Dream Killing

by Magus Tor

“She has an inoperable brain tumor. The doctor’s don’t really know how long she’ll live. They say she could die in days or years. It just depends on how fast the tumor grows.”

  Max made a note of the information. She would definitely check it out. While at Mr. Howard’s house, Drew let him know that they want him to come with them back to Chicago. Not knowing if he was in any danger was the premise used to get him to agree. He had two large suit cases with him and some computer equipment. He would be staying in the suite tonight and then they would all travel back in the private jet tomorrow morning.

  “This is what is being used to control the chips?” Mr. Howard was looking down at one of the bean shaped alarm clocks. They had told him all about the clocks, but it was different for him to see it himself.

  “Yes, sir,” Max replied.

  “Wow. I’m impressed. Does it have to be set to alarm, or does it just have to be plugged in?”

  “The alarm has to be set.”

  “You’ll have to forgive me, but I hadn’t gotten this far in my research.”

  Realizing that it was after midnight, they decided to call it a night. Mr. Howard got himself settled in the main room of the suite while Max and Drew retreated to the bedroom. They decided not to plug in and set the alarm clocks and instead set an alarm on Drew’s phone. With everything else on their minds, they really didn’t want to go through the stress of the game right now. They knew that the children had plenty of lives left and would be fine for one night.

  ***

  When the three woke, they gathered up their belongings, they checked out through the TV and then made their way to the limo. Once on the jet, they sat down and enjoyed some perfectly brewed coffee. Breakfast would be served once at cruising altitude.

  “This jet is much nicer than mine.”

  “We didn’t know you had a jet.” Drew was surprised that they hadn’t been given that piece of information.

  “Yeah. I rarely use it to travel now, but back when I was working, I used it for business.”

  Then Max asked, “Does your son have access to the jet?”

  “No. If anyone tried to take the jet anywhere, the flight plans would have to be filed through me. I am the only person with the authority to file a flight plan.”

  “When was the last time the jet was used, Mr. Howard?”

  “Last week. I went on a sport fishing trip.”

  Then Drew spoke up, “When we land, we will need for you to check on the plane. We can’t leave one stone unturned.”

  “Consider it done. Please, call me Senior. Mr. Howard is too formal and I can’t bear to be called Adam after learning what my son may be responsible for.” he said, the look on his face slowly turning to sadness.

  “That’s not a problem,” Max chuckled, “That’s what we have been referring to you as anyway.”

  The rest of the flight Sr. sat in silence. Drew and Max could tell that he was somewhat in shock over what he was discovering about his son. They gave him the quiet he so obviously needed to process what was going on. Breakfast was served and they all enjoyed another lovely meal.

  When the plane landed in Waukegan, they were met by a van that would take them to the “safe house” Sr. would be staying in until everything came to an end. As they drove, Drew explained to Sr. that he would have access to phone and internet but that it would be monitored. They led him to believe that it was only for his protection in case his son tried to contact him. They did not tell him it was so he would be unable to contact anybody else without them knowing.

  As they pulled up to the house where Sr. would stay, they figured he would be disappointed because it was nowhere near the size of his home back in Silicon Valley. In fact, this house could pretty much fit into Sr.’s garage. They were pleasantly surprised when Sr. stepped out of the van.

  “This is nice,” he said with a very pleased look on his face.

  “I know it’s not the mansion you are accustomed to,” Drew said, trying not to sound snotty.

  “It’s perfect. Most of the rooms at my house have not been entered in years. It’s a waste really, but with the market being what it is, it’s pointless to sell it right now.”

  “I’m glad you approve. There are three bedrooms. The master bedroom has been set up for you, the middle room will be an office for you to do whatever it is you do now, and the third, smaller room will be for the agents that will be staying with you.” Drew explained as they walked into the house. The two agents went out to the van and grabbed Sr.’s bags.

  “This will be very nice,” Sr. said when he walked in and saw the huge flat-screen TV hanging on the wall. They all laughed.

  “We’re gonna let you get settled now. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to give us a call. There are menus on the fridge, order whatever you want for dinner and the agent will take care of the bill. Make a list of whatever food you want in the kitchen and it will be brought here for you. There are only the basics right now, sorry,” Max explained.

  “No worries. This is really nice. I haven’t ordered a pizza in years. It will be nice to eat some pizza and throw on an old movie while I do some thinking. Go on, I know you’d like to get settled back at your place. I’ll be fine.” They all said their goodnights and Drew and Max went out to the van.

  *****

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Back at Drew’s apartment, they put their stuff away and then quickly went to work. Max set out to find out as much as she could about Sr.’s wife while Drew did some more searching for information Adam. It didn’t take long before Max stood up, stretched and walked over to Drew at his desk.

  “Well, it’s true. Lana Camille Chauvin-Howard, wife of Adam Steven Howard, Sr. is living in France where she is dying of a brain tumor.” Max announced this fact with a tone that resembled relief. Drew assumed that she was hoping the mother had nothing to do with all of the death involved.

  Holding a printout, she continued, “Lana was born and raised in France and then moved to the states when she turned 18. She kind of fell off the map for some time and then resurfaced as Mrs. Howard. When she left the states, she returned to France and her brain tumor was detected about this time last year. She has a squeaky clean record and in fact, she’s known for her fundraising and charities.”

  “Okay, so, we can count her out as an accomplice, at least for now.”

  “For now. They are still trying to find more information on her. I felt funny about the fact that she has a tendency to fly under the radar and there are years at a time where they see nothing on her.”

  “I’ve only been able to find little tidbits of info. If this really is him doing all of this, he’s good. His education doesn’t go past high school and the classes he did take until graduation are only the basics and a few electives barely worth mentioning. He has no computer certification. He actually has no certifications of any type. He has a few accounts with some online gaming communities, but hasn’t logged on recently. He is known for winning gaming competitions.” Drew’s news didn’t have him excited.

  They decided that, just in case Adam logged onto one of his gaming sites, they would set up accounts and join the games to see if they could keep an eye on him that way. If he logged on, they would be able to alert the team back at the office who could then put a trace on him. They spent the rest of the evening eating pizza they ordered while creating their accounts. It wound up being quite fun for both of them. They got to give themselves crazy user IDs and really enjoyed creating their characters. Once they each had created two accounts, they decided it wouldn’t hurt to just play for a while and get to see what kind of games these actually were.

  Time got away from them and before they knew it, it was already after midnight. Neither of them quite understood why people get so into these games, but at the same time, it shed some light on what Adam was interested in. They logged off of the games and shut everything down for the night. After locking up and turning off lights, they made their way to the bedroom. They set their alarm clocks
and enjoyed some peace and quiet in each other’s arms.

  ***

  Surprisingly, when Drew opened his eyes, he was sitting with his back against the wall separating the playground from the lake. Looking around he could see that all five children were present but Max wasn’t. He didn’t like not knowing where she was, but thought that he should probably stick around for a while before he went looking for her. He didn’t want to be out looking for her if she made it to the park.

  For the first time in the game, the sky was completely blue and the sun was shining brightly. Drew found himself wondering if that was another aspect of the game being controlled from the outside. Knowing that whatever he did his thoughts and actions were always going to be known by the one controlling the game, he just set out to keep the number on his watch steady.

  Drew decided that he couldn’t sit there any longer. He had to go find Max. He let the children know what he was doing, feeling safe leaving them on the swings. As he made his way through the park, he encountered a few people. He was able to shoot one, but the other two got away. He neared the edge of the park and wasn’t sure which way he should go. As he readied to turn out of the park and head into the city, he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.

  Thankfully, it was Max. She had entered the game first and was out looking for Drew. Together they returned to the children and found that they were no longer on the swings. They looked in the shed, but they weren’t there either. Before leaving the playground area, Drew looked out over the water. He wanted to see if he could see anything out there where the light shone each night. He couldn’t see anything out there. That left Drew disappointed. They decided to move to the boat. There they were able to see farther and would know when someone approached them. Hopefully, if the children weren’t already there, they would eventually find their way.

  It was a rough trip back through the park and to the boat. They encountered not only more shooters, but as they neared the end of the path they could see the robot. He was a couple of blocks over and Drew was sure he had heard the gunfire. Max suggested they stay right where they were and see where the robot goes. He didn’t seem to be moving at all. In fact, the only movement he made was to turn his back to them. It was as if the keeper of the game was allowing them to get to safety.

  While Drew was anxious to get out of the park, Max wasn’t as eager. There was something about the robot turning around that she just didn’t trust. Knowing they couldn’t stay there forever, Max relented and they made their move to the edge of the water. Instead of walking the pier to get to the boat, they took the route that Drew had taken once before. They climbed slowly into the water and swam silently to the boat. Before climbing aboard, Drew looked around to make sure there was nobody who could see them.

  Once on the boat, Max went over to their stash of guns. Luckily, they had the forethought to hide the water bags near the playground, so the guns they carried were kept out of the water along with their flashlights. Together, they took stock of their weapons and ammunition.

  They could hear what sounded like the largest gun battle so far in the game. Slightly lifting the curtains on the window, they could see the robot on the street at the other end of the harbor. He was surrounded by a large group of men. Max found herself wondering why so many men would want to follow the robot. She also wondered why the robot was the only thing in the game that never seemed to die.

  As if reading Max’s mind again, Drew spoke, “It’s him.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The robot, it’s Adam. Remember how I told you that one of the nights I played, I was running from the robot and his men and one of the men was yelling, ‘A!’? I know it’s him.”

  “How long have you know?”

  “Since that night. Well, I didn’t actually know for sure, but it just makes sense. It’s got to be him.”

  “He’s controlling the game and playing it?”

  “Why wouldn’t he? He’s sick, Max.”

  “Why would he not tell his men where we are, or where our weapons are? Why would he turn his back to us and let us get to the boat?”

  “That I haven’t quite figured out yet.”

  They continued to watch the battle on the street. People were dropping left and right. Thankful that it wasn’t them, they both secretly wondered when their luck would end. They spent a while just watching, when all of a sudden a small group of men started running toward the harbor. They both looked at each other and knew they had to do something.

  Gathering the water bags, they put as many of their weapons inside as possible. They grabbed their flashlights and threw them in as well. Knowing it would be hard for Max to swim with such heavy bags, he gave her the lightest one and threw the others on his back. As quietly as they could, they went topside and dipped down into the water.

  They stayed just outside the boat long enough to see that the men were making their way along the road that led to the harbor. A few of them dipped into the park when they reached the path and the rest kept moving forward. Drew noticed that none of the men were looking in their direction, so he figured it was now or never. Moving as quickly as they could through the freezing water, they made it to the end of the pier and ducked under the ledge so they wouldn’t be seen.

  The men stepped out onto the pier. They began knocking things into the water, but never said a word. Max and Drew could hear the men shooting but couldn’t see which direction they were firing. Max was absolutely freezing and Drew knew he had to get her out of the water. Moving away from the ledge, Drew could see that the men were all the way at the other end of the pier and seemed to be facing away from them.

  Drew climbed out of the water first, laid down the bags and reached down for Max’s hand. She grabbed it with both of her hands and he began to pull her out of the water. Just as she was pulled from the water, the men at the other end of the pier began firing. Pulling Max away from the water and slinging her aside, he reached into one of the bags and pulled out a weapon. Firing the gun as he stepped backwards, Drew saw Max lying on the ground. He figured she had just fallen from the force of being thrown aside. He took one more step back and realized she had been shot. He tried dragging her and the bags to shelter, but it was too late. Max disappeared; it was as if she was never there.

  Angry, Drew lifted two guns at once and started shooting at the men that were coming closer. When those two guns were empty, he picked up two more. He kept at it until he was out of weapons to fire. He attempted to reload, but the few men that were left had the advantage and Drew knew it was his time. All three fired on him at the same time. Drew felt his body jerk with each shot. He landed on the ground at Max’s side. As the lights faded, he laid his hand on top of hers.

  *****

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  When Drew opened his eyes, he realized his hand was still on top of Max’s. He turned his head and saw her peacefully sleeping. Reaching over to his nightstand, he turned off his alarm. He then walked over to Max’s side of the bed and turned her alarm off. She was sleeping so peacefully, he really didn’t have the heart to wake her after what she just went through in the game. He decided to let her sleep a little longer.

  Out in the kitchen, Drew made a pot of coffee and decided to whip up a nice breakfast for them to enjoy. He decided he would wake Max when the food was ready. As he prepared the bacon and eggs, Drew thought about how much he had grown to hate the game. He remembered how he was almost excited at the prospect of getting to play when he first entered, but now it was just making him angrier and angrier.

  With breakfast complete, he went back to the bedroom to wake Max. He gently kissed her forehead and her eyes fluttered. She let out a soft sigh and a sleepy smile spread across her face. Drew realized at that moment that he could do this for the rest of his life. He had never had a long term relationship, and to be honest, he never wanted one. Now, however, he was realizing that he had been missing out.

  He led Max down the hall to the kitchen whe
re he grabbed the large tray of food, orange juice and coffee. Nudging her towards the door to the roof, he said, “Come on, I want you to see something.”

  When they reached the roof, he set the tray down and took her by the hand. At the east edge of the roof he said, “You can’t really get a good view of the sunset from here, but the view of the sunrise is incredible, don’t you think?”

  “Oh, Drew! I never thought a sunrise in this city could be so perfect!”

  From the rooftop, they could see the sun poking up over the lake. There were a handful of sailboats drifting across the water. For a few moments both of them felt as though there was only good in the world. Then they turned to eat breakfast and knew where the conversation would go. As they ate, they planned out their day.

  First order of business was a trip over to see Sr. and go over, in depth, all of the information they have gathered to this point. They were hoping that a new set of eyes would be able to find something they hadn’t thought of.

  Adam, Sr. was in a fairly pleasant mood when they arrived, but as they poured over the information, Max sensed that what was sadness yesterday was growing into disappointment and anger. Sr. kept asking how his son could do something like this and neither of them had an answer.

  After a few hours, Sr. asked them about the dream game. He wanted them to tell him exactly how they got involved and what the game is like. He was hoping that by hearing about it he would be able to figure out how his son was able to do it. The technology was nowhere near being complete when he left Center-Tech, and without total knowledge of computer programming, he didn’t know how his son would be able to complete such a project.

  The next hour or so was spent giving Sr. the condensed version of how the game works and how they think they got involved. What Drew and Max were having a hard time understanding was how the chips would get inside of them. That, Sr. explained, was the easy part. He told them that the chips were only about as small as a coarse grain of salt and that the easiest way for them to get into the body is through the mouth. They then work their way to the electrical impulses in the brain. Once there, they can be controlled through computer to function, all they need is a source for the signal to work through. In this case, it was the alarm clocks.