by Terina Adams
“That you’re still alive. They told me Reg and Malvo are missing.”
Jax snorted an unconvincing laugh like he was questioning her assessment about him being alive, or perhaps it was because of Reg and Malvo. “They’ll be with Holden. We’ve got no time to waste. The other two need to be here ASAP. The longer we delay, the farther Carter moves out of our reach.”
Elva punished the screen of her phone with vicious swipes as she searched for their team’s cell numbers.
Anyone who looked like Jax did now would be holed up in bed for the next week or checking themselves into the closest emergency department. Not wanting to disturb him, I inched down beside him. My presence was perhaps disturbing him; my next question would disturb him more, but he was stuck with me.
Staring at his profile, the good side of his face, I could be forgiven for forgetting the last few days. I wanted to forget the last few days, the fight, the betrayal, but there was no going back to that girl anymore. The chasm within split me in two. On one side stood the girl I knew. On the other, a sacrifice, and from that sacrifice rose a girl I loathed but longed to be. That girl understood the risk, made the choice, committed the unthinkable, and found her strength. But she had to squash the shame and abhorrence for the things she did in order to succeed in the things she had to do. That girl was the side of me Carter had cultivated into being.
I swallowed. “What’s the plan?”
“It doesn’t involve you.”
“I’ll pretend you never said that.”
We locked eyes, mine the stronger, because he only had one with enough penetrating power. I no longer had to try for one of Dad’s death stares. Anger and determination were the driving force behind all my facial expressions now.
“I haven’t just betrayed my father so you can leave me behind, chewing my nails on the couch.”
“Why did you want to leave him there?” His voice softened.
“You were right. He would’ve done the same as Carter. I didn’t want it to be about me, but my reason is also a selfish one.”
“That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I don’t want to fight my dad, not like we will have to fight Carter.”
Jax rested his hand over mine. “That’s a better reason than saving the world.”
“I hate that you always say the right things.” It was the perfect thing to say. Just like he is. “What’s your plan?” Don’t, don’t, just don’t. It will hurt you too much. I forced myself to look away from his good eye. How long could I deny that my feelings for him had changed?
“We must reach the Dome.”
“I can’t believe you haven’t done that already.”
“Carter monitored each game. We had no way of reaching that far without him knowing.”
“I don’t understand why it’s necessary. It’s a game. Carter’s not in the game. Everything he plans to do is here, real life.”
“The Dome is the end. It’s always been the end. We need to know what we face. In this game, surprises are deadly. And I’m not just talking about Dominus.”
“The final confrontation.” I echoed the words he spoke the first time I entered Dominus.
Elva returned, the high heels of her boots puncturing the wood floor with her forceful strides. Was it that she infected my mood or the other way around? “They’ll be here soon. One thing I should tell you—Carter turned up here a couple hours ago.”
“I would’ve been surprised if he hadn’t.”
“He was only interested in Dominus.”
Jax waited silently for her to elaborate.
“I’m not sure what he did; he was in there a while. I stayed upstairs. I couldn’t face him. At that point, I wasn’t sure what happened to you.”
Jax pushed to his feet. When he reached halfway, he slowed and gripped his side. “There’s only one way to know what Carter did.”
No point asking him if he felt strong enough to enter Dominus, for I knew what sort of answer I would receive. I followed him into the gaming room, surprised to see everything looked untouched. At the very least, I expected tables overturned and monitors smashed, not the room looking as it did the last time I was here. Perhaps he stripped the game from the computer.
Jax headed to the terminals, Elva to the cupboard. “Everything’s still in here.” She pulled the equipment out.
“What if we entered without the suits? Wouldn’t we be invisible?”
“To ourselves, yes.” Her voice was laced with the sarcasm she nurtured especially for me. “The computer would still register our movement.”
“We’re in.”
The word Dominus filled the screen, a magnet that had my feet moving to stand beside Jax.
How long had it been? Forty-eight hours, more, less? Time coalesced, but the feelings did not. As I stared at the word Dominus, each discrete memory brought its own suffering. Finally, this was our choice, and we were choosing to enter. I wanted to hunt Holden down, rescue Mum and Ajay, not enter the game. But to find my family, I had to be in Jax’s world, and I needed him for that. Besides, he stymied his plans so I could see my father first. To follow without complaint—that’s what I owed him.
The game came to life, but rather than bark the orders to gear up, Jax stared at the screen. This dragged Elva over, jumpsuit in hand. The silent exchange between them ran heebie-jeebies up my spine.
“What is it?”
Ignoring my question, he fingered the jumpsuit in Elva’s hand. “It looks fine. At least he left the equipment alone.”
I captured his attention by pushing in front of Elva, separating the two. “What is it?”
“You can’t come. The four of us will enter. We’ll move quick, find what we need to know, and then return.”
“What? I’m not staying here on my own.”
“Carter won’t come back. This is the safest place for you.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Sable, don’t. Now is not the time to fight me.”
“Let her come… if she so desperately wants to,” Elva said.
Despite his damaged features, I could still read the frustration on his face.
“Tell me why you don’t want me to come.”
“Carter has messed with the game. The lowest level we can enter is Level Nine.”
“At least the game is still active.”
Jax shook his head. “You don’t understand me. You can’t play at Level Nine.”
“And you can?” I flicked a glance over his wrecked body.
“You can’t keep protecting her.” I’d never heard softness in Elva’s voice. I looked over my shoulder to remind myself it was her who spoke and was surprised to see the softening of her voice had followed through to her expression. Was it Jax’s compassion for me, the daughter of the murderer, that strummed the note on her fierce loyalty and deep passion?
“She’s involved. You want to protect her, then get out of her way.”
Wow, was I hearing this? Elva on my side. And it didn’t sound like she wanted me dead. The opposite, she wanted me to thrive.
The damage to Jax’s face distorted his expression, but there was no hiding the defeat, it echoed through his body, rounded his shoulders, and forced his gaze to the floor. I hadn’t realized until now how nice Jax’s hand felt cradled in mine as I folded my palm around it. “It’s time you trusted me.”
“You’ve played a handful of times.”
“You’re not in the best shape, Jax. It’s me who needs to protect you.”
That one eyebrow rose again. Even his mouth twitched into a pained smile. “How about we protect each other? All of us.” His gaze expanded to sweep Elva in then came back to me. “We enter in game mode. Once you’re in Aris HQ, the computer will launch a major attack.”
Ouch. Not something I wanted to be reminded of. “You need Persal on your side if you want to reach the Dome.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but a Persal would come in handy,” Elva said.
The
moment was diffused by the entrance of Patrick, aka Striker, and Nuke. Patrick’s jaunty strides as he crossed the floor eased the suffocation in the air, the result of our conversation. His warm smile beamed across the room and right into my heart. “Jeez, girl, that’s some handy work of yours.”
I’m not sure my replying smile matched his enthusiasm. “Thanks. As impressive as it may look, I failed.”
“Not from where we’re standing,” Nuke said. “Carter’s unhinged.”
“Perhaps we could save awarding gold stars until after we exit Dominus,” Elva said.
“Wow, man.” Ignoring Elva’s verbal stab, Patrick came alongside Jax. “You look like hell.”
“We going in again?” Nuke asked.
Elva threw Nuke a suit. “Level Nine.”
Nuke caught his suit one-handed. “And the reason for the high-level fun?”
“Carter’s messed with the game,” Elva replied as she tossed me a suit.
Jax pulled the silver dots from a metal box, handing some to me first. “For you.”
“Why just me?”
“It’s not just for you. We all have to wear some; otherwise, we can’t control our avatars. And it would be good to keep tabs on your power status. The rest of us are experienced enough with our ability. But I would feel better if you had a way of monitoring what’s going on up here.” He tapped the side of his head.
“I already know what’s going on in my head. I don’t need a computer to tell me. I know what it feels like now. I know when my power’s coming through, and I know how to moderate it.”
“It can get tricky in Dominus.”
“I know what it’s like. I’ve been inside, remember?” There was an edge of defense in my voice. Was he questioning my ability to control myself, because of what happened last time?
His one-eyed gaze lacked power. “We won’t get through this if we can’t agree.”
“Nor will we if you don’t trust me.”
“This is not about trust.”
“What’re we playing, footsies or Dominus?” Elva’s dry tone pulled us out of our stalemate.
Jax leaned in close. “I know what it’s like to lose people I love.” And then he left me. I watched his back as he crossed to the mat. Once zipped up in his white jumpsuit, he merged with the back wall.
What did he mean? Sure, I knew what the surface statement meant. But was there something deeper? Or was it me peeling through layers that didn’t exist? He’d set my mind spinning. Did I want there to be something deeper? Jesus, I did.
Life has meaning because our hearts dictate it so. Take away that one truth and we function; that is all. But our true purpose is to thrive, and to thrive is to share our heart, stitch the tears, patch the wounds, and risk doing it again and again and again.
“Our objective is the Dome,” Jax said, cutting through my epiphany.
Nuke released a low whistle. “We’re going to be running in circles down there.”
Jax pulled the arm of his suit up to his elbow. “Not if I can help it.”
“Thank God someone thought ahead. Hope it’s accurate enough,” Patrick said.
“Is anyone worried about the Persal?” Nuke looked at me. “No offense, but the tunnel is in Aris HQ.”
“Discussion’s been had. She’s coming.” Elva strode across to the mat, minus her high heels but no less imposing.
Jax hid the map beneath his jumpsuit again. “Business as usual. We’ve done this before. Nothing changes. The Dome has its weakness; we’ve just got to find out where.” He switched to game mode. As in his voice, his mind no doubt switched too.
I followed everyone across, taking my position. There was just the five of us on the mat facing each other in a circle. As if sensing some profound moment, Jax stayed quiet. Before we lowered the goggles, I glanced at everyone’s faces, but saw nothing in their expressions to reveal the secrets of their thoughts. Elva stared at Jax with her usual barbed expression. Jax was a wall, and the other two looked like they were preparing for a parachute drop or some other similar harmless high-octane sport. We were strangers, Jax and Elva so far apart from the rest of us they were from a different world. Four Aris and one Persal. I would choose to enter the game with these four and no one else. This moment was like the in-between, where nothing happened but anything was possible, the place where our differences were shed and we stood as equals. This was a time where we could all be family.
“How many kills to get out?” I asked.
Jax rested his hands on his goggles, about to lower them into place. “Just keep killing.”
Chapter 4
Once the goggles were down, we ran. I staggered for a moment when I glanced to the corner of my vision to see my kill quota. Sixty. The digital clock stayed at zero, which was something, I guessed.
“What happened to landing us where we wanted to be?” Nuke asked.
“I don’t have control over our location.” Although we were at the beginning of the game, Jax already sounded strained.
“I can’t wait to torch that asshole,” Elva said.
Despite her acidic words, stirring the fury she no doubt cooked inside, she slowed her pace to keep in line with Jax. We all did. How long could he keep this up and still expect to fight? I’d suggest walking to spare him, but that would be like throwing gasoline into flames. Jax would hate the suggestion of weakness.
The tri-blade nudged against my left thigh as I ran, the dagger against my right, both vital to my survival, but more so what swam below my skin. Inside the game and destruction roamed the entirety of my body, tensing muscles coiled to spring. In the real world, I shied from that part of myself. In Dominus, I wrapped it around me like a cloak. Destruction was me, and I was that other girl who risked all for what she believed in.
The Central Airways terminal loomed over the buildings ahead, its bulbous top soaring toward the giant moon. Skytrains swarmed around the platforms, messing up the view with their metallic bodies. Behind that was the Dome, dwarfing the terminal with its cruel, spired majesty. Its glass glistening like dew on spiderwebs in the morning sun.
Everyone diverted left across the street, which gave me hope we were near Aris HQ. As if my thoughts jinxed our progress, a harsh cry sounded from behind. I spun to find a large warrior pounding up the rear like the Terminator on steroids. My tri-blade found my hand when a blur knocked past me and descended on the warrior. The speed at which Jax dispatched the huge warrior by ripping his head from his body could only mean I had to be moving in slow motion. This was Level Nine. I had to remember that. The skill and speed of our opponents would be considerable. What the hell had I walked into?
Because I missed the kill, my skills status bar, having risen, slid back out of orange. I spun away from the carnage, preparing for the onslaught. All it took was one attack, and the rest followed. Ordinary people became our enemy.
An Amazonian woman sprinted ahead of the pack. She was mine, because my tri-blade planted itself deep within her chest. The reaction natural, I barely had to think. Like a gentle caress, destruction soothed along my skin, the feel an addiction. My power status bar registered the caress and shot through to red. I inhaled the metallic smell of blood and flexed my fingers. And there was that feeling again. The same one I felt the last time I played—the feeling of mastery. I was someone now. That’s how destruction made me feel.
The coolness of my tri-blade as it appeared in my hand grounded me back into the game.
The game had just begun.
Chaos surrounded me, but I dragged my focus back inside and concentrated on the calm spawned from destruction, my true nature. My mind shut out the peripheral and tuned to the necessary, picking off my next target. And that one act sent my skills status bar through halfway, nudging up to tinge red.
Elva rode the back of a warrior dressed in blue. Her teeth sank into his neck, her nails piercing through his throat. The other three were similarly engaged. They had their game to play, so I shut them out. My eyes fell on the woman in green.
The tattoo behind her left ear told me she was one of my family—according to Holden—just like he was supposed to be.
This time, I used the dagger, taking her through the back of the neck, because I needed the tri-blade to cut the maroon warrior off as he ploughed his way toward Nuke.
Level Nine and the game was fast, which meant the return of my weapons came just as fast, but faster still, I released them again. My body was not my own. It moved in a way I’d never possessed before. My weakness in sport, coordination, was now my strength. But through the bellows of war, the snapping of bone, and the cries of anguish, I had no time to marvel at my skill.
I couldn’t help but glance to the right of my vision. The digital clock stayed motionless; we weren’t on a timer, and our enemies were NPCs, which meant they were easily dispatched without consequences.
The moment that thought flicked into my brain, any courage and skill I felt I gained withered as the memory of my last fight arose.
Not your fault. Not your fault. Not your fault. I continued the mantra as I aimed my tri-blade once more. To end this fight, all I had to do was release destruction, send a lethal injection through the closest warrior, and let it infect the rest. Destruction agreed, tumbling along a restless path beneath my containment.
His name was Harris, but I couldn’t speak the name, not now, maybe not ever. His eyes still bored through mine, his blood-soaked breath still brushed my cheeks, and his blade still marked my stomach. But he would never do any of that again. I had seen to that. The claim of self-defense wasn’t easy to accept because he was not evil. We’d both been victims. But staring into his eyes, I’d known in that moment only one of us could survive.
Plagued by the past, my body kept moving. I released my weapons without focusing on my aim. I twisted, dodged, ducked, aimed, sliced, kicked. These were motions my body followed, fueled by the violence surrounding me, fueled by an internal instinct, fueled by another force separate but a part of me. Until someone wrenched my arm down.
“Fun’s over. Let’s go.” Wasting no time, Jax headed off down the road, hand clutched to his side in his pained run.