by Rick Scott
“Could be,” Val Helena says and then she points. “Look! Over there!”
We follow the giantess’ arm to a platform a couple tiles over. The Labyrinth Spirit hangs in mid-air, crashing through it. Debris from the platform sparkles in the distance, cascading down its gleaming white skin like droplets of water.
“Whoa!” Becky exclaims. “That thing is huge!”
“Yeah,” Maxis says. “We were trying to avoid it. That’s why we never got any keys to get to you guys. That thing kept crashing the party. What happened inside there anyway?”
I’m still not 100% sure myself. I’m nearly at a loss for words when I try to answer him, but thankfully Aiko beats me to the punch.
“There was a jumping quest,” she says. And then she grins at me. “Reece owned it like a boss. Then he smashed the dungeon core and the whole thing imploded.”
My brother cracks a smile at me. “Dang. Way to go, little bro.”
The compliment embarrasses me a little, as does the lingering gaze from Aiko. But more than that, the mention of the core makes me feel ill at ease. I’m still not certain what even happened when I hit that thing. Like before, I don’t want this to distract us from the critical task at hand, but I’ve learned now not to hide secrets unnecessarily.
“When I touched that core or whatever it was, I think I got teleported someplace,” I say. “I can’t remember exactly but I think I killed one of the monsters. And it gave me this.”
I link the weapon to the party chat.
[1]
Everyone balks when they see it.
“Whoa! What is that?” Maxis says.
“It gave that to you?” Aiko asks.
Val Helena looks equally floored. “A level 99 weapon?”
“How’s that possible?” Rembrandt asks.
“No idea, but it might have something to do with this too. When I exited the sphere I saw a whole bunch of system messages pop up.”
I link that next and their eyes light up with the glow of their HUDs as the wall of text appears before them. I wait for their reactions as they read through. A few seconds go by and then suddenly Becky screams.
“Ahhh!”
She falls to the ground holding her head and we all slam to a halt.
“Becky!” Val Helena cries, dropping down to the ground next to her.
Aiko does the same. “Is she all right? Becks!”
Becky arches her back, still screaming.
“It hurts! Make it stop!”
What the heck?
Then I see something that terrifies me.
Her body flashes with nano-dust and a message appears.
Level Down!
Becky has lost a Level.
Becky is now Level 15!
I check my own XP and see it rapidly depleting. Only one thing was capable of doing that. I look to where we saw the Labyrinth Spirit and don’t see it anymore.
Oh God…
“Guys! Grab her and run! Run for the next tile now!”
We barely have chance to move when a sharp wail pierces the air.
KRRREEEEE!!!
I cover my ears as the sound scrambles my brains. Val Helena grabs Becky from the ground and flings her over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry. We take off and I look behind me to make sure everyone’s running as we head for the edge of the tile.
It’s close! Just 50 feet away…30 feet…20!
The floor lurches upwards with a massive crash! throwing us into the air.
I cry out as do my teammates as the platform rips apart, debris flying everywhere. I rotate in a spin and catch a glimpse of the Labyrinth Spirit bursting through the center of the platform behind us—majestic even in this moment of extreme turmoil. Gravity tugs at my body and I feel myself falling to a platform that’s far below us. Way too far below!
I reflexively cast Shadow Copy, but not all of my friends have that skill.
Their screams grow uncontrollable as we plummet rapidly.
Oh God, no…
I look for my brother and see him flailing next to Rembrandt. Their hit points are already in the orange. They won’t survive this fall! I see Aiko cast Shadow Copy and our eyes lock for a moment. I see the same dread within her stare that’s in my own. We’ve done this before. We can survive this.
But our friends can’t….
* * *
I hit the ground hard in a cloud of nano-dust.
Your shadow absorbs the attack!
Glass and shrapnel pummel the platform surface like hard rain. I roll to safety, narrowly avoiding the falling debris. The screams of my friends cut short as they impact the ground one by one, their final cries of agony echoing in my soul.
Rembrandt takes 4573 fall damage!
Maxis takes 4473 fall damage!
Val Helena takes 3973 fall damage!
Aiko’s shadow absorbs the attack!
Becky takes 4219 fall damage!
Their bodies lay still after impact, unmoving.
No…..NO!!!!
“Mike!” I cry, my heart ripping apart.
I run towards where my brother lay next to Rembrandt, both their HP bars sitting on zero, timers next to their names. I look for Becky next and pray that somehow she’s still alive. Still able to save my brother and all my friends, but I see a zero next to her name as well.
Oh God…
A wail of agony comes from behind me and I turn to see Aiko cradling Becky’s limp body in her arms.
Name: Becky
Sex: Female
Race: Halfling
Class: Celestial Mage
Level: 12
Guild: Nasgar
Level 12???
No… I fall to my knees next to Maxis, my stomach dropping through the floor. This can’t be happening. The Labyrinth Spirit must have drained her too much. She couldn’t save us even if she were still alive. Even if we somehow got out of here there’s no hope of saving Gilly or anyone else! I cry out in anguish, grief and horror tearing at my soul.
This can’t be happening! Tears form in my eyes as I slam my fists into the hard surface of the tile. This can’t be happening!!
“Oh my God…” a voice says softly from above me. “Max…”
I look up to see Val Helena. She’s alive! She’s barely standing, her massive health bar sitting at only 12 hit points, but she’s alive!
“Val…”
She falls to the ground next to me, sobbing with tears in her eyes. “Max!!”
She pulls my brother into her arms and weeps.
I’m beside myself as I watch her. Completely numb.
It’s over…
I continue to stare into empty space as my heart freezes with disbelief. I check Gilly’s timer. Well over 5 minutes left on the clock, but it doesn’t matter anymore. Nothing does now.
“It’s all over,” I say aloud as if needing to hear myself say it.
It’s all over. Everyone’s dead…
Chapter 18: Time Crunch
Bruce exhaled sharply as another round of arguments erupted between Dennis and Dr. Evelyn Munroe. Normally Bruce would be annoyed at the young doctor’s cocky attitude and sharp tongue. But this time she was on his side.
“It’s completely unethical!” Evelyn raised her voice at Dennis. “Refusing to pay for the enhancements of those incapable of full immersion is tantamount to euthanasia!”
Dennis chuckled, bemused. “They should have been euthanized in the womb.”
Her dark eyes sharpened. “What did you just say?”
“Look, Evelyn, those people choose to have those kids outside the system. The system can’t be made responsible for them now. They are numbers we officially know nothing about. We can’t account for them.”
“How many people are we talking about here?” Bob Shultz asked. “Do we have figures?”
Evelyn glanced at him. “We estimate there could be close to five thousand people living off the grid. No neural implants at all.”
“So what’s that?” Bob said, looking around the table. “Less than half a percent of the population?”
The doctor glared at him. “What are you suggesting, Bob? That those are acceptable losses?”
Bob shrugged and looked to Dennis.
“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Dennis said. “What we’re discussing now are details of implementation. But we still haven’t made the final decision as yet. Until we do, this back and forth is rather pointless.”
“I beg to differ,” Bruce said. “It’s essential to the debate.”
“Yes, but are we really choosing to sacrifice over a million lives for the sake of five thousand?” Dennis raised a brow with his rhetorical question. “That’s the real question we’re asking here.” He glanced at his communicator. “I note that we’ve been debating for close to two hours. Does anyone else feel like we’re ready for a vote?”
Bruce’s stomach churned. This moment was inevitable, he supposed.
Martha Kirkwood’s hand was the first to rise. “I think we’ve talked enough. I’d like to motion that the proposal be accepted and we begin making preparation for full immersion of the population.”
Holy heck…Bruce wouldn’t have expected Martha to be the first to jump onboard. She’d barely contributed at all during the debate. Then again, maybe she was more eager to end the meeting and head home than to truly weigh the consequences of all this.
Dennis smiled in Bruce’s direction. “I think we have a motion, Bruce.”
Bruce expertly concealed his grimace. Moment of truth. “The chair recognizes the motion by Martha Kirkwood to accept the proposal for mandatory full population immersion. Do we have a second? Or do we perhaps have anyone who wishes more time to debate?”
Bob’s hand shot into the air. “I sec—”
“I want more time,” Evelyn cut him off.
Thank God…
“I’m not able to make a decision without my earlier concern being addressed,” Evelyn said. “I need a solution that will meet the needs of all our citizens.”
Good ‘ole Evelyn, Bruce thought. She was a true pitbull when it came to getting her point across and she didn’t let him down.
Dennis sighed. “I don’t see what it matters. Bob was just about to second the motion, Evelyn. Even if you and Bruce both voted no, it’ll still pass on majority.”
“I’ll allow more time,” Bruce said.
Dennis squinted at him. “What?”
“It’s an important point,” Bruce said. “I suggest you re-take the floor and do your best to convince Dr. Munroe that her concerns have been addressed.”
Bruce could almost feel the disdain from Dennis’ seething glare.
“Fine,” he said. “If addressing Dr. Munroe’s concerns results in a unanimous vote then it’ll probably be worth it.”
Evelyn nodded smugly in her chair, no doubt feeling some sense of victory.
“And as a small point of order,” Dennis added. “Under our by-laws, a unanimous vote opposed solely by the chair are grounds for triggering a vote of no confidence.”
Bruce’s chest tightened. This sucker was going for blood.
“Not that that’s on the table, Bruce my boy,” Dennis added with a wink and a laugh, passing the comment off as levity again. It got a few chuckles around the table, but Bruce wasn’t laughing. That was a bow shot, pure and clear: ‘Get on board with this, or you might be losing your position.’
Of course that’d be up to Evelyn now and if she consented. But she was already halfway there. And with Bob already showing his hand, Dennis could tell her anything she wanted to hear to secure her assent.
Bruce’s stomach twisted as Dennis took the floor.
The game just got a lot more personal.
* * *
Everyone we came here to save is dead.
Dead with no hope of return.
I try to come to grips with those two facts as I watch Val Helena rock with the body of my dead brother in her arms. I can barely look at him. I’ve separated myself from my emotions. I feel nothing. The digits next to his name on the party list count down in real time. Second for second. No time dilation here.
In one hour I’ll lose my brother, Rembrandt and Gilly.
And Aiko and Val Helena will lose their sister.
Forever.
I don’t even know where they’ll go now.
Becky went inside that sphere when she died here before.
But with it gone, where will they end up? Planet Hell like what Gilly is destined for in just a few minutes’ time? The thought guts me. The access to one simple spell will solve all of this. But it’s as good as being a million miles away.
Nothing can save us now.
How could everything have all gone so wrong so quickly?
“This is all my fault,” Val Helena says next to me.
I look up at the giantess as she frowns. I spy the bedroll on her back that’s holding Gilly and feel a pang of guilt run through my gut as well.
“No, it’s not your fault,” I say. “It’s mine.”
“What?”
“This all boils down to Gilly getting killed,” I say. “If she were alive none of this would have happened. This labyrinth would have been a piece of cake. But we took so many more risks because we didn’t have a healer. And we didn’t have a healer because I let Braxus live when I shouldn’t have.” My throat tightens and my eyes water. “I let that monster live and he killed Gilly and caused all of this. I should have been stronger.”
My fist shakes as I clench it. I have nothing left now. Only a burning hate that I can’t quell.
Val Helena looks down at me, shaking her head. “No, Reece… It was my fault long before any of that. All of this is my doing.”
“What? Val, you can’t blame this on yourself. I was the one who—”
“NO!” Aiko shouts.
We look up startled to see Aiko standing a few feet away, Becky’s body at her feet. Her hands are balled into fists, her face twisted with rage and streaked with tears. “You let her speak, Reece! You let her acknowledge what it is she’s done here! Done to all of us!”
I go from feeling nothing to suddenly feeling on edge. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Aiko act like this before. At least, not to this degree.
She’s practically seething.
I expect Val Helena to fire back at her with hostility, but instead she bawls and buries her head in my brother’s chest. Her big shoulders shake in a series of sobs until finally she looks back up at her sister.
“You were right, okay?” she blurts out. “You were always right. I pushed us! I forced us to come here. Even Becky didn’t want to come. Now look at what I’ve caused.” Val Helena looks down at me, her goddess-like features twisted with guilt and pain. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this, Reece. Dragged you and your family and everyone else! All because I was too stupid and bullheaded to listen to reason! Too selfish! I only wanted us to have fun. But all I brought us was misery and death!”
Aiko lets out a cry, falling to her knees next to Becky.
I don’t know what to think. “Aiko…”
Val Helena suddenly stands next to me, dropping my brother to the ground. “That’s right, Aiko, I did it…I killed Becky. I killed Max. I killed Gilly. I killed Rembrandt. I killed everybody!”
Val Helena releases an anguished scream and runs, heading for the edge of the tile.
My heart leaps into my throat.
She’s not going to stop!
“VAL!!!”
I dash after her, popping Sprint. With only 12 hit points, a fall from any height will kill her! I jump for Val Helena’s legs, grabbing as best I can onto her thighs. It feels like I’m wrestling two tree trunks to the ground, but I managed to hold on and the momentum of our combined weight topples her forward.
We hit the ground and slide to a halt, Val Helena beneath me.
She continues to cry as I slowly ease myself off of her. A split second later Aiko is by
my side. She drags Val Helena’s face off the floor by grabbing the back of her armored bra and holds her head up off the floor.
“You stupid, selfish idiot!” Aiko shouts into her face. “Were you really going to make me lose the only sister I have left?”
Aiko glares at her in pure anger, but I can feel the ferocity of her love as well.
Val Helena breaks down into a sob once more and Aiko eventually does the same. Aiko slides to the floor and the giantess rests her head in her lap, the two of them comforting each other in their tears.
I ease back from both of them, still breathing hard from my tackle.
Geez, that was close.
I don’t know how much more of this I can take.
I look around me. Aiko and Val have gone to pieces. No one else is left alive.
It can’t end like this.
I can’t just let all my friends die.
There has to be some way.
“Guys, we need to think of something.”
Val Helena and Aiko both look at me forlornly.
“Something like what?” Val Helena says bitterly. “We can’t raise anyone. Becky is dead. She’s only Level 12 now anyway. God, I just want to die.”
“Shhh, don’t talk like that,” Aiko says gently while smoothing Val Helena’s hair. They both go quiet as Aiko lowers her head in defeat, her eyes glazed open.
We say nothing to each other for what feels like an hour. Eventually I hear gentle snoring as Val Helena passes out in her sister’s lap, perhaps overcome with grief, shock and despair.
They’ve both given up.
But I can’t yet.
I start thinking of all kinds of crazy ideas. There has to be some way to solve this. I check for that sword again. It’s the one thing that’s out of place here. Maybe it can help. I try to access it but get only a glaring error message in response.
You are not high enough level to use that weapon.
Darn it! What good is it then?
I release a frustrated sigh as I wrack my brain. I have to think of something else. Something more practical. Something that will work within the game rules. Could any of Ziegfried’s men still be alive perhaps? One of the mages? Maybe we could force one of them to raise us all. I check Gilly’s timer.