Kim Jae swung for me next.
He moved like lightning, his blade a metallic blur through the air. He knocked my arm to the side and plunged his sword through my stomach. I gasped and went rigid, gripping the blade where it disappeared into my body. I stumbled back, and Kim Jae lost his grip on the sword.
Hey, now I have another weapon.
I gripped the hilt and bit down, preparing for the pain. It’s not real, I told myself.
I pulled.
A mewling groan escaped between my clenched teeth as the blade ripped from my stomach. My vision swirled as the world swam, and my abdomen and legs grew warm with my blood. I trembled violently and more blood bubbled up the back of my throat and lurched out of my mouth. But I stayed standing, a sword in each hand, ready for more.
“I told you to make it count,” I said.
K-Rig just stared. Kim Jae uttered something in Korean that I’m pretty sure translated to: This bitch is crazy.
Behind me, Jessica climbed the cage.
K-Rig came at me again, Kim Jae with his fists, the other three with their swords. I raised mine. We slammed together. I knocked Jae’s arms open and drove my twin blades through his stomach. He halted, his mouth dropping open with a gasp. I grinned. My stomach, now yours. Tit for tat. He grinned back at me and collapsed to the floor.
His teammates’ swords speared through my sides. Hot pain ripped through my nerves, and my back bowed to the onslaught.
Jessica hauled herself over the edge and jumped down. The flag consumed her in a burst of golden light.
A horn rang out.
I fell to my knees. The ground shook violently beneath me. Metal clanged and smashed together. Sections of the ceiling buckled, caved in, and collapsed. Everything was breaking apart, ripping into blue-and-white code.
My body went numb, and I collapsed onto my back. A sharp, bitter cold slunk through my veins, slithering through my extremities up to my chest. As death closed in from all sides, smothering me in its icy darkness, it wrapped around my heart until all that existed was my steady, thumping pulse and the cold hollowness threatening to crush the last beat.
It closed in.
My heart stopped.
I smiled.
Dying had never felt so good.
CHAPTER 31
The applause was deafening.
I sat inside my pod, doors still closed, alone in the darkness. I covered my eyes and just listened to the sound, like the beat of a hundred rainstorms pounding together. This had been the tournament of a lifetime. I’d fought my idol. I’d participated in the first all-star tournament in VGL history.
It was glorious.
Third. We were third in the world. It wasn’t first, but it felt like it.
Rooke was on me the second the pod doors opened. He drew me into a deep kiss, and even when he pulled back, he kept his hands on either side of my face. He was shaking.
“I can’t believe you did that.”
He sounded shocked, not upset. The rest of my teammates stood behind him, staring at me, completely stunned.
I shrugged.
“Did what?”
Rooke opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Eventually, his open mouth spread into a smile, and he wrapped me tight in his arms. My teammates joined him, smothering out the sounds of the arena and most of the air in my lungs.
When they finally released me, I peered through the crowd onstage, to where Jessica stood. The announcers had her arms raised.
“Jessica Salt takes it for Team Legacy.”
The crowd roared even louder.
Even with all that chaos and noise swirling around her, Jessica’s gaze wasn’t on the cameras, or the audience, or even her own teammates. It was on me. Her expression was a mixture of shock, elation, and a bit of gratitude shining through. Could I have taken the flag? Sure. But I’d have plenty more chances. Jessica? That was it. Her last championship.
She turned back to the audience and smiled.
“Team Legacy is your first all-star champs and the number one team in the world.”
They presented Team Legacy with the championship trophy, one specifically designed for the all-star tournament. Jessica and Damon raised it together, each with one hand on either side. The roaring of the crowd reached a decibel level never before recorded by man.
One day, there would be another name on that trophy. Defiance. Not this year, and maybe not the next. But before my career was over, the name Kali Ling would be etched forever into that cup. I knew because I wouldn’t stop until I made it happen.
When the cameras clicked off, security started pulling the teams offstage, Legacy first. As they passed by us, Jessica halted the procession in front of me, and stared. She said nothing, but I could see the question in her eyes. I leaned in, acting like I was just patting her on the back. Instead, I whispered in her ear.
“If you’re going to pass the torch, I want it shining brighter than the fucking sun.”
She pulled back and studied my face again, this time with admiration instead of bewilderment. Pride filled my chest and stung my eyes. Third in the world was a grand title, but impressing my idol? That was worth ten times more.
• • •
“Team Defiance. You got knocked out of the tournament in the semifinals and were given a second chance when you took over Oblivion’s spot in the championship. How did that impact your mind-set going into this?”
As the cameras flashed, and the crowd bustled with energy, I sat with my teammates at the press conference, addressing questions from the media. They were doing follow-ups with all four teams, Legacy being first and getting the most attention for obvious reasons. Still, everyone wanted to hear from all the teams inside the championship match.
Derek leaned toward his microphone. “It made us appreciate the opportunity more and focus on what really matters.”
“Kali.” I turned my head to a reporter in the front row. “At the end there, it looked like you gave Jessica—”
“I did nothing.”
The room went silent for a few seconds, minus the camera clicks and general murmurs.
Another reporter spoke up from the back. “Jessica announced her retirement at Legacy’s press conference. Did you know anything about that beforehand?”
“There are always rumors. Some the public doesn’t hear, and some we hear from the public first.” The crowd laughed. “But we wish her well in whatever comes next for her.”
“So you didn’t decide to help her—”
I smiled. “You’re hunting for a conspiracy where there isn’t one. Legacy won the tournament. That’s all.”
A few reporters nodded, and several others frowned, like they didn’t believe me. But they let it go.
Another reporter stood. “Considering that Defiance won its first year in the RAGE tournaments, what did it feel like to lose this time?”
I shook my head. “We didn’t lose.”
He faltered. “But, um . . .”
“We spend our days doing the thing we love with the people we love,” I said, paraphrasing what Lily had said to me just weeks ago. “Most people will never get as far as we have. So, getting to play in the greatest tournament the world has ever seen is never a loss, whether you place first or thirty-second. And I’d take third over first in a heartbeat because it means I still have something to learn. Placing anything other than first is not losing. It’s a challenge to come back stronger.”
I looked directly into the cameras and winked.
“That’s what makes a real champion.”
CHAPTER 32
“So, I’ve been getting calls from companies all around the world wanting to sponsor us,” Derek said when I walked into my office the next day. “They say they want their name on a team that stands for something more important than winning.”
I smiled as I sat
down behind my desk. “Sounds like the right kind of people to work with, doesn’t it?”
Derek studied me for a minute and shook his head. “You can act all innocent as much as you want. Everyone knows what you did, Kali. “
I waved him off. “It’s not that big a deal. Besides, I wouldn’t have made it that far in the game if it hadn’t been for her.”
“You still gave up a nine-figure prize to honor someone else. Not everyone would have done that even if Jessica really did deserve it. People think that was . . . heroic.”
No, people who saved lives were heroic. I played games. But there was something in the way he’d said that. The tone of his voice was hinting at something more. He wasn’t talking about other people. That was the way he felt about it, too.
“You fixed it,” he said simply. “People hated us before the championship, and you changed their minds with one move.” He leaned toward the desk, resting his elbows on it. “What made you do it? Was it because of the crowd?”
“No, no.” I shook my head. “Jessica feels like I’m the one to take her place. But she’s amongst the best in the league. I just feel like I should have to earn that status, not have it handed to me.”
He smiled. “And you don’t think taking the biggest tournament in the world would have proven that?”
“Being the best isn’t about how much you win. It’s how you play the game. Besides . . .” My voice trailed off. Nah, it was too corny to say.
He quirked an eyebrow at me. “Go on.”
“. . . I was in there for a while after you guys were out.”
He shrugged. “So?”
“It just . . . didn’t feel right.”
He sat back in the chair and blinked a few times. “What do you mean? Were you plugged in for too long, or did something happen to you in there?”
“No. It just made me realize something I never want to do.”
“Which is?”
“Play without you guys,” I said simply. “I know we’ve had moments where we go off by ourselves inside the game for strategy or whatever. And in the first championship, I did the final fight by myself. But that was no more than a few minutes. Anything more than that without you guys by my side just doesn’t feel right. Winning isn’t worth it. Playing isn’t worth it. Not unless we’re together. All of us.” I paused, clicking my fingernails against the desk. “So I let Jessica have her final tournament. But the next one? We’ll take together. Side by side.”
An indescribable look filled Derek’s eyes as he processed my words. He laced his fingers across his chest and was quiet for a long moment.
“Aww, Kali,” he finally said, and pretended to blush. “You love me.”
I frowned. “I’m trying to be serious here.”
“All this time I thought it was Rooke, and secretly, it’s me you want by your side.”
I held up a hand. “Enough. I get sentimental, and you start acting like an asshole.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop.” But he cracked another smile and shifted his hands so they rested over his heart. “A part of me always knew how you felt.”
I pointed at the door. “Fuck off, and get out of here.”
He pushed out of his chair and headed for the exit, laughing at me as he went. But, at the door, he paused.
“Hey.”
I looked up. His lips twisted into a crooked, half grin.
“I don’t want to play without you, either,” he said, and slipped into the hallway before I could reply. I smiled. As much as he acted cool, somewhere inside, Derek was a big, old softie.
When I finished my paperwork, I left my office in search of the team, half expecting them to be getting ready for the after-party celebration downtown. Instead, I found them on the couch in the living room, a controller in each hand, and Diablo 4 on the screen. I caught more than a few elbow jabs and hands covering eyes, but was far too entertained to play referee.
Rooke was sitting beside Derek, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He looked good. Healthy. He’d always have to be careful. But then again, we all did. And if any of us fell, for any reason, the rest would be there to pick up the pieces. I was sure of it.
Hannah was right. We were family now.
As I watched the quartet on my couch elbow each other and shout at the screen, the tablet in my arms pinged. I glanced down at it and found a new message from Jessica Salt blinking on the screen. I tapped the message.
Did they really do this? CALL ME.
Attached to the message was an article. I opened it.
TEAM DEFIANCE BANNED.
Under allegations of cheating in the all-star tournament, the VGL announced just moments ago that Team Defiance has been banned from the league and stripped of their championship titles . . .
I leaned against the closest wall for support. Suddenly, I felt like I was falling down an endless, black hole. I blinked several times and forced myself to reread the article again and again. They’d actually done it. Found a way to kick me out of the league. I’d pushed too hard, and now the whole team would pay for it.
Laughter echoed from the couch. My teammates had no idea. When their game was over, I’d have to tell them.
I forced myself to read on, despite my churning stomach.
. . . a program found on the virtual pods inside the Team Defiance home points to proof that they knew the outline of the championship course weeks before . . .
My birthday present. The program Rooke had designed for me. Tamachi must have accessed the information from our pods and used it to redesign the final course. Rooke was right. It had been a trap all along. But not in the virtual world.
In the real one.
I closed my eyes and rested my head against the wall behind me. My mind drifted back to everything we’d been through over the past several weeks and all the times I’d said in one way or another exactly how to get to me.
What you do to my team, you do to me.
And he did. He’d just kicked me out, times five. Took away my hopes and dreams, same for everyone else on my team.
My. Team.
Tamachi knew exactly what to do to crush my soul. Whether he’d picked up on it through the pods, or just assumed because I’d taken ownership of the team, or even because of my crazy protective streak over them, he knew.
And now my insides were ripping themselves to shreds.
We were finally back together again, acting as one force. We finally had the right sponsors, we had the crowd back, and we’d earned a championship and a finalist title in the biggest tournament in the world.
It was all gone in a heartbeat.
All of it.
“Hey.”
I looked up to find Rooke standing over me. His gaze was locked onto my face, and I knew he could tell something was up.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
I said nothing and handed him the tablet to read for himself. After his eyes scanned back and forth a few times, they shot up to meet mine.
“They can’t do that.”
“They just did.”
“But—” he sputtered. “We can disprove it. I created that program for your birthday. Tamachi was the one that used the program to change the final course.”
I stepped up to him and took my tablet back. “And who do you think the public is going to believe, huh? Tamachi, a businessman and founder of the International Association of Virtual Gaming? Or a former . . .”
“Drug addict,” he finished.
I sighed. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
“But it’s true.” He glanced down at the tablet in my arms. “What are we going to do about this?”
My churning stomach solidified to steel. This was far from the end. The VGL could do anything they wanted. I’d never stop fighting, in or out of the arena. If there was anything I had learned from this tournament, it
was that video games aren’t the only thing that can be an open-concept world. Reality is what you make it, and it can be as empty or full as the digital domain. True, our lives wouldn’t be the same without the virtual world. But video games weren’t inherently bad or evil. Some people used them as a substitute for real life. Others used them to make friends. To build families. Across countries and continents. Living in this house right now were the four most important people in the world to me. Games had given me that, and it was something worth fighting for. Until the very end.
“I’m going to do what I do best,” I told Rooke. “Kick ass.”
He grinned. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
“Kali,” a voice called.
I glanced around the corner into the living room. Hannah had turned on the couch to face me. She held out a controller and grinned.
“It’s your turn.”
Damn right it is.
PERCENTAGE OF GAME COMPLETED: 100%
THANK YOU FOR PLAYING
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To Anne Sowards for your patience and persistence. If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be writing chapter three.
To Leon Husock for your advice and support so far and, hopefully, for many years to come.
To my family. Throughout everything, you’ve been there. Special thanks to my sister for being my first co-op gaming buddy.
To the wonderful team at Erie Architectural Products, especially Ron and Nellie Stronks, for encouraging me to chase this crazy dream.
To the developers of Pokémon Go. Thanks for giving me a reason to leave the house that qualifies as “research for my books.”
To Carrie “CrazMadSci” Day for your experience and input. I bow to thee, oh great lady gamer.
To Eric. I’ve spent hours wondering what to write because there are no words. Your creativity is inspirational, your mind is sexy, and your understanding is unbounded. Thanks—for everything.
Lastly, to all the gamers out there. Whether it’s your hobby or your career, your dedication to the game continues to inspire me every day.
Gauntlet Page 38
