Echoes: The Ten Sigma Series Book 3

by A W Wang

  A moment later, the golden sparkles appear.

  Forty-Six

  I materialize into the semicircle with five other survivors from the scenario.

  Cat sits across from me. The taut muscles in her face and fury blazing from her narrowed eyes says everything. As soon as the golden sparkles dissipate, she’s on her feet, and the diatribe continues as she marches toward me. “The woman with the red mane? You think you’ll ever get back those memories? She’s gone!”

  I rise and say in as reasonable a tone as I can manage, “She’s my reason for being in this program.”

  Dark laughter spills from her lips. “You stupid, silly man. She’s not what drives you, and she’s not why you’re here. She wasn’t even your last memory. You told me, remember?”

  I nod, vaguely recollecting the conversation we had after a practice session in the exercise cube.

  “That temper of yours, the anger? That’s what drives you.”

  A pop arrives in the background, and incense laden with notes of lavender and jasmine spills past.

  We both ignore the dragon avatar.

  “The woman with the red mane you’re so infatuated with? You’re only afraid of losing her because you couldn’t save the first love of your life.”

  “What?” I say with disbelief.

  “You had a girlfriend in high school. One you were going to marry.”

  When I don’t react, she says, “No recollections, nothing?”

  I shake my head.

  “Well, it resonated something inside of you because I played that girl in the stories we made up. You’ve got a spot in your heart for high-school sweethearts.”

  “So what?”

  “Your parents hated the two of you dating. This girl was from the wrong side of the tracks. During your last summer of high school, you got her pregnant, but you never found out until it was too late. They wouldn’t let her talk to you.”

  While I don’t have any specific memories, I know computers and high-speed links make communication simple in the real world.

  “That’s impossible. There are a million ways for people to get in touch with each other.”

  “Oh, Vic, you just don’t get how all the pieces fit together. Ever wonder why you hate software so much?”

  I swallow a pool of saliva. “I guess you’re going to tell me.”

  She nods with a smirk. “Your father ran a high-tech company. He got his programmers to hack your comm AI to block the data feeds and video calls from her.”

  Although the words don’t trigger anything, my insides twist like a punch in the gut, and my soul tumbles into the dark depths of oblivion.

  “That explains a lot,” internal me adds.

  Cat snorts out another humorless laugh. “What? No snappy answers? No stupid, inane jokes?”

  Heat rushes to my face as I slowly shake my head.

  “Don’t get me wrong. Your parents didn’t want anything bad to happen. Hell, from your telling, they didn’t even know she was pregnant. They just wanted you to do well in college and move on.”

  “So, what happened?”

  “Well Vic, I guess she didn’t have the money to go visit you. So alone and frightened, she killed herself. You’re only here because you can’t let go of the second love of your life.”

  Although I grit my teeth and my hands clench, no argument spills from my lips. Not because I don’t have any memories of these people, but because my angry behavior after the loss of my optimism speaks volumes.

  The awful story is true.

  Cat’s not finished, and spittle flies with her next words. “And that’s why I never wanted to train you. Because every relationship I’ve ever had turns bad. And while I don’t remember any of them, I know you were the worst. You were just using me to get your sorry ass out of here.”

  When she stops, only faint snorting from Chew and people shifting in their chairs break the deathly silence.

  As I wipe a droplet of saliva from my face, I know without even looking that Jinn’s lips are drawn into a smirk.

  “Perhaps now would be a good time to sit?” internal me suggests.

  I set my jaw. Instead of taking the smart advice, I think of Jet and her litany of statements about Cat.

  “She has her dark places too. But what drives her isn’t going to help anyone get out of here. Especially you.”

  Despite her many flaws, Jet never lied, and she understood people better than anyone. All her innuendo points to a single conclusion, and now unencumbered by optimism or fake history, my simmering anger explodes.

  “Since we’re being truthful, let me say something. The only reason you wanted to be with me was so you could get rid of my past and make me into your ideal husband.”

  “I wanted to save you.”

  With the dam broken, a torrent of rage pours from my mouth. “You never cared about me. I may not have fighting talent, but I know people. Everything you touch gets poisoned. You consume every part of the other person until nothing is left. And that’s why all your relationships turn sour.”

  “Oh, you’re so smart about people? Have you ever turned that talent on yourself? Maybe you could figure out what’s wrong with you.”

  I ball my hands and plow ahead. “Played my sweetheart from high school? Well, that’s one way to ingratiate yourself into a relationship. You didn’t want me to stop cutting my arm to save me. You wanted to eliminate the competition. Your cloying, overly controlling, passive-aggressiveness ruined everything you were ever part of. It’s not that you’re afraid of getting close to people who won’t let you leave. It’s that you get obsessed with people and won’t let them leave.”

  Although fury radiates from Cat’s eyes, she doesn’t argue against the truth of my statement.

  “That’s enough,” Chew says, sliding between us.

  I unclench my fists, a little startled by the ease with which I shift toward violence.

  Uncomfortable moments pass with only incense-laden huffs from Chew breaking the quiet.

  I take a deep breath as Cat’s words about my past fade from my memory. “Look Cat, I let my anger about my parents get the best of me.”

  She makes slow, sad shakes of her head. “You’re not mad at your parents. You never bothered checking up on your high-school sweetheart for the first couple of weeks because you were having too much fun. Just one call and everything could have been avoided. The person you really hate is yourself. That’s where the dark streak comes from.”

  As the truth of the statement weighs on me, she turns to Chew. “There’s a program to get out of this place at an accelerated pace. I volunteer.”

  The ruby eyes pulsate as the dragon says, “You must be very sure of your decision. Once part of this special program, there is no turning back.”

  Cat glances at me and says, “I’m positive.”

  “Very well,” the dragon replies.

  “No, Cat. What about slow and steady?”

  “The odds are still the same. If I’m going to die, then I’m going to die.” As the golden sparkles cover her face, she turns away and softly says, “But at least I’ll die away from you.”

  After she disappears, the bewildered expressions in the semicircle turn to me—except for Jinn, who stares straight ahead, the edges of his lips still curled into a smirk.

  I control an urge to mash the smug expression and pinch the bridge of my nose, letting my thoughts settle.

  Like the twisted days after my first team was annihilated, I’m again alone. Just like the individuality that the Ten Sigma Program demands. And this time, without the veneer of any past to cover my true self.

  However, rather than unchecked anger consuming my being, I fill with a purpose: to see the woman with the red mane as quickly as possible.

  My sole reason for being in this forsaken place.

  But I’m only close to five sigmas and not even halfway through the journey. I think of all the hardships I’ve endured so far. This new program will duplicate the trials but at
a much faster pace.

  While I’ve improved by leaps and bounds, the whole notion is daunting at best.

  One final sentiment rises—despite the blowup, I still have feelings for Cat because of all we’ve been through.

  I pinch my lips from guilt.

  My last words were harsh; our relationship shouldn’t end on such an awful note. Even though she and I will never again be close, I can’t let her face the test alone. We’re a pair and can face whatever is coming together.

  “Chew,” I say quietly, “I volunteer too. Send me with Cat.”

  The ruby eyes pulsate again as the avatar recites the same script. “You must be very sure of your decision. Once part of this special program, there is no turning back.”

  Although I still have doubts, I say, “Yes, I’m sure.”

  “Very well,” the dragon replies.

  Jinn snorts in disgust.

  I glance at the worthless and sanctimonious scumbag. My hatred of everything spikes, and I can’t resist sending one more barb. “Looks like I’ll be seeing the goddess first. I’ll make sure to tell her how worthy you are.”

  While his superior expression wavers, I send him a two-fingered salute and one last sneer.

  His glare of jealousy warms my heart.

  Then the golden sparkles arrive, and I leave the prep room for the last time.

  Forty-Seven

  Curls of misty white drift past as I float in a vast and perhaps infinite space. Everything close is blurry, but many dots are clearly visible in the distance.

  Am I in heaven?

  “No, you are not,” an unknown but unmistakably female voice says from next to my ear.

  At least from where my ear should be. I glance down and see only a hazy, indistinct smudge. When I try to breathe, no lungs exist to catch any breaths. Even worse, there isn’t a heart in my body.

  Panic flashes through me, and I thrash, creating waves in the strange medium.

  “Stop trying to make sense of this place. I’ll have you at your new location in no time,” my companion says reassuringly.

  I’m still struggling to adjust when an invisible force grabs me.

  As clouds rush by, the voice says, “Listen carefully, you still need to reach ten sigmas to return to the real world. This special part of the program will be a single campaign which, should you emerge victorious, will have odds great enough for you to have surpassed this requirement.”

  Somewhat daunted, I reply, “Okay, one big, long fight.”

  “Don’t be discouraged. You would need to face the same hardships, regardless of going through this long trial or through many scenarios.”

  My non-existent head tries to nod.

  “I understand your meaning. Now, please relax. There will be more to explain when we reach our destination.”

  The clouds whip past ever faster, and soon, a dot at the edge of my sight grows. It’s a bubble encasing a disk of terrain at its equator.

  “Welcome to your final map.”

  As the distance narrows and the sheen of the clear material expands to fill my vision, I say with awe, “It’s huge.”

  “Well over two thousand kilometers in diameter, which you must traverse with your team to reach the goal.”

  “Teams like in the scenarios?”

  “Yes, each with between one and ten combatants, depending on their existing scores.”

  “There are sides?”

  “No, each team operates by itself. To win, you must reach the goal and destroy all the other teams. However, everyone who survives from your team will graduate.”

  As we near, the clear sphere swells to an immense size, the overhead curve disappearing into infinity while the multi-colored disk of land spreads beyond the edge of my vision.

  “We’re going to crash!”

  My companion chuckles, and the instant before hitting the glassy surface, our speed slows.

  When I pass through the thin, waxy material, tingly sensations jitter over my form as flesh stitches together from the air. After my entire being crosses, I have the same athletic body as always.

  Gravity grabs hold with a jolt, and I lurch downward.

  However, before my now corporeal being tumbles into the blue waves below, the mysterious forces once again materialize and keep me aloft.

  My freshly formed heart pounds while I take a deep breath with newfound lungs.

  “This is the final body you shall have in this universe. There will be no resets to your health, so use it wisely.”

  While the sobering thought settles, she continues, “And this is the last place you must conquer to graduate from the program. Since you are one of the final joiners, I’ll give you a quick tour so you can familiarize yourself with the obstacles. Watch and listen carefully.”

  We leave the bubble wall and curve over the ocean. In front lies a landmass of concentric circles uniquely colored from different terrains. Far away and at the center of everything rests a massive volcano, belching black smoke. Red glows tinge the haze covering the wide crater while thin lines of reddish-orange lava carve down slopes blackened with ash.

  “You can’t tell me that’s the goal,” I say, pointing.

  “It is, but there are many trials you must win to get there.”

  “Oh.” A chill rambles down my spine from the enormity of the task. I was barely at the point where I was doing well.

  And now this…

  She adds more weight to my sagging shoulders. “In addition to the participants, there will be various obstacles put in place to increase the odds against you.”

  “Is there any good news?” I ask, already doubting my rash decision to follow Cat.

  “This program isn’t for the meek. Search inside your being and be the type of person who can’t be defeated.”

  While the advice suspiciously sounds like something Cat or the seven sigma would say, it’s reassuring they were guiding me on the right path.

  As we fly by a few islands and over the green canopy of a tall forest, my companion says, “Remember this sequence. You start with island, then woodland, followed by desert, arctic, cityscape, canyons, and volcano.”

  I nod. Every description matches the predominant features of one of the concentric circles in the landscape. Seven types of battle. Even though I already have the knowledge from the threads for the different terrains, it’s barely a consolation.

  Everyone knows how to fight everywhere.

  Aside from being on the slope of an erupting mountain. I’m not sure how that could even happen in the real world.

  “At the top of the volcano, you will find the goal. But remember, it will only activate if all the opposing teams are defeated.”

  “By defeated, you mean wiped from existence.”

  “Of course.”

  “And then that’s it, we leave?”

  Although she’s hidden from sight, I sense a smile. “Bravado suits you well.”

  So does resilience.

  A red circle interrupts the forest below. In its center sits a yellow building with a silver line leading into the trees. Strangely, the combination resembles a metal splinter stuck into an eerie red eye.

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  “Those are trams and way stations that allow you to move to the next battle area.”

  “So we take trams to cross terrain and then fight our way to the next way station?”

  “Yes. Besides moving within a circle, the trams are the only means to cross into the next circle. Also, each tram has a fresh supply of weapons and first aid.”

  “So we can heal?”

  “Only what the human body can do given the time and medicine available.”

  I shrug. “That’s better than nothing.”

  The forest yields to blistering sand. As we plow through a rising wave of heat, she says, “Although your team will be on its own, you’ll have everything you need for a long campaign.”

  Wavy and beige, the desert trails under us for a few moments before we encounter t
he blinding white of the arctic region.

  Iciness blasts into the air, and soon I’m shivering.

  “While the terrain looks bland from this height, there are many features you’ll be able to use between each way station.”

  “The obstacles will be able to use them too?”

  She chuckles. “Of course.”

  “Where are they now?”

  “They will be placed on the map when we start. Also, they will be reinforced as time progresses, so it’s best not to dally in any area or attempt to retreat.”

  “Guess that removes stratagem number thirty-sixth as an option.”

  “What was that?” my mystery companion asks.

  “Nothing,” I say, not wanting to admit I have a snarky internal voice.

  As the conversation lapses, our speed increases. Soon, the bitter cold gives way to the circle dedicated to towns and cities, which are enclosed by high walls and only connected by the silver lines of the trams. Although the buildings vary greatly in size and shape, within each enclosure, they are of like architecture.

  A sense of dread pools in my stomach. Given the nature of house-to-house combat, any time spent in this area will be exceedingly dangerous.

  After another minute, we cross over a wasteland crisscrossed by deep canyons, which will be no mean feat to negotiate, and then arrive at the slope of the volcano. Intimidatingly high, the final hurdle of the Ten Sigma Program spews ash as we pass. Heat shimmers from glowing rivers of lava flowing down the inhospitable slopes.

  In this brutal environment, having a fight and winning will be next to impossible.

  Below the cloud of soot hiding the top of the volcano is a towering stone wall, almost like a curved crown.

  “What’s that?”

  “Something to ensure the proper conditions are met before you can get to your goal.”

  The vague answer does nothing to soothe my nerves, but I don’t ask her to elaborate as we arc higher.

  There are enough things to worry about before we reach this point.

  Soon, except for the ominous red glow of the crater, only gray surrounds us.

  If I had to imagine hell, this would be a close approximation. I wonder if anyone will even make it.