Battlecraft VR

by Linden Storm

  The third time she does it, Harold tears his gaze away from the screen and joins her. In and out, in and out. He feels lightheaded, but he knows it’s just excitement. And dread.

  Jimmy Wishkowski’s ex-wife is dead, which means the kidnappers are just as bad as he thought—or maybe worse than he’d feared. They’re probably in the arena right now, waiting for their shot at the Untouchables, including his grandson, including sweet William, fierce Paul, and those magnificent young women.

  At least the match will be over within twenty minutes. The walls are continuing to shrink steadily, closing in on Faramore.

  Rupert is on the phone with his personal security detail, and the Elven Knights have been alerted. But Harold is still worried. He shifts his attention to the screen and tries to breathe.

  “This is really problematic, coming through the southeast woods where several of the remaining Lords are well hidden in the trees,” Lane says.

  “You’ve got to give the Untouchables credit, though, Lane. These guys—and gals—are here to fight.”

  “Did I hear you right, J.T.?” Lane says.

  “You heard me, Lane. You have to give the Untouchables all the credit in the world for making it this far.”

  “You’ve got to pick your fights at this stage, though, J.T., and it appears that all but one of the Untouchables are storming the manor from the south, through the woods. There’s cover there for them, but that means there’s cover for the Lords as well. We know where the Lords are, remember, but the Untouchables don’t, unfortunately for them. You’ve got three extremely capable sharpshooters in well-hidden in treetops right now, waiting.”

  “The Untouchables have got to get their running shoes on and hope for the best.”

  “Oh, look! There they go now, fanning out through the woods.”

  “This is huge for them.”

  “Wait. Wait. They’re pulling back.”

  “Uh, oh, what now?”

  Harold snaps his attention to the Untouchables stream. They are pulling back at the southeast corner of the map.

  Hurry, he thinks, whatever you do, hurry, Marina.

  The Untouchables are in rigs on the huge stage, fully exposed to criminal rogue cop- snipers from the real world.

  End this match now, Marina, Harold thinks, so we can get you to a safe place.

  ∆∆∆

  Marina shivers as she imagines Ryu hunkered down in the manor tower, which looks like a cartoon wedding cake, ten layers, each smaller than the one below, and at the top, like a foul surprise, the best sniper on the game.

  By now he’ll have explosive crossbow bolts and the most powerful crossbow, a level ten or eleven, which will give him an extremely long range, excellent accuracy, and superior reload speed.

  He’ll be waiting, stockpiled ammo close to hand.

  His view will be to the south, over the woods. He’ll know where his own people are; any movement outside those positions will be his to obliterate.

  The question is, how carefully will he watch his flank? And can Belle stay silent and invisible long enough to sneak up on him?

  ∆∆∆

  Belle crawls the last few yards from the smithy to the manor grounds. She has to physically crouch and pump her arms and legs, and she’s getting tired. Sweat is coursing down her back inside her suit. So far, the extra effort is paying off. No one has detected her.

  From her point of view, the manor is heavily fortified, but deserted.

  Surrounded by high fences made of pointed poles, probably tripwires and mines as well.

  Through the spyglass she looted from M5’s healer, she can see the ground has been disturbed all around the only tower entrance—indeed, the ground is rough all around the tower base.

  She decides to retreat for now. She needs to find another way.

  She hails Marina.

  “I need the dragon, she says. “There’s a minefield around the tower.”

  “There’s no time,” Marina says.

  “It won’t take long. I’ll glide down, enter through a high window, and send the dragon back to you.”

  “It’s not fully trained yet. It won’t come to a whistle, and whistling would give your position away in any case. One of us will have to drop you and pilot the dragon back here. And what if Ryu sees you?”

  “It’s dangerous but the grounds are thoroughly mined,” Belle says. “Trust me, there’s no way in.”

  “He’s camping up there,” Nick says. “Smart move.”

  “Ryu is a smart player,” Marina says. “Listen, I’m sending Nick with the dragon. That way he can heal you with a short-range bubble if you get hit on the way down. He can also get the dragon back to us. Keep the lines from the chute either very long or very short.”

  “Long will be better. That way I can swing. He’ll be able to see the chute but not me. Get busy now enchanting some lines for me.”

  “I do not love this plan,” Marina says. But she is already at work on the lines, and they swiftly disappear, taking on the coloration of whatever they’re surrounded by.

  “Feeling lucky, today, Belle?” William says.

  “I never feel lucky,” Belle says. “But I have to do this. It’s our only chance to take Ryu out. And the only way to win is to take Ryu out.”

  “Nick, are you willing to fly the dragon in?” Marina says.

  “I think it’s crazy,” Nick says. “But I’ll do it.”

  ∆∆∆

  Nick is huffing and puffing. He’s tired. Sweat is pooling uncomfortably in his armpits and crotch. He wishes he was in better shape. If he was in better shape, he’d be a better player, a better teacher, and a more popular celebrity spokesperson.

  But time is ticking away. He shakes his head. Focus.

  He mounts the dragon just as Belle arrives at their rendezvous point at the edge of the woods. She hops on behind him.

  “Go,” she says.

  They take off. Belle doesn’t waste any time. Her chute is packed, and Marina has enchanted her lines to make them invisible. Belle has used a potion that will keep her invisible for two minutes and ten seconds, no longer. She’ll have to be inside the tower by then.

  She hopes Marina has everyone ready to go. This operation will take precise timing.

  ∆∆∆

  “One more time,” Marina says on the team channel. “As soon as Belle jumps, we move. Ryu will be distracted, trying to shoot her down. But he’ll be guessing, wasting ammo, and giving us enough time to gain some ground. Remember to keep your armor on, all of it. There are still three of them to contend with, besides Ryu, and they’re almost certainly all between us and the manor right now, hiding in the trees. The objective is simple. Stay alive. Take damage if you must, but take the time to heal at least halfway before moving. This is a game of last man standing. All it takes to win is for one of us to survive. Repeat after me: ‘All it takes is one.’”

  “All it takes is one,” they all say.

  “You sound like bad robo-voices,” Marina says, sighing. “Okay. Go now. Good luck.”

  Marina brings up the rear. Paul is in front of her, and he runs through a small meadow toward cover.

  He’s not five yards into the meadow before a headshot takes him out.

  ∆∆∆

  Paul can’t believe it. Who got him? How?

  He’s blind and dead for good, and he takes his headset off.

  He feels sick. He sinks to the floor, wraps his arms around his head, and settles down to wait out the game to the end.

  The arena noise is deafening. Whatever happens, he thinks, we’ve done our best.

  ∆∆∆

  “Shit,” Belle says. “Paul’s gone. How are we going to win with no sniper?’

  “Concentrate on what you’re doing, Belle,” Marina says, breathing hard. “What did we just say, everyone?”

  “Last man standing,” they repeat, but the tone has slid from quiet and despondent.

  “I’m jumping now,” Belle says. “You’ll have better lu
ck when you have the dragon back.”

  She jumps, and just after she’s away from the dragon’s back, there’s a giant explosion. The dragon goes down in a ball of fire, taking Nick with it.

  “What happened?” Belle says. “There’s smoke everywhere. I can’t see anything.”

  “Ryu shot the dragon out of the sky. He must have a canon up there,” Marina says. “Nick and the dragon are both out.”

  Belle groans.

  “I hope that was his only cannonball,” William says.

  “Shit shit shit shit shit fuck,” Belle says. “Marina? Are you there?”

  ∆∆∆

  Marina’s stomach is tied in a big old knot. They’re so screwed. But she’s not going to give up. Not yet.

  “Listen,” she says. “There are four of them now and three of us. We can still do this. Belle? Where are you?”

  “I’m in the tower,” Belle says. “I landed on a window sill on the fifth floor and I’m making my way up. He must suspect I’m here somewhere, but I don’t think he’s detected me yet.”

  “He can’t know for sure,” William says. “He’s hoping he shot you down.”

  “He’s right,” Marina says. “William? Let’s make some noise.”

  “Okay, then,” William says, and he starts running at top speed. Marina can see him up ahead, weaving through the trees, and she runs like mad in her own random, weaving pattern.

  But there are shots coming rapidly, seemingly from all around.

  Marina sees movement in the top of a tree to the northeast and shoots at it, spamming crossbow bolts. She uses nearly all her bolts, but she gets the kill.

  “Three to three,” she says. “We can do this.”

  William stops behind a good-sized tree to heal, but the tree explodes into flame.

  “William!” Marina says.

  She waits and listens, but William doesn’t respond. Which can mean only one thing.

  “He’s gone,” Belle says. “It’s just us. What now? What’s the plan?”

  “Belle,” Marina says, breathing hard. She can feel Ryu searching the trees for her. He’ll spot her soon if he hasn’t already. Her only option is to keep moving and hope the best sniper in the game misses her.

  Which means the team's only hope is Belle.

  “Don’t give up,” Marina says fiercely. “I’m going to go out in a spectacular manner. Wait for my maneuver and then act immediately.”

  “Wait—” Belle says.

  But Marina doesn’t wait. She’s acutely aware of the walls shimmering behind her, closer in the southerly direction, moving inexorably toward her position and pushing her toward Ryu, who, with astounding luck, seems to be positioned perfectly in the center of the circle.

  She runs.

  ∆∆∆

  “Fuuuuu—” William says. “Was that a long-range flamethrower?” He rips his helmet off and jumps down from his rig. He’s sweating and panting.

  “I think so, man,” Paul says. “I’ve never even heard of that. They must have figured out how to craft one.”

  Nick puts a meaty arm around him. William is grateful for the physical support.

  With Paul on one side and Nick on the other, he watches Marina and Belle in their rigs for a few moments, then shifts his attention to a screen and watches Belle’s POV camera. Belle is climbing the tower, avoiding the main ladder—and Ryu’s fatal explosive arrows, which he shoots regularly down the ladder hole, just in case anyone’s foolish enough to try it.

  Belle’s not foolish, though—far from it. She scales the outside walls, moving around the circumference, pausing on each level to catch her breath, then going again.

  In her rig, her chest is rising and falling rapidly, her strong arms and legs pulling her up and up.

  Marina’s POV shows trees, thick undergrowth, narrow paths, everything rushing by as she weaves and dodges her way to the menacing tower. Now and again something explodes near her, but she keeps going.

  Nick nudges William’s arm and points to Belle’s screen. She’s reached her destination, high in the Faramore tower. She squats in the rig and her breathing slows. William can’t see her face—it’s covered by the helmet—but he can almost hear her thinking. If there’s one thing he knows about Belle, especially after their real-world ordeal, it’s that she won’t give up.

  All that angst, all that energy, it's hell to deal with sometimes, but it has its advantages. It enables her to focus and kick ass in the game when it counts.

  “I think they can do it,” William says. “Just the two of them.”

  “You know I’m not about to count those two out,” Paul says. “I’ve learned my lesson where that’s concerned.”

  Nick grins. “You guys are dreaming, but it’s a great dream.”

  ∆∆∆

  Belle doesn’t like her chances against Ryu. His job is easy: camp at the top, wait for her to climb up, and deliver his headshot the moment she comes into view. If she tries to scale the narrow ladder in the middle of the tower, he’ll get her for sure.

  Her biggest problem right now is sound. This close to him, she won’t be able to mask the noise of her approach. If she makes a sound, he will know her position. It might be better to try to climb the outside and go in a window, but if he hears her and strafes her location, she’ll fall, dying from the weapons hit or the fall.

  The closer she gets to the top, the more likely it is that he’ll hear her. She needs Marina’s distraction, but even with a perfectly timed diversion, she doubts she’ll be able to scramble up fast enough to take advantage of it.

  The Lords now have two nearly insurmountable advantages: Ryu’s height and their numbers. It’s now three against two.

  Belle doesn’t like their chances, not at all, but neither is she ready to give up.

  “Belle,” Marina whispers. “I’ve crafted a hang-glider. After I locate the two designated sharpshooters out here in the trees, I’m going to try to kill them, get to the roof of the inn, and then hang-glide into the tower. Ryu might be more interested in shooting me down than in watching for you. Be ready.”

  Belle wants to yell at Marina to wait and think, to come up with a better plan. But she sees the map shrinkage is forcing their hand. If they wait too long, Marina will be on the wrong side of the barrier. Disqualified.

  Marina’s play is desperate, but it’s the only option.

  “You can do it,” Belle says. “Go now.”

  Marina dons her toughest armor and heaviest weapons and charges forward. She identifies the position of one sharpshooter; he’s sitting in a tree fifty yards to her northwest. She’s out of crossbow bolts, so she takes careful aim with her best bow and hits him in the head with an explosive arrow, then, when he falls out of the tree, she runs up and stabs him in the neck with a dagger.

  “One down,” she says. She can feel the vibration—the arena crowd going wild.

  One more sharpshooter in the trees.

  She hangs back as long as she can, until she feels the icy blast that indicates the wall approaching. She inches forward, scans the area between her and the tower, and detects movement straight ahead.

  Her opponent is crouched behind a fallen log. She climbs a nearby tree, keeping the trunk between her and her opponent. He won’t be able to see her until she gets to the treetop. By then, she hopes, she’ll be able to shoot him from above, then jump down and finish him off.

  She hits him, but he begins healing quickly. She leaps out of the tree just ahead of the moving wall, stabs him on her way past, and lets the wall finish him off.

  Then she runs as fast as she can toward the inn. Ryu will be watching for her, she knows. And that’s what she wants. She needs to keep him occupied long enough for Belle to climb that tower and kill him.

  ∆∆∆

  “Wow, J.T., who could have predicted this?” Lane says, his voice veering into hysterical territory.

  “Not me, Lane,” J.T. says, bugging his eyes out at the camera. “But in the end, I don’t think it’ll matt
er. Ryu is the best sniper and arguably still the best overall player in the game. He has to take out two opponents now, but he’s gotten lucky and positioned himself in the middle of the final circle, plus he holds the high ground.”

  “These women have been formidable throughout the match, though, wouldn’t you say, J.T.?”

  J.T. swallows hard. “I hate to admit it, Lane, but Belle and Marina are tough. Their chemistry, their crafting, their knowledge of the maps, and their positioning—well, on those fronts they’re second to none.”

  “But Marina’s got to get her running shoes on. Dodging Ryu’s expert aim in the barren no man’s land around that tower is going to be pretty much impossible. Both of the remaining Untouchables had better bring their A game to this final battle.”

  ∆∆∆

  Marina runs as fast as she can while bent double and zig-zagging. Ryu delivers a glancing arrow blow to her shoulder, but she ignores it. There’s no time to stop and heal.

  She’s on a suicide mission anyway.

  She pumps her arms and legs, pushing past the pain in her legs, feet, and arms.

  She’s almost to the inn when something else hits her from behind: the wall.

  She’s caught in it.

  She tries to break free, but she can’t.

  She’s dead.

  She screams in frustration as she rips her headset off. William, Nick, and Paul surround her and pull her out of her rig, then hold her up as her knees liquefy.

  ∆∆∆

  “Marina!” Belle says, under her breath.

  But her dashboard shows Marina’s life winking out.

  It’s just her and Ryu now, and Ryu is looking for her. All he really has to do now is wait.

  Unless she moves toward the center of the tower, the wall will get her.

  The moment she moves to the center, she'll be in the ladder hole. At some point she'll have to get on the ladder to escape the walls, and Ryu will get her.

  All he has to do is survive her for a microsecond.

  She can hear him above her, positioning himself at the top of the ladder, laughing softly.