Vicissitude Yang Side

by Destine Williams

  “Hope it’s the last.” Vampire rubs the back of her calves. “My legs are killing me.”

  At the next dead end, I slide the chip into the Yin plate and insert them into the wall. The maze flips again and puts us on the white Yang side. The entry wall slides open.

  This time a single snake mech slithers out, but something is up with it. Sparks fly from its joints. It’s metal covering shakes and rattles. Only one bright red eye blinks.

  We make quick work of it with a few rounds from our guns. The snake lays on its belly, twitching still.

  “Is it supposed to be like that?” I ask, circling it.

  "No chip?" Vampire crawls down to its level and opens the mouth.

  Black tendrils rise from the mech body. The jaws snap shut on Vampire's hand.

  Vampire staggers away, holding her hand."Ow ow ow! Fucking snake! What the hell? I'm bleeding!"

  A bolt fires through my blood. Bleeding? We're not supposed to get injured for real. I dive in, prying the steel jaws open with my hands.

  I kick the snake's skull away, and fire a few more rounds into it to make sure it’s down, then turn to Vampire. Drops of blood stain the ground. Thinking quickly I go through my watch inventory for the extra health kit and give it to her.

  She gets the green glow, but nothing happens.

  Shit.

  “What should we do?” Vampire ask, clutching her hand.

  “We need them to stop the game,” I say, scrolling through my watch. C’mon… There’s gotta be something.

  Would you like to start Emergency Termination?

  >>>Yes

  Emergency Termination Mode starting. Recalling all players and ending game in progress. Please stand by.

  4-11 'Ah'

  “Geez, I hope Vamp is okay,” Tempest says. “You said that she was attacked?”

  I pace the thin aisle between the Review Room’s table and the kitchen table. I look up to find Tempest staring at me expectantly. “One of the mechs was acting strange. There were these weird tendrils coming out of it and…” I shake my head. “I don’t know.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Ken move a hand up to his chest as if in pain.

  Blunts crosses his arms atop the chair. “What happened to the simulator being safe?”

  “Maybe that was why they didn’t let us in a few days ago?” Tempest asks.

  Blunts shakes his head. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why would they let us in when the breach isn’t fixed?”

  “Maybe they thought it was fixed,” I say. “Remember what Vampire said, when the safety field doesn’t activate, the weapons can hurt us for real.”

  “Maybe that one was tampered with,” Blunts says. “From the sound of things, it doesn’t sound like that was supposed to happen.” His gaze slides to Ken. “Hey. You alright over there?”

  Ken looks up. “Yeah. I just…I’ll be fine. I’m just a little tired.”

  The Review Room opens and Take steps in with a strained smile. “Hello. How is everyone doing today?”

  “Is Vampire going to be okay?” Tempest asks.

  “She was taken to the hospital a little while ago, but they reassured that it’s likely that she’d recover,” Take says. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

  Blunts scoffs. He gets up and squares his shoulders.“Nothing to worry about? What about the simulator? Something like that can happen at any time?”

  Take holds up both of his hands. “We’re looking into it, and I assure you that it had nothing to do with the simulator itself. And right now, we don’t see any signs of a hacker breaching our servers.”

  “But skilled magic user can control your body if they can control your chi pathways,” Susano’s words echo in my ears.

  I bite my lip. Could this be CRISIS-D’s doing? It seems likely after how Genji mentioned they might do something here. But how did they control the machine without hacking? Unless…The tendrils flash in my mind again. Then the crimson eyes. Then the snake spirit at Ise Shrine. Ice pins prick up my back. Could it really be the same creature? If it is, then that means that the CRISIS-D wrecked my car on purpose that night. And Amaterasu must have come because of that. And if everything Susano said about us was right, I’m willing to bet that Amaterasu must’ve absorbed me temporarily and met Regi that night in my place which would make explain why I don’t remember what happened, and why I have an extra hoodie. As for how she can Houdini out of that, I still have no fucking clue. But if I’m going to successfully stay away from CRISIS-D, then I should probably learn that trick sometime soon. “But those machines have chi in them, right? That’s their source?”

  “Yes, but a hacker can’t do anything with that,” Take says.

  “Oh yes they can. If someone can hack the mech’s chi flow, they can make it do anything,” I say.

  Take’s face contorts in confusion. “I’ve never heard of that. But at any rate, I just want to let you all know that the simulator will be closed until further notice. I’ll get in touch with Heaven to see what to do about next week. I’m not sure how long the simulator is going to be closed. With any luck, this is just a temporary issue and we can fix it with a security patch or so.”

  Blunts shifts his weight from one leg to another. “And what if it’s not?”

  Take frowns. “Then the lab will have to close for good.”

  Take's words seem to have seeped into everyone in the short hours following Vampire’s incident. Gamers keep to their own corners in the elevator, untalkative, staring into empty space. Lab workers’ gazes dart furtively from left to right. From colleague to assignments. There’s a tightness in the atmosphere like a towel wrung too tight. And I’m willing to bet that everyone’s wondering the same thing.

  Are we going to lose our job?

  It doesn’t sink into me until I walk out into the parking lot. If the lab shuts down, and I lose my job, then what? Do I just go back to Thanks-A-Latte? Go—I mean, Fedoras, I don’t want to go back there. But I don’t know if going back to Showguns is the answer either. For one, Regi would probably lose it if he found out, and secondly joining would probably solve absolutely nothing at this point. Showguns don’t have anything on terrorists and neither do I.

  "Jun!" Ken calls. "Wait up!"

  I stop beside Tammy’s car and look up.

  Ken jogs up to me. He plants a hand on the trunk to catch his breath.

  I open the driver’s seat. “What’s up?”

  “I didn’t really want to say anything in the Review Room, but…” Ken slips closer and leans against the back door. “I’m kinda worried.”

  “About Vampire?”

  “Well, yeah, but I mean about those mechs. It’s not like PoleControl to overlook something like that,” Ken says. “Do you think they let that slip on purpose?”

  I frown and then lay my bag. “Why would they do that, Ken? You’re the son of the Shogun.”

  “I don’t know. But I’ve been thinking. Someone tried to get Mai and a bunch of high-ranking assassins out of the way, right?” When the words come out of Ken’s mouth, they sound so old and ancient like news on a steele from centuries past, reminding me how far out of the loop other people must be about what the Geisha did. “What if someone’s trying to pull off what Ruthless did?”

  I resist the urge to scoff. “Ken, I highly doubt anyone wants to kill you. Besides, most of the assassins that retired were Geishas and Hounds. If they were going for you, they would’ve targeted all of the Escorts.”

  Ken’s gaze flicks away for a little bit, then he nods. “You’re right. That makes sense.”

  I put my hand on top of the car door. “You didn't see any strange mechs on your side of the maze, did you?"

  Ken shakes his head. “Don’t know what was up with that, it was only on your side. But I just can’t wrap my head around it. That could’ve been anyone.”

  I drum my nails on the door. “Or maybe not.”

  Ken side-glances at me. “What do you mean?”

  “Who’s
to say our spawns weren’t fixed?” I sit on the edge of the driver’s seat. “If the simulator’s functions are all chi-based, then someone could’ve interfered. If someone can hack the chi in a mech, routing our destination points can’t be that hard.”

  “But why would someone want Vampire to get hurt?”

  “Both of us were there, Ken. That could’ve just as easily have been me if I’d stuck my hand in,” I say.

  Ken looks at me. “But why would they want to hurt you?”

  “Believe me, Ken. If you grow up half-Pua Moana, a lot of people want to hurt you.”

  “Well, then please be careful, for me, okay?” Ken runs a hand through his ducktail. “I don’t like what’s going on.”

  “I’ll get through it. I’ve been getting through everything before.” I pull my feet into the car.

  The thirty minutes it takes to drive home feels longer than it should, but the time it takes Regi to get there feels like a blink: an uncanny pattern that I feel is starting to become the norm. No sooner than when I turn the fire on for lazy scrambled eggs and leftover rice, the door rings. I twist the skillet handle parallel to the counter and head into the living room to answer it. Tail whipping behind him madly, King rolls on the floor in excited-furry-burrito style.

  I open it.

  Red wool scarf around his mouth, Regi steps in, dangling the motorcycle keys in front of me. “Remembered to bring it.”

  “I’m glad.” I close my hand over the key and lower it to my side. “Are you still sick or do I have the all-clear to kiss you?”

  “Ugh. I wish.” He gives a watery cough. “Don’t worry I’m not contagious, but I don’t think you’d want to kiss me while I hawk up mucus.”

  I curl my lip. “Gross. Too much info.”

  “Sorry.” He drags himself over to the couch and planks onto it. “Mom almost wouldn’t let me leave. I was going to have to break out of my own house.”

  I stuff the motorcycle key into my sweat pants pocket. “Because you’re sick?”

  “You don’t know my folks, babe.” Regi turns over onto his back. King frolics over to lick Regi’s face, making Regi sit up to avoid doggy slobber. “If someone in the house is sick, you’re on lockdown until you get better. No friends. No going outside. No enjoyment. Nothing.”

  “Yikes. I’m glad I wasn’t sick when I visited,” I say.

  King clambers up on the couch to sit next to Regi, tongue lolling to the side. Regi guides the Alaskan Malamute into his lap and strokes his side. “Well, you seemed to be fine after we brought you in. But if you had tried to go home the same night as the crash, Mom and Dad probably wouldn’t have any of that.”

  Guess it’s a good thing the wreck was at night then. Geez, Regi’s parents didn’t seem that restricting when I was there. But then again, they were probably putting their best faces on. I make my way back into the kitchen, lingering in the doorway. “If you haven’t eaten anything, I’m making eggs, and rice. Do you want some green tea?”

  “Oooh fancy. I wouldn’t mind some food. My house has nothing but been chicken soup central. Tea is fine too.”

  I lift the egg carton top, take out four eggs, and crack them into the bowl. As I stir the whites and yolks I add milk, the yellow and whiteness blends and skirt around the bowl, forming an egg-milk labyrinth just like PoleControl’s maze. Is CRISIS-D tracking me? If they know where I work, does that mean that they know where I live? No one’s come here directly yet, but who’s to say that they can’t? I’m not ready. This is too soon. I barely know how to defend myself!

  “Babe? Hellooooo?” Regi’s hand waves in front of my face.

  I blink. “What?”

  “I was calling you and you weren’t answering me.” Regi raises the crook of his elbow in his face and coughs, then points to his open laptop on the counter. “I want you to look at this house. It seemed pretty nice. And uh…” He peers at the bowl. "You've been mixing those eggs for a while."

  I pour the eggs into the skillet. Then I lean over to look at Regi’s screen: a two-story home with two bedrooms in Naraka, the prefecture where Heaven took me to Espresso Train and where Mai’s house is. The burgundy-tile gable roofs, traditional shoji doors, and moon gate out in front ooze the whole family, kids, and dog vibe. “It looks nice.”

  “Just nice?” Regi coughs into his elbow again. “What about this one?” He clicks over to an apartment in Taitai at the end of a quiet-looking cul-de-sac. “These are new.”

  I pepper the egg, frowning. Then I stir the hardening yolk. “I liked the other one.”

  “Really?” Regi scratches his head. “You didn’t seem all that excited.”

  “Regi that’s because I’m tired.” I swish the runny egg around to the hot parts of the skillet and stir. “It’s late. Work was rough. I’m hungry and I really just want to go to sleep right now.”

  Regi slaps his laptop closed and tucks it under his arm.

  My gaze darts to him. “What?”

  He turns his back on me. “Nothing, Jun.”

  I exhale and snap the stovetop dial to ‘off’ and set the spoon down on a folded square of paper towel. “No Regi. Something is clearly wrong with you.”

  Regi faces me and drums his nails against the doorway. “You’re doing it again.”

  “Doing what?” I put my hands on my hips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “As soon as I bring up something important, you get all ‘oh I’m tired, I don’t want to do this now’. This shit’s getting real old, Jun.”

  "Babe I just got home from work and we’ve had a stressful day.”

  “You. Keep. Saying. That.” Regi puts a hand to his temple. “Stressful this, stressful that. Everything is fucking stressful, Jun. When are you going to calm down, huh? When are we actually going to get to talk about some real business huh? You keep putting it off like some kid that doesn’t want to do her homework.”

  I gape at him. “I’m the kid? Who’s the one who’s been locked up at home with Mommy and Daddy because they said so?”

  Regi points a finger at me. “Hey. Don’t bring them into this. They don’t have any commitment problems and they have all their shit together.”

  I scoff. “Of course, and that’s why it’s okay to meddle in ours, right?” I walk around him and head for the stairs.

  “Jun where are you going?”

  I glare at him over my shoulder. “Why? Is there some walking away bill that you want to talk about?”

  He lifts his hand. “No. I just think that we should talk through—”

  “I’m tired of talking for once. I want to be alone. And quiet for fuck sake. Can I have that please?”

  Regi throws his hands up. “Fine, Jun. Whatever you want. I don’t care anymore. Go where you want. Do what you want. If you don’t want to fucking grow up and be an adult, that’s perfectly fine with me.”

  Muscles quivering, pulse speeding, I storm upstairs into my room, scanning the room. Bed. Desk. Phone. Nothing I feel like being bothered with right now. I ball my hands into fists in the doorway. Then my eyes fall on the closet, and my boots at the foot of my bed.

  Fuck it. I’m going outside.

  I go into the closet and rip my iSoFly sweatshirt off its hanger. I wrestle my boots on. Grab my wallet. My beige fedora. I hurry down the stairs. Regi is sitting on the couch with his laptop. King sits on the floor, looking put off and his tail curled in a question mark as he looks up at me. For a thick, tense heartbeat, my gaze crosses with Regi’s. Neither of us say a word.

  I put my fedora on and stride out the front door.

  Air cools me. Enough so I can think sort-of straight. My gaze travels to the cars in the driveway. Regi’s blocking me in. My only other option is the motorcycle. I grind my teeth together. Riding Regi’s ‘gift’ is the last thing that I want to do. But then again, driving is the last thing that I should do right now. I could walk somewhere. Exercise helps when you want to let off steam right? I could walk around the corner. Maybe to the train stat
ion and back. Maybe then, I’ll feel a little better.

  Every step down the driveway is a battle, my mind is yanked back into the fresh memories of our argument and I snatch it back into the present.

  “Stressful this, stressful that. Everything is stressful, Jun.”

  My fangs throb irritably in my mouth. I stop at the end of the Sakura Boulevard and push the button for the signal. Everyone goes through a stressful time.

  "When are you going to calm down, huh? When are we actually going to get to talk about some real business huh? You keep putting it off like some kid that doesn’t want to do her homework.”

  The walk sign comes on.

  I step onto the street.

  Is that true? Have I been blowing off everything important? Shrugging off commitment?

  “As soon as I bring up something important, you get all ‘oh I’m tired, I don’t want to do this now’. This shit’s getting real old, Jun.”

  The train station lights blur as I get close. None of this was a problem when we were just boyfriend and girlfriend. Why is it so hard to get along now? What does a ring change?

  "It’s not really about what I think you should do or not. If you want to leave, no one has any right to stop you. But it works the other way around too. If you really want to stay, no one has the right to make you feel like you have to leave. I’m just worried that this isn’t coming from you.”

  Sensei, I don't know what to do anymore. My eyes dampen. I sniff. More than anything, I wish I was still at home the day before this all happened. The only thing I had to think about was the next chi-guard I’d crack, the next Hound meeting, my next date with Regi.

  How could everything change so much in so little time?

  I reach for the train station door.

  It opens before I can reach it. A silk black handkerchief stops me in my tracks.

  “Upset, Hound?”

  My vision jumbles into focus. The Geisha. He’s in his tweed cap and his jacket, holding a handkerchief out for me. And smiling.

  Am I high?