The Seventh Glitch

by Ronel van Tonder

“I need food, apparently,” she said. “And something round with a smiley face on it?”

  Lucy closed his hand over her shoulder, turning her around and steering her toward the kitchen.

  “Welcome to Play. Where, despite your best efforts, your needs are never satisfied.” Lucy smiled wider this time, light gleaming from his too-perfect teeth. “Let’s talk about food first. Once you’ve grasped the basics, then we’ll move onto the more advanced stuff.”

  . . .

  Kitty’s pink hair shimmered as she flung back her head, her long fingernails pinching her nose closed.

  “Ugh,” she moaned. “Everything’s gone to shit.”

  Lucy ducked down, snorted up the line of coke she’d left behind, and sank back into the couch staring indifferently at the frenzied party around them. Kitty eventually released the hold she had on her nose and sniffed loudly.

  She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “Sorry.”

  “No worries.” Lucy sat forward again, running the palms of his hands down his thighs. “This rift’s just like the others. Some stuff you can avoid, some stuff you can’t.”

  He lit himself a cigarette and proffered one to Kitty. The girl shook her head, blinking theatrically as she stared around. They’d been dancing for about half an hour before she’d dragged him off the dance floor, cussing every game developer that had ever walked the face of the planet.

  “I’ve had just about enough of this crap.”

  “It hasn’t had enough of you yet.” Lucy ignored the glare she threw his way.

  Her eyes fluttered as she let out another sigh. Kitty sat forward again and cut a new line of coke from the pile stashed on the side of a large, oval mirror laying on the table.

  Music pumped through the air, its beat pulsing through to his body in the real-world — a surprisingly subtle, yet effective, design of The Game’s suit.

  “You still struggling to fill that drug meter?” he asked.

  “Not dropping acid, Lucy,” Kitty said.

  “Would’ve gone faster.”

  “Would’ve lost my fucking mind, Lucy,” Kitty retorted, head dipping down again.

  She joined him on the couch, sighing again as she sank down beside him.

  “Where the hell is Will?” she asked.

  “Probably doing exactly what you’re doing.”

  “Ja, probably.” Kitty let out a soft snort. “This place is a fucking joke.”

  A couple broke off from the dancing crowd and collapsed on the couch opposite them. They immediately began an unabashed snogging session.

  Beside him, Kitty cleared her throat. “And now?”

  “Looks like he’s almost at third base.”

  “I mean—” Kitty sat forward, drawing Lucy’s eyes from the tangling couple. “Do I go to sleep now? How does it work? The sooner we get out of this place, the better. Seriously, I thought Fantasia fucked me up, but this place… this place is going to fuck me up even more.”

  “Check your metres. What do they say you still need?”

  Kitty’s eyes flicked away from him. “I think I need sleep.”

  “We have to wait until that meter’s almost depleted, else we’ll never make it tomorrow,” Lucy said. “But I need a beer, and you presumably do, too.”

  He got up, holding out a hand for Kitty, which she promptly ignored. So he gestured toward the kitchen, following behind her.

  The living room had been transformed into a dance floor, players moving furniture out of the way until the entire wall was crowded with coffee tables and living room sofas.

  Lucy rummaged in the fridge and pulled out a beer. He handed it to Kitty, opened the fridge again, and pulled out another.

  “Whose place is this, anyway?” Kitty asked, resting her hip against the kitchen counter as she stared at the crowd of players bumping and grinding a few metres away.

  “Who knows? It’s abandoned now.”

  “But, is this supposed to belong to someone?”

  “Presumably.” Lucy tipped the bottle against his mouth, emptying the beer a few seconds later. “Whoever’s it was, they left in a hurry.”

  “Right. They didn’t even bother to cancel their house party.”

  “House party?”

  Kitty turned wide green eyes to him. She’d been stuck with a default avatar again, same as him and William. Play being what it was, there were over a hundred default avatars — per gender. Although her hair was still pink and her eyes still a dazzling green, she’d been tossed into whatever avatar came up when they’d forced their way into the rift.

  It was… voluptuous. And the french maid’s outfit did more to accentuate than disguise. Lucy lifted his eyes, catching Kitty’s scowl.

  “Sorry.” He retrieved another beer from the fridge in an attempt to break eye contact.

  “There were all these pamphlets.” Kitty flourished a familiar-looking piece of paper. “This player had some big plans. I mean: booze, sex, drugs and more?” She tossed the pamphlet over her shoulder. “What more could you possibly want? Space monkeys?”

  Lucy cleared his throat. “So you’ve never played a life-sim game before?”

  Kitty sighed expressively. “For the fifth time, no.”

  “I’ll give you the low-down then, yeah? You start with a few bucks to your name, enough to buy a house and a few sticks of furniture, right?”

  Lucy stepped up beside her, resting his elbows on the counter as he leaned over it and studied the dancing crowd. The music intensified, the beat growing harder, faster. A ragged cheer chased through the crowd and the player’s movements grew frenzied.

  “Then you get a job,” Lucy went on, cradling the beer between his hands. “You get promoted, you make more money, you find some friends—” he twisted to grin at her “—stop me if I’m going too fast.”

  “Ugh, what a waste of time,” Kitty said. She finished her beer, glanced away for a second, and let out another sigh, barely audible over the bass line. “Shit. I need another one.”

  She rummaged in the fridge, Lucy peering at her over his shoulder. Turning back, she stopped with the bottle to her lips.

  “Can I help you?” she asked, her words frosty with ice.

  “You shouldn’t bend over in that thing,” Lucy said.

  “Okay, that’s it!” Kitty threw the bottle to the floor, giving it a disgusted look when it simply rolled away. “You have ten seconds to get me out of this thing.”

  Lucy’s eyebrows lifted. “Yes ma’am.”

  “No,” Kitty compressed her lips. “Not like that. Just… help me with that stupid cupboard thing so I find something decent to wear.”

  He finished his beer, leaving the bottle on the counter to disappear of its own, and gestured Kitty toward the distant stairs.

  “After you, ma’am.”

  “Stop calling me that,” Kitty said, stamping her way to the staircase. She slapped at the hands of any player brave enough to try and drag her on the dance floor.

  “Which room?”

  “Anyone, doesn’t matter,” Lucy called out after her. “Long as it has a cupboard.”

  Kitty flung open a door. “What is it with these people and bathrooms?” Lucy heard her mutter. Then she paused. “Actually…” she half-turned to him, her eyes narrowing. “I’ll find you.”

  Then she shut the door in his face.

  Lucy shook his head and opened the next door. Whoever had occupied the mansion before they’d arrived had a fixation with gym equipment. This room was stuffed with the things, some inaccessible by anything other than flight. Lucy tried the next door.

  The bedroom was bright blue.

  From the carpets to the shades to the bedding. Even the walls had foggy blue wallpaper.

  He smoothed the wince from his face and went over to the cupboard, tugging it open and slipping inside.

  When he came out, William was standing on the threshold of the room frowning at him. Lucy stiffened, a hand going reflexively to his belt. To where his belt would have been, had it not
been replaced with a pair of swimming trunks. His hand closed around nothing, of course — Play didn’t have weapons.

  “What up?” Lucy asked.

  “Where’s she?”

  “Who?” Lucy pushed back his shoulders as William advanced on him.

  “You know who. I saw you come up here with her. Where is she?”

  “Oh, Kitty?” Lucy pressed his lips into an upside down smile. “In the bathroom.”

  “What are you two doing up here?”

  Lucy let a smile crawl over his lips. This guy just made it too easy.

  “You really have to ask?”

  William made a soft sound in the back of his throat, both hands closing into fists. Lucy shifted, unfolding his own hands from around his chest, waiting.

  “I really, really want to punch you right now,” William said through gritted teeth.

  “Pity, mate,” Lucy mused. “Play isn’t known for its violence. Reckon you’ll just have to wait until we’re in Bang-Bang.”

  It wasn’t entirely true, but this player irked Lucy more than he thought possible. He wasn’t about to give William any clues about the whereabouts of the ‘brawl’ command on his HUD.

  “In the meantime,” Lucy said, walking up to William and laying a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you go and rustle up some hussies for yourself?”

  William’s face tightened as he stepped forward. The player’s chin thrust up.

  “What did you say?”

  “You know what happens when that suggestively-shaped meter on the end of your HUD drops too low,” Lucy said. “Haven’t had the guts to fill it yet, have you?”

  “I’ve been busy,” William said, his voice a touch too defensive. “I was waiting for Kitty to—”

  “She didn’t tell you?” Lucy unfurled his arms, brushing an invisible speck of dust from William’s collar. The man flinched at the touch as if Lucy had faked a punch.

  “Kitty’s metres are all full.” And then Lucy let the smile come, not caring to hold it back any longer. “All that’s left now is for her to get some shut eye.”

  William’s eyes narrowed. “She didn’t—” William cut off, mouth tightening. “Kitty wouldn’t—”

  “I wouldn’t what?” Kitty asked, striding into the room.

  William spun around, stiffening. Kitty tugged at the french maid’s outfit, smoothing its voluminous skirts with obvious irritation.

  “I wouldn’t what?” she repeated, glancing between William and Lucy.

  “You didn’t—” William cut off, giving Lucy a phosphorescent glare over his shoulder. “He says you… filled all your metres.”

  Lucy struggled to contain his smile. This was going to be hilarious.

  “Ja. Duh.” Kitty walked over to the cupboard. “I’d be like lying on the floor, all groaning and stuff, if Lucy hadn’t manned up and given me the 411. No thanks to you, by the way. I was looking for you for like half an hour. Where did you go?”

  Then, before William could reply, Kitty stabbed a glittery nail toward the cupboard door, looking at Lucy.

  “This one?”

  Lucy nodded. “That’s right.”

  “Wicked. Can’t wait to get out of this fucking thing.” Kitty jerked open the cupboard door, peering at William around it. “You mind? I’m getting undressed.”

  William threw Lucy a disbelieving glare that rounded his eyes and left his mouth slack. Lucy shrugged, unnecessarily straightening the sleeve of his golf shirt.

  “I told you,” Lucy said.

  William spun to face Kitty, face contorting. “You skank-faced slag!”

  Kitty’s eyes widened in shock. They both jumped when William slammed the bedroom door shut behind him.

  “William?” Kitty started forward, but Lucy caught her arm. “What the hell’s wrong with him?” She turned a horrified face to Lucy. “Why’s he being such a fucktard?”

  “Just leave him. His alcohol meter was way up. He’ll cool down now.”

  Kitty pulled her arm free, absently tugging at her skirts again. “Can’t believe he called me that,” she said softly, going back to the cupboard. “What the fuck’s wrong with him, calling me that?” her voice disappeared as she stepped into the walk-in cupboard.

  The door closed behind her. Then it opened a second later. She stuck her head out.

  “Okay, are you going to tell me what do?”

  “I’ll have to show you,” Lucy said.

  “Like hell you are. William’s already pissed off with me, reasons unknown. No way I’m giving him reasons. You just tell me what to do, okay?”

  She closed the door again. Lucy sank down on the side of the bed, slipping off his shoes as he instructed Kitty on the nuances of changing clothing in Play. She emerged a few minutes later wearing a wide grin and a pair of skinny jeans.

  “Thank you!” She stared down at her floppy, off-the-shoulder shirt. She’d even plaited her hair, two pigtails dangling down either shoulder. “Gees, that’s so much better.”

  “Good.”

  She nodded, her eyes losing focus for a moment as she stared at his bare feet. Then she blinked, eyes finding his.

  “You going swimming or something?”

  “Planning on it.”

  “Aren’t you tired?” She glanced away. “I mean, my energy meter is almost in the red. Shouldn’t we all go to sleep now?”

  “Not yet. Trust me. You’ll want to completely deplete your energy levels, then crash. It will give us the best shot at reaching the exit without having to sleep along the way.”

  Kitty pressed her eyes closed with her fingers. “This is such a stupid game.”

  When she opened her eyes again, her face bore concrete resolve.

  “I’m going to find William. By the time I’ve figured out what his problem is, I’m sure my energy meter will be like way past zero.”

  She left the room, the door gaping open behind her. Lucy shook his head, letting out a sigh as he stooped to retrieve his shoes. He smiled at the sound of footsteps drawing closer.

  “That was quick,” he said, dropping his shoes again.

  A girl with black curls that hung to her ass and a red mini dress that barely reached past it, staggered inside the room. She stopped at the threshold, leaning back until her shoulders touched the door frame, and studied Lucy.

  “Can I help you?” Lucy heard annoyance in his voice.

  “Yeah, you can,” the girl said. She reached out, gripping the door and slamming it shut. “I really, really need to get laid. Like right now.”

  . . .

  Lucy straightened. The girl gave him a lopsided grin, and his jaw clenched.

  “Pretty sure you got the wrong room, mate.”

  She staggered forward, grabbed his bottom jaw with a long-nailed hand, and thrust her body against him. Lucy stumbled. His legs bumped into the bed behind him and he grabbed the girl’s shoulder to stop his fall.

  “Pretty sure I don’t,” the girl said, fluttering brown, kohl-rimmed eyes at him. She shoved Lucy’s chest and he sprawled on the bed, knees lifting as he tried scrambling up.

  “That invite wasn’t exactly subtle, Lucy,” she said, wedging herself between his legs. “Neon-coloured clickbait if I ever saw any. So I know you know me. Just like I know you’ve been waiting to fuck me since you got here.”

  “Jessica Rabbit?” Lucy gripped the girl’s shoulders in an attempt to hold her off him.

  “In the flesh.” She fluttered her eyes at him again. “Now… you going to hand over that loader so we can get down to business? I’m all for steamy foreplay and all that shit, but I need to get the fuck out of this game.”

  “You have to wait. I need to get some players out of here, first.”

  “Dead weight.” The girl shrugged. “Ditch them. Who’s going to hold you responsible for a bunch of players trapped in this corporate wet-dream, anyway?” She sank down again, gripping his head between her hands and running her tongue over his cheek.

  “Kitty, that’s who.”

&nbs
p; “Mmm…” Jessica Rabbit nipped his earlobe, causing a shiver to chase over his arms. “Tell her to join us,” the girl whispered. “I’m sure we can rally her to the cause. Could make me more sympathetic, you know. I might even stay long enough to let you finish me.”

  “You don’t—”

  Jessica kissed him, ending the feeble protest. Lucy gripped her shoulders and tugged her closer. Their kiss intensified until he could feel the slow unfurling of lust deep inside his real-world body. But the sensation was too vivid; his body couldn’t be all that far away. Was he inside it, living out this game in the same space his mind normally occupied?

  Lucy rolled over, pinning Jessica’s avatar beneath him, and dragged his hands through her hair. He gripped a fistful of it to keep her head still.

  “Where’s OMG?” Lucy asked, his voice ragged.

  Jessica relaxed her grip, eyes widening. For a moment, the ferocious intensity left her face and a brief flash of unease touched her features.

  “What’s happened out there? In the other rifts?” she asked. Her voice was less husky now, more of what he remembered. “It’s been hours since I last got hold of someone.”

  “Crazy shit. Everyone’s been in for too long. They’re all…” Lucy’s fingers tightened around her curls. “They’re unravelling. Those that are left.”

  “The glitches—” Jessica began.

  “It’s us.” Lucy looked back at her, again catching a fleeting glimpse of fear. “And they’re getting worse.”

  “All the more reason to get a move on.” She lifted her hand, palm up, and flicked her fingers. “Give it to me, baby.”

  “You’ll wait.” It wasn’t a question, but Jessica pouted as she considered.

  “Whatever gets you hard, Lucy. Now give it.”

  Lucy opened his inventory and removed one of the many small pills nestling inside. It had a smiley face etched on it. It disappeared into Jessica’s inventory and the girl gave him a wide smile.

  “When this baby’s been deployed—” Jessica murmured, her eyes sparkling “—all it’ll take is one good shove with your battering ram to slam that fucking door all the way open.” Jessica reached up, her fingernails scoring his avatar’s flesh through the thin shirt he wore. “You ready?”