Avatars Rising: SILOS I

by David R. Bernstein

  Rohan opens his mouth, but a bright white light fills the space. I don’t have time to shield my eyes as the odd sensation of transport breaks me apart one segment at a time.

  CHAPTER 23

  FOR A FEW seconds, I’m suspended in the air. The anticipation of what’s to come fills every inch of me. The heat of the transport scalds my very soul.

  After our bodies reassemble, I inhale sharply. The scent of non-sulfuric air tastes sweet in my mouth. I won’t miss Death Island, that’s for sure.

  As the bright light in the Shift Silo fades, the walls push farther apart than they were before. I blink a few times, trying to comprehend what I’m seeing.

  A cold dread snakes through me as something familiar takes shape around us: another respawning silo. Rohan and Lucas break away from me, but I’m rooted to my spot. At least there are three of us instead of just me. But there isn’t any furniture. Weird.

  Peering closer at the walls, I realize this silo isn’t anything like the one on the island. I press my hands against the surface, which is as black as Lucas’ gun. Instead of warm stone, the walls are cool and smooth.

  “Did we spawn into Salvation?” I ask. My voice echoes in the room.

  “No idea,” Rohan says. “But we’re not going to learn anything until we get out of here.”

  “Is this another test?” Lucas asks. “I’ve never been in a silo like this before. It’s more—” He trails off.

  “Technologically advanced?” I suggest.

  Lucas nods. “Something like that.”

  “No windows,” Rohan says, pushing his palms against the wall. Only Rohan would think he could shove through a metal wall.

  My fingers smooth across the bumps on the surface. Rivets line the walls every few feet and reach all the way up to the top. Craning my neck, thirty-feet or so up, the faint lines of a hatch appear at the top. My pulse spikes.

  “Climbing out a window wasn’t an option for me,” I say, pointing at the ceiling. I’m not sure what their silos looked like, but I wasn't about to waste time reminiscing about our past.

  “We should play this smart,” Lucas says. “This is the first time we’re experiencing this part. Who knows what’s waiting for us on the other side.”

  Rohan pulls back to us. “We won’t find anything just standing here.”

  Lucas looks to me for my opinion.

  “Let’s do it,” I say without hesitation.

  “How do you suggest we get up there?” Lucas asks, pointing up.

  “We’re Level 10 now and just defeated Moderators,” Rohan says, securing his sword in its sheath across his back. “There has to be a simple solution.”

  I fasten my daggers at my sides, the chains neatly coiled up. Taking a small breath, I test out the same way I escaped my first silo. Backing up against one of the walls, I gather myself, then sprint forward. Leaping up, I dig my boot into the wall, and at the same time, bending my knees, push off toward the other wall. My footing falters against the smooth metal, but I’m able to gain enough strength to reach the other side. My foot connects, and I almost lose my balance.

  Pressing myself against the wall, I balance with one foot firmly placed into a small divot. I see the footholds better as I get closer. There are a bunch of them, leading all the way up to the hatch.

  “We can climb,” I call down to the guys. I’m much higher than I thought I’d be. I’m not sure why Level 10 continues to surprise me. But discoving bigger and higher-level enemies on the other side of the hatch worries me a little.

  Rohan scales the wall like a spider and reaches the hatch before we do. He sure can move for a big guy.

  Lucas and I catch up to him, but we quickly understand why he hasn’t gone through yet. The space from the wall to the hatch is almost double my height. I could take a chance and jump, but I risk falling to a seriously debilitating injury if I miss.

  “Get over here,” Rohan urges. “The both of you. I have an idea.”

  We leap from divot to divot until we’re on either side of him.

  “I’m going to swing you over there,” Rohan says.

  I balk. “How?”

  He pulls an arm from the wall and flexes his bicep. I roll my eyes.

  He smirks and says, “Our upgrades will help, too.”

  “I’ll go first,” Lucas says, readjusting the rifle strapped across his back.

  “I’m lighter,” I say. “I’ll do it.”

  “You don’t know what’s on the other side,” Lucas objects, brow furrowing.

  I narrow my eyes. “Neither do you.”

  “There’s no time to argue,” Rohan says, grabbing Lucas’ hand.

  I bite my tongue as Rohan instructs Lucas to drop down to a lower divot. Rohan’s face scrunches with concentration and then he swings his arm upward. At the same time, Lucas shoves off the wall and, between their joined strength, Lucas flies through the air, farther than we could have accomplished on our own.

  Lucas grunts as his hands reach the hatch. The fingers of one hand slip off the handle, and my stomach flies up to my throat. But, then, he swings back and grabs the edge of the hatch and swings his legs up, crashing through the small door.

  My breath catches in my throat when he disappears for a moment. But he doesn’t disappear for long. Within seconds, his head peeks through the hatch. “Esa, your turn.”

  Rohan does the same to me, and Lucas grabs onto my arms, pulling me up. Immediately, I look back through the hatch and wonder how we’re going to help Rohan.

  “How about you hold my legs and I help him through?”

  Lucas scrunches his nose.

  “I don’t think I can hold the both of you,” I say. “This is the best way.”

  I slip through the hatch again. Lucas’ hands press down on my thighs, keeping me in place. The silo seems much higher as I hang upside down from the roofline, but I focus my attention on Rohan instead of the swooping sensation in my gut.

  Rohan leaps into the air and easily grabs my forearms. I grip his thick arms, biting my lip as I concentrate on holding his weight as we dangle. I lift my arms, gathering the strength of Level 10 within me. Rohan does the same and, before we know it, Lucas has me tucked close to his side on top of the silo, and the three of us are finally safe.

  At least for a little while.

  We pull ourselves to our feet and look out on the horizon. The sky above us is dark, yet I don’t see any stars or the moon. No breeze moves the air, either. As my eyes adjust to our new location, a tingling sensation rolls up my arms. We worked so hard to get to Salvation, and I have no idea what to expect.

  We walk to the edge of the silo and peer across the land. Below, small lights cast long shadows over the hundreds of identical spawning silos surrounding our location.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I say.

  Looking up, the “sky” isn’t a sky at all. We’re in a larger domed structure made from the same dark metal as our silo. Connecting lines zigzag across the vast, artificial cover.

  “Look,” Lucas says.

  I barely hear him over the pounding pulse in my ears. Avatars jump from the tops of their silos and head off in different directions, each moving with purpose.

  My breathing hitches as I stumble back toward the center of the silo’s ledge. “Is this really it?”

  “I refuse to believe there isn’t more to this existence,” Lucas says.

  I scoff. “There’s always going to be more. More levels, more fighting, more death.”

  I glance at Rohan. His eyes are narrowed and calculating. This isn’t what he expected either. I’m about to speak when, from the corner of my eye, I see a bright streak careen toward us. I jump back as the light crashes into the spot where I was just standing.

  White-hot plasma sizzles while it cools on the metal plating.

  The blasts come faster now, and we move quickly to dodge them.

  “Over there!” Rohan commands.

  Across the way, from several silos in the distance, a group
of avatars target us. They move in on our position.

  “What is their problem?” I ask.

  “It’s the game,” Rohan says. “They’re probably a clan.”

  “We need to leave,” Lucas says, pulling me alongside him.

  We don’t have much time to think of a plan before we leap from the silo roof, barely avoiding another spray of plasma. My feet catch the side of the metal walls as the structure angles down, and I pick up speed while sliding. Hitting the ground, my knees instinctively buckle and I roll forward, absorbing the fall enough that I don’t injure myself.

  Another blast of plasma falls between me and Lucas. Rohan shoves us forward, and we hardly move a few feet before two avatars target us, guns at the ready. A strikingly beautiful blond girl with blue face paint lunges at Rohan. He knocks her down with the pommel of his sword.

  I grab my daggers and ready them. A heavy set guy holding a gun lumbers at me, blasting away. I duck down and spin away from his gunshots. Bullets zip past me. Popping back up, I launch a dagger at him, knocking the gun out of his hand. I pull my weapon back toward me and swiftly kick the man in the jaw with my boot. He falls hard to the ground, out cold.

  “This is crazy,” I say.

  “It's like a free for all,” Lucas adds, dodging another plasma bullet.

  Several avatars reach us. They have different colored uniforms. Blasts zip past them as they realize they, too, are under attack. The first group who initially attacked us somehow find us again and charge forward.

  “We need to find cover and regroup,” Rohan says.

  “Over there,” Lucas says, pointing. In the distance, at the edge of dome, yawns a large structural opening.

  “Go! Go!” Rohan shouts above the fray.

  Smaller battles wage all around us. We dodge misfired bullets the entire length we run. And I hope we’re far away from the ones who attacked us initially.

  As we get closer, the details of the opening grow clearer. It’s an archway, open to anyone. A breath whooshes out of me. We’re not safe yet, not by a long shot.

  A group of four avatars rush to block the archway. I assume the black and red uniforms display their clan’s colors. Lucas steps in front of me when a gun fires. I don’t even have time to scream. The world seems to slow and I begin to panic. Rohan throws his sword forward just as I’m about to shove Lucas aside, and the bullet ricochets off the blade and shoots back toward the guy.

  Without any words, Lucas, Rohan, and I jump into action. One by one, the avatars fall. They fight without a sense of consequence. It’s just a game for them, but knowing our lives are truly at stake gives us an edge.

  I don’t feel bad when they fall. Unlike Myco, they’ll respawn and jump back in to fight all over again.

  My eyes blur for a moment as we start forward again.

  We enter through the archway, keeping close to each other. There aren’t any windows, but at least the dim lights in the ceiling allow us to see our next step.

  I whirl around, making sure we’re alone. “Do we have any idea where we need to go?”

  “Away from the silos,” Rohan says. “It’s too crowded in there.”

  “And if we die separately, there’s no way to know if we’d respawn together,” Lucas says. “Or respawn at all.”

  “Got it,” I say. “Don’t die. Simple enough.”

  Lucas smirks, but it quickly fades as half a dozen avatars race toward us. An all female clan blocks our path. He shoots, taking two down before they’re within my daggers reach. None of females have weapons, but they’re quick. They charge at us as if they have a grudge. Dodging my daggers, two avatars rush forward, plowing their fists against my stomach. Their blows hit me like bricks, and I tumble backward, struggling to draw in a breath.

  Rohan plunges his sword into a female and then pulls the blade from her dead body in time to plunge it into a different avatar. One of their companions comes forward and puts Lucas in a headlock. Her eyes are determined. I find Lucas’ eyes. His are full of hope, even in the most dire of situations. I throw a dagger and the small blade slices through her arm. She loosens her grip, and Lucas flips her over his shoulder until they face off, then he shoots her in the chest.

  There are two left. They back away from us, but they don’t run. One of them puts two fingers into her mouth and blows. A sharp whistle bounces off the walls. Within seconds, footsteps fill the space, and a dozen more avatars appear in the tunnel.

  “We need to go,” I say.

  We bolt down the hallway, but their footfalls aren’t far behind. We blindly run farther into the tunnel system, away from the clan of player-controlled avatars.

  A female voice comes from nowhere, startling me. “Turn left.”

  I turn my head in all directions, looking for the girl. It’s just me and the boys.

  Still confused, I nearly trip over Lucas' foot.

  “Did you hear that voice?” Lucas asks, proving I’m not crazy.

  “Yes,” Rohan answers, and slams his hand against the door to our left, flinging it open.

  We race down a narrow hallway toward a stairwell leading upward.

  “Where did it come from?” I ask.

  “I think it’s in our head,” Rohan says.

  “Go up,” the voice echoes.

  We don’t hesitate, but I wonder if this is another trick. It is the same voice who told us of Salvation, but she could just be a part of the game. I have no way of knowing if we can trust her.

  As she instructs us through the maze of tunnels, the other avatars fall farther and farther behind until I no longer hear them. We’re several floors up from the metal silos and finally alone, but that doesn’t stop us from running. We rush up an inclined ramp toward a long corridor. The moment we’re inside, I stop dead in my tracks.

  Above us are massive windows that open up to the sky.

  No, not the sky. Space—outer space.

  Bright stars flicker on the expansive horizon outside the window. A massive planet made of blue and green swirls floats to the right.

  “Holy crap,” Rohan breathes.

  “Where are we?” I mutter.

  Is Salvation a space station of some sort? The spawning dome was massive, and we ran for a long time. I can’t quantify what kind of spaceship could hold this much, but nothing is normal in this game world.

  The three of us walk toward the closest window. The beauty consumes me. A few minutes pass and no one comes for us. Wherever we are, it seems like we’re safe for now. After a few minutes, we continued down the corridor, not able to take our eyes off the amazing view provided by each port we pass. The path we take seems to wrap around endlessly, but I don’t care. The scenery has entangled me.

  Lucas stops, planting his hands on the ledge of the window, and lifts his head back. “Is this it? Are we just going to have to fight forever? It can’t be.”

  Rohan and I come to his side.

  “I mean, maybe you’re right. We have to keep looking, right?” Rohan asks, his eyes darting from star to star.

  “If this is just programming, then there is no Salvation,” I say. “What’s the point?”

  I reach out to touch the glass when the female voice says, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

  Rohan whips around, pulling his sword up to fight. I turn too, realizing that the voice isn’t in our heads anymore.

  A stunning girl stands before us. Her red hair cascades over her shoulders and down over her crossed arms. A playful smile dances on her lips, and her green eyes lock onto Rohan. She doesn’t look much older than any of us.

  Recognition flashes over Rohan’s face. His mouth drops open. “Kara?”

  End of Book One

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  A Dark Fantasy Novel by ELISA S. AMORE

  Translated by Leah Janeczko

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  Chapter one

  The Opalion

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