by Dante Doom
Van glanced over to see that Sang was hiding behind a tree, as well, her bow drawn. Her eyes were narrow and Van could see she was breathing heavily.
“Time to cut!” the woman said as she held the chicken high in the air. The chicken clucked again quietly as the strange woman turned and disappeared into the woods.
“That was too weird,” Sang said. “There was something so lifeless about her eyes. And did you notice how there was no information on her? I tried to access her profile, but there wasn’t any interface.”
Van frowned. Now that Sang mentioned it, that did seem rather odd, that they hadn’t been able to access any of this strange woman’s information. Something about this situation was bothering him, although he couldn’t put it into words.
“I think I’m going to follow her,” Van said.
“We need to focus on finding some way to access Lemuel’s area,” Sang said. “We don’t have time to chase after some NPC.”
Van shook his head. “I’m sorry, Sang, but look at how much time we have left. It’s over after this. We’re not gonna grab Lemuel in time, so we might as well check this person out.”
“I’ll be able to figure it out,” Sang said. “I might be able to convince the brass to let us have one more day.”
“Are you really going to lie to the both of us?” Van said as he began to walk after the mysterious woman.
“Van, come on!” Sang shouted. “Come on, don’t… don’t go!”
Van ignored her and continued walking through the dark woods. He was fumbling to pull out his own torch, but then a dim light slowly arrived next to him; it was the light of a lantern belonging to Sang.
“This better lead to something…” she hissed.
“Here’s hoping,” Van replied. They walked together in utter silence for a few minutes. The NPC wasn’t hard to track, as the ground was muddy enough for her footprints to be identified easily. They followed the tracks all the way to a small cottage that was sitting by the side of a lake. There was light in this area—almost like a twilight of some sort. Van felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked over the cottage.
The NPC was dragging the chicken over to a large pen where dozens of other chickens were running around. Wordlessly, she placed the chicken in her hand on a tree stump and drew out a cleaver, suddenly hacking the creature’s head off in one clean blow. The words LETHAL BLOW hovered above the chicken. Blood spurted from the headless chicken as it fell to the ground. The strange woman picked up the severed head then and began to tie a rope around it. After she attached the head to the rope, she slid it through her belt, allowing the head to dangle off.
“Okay, that is weird,” Sang whispered. “What kind of psychopath would do that?”
Van shrugged. He had no idea what to think about something so horrible. Why was an NPC acting like this?
“Look alive, pixels!” came a voice from inside the cabin. Van and Sang both instinctively ducked behind trees to avoid being seen. A short man emerged from the cabin, wearing jeans and a T-shirt that read “Beer Hero.” It seemed very out of place for being in a fantasy world.
“He looks like he’s from the regular world,” Sang whispered. “What’s up with that?”
“It must be this area,” Van said. “It might be some kind of… I dunno, test zone or something. I can’t figure it out.”
“Watch it,” Sang hissed as she pointed at the cobblestone road running next to the nearby lake. There was a tall, lizard-like creature walking down the path. It was green and had big eyes. In some ways, it looked similar to the Messenger that Sang and Van had faced a month before. It walked on two legs, but was hunched over, hissing loudly to itself. Above its head were strange symbols instead of words.
“What is that thing?” Van asked.
“What if it’s a Draco? Like an actual part of the species?” Sang suggested.
“How would we know that?”
“Just a guess. Bloodrock is a highly secured area, right? This spot seems different than the others, too. That guy over there’s wearing regular clothes,” Sang whispered, “so what if this place is meant to reflect reality?”
“Hmmm, I don’t know what to tell you there,” Van said. “But you might be onto something. That might be why Jet was positive we’d be killable if we came into this area.”
“Well, I really don’t want to find out if his theory is right,” Sang said. “So, we need to be really careful here.”
Van nodded. “And, Sang, this is very important, but you also need to tell me that I was right. We’re definitely onto something important here.”
“Do you really want to taunt me in an area where you could potentially die for real?” Sang asked back.
Van grinned; it was nice to see her joking again. “Hey, I’ve got to try, right?”
“Shhh,” Sang hissed as she leaned against the tree again. The alien creature was walking toward the man in the T-shirt. The man walked up to the creature and bowed deeply to it. The alien hissed at him and waved its hand toward the forest. The man glanced in their direction, looking directly at where Van and Sang were hiding.
“Ah crap,” Van said. “I think it knows we’re here.”
Sang gripped her bow tightly and took a deep breath. “If he moves towards us, I’m opening fire.”
“I think we should retreat,” Van said.
“We’re not pulling back now. It’s getting too interesting,” Sang said. “If we gotta, we’re just gonna kill that guy and then lay the beat down on that scaled bastard.”
“Unless he’s got some kind of crazy alien powers like that Messenger,” Van said. “Then we’re going to be completely screwed.”
Sang said nothing. The man turned his head back to the lizard and began to talk back in the same, strange hissing language. It was extremely unsettling to hear coming from a human. The alien nodded and then began walking toward the lake. It walked for a few feet toward the water, and then it simply vanished.
“Whoa, did you see that?” Van asked. “Where’d it go?”
“Inside something,” Sang said as she pointed to a piece of moss that was hovering above the lake. “I think there’s some kind of invisible thing there. Like that monitoring station where Trefor took us.”
“There’s gotta be something,” Van said. “Something concrete.”
“I’m going in,” Sang said. The man in the T-shirt had gone back inside of the cottage and the NPC had followed after him.
“Are you sure?” Van asked. “We have no idea what’s in there.”
“You should log out,” Sang said. “If it looks like I’m in trouble, unplug me so I don’t die.”
Van shook his head. “No way. I’m not leaving you in here alone. And don’t forget—Draco can lock our pods. If you end up in trouble, there’s no getting out.”
Sang looked at Van wryly. “I know you’re terrified, Van, and I know you’re not crazy about having to risk your life. You’ve done a great job and we’re here because of you. You don’t have to go in there with me. You don’t have to risk anymore than you have.”
“I appreciate it, Sang,” Van replied as he drew his own short sword out. “But the fact is, I can’t leave you behind. I might be scared out of my wits, but we’re in this together.”
Sang shrugged. “A lot of people say that, and then they get shot and they start singing a different tune.”
“Good thing I’ll be stabbed instead of shot,” Van replied as he began to walk toward the area where the alien vanished. Sang followed after him with her bow drawn, ready for a fight. The two walked together, looking out for any sign of trouble.
“Now, as soon as we see that alien, we’re going to beat it down,” Sang said. “If we can keep it alive, we should, but I won’t hesitate to kill if it looks to be too big of a threat.”
Van nodded, but didn’t say a word. He could barely breathe and his heart kept crashing against his chest. He felt as if he was going to pass out. The adrenaline surge was intense, and he could barely keep h
is hands from trembling. While he definitely didn’t want to go in there, he knew that if Sang went in alone, she would most likely be killed. She wasn’t thinking straight and could easily make a mistake that would cost her everything.
They walked to the edge of the lake. Van pushed his hand forward slowly, only to feel a pressure immediately repel his hand. It had felt cool to the touch, like steel.
“Something’s there,” Van said. “But I think it’s sealed up.”
Sang pushed both her hands forward hard, causing a loud grinding noise to emit from thin air. “Errrg,” she grunted as she continued to push. Van joined her and pressed his hands against the invisible wall, and began to push. After a moment, they heard a swoosh sound and they were both falling forward.
“Ah!” Van yelped in surprise as he fell inside of a large, steel room. The interior looked like some kind of spaceship. There were screens all over the walls and dozens of consoles with buttons sticking out of them. It looked somewhat like the interior of a ship from Star Trek.
“What is this place?” Sang asked as she stood and looked around.
“Some kind of ship,” Van replied. “Maybe it’s what the Draco people fly in?”
“Definitely a control tower,” Sang said, pointing to the main screen resting above all of the computer consoles. The screen had a display of the entire area of Bloodrock, and had many different areas outlined. There were words, too, but they were in some language that Van didn’t recognize.
“No one’s home, I guess,” Van said as he walked over to the consoles. They looked like regular computers, except for the fact that they had buttons with labels that were entirely different from the English language.
A swoosh sounded out from behind them and Van instinctively went to hide, only to realize that he was taller than most of the consoles around him.
“Whoa!” said a familiar voice. It belonged to Dolly.
“Dolly?” Sang practically shouted, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Better question is,” Bidane said as she walked into the ship,” what are you two up to?”
“Why is there a spaceship in a fantasy game?” Dolly asked.
“You two shouldn’t be here,” Van said as he rushed up to them. “This place is not safe.”
“Well, it didn’t stop you guys from sneaking off,” Bidane said. “See, I figured that, with Dolly’s help, we could figure out what you were up to because she’d be able to track you guys down. Now, I see why you’ve been all secretive. You’re accessing areas that players shouldn’t be allowed in. You two are definitely hacking!”
“Hacking?” Sang snapped. “Hacking? Are you dense? Look around you, Bidane. This isn’t hacking—we’re in some kind of monitoring station.”
“Man, this must be for some kind of upcoming event,” Dolly muttered.
“It’s not an event, it’s—” Van’s words were cut off by the sound of a laugh. His blood went cold as he turned around to see that the man in the T-shirt was emerging from a door on the right side of the ship. Van hadn’t seen the outline of a door before, but it had appeared to open when the stranger walked through.
“Well, it’s been a long time, Van,” said the stranger.
“Who are you?” Van asked.
“Don’t recognize me?” the man asked. The rest of the room had fallen silent, with everyone looking at him. Sang had her bow ready for action, but said nothing.
“No, I don’t,” Van said, stepping a few feet away.
“What a shame,” the man replied. “It’s me, Draumed. Remember?”
Memories came flashing back to Van. Draumed had been one of the original members of Van’s guild, and the first of their group to go pro. No one had seen him after he’d made the decision to leave the group and become a professional player.
“You look different from how I remember,” Van replied.
“Of course,” Draumed said with a grin. “This area is different from the rest of the game. I don’t particularly look like my character, but I would wager to say I’m a dead ringer for the real me.”
“Alright, what’s going on?” Bidane snapped. “I mean, what is this place?”
“Silence,” Draumed said. “I’m talking to Van.” He turned his attention back to Van and grinned again. “Now then, I suppose I should congratulate you for getting this far, but it’s time for you to hang up your hat. Draco’s been lenient with you two, but only because you haven’t been causing any real problems. Now… now you’re somewhere you shouldn’t be. I’ve been instructed to make sure that you two leave and don’t come back.”
Van’s eyes darted to the axe that was hanging off of Draumed’s belt. It was wicked and sharp. If they were in an area where real death was possible, that axe was bad news. His eyes moved over to Sang, who had walked up to his side and aimed her bow. The death system might go both ways, right? Perhaps this guy could be killed, too.
“Leave? You don’t want us dead?” Van asked.
“Her? Sure. But you? Nah, Draco would prefer you to be alive. You have your uses, for certain,” Draumed replied as he gently patted his axe.
“What uses?” Sang hissed. Van felt a spike of dread run through him. He hadn’t told her a word about the various proposals that Draco had brought his way.
“That’s for the two of us to know,” Draumed replied. He gripped the axe and pulled it free of its hilt, and threw it hard at Sang. Sang released her arrows right at Draumed, but the arrows went wide, missing him. Miss taunted the UI as it floated above Draumed’s head.
“Sang!” Van shouted as the axe crashed into her arm. The words 20 damage hovered above her. Van could see her health bar drop significantly after she took the blow. Why was her health bar so much lower than normal?
“Ahhhh!” she shrieked as she fell onto her back, clutching the bloody wound. “It really hurts!”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Dolly said as she brandished her daggers. “No one hurts my teammate and gets away with it!”
“Van, please instruct your rogue to stand down before she dies,” Draumed replied. “I really don’t want to have the blood of an innocent player on my hands.”
“Take it easy,” Van said, holding up his hands. He turned to look at Dolly and Bidane. Dolly was ready for a fight, but Bidane was still standing motionless with her hands folded. She seemed very confused, and content to just watch.
“Stand down,” Van said. “No reason for you to try and fight this guy.”
“But he just—”
“Enough,” Van interrupted. “You both need to get out of here before you end up in more trouble than you bargained for.”
“Oooh, sorry,” Draumed replied as he walked towards them both. Sang was still lying on the ground, clutching her arm. Van noticed her health was slowly draining. That wasn’t a good sign.
“The unfortunate problem,” Draumed continued, “is that my bosses would prefer that we keep these two lovely ladies occupied for the next few days.”
“They have nothing to do with this,” Van replied. “Let them go!”
“I have no idea why they’re wanted,” Draumed replied as he pulled out a knife from his pocket. It shined wickedly. “But I am going to obey. Now, Van. You can either die here with Sang, or you can leave.”
“I’m not going—” Van’s words were cut off as he realized that he was suddenly laying in his pod. “The hell?” he shouted as the pod door opened up.
“Sorry, champ,” Neil said as he looked down at Van. “But the time has run out.”
“Sang’s going to be killed!” Van shouted.
“I’m fine,” Sang grumbled as she climbed out of the pod. “Arm is sore as hell, though.”
“How did we get out?” Van asked as he looked at Sang. “I figured that were locked in.”
“Oh, they locked you in alright,” O’Hara said as she walked up to Sang and handed her a water bottle. “But that override we built actually worked.”
Van let out a sigh of relief. He couldn’t believe
how close to dying they had come.
“Neil, we found something big,” Sang said. “A Draco ship. I’m positive it’s got information that will be crucial in getting this operation legitimized.”
Neil shrugged. “Sorry, but this operation is officially over. Just got the kill order in.”
“Kill order, meaning…” Van said, suddenly remembering all of the shady things Neil had threatened him with.
“Meaning that we’re ending the operation and releasing all involved parties,” O’Hara said. “Don’t worry, no one’s gonna shoot you. At least, I won’t; Neil might take some convincing.”
“No!” Sang said. “We were so close! We can’t give up now!”
“I don’t know what to tell ya,” Neil said. “Job’s over. They’re packing everything up right now. Operations team has been relieved, and O’Hara and I have been kindly ordered to head back to headquarters in Virginia tomorrow.”
“I thought you said we’d—” Sang began before O’Hara cut her off.
“Look, we gave this our best, but at the end of the day, any more energy put into this is career suicide. I’m not willing to risk anymore, not when that senator has made it very clear that my ass would be sitting in front of the senate to give deposition over this kind of thing.”
“Come on!” Sang begged. “We can’t do this alone!”
Neil sighed deeply. “Our hands are tied. Don’t think we didn’t fight for this, Sang. We gave it our best shot. You’ve got two choices now; you can come back to Virginia with us, or you can… quit in disgrace, I guess.”
“Where’s Kenwar?” Van asked. “Has he been released yet?”
“Afraid so,” O’Hara said. “Frederick ordered his release two hours ago.”
“Damn it!” Van swore. “He could have made a difference in this.”
“Guys, it’s over; I don’t know what you’re fussing about,” Neil said. He pointed toward the lights. “Those go off in 20 minutes. Power is being cut to the entire building. These pods are gonna be useless.”
“You bastards!” Sang growled. “You really would trade the future of humanity over so that your career is nice and safe? You would really endanger all of mankind because you want to keep a job?”