound. Beyond the raised platform, a woman was crouched over Hill, talking quietly as the shattered lawyer sobbed.
Tanaka walked over to Itou.
"Good to see you my friend. Can you summarise?"
"Yes sir. Security is down throughout the building. Some members of staff and game testers have formed into groups and have attacked and killed most of the others."
Tanaka stared at his trusted friend. He could barely believe what he was hearing.
"And what of our visitors?"
Itou's voice remained calm as he reported, "Mr Hill has no injuries but is suffering from shock. He will recover. Mr Skinner has multiple surface injuries and was rendered unconscious. He will recover. Ms Santos has a flesh wound on her right shoulder. Assuming we can have her treated in the next few hours, she will recover."
Tanaka looked over the visitors. It was horrific - like a war zone.
"And what of Mr Harper?"
Itou cast an eye over the tall man, lying on the floor and drifting in and out of consciousness. He was much worse than he'd appeared to be. His shirt was ripped to shreds, and deep wounds run the length of his back and side.
"Mr Harper has multiple stab wounds to the back and side. He has sustained heavy blood loss and internal bleeding. Mr Harper will not recover without treatment."
Tanaka blinked at Itou. He seemed completely unmoved by the diagnosis. To Itou, it was simply a statement of fact. Harper would probably die.
Tanaka turned away, and almost walked into Tait - who had listened in horror to Itou's debrief. It was clear to Tait that this wasn't the first time Itou had faced a situation like this. That didn't surprise him.
However, he had the strong impression Tanaka had also been through something similar before.
#
His head was throbbing as he opened his eyes. Santos was staring at him, smiling gently as she stroked his blonde hair.
"Hey Ben, how you feeling?"
Skinner propped himself up on his elbows and tried to figure out where he was.
"My head is thumping, but it definitely helps wakening up to you?"
Skinner slowly, painfully, panned around the dark room. There was movement everywhere, the low hum of conversation. He could see Hill, Itou, Tait and Tanaka standing over Harper.
"What happened Eva?"
"You passed out. Itou grabbed you and pulled you out from under the shelf. I think he left most of your skin back there - you're going to have a pretty sore back for a few weeks I'm afraid."
"Oh yeah. It's coming back now - unfortunately. Damn - I forgot. How's the shoulder Eva?"
Santos glanced down at her right shoulder, now heavily bandaged and taped.
The Sapporo Outbreak Page 26