Project Alpha

by R. A. Mejia

  “Mom, I didn’t skip work. Someone took me before I got there. I just escaped.”

  My mom looks at me incredulously. “But…”

  “Mom, I know I don’t look it, but some man in a mask kidnapped me…” I hesitate to tell her, but she has to understand how serious the situation is. “… And he hurt me, Mom. He hurt me a lot. Please believe me. He said he was going to come here to hurt you and Marie.” I feel a tear slide down my cheek as I speak. I need her to believe me.

  Before I can say anything else, I hear clink as my mom’s mug is placed on the table and she walks over and hugs me. “Oh, sweetie. Of course, I believe you.”

  Her hug is like a salve for my wounded soul. My mom believes me. Just like she’s always believed me. I feel blessed to have a mom that would believe a crazy story like that without question. But I need to get her and Marie out of here.

  I push my mom away and ask, “Where’s Marie? I need to get you and her to a safe place. That psycho is on his way here now. He knows where we live.”

  “Mijo, we should call the police. They can—”

  “No!” I don’t mean to yell, but I know that the police couldn’t help us against a System User. I lower my voice at my mom’s annoyed look. I don’t think I’ve ever yelled at her before. “I’m sorry I yelled, Mom. But we don’t have time to wait for the police. This guy has a gun, and he said he’s going to kill you and Marie.”

  It only takes her a moment to decide to trust me. She walks down the hallway and opens Marie’s bedroom door. I hear her groan as the bedroom light goes on and wakes her up.

  My mind spins, thinking about what to do next. Can we escape out the backyard? Maybe run to the police station? Or hide at the convenience store? I’m sure Mr. Smith will help us if I explain.

  Unfortunately, the time to plan is over. There’s a crashing sound from the direction of the front door, and I hear a familiar voice yell out, “Knock. Knock. Anybody home?”

  My mom is just pulling a confused looking Marie out of her room, her arm protectively around my sister’s shoulders. Their eyes are wide with fright.

  I quietly motion for them to go into my room and the three of us silently go into the room. As I lock the door, I hear Marie ask, “Who’s breaking into our home?”

  My mom hushes her and asks me in a whisper, “What now? My gun is in my bedroom.”

  My head snaps as I stare at my mom. She has a gun? Well, I guess it makes sense when you think about the neighborhood we live in.

  “I know someone is here. There’s hot coffee on the table. Anthony? Are you already back? If you show yourself, I promise to kill your family quickly.”

  I ignore the taunting voice of the masked man, and I decide what to do next. I don’t think I could fight this guy and protect my family at the same time. The two of us might even burn my house down if I do. Instead, I pull up the System window for my home base and tap on the portal screen.

  The door to my bedroom glows as the portal connection is established. I grab the door handle and am about to open it when my mom grabs my hands.

  “No. You can’t surrender to that madman.”

  It takes a moment to realize what she means. She thinks I’m going outside to the masked man? Then it clicks. Her and Maire can’t see the System windows or the portal. They aren’t part of the System yet. I remember Lillian telling me that only a small percentage of all humanity can see the dungeon doors normally. The same must apply for the all the System stuff.

  I take my hand off the doorknob and place it on my mom's hand that’s gripping my arm. “Mom. I’m not going to surrender. I know this is going to sound crazy, but I’ve made a special portal to a safe place.”

  The bedroom door shakes as someone jiggles the handle from the outside. “I know you’re in there! Come out, or I’m going to come in and get you!”

  My sister stares at the bedroom door and tries to back up but falls over the bed. She looks at me and says, “You’re right, doofus. You sound crazy.”

  I ignore her and look down into my mom’s worried eyes. I muster every ounce of sincerity and strength I can. “Mom. It’s too hard to explain right now. I need you to trust me. If you and Marie walk through the bedroom door, you’ll be taken somewhere safe.” She looks at the door and back at me. There’s a ghost of doubt there. I squeeze her hand and add quietly, “I promise, Mom.”

  She looks into my eyes and whatever she sees there must be enough. She nods once, grabs Marie’s arm, and pulls her towards the bedroom door. I’m not sure if she can open the portal door so I push ahead of her and open the glowing bedroom door. Beyond it is a black void that my mom pushes a protesting Marie through without looking back.

  Jeez, That’s a lot of trust. As far my mom knows, she just walked into the hallway with a masked killer. I follow her through the portal, glad my mom has faith in me.

  Chapter 41

  I walk forward into the dark, hands outstretched, and bump into my something.

  “Hey, watch where you’re putting your hands!” My sister squeaks. I pull my hands back in embarrassment. Ewwww. I just accidentally touched my sister’s...never mind. I don’t even want to think about it.

  As my eyes adjust to the dark room, I can barely make out my sister and Mom. The two are holding each other with one arm and reaching out into the dark with the other. I can only imagine how confused they are. They walked out my bedroom door expecting to walk into a narrow hallway. They've taken a dozen steps forward and hadn't hit a wall yet.

  I don’t normally come here this late and I fumble around. I know there’s a wall near the door and my hands reach out blindly until I find one. Then they slide along the walls, searching for a light switch. Before I can find it, the lights overhead come on, and I see Lillian standing across the room. One hand still stretched out towards the wall switch near her, the other hand rubbing the sleep out of her eye. She’s wearing loose-fitting sweatpants and a t-shirt with the phrase ‘A Jedi on the streets, a Sith in the sheets’ printed on it.

  Her unfocused eyes see me, and she asks, “Anthony? What are you doing here?”

  Before I can answer, Marie pipes in, “Anthony, where are we and why is your girlfriend here?”

  Lillian, wide-eyed, swivels to my mom and Marie standing in the middle of her office. Her eyes dart back to me, a questioning look in her eyes.

  All three women stare at me, and I feel rather uncomfortable under such scrutiny. “Mom, Marie, we’re at Lillian’s office, the safe place I told you about. That madman can’t get to us here.”

  Turning to Lillian, I try to explain, “I know this is an intrusion, but I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. Can we stay here for a little while? It’s an emergency.”

  My request for asylum only seems to confuse Lillian further, and her nose scrunches up as more questions undoubtedly flash through her mind. Not that I can blame her, I just asked her to let my whole family crash at her place without really giving any details.

  Lillian’s surprise only lasts a moment as she makes a decision. She turns to my sister and Mom. “Mrs. Tinoco. Marie. Welcome to my office and home. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like.” Then as her good hostess instincts kick in, she adds, “Please have a seat while I make you something to drink.” She gestures towards the couches that face the office windows and the stunning view of New York City.

  The two are drawn to the view and the couches. Lillian motions for me to join her, and she leads me to a corner of the room that serves as the office kitchenette. There’s a sink, a small counter with a coffee pot on it, and some cabinets. She empties the coffee pot into the sink and turns on the faucet to fill the pot up. With the running water muffling our conversation, she turns to me, crosses her arms in front of her chest, and asks, “What the hell is going on here?”

  Lillian’s annoyance is pretty evident, and I quickly explain, “I brought my mom and sister here because they were going to be murdered by the masked User that kidnapped me.”

  The stateme
nt seems to take her aback. What annoyance was there, is replaced by concern. She places a hand on my arm and asks, “Murder? Kidnapping?”

  I sigh and lean against the counter. “Yeah, murder and kidnapping.”

  I tell Lillian about the events of the last few hours. Her responses to the events are more emotional than I expected them to be. She listens intently as I describe the discovery of the dungeon. She comforts me with a hug when I tell her about being kidnapped and then killed again and again in the artificial dungeon. She’s happy when I tell her how I figured out how to escape and destroyed the respawn crystal. She’s furious when I tell her the man in the mask broke into our home to murder my family in retribution for that act. She’s aghast when I tell her that someone has been targeting her and her company specifically.

  When I’m done telling her about what happened, Lillian looks as emotionally drained as I feel. She looks down and pinches the bridge of her nose, then says, “I’m sorry that this happened to you and your family. These assholes were trying to get at my company and me. I wish that I could say I’m surprised that someone is trying to ruin me, but I’m not. I’m just surprised they’d take it this far.” Looking up at me, she continues, “But I’m going to make it right. I’m going to take care of you and your family.”

  My mind goes a dirty place when she says she’ll ‘take care of me,’ but I dismiss the thought immediately. It’s not like that with Lillian.

  She pulls a cell phone out of the pocket of her sweatpants and makes a series of phone calls. The first is to John. He’s out on a date, but drops what he’s doing and says he’ll be right over when Lillian tells him there’s been an attack on my family.

  The next call is to Harold, the father of Nancy, Frank, and Joe. He works for Ludas Inc. They’re another corporation that clears dungeons, but according to Lillian they also do security work. Ever since I cleared that zombie dungeon with Nancy, Frank, and Joe, their father Harold has been helping us get ready for the System Games by giving us tips about new dungeons in the U.S. When she summarizes the situation for him, he promises to get a security team sent over to my house immediately.

  The last call is to some contact she has at the Oversight Committee. They’re the governing body that oversees the System and makes sure it is not being abused. They’re also the group that will referee and judge the upcoming System Games. Lillian tells them about the incident, and they say they’ll send an agent over to begin an investigation.

  By the time Lillian is done talking on the phone, John has ported to the office. Walking through the office door, he scans the room and sees my mom and sister sitting together on the couch. He nods to them and walks over to me. The older man gives me a fatherly clap on the shoulder. “Are you ok, Anthony? Is everyone in your family safe? Do we need to pick up anyone else?”

  I nod appreciatively at the concern he’s showing. “Yes, everyone is safe. I don’t have any other close family.”

  “Well, then if the immediate danger is over, might I suggest that you talk to your mom and sister? They’re undoubtedly scared and confused about what’s happening and how they got here.”

  John is right. I’d almost forgotten about them while talking to Lillian. I’m not sure how much to tell them though. They already know someone broke into our house and was trying to hurt us. They’ve also probably figured out they’re in New York from the view out the window. But how much am I allowed to tell them about the System and stuff? I don’t want some secret government agency to take them for knowing too much.

  Thankfully, Lillian’s here. Sensing how unsure I am about what to tell my family, she pats my chest and tells me, “Don’t worry. I’ll handle the explanations.”

  While she was talking on the phone, she’d also been multi-tasking and preparing coffee, tea, and cookies. She puts everything on a tray and heads over to my mom and sister. Lillian sets the tray on the coffee table in front of the couches and passes out mugs. Once everyone has their drink of choice, she begins, “Mrs. Tinoco, Marie. First, let me assure you that you are completely safe here. We have a top of the line security system in place. Also, I’ve already had a security company dispatched to your home to make sure the intruder is gone. If he’s still there, the team will capture him.”

  Lillian’s reassurance is helpful in calming down my family and I can see the tension leave them as their shoulders sag.

  My mom glances out the floor-to-ceiling windows and high-rise view and asks, “I’ve never been able to travel, but just looking out that window I know we’re somewhere I’ve never been before. Where are we?”

  Lillian glances at me, and I see her lips curl into a smile and a little wrinkle forms at the corner of her eyes. The look causes a sense of déjà vu, and I remember seeing that look on Lillian’s face so many months ago when I asked her the same question my mom just did.

  Lillian turns and gestures towards the window and answers my mom, “We are in New York City. One of the most densely populated cities in the U.S.”

  From there, Lillian goes on to explain about portals, the System, dungeons, how Users help keep the world safe by defeating them, and she answers all the questions my mom and sister throw at her.

  Explaining everything takes hours, and I’m not sure the two believe everything they’ve been told. My mom’s a little hurt that I’ve been lying to her for most of the year about what I’ve been doing. But Marie has a speculative look on her face.

  Marie asks, “So, let me get this straight. My brother is part of a secret group that defeat dungeons created by social unrest and thus help the world not spiral out of control into an apocalypse?”

  I’d never quite thought about it that way. To be honest, I’ve always been more concerned about making some extra money to help pay our bills. But I nod at the summary.

  Marie smiles and claps her hands. “So you’re a superhero, bro! I can’t wait to tell my friends at school.”

  Lillian shakes her head. “I’m sorry, but you can’t tell anyone, Marie.”

  “Why not? It’s so cool.”

  “Mostly, because no one will believe you. After all, most people can’t even see the dungeons and the kind that would believe you aren’t likely to be good people.”

  My mom chimes in, “Well, from what I can see, not everyone that’s part of your secret System are good people either.”

  “That’s true, Mrs. Tinoco but letting the larger world know about all this would only invite catastrophe. Imagine what a terrorist could do if they could get superpowers. That’s the kind of power we’re talking about.”

  She thinks about it. “Who decides who gets to join then? Who’s going to stop the man that attacked us?”

  “Well, mostly we regulate ourselves, but there’s also an Oversight Committee that responds to crimes committed by System Users and also serves as a type of governing body for us. I’ve already notified them, and they’re sending someone over now.”

  Lillian’s phone beeps and she checks a message. “Speaking of which. They’re here.” She excuses herself, walks to the office door, and opens it. Standing there is a tired looking man in a black suit. He introduces himself as Agent Smith from the Oversight Committee. Agent Smith is a professional and gets right to work. He interviews my mom, my sister, and myself separately. Once he’s done taking statements, he takes down our address and promises he’ll go by there next to continue his investigation and then leaves. The whole process takes less than half an hour and leaves me less than reassured that the masked man will be caught tonight.

  While we are being interviewed, someone from Ludas Inc. contacts Lillian, to let her know that they arrived at my house, they found it aflame, and the fire department on its way. They searched the area for the masked man but didn’t find him.

  The news is devastating for my family. My mom’s first instinct is to ask to be taken back home to try and save the house. Lillian explains that the masked man might have laid a trap for my family and that we can’t go back there. This last bit finally brea
ks my mom and she sits down and cries. I can only begin to understand how she feels. The home she worked so hard to provide us with is gone. Marie and I sit next to her and try to comfort her as best we can.

  In an attempt to provide help, Lillian makes a very generous offer. “You can all stay here with me. My home is connected here, and I can add a couple of bedrooms for you all to use.”

  I’m about to refuse. After all, my mom’s never taken charity from anyone the entire time that I’ve known her. But my mom wipes away the tears in her eyes and hugs Lillian and accepts her offer. Lillian shows us through the door at the back of the office that leads to her home. I’d known that it was possible to attach other rooms to your home base, but it was always too expensive a proposition for me to ever consider.

  We walk through the door, into what appears to be a small apartment. The door opens into a small living room. There are pictures and paintings all along the walls. Off to the left is a kitchen, and beyond that is a hallway. Lillian uses the System Store to purchase pajamas for my mom and Marie. I kiss my mom on her cheek and wish her and my sister a good night's sleep, and Lillian shows them to their rooms.