by Dawn Chapman
“In the case of biological risk—like those mutants back there—the main lab’s normal procedure is to have them put into quarantine. The problem with that is you have all these people in one room. If one of them is sick, then everyone has to be disposed of.”
Pierce raised his eyebrows. “You’re saying everyone’s been incinerated?”
“They have all kinds of mutations in this facility, some of them extremely dangerous. I’d figure, gassed first,” she said. “Then incinerated. It’s easier to hire new people than to examine everyone looking for signs of mutation. So yeah, I guess they just eliminated everyone, as a precaution after Mount 23. Too risky.”
Precaution. Strange word to use in a situation like this. Why? Pierce kept reminding himself this was just a game. These weren’t real people. Killing them wasn’t like killing someone for real. He didn’t want to think of these people as real, fighting for a real planet, being killed with real gas, burned with fire. It wasn’t real, he tried to remember. Not real.
But the pain he felt was. In his back and legs. It’s getting worse. Pierce wondered, Can it have anything to do with experiments being conducted there?
“We can go now,” said Leenz, taking him out of his thoughts. “We won’t have trouble getting in there.”
Pierce looked down at Chopper. The poor thing’s tongue was sticking out of his mouth, a strange bluish-grey tongue. Probably indicating he’s tired. But we’ve got to reach that base before dark. Pierce didn’t want to risk another night in the Araratian cold.
Pierce tried to breathe slowly, to know the world around so the pain wouldn’t be his focus. He kept hold of his rifle, looking to see if he could find anyone worth shooting. It wasn’t working. Pierce hadn’t noticed at first, but little by little he became conscious of the pain. It wasn’t as hard as it had been in the simulation--the fault might be on the human technology--but the pain was taking control, he…
“Shit!” Pierce shouted as they were thrown to the grass from Chopper’s back. Leenz was getting up by his side. Chopper’s eye was huge, his skin a strange shade of orange. “What the hell happened?” Pierce asked.
“Can’t you see?” said Leenz. “He’s afraid.”
“Afraid?” The creature cried like a dog. “Of what?”
“It can smell something bad. These giants are very sensitive to haunted places.”
“Haunted places?”
“What do you expect?” said Leenz. “At least a hundred people died in there, less than two days ago, all at the same time. That charges the place with negative energy. Chopper won’t go near it so soon.”
“You already knew that?” Pierce asked, staring at Chopper’s stupid, scared face. He caressed his nose to try to calm the beast down. His pain was getting worse. “I guess we’ll walk the last couple of miles. Chopper, be a good boy, stay under the tree.” Chopper obeyed. “So, should we expect to run into ghosts in there?” asked Pierce.
“Beware, Pierce,” said Leenz. “Your race is sensitive to this kind of thing. If I had to guess, I’d say you’ll experience some physical discomfort.”
“Damn right, sister! This doesn’t add up. I’ve been to places where bad stuff happened before. A lot of people died on Mount 23, didn’t they?”
“It’s not just the fact that people died,” she said. “Most Araratian’s have—ability. So many people dying at the same time, all close to one another leaves telepathic residue all over the place. That’s what we called haunted. It’s not fantasy.”
“Sweet,” he said, breathing through his mouth. “Well, I still have a mission to fulfill. I can’t just give up and go home, can I?”
Pierce led the way, feeling worse with each step. Leenz walked in a straight line over his own steps, along gravel-covered ground which took them to a wire fence. They cut it, and went on.
Pierce caught himself thinking of his little sister, Dorothy, and how he’d spit on her food when they were small, but no one ever noticed. Strange thought to have at a time like this. He shook his head and tried to focus. It wasn’t easy. “What’s going on inside my head?” Pierce had his hand on his trigger.
“When are you going to realize this is not a game?” she said.
Of course it was. I’m playing the hero, a hero I can’t be back on Earth. He felt like throwing up. “Are you telling me everyone who comes close to this place has these funny thoughts?” Him pulling Wayne’s underwear. Hitting Wayne in the stomach. Him calling Wayne a faggot.
“Not everyone, no.” She’d stopped walking. “You’d be more subject to it than most. Your dreams led me to believe that. How you communicate.”
“Communicate? With whom?” Pierce nearly yelled, feeling his head might explode.
“Chopper,” she answered. “Pierce, could you please stop thinking of shooting me in my back? It’s upsetting.”
“Wait, what?”
“Hey, you are going to faint!”
“No, I’m…” Pierce almost tripped. His head was going to explode. He wanted to shoot her, but couldn’t. The last thing he saw was Leenz coming, pulling his knife from his belt. Then only pain. And darkness. Forever.
Pierce woke to a pop-up screen glaring at him, red flashes, until he swiped it away.
He couldn’t stand reading it:
BRAIN SURGERY COMPLETE
HEALTH—64/100
MEMORY LOSS—MINUS 5.5%
FOCUS—50/100
What? Surgery?
Whatever had happened had taken just fifteen minutes, but the pain was still there when he woke. Pierce touched his forehead with just the tip of his fingers--stitches. “What did you do?”
“A minor surgery,” explained Leenz. “I took a small part of your brain out. Made a cut, introduced a small straw to it, then I had to suck something out. Think of it as a lesion. So you’d go back to normal. Nothing you’ll miss though, just something making you too sensitive—to this place.”
Pierce held his breath, braced his legs, and got up. Looked around. The thoughts were gone. He tried to remember what had upset him. Something about my sister? About Wayne? It only came to him. They were bad things. Bad things, for sure. Digging, only good ones came up with any clarity. Good times with Wayne, gaming. He felt suddenly so out of place. Fun. Right now, Pierce could do with a friend here.
Leenz explained further. “The guilty portion of your brain is far too developed. I took a good chunk of it from you. Could’ve just removed the smaller, sensitive portion, but that might be a problem in the long run. I could have taken away your ability to feel pain, but pain can be useful—in certain situations.”
“How could you…” he started, “What if… What about…”
“Pierce, just relax. I have done it before,” she tried to reassure, but it was making him feel worse. It didn’t help hearing, “Your people know barely anything about medicine.”
Pierce wanted to jump and grab her by the throat, but there was a question he needed answered. “Is brain-sucking something the average Araratian can do? Some common knowledge for your species? Or are you some sort of doctor?”
“I’m a scientist, Pierce. What you’d call a scientific officer.” Before he could say it, she confirmed his thoughts: “Yes, I was working on that base. Undercover, of course. It took me years to get inside this facility, but after that, everything was just peachy.”
“Why are you telling me that?”
“Because it doesn’t make one hell of a difference to you,” said Leenz. “Our deal is still good.” Something crossed her face. “I was the one who let the beasts out back there after they killed everyone. Wasn’t hard to kill them. I was the one who declared the quarantine. Had all of these scientists killed. Do you know why I did that? For New Ararat. For my people.”
Pierce still wanted to know what happened to those memories. Had they been sucked out of his mind together? They might be bad memories, but they were his!
There was a palm scanner by the main gate which recognized Leenz. Soon they were inside the b
ase, the only living souls in the place.
“Congratulations, Pierce,” she said with a wicked grin. “You are now the owner of this facility. What do we do next?”
Pierce waited, but nothing appeared in his stats window. “That’s strange. Maybe there’s still someone around. We should explore.”
They saw empty rooms, where monsters had been created, and different from Mount 23, with no blood or signs of a struggle anywhere. That seemed to validate Leenz’s mass execution theory.
“Wait,” said Pierce as they stepped into a security surveillance room filled with monitors.
“You see something?”
Yes. A bright yellow upside-down triangle floated in front of a monitor. “That.” He pointed. “Am I the only one who can see that thing?”
“Whatever it is, I don’t. Do we call Chopper in?”
Pierce walked to the triangle, touched it. The monitors showed old footage, from maybe a few hours ago according to the time display. A group of Maxol warriors stood around on screen like the first time Pierce had seen them, only he’d never been told what they’d looked like. Lizards, for lack of a better term. He didn’t expect them to look so… human. Standing upright, two arms and legs. The expressions on their faces when they discovered the monster eating another seemed to reflect off him.
They’re emulating our human emotions. Panic, fear, disgust. He could see how serious they seemed, how focussed. Pierce saw their green skin. He zoomed in on the smallest, thrilled to see them in action. Scales ran up the centre of this Maxol’s arms, to portions of his back Pierce could see. Zooming in again he discovered they also had strange tattoos inside those scales.
“What are they doing?” asked Leenz. “What is this?”
“Footage from another lab, I think. Fighting a giant creature—” One with more tentacles than Pierce could count. “They’re fine warriors, the Maxol. But your infection’s spread, all right.”
“Can you see it because they’re your next mission?” Leenz asked. Pierce smiled when the red letters appeared in front of his eyes.
QUEST—
LOCATE AND CAPTURE THE MAXOL—DRAYK—FOR THE INFORMATION HE HAS ON THE REBEL ALTUS
REWARD—UNKNOWN
ACCEPT—Y/N
Pierce flicked his eye to the “yes.”
“We need to find them.”
There was something else glowing in the footage. The mission accepted, Leenz gasped as the screen came alive for her. She leaned in closer. Pierce couldn’t help a smile when she saw it. The young Maxol warrior seemed lost. Something was glowing on him. He was the yellow triangle. Pierce wanted him.
“The one you’re staring at,” she said. “You see that thing on his chest?”
“What about it?” asked Pierce, still squinting.
“That thing emits a signal. I believe—yes—just give me a moment.” She took her pad from her backpack, pressed several buttons. “Got it! Just the other side of the mountain.”
“Nice,” said Pierce, still staring at the monitors. “Very nice.”
Chapter Seventeen
Drayk
I don’t have a clue where to start.
Drayk paced about the dining hall, the others had gone now, even Amy. He was free to walk around, to talk to the other people. Outside in the street, children played with balls and other toys. Their laughter and cadence carried over on the wind. Were there real children playing here in the game? Or were they computer generated NPC’s?
“You look troubled,” a gruff voice said from behind him.
Drayk turned. An older man wielded a broom like he’d been doing it for many years.
“You’re Marik?” Drayk asked, also noting the man wore a white apron.
Marik spun around each table sweeping spilled crumbs into a neat pile. “That I am, what’s troubling you, young man?”
“I don’t know where to start.” Drayk let out a sigh. “I mean I can see where I need to go, but I don’t know what’s out there…”
Marik smiled, “Do any of us know what’s out there? We come here to escape some of the bad in our lives.”
“Some?”
Fascinated by his constant sweeping, Drayk noticed there were, in fact, no other café staff left. “I’m sorry, I should go. I’ve out-stayed my welcome.”
“I’ve some Trikia in the fridge. You like one?” Marik said.
Drayk thought back to missing his Dragawn, to the alcohol he might have had a chance to sample. “I’d like that,” he nodded, “if you have time.”
Marik indicated the back wall where two large double doors vibrated with a light breeze. “Always sit out there, watching the sun set. Go on, I’ll be out in a little.”
A warm breeze tickled Drayk’s skin, it wasn’t cold out yet. This was tranquil. Drayk breathed in, allowed himself to relax. The sun dipped below the mountains; shimmering orange and yellows bounced off a body of water that lay between himself and the steep peaks.
Stepping out, Marik brought two fleecy jackets; in the other hand a tray with the drinks, some snacks. “It’ll get pretty cool in the next thirty minutes or so.”
Drayk took the jacket, slipping it on. The soft material felt wonderful on his skin; nothing in his world was this rich, or warm. Nothing he could afford anyway. “Thank you. Everyone here is so kind, I’ve never known it.” The two of them sat down, to relax, drink and eat.
“We’ve had to pull together.” Marik said. “We’re more family than a town should be. But, it works.”
Drayk thought back to Cale, to the time limit they had. He drank some Trikia, the liquid’s sweet, thick texture sliding down, igniting a need inside him to enjoy things. Although he’d much to do, he wanted to experience everything.
“Has Altus been the leader here for long?”
Marik’s face fell, a frown deepened his forehead’s already huge lines. “No, he hasn’t. We were just a small town, waiting, building.” Drayk sensed his pain and wanted to know what happened. “In the last big fight…If Altus hadn’t come along, with his group when he had, I think we’d have lost the settlement forever.”
“You’re worried about the upcoming battle, aren’t you?”
“No, I can’t influence the decision.”
Drayk tried not to stare, but he noted the glowing green energy around Marik’s left hand. “And what is your energy telling you now?”
“There are many choices you must make, but some you won’t want to.”
Drayk understood that above all. If life were easy, no one would struggle. “I already agreed to go on this quest but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about the people who brought me here. I want to do right. I’ll come back if it’s the last thing I do. Help you fight for this village because your lives mean something.”
“You don’t know us.”
“No, but Altus has given me something to look forward to. Something out of the ordinary life I know. If I can get Cale here, do right by him in this ‘game,’ then I know we’ll do well.”
“You think like some others, that this is a game.” Marik stood to leave, offering him a hand. “It’s been good to meet you, Drayk.”
Drayk shook his hand, and then watched Marik as he ambled back inside.
The setting sun left the silver light of two glowing moons.
Drayk stood. He wanted to take off the jacket, but the cooling night also meant he dare not. The night air, chilly but clean, felt peaceful; nothing back home had ever felt this good. Drayk breathed in deeply and pondered Marik’s comment, Was the game just a game?
He could only guess, to some of its players, it meant more than a game. It meant their way of life—something else now—more than the life they had back home.
To his side, plants shed petals into the wind. He moved from the bench they had sat at to a perch on a rock. There was no damage accumulating now, Drayk leaned over and sniffed. A wonderful flowery aroma, their stunning red and blues intertwined with great detail. Their scent felt intoxicating.
It looked ama
zing around here; so much beauty. So much to see, to feel.
There was nothing here he couldn’t fall in love with. The whole world was amazing. He understood some of Marik’s words now, but he didn’t understand all the reasons.
Out the corner of his eye, Drayk noticed the bushes moved. He grabbed for the nearest weapon he could find. A stone. A creature moseyed on out, sniffing, to eat at the bushes. Drayk watched as its central eye blinked, watching its surroundings. With a flick of his wrist Drayk brought up the creature stats:
MROVIAL GIANT—1 HOUR OLD
“Huh, don’t look big to me but you’re a baby, I guess.”
Then something else moved behind it. Much larger. He slipped off the rock, tried to hide behind it, as the baby’s mother entered the clearing.
She was huge, almost ten times the little one’s size.
Because he was analysing the stats, hers popped into view.
MROVIAL GIANT MOTHER
3 YEARS OLD
STATUS—UNSPECIFIED
LEVEL 270
HEALTH—100/100
ARMOUR—99/100
STAMINA—70/100
HP—10100/11400
The mother could trample him in a heartbeat, but the more he watched her, the more fascinated he was. She was graceful, caring, she corralled the little one, snuffling him to the water to drink. Drayk watched his every move. “I don’t mean you any harm.” She fluffed her head, her large eye flicking from side to side. “There’s nothing to look at here; just me, resting on a rock.”
The giant moved the baby away and back through the bushes. Drayk let out a sigh of relief. She’d been amazing to watch but he didn’t dare follow.
Drayk leaned down, dipping a hand in the water, about to take a drink.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice said from behind him.
Drayk turned to see Drei.
“How did you get here?” he asked. Drei moved in behind him, running a hand down the fleece-lined coat Drayk wore.
“I couldn’t give you the card and not see if you arrived safely. What’s going on? Altus told me you denied him?”
Drayk looked out to the mountains, “Let’s walk.”
“So, you know of the upcoming attack?”