The Grind

by Dante Doom

  “Are you in charge?”

  “Yes! In charge of the medical teams, anyway. These brave men and women are here to drag the wounded out of the city and tend to them—hence, why we’re here first. The real army won’t be here for a while. The council is still figuring out what to do.”

  “And they’re in the Grind, right?” Savannah asked.

  “Indeed,” Herb said. “So, what are you doing way out here? Scouting?”

  “Yeah,” Savannah said as she turned her attention back to the city. She groaned a little as she realized that she would once again have to go into the Grind. “Scouting.”

  “There’s something no one’s telling me,” Savannah said as Timon walked alongside her back to the pods in Elanor’s home.

  “What’s that?” Timon asked. After he’d returned to his father’s home, he’d changed into plainer clothes and left his parents searching for places to hide while he’d come to help Savannah.

  “One of the Elders told me that this city has some kind of countermeasures in case of an attack. The Nobles wanted me to negotiate with the people, to get them to stand down, but they didn’t mention countermeasures.”

  Timon seemed surprised. “I don’t know anything about countermeasures.”

  “Are you lying to me?” Savannah asked. They’d stopped in front of the gate to Elanor’s home. Eighteen armed men were waiting, all of them armed with guns and swords. Elanor was reclining on a chair by the front door, holding her own rifle.

  “I’m not lying, I swear!” Timon said.

  “What are you going on about?” Elanor asked as she sat up. “A runner told me that you wanted to use your pods again? Why? Have you decided to go into the Grind for good?”

  “No, the revolution isn’t happening as fast as we thought it would,” Savannah said. “Apparently, some news about countermeasures was leaked. The people are worried about it.”

  Elanor frowned. “Oh… oh no.”

  “What?” Savannah asked. “You have to tell me what it is.”

  Elanor shrugged. “Well, there… there were stories about this city’s purpose. Verre wasn’t built, you know. It was discovered.”

  “What are you talking about?” Timon asked as he leaned forward against the gate.

  Elanor stood and placed a hand on her chin. “The legend is that our ancestors were nomads until they came across this place. From there, they discovered a perfectly created city—one made in the World Before, I suppose. They were shocked when they entered; it was as though the whole city had been frozen in time. Everything about this city was designed to perfection.”

  “Of course,” Timon said. “If they built the Grind to help reboot humanity, then it would make sense that they would build these cities—to reboot them, too. Which means…”

  “Technology from the Old World is in this place,” Savannah whispered as she gazed around.

  “One of the stories was about Nuerk,” Elanor said. “They say that brilliant lights flashed from the inside of the city, that many people were killed because of… something. Maybe those were the countermeasures.”

  “What turns them on?” Timon asked.

  Elanor shrugged. “I have no idea. If the countermeasures were known and accessible, the Nobles would have said something. They wouldn’t be as terrified as they are right now.”

  “Wait a second!” Savannah gasped. “What if the King had access to these countermeasures?”

  “Hmmm, I did think his last words were puzzling,” Elanor said. “I figured he’d swear at me more. Instead, he asked me if I had any idea what I had done.”

  “So only Leopold would have known how they worked,” Timon said. “That’s not good. What if the defenses are automatic? What if they turn on immediately?”

  “Nuerk was almost entirely annihilated overnight,” Elanor said. “I knew a few survivors who talked about instant devastation.”

  Savannah put her hands on her head. Her mother’s stories of Nuerk were ringing in her head. She couldn’t believe they were true. Speaking slowly, she tried to come to grips with what was happening. “Okay, so now, not only do I need to worry about figuring out how to stop them from murdering all the Nobles, but I have to stop them from accidentally triggering defenses that could kill all of them?”

  “That’s exactly right,” Elanor said. “I’m glad I’m not going in there.”

  Savannah glared at her. Elanor had been far more helpful in the Grind—now that her life was really on the line, she was sitting around doing nothing. Well, other than having killed the King; she’d done that much.

  “Come on, we don’t have the time for this,” Timon said as he placed a hand on Savannah’s shoulder. “We can learn more once we get back in the Grind. Maybe we can figure out what these defenses are.”

  “I don’t want to go back in,” Savannah fussed as she followed after him. “I wanted to be one of those people sitting on a cushion, judging others, not saving the world. When did we become the heroes?”

  “You could have chosen to become the Queen,” Elanor called after her. “You did this to yourself!”

  “Yeah, I did,” Savannah replied as they reached the pod room with Elanor following them.

  Timon pulled open his pod and climbed in. “We aren’t heroes yet. Are you ready?” he asked as the tubes began to stick themselves into his body.

  “I suppose,” Savannah replied. She glanced at Elanor. “Are you coming, too?”

  Elanor shook her head. “What’s the point? Everything was reset; I’ll be useless without any skills. I’ll keep my eye on the Nobles here. Even though the Nobles united against the King, his death means there will be a power vacuum. Someone might try to fill it, and they may be willing to use violence.”

  “Seriously? At a time like this?” Savannah asked.

  “Sounds like there’s a lot more involved than sitting on cushions,” Timon remarked as the door to his pod sealed shut.

  Savannah cursed under her breath as she felt the tubing push into her body, swearing to herself that this was the last time she’d go into the Grind.

  The world before her turned dark for a second, and the next thing she knew, she was standing in the Imaren Fields again. Above her was Kireen, speaking loudly about the purpose of the Grind. She wished that there was some way to mute the voice. Out of habit, she opened up her character sheet.

  It was unsettling to see that everything she had worked so hard for was gone. If she had to go back to the College of Colossus, she would need to fight a lot more Virals to get the points necessary to learn the hidden truths about the countermeasures. This was going to be a colossal headache.

  Timon appeared next to her, wobbling a little. “Man, that transition always makes me sick.”

  “You’re fine,” Savannah said as she looked around. “You know you can’t actually be sick in the Grind.”

  “Doesn’t help how I feel,” he replied, rubbing his stomach and taking slow deep breaths.

  In the distance, she could see a group of people gathered. They were all sitting on the farming equipment, talking to one another. “Look! Over there! That’s gotta be the Elder meeting.”

  “What’s the plan?” Timon asked.

  “We’ve got to tell them about the defenses,” Savannah said. “That will convince them to stand down for the time being.”

  “Provided they believe us.”

  “They will—trust me. I know how to talk to them,” Savannah replied as she walked towards them. “Now, they don’t know who you are in the game, so keep your mouth shut. The moment you start talking, they’re going to see that you’ve never worked a day in your life.”

  “Well, that was hurtful,” Timon grumbled.

  “Yet, when everyone was referring to me as a street urchin, you said nothing.”

  Nodding sheepishly, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. I should have spoken up.”

  They approached the group of six women and four men, all of them sitting on the equi
pment, sharing their ideas with one another. Savannah noticed that, standing in the center, commanding the attention of the others, was none other than Hem, her father.

  “Dad?” Savannah gasped once she was within earshot of him.

  “Savannah?” Hem said as he turned to look at her. They ran towards one another and hugged fiercely. Savannah relished the firmness of his grasp around her, and she fell into his arms for a moment, savoring each second. She had been worried that she wouldn’t see him for a long time. Now he was back inside the Grind. But why?

  “Baby girl, what are you doing here?” he asked once he let go of her. “The entire Grind reset for some reason.”

  “Not for some reason, Dad,” Savannah replied as she beamed a little. “I took it all down. I reset it.”

  Hem grinned. “Not bad. Not bad. Gentlemen, ladies, this is my daughter and this is her companion, Timon.” He gestured out towards the people who were all watching him. “Savannah, this is the war council. Give us a minute to talk, please.”

  “Don’t take forever, Hem,” Werth muttered as Savannah and Hem stepped away from the group. The elders began to talk amongst themselves again.

  “How did you end up with them?” Savannah asked.

  “Well, after I found a place for your mother to hide, I was heading back to dig you and Timon up. I ran into a mob talking about war; they were heading for Verre. I managed to talk them down until we could get a chain of command established,” Hem said. “We got a few Elders together from the villages and decided it would be best to communicate orders through the Grind.”

  “Dad, how are you in the Grind, though? We have both of our pods.”

  Hem grinned. “You think we’re the only Grinders in our village?”

  Savannah nodded at that, realizing now wasn’t the time to talk about this. She looked over her father’s shoulder at the Elders. “Listen, Dad, there’s something serious going on with the actual city.”

  “Yes, the defenses,” Hem replied. “One of the King’s men informed us of some kind of countermeasure.”

  “What does it do?” Savannah asked. Timon was behind them now, keeping his distance from the rest of the group and staying silent, as Savannah had requested.

  “From the report, apparently the King had the power to set up some kind of emergency protection system from inside of the Grind itself . This system would decimate any invaders. The guards were regularly informed of when it was turned on or off. The last report was that the system was turned on right after Leopold was ejected from the game,” Hem explained. “That’s all we know.”

  “I see…” Savannah grabbed her father by the arm and pulled him outside earshot of the other Elders. “Dad, Leopold is dead.”

  “What? How?”

  “It’s a long story, and one we don’t have time for.” Savannah hoped he wouldn’t press her for details, knowing he would be furious to find out that the King had tried to kill her.

  “Well then, we won’t be able to intimidate him into deactivating the system,” Hem said. “Looks like the only option is to get into the college and get some answers before war breaks out.”

  “Is war the only option? Dad… Can I trust you with a secret?”

  “Of course!” Hem said. “Is it about that Timon fellow? You know you won’t have to marry up in the new world.”

  “No, Dad!” she hissed as she smacked him on the arm. He chuckled, making her grin. “No, listen… the Nobles are terrified over the prospect of invasion. They sent me to parley with you all. They want to surrender peacefully.”

  “Interesting,” Hem said as he lowered his voice. “Do they all know about the countermeasures?”

  “No, or at least I don’t think so,” Savannah said. “In fact, they begged me to talk on their behalf because they were convinced it would be a fight they couldn’t win.”

  “What do you think is going to happen when they find out about the city’s defenses? Do you think their tone will change?”

  “Of course,” Savannah said, “but they don’t know yet, and I’m certainly not going to tell them.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Hem asked. “What if the ones who know were playing dumb? You know full well that they would do anything to prevent our bloodshed simply because of the work we provide them.”

  Savannah frowned at the reminder. He was right. Memories of the way the nobility had spoken to her came flooding back. The moment they figured out they were safe, would they want to negotiate? No. They would attempt to keep their positions.

  Hem continued, “I think your proximity to Timon has blinded you to who the Nobles really are, dear. There’s a handful of people in that city compared to the masses who live outside of the tower. Here’s what I’m thinking, though—you and I disable the defenses, and then we’ll take the city. You can warn the nobility to surrender as soon as the defenses are down for good, and maybe they’ll surrender, although I sincerely doubt they will.”

  Savannah shook her head. “I don’t know, Dad. What about the innocents? I’m worried about Timon’s family, and there’s children there—not all of them are nobles; many are servants. It would be a cruel thing to open the gates and let thousands swarm in to murder innocent people. It’s not like all of the Nobles have committed crimes against humanity.”

  Hem shrugged. “Since when have you cared about these people?”

  “Since I saw how vulnerable they are,” Savannah replied. “I know that a few weeks ago I wanted to be among them, living life like them. If I’d had my way, I could have been in that crowd, staring at some peasant in terror.”

  Hem placed a gentle hand on Savannah’s head. “Is my daughter in there? Who are you?”

  Savannah laughed. “I think I’ve gotten some perspective on things, that’s all. I mean, I could have been the Queen if I’d wanted to. I had my hand hovering in front of the door that would have turned the Grind off for good. I could have become the sovereign ruler.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because, while greed kills, self-sacrifice saves,” Savannah whispered as a single tear rolled down her cheek. “I’ve seen so many people give up so much for the people of Verre, it’s time I stepped up, too. Leopold and his family were the masterminds behind keeping everyone in the dark over what the Grind was really meant for; we can’t blame all the Nobles for his actions.”

  Hem looked at her in surprise as she finished. “While I agree with you, only to an extent, good luck explaining that to the Elders. It’s been a song and dance trying to get them to slow down and think things through. A few of them are pushing for an immediate, widespread attack.”

  “How many people will be in the fight?”

  “Around fifteen thousand men and women have volunteered for the fight, with forty thousand prepared to follow in a show of force,” Hem said. “We need to time it right.”

  “If they attack now, they’ll be killed by those defenses,” Savannah said.

  “Enough, Hem!” shouted one of the Elders from a distance. Savannah didn’t recognize the woman, but she looked agitated. “You may dawdle with your daughter some other time.”

  “My apologies,” Hem said as he turned and approached the group. “Savannah here has more information for us. Apparently, there is confirmation of a defense system in the city. The Nobles will be able to hide behind it until the King deactivates it.”

  “Bah,” an older man said as he waved his hand dismissively. “Defenses? What could possibly stop a force of our size? It’s not like they have giant robots like out here.”

  “Yeah!” a shorter man shouted as he raised his fist high. “I say we gather our forces, charge in there, and see what happens!”

  “Hear! Hear!” a few of them agreed.

  Hem held his hand up to silence the crowd. Savannah glanced at Timon, whose face had turned as white as a sheet. This wasn’t looking good.

  “Calm yourselves. I know we’re all in a rush to topple the regime, but I would rather not lose anyone due to carelessness,�
� Hem said. “My daughter and I will enter into the College of Colossus to determine how to turn off the defenses.”

  “Of course, the Grinder thinks the best solution to the problem is to play around in the Grind,” the short man shouted back.

  “Hey, Hem is a good man!” a woman in red armor replied.

  “No one’s saying he’s not, but this plan is ridiculous.”

  “Give me some time, that’s all I ask!” Hem said. He wasn’t particularly pleading for help; rather, he stood tall amongst the group and held his head high. “Turning off the defenses is the best way for us to win this. Then the Nobles will surrender and we can hopefully avoid any bloodshed for the peasantry.”

  “Surrender?” the red-armored woman said with a laugh. “Who’s asking them to surrender?”

  “I’m gonna find me every last Baron I can get my hands on and tear them to pieces,” an elderly man said with a wheeze. “Ohhhh, I’ll never forget what they’ve done to me!”

  “Remember, we’re not here for revenge,” Savannah said. “We’re trying to find a fair way of governing that will be beneficial to all of us!”

  They all grew silent in response to her comment, and even Hem’s face grew dark. It was clear that they were all out for revenge—she could see that now. A few days ago, she would have been there, too; the word ‘baron’ still made her blood boil. This wasn’t going to end well for the Nobles, she realized, no matter what she did. It was time to change tactics.

  “The fairest way is trials and execution!” she finished. This elicited a cheer from everyone, at least—everyone except for Timon, whose eyes had grown wide at her words. She mouthed an apology to him and then turned her attention back to the people. “First, we have to take the defenses down.”

  “Twenty-four hours!” the short man said. “You have twenty-four hours of real time to figure out a way to turn off these defenses. If you can’t, we’ve got the numbers, but we’ll need to move before the Nobles can figure out some way to escape.”