“You have one minute left,” said the deeply disguised voice. She took a deep breath and moved to the sink once she heard the footsteps move away from the door. There was no way that she was stupid enough to trust armed men that wore masks and disguised their faces and voices.
She ran her hands under the cold water and wiped around her mouth with a wet paper towel. She then looked at the puffy red face in the mirror and it made her cry all over again. The tears almost blinded her vision, leaving her only able to see herself as a blurry water color painting with a dark blob of hair covering the dull brown splotches of her face and a large red blob that was her shirt.
She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried her best to dry her face with her hands. Her thoughts were beyond her control now. They took her back to the conversation she had earlier that day. Back before everything with this project had changed.
Hours ago
Alex left her cubicle and made her way over to Milner to ask him a question.
“Mr. Milner, what’s going on with all this security?” she asked.
He turned at her interruption and fixed his dark pupils on her. He seemed reluctant to answer. She couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or what.
“Why are you away from your console, Ms. Madura?”
“I always have my display linked up to my techband.”
She held up the oversized digital wristband and swiped something across the touchscreen to bring up an aqua blue hologram of Sam doing battle with another tester named CrushKills then quickly swiped the image away.
“These men are here to assist me in ensuring that order is upheld during the next phase of our little alpha test here. Now excuse me, I have an announcement to make. You may want to find your seat.”
That superior attitude of his ... it pissed her off. Sure, he was a genius, but that didn’t mean he needed to treat her like a little pissant. She went back to her seat anyway, but as much as she did want to get back to work, she was too curious about Milner’s announcement.
She watched Milner walk to the very center of the room, where everyone could see him. Not far from his side, a white man in a green and white long coat stood. The man was just as tall as the lanky Milner but much broader. His dark gray hair was cut short and his dark eyes shifted throughout the room, finding the heads of each and every designer there as they passed over them. Milner looked as calm as always, like a surgeon. Maybe that’s how he thought of himself, since he was always wearing that white jacket that looked like a lab coat.
“Everyone! Attention please!” yelled Milner as he lifted his right hand in the air.
The chatter around the room died down and all the designers lifted their heads from their work or stood to see their boss, the lead designer and director of the whole project, Fulton Milner. Once he counted all the faces and saw everyone was paying attention, he proceeded.
“Do to the failing nature of this alpha test, I am forced to accelerate it to its second phase.”
There was complete silence all around the room and blank faces from her colleagues. Alex was glad that she wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what the hell was going on.
“None of you have been told what the second phase is yet, or even know of its existence. This was done on purpose, to secure secrecy. At this stage in the test, secrecy is of the highest order, so if you are to continue working, I must have you pledge your loyalty. Those who are not willing to pledge can leave now. We will send the testers you’ve been working with over to other designers who will monitor them in your stead. You will then turn in your badge and have a nice day. Unfortunately, that will be the end of your employment on this project.”
Alex felt a weight drop to the bottom of her stomach and she gasped silently. There was a mixed response from the other designers, mostly silenced shock, but also the beginnings of outrage from some.
“For the rest of you, there will be a bonus involved for staying on and proceeding with the second phase. I will come around to each of you and explain your various roles in the next phase. Stand by for further instructions.”
Milner began making his rounds throughout the room, leaving the others to stare at one another in disbelief of the proverbial bomb he just dropped. Murmurs went around the office as those close to one another tried to make sense of what was going on. Alex tried to sit and work until Milner got to her, but now she couldn’t concentrate. She looked on as Sam ran through the forest with a determined look on his face. At least he was proceeding with his quest at a nice pace, even if he didn’t know it.
After only a few moments Milner was in front of her cubicle and staring down at her.
“Ms. Madura, it’s time to discuss your role in this next phase of the project.”
Alex nodded her head and a slight shiver ran through her when the gray haired man suddenly appeared next to Milner. He stared at her with the intensity of a stalker.
“I have some questions as well,” she said trying to ignore the intruder.
“I’ll answer them in due time. Now, what is your decision? Will you stay on with the project or will you leave?” Milner asked.
“That’s just it, sir. Where did all this come from? And how is any of it fair?”
“Ms. Madura, that’s not the question I asked you. Now do you have an answer for me?”
It was time to teach this man that an employer and employee relationship was not the same as master and slave.
“Look here, Fulton. You’ve put each and every one of us on the spot here. And you’ve done it in a bad way. There’s no way I’m going to let you bully me into something I don’t want to do.”
The man next to Milner snorted and put on a wide toothy grin.
“This generation, are they all fools?” the man asked.
“Mind your manners, Stephen. Ms. Madura here is actually a very talented individual. We definitely want her for phase two,” said Milner.
That was a shock. Milner didn’t give out compliments very often. It was good to finally get one.
“Ms. Madura. Alexandria. I am aware that my demands are extraordinary.”
“I think ridiculous is a better word,” she spat back at him.
“Fair enough. But it’s well within my realm of rights to make such demands.”
“You’re talking about firing people for refusing to pledge to something that they know nothing about. We weren’t even given a vague clue that something like this would happen.”
“And that’s the way I wanted it. I do want you to keep in mind too, that those who choose to walk away from this phase—”
“I don’t see much of a choice! Looks like those decisions were made for us!”
“Lower your voice,” the man next to Milner hissed. “And keep your mouth shut when he’s trying to explain.”
“It’s fine, Stephen. If she wants some answers, I’ll give them to her. You’ll note that the contracts you all signed state that you can be removed from a particular project at any time. Those who are removed or choose to walk away are indeed terminated from this project and that’s for secrecy’s sake. But they are not terminated from Full Core. They’ll be able to work on other projects once this one is done. And they’ll still get paid for working on this project. I just can’t have them around. That’s fair, don’t you think? Now, do you have an answer for me?”
Alex stood up and looked around the office floor and saw that everyone was still here. No one had quit yet. As a matter of fact, this was probably the longest Milner had spent talking to anyone so far, since he had already cleared about half the room. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad deal to stay on the project.
“Looking for something?” asked Milner.
“Not at all, just thinking. What’s the bonus?”
“You’ll get a pay bonus for pledging to the next phase. A one point five times increase to what we’re currently paying you.”
That was a lot of money. She already made a decent wage, so the added amount could really help her out. She had so many debts to pay
that she was sure the mob would come knocking at her door any day now and by mob she meant loan collection agencies who weren’t much better. She could erase the rest of her student debt just by pledging her loyalty to Milner’s phase two.
It was a very tempting offer, but just what did Milner have in mind for the next phase and why the secrecy? Did it have something to do with the pain modifiers? He had told her as much before. He wanted the testers to excel to a higher level and to do it at higher rates. But what did he have in mind? Was it something illegal or was it just something he wanted to keep safe from potential competitors?
“He doesn’t have all day, girl. Make your decision now or we’ll make it for you.”
“I don’t need your help in deciding anything, thank you very much. Furthermore, this is a conversation between me and Mr. Milner and you’ve added nothing of substance to it, so please shut your mouth,” Alex responded matter-of-factly.
Milner chuckled which caught Alex off guard. She didn’t think the man was capable of such a thing. The other man, Stephen, Milner had called him, gave Alex a look of pure disdain.
“Give it up, Stephen. She has you beat. I won’t need you for the rest. Please go patrol around the office.”
He looked at Milner with an incredulous expression on his face, which quickly turned to annoyance.
“Fine,” he said as he turned and walked away, leaving Alex to stare at his back. Across the white material that made up his coat was an embroidered red symbol. The symbol was made up of four reuleaux triangles set in a cross shape with points facing each other.
“Now, this will be my final time asking, Alexandria. What is your answer?”
It was even more annoying hearing him say her name like that a second time.
“You can’t tell me anything about phase two? Anything at all?”
He shook his head and held up four fingers and a thumb. He tucked his thumb in front of his palm and stared at her silently.
“Are we doing more research on the pain receptors?” she whispered.
He continued to stare then lowered his index finger and grabbed unto it with his thumb.
“Okay fine. I will help you with phase two. It’s nothing illegal is it?”
“You’ll learn all about it, once I’m finished getting everyone’s pledges.”
He turned around as if motioning to leave.
“Nothing for me to sign?” she asked.
“Your verbal pledge is good enough. Consider it a pact between the two of us.”
As smart as the man was, that was a pretty dumb decision. If it was real secrecy he wanted then he should’ve made her and her colleagues sign a binding legal document. Milner got up and left her cubicle after telling her to listen for his next announcement.
It didn’t take him long to finish circulating around the room and when he was done with that, he went and stood in the center of the room again. With a quick look around, she saw that none of the other designers had quit. She wondered if he had extended this sort of choice to any Full Core employees besides the designers and developers, like the medics down below with the testers. The extra security personal still made her nervous and she had no clue what to expect from Milner’s next announcement. The other designers were just as silent and apprehensive as she was, apparently.
“Now everyone, it is nearly time to proceed with the next phase of this project. Before we do, I would like to inform you of the penalty for backing out of your pledge at this point or any point beyond. What we’ve created today is a verbal pact, a binding agreement from one soul to the next. If that pact is broken, the penalty you face is death.”
The shocked audience was stone silent. Was Milner serious? Had he lost it?
“Take a look at those guards. Each of them is armed with advanced military grade automatic firearms and are prepared to eliminate anyone who disrupts this part of the alpha test. I’ve instructed the guard by the front door to brandish his openly for effect.”
Alex looked over to the aforementioned guard and saw him holding a NKV-P7357 bullpup configured assault rifle in front of his chest. He looked around the room, turning his head slowly from left to right and back while dark googles hid his eyes. Alex had only known what gun it was thanks to all the research she did for a previous game she had worked on.
“Now don’t be frightened. As long as you stick to the roles I’ve prepared for you then you will be greatly rewarded once this test is over with. Anything else will be met with swift punishment. I am sorry, but this is the only choice I have available to me and I’ll need your help. Now we will proceed with the preparations for phase two of the alpha test.”
“I’m out! This is ridiculous Milner and you know it!” her coworker Randy said as he suddenly stood up and glared at Milner.
Randy’s head was barely visible over his cubicle. He looked to be fatigued. His thick black hair and beard were a mess and his face sagged, but Randy had always worked harder than most other people, so he must’ve been working since the early morning, pulling what had to be a sixteen hour shift. Alex was about four hours shy of that but wasn’t feeling it quite yet.
“Mr. Zbyszko—Randall, for your sake, you should calm down and have a seat. I’ve already outlined my plans and intentions. It’s up to you to stick to the roles we’ve already agreed upon.”
“No way in hell, asshole. I didn’t sign up for this crap! This job was fun and all, but you’re crazy and your expectations are even crazier.”
Randy gathered his things and put them in his computer bag to the stunned silence of everyone else. When he picked up his bag and started to leave, the guard by the door stood directly in front of the entrance to the hallway.
“Tell your goon to get out of my way, Milner,” demanded Randy. He didn’t dare take his eyes off the armed man in front of him.
“I already told you the consequences for breaking our pact. Are you truly ready to face those consequences, Randall?” asked Milner.
“If you kill me Milner, especially over something as crazy as this, you can bet that my family will find out about it and that you will pay. I’m talking every aspect of your life being totally fucked for the rest of its limited duration. You know who my father is, don’t you?”
“Yes, he’s a famous judge and that means that he’s probably well connected with all sorts of law enforcers and politicians. I understand that Randall, but what’s it have to do with our pact?” asked Milner.
“A pact? Who cares? Now tell him to stand aside, Milner.”
“Listen to him. Stand to the side.” The guard near the door stepped out of the doorway and held his gun downwards. Randy slowly made his way towards the door, keeping an eye on the man.
“Stephen,” Milner said discreetly. Alex reacted to Milner’s voice and looked back at him and saw that the gray haired man already had his gun trained on the back of Randy’s skull. Without knowing, she screamed, but it was too late.
******
“Your time is up!”
Alex snapped back to reality at the guard’s yelling voice and quickly exited the bathroom. She walked down the hall back to the office. Inside the office, she walked over the spot where Randy had been shot and killed. Even though there was no sign of any of the blood from earlier, she couldn’t help, but feel entirely crept out from walking over the spot. It was also a reminder that Milner was dead serious and that she had no choice now, but to do whatever he said she should do.
Randy had paid the price for his rebellion and he was a good man even in the face of death. He knew that Milner’s demands were wrong, and so he stood up to him and his threats regardless. It was brave, but it had accomplished nothing but getting him killed. It had done more for Milner’s cause, since the incident just made the other designers and developers quietly bow their heads and work even harder.
As Alex neared her seat, Stephen had approached her from the aisle.
“Get back to work, girl. We don’t have time for your games. We’re on a schedule here, if you hadn�
��t noticed.”
She wanted so bad to snap back at the asshole, but she just didn’t have it in her anymore. Milner and his goons held all the cards now. It wouldn’t help her or anyone else for her to piss this man off and get killed for it.
Once she sat quietly in her seat, she could tell Stephen was reveling in her defeat even though she did her best to silently ignore him. She put on her headset and drowned out the world. She focused on her secret goals, ensuring the survival of the testers under her watchful eye. Hopefully she could at least help them, since she couldn’t help herself.
24 Sin and Punishment
Sam’s adrenaline was pumping and his eyes and ears were as alert as ever. He knew that he stood out in this dark forest, thanks to his crimson Walker glow, that’s why he moved quickly. His prey was probably somewhere nearby. He had stalked him all the way to King Herke’s first Soul Beacon then lost him in the trees.
Whatever the case, Sam got the feeling that maybe he was the one being hunted. Of course, he was right and he was nearly caught off guard from the player’s vicious slash from his rear. Sam rolled out of the way to avoid damage and looked at his opponent.
The zombie-like revenant that Sam faced was named Roburn. Sam knew that his friend Robert typically played under that handle and when he stopped and did the rock and roll devil horns salute, Sam knew for a fact that it was him. Sam returned his gesture with a devil horns of his own.
Robert looked to have gone with the Knight class at the start, or at least he found some of their charred dark gray armor. His character was tall like Sam’s, though more intimidating in the armor set, and had some kind of huge tower shield in his offhand. It looked like one that Barrington sold at his shop for a small fortune. Sam wondered if the one Sedwin gave him was even better.
Robert’s face was mostly hidden behind his charred helm, but Sam could see that the character had dark hollows for eyes with the tiniest specks of flames in the center focusing on him. Some bits of Robert’s armor exposed his rotting flesh and Sam wondered what unfortunate mishap had taken Robert’s life and as a result, his human form. Maybe he had lost to the boss or to Caesar like Sam had.
Hell's Glitch (LitRPG): Into a Dark Adventure Page 22
