After a few minutes of frustration, he went out to wash his hands. The cold water seeped through his fingers, and he splashed his face. Maybe he was wrong. No, that woman couldn’t be his mom. Could she? Anxiety crawled along his skin and for the first time he wondered if he was losing it.
He gripped the edge of the sink as his breath came out in heavy gasps. This had to be a program, but why couldn’t he leave? Sheer panic clouded all reasonable thought as he threw himself forward, slamming his head into the mirror. Pain flooded his senses and, in a blink, his surroundings changed. He sat up in a VR chair, the cords in the back of his neck tethering him to the VR console.
Hands pushed him down, but he struggled against them searching for a sign of where he was. Images blurred as he fought against those hands. Something sharp scrapped against his skin. A needle maybe?
“He was supposed to remain under,” a woman said from behind. “I gave him the required dose.”
Shouts rang out, calling to get him under control. He couldn’t focus on the words. He had to break free before they could steal him back to a world of their making.
The room spun, exacerbating the panic and fear erupting out of him. His elbow connected with something, and he heard a sickening crunch. Reaching back, he ripped the cords from the base of his skull. He felt it bend and tear at his port, but he couldn’t register the pain. Like a caged animal, he was fighting for everything he had. And he didn’t care the cost.
Grabbing onto small hands, he pulled a woman towards him. Using her weight to stand up, he spun around and placing an arm around her neck. The quick movement made black dots dance in front of him, and the woman helped steady him. After a few moments, his vision cleared, and he took the scene in.
This wasn’t a military operation. Not here. This was a medical hack. They drugged him to remain inside the virtual with medical help and an IT crew. How did they first catch him? How long have they been planning this? How long was he under? Unanswered questions bombarded his thoughts and fueled his anger.
A man in a medical uniform slowly stepped towards him, hands up. “There is nowhere to run. Let her go.”
“Stop, or I’ll kill her.” Normally he’d never threaten something like that, but as the rage pounded in his ears, he didn’t care. These people kidnapped him. Marco squeezed the woman’s neck, and she let out a high-pitched shriek.
The man stopped moving. “I’m sorry, but there is really nowhere to go. We called security.”
Marco glanced at the glass wall behind him. “What do you call that?” Originally Marco had thought that the wall was a screen. Then as he itched towards it, realized the room had a balcony overlooking some type of courtyard.
“Just a balcony. No way down.”
Marco didn’t believe him. And given there were four people in front of him and more on the way, his chances were better out there. Dragging the woman along, he opened the door and went onto the porch. Ideas spun around, and he tried to grab onto one that might work.
“Don’t hurt me,” she begged.
Her pleas turned his stomach. He wasn’t going to hurt this woman, but he had to leave. “Is there a net off the balcony here?” It was a common feature in tall buildings for safety.
“Yes.” It came out as a terrified whisper.
Ignoring any guilt, he spared a glance down to the courtyard. They were roughly seven stories high, but he didn’t see any net, which didn’t mean much. A resort this nice and discrete wouldn’t want anyone’s view obscured. Down below small shops, pools, and other structures littered the ground.
Back inside the room, armed men filed in and the medical personnel stepped aside. Their weapons were high tech. Probably not meant to kill him but put him back inside.
No. Not again. “Are you sure it will catch us?” he asked.
“Us?” The woman’s voice hitched up an octave.
The men took aim and time was out. He gripped her tighter and stepped next to the short wall. Without thinking what could go wrong, he pulled the woman over the edge with him.
Cool air rushed loudly in his ears, accompanied by the screams of the woman. For the first time she gripped his arm tighter. They landed on a net of some sort and bounced up a few times before settling on the fibers. He didn’t have time to catch his breath or apologize to the woman—but she was the one who had drugged him, so his sympathy had been tested a bit much today.
He rolled away from her. There appeared to be nothing underneath them, the safety net completely invisible and unsteady. He remained on his hands and knees, crawling to the edge of the net away from the building. They still were at least fifteen feet in the air. He stumbled slightly as he reached the edge, grasping onto the invisible wire. Grateful they had two exits on this net.
Shouts echoed behind him, and he swung his legs over the side and dropped down below, landing in a bush. He paused for a second to regain his footing, but nothing was broken. Looking above, he saw the men swarming up the net. Pedestrians nearby shouted out in alarm. Marco did the only thing left that he could do. Run.
His head pounded, and body ached as he sprinted through the shops. People hollered, but most moved out of his path. The fact there were pedestrians gave him hope. They were in public, to an extent. And hopefully, the people chasing him wanted to keep a low profile.
He raced towards the front door, but out of the corner of his vision noticed someone turn towards a door marked, “Employees Only.” With a sharp turn, Marco slowed his steps and entered the door. Employees bustled about in teal and white uniforms. A couple of people gave him sideways looks, but no one confronted him. Marco hid among the busy chaos—something he excelled at.
A row of keys lined small hooks by the back door. He reached for the small black button labeled G4 and slipped it in his pocket. He winked at a cute girl crossing his path and exited the back door. This almost felt too easy.
The door opened to a loaded dock, just as busy as inside. A man in uniform guided a stack of boxes on an electric cart. He looked confused or lost, maybe.
“Excuse me,” Marco said politely as he stepped to the side.
The man’s creased forehead, dampened with sweat, showed a tired overworked employee. So, noticing the key that hung halfway out of the man’s pocket, Marco couldn’t pass up this opportunity. As the man crossed the doorway, Marco stepped towards him.
“Do you need any help?”
“I’m looking for the manager. I’m new, and they sent me to straighten out a backlogged order that the last guy who screwed up.”
“Of course. Head straight down the corridor, and it’ll be the second right.” And with a smile on his face, one hand directed the man to the incorrect location while Marco’s other hand stole the man’s key. “Best of luck.”
The man shuffled off, and Marco turned around. The large delivery truck that matched the man’s uniform wouldn’t be ideal when it was reported stolen, but it should hopefully get Marco out of here. It also saved time he didn’t have to locate the other car.
Traffic inched along at first, and every time he stopped, he risked a glance behind him. Where they after him? And if they did find him, would they drag him back to the program? They were after Ari and he was one of the few that could find her.
After a few miles, his hands began to shake on the steering wheel. The nagging knot in the center of his gut, kept asking him if this was real. And he had no idea how to find out. The knot grew, tightening his chest. Even though VR in VR was popular, it was limited by the government. Once inside a program, hoping into another could lead to a rabbit hole that no one can survive. So even though he believed this was reality, that didn’t calm his worry.
His breaths came out shallow, and he struggled for each gasp. He quickly recognized where he was and tried to focus on his next step: finding his mom. It didn’t take long to ditch the truck, and he walked a block to the nearest tram. At the next stop, he got off and switched again. After switching routes four times, he finally settled into his seat for t
he long haul downtown to their meeting spot.
Marco and his mom set up this meeting place months ago. It was a repair shop, one that they never went to. They found it when a man hit on his mom. The romance didn’t go anywhere, but Marco checked him out anyway. They figured it would be a great place that wasn’t tied back to them.
Her work would be finished, and she could be home. Or with them? Who was them? The government made the most sense, or another hacker company that somehow found the link between Ari and him. Either way, he hated not knowing who the enemy was.
As his breath slowed, he starred at his hands. Slightly scratched and beat up, he wondered if they were really his. They began to shake, and he jammed them in his pockets.
On the tram, a woman sat down next to him with a small child, a pretty woman with dark eyes and long black hair. Marco wondered why she sat so close to him. Was she part of this program as well? Her eyes bore down on him as she offered a small smile.
The tightness in his chest returned, and he averted his gaze. He needed to get to the meeting place. If his mom was there, he would know the truth. They picked that house in reality—it was the one thing he was sure of. Only his mom knew about it. No program could simulate that.
When his stop arrived, he bolted out of his seat and strode down the crowded corridor. Struggling not to run and make a scene, he walked to the shop. Slow down, he repeatedly told himself.
With the shop in sight, he glanced around. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Yet he couldn’t calm his racing heart.
That was the problem with VR, sometimes you can’t convince yourself you left. Marco never worried about it before, always jumping into a program every chance he got. But now, as the paranoia hijacked his body, he wanted to tear out the port in the back of his neck. Yet if he was in a program that wouldn’t make a difference.
As a woman approached the door, he hurried ahead to open it for her. Blend in with the others. Mingle if need be. He knew how to do this, but it took effort.
“Thank you,” the older woman replied.
“My pleasure.” He followed her in, scanning the store.
Secondhand appliances and hardware littered the small shop. He headed down an aisle of hard drives for various appliances. He picked up one for a fridge and feigned interest. No sign of his mom yet. Searching every face for a clue, but only finding frustration. Maybe his mom was at home, still working late, or maybe, just maybe, he was still inside. How could he find out?
Before he could decide his next step, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Surprised, Marco spun around with a fist pulled back to strike. Instinct took over common sense.
The older man stepped back in surprise, hands raised. “Hey, I was only seeing if I could help.”
Marco shook out his hands. “Sorry. A bit jumpy.”
“I guess so.” The man straightened his uniform, and that’s when Marco realized it was Juan, the owner of the store. He was an older Hispanic man, with short dark hair that gathered gray at the temples. They had never officially met, even though Marco had researched him thoroughly.
“Juan?” Marco asked hesitantly, not sure if he should ask about his mom. If he was still inside a program, he would just lead them straight to his mom on the outside. But he felt shaky and unsure of everything. He didn’t know how much longer he could last in this limbo.
“Do I know you?” Juan asked.
“No. I’m Marco.” He glanced around for an exit. He noted the door at the back of the store if he needed it.
“Marco? Cynthia’s Marco?”
At the sound of his mother’s name, fear and hope struck Marco, and he watched Juan carefully.
Juan briefly looked over his shop. “I believe I have what you need in back. Follow me.” He started moving through the aisle. He paused after a few steps and turned back to Marco. “Are you coming?”
Should I? With no one to trust, his options were limited. His thoughts spun on whether this man’s actions were genuine, or the product of some computer program built to harvest information from him. Marco hadn’t said much, or at least hadn’t said enough to give away much information. What would following Juan hurt? Marco would either end back up in some type of program loop or not.
Nodding, Marco followed Juan to the back. They maneuvered a maze of machines and other junk littered with a fine layer of dust that made Marco’s nose itch. He led Marco to a simple door labeled “Private.” With another quick glance around, Juan opened it barely enough for Marco. Stepping inside, a small apartment came into view. A kitchenette sat in one corner with a simple two-person table. At the stove stood his mother.
“Marco.” She dropped the dishtowel in her hand and rushed to his side.
He stood still for a moment, not sure if he could trust that this was real. Was this truly his mother? Her kind face glanced up at his, eyes filled with tears. “I worried I’d never see you again.”
He stiffened. His real mom would know the last time they spoke. Stepping back, he peeled her off. “We spoke last night.”
Confusion creased her brow. “No honey. You’ve been gone for a while.”
“No. I just finished the job with Kev—” A numbness traveled down his body, and he found his way to a nearby chair. “How long?”
“That was last week.” She brushed back his hair. “Are you okay?”
“No. I’m not.” His head pounded as he struggled to straighten his thoughts. “I’m just…” He looked her in the eyes. “How do I know this is real? That you are real?”
His mom flashed a worried look to Juan and sat in front of Marco. “This is VR sickness. Your dad had it often before he slipped.” She placed her hands on either side of Marco’s face.
A memory flashed in his mind of him being small and heading to school. Back then she would touch his face in the same way, reminding him that she loved him and for him to be brave. Now, her eyes had more creases around them, but it was still her.
“Yes, I’m real,” she reassured him. “I’m your mother that made you apologize to Ms. Jenkins when you hijacked her lesson with a pet snake.”
He swallowed but didn’t know what to say or what to think.
She continued. “I’m your mother that took you on your first date with Kimmy. I even saw you sneak a kiss at the end.”
The knot lessened just a touch as he took a jagged breath.
“Breathe,” she encouraged him and wiped away at a stray tear he didn’t know he had. “I’m your mother that held you all night, the first time your dad went into a VR coma.”
This memory hurt, but it was real. The pain was real. It tied Marco to his life, to his reality.
“I’m your mother that came here, a place that only we knew about.”
“How long have I been gone again?” He struggled to go through the past week and figure out where it all when wrong. The scary part was, he still didn’t know when they took him as he went in and out of VRs so often.
“About a week. When you didn’t come home, I knew something was wrong. I waited for you here, and soon Juan noticed me around. Once I told him the story, he agreed to hide me until you showed up.” Tears now welled up in her eyes. “I wasn’t sure if you’d show up, but here you are.” She leaned forward and kissed his forehead just like when he was young.
The last straw of reserve broke, and he pulled his mother in for a hug. Ignoring the fear and paranoia, he held on for dear life. Her smell enveloped him and soon nothing else mattered. For in his mother’s arms, he was home.
Turn the page to find out what happens next with Ari in SYNCHED
Synched
Hardwired Book 2
Chapter 1
Ari ducked to avoid the oncoming strike and spun away from her opponent, only it wasn’t enough. The staff hit her in the stomach, her breath escaping with a grunt. Thankfully, her suit absorbed most of the hit, and she carried the momentum though into a backward roll, her own staff still in hand.
“Faster.” Niomi drove Ari off the mat and into th
e sand.
Spinning the staff, she drove it towards Niomi, but Ari was a second behind. Again. Niomi countered, striking out at Ari. This time she blocked the attack with a mirroring forward cut, but Niomi kept coming at her, stronger and faster than Ari ever hoped to be.
Ari retreated.
“Think offensively. Make a plan,” Niomi ordered, with a steely determination in her eyes.
My plan is to avoid using my healing kit again. Ari couldn’t manage a response between her jagged breaths. Her arms burned with exhaustion, but she struck out. At the last second, she switched directions, hoping to catch Niomi off guard—like that was even possible.
Ducking low, Niomi avoided the hit and countered. That’s all it took. Before Ari knew it, Niomi had her staff in the back of Ari’s neck and a foot on her lower back.
Spitting out a mouthful of sand, Ari managed to speak. “Give.”
Niomi let go of her immediately and stepped back on the mat. “You can’t give an opponent that big of an opening.”
Ari pushed up on her hands and knees, struggling to catch her breath. Lifting her gaze, she squinted into the partly cloudy sky. “What opponent? You act like I’m going to be a gladiator in the VR programs. Remember, I was hired to program, not fight. I don’t need this.”
Since she joined VisionTech six months ago, she found the training was nothing as she imagined. Hired as a warper, she thought she’d be focused on programing inside the virtual reality world. Warpers were about as rare as conjoined twins. Why waste time on this? Ari still hadn’t figured out why the need for the intense cardio and martial arts training.
Niomi’s bright red lips sucked on her hydro pack. She said she was in her forties, but Ari didn’t see it with Niomi’s muscular body and fierce features. Niomi’s hair was shaved all around except for a strip of long blond hair on top of her head, currently wrapped in a bun.
Done drinking, she focused on Ari. “You also need to step up your cardio. You shouldn’t get so winded this easily.”
Hard Wired Trilogy Page 29