Gamer 1 - Skotopia: A Gamelit novel for science fiction action fans

by Rodzil LaBraun

  As I sat there catching my breath, which had to be completely in my mind, I tried to count how many shots had been fired by each player. Then subtract that from what they started with. But it was too much math for my adrenaline rushed brain.

  I pressed a button on top of my newly acquired cache box. The solid black material that it was comprised of fell off the sides and dropped into the ground, no longer visible. What remained was two health packs, five crossbow bolts, and five arrows.

  We were both at full health and did not need the packs personally. Our other two players still had their own health boosters that they hadn't used. But the arrows were useless to anyone other than Zaya.

  Memphis offered to run back to the tower to give our sniper the valuable ammunition, but I would have no means to protect her with just a sword. Instead, she watched for the booger that had just shot me twice a minute ago as I sprinted for the structure that had our best player on top. My girl now had five more bolts to fire thanks to my heroics.

  I rounded the thin building without getting shot again and scrambled up the ladder. Once on top I reached forward with the five arrows. But Zaya was occupied at the moment. I should have just dropped them beside her slim avatar legs and returned to the battle. However, I was drawn to the flurry of activity around the other cache.

  Dogie sprinted for the ammo and health much like I had done. Rhese put a bolt in him right away and readied a second one as he dropped to the ground. He crawled the remaining way to grab the handle on the black box just before Rhese popped up to shoot him again. I watched in horror as an arrow fired from the farthest tower arched through the air to land in our team captain's shoulder.

  Her crossbow dropped along with the affected limb, but not from her hand. She quickly pulled out her short sword as she sprinted for the level six opponent lying on the ground. A gruesome but expertly placed hack with the blade removed a second opposing player from the game.

  The speed, intense focus and endurance of our leader was impressive. With both Dogie and whatever supplies he had vanishing from the scene, Rhese needed to scramble for cover. Two wounds marked by the simulated sticks protruding from her body meant that she was low on health. She dropped her sword to the ground and pulled out a health pack.

  The nearest bunker to her position was forward. The one where Dogie had just came from. She sprinted that way as she slapped the health to her shoulder. The maneuver took too long, though. Another arrow flew from Charr's bow to strike our player in the chest.

  Sihon popped up from the bunker where he was hiding close to my old position to fire another arrow. Zaya pulled back her bow but didn't unleash the projectile. The target was too far away and would duck back down before the arrow arrived.

  Memphis was as focused on the activity as I was, not covering the back side like she probably should have. I couldn't blame her, though. I was standing on a tower with just a sword watching like a spectator.

  Sihon's shot struck Rhese in the side and sent her off course. Instead of diving for cover behind the bunker, she was partially exposed as she tried with her limited mobility to right the situation. Unfortunately, it was too late. Charr's amazing accuracy sent an arrow into our team captain. She immediately dropped to the ground motionless.

  A moment later a loud bird call signaled an update on the scoreboard. The Black Vipers registered their first point. We were still leading by a wide margin, five to one. Rhese had scored four points herself. Three in the zone and one with a kill.

  Despite the four-point advantage I wasn't feeling good about things at all. The Vipers lost their two weakest players, albeit one of them was a level six. And we lost our captain. On top of that, I had left Memphis by herself near the center of the battlefield.

  As I retreated down the ladder on the backside of the tower, I heard Zaya fire an arrow. The unique sound of the weapon's string vibrating was followed by a fading whoosh as the projectile flew away from us. Hopefully, she was keeping Memphis alive while my worthless butt was getting back into position. But all I had was a sword. Acquiring a ranged weapon was a high priority.

  If I took the time to consider what each team had left on the battlefield, I would be even more concerned. Vipers had a level nine and seven remaining, so that totals sixteen. That was just a representation of their skills. And they had two longbows. My team had a level seven, three and one, totaling just eleven. And even with the extra player our lack of ranged weapons negated that advantage. Zaya had the long bow and Memphis the small crossbow.

  I darted for the bunker between me and Memphis amazed that Sihon didn't shoot at me. He was either low on ammo or pinned down by Zaya. His team didn't get supplies because Dogie was killed just after retrieving them.

  "Number two down!" Zaya screamed. It didn't mean that their second-best player was eliminated. It meant that Charr was coming down from the tower to advance toward the center of the battlefield. "Both wide! Be prepared!" our sniper shouted.

  It was a good thing that I got our top player those extra arrows. She was going to need them to protect me and Memphis. The bad thing, though, is that both of us were near the center. We were about to get flanked.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Blue lightning spread violently across the sky as thunder boomed and shook the ground beneath me. A thick beam of red light then made its way down over the course of a few seconds. Though the display was different, I knew what was happening. I had watched the time tick off the clock above the center zone. We were eight minutes into the game.

  I risked a glance over the chest high hedge wall in time to see another box materialize out of thin air. A large crossbow appeared right beside it. Just two meters beyond it was Memphis with her knees pulled up to her chest and a very frightened expression. She hadn't been expecting the drop apparently.

  In that brief peek at the battlefield, I was able to spot both of their players. They used the boom of the cache drop as an opportunity to advance. Sihon sprinted for the newly arrived large crossbow on their side of the center zone while Charr advanced to a flanking position on the left. She ducked down behind the barricade where Dogie had spent most of his limited time in the game. That was also where Rhese's avatar was eliminated.

  Seeing both of them take cover told me that it was a chance for me to move. I took off around my hedge to join Memphis on our side of the score zone. I accidentally frightened her when I threw my sword forward so I could have both hands available to scoop up the goods. Squatting beside her I wasted no time opening the box and collecting ten bolts for the new crossbow. I left the arrows and the health kits tucked against the barrier. Neither of us had the capacity to carry anything more.

  "Swap weapons?" I asked as I peeked over the wall. Without any word from Zaya I assumed that both enemies were still where I saw them last.

  "No," Memphis replied. "You keep it. You'll probably be a better shot than me anyway."

  Her aim skill was one higher than mine, but she had been playing for over a year. I got my two points in just my second game. So, she was probably right. The point system was performance based and didn't take into account what I was naturally good at. Each point was harder to acquire, but it seemed reasonable to assume that once I had played as many games as her, I could be a ten or better in the accuracy category.

  I placed a bolt in the firing slot and pulled back the thick cord that would propel it. The other nine slid into a bracket affixed underneath the weapon. Memphis still had eleven bolts for her smaller version of my bow and declined when I offered to share.

  Eleven minutes left on the clock which was almost directly above me. Viper in the zone, then appeared on the screen as Zaya unleashed an arrow just over our heads. I heard a man's voice cry out in pain as his body dropped and rolled across the ground. Sihon had entered the center section, taking damage as he did.

  The score zone was like a box made out of slightly shorter walls. Openings in the corners allowed for entry from all directions. To hide from an archer in the watchtower th
e Vipers captain would either have to hug the side wall tightly or advance to what would be the far wall for him. A quick look around the end of our barricade confirmed my suspicion.

  Sihon was directly on the other side of our hedge!

  I signaled to Memphis what I had discovered. The guy could probably reach over the wall and impale us with his sword at any moment. He had to know that Memphis was here if not me. He was probably applying a health pack first since he had taken damage. Then we could be doomed. Zaya wouldn't likely shoot that close to her teammates, so we had zero protection.

  I motioned for my girl to run back to the bunker where I had just come from. That would put more distance between her and Charr. It would also have her halfway to the tower with our sniper. She quickly dropped a health pack so she could carry the five arrows to give Zaya.

  Speaking of our best player, she had been awfully quiet lately. Was she afraid to call anything out that would give away our position?

  I looked up at the tower to see where she was currently aiming. But she wasn't even there.

  Memphis sprinted for her new bunker. That yellow spiked hair remained in perfect shape. I was still watching the back of her avatar's body as an arrow struck her in the left shoulder. She dove from the impact then crawled to safety before Charr could fire another shot.

  I figured Sihon would be ready for more action if he chose. His teammate may have alerted him to Memphis fleeing from the other side of his bunker. Did they know that I was still there?

  The Viper captain could be planning to stay hidden as he racked up points in the zone. That is probably what I would do. Just as I thought that I saw the tip of his newly acquired large crossbow above me. Without Zaya on high ground to keep him pinned he was able to get a free look at our side of the battlefield.

  I knew that my position would not remain a secret much longer. I decided to take advantage of the surprise element before it was gone.

  I pushed my feet against the wall to slide my back across the ground. My pseudo body moved more smoothly than I expected. By the time he noticed me I was already releasing the projectile from my weapon. It hit him square in the forehead and sent his body flying backwards flipping comically.

  Head shots caused more damage, I knew. Hoping that the close proximity multiplied that I watched the scoreboard for a few seconds to see if he was eliminated. No such luck.

  Charr couldn't see me where I was laying on my back. I figured I had maybe another ten seconds before Sihon would try to get an angle on me. I used that time to hurry to the bunker adjacent the one that Memphis just claimed. Back toward the tower that we never used. That should prevent us from getting flanked easily.

  I was almost there when pain shot down my leg. A short thick stick jutted out of my thigh. It was a crossbow bolt, so that meant it was fired by Sihon. He had recovered already. They said that he was resilient, but I hadn’t expected someone virtually invincible.

  The scoreboard put another point up for the Black Vipers. One minute in the zone. That was going to be a problem. We held a three-point lead at roughly halfway through the game, but it wouldn't last long if we didn't remove Sihon one way or another. Parking his butt in the score zone for the final ten minutes would give his team a decisive victory.

  I applied one of my health packs to negate the damage that I had just taken. My endurance was just level one. It wouldn't take much more to end my game. I couldn't risk it.

  As the pain ebbed away, I spotted movement beyond Memphis’ bunker. The familiar tall sleek form of Zaya was moving up the right side of the battlefield, her long purple hair blowing back as she went. An arrow notched she was ready to force the Viper captain out of his valuable location. She dodged an arrow from Charr gracefully and then went out of view.

  Thunder and lightning again. The health and ammo caches along the sides respawned. We were at the ten-minute mark.

  Then something touched my arm. I jerked back when it turned out to be a small black snake slithering through the grass. Was that a new element of the game? Could they cause damage or were they just a distraction? Or maybe the Black Vipers had unleashed their namesake on us. If that were the case, could we bring a giant orange dragon into play?

  I looked around the left side of my bunker to see Charr going for the ammo and health that laid between us. I couldn't get a shot off before she ducked out of view. I was afraid to pop up and get shot by Sihon if he wasn't currently pinned down. I had left all that health tucked up against our side of the hedge where I shot him. At some point, I'd like to go back and retrieve it.

  I crawled to the other end of the wall to get a look at the center zone just in time to see it being vacated. The Viper captain jumped over the short wall on my side with an arrow in his butt. Hugging the hedge for cover he started signaling his teammate to retreat so she could go at Zaya from another angle. While he was still communicating, I lined up my shot with the crossbow and let it rip. The yelp of my target when the bolt struck his chest was priceless.

  Without looking around to see where the shot had come from, he quickly jumped to his feet and retreated to Charr's bunker, though I wasn't sure if she was still there. One of Memphis' shots barely missed the back of his head in the process.

  We had just reversed the situation. By Memphis and I splitting up we were harder to flank. Both enemies got herded into a corner. And the score zone had been vacated. Zaya was primarily responsible for that turn of events when she wisely came down from the tower to join the attack. Seeing her dominate games with my own eyes put her on a plateau even higher than my friends had her.

  Level seven, no way. Zaya was a ten in my book.

  Chapter Nineteen

  We needed to keep our opponents restricted to a small area to maintain the advantage. I knew that Zaya would be thinking the same thing. So, I shifted to the other side of my bunker to watch the left edge of the battlefield. From my prone position with my crossbow ready, anyone trying to advance this side was going to get hurt.

  Not much happened for a while after that. No enemy appeared in my view and I didn't hear the telltale sign of any shots fired. The crossbow had its own signature thoing sound, the larger version a bit deeper in tone. Occasionally, I glanced over to Memphis to see her watching the center of the battlefield from the near side of her barricade. She looked extremely nervous and never made eye contact with me during those brief peeks.

  I wasn't sure where Zaya was, but she had to be guarding the right edge of the battlefield. Our team was in great position, especially with protecting a lead. The Vipers couldn't afford to play the waiting game, but we could.

  The stupid snake slithered up onto my back. My determination to ignore it came to an end when its tiny sharp teeth latched onto my ear. I winced at the sting but remained quiet to avoid giving away my position. Using my trigger hand, I grabbed the thing and hurled it forward several meters. Hopefully, it wouldn't return and continue to pester me.

  I barely noticed the crossbow bolt fly out from behind the hedge where I had seen Sihon take cover. From the nearly lateral angle he must have been shooting at Zaya as she advanced. Two seconds later an arrow came back his way. I had no idea if either of them had been hit.

  The sound of wildlife had faded considerably and that allowed me to hear the chime from the scoreboard above. Viper in the zone again. It must have been Charr this time. How did she get in there without any of us seeing her?

  That was the thing about solid cover. It blocked your view dramatically. Peeking over the top to see better would make me visible to anyone looking. Yet lots could happen out there while I’m looking the other way. We each had our job to do but getting snuck up on would ruin our chances at winning.

  I decided that I had been overconfident about our positions. Memphis and I were still too close together and not getting a good enough view of the battlefield. I waved to get her attention to let know that I was going to move again. I was glad to see her respond by getting up on one knee to aim toward the Viper captain.r />
  I sprinted toward the bunker all the way to the left just before the halfway mark and slid the last few feet. It didn't allow me to see much as I went, but I was fairly sure than no one fired at me. With my girl watching the area in front of my new cover, I decided to focus my attention on the central zone. And I was surely glad that I did.

  Charr was crouched against the far side hedge in the scoring area. Completely oblivious to my recent move, she was trying to get a peek at Zaya. However, she was fully exposed to me.

  I carefully lined up my shot after setting aside a second bolt. If I could reload quick enough, maybe I could hit her twice. She edged forward to look around the barricade as I steadied my aim. An arrow from my dominating teammate narrowly missed her face and caused her to jerk back.

  Thoing! I released my bolt with a steady hand, then scrambled to load the second one as I watched the result. The projectile struck her in the head and pinned her to the bunker momentarily. That gave me enough time to fire a second shot. Rushing it too much, the next bolt hit her in the gut instead. I didn't know how much health she had left, but it couldn't be much.