“Can we do it my way now?” the other guy asks. His voice is much deeper, and it sends chills down my spine.
“Yeah, fine.”
Something presses against my neck, and the camp blurs before falling dark.
CHAPTER 7
HUSHED WHISPERS AND distant scraping sounds fill my ears as I come into consciousness. Opening my eyes, I try to roll over. But that proves difficult.
My legs won’t cooperate.
I prop myself up as best I can and rub my palm against my eyes, clearing my vision. My heart pounds in my chest. Memories of being locked up in the silo turn my blood cold. Did that huge blond hit me with something and transport me back into a silo like Myco had experienced after our fight?
As I take in my surroundings, I know that’s not the case. This place is different. The ceiling soars high above me, but not in a circular shape like the silo’s. It looks more like a warehouse. A dirty one at that. Random boxes and garbage bags litter the space. Only a few windows dot the room. The sun barely peeks through the distant trees. Is it rising or setting? How long was I out? I’m not even sure if we’re still on the island with the arena.
Myco lays on the ground next to me, her eyes closed. I don’t dare call out for her, but scoot closer instead. Shoving the hair off her face, I press my fingers to the pulse point in her neck. A steady pulse meets my fingertips, and I let out a long, slow sigh.
I shake her shoulder. “Myco.”
It’s only a matter of time before she wakes, but I’d rather she did it sooner. I barely know her, but she’s all I have to hold onto right now.
I try to move my feet and they still don’t respond. Those guys have to be nearby. They were the first people who acknowledged we exist, and then this happened. They probably think I’m still unconscious.
A wave of dizziness washes over me. The room tilts at an unnatural angle, and my head feels like it’s attached to a balloon. I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment. As they spring open, a blurred form approaches me.
I hold my hand out in front of me as the shape takes form. It’s the dark-haired guy.
“Get away from me!” I don’t want to be knocked out again.
He slows, but doesn’t stop. “Esa, you have to understand. We had no choice.”
I choke out a laugh. “You had a choice not to knock me unconscious!”
“Please, keep your voice down. We’re trying to help.” He crouches down in front of me. I wish he would come closer so I could show him what being knocked out feels like.
With the sunlight filtering through the trees and into the room, his features are more pronounced. His tanned skin is smooth, and his eyes are a lighter brown than I previously thought. He’s around my age, maybe a year or two older.
“This is helping me?” I ask. “You kidnapped us, and I can’t move my legs!”
My voice echoes through the cavernous room. He winces. “We can’t alert anyone to our location.”
“Alert who?” I ask. “And who are you, anyway? How can you expect us to trust you after this?”
“My name is Lucas,” he says. “My friend, Rohan, is a little impatient. He’s the one who did this. We needed you both to come with us.”
“This isn’t the way you ask someone for help.”
“I’m sorry,” Lucas says.
“I don’t give a crap!” I yell.
“You need to calm down.”
I let out a little yelp and whip my head in the direction of a tall stack of boxes. Rohan appears from the shadows, stepping out from behind them. I wonder how long he’s been standing there.
“Don’t tell me to calm down,” I growl.
Rohan crosses his arms and squares his ridiculously defined jaw. “I’m not sure about this, Lucas.”
Lucas shakes his head. “It’s fine. Once you’ve heard everything, you’ll be happy we found you.”
“Okay, fine,” I say. I can’t move, so any information I get might help me get us out of here. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Lucas’ gaze flicks to Myco. “Not yet.”
“Why not?” I ask, following his gaze to Myco.
“We don’t want to repeat the story twice,” Rohan says firmly. “Let’s go.”
“Wait,” I say, holding my hand out as if I could stop them.
Lucas stands. “When your friend wakes up, we’ll explain everything.”
“My legs…”
Lucas nods. “It’s just a precaution. I promise you’re safe.”
“You're a liar,” I spit.
His gaze drops to mine. “You'll see that I'm not.”
Lucas walks away, toward a door across the room. I try one last time to use my legs—nothing. Clawing my way out of here while dragging Myco along isn’t an option.
Rohan is still staring at me with arms still folded across his chest.
“What do you want?” I demand.
His eyes narrow, as if he’s trying to figure me out. I can barely figure myself out, so good luck to him. He turns away and follows Lucas. The old wooden door closes behind them and a metal clank sounds. We’re locked in, left alone in this dim, musky room.
I peer over at Myco. She looks peaceful. I’m almost jealous. I call out to her, wishing she would wake up. Then, at least, we could work together to get out of here.
No such luck. She’s out cold.
I drag myself to the nearest box and heft myself up. I massage my thighs and calves, but there’s no feeling in them. Frustrated, I bang my fists against my useless limbs and hope that feeling returns. My fingers tingle at the tips as panic sets in.
“Help!” I scream. “Someone, please!” My voice fills the room. I’m not sure how close we are to the camp. But, if there’s anyone nearby to help us, I have to try and get their attention.
“E-Esa?”
Myco’s stuttered voice stops me. She stirs on the ground, and I fall off the box and pull myself over to her.
“I’m here,” I say.
She rubs her forehead and peers around the room. “What’s going on? Why can’t I move my legs?”
I open my mouth to speak, but stop when the door across the room opens and Lucas and Rohan run toward us.
“What are you thinking?” Rohan growls, his expression grimacing with fury.
“No one can know we’re here,” Lucas whispers. His eyes dart around as if he’s expecting someone at any moment. Good. At least then I might get some answers.
“Then tell us what’s going on,” I demand.
Lucas and Rohan exchange a look.
“What did you do to my legs?” If they want us to trust them, then they need to even the playing field. Being paralyzed is unsettling.
“It’s temporary,” Lucas says, placing his hand on his pant pocket. “This device switched off your mobility capabilities.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I ask.
“What’s going on?” Myco asks. “Where are we?”
Rohan rolls his eyes and lets out a groan.
Lucas sighs. “I’ll explain everything.”
“You keep saying that,” I say to Lucas. “Nothing you’ve said explains anything. I bet you saw two girls and thought we were weak enough to bring to your little warehouse—”
“Enough!” Rohan booms.
Lucas shushes him, waving his hand in the air.
“We’re simulated avatars in a game program,” Rohan says flatly.
I look at Myco, and she’s just as confused as me.
“You’re full of crap,” I scoff.
“You two have a rare glitch that allows you to sense the Hold,” Rohan insists.
“I wasn’t going to start with that,” Lucas says.
Rohan shrugs. “It needed to be said, or else they wouldn’t shut up.”
Lucas winces, then turns to Myco and me. “We’re all programs who have become sentient—um, conscious of what’s going on here.”
I shake my head and force out a laugh. “Seriously, why did you take us?”
“
Oh come on,” Rohan says, . “See? I told you they wouldn’t understand.”
Their faces are serious. I think they believe what they’re saying. I have to play along, for now.
“You’re not doing a good job of making sense of anything,” I snap.
Rohan narrows his gaze at me. His steely glare forces me to look away. He intimidates me, but I can’t show it as I compel myself to look up again.
“Okay,” Lucas says, his thick eyebrows drawing together. “Let me explain this better. Do you remember moments of feeling as if someone is with you? Moments where you act differently and partly lose yourself?”
My breathing hitches. I try to keep my expression still, not alerting him to the fact that numerous times since waking in the silo, I’ve felt that way. This could all still be a trick.
“Yes,” Myco says.
I shoot her a look.
She shrugs. “We wanted answers.”
“Okay, good. That’s a start,” Lucas says with a broad smile on his face. “It’s very rare that two aware avatars find each other. Avatars don’t team up. Normally, they’re drawn to a natural state of isolation and further programmed with certain behaviors to keep them somewhat controlled when the player is away. The ones you saw at the camp are prime examples. Which is why they act the way they do.”
I try to comprehend everything he’s saying, but I can’t keep up with the strange story. He knew Myco and I had experienced similar feelings of being out of control and I bet he’s just trying to take advantage of that. But there’s no way he could have known that about us—unless Myco told him after they knocked me out.
Though confusion is written all over her face, I doubt she said much before they took her down, too. I hope she gave Rohan at least one swift kick.
“So,” Lucas continues, “normally avatars still progress through the game, but don’t make connections without the player’s control. You two aren’t normal.”
I’m not sure if I should be offended by that or not, but my thirst for information keeps my mouth clamped shut.
“In fact, it’s so rare that how you two interacted outside of the camp caught our attention.”
I lick my lips and attempt to piece everything together. Their story about this “player” controlling us makes little sense. I’m not sold yet. The alien theory Myco and I shared earlier was a joke.
“So you’re saying we are people in a video game?” I ask.
“Yes,” Lucas says. His shoulders relax. He thinks I believe him. I’m not going to make it that easy for him.
“During our fights, someone else is making us move?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Lucas draws in a breath and looks at Rohan. They’re hiding something.
“How do you know all of this?” I ask, unsure of what their plan is for us. “Why didn’t you explain this in the alley?”
“We needed privacy,” Lucas answers. “We’re in the same situation as you.”
“We became self-aware months ago after we reached this island,” Rohan explains.
So we are still on the island. That’s promising.
“We haven’t been taken over by our players since that time. And we’re still unsure why,” Lucas says. “But once we met, it became more noticeable. Almost as if by being around another sentient avatar increases enlightenment and awareness.”
I glance at Myco, wondering if she believes any of this.
“Do you feel any differently since you two met?” Lucas asks.
“Not really,” I say. I guess there’s a protectiveness I feel for Myco. But I’m not ready to admit a deeper connection to her, knowledge they could use against us.
Myco stares at her hands. Her eyes are closed, as if she fell back into an unconscious state. I nudge her with my elbow. I don’t entirely believe these guys but, if Myco felt something, I want to know.
Her eyes spring open, and she focuses on Lucas. “Yes. I sort of feel a connection or a link with Esa. You two as well. It’s hard to explain . . . something like energy, a strong, flowing energy between us.” She looks at me. “Do you feel it?”
“That’s it,” Lucas interrupts. He smiles as if he has us believing his story.
Everyone’s eyes turn toward me. I take a moment to hone in on how Myco’s feeling. Maybe my protectiveness is the energy she feels. When she floated away from me and into the ocean, I felt guilty for killing her. Is that the self-awareness they spoke about?
“Whatever I’m feeling doesn’t mean that we’re taking part in some simulation game setting.” My mind is still a little fuzzy from being knocked out. What if they gave us a drug to make us complicit in whatever they wanted us to believe?
Rohan goes stiff again, clearly frustrated at my lack of compliance.
“You won’t bully me into believing this,” I say.
“This game stuff sounds crazy,” Myco agrees. With her on board, at least we’re on an even playing field.
“We’re not bullying you,” Lucas says. His voice is sharp, sounding almost hurt. “Here.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a thin black box that fits into the palm of his hand.
I shrink away from him. It’s not as if I can go anywhere to protect myself. I’m useless.
He points it at me and presses down on the surface. A small beeping sound comes from the device. “You’re not our hostage.”
The feeling comes back into my legs and I stand up, using one of the boxes to steady me. I test out my legs. They’re strong. I have no idea how that little device can cripple me like it had.
He does the same to Myco. She jumps to her feet much quicker than me. But, as fast as she gets up, her legs give out again. She stumbles back and flops onto a box.
I glance at the door. This is our shot to get away from these guys. The element of surprise is on our side. A part of me wants to stick around, however, to understand more about what Rohan and Lucas have experienced. Even though it seems implausible, I can’t shake the feeling that I need to learn more. Myco hasn’t fully recovered, anyway.
“Let me ask you something,” Lucas says, obviously confident we won’t bust out of this room. “You’re stronger after getting the Level upgrade, right?”
“Level upgrade?” I echo.
“The orb,” Lucas explains. “The red one you received after your fight in the arena.”
He watched me fight? Guilt swells in my stomach.
“I do feel stronger and faster after absorbing that thing.” It sounds ridiculous to say aloud, but I start to slowly understand what’s going on, even if I don’t fully believe it just yet.
“Which is why I’m not standing yet,” Myco says.
“You will,” Rohan says. “Patience is key.”
“That’s funny coming from you,” I mumble.
Myco eyes Rohan, and I turn back to Lucas. “How did you learn so much about this place?”
Lucas glances at Rohan. If it’s even possible, a flash of pain rolls over the giant blond’s face.
“There was once a third in our group,” Lucas says. “We met her shortly after coming here. She gave us all the information she had about this place, showed us everything.”
“What happened to her?” Myco asks.
“She’s gone,” Rohan snaps.
Lucas claps a hand on Rohan’s shoulder. “One day we were approached by a group. They used a device similar to this one and paralyzed Rohan and me. Then they digitally deleted her.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, a lump forming in my throat.
Lucas shakes his head. “Her body pixelated and then dematerialized right in front of us. We didn’t even get a chance to fight for her.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. Even if they’re making this entire explanation up, I do understand loss.
Lucas shrugs. “Then they just let us go. By the time the paralysis wore off, the others were gone.”
“After meeting Myco, we fought, and after she died, she ended up back in a silo.” I pause. Did they call
those towers silos as well? Hopefully they understood what I’m describing as I ask, “Do you think that’s what happened to your friend?”
Lucas clears his throat. “I’m not sure, but I don’t think she’s coming back. I’ve never seen an avatar disappear like that before. This was different. Those silos are loading places for a player’s avatar. Each time you die in the simulation, you respawn there. I think our friend’s code was deleted completely.”
I’m too shocked by what Lucas shares to notice right away that he called the island structures “silos” as if the correct term. How did I know what the towers were specifically called?
Rohan shifts his weight on his feet. “Lucas and I died and respawned several times before becoming sentient. As we became self-aware, we remembered everything, every single time.”
Myco lets out a little whimper, the memory of her death fresh in her mind.
“So let me get this right. We have players—someone controlling us?”
Lucas nods.
“What do you know about them?”
“Other than what we’ve told you, we don’t know much else,” Lucas says. “Our main focus has been looking for other sentient avatars—like us—after they deleted her.”
A loud thud bangs against the door behind them.
I grab Myco’s arm and pull her to her feet as Lucas and Rohan spin toward the door. Rohan sprints across the room. For such a big guy, he makes little noise as he heads over to the door’s side window.
Lucas motions for us to follow while pressing his finger against his lips, signaling for us to be quiet.
As we approach, Rohan mouths, “Get down.” Myco and I hold each other's hands as we duck. I glimpse several people outside through a small, smudged-up window on the door. They wear long, dark coats that hang close to their bodies. Through the window, they appear almost fuzzy around the edges. And their faces? They’re like cloned copies of each other. I can’t find any differences in their appearance.
Goosebumps race up my arms and a tingling sensation takes root at the back of my neck. I rub at the spot.
“These are the same ones who deleted her,” Rohan whispers, more to Lucas than us.
“What do we do?” I ask. There are many more of them than us. If they can paralyze us from a distance, we don’t stand a chance.
Avatars Rising: SILOS I Page 5
