Iska

by Arcadia Shield

  “Computer, how long has the game been running?”

  There was no reply.

  Something felt wrong. The computer had to answer her questions. It was part of the structure of the game. Otherwise, you lost track of time, your points, and your kills.

  She checked the stats in the right-hand corner of her virtual reality headset. She blinked. They were gone.

  Avril swiped her hands down to adjust her view mode to shift out of the virtual reality view finder and back to the booth she was in. Nothing happened.

  Avril took a deep breath. What was going on? A sharp pain flared from behind her right ear. Her stats and information appeared in front of her.

  She rubbed the back of her ear and felt a small sore spot. Avril scrubbed at her eyes, and the stats vanished.

  “Okay, this is freaky.” She looked around, but the place appeared deserted. “Computer, abort the game.”

  She almost wasn’t surprised when there was no response. Whatever had happened to her when she’d stepped through the portal had severed her ability to stop the game.

  “Don’t panic,” she whispered to herself. “This is a glitch. Maybe a power surge on Prodigy. You’ll be out in no time.”

  That still didn’t explain the pain behind her ear or what had happened to the functionality of her virtual reality gear.

  The floor felt like it moved. Avril wobbled to the side. She was the one shaking. She was tired and starving.

  She ventured into the tree line and only walked a few feet before almost falling over a bush laden with juicy looking blueberries.

  Avril grabbed one and touched it to the end of her tongue, waiting to see if it tingled or made the flesh go numb. Instead, an explosion of sweetness tickled her taste buds. She had struck gold.

  Ten minutes of frantic eating later, and her fingers were covered in dark blue juice. She felt better, full of energy and ready to keep on playing. Maybe this was all part of the experience. If you get to the final, you enter an immersive game where everything becomes hyper real and all your senses are stimulated.

  That had to be it. This was her test, a final challenge before she won the tournament. Avril blew out a breath and smiled to herself. She was winning.

  “Warrior Princess is now in the top five percent,” a voice said. It was a male voice, different to the emotionless female computer voice she usually heard.

  Avril’s smile only broadened. She was right.

  “Warrior Princess is now confirmed as a finalist in the gaming tournament.”

  She jumped up and down and hugged herself. “I did it. I made it to the final.” She felt invincible now. She wasn’t rejected or unwanted. Avril was a winner. Everyone would love her now she was a finalist. She’d worked so hard for months to get to this position, and she’d finally done it.

  Avril no longer cared how long she’d been gaming or how tired she was. This meant everything to her.

  A dark shadow drifted over her head, and Avril squinted up through the trees. She couldn’t see what it was, but that shadow had been huge.

  She went on the offensive, keeping close to the trees as she ducked and weaved through them, trying to see what had caused that shadow and if it would have any interest in her.

  The ground shuddered beneath her feet, and she paused. Avril turned in a slow circle. There was nothing there, but she wasn’t alone. Whatever was out there was huge and large enough to make the ground shake. With size came danger.

  She crept closer to the edge of the trees. It would be easier to see her opponent as the trees thinned out.

  Avril clapped one hand over her ear as a roar echoed through the trees. She’d heard that sound before but never so loud. It was a pyro dragon, an enormous lizard-like creature that belched fire and had the ability to fly.

  These were difficult beasts to kill. They took dozens of strikes, and they had to be in the right area of the body. The only kill site on a pyro dragon was the soft underbelly, and they worked hard to make sure no one got to that spot.

  If Avril didn’t hit the right kill site, she’d have to attack the beast for hours before she finally killed it and earned her points. That would be exhausting. She wasn’t sure she was up to the job.

  She shook her head and pulled her shoulders back. She was Warrior Princess. She would do this. This was her biggest gaming challenge to date, but Avril was capable.

  If she could kill this pyro dragon, she might make it into the top one percent. Avril could be ahead on the leader board when she entered the finals. It would almost guarantee her a win. She could taste success. All she had to do was kill this pyro dragon, and victory would be hers.

  A blast of flame shot through the trees.

  Avril gasped and ducked, surprised by how hot the flames felt as they flared over her head. This level had gone all out to be as immersive as possible.

  She edged closer to the clearing and saw a flash of purple and green scales as the pyro dragon moved. On the ground, they were slow moving. It was when they were in the air they were the biggest threat. They could swoop down like a giant hawk and pluck you from the ground, inflicting maximum damage points.

  Avril slid her plasma blade from its sheath and waited. You didn’t attack a creature like this without care. She’d attack from behind and see if she could slide under either its tail or hind legs and get in a few good strikes before it retaliated.

  She slunk through the trees, her adrenaline buzzing. As the pyro dragon came into full view, her breath caught in her throat. It was as magnificent as it was lethal. If this was real, it would kill her. But this was a game. She had nothing to fear here other than lost points. If you died in the game, you got another life. That was the beauty of online gaming. There was always a way to come back.

  Avril focused on a gap between the pyro dragon’s back leg and tail. She shook out her arms and legs, took a deep breath, and ran. Her movements were effortless as she raced closer. At the last second, she slid onto her belly, activating her plasma blade and holding it over her head. She’d get a direct hit from its tail to its stomach.

  She looked up and her pleasure turned to horror as she saw her plasma blade hadn’t activated. That had never happened before.

  Flipping onto her back, Avril saw she’d inflicted no damage. She came to rest beneath the beast’s front legs. “Oh, crap.”

  The pyro dragon reared up, grabbing her with one of its taloned claws as it did so.

  The claws punctured her flesh. Avril screamed in shock and surprise. You didn’t get hurt in these games. It was impossible.

  “Game, stop. Something’s gone wrong.”

  The pyro dragon shook her as it roared its fury at finding a human lounging beneath it.

  The game continued as hot blood slid down Avril’s thigh. “Computer, override all systems and freeze the game.”

  Again, nothing happened.

  Avril cried out as the pyro dragon’s grip tightened. Her ribs would break if it kept squeezing.

  She always wore her station issued wrist comm in these games and dragged her arm to her mouth to activate it. She needed to alert someone on board Prodigy that things had gone horribly wrong in the holo suite. She might not be the only one in danger.

  “Engineering, this is Avril Anwell. I’m in holo suite fourteen. It’s malfunctioning. I’m injured.”

  No response came as she was flung backward and forward in the pyro dragon’s claws.

  She screamed as it let go. She spun through the air and slammed against a tree trunk. Avril grabbed hold to stop from falling to the ground.

  This had to be a nightmare. Maybe she’d fallen asleep in the holo suite and her subconscious had kept playing.

  As another roar bit through the trees from the pyro dragon, Avril knew she was awake.

  Winded and with blood seeping from her injuries, horror smashed into her. This wasn’t a game.

  She was in big trouble.

  Chapter 10

  “Are you sure you haven’t seen her?” Iska
stood menacingly over the store owner, Aho.

  The pale gray Koob shook his head vigorously. “I assure you she is one of my favorite customers. She is such a kind human, so polite and happy to help whenever she can. I haven’t seen her for days. Is something wrong?”

  “I hope not.” Iska turned and stalked out of the store. He’d been everywhere, asking if anyone had seen Avril. Every response was the same. She hadn’t been seen for days, not since she’d entered the holo suite game. The game he was supposed to play alongside her.

  He turned one way along the corridor, changed his mind, and switched direction. She had to be somewhere. You didn’t vanish from the space station. If you left on a ship, you needed to log your departure.

  Iska had checked every entry log dated over the last sixty hours. Avril wasn’t on any of them, unless she’d snuck out under another name. Why do that? There was no reason for her to leave. The fact he’d let her down and hadn’t turned up for their gaming night wasn’t a big enough reason for her to abandon her life here.

  Something else was going on. The uneasy feeling in his stomach hadn’t left him since he’d discovered Avril was missing.

  “Iska!”

  He turned and saw Heather and a large one-horned Picar walking toward him. Heather carried Dingbat in her arms.

  “I was coming to find you. I fixed your bot.” Heather nodded and looked down at Dingbat.

  Iska had been so focused on finding Avril, his faithful companion’s repair had slipped his mind. “That’s appreciated.”

  Heather placed Dingbat on the ground. “He’s good as new. Hopefully, better than new. I gave him a couple of upgrades.”

  Iska studied Dingbat. “You’ve given him a clean, as well.”

  “It’s nothing. I gave him a quick dip. He’s got a titanium coating now. He won’t be so easy to dent up.”

  Iska wasn’t sure if he liked the new look on Dingbat. He’d sort of liked his old battered, dirt-encrusted friend. “What do I owe you?”

  “Nothing. It was a fun thing to do.”

  The Picar tsked under his breath.

  Heather grinned up at him. “This is Loka.”

  Iska nodded. Picars looked like upright cattle on legs with their spiked horns and weird bellowing noises. They were big bastards with a liking for geeky crap, like testing black holes for some nut job theory on space time bullshit.

  “Heather spent two evenings working on your bot,” Loka said.

  “I’m not refusing to give her something for her time. Send me the bloody bill,” Iska said, his gaze already shifting along the corridor, scanning every face to see if it was Avril.

  Heather watched him for a moment. “You’ve heard about Avril?”

  His gaze flashed back to her. “What do you know?”

  Loka stepped closer to Heather, and his nostrils flared.

  Iska sized him up and didn’t consider Loka a problem. He let out a sigh. “I’m looking for her. I’ve been asking around, but no one has seen her.”

  Heather’s expression grew worried as she tucked a hand around Loka’s waist. “We’ve all been doing the same. The last time anyone saw her was when she entered the holo suite.”

  “Vegas said there was no trace of her. I’ve been there asking around. I could try again and shake answers out of some of those gaming nerds.”

  “We’ve already tried. Not the shaking part,” Heather said. “I went there first thing before work today. It’s like Avril was transported off the station.”

  “She hasn’t been. I’ve checked the departure logs,” Iska said. “Unless someone snuck her off here, or she sneaked onto a ship and stowed away.”

  Heather’s expression turned quizzical. “Why would she do that? Did you two have a fight?”

  “I’ve no star-fucking idea why she’s gone missing. And we didn’t fight. We don’t even know each other.”

  Heather glanced at Loka. “It’s good you’re helping to search for her.”

  Iska pushed away the wave of guilt he felt. This wasn’t his fault, but he still felt bad Avril had disappeared when he could have looked out for her. “She will come back. She owes me a game.”

  Heather’s eyes narrowed. “That’s right. I heard you stood her up.”

  Iska’s jaw clenched. Was anyone not rasping his ass because he screwed up? “It couldn’t be helped.”

  “Let’s hope Avril sees it that way. She might not give you a second chance.”

  “I don’t want a...” His gaze shifted to the small, strawberry blonde female who walked past. He did want another chance with Avril. He’d made a mistake not meeting up with her. He hoped it wouldn’t be something he’d live to regret.

  Heather’s expression softened. “Avril is sweet. Too kind for her own good at times. That gets taken advantage of. Don’t do that to her.”

  “I won’t. She will give me another chance.” At least, Iska hoped she would. When he found Avril, he’d explain everything and let her know what a selfish moron he was. She should stay well away from him.

  “If you’re worth it, she will,” Heather said gently.

  “Sure. Whatever you think. I’ve got to go.” Iska hurried away, frustrated by having to explain himself.

  Dingbat easily kept up with him. “Where are we going?”

  “The holo suite booths.” Iska glanced down at Dingbat. He did look cool in his new shiny coat. “Did you have a fun holiday with little-miss-fix-your-dented-butt?”

  “I am fully operational. Everything is in working order.”

  Iska nodded. “You look smart, buddy. A real chick magnet.”

  “I feel amazing.”

  He glanced down at him again. Dingbat didn’t have feelings. He’d never said how he felt before. Iska grimaced and hoped this wasn’t one of the upgrades Heather had mentioned. He didn’t need his bot becoming all emotional and breaking down in tears every time he made him pull a double shift.

  Iska detoured to the right.

  “The holo suite booths are in the opposite direction.” Dingbat stopped walking.

  “We’ll get there. I’ve got an idea. Follow me.” Iska led them into the bowels of the station to the fight club.

  As he entered, he discovered Kiske in the ring, shadow sparring.

  Kiske slowed and nodded at him. “Fancy going a few rounds?”

  “Not today. I’m looking for someone.”

  “Aren’t we all? Anyone I know?” Kiske ducked out from the ring and patted Iska on the shoulder.

  “Do you remember that human female I told you about?”

  “Sure. The weird looking one with the red hair and green eyes.”

  “She’s not weird looking. She’s just unusual.”

  Kiske grinned. “What about her?”

  “You haven’t seen her around over the last couple of days? She was interested in the fight club. I wondered if she’d come back to learn more.”

  “Do you think she wants in on some action in the ring?”

  “Not likely. She’s into fighting online. I wondered if her curiosity had brought her here looking for the real thing.”

  “I haven’t seen her. At least, I haven’t seen anyone with red hair and green eyes come by this way. What’s going on?”

  Iska scratched a hand through his fur. “She’s missing. We were supposed to meet a couple of days ago, and I didn’t make it. No one’s seen her since then.”

  Kiske raised his chin. “That night you sparred with me?”

  “That’s right.”

  Kiske raised his brows. “Do people think you have something to do with her going missing?”

  “Her friends are suspicious of me, but I had nothing to do with it. I guess you could say I’m trying to clear my name by finding her.” And rid himself of the guilt he felt about letting Avril down.

  “I can’t help you.”

  “If she comes by, let me know.”

  “Will do. A cute little human should have nothing to do with a scumbag place like this. If some of the fighters se
e her sneaking around here, she won’t last five minutes.”

  Iska growled at the thought of any of the violent thugs he’d fought in here touching a hair on her head. “You don’t need to tell me. I don’t even know how she knew about this place.”

  “I told her,” Dingbat said.

  Iska pivoted toward him. “You did what?”

  “When I was being repaired, my second hard drive was accessed. Your girlfriend learned about the fight club.”

  Iska scowled. He might have to have a few words with Heather and make sure she hadn’t shared his confidential data. There were all kinds of information stored on Dingbat he didn’t need getting out.

  “Did I do something wrong?” Dingbat tilted his head to the side.

  “You need to learn to keep your muzzle shut.” Iska shook his head as he turned back to Kiske. “It’s probably nothing. I don’t suppose there are any more fights going on in the station. Avril might have found one and gotten in trouble.”

  “The only real fight club on the station is this one.”

  Iska followed Kiske as he made his way across the floor of the fight club. “There are unreal fight clubs?”

  Kiske turned and grinned. “You probably know about the new holo fights.”

  Iska’s stomach tightened. “No, tell me.”

  “It’s the latest craze. It’s led by a group of outlaw Vincole. They can’t get enough of involving humans in illegal things. They got busted recently over their alien auctions, where they were selling off humans to the highest bidders.”

  A growl rumbled out of Iska. It disgusted him the way some aliens used humans. “Go on.”

  “The rumor goes they’ve set up a virtual fight arena. It’s different from any other holo game.”

  “Different how?” Iska’s fingers curled into fists.

  “It’s real life. The opponents go in thinking it’s a bit of fun and they can slash and punch their way through whatever they like. That’s the kicker. They get shoved in these arenas and pitted against each other.”

  “Like these fight clubs?”

  “Worse. You don’t get out of those places with a few cuts and bruises.”

  Iska’s breathing grew shallow. “How do you get out?”