Evolution

by Travis Bagwell

  “I was arrested a few days ago,” Jason admitted quietly, his eyes on the elevator door. “Two teenagers broke into our home and I… I killed them somehow.”

  “You what?!” Robert replied in shock, his voice just a little too loud.

  “I-I don’t know. I don’t really remember what happened.” Jason shook his head, trying to ward off both the memories and the frustration. Tired tears budded at the corners of his eyes, as the events of the last few days settled on his shoulders like a tangible weight. “Anyway, George and his attorney showed up today and got the police to release me.”

  “Well, that’s just terrible,” Robert said after a long pause. “But it does sound like you were defending yourself. Do you have any idea why they broke in?”

  “George and his attorney think they were after stuff that they could pawn. The detective wasn’t so certain…” Jason trailed off, not sure how to continue. Thomas had made several compelling points. The entire situation felt off somehow. Why would the two kids choose their house? Jason and his aunt weren’t exactly wealthy. Maybe they were just an easy target with no security system?

  Robert seemed to pick up on his suspicion. “Well, you also have a reputation now. That might have had something to do with it. After all, the bounty on your head keeps climbing. Both money and love drive people to madness – in my experience anyway.

  “Hell, that might be why George moved you here,” Robert continued with a thoughtful expression. “If there are some crazies out there gunning for you, this is definitely the place to be. The apartments are located a few stories underground, and there is 24-hour security upstairs. No one is getting down here unless they’re an employee.”

  Jason nodded quietly. He was about to reply when the elevator slowed, and the doors slid open. A glance at the elevator panel confirmed that they were on level B7 and the numbers stretched on into the twenties.

  The elevator opened into a spacious hallway, wood paneling running the length of the walls at waist height. Lights had been installed behind the woodwork, illuminating the passage in a soft glow. As Robert stepped forward, the walls and ceiling above the wood paneling gradually turned transparent and soon provided an unimpeded view of a grassy meadow – sunlight trickling through the tree branches that now hung overhead.

  “What is this?” Jason asked, his eyes wide in surprise.

  “It turns out that people go a little stir-crazy underground,” Robert said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the heavy mood that had hung over the pair inside the elevator. “There are no windows down here. To combat this, the company installed displays in the walls and ceilings of the hallways and apartments. You can change the scenery at will. Watch.”

  Robert reached out toward the meadow, but his hand seemingly stopped in midair as he touched the wall. A glowing blue display immediately flickered into existence – providing different scenery options. Robert made a selection, and the walls shimmered before transitioning to a new scene.

  They now stood in an underwater tunnel. The surface was visible a few dozen yards above them, light trickling down through the water. Colorful schools of fish swept past and darted between the tendrils of a coral reef that now stood only a few feet away. Jason turned and saw a massive whale drift past, its white body briefly obscuring the light from the surface.

  “Huh, I could get used to this,” Jason murmured.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Robert replied. “I mean, it’s not AO, but it certainly beats the places I lived before moving in here. Speaking of which, why don’t I show you to your apartment?” With that, Robert started off down the underwater hallway.

  The pair soon arrived in front of a wooden door. As they approached, the words “Suite 701-B” flickered into existence on the nearby wall. “So, this your new apartment. You’ll just have to sync your Core with the panel, and then it will act as your apartment key going forward.”

  Jason moved to run his Core in front of the panel beside the door and froze, staring at his bare wrist. The police hadn’t returned his personal effects yet. Robert caught on to his problem quickly. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot that George said you would need a new Core. Here you go,” he said as he handed a bracelet to Jason.

  “Thanks,” Jason said, staring at the device for a second before slipping it onto his wrist. This was yet another piece of charity on the part of Cerillion Entertainment – although he suspected from George’s terse response earlier that he likely viewed it more as an investment.

  A moment later, his Core finished syncing, and the pair stepped into the apartment. “This is your new place,” Robert said, gesturing at Jason’s new accommodations.

  The doorway led directly into an open living area adjacent to the kitchen. At a glance, Jason could tell that every feature in the apartment was state-of-the-art, including all of the appliances and electronics. Marble adorned the countertops in the kitchen, and expensive-looking modern furniture dotted the living room. Compared to Angie’s house, this place was a palace.

  “Jason!” someone cried, and he was immediately smothered in an embrace.

  “It’s okay, Angie,” Jason managed to squeak, slowly extricating himself from his aunt’s aggressive hug. “I’m fine.”

  Angie pulled back a few inches and inspected him carefully, her eyes scouring his face and clothes. She didn’t appear convinced, her lips pinched in a frown. “You don’t look fine, but at least George came through on his promises. He said he would get you out today.”

  Robert coughed, and Jason realized he hadn’t introduced the pair. “Oh, I’m sorry. Angie, this is Robert Graham – one of the engineers that works here. He’s also one of the people that helped me with my streaming contract. Robert, this is my aunt, Angie.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Angie,” Robert said, taking her hand cordially.

  “It’s nice to meet you too,” his aunt replied. An awkward silence descended on the group, Angie clearly wanting to pelt Jason with questions, but she was hesitating with Robert standing there.

  “Well, let me leave you to it,” Robert finally said, glancing between Jason and his aunt. “I expect you will want to catch up. There are clean clothes in your room and a few other essentials. I expect George’s crew prepared for your arrival. They are pretty thorough. If you need anything, just shoot me a message. I programmed my personal number into your Core,” he added, motioning to Jason’s wrist.

  Then he turned to Angie. “That offers extends to both of you.”

  “Thanks, Robert,” Jason called as the engineer made his retreat.

  As soon as the door slid closed, Angie rounded on him. “You better tell me everything,” she warned. From the look on her face, he expected he wasn’t going to get to shower or eat until he had given her a full account of the last few days.

  It took him nearly thirty minutes to retell his story from the beginning, starting with him standing over the bodies of the two teenagers. Of course, he omitted his conversation with Alfred and again claimed he had blacked out the “incident” as everyone had apparently started calling it. It still stung to tell the story, but it was getting easier. Either that or he was just too tired to care anymore. The only thing he could think about was his bed.

  “That’s horrible,” Angie said for at least the tenth time in as many minutes. The pair was sitting in their new living room, and his aunt extended a hand to pat his knee. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

  “The last few days haven’t been the best,” Jason admitted while rubbing his eyes. “What about you? How did you end up here? George didn’t exactly provide much of an explanation.”

  “Yeah, he is a bit brisk,” Angie replied with a frown. “My company had me working an extended shift to put out our new product. Honestly, I didn’t make it back to the house until a day or two after you were arrested. When I got back, the entire house had been cordoned off. They must have registered my Core near the house because they took me in for questioning immediately. They kept asking me deta
iled questions about you. I didn’t say much.

  “George’s attorney – I think his name was Francis – met me at the police station that night. He offered to help and explained that the company you worked for intended to intervene. Apparently, you must be important to them,” she said, eyeing the pristine room around them. “Clearly.”

  “I guess so,” Jason said softly. “What about my parents? Have you spoken to them? I left a voicemail, but I never heard anything.”

  Angie’s eyes clouded with anger and she stood, pacing the living room as she spoke. “Yes. They are in the middle of a case and couldn’t make it back. They seemed to think that things were in good hands with me here and George stepping in to help. Apparently, they knew Francis by reputation.”

  Jason’s eyes dropped to the floor at that news. He shouldn’t be surprised. This was really par for the course for them lately. What was he thinking? This wasn’t a recent development. They constantly put their work ahead of him – he had just thought that a situation like this would warrant some of their attention. He had spent three days in jail for murder. Three days!

  “I’m sorry, Jason,” Angie said, noting his expression. She rested a hand on his shoulder. “I think they really did try their best to get away. Apparently, the case was very important, and the judge denied their motion for a continuance.”

  “It always is,” he muttered, closing his eyes and running a hand through his hair. Jason tried to suppress the anger that now colored the whirlwind of thoughts that was bouncing around his head. “It’s fine,” he finally said in a choked voice. “I think I’m just going to go take a shower and then pass out. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He stood, but before he could walk off, Angie grabbed him and pulled him into another hug. He resisted at first, but she didn’t let him go. “It’s okay, Jason,” she said quietly. “You’re okay.”

  Jason didn’t know what came over him. It was like Angie had punched a hole in a wall he had unwittingly built up in his head. Suddenly, all of the emotions he had been bottling up for days threatened to overwhelm him. The death of those teenagers, his fears about Alfred, the threat of spending his life in prison, the endless days and nights without speaking to anyone, and the constant interrogations. The fact that he had been alone. That he had no one – not even his parents.

  He just couldn’t handle it anymore, and tears flooded his eyes and streamed down his cheeks. Angie didn’t say anything as he stood there crying. She just held him. What felt like an eternity later, he finally stopped and pulled away from her, dabbing at his eyes with the hem of his shirt. He felt drained.

  “I-I’m sorry,” he said, not quite able to look at her.

  A gentle hand rested against his cheek, drawing his gaze to meet hers. “What you have just gone through is more than most people experience in a lifetime,” Angie said. “You don’t have to be sorry. Ever. I know this doesn’t help right now, but you don’t need to feel guilty about what happened.”

  She patted him on the shoulder. “But you are right that you need a shower,” she said with a soft chuckle. “You reek. Why don’t you go get washed up and then try to get some rest? Tomorrow is a new day, and maybe things will look a little less bleak.”

  Jason chuckled softly, but his heart still wasn’t quite in it. “Thanks, Angie,” he said before walking off down the hall.

  He found his room quickly. The trappings were just as luxurious as the rest of the apartment. A spare set of clothes and a small kit with the essentials containing a toothbrush and some toiletries rested on the bed in the middle of the room. He grabbed the supplies and headed into the bathroom adjacent to his room. The lights immediately turned on, and the shower started up, steam drifting above the water as it pounded the tiled bathroom floor.

  Jason spent nearly thirty minutes in the shower letting the water rush over him. When he finished up in the bathroom, he returned to the bedroom and lay down. His eyes rested on the ceiling for a long moment. Automatically, the surface rippled and shifted, soon displaying a star-studded sky – familiar constellations tracing patterns between the stars.

  He knew it wasn’t real. Instead of making him feel better, the luxury of this new apartment just drove home the ugly truth of his situation. He was completely reliant on Cerillion Entertainment now – not just for the compensation from his streaming contract, but for his room and board. Even for his own safety. George’s words echoed in his mind. He was an employee now.

  Which also meant he was going to have to log back into Awaken Online.

  That last thought lingered in Jason’s mind even as his eyes drifted closed and his breathing slowed. A moment later he was asleep.

  Chapter 3 - Torn

  Alexion sat on a hard, stone throne, his fingers drumming idly on the armrest. Bright sunlight filtered through the crystalline ceiling of the transformed throne room. The way the light refracted through the crystals created a pattern of rainbow colors along the stone floor, marred only by the occasional congealed pool of blood – evidence of the recent power transition within Grey Keep. Or rather by its new name – The Crystal Reach.

  Alexion scowled as he noticed the stains on the floor. They hadn’t even bothered to clean up his throne room. It seemed that his new subjects hadn’t quite learned their place yet.

  His thoughts were interrupted as the large double doors on the other side of the chamber opened with a bang. The guards standing along the walls shifted anxiously at the sudden noise. The bright white wings of the nephilim rustled slightly, and their spear points dipped, drifting toward the doorway as they observed his visitors.

  A mixed group of players and NPCs entered the room. Alexion could see Caerus Auriel – his mail bloodstained and torn in several places – leading a group of nobles and soldiers. The players were a group that Alexion had played with in the past – mostly hangers-on and groupies who had immediately disappeared after he had been stripped of his rank and equipment by the former Regent Strouse. Unsurprisingly, they had also reappeared just as quickly after news of the conversion of Grey Keep had spread.

  “Your Highness,” Caerus greeted him, bowing deeply. His manner was echoed by the other NPCs in the room.

  “Your High Lordship Sir,” one of the players, Tom Fields, mimicked Caerus, giving a mock curtsy. This earned him a few laughs from the other players and annoyed grimaces from the nobles.

  “Report,” Alexion ordered Caerus, ignoring Tom and forcefully suppressing his irritation. “Have we secured the city yet?”

  The noble spoke hesitantly, “Not exactly. There are still pockets of fighting, soldiers and nobles sworn to the former regent who refuse to concede. We believe some of the townsfolk may be harboring them.”

  Caerus glanced at the players with poorly-concealed anger. “Meanwhile, the travelers continue to loot and pillage the city unabated. This has further destabilized the remaining economy and has led to additional collateral damage. We estimate the casualties at nearly 40% of the city’s previous population.”

  Tom shrugged, a smile lingering on his face. “The loot is great. Most of the shops are unprotected, or their owners have been slain. What do dead men need with weapons and magic equipment anyway?”

  “It isn’t the deceased that are the issue,” Caerus retorted, the nobles around him shifting uneasily and palming their weapons. “It is those that are still alive that warrant our concern. What will we do once the city is under our control, arm our men with sticks?”

  Alexion grimaced. Caerus made a fair point. What good was ruling a city if there was no one to rule and he had no resources? The mutinous actions of the remaining townsfolk were bad enough, but he could see that there were also rising tensions between the NPCs and players he had recruited. His problems only seemed to be multiplying.

  “Are your men looting these shops?” Alexion asked Tom, his tone ominous.

  “Of course,” the player replied candidly. “We agreed to help you fight these rebels, but not for free.” He glanced at the other men and
women around him, their heads nodding in agreement. “If you can’t pay us, then we’ll take our payment another way.”

  Alexion gritted his teeth. The malignant whisper in the back of his mind urged him to kill Tom for his insolence – to make an example of him. Yet he hesitated. He needed these players for now. Until he secured the city and solidified his control, they were invaluable. His grasp on the Crystal Reach was too tenuous to act rashly. At least for the moment.

  Both the nobles and players looked to Alexion for a response, their expressions warring between zealous devotion and open contempt. Yet their eyes all held the same unspoken questions – one he wasn’t quite certain how to answer. The Lady’s condescending advice and his mother’s staying hand were absent. Meanwhile, the strange sensation curled in his stomach once again, writhing and twisting like a living thing.

  What was he going to do?

  ***

  Jason woke slowly. He felt a momentary sense of disorientation as he glanced around his bedroom, noting the unfamiliar furniture. Then the events of the previous day came flooding back to him in a rush. He was lying in a new bed in a fancy new apartment that he was sure came with more than a few strings attached. But at least he wasn’t being charged with murder. Not yet, anyway.

  Yay.

  With a groan, he pushed himself to a sitting position and tapped the Core on his wrist.

  I was asleep for 15 hours. Geez, he thought.

  His stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly, reminding him that he had also fallen into bed yesterday evening without eating anything. To his credit, he had been a bit distracted, and he hadn’t had a full night of sleep in days.

  Jason sighed and stood up, walking to the bathroom. There was no sense delaying the inevitable. He might as well start his day – even if it was already early afternoon. After he finished up in the restroom, he padded barefoot into the kitchen. As he entered the room, the lights flickered on, and a display immediately appeared on the refrigerator, revealing a note left by his aunt.