She kept him close, wishing they didn’t have to have this conversation. “You mean besides pretending that it’s not real and hoping it will all go away?”
“I was talking to some people about what the recruiter told you.”
“Who?”
“Some friends that I’ve met online, gamers that I’ve known for years. It was untraceable.”
“And?” She had a feeling he would be a lot happier if the news was better.
“They only had rumors, nothing too concrete. But they agreed that warpers are never acknowledged because they are too valuable. Companies and governments will kill to have a warper. They said if you have an outside offer, you should take it.”
“But I can’t.” Her body tightened in frustration and she struggled to keep her voice down. “I have to pay back my loan, and I can’t leave it for my family. I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
When Reed didn’t answer right away, Ari pushed him to tell her what he’d discovered.
“Most warpers drop off the grid in various ways, but it appears that those that go into government work are erased off the grid—permanently.”
Ari stared blankly for a moment trying to understand what he meant. The government wouldn’t kill warpers. They were worth too much. “Maybe they don’t stay in touch with old nerdy gamers anymore,” she reasoned.
“Maybe. It’s the not knowing that is driving me crazy.”
“Me too.”
He tightened his hold on her, his body pressing against hers. His firm grasp grounded her.
She leaned into his chest. “I’ll be careful in the VRs. We have time.”
“Maybe we could talk to that guy again? You never know what he could work out.”
“Maybe.” Ari didn’t want to think about it. Reed was acting more like a big brother than her actual brother who she hadn’t heard from all week.
He tried to object, but Ari silenced him with her lips. At first, he resisted her attempt at distraction, but then surrendered and kissed her back with gusto. Her belly burned with desire. Every touch, every kiss ignited her senses, making her want more. It must be what a junkie felt like, never getting enough.
In between kisses, Reed mumbled, “We have time.” Ari prayed they were right.
Over the next couple of weeks, she realized how difficult it was going to be to hide her gift for the rest of the year, much less for the years to come. In the VRs, she didn’t have to search for the code anymore, it stood out plain as day, and the actual virtual easily faded in the background. When she spotted errors, she had to resist the urge to fix them right away and then remember to fix them in the program.
Her favorite class turned out to be art design with Ms. Mienka. Ari didn’t have to create the drawing, but just manipulate the images. She thought of all of the drawings and sketches Reed had hanging in his room, and how amazing it would be to see those drawings brought to life. Her thoughts of Reed were interrupted by a message on her HUB asking her to go to the wellness clinic after class.
Wellness clinic? Ari had never needed to go there before and wasn’t sure what they wanted with her.
Professor Mienka continued to lecture while Ari’s thoughts raced. Ari checked her HUB again and messaged Reed.
Wellness clinic asked me to come by after class. Any ideas?
Her foot tapped nervously against the floor. It was probably an annual checkup, she told herself. Her HUB flashed Reed’s reply.
Girl stuff???
Ari rolled her eyes, even though he might be right. Maybe it was to check her implant for mandatory birth control—required for all underage girls and boys. Embarrassed, she wished she hadn’t brought it up to Reed.
After class, she made her way to the student center amid the noisy and hungry students fighting their way to the cafeteria. Soft flakes fluttered around her. The first snow of the season seemed to add to the excitement. Ari smiled as she turned heavenward to the white chaotic sky. At home, snow was rare. It was more ice and sludge, lining the sidewalks early in the winter and hung around like a muddy border outlining everything during the cold bleak months. But here, the grounds were always kept immaculate. It might turn into a beautiful winter.
The snow distracted her from her curiosity about the appointment. As she walked through the entrance to the wellness center, she was caught off guard when greeted by Advisor Williams.
“Enjoying yourself?” His lips curled up into a cruel smile, while his eyes remained fierce.
“It’s snowing,” Ari answered, a bit thrown off. What was he doing here?
“I’m glad you noticed. Have you spoken to your brother recently?”
“No.” Ari shook her head, trying to think back to their last conversation. They’d messaged several times back and forth since the weekend they were busted in the virtual. He’d given her a hard time about turning into a rebel. They’d even talked about going home over break. She tried to tie him down for dinner to tell him about being a warper, but he was always too busy. Ari assumed it was another girl, or just hoped it was.
“Follow me.” Williams turned briskly and headed down a hall.
Her stomach tightened in fear as she plodded after him. Where was Marco? Was he hurt? He was always the one to be reckless.
Williams wasn’t giving anything else away as he stepped inside the room and waited for Ari. When she walked in, there was Marco, lying peacefully on a bed as if he was asleep.
Ari bit her lip and blinked back a burning feeling in her eyes. She stood there not wanting to move closer. If she touched him, reality would slap her in the face.
“He’s in a virtual dependent coma.”
Ari knew, deep down she already knew, that this would happen one day, but as Advisor Williams said those words, her heart broke. Her family was shattering into pieces, and she stood helpless. Darkness crept in, and it wasn’t until strong hands touched her that she remembered her surroundings.
“Advisor Williams, grab that chair.” A stout nurse helped Ari sit down. “You really could have been a bit more tactful when telling her.” The nurse spoke over her head to Advisor Williams.
“We have treated these children with white gloves for long enough. They are expected to be adults and need to start acting like it.”
“Even an adult wouldn’t handle this well.”
“Her father has been hooked for years. This is familiar territory for her.”
The nurse’s voice was softer than before. “It may be familiar, but it doesn’t make it easy.” The nurse turned to Ari. “Ms. Mendez?”
It took a few moments, but she blinked and turned her head towards the nurse. She had an older face, a kinder face, with bright pink lips.
“Your brother was at a VR bar in the city. They called us when they couldn’t wake him. He’s resting but still hasn’t woken up.”
“Are you going to feed him?” Fear coursed through Ari. Her brother could starve to death and neither Ari nor her mother had the money to feed him. They would have to find money somewhere.
The nurse placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. “Of course, we will.”
Ari searched for the tubes, the plastic lines that Marco would need to survive. When she was unable to find them, the nurse showed her the tubes tucked neatly under his blanket.
“Ms. Mendez,” Advisor William’s harsh voice spoke behind them. “I have been unable to contact your mother, and we have some information to go over now that his placement is in question.”
The nurse stood straight with her hand on her hip. “Really, Advisor Williams? She is in no state to go over any of that. And there is a chance he could wake up in the morning.”
Of course, Ari knew this. Seventy percent of people that didn’t wake up after being unplugged would wake up after their body went through its normal sleep rhythm. It had happened often with Ari’s father, until one day it didn’t. Like her father, some people subconsciously created their own VR, not willing to come back to reality.
“Fine,” Advisor Will
iam said with an indignant huff. “But with this sort, things never work out in the long run.” And with those uplifting words, he left.
Ari moved closer, sitting on Marco’s bed. She grasped his hand through the light blankets, as if she could pull him back to reality. But she knew all too well that it didn’t work that way.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ari woke to someone shaking her shoulder. She’d fallen asleep sitting in a chair with her head on Marco’s bed. She blinked several times, clearing her vision of the scratchy code that filled her dream. With all the studying and stress, she wouldn’t be surprised if she bled in code.
“Ariana, dear, it’s your mother,” said Nurse Carey.
Ari wiped the sleep from her eyes. For a few blissful moments of unconsciousness, she had forgotten about Marco being stuck in a virtual. Reality lay heavily on her shoulders as she stood and headed towards the nurse’s station.
Nurse Carey led her to her desk. Ari’s mother was on the screen, eyes red and puffy.
“I told your mother the situation,” Nurse Carey said softly. “I’ll leave you two alone for a moment.” Her shoes squeaked against the floor and with the whoosh of the door, a silence entered the room, threatening Ari’s sanity.
Ari swallowed. There was so much she wanted to say—wanted to scream really—but she held it in. If she opened the flood gates, they might never close.
Her mother broke the silence first. “They are going to send Marco home if he isn’t awake by the end of the week.”
“How?” Ari said. “You can’t afford to pay for both Marco and Dad.”
“Nurse Carey told me I can take a loan out against your education. You’ll have to pay it back once you graduate.”
Ari bit her lip and nodded. “Okay.” She would do whatever it took to save Marco, which sparked her next decision. “I’m going in.” Often when people were in VR comas, loved ones would go in to help convince them to return to reality. It didn’t work with their father, but it might with Marco.
Ari’s mother shoulders sagged. “I hoped you would. It might even be free compared to doing it in the clinic. But be prepared, Ari, that he might not want out.”
“I don’t care. I’ll drag his lazy—”
“That won’t help. Remember you play by Marco’s rules in there not yours. I’ve tried enough times with your father, God knows, to no avail.”
Ari knew that was true, and it cost more than a normal VR since they had to pay the medical staff to hook her father up to a VR. After missing Christmas for a couple years, her mother finally decided to spend the money on the living.
The hatred she had for her father resurfaced like a wave of heat through her body. She wanted to punch something, or someone. Something to make this fair. But that was the wish of a child. Life was never fair.
“I’ll see if they can let me do it today.” Ari glanced at the time and realized it was six in the morning.
“Call me after, okay? You can wake me. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping much anyway.”
“I’ll call or message you soon.”
“Thanks, Ari. For being there and taking care of this. I can’t leave work.”
“I know.” Ari clicked off the screen before the sob stuck in her throat escaped.
Her HUB soon vibrated with another message. There were several from Reed and one from Tessa. She started to message them back, but her fingers hovered over the keyboard, unsure of what to say. My brother is hooked just like my loser dad? Reed might not care, but it wasn’t any less embarrassing. She finally settled on messaging Reed: Marco’s sick. I’ll be with him for a while.
A heaviness settled into her bones as Nurse Carey changed out his feeding bag. Ari wondered if the nurse had slept at all. Her short brown hair was perfectly curled, and her lips colored pink. Her hands were quick and experienced as she hooked up the new feeding tube before she turned to Ari. “Now that he is fed, how about getting something for you?”
“I want to be hooked up with my brother.”
If Nurse Carey was surprised she didn’t show it. “That may be a possibility, but it won’t happen until after breakfast. You already missed dinner. What kind of medical personnel would I be if I let you starve?”
“Can I go in if I eat?”
Before Nurse Carey could answer, Advisor Williams walked in the door.
“Go in where?”
“I want to go in the VR with my brother.”
“Why would the school do that? It’s a waste of precious time and resources.”
“To wake him up, of course.” Ari’s hands clenched at her side. She couldn’t believe this man’s indifference. She was grateful Nurse Carey interrupted before she really told him how she felt.
“It would save on costs in the long run, Advisor. I’m willing to set it up in here.”
“Has his mother signed the paperwork?”
“I sent it over. She will sign it before she leaves for work in a few hours.”
Irritation was written all over his face as he knew Nurse Carey had the upper hand. “Fine, but only after we receive the paperwork. And after Ari’s classes.”
“What? I’m not going to class.”
“We pay for them, so yes you are. Only medically excused absences will not be marked as demerits in your record. Or are you more like your brother than we thought? He didn’t care much for attendance either.”
Nurse Carey put a hand on Ari’s shoulder, her touch steady and warm. “She will be fed first, and then she’ll go to her class. It will take me a bit to get a VR unit in here, anyway.”
Advisor Williams gave a curt nod then left the room.
Ari wasn’t sure if she wanted to hit him or scream. Instead she sunk down on the foot of Marco’s bed in exhaustion.
“Ignore that old crow, dear, and let me get you some coffee.”
“I wish I could,” Ari said. Williams held the key to her future in more ways than one. He would find her placement after her schooling was done. And so far, it wasn’t looking good. He also had the power to kick her out and make her life a mountain of student debt with no way of getting out of it. Schooling was free as long as you finished with a passing grade and worked at a government assigned position afterwards.
She could only focus on Marco. He had to be okay. She needed him. And somehow, she would find a way to let him know.
The nurse pushed a warm cup of coffee into her hands. “Drink up. You have a long day ahead of you.”
Ari nodded, numbly. She savored the bitter taste of the coffee warming her. “Do you think he will wake up?”
“Probably. He’s young with a lot to live for. Though you may have to remind him of that.”
“That’s what I worry about.” Ari stared into Marco’s innocent face with his hair sticking up all over. She hoped she could offer enough of the real world to lure him out of his virtual one. As much as Ari detested it, maybe living in a virtual was easier, a carefree escape she almost wished she could enjoy.
“Take the coffee with you so you can make it to breakfast. You have to have something besides caffeine.”
Ari didn’t want to eat, but she needed out of there, especially if she had to go to class. She picked up her bag with her tablet that had been periodically beeping inside since she had silenced the HUB on her wrist hours ago. Not ready to talk to anyone, she silenced the noise, swung the bag over her shoulder, and headed to the door.
As the door swooshed open, Nurse Carey said, “Answer your interface, Ariana. Your friends are worried about you.”
Ari just kept walking.
She grabbed a breakfast shake and headed to her dorm room in hopes of a shower before her first class at eight.
“Are you going to ignore me all day?” Reed’s biting words came from behind. She wasn’t exactly sure why she’d ignored his other messages. Embarrassment, maybe. Denial and the hope her brother would wake up this morning was more likely.
“So, you know?” Ari turned around, and once she glimpsed his hurt face,
guilt punched her in the gut. “I’m sorry.”
“Nurse Carey told me.” His eyes, dark and heavy, spoke of his own restless night. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I ...” She dropped her gaze. She was tired, and not ready to answer. Anger, guilt, and hurt overflowed, and she couldn’t keep it in any longer. “What was I supposed to say? My loser brother got hooked like my deadbeat dad. Who knows, maybe I’ll be next?” Ari yelled, not caring who heard.
Reed paused for a moment, shock perhaps. His face softened, and he stepped forward closing the distance between them. His presence warmed away her frustration—a relief that she didn’t deserve.
“Do you honestly believe I would think that? Because my dad took off and yours is in a VR coma, does that make any difference? I have lived for the past two years with Marco. He’s like a brother to me.”
Tears pooled in her eyes. She dabbed at her eyes, knowing he was right. He understood in a way no one else would. She kicked herself for doubting him, again. She lifted her chin. “So, what does that make us?”
A grin slowly crept on Reed’s face. “A very twisted family?” He encompassed her with his arms, and she melted into them.
She didn’t realize how tired and alone she had felt until he held her.
“Don’t worry, though, I never thought of you as a sister,” Reed whispered into her neck.
She reluctantly stepped back. “I better shower and get ready for class.”
“Are you going?”
“Williams didn’t give me much of a choice.”
“That guy’s a moron.” Reed grabbed her hand, and they walked to her dorm.
“It’s okay. Hopefully it will keep my mind off things. I can’t go in until this afternoon.”
Reed stopped, abruptly pulling Ari back to face him. “You’re going in?”
“Of course. They’ll let me do it here for free before they send him to a center where my mom will have to pay.”
“Why doesn’t your mom come and do it?”
“She can’t get off work.” Ari lowered her eyes only briefly. She wasn’t sure why her family situation bothered her. Reed had been to her house enough to know, and it’s wasn’t like his family was a whole lot better off. But his mom only had to work one job, and it was enough so that they didn’t ever go hungry.
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