Project Alpha

by R. A. Mejia

  I think I hear someone mumble ‘shit.' But the door cracks open. However, it’s not Lillian that comes out but a tall brunette in faded jeans and a bulky grey sweatshirt.

  The brunette holds out her hand and introduces herself, “Hello. You must be Anthony. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Heidi, Lillian’s best friend. I came by to help her get ready. She still needs a couple more minutes.”

  Oh shit indeed. It’s the best friend. Every guy knows that a lady’s best friend is a serious gatekeeper. If you can get the bestie on your side, your relationship is golden. If the best friend hates you, the whole relationship is doomed.

  I shake Heidi’s hand and try to be as smooth and charming as possible. “Hey there, Heidi. Nice to meet you. I’m Anthony. Wait, you already knew that.” My mind blanks on what to say next, and I blurt out, “What you don’t know about me, is that I’m an amateur masseuse.”

  Heidi pulls her hand from mine and gives me a confused look.

  What the hell did I just say? Yeah, it’s true that I’ve been giving my mom back massages since I was five. She’d come home from a double or triple shift completely drained. I wanted to help; I would give her a neck and back massage. As a kid, I’d even walk on her back as she laid face down on the bed. Still, there’s no reason to have blurted that out to this stranger.

  I try to recover, ”Uh, what I mean is, that if you’re stressed, I can help you release the tension.”

  Heidi gives me a disgusted look and takes a step back from me.

  A blaring alarm goes off in my mind. ‘Mayday. Mayday. Foot in mouth alert!’

  My hands outstretched in a pleading gesture, I try to salvage the situation. “Wait, that’s not how I meant that.” Heidi takes another step back, and I see her reaching for the door handle to Lillian’s room. Likely trying to escape and warn Lillian about her creepy date. A sigh escapes my throat, and my shoulders hunch forward as I give up. I flop into one of the office chairs and shake my head.

  Speaking mostly to myself, I admit, “I’m such an idiot. Here I am about to go out on a date with a beautiful, charming woman and I screw things up.”

  I glance at the brunette and see that she hasn’t fled yet. Instead, she’s taken a step from the door and is holding her hands together in front of her. She has a slightly confused and concerned look on her face as she asks, “You think Lillian is beautiful and charming?”

  A chuckle escapes my lips, and I can’t help but give a half smile as I answer honestly, “Yeah. I mean who wouldn’t? Even in jeans and a t-shirt, she looks prettier than anyone I’ve ever dated before. She has those cute freckles that highlight her light skin. An amazing smile that lights up a room and a genuine laugh that seems to make any situation more enjoyable.”

  The amused look on Heidi’s face makes me realize what I’ve said. My cheeks are burning with embarrassment. I say, “I’m sorry. I’m blathering again. I’m just nervous. Will you do me a huge favor and not tell Lillian about the stupid things I said? I don’t want her to think I’m an idiot.”

  Heidi nods once, a peculiar smile on her face.

  Just then, the door to Lillian’s room opens and out walks out one of the most amazing sights I’ve beheld in my young life. Lillian steps out wearing a salmon pink mermaid evening dress. The strapless dress shows off Lillian's freckled shoulders, and the high slit in the dress shows off her legs. It takes me a moment to stop staring at her body and move my eyes up to her face. A smiling Lillian greets me.

  “Why don’t you look dashing, Anthony. I like the cape.”

  My mouth fumbles to form the words that describe how stunning Lillian looks. “You look...uh...woah.”

  Yup. That’s me—the suave wordsmith.

  The two ladies giggle, and Heidi leans over to whisper something to Lillian that sends the two of them into a laughing fit. I’m not sure what they’re laughing at, but have a distinct impression it’s about me. Trying to salvage a bit of my pride I walk up to Lillian and take her hand and kiss the back of it.

  Still holding her hand in mine, I look into her blue eyes, and I say with true sincerity, “Forgive me. You look so beautiful that I was temporarily robbed of speech.”

  Lillian’s lips purse and for a moment I’m not sure if she thinks I just spouted a line or if my words touch her. Then she smiles, and I know the sentiment of my words rang true to her.

  A flash of light breaks the tender moment, and I hear Heidi say, “Awww. That was so sweet.”

  Trying to blink away the spots, I turn and see her holding up her phone. She taps the screen, and there’s another flash of light as she takes more pictures. Heidi instructs the two of us to pose together for a series of photos. Even though I feel awkward doing it, taking the pictures seems to make Lillian happy, so I go along with it.

  After the last photo is taken, Lillian and I walk towards the front door of the office, and she opens up the port menu to make a connection to wherever the Halloween party is. The two of us walk through the dark doorway.

  Chapter 30

  After a flash of light, I find myself walking through a very familiar entryway into a 1950’s themed hotel in the desert. Looking around, I see that the place has been cleaned up. The carpets were replaced, all the walnut paneling has been polished, and the wallpaper is updated. Dressed up couples and groups of people walk towards a pair of blue double doors. Above the double doors is the title, Party Room.

  “Isn’t this the place I went to that zombie dungeon?”

  An unfamiliar voice answers the question, “That it is.” A tall gentleman with long curly blond hair wearing a purple velvet suit and top hat comes out from behind a check-in counter to my left. He walks up to Lillian, and she shakes his hand.

  “Lillian, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

  “It’s nice to see you again too Rothfus.” Lillian gestures to me, “And this is…”

  Rothfus grabs my hand with a wide grin on his face and finishes Lillian’s sentence. “This is Anthony. One of the four Caballeros.”

  With a snicker, Lillian explains, “Rothfus is the User that owns this place. He plans out all the dungeons scenarios.”

  Oh. So this is the guy that designed that zombie dungeon? He looks like he’s watched too many Willy Wonka movies.

  Rothfus stands up a little straighter at Lillian’s description. “Yes, that’s me.” Then looking at me he asks, “Did you like the zombie dungeon? It’s one of my favorites. The way you used those traps was quite inventive. You even impressed Juan, and he’s pretty hard to impress.”

  Confused I respond, “You mean the survivor leader Juan? Are you saying he doesn’t give team nicknames to everyone?”

  “Oh, no dear boy. No. Juan is one of the oldest NPCs I have in this whole place. He’s seen plenty of survivors slaughtered by zombies, and I’ve invested enough intelligence into him that he’s a pretty good judge of User behavior. Yours is one of a handful of groups that he’s ever given a nickname. You should be proud.”

  “Uh, thanks. I guess.”

  “Oh, by the way. I was also impressed by your improvisation. Once you were out of ammo for your rifle, you were throwing hammers like a madman. Is that some ability of yours?”

  I answer without thinking, “Yeah, it’s one of my abilities. It’s called Hammer Time.”

  “One of your abilities?”

  I feel a pinch on my bicep and wince. I turn my head and see Lillian mouth ‘shut up’ quickly before answering Rothfus, “Oh, please excuse Anthony. He’s still new to the System. He just has the one ability. We’re working on acquiring some ability books to get him a few more, but for now, he’s just working with Hammer Time.”

  Lillian excuses us from the conversation under the guise of having spotted an old friend walking towards the party room. She pulls me away from Rothfus, and the two of us walk towards the party room. Before we get there, she makes a right turn, and we walk down a hallway, away from the other guests.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

>   “What? I was just answering that guy's question. It seemed like the two of you were friends.”

  “Rothfus is nice enough, but he’s also a terrible gossip. Don’t you remember that I told you to keep your abilities a secret? They’re our ace in the hole. The more people know about what you can do, the better prepared they’ll be.”

  “Yeah, but what did you expect me to tell that guy? He’s already seen me in the dungeon. So denying that I had the ability would have seemed fishier than admitting I had it.”

  She seems to consider that for a moment, then she sighs. “Ok. You’re right. There’s no way Rothfus would have ever believed you didn’t have some ability after monitoring your dungeon run. Still, if anyone else asks, Hammer Time is the only ability you have.”

  “You got it, boss.” Lillian frowns once more at me when I call her boss, but gives me a firm boss nod anyways.

  That settled, the two of us make our way to the double door of the party room. Opening the door for Lillian, I note that there’s nothing behind the doors. Just blackness. It takes me a moment to realize that the party room is just another dungeon. Lillian pulls me through the doorway, and there’s a flash of light.

  A moment later, I find myself in a large ballroom, music blasting. The sudden increase in sound is an assault on my ears, and I can’t help but wince at the noise. To the left is a large stage where a DJ wearing a red tracksuit and comically large headphones plays music on two turntables. The massive ten-foot speakers on the stage explain the overpowering sound. Still, the group of enthusiastic dancers in front of the stage seem to like the music.

  Lillian pulls me away from the doorway as more guests arrive. I note with some satisfaction that more than one of them cringes at the music volume as they enter the room. It takes a minute for my ears to adjust to the music but when they do, I realize that Lillian has been trying to talk to me.

  “Follow me. The music is too loud in here.”

  She pulls my hand, and I follow her across the room through another set of doors into the next room. The music is more muted here, but I can still feel the bass.

  “Sorry about the music. Rothfus has a thing for Asian-fusion techno death metal.”

  “Well, at least it has a nice beat.”

  Lillian smirks at the joke and grabs my hand. She’s about to say something when a semi-familiar voice calls out, “Well, if it isn’t the fourth Caballero.” At first, I think that Rothfus has found us again, but when I turn towards the voice, I see that it’s a middle-aged man with horn-rimmed glasses wearing a blue suede suit and alligator boots. On his arm is a stunning blonde with a beehive hairdo, wearing white pearls and a baby blue pinstripe dress straight out of a 1950’s movie.

  The man with the horn-rimmed glasses holds out a hand, and I reluctantly shake it. I don’t know this guy, but he seems to know me from somewhere. It would be rather impolite not to at least chat with him.

  “Hey. I’m afraid I’m terrible with names. Would you refresh my mind?”

  The man and his wife laugh together like June and Ward Cleaver. Then the man answers, “Oh, don’t you worry. We haven’t officially met, but my kids have been talking about you non-stop since we picked them up from that zombie dungeon. I just feel like I already know you.”

  It clicks in my mind where I saw him. “Oh, you’re Nancy, Frank, and Joe’s parents?”

  “Yup, that’s us. The kid’s parents.” The blonde lady laughs, then continues, “I’m Joan, and this is my husband, Harold.”

  “Well, it’s nice to meet you. Your kids were absolutely amazing in the zombie dungeon. They had a broad range of skills and their teamwork was top notch.”

  The couple looks at each other for a moment and smiles proudly, “Thanks for saying that. We’ve tried to give them the skills they’ll need, but it’s really good to hear they worked together in the dungeon.”

  “The way we hear it, you didn’t do too badly yourself. As a matter of fact, I hear you have some hammer throwing ability you used to save the day.”

  Joan places a hand on her husband’s chest interrupting him. “Oh, don’t mind Harold. He works for Ludas Inc., in talent acquisitions. He’s always on the lookout for new Users with talent.”

  Harold chuckles and pats his wife’s hand. “She’s right. I have a hard time leaving work at the office. I was just so darn impressed by my kid’s description of what you did in the dungeon that I had to find out who you were, but no one had any idea. Mr. Rothfus wouldn’t give your name when I asked but said he’d invited you and your employer to this party.”

  Lillian straightens her shoulders, and introduces herself to the couple, “Yes, that’s true. I’m not sure if you remember me. I was there to pick up Anthony from the dungeon. I’m Lillian Coke, CEO of Monsters Squashers Inc. Anthony is currently in my employ.”

  Harold nods towards Lillian, and his expression changes to one of sympathy. “I do remember you Ms. Coke. I didn’t realize you were Anthony’s boss. I met your father once. While I won’t claim to have known him, he had a stellar reputation among the System corporations. You have my condolences for his loss.”

  Lillian nods once as if expecting this and quickly answers, “He and my mother passed a while ago. In their stead, I’ve formed my own corporation to continue the work of clearing dungeons. Anthony here is our first acquisition, and we’re quite proud of his work so far.”

  Harold’s smile turns slightly predatory. “You should be proud. Such talent is highly sought after. I should tell you that the other corporations will try to poach your prize employee.”

  I feel Lillian stiffen, but she forces a smile. “Anthony is a valuable asset and one that my company is very protective of.”

  Harold holds out a placating hand, “Of course. Of course. I’m sure you're offering him a lucrative benefits package. Still, that won’t stop the other corporations from trying.” Leaning in he whispers to Lillian; “I know of at least three other firms aggressively recruiting new Users for the upcoming games.” Then in a more normal tone, he adds, “Still, they won’t hear about Anthony from me. That’s the best I can do.”

  The couple thank me again for helping their kids out in the zombie dungeon and move off to talk to another group of party goers.

  Most of the party is just like that. Talking to power couples; networking with people in the dungeon clearing business, or support industries. Oddly enough, a frequent topic of conversation was how I did in the recent zombie dungeon. Either Rothfus or Harold has been talking about it because just about every group we spoke to at least asked about my ability Hammer Time. I don’t know if they were just gathering intel or trying to confirm a rumor, but it made me glad I hadn’t revealed any of my other abilities.

  Apparently, there’s a lot about the business side of this dungeon stuff that I just don’t know. Sure, I’m able to I convince Lillian to dance a few times, but she’s mostly business.

  Still, the night is going pretty good. At least until I run into a certain rich asshole.

  I’m dancing with Lillian, busting out my best moves. Which if I’m honest, make me look like a flailing fish out of the water. When I a tall blond guy in a white Saturday Night Fever suit cuts in. I’m about to say something when his muscular friend pushes me to the ground. It’s not until I look at the friend that I recall where I’ve seen these two before, and I use Inspect to confirm my suspicions.

  Auden Arschloch III

  Level 13

  Jeremy Dolton

  Level 11

  Yup. It’s the ass hat that threw the coffee at me and made that mess in the convenience store. I can’t help but smirk when I remember reporting the guy for drinking and driving. He probably had his expensive car towed and lost his driver’s license. The government got pretty strict with recreational drivers once automated vehicles came out and the vehicular death rate plummeted.

  Jeremy, the muscle-bound one, is wearing a silver sequin shirt and looks down at me with a disgusted look on his face. “What are you laughing
at small fry?”

  I get to my feet and dust off my pants and address the overly muscled sidekick. “Just a couple of pedestrians.”

  Auden must have heard the comment because he turns around to sneer at me. “I’m going to let the fact that you’re dancing with my ex, pass. But you really want to walk away before I make you regret interrupting our conversation.”

  I lean to the right to see Lillian. Her hands are on her hips, and she has an exasperated look on her face. I raise an eyebrow at Lillian, “Your ex? You dated this rich asshole?”

  She gives a loud sigh, “Not that it should matter but yes. It was a long time ago. Before I realized what kind of guy he was.”

  Jeremy steps between Auden and me and tries to gives me another shove. Jeremy may be level 11, but the goon isn’t nearly as intimidating as King Kanon or Bob the Zombie Brute. I easily sidestep the move and walk right past him towards Lillian.