by Isaac Stone
“The one under my hand in the chamber?” I asked her. “Does it have an equivalent inside the game?” I looked around; concerned it was back at the camp.
“Oh, sorry,” she told me, “check the back of your watch. The casement opens up.”
I found a seam in the back, where the gears would normally be located and popped it open. There it was a big red button. They couldn’t make it more obvious.
“Found it,” I told her.
“Good. Are you alright, or do you want us to pull you out. You vitals look good, but we have to ask due to the specifics of our insurance policy.”
“I’ll tough it out.”
“Okay, call us if you need anything else.” The face in the tiny screen faded.
I hadn’t told her about losing the watch; I’d deal with it later. Right now, I needed to get us down to that asylum and find a safe place to hide. Although I’d left my pack behind, they hadn’t checked our clothes and the logbook was still safe inside my jacket. I pulled it out and checked the map inside it.
According to the map, it was a safe descent to the asylum around the crashed airship; all we needed to do was follow the trail in front of us down the hillside. And, wonder of wonders, there was another cache indicated on the map. This one was a large one and I expected it hold something valuable. I decided to deal with it when we reached the asylum.
“Over here!” I cried to my companions. They quickly joined me and I pointed out both the crash and the location of the abandoned asylum. By now, the voices and gunshots were closer and they saw the logic in the descent to the old building.
We made the valley floor after a solid hour of climbing down the side the steep hill. This was a mountainous region, but ours wasn’t very tall. I helped the others down, as the trail became level.
“I found another hidden box,” I told them. No one asked how it was I could locate these things; it was built into the game system. “It’s a big one and may have some supplies. Without our packs, we’ll need them soon.”
“Are you sure about this one?” Lester asked. “The last one almost got us killed.” He put his hands on his hips in defiance.
“Why don’t you check it out?” I told him. “There is no way to know what’s inside these things. Avoid it and we miss out on an opportunity.”
Lester grumbled and walked over to where I pointed. He pulled the fallen wood off it and looked down. This one was the size of a trunk. Lester glared back at me, and then reached down to the lock. It popped open and he raised the lid. We all held are breaths until nothing happened. I’d plan to run for the asylum if anything loud went off again.
I was relieved when nothing happened. Lester peered down inside it in the moonlight and cocked his head. He pulled something out and held it up in the air.
It was a machine gun. One of the old-fashioned “Tommy guns” I’d seen so many times in movies.
“There are a whole lot of drums down here,” He cried back. “They carry the ammunition.”
“Bring what you can,” I yelled back, “We might need it all.”
There was the sound of a whine and we turned to see the wolf who worked with Chamita starring at us. It placed its head on the ground and made a yapping noise. Before I could say a word, it turned around and vanished into the bush.
“I guess that means she’s nearby,” I said to the others. “Come on, we need to reach that old asylum for shelter.”
7
We reached the bottom of the valley and made our way to the old asylum. It was covered with vines and most of the window glass was busted, but it appeared to be intact and not ready to collapse. There was some information in the logbook about the building, but I lacked the time to read it. The Sandstone crew had dropped me into this game without much of a brief, so I had to figure a plan out on my own. I speculated this might be part of the game test.
It was a single building, about three stories high that rose up from the ground. I couldn’t see much of the terrain beyond it, but the area in front had young trees growing up from the land. This had to be the former lawn where the patients would be walked by the asylum staff. I did some quick calculations in my head and realized the asylum was closed in the early 20th century. What happened at the place to shut it down?
“I think the steps to the front look solid,” Howard said behind me. “Let’s go inside that way.” He made his way to them and the rest of us followed.
There was the sound of shouting from behind and I turned to see the lights of electric lanterns coming down the path. It was the bootleggers again and they’d found us. It was a clear night and they could see our forms in the moonlight. I slapped myself for not attempting to hide when we reached the bottom of the path.
I had a hunch and whipped out the logbook. Wonderful, it had a complete layout of the old building and indicated the presence of several of the plot caches. There was one inside the door. The last cache had something we could use and I decided to risk it. I could read the logbook in the bright moonlight.
By the time we were inside, the voices became louder. We huddled in the vestibule of the old building and tried to figure out what to do next. I didn’t have enough light to search for the hidden cache.
“I don’t think we should go staggering about in the dark,” I told my companions. “This old place might have weak floors or holes you could fall through.”
“I have the solution,” Lester announced and pulled out a candle. Bonnie handed him a box of matches and he lit one of his shoe.
Now we had light and I could find the cache.
“Lester,” I said to him. “Follow me. I think there is something we can use in this place.” I walked down the hall with him in pursuit as the other two followed in the rear.
The old building smelled of mold and decay. The floors creaked, which would give us away instantly. I could hear sounds outside that told me the gangsters were on the stairs. This damn cache had better not contain lit fireworks again.
Remembering the location, I stopped and saw the old picture on the wall the map indicated. I moved it back to reveal the safe.
And then I remembered the character sheet on Bonnie said she had excellent lock breaking skills. Her number was very high. Time to see if the programs would generate a “win” this time.
“Bonnie,” I said to her. “Can you get this open? We don’t have much time.”
She smiled at me and looked into my eyes with her blue ones. “Of course, Vince,” she replied this won’t be a problem.” I hoped not, as I didn’t want to leave the game right now.
Her thin fingers grasped the dial and she spun it. I watched her place her face on the safe and concentrate. It was a mystical experience to see her go to work. Her blond hair draped down the wall safe door. She’d lost her flapper hat when the mobsters captured us.
“All the tumblers have fallen,” She announced. Bonnie leaned back and pulled the release handle on the safe. I could hear the gangsters outside.
The door to the safe swung open. As Lester shined his candle into it.
It was a plain card.
“They used an entire safe to hide that?” Lester exclaimed.
“There’s more,” I said and pulled out an automatic and low caliber pistol. I kept the automatic and gave Bonnie the pistol.
In the light of the candle, I turned the card over and looked at it. It reminded me of a tarot card, but it didn’t resemble any major arcana I’d ever seen before. The card showed stone blocks that hurled down from the sky. Beneath it where the words “Falling Masonry”.
“What does it mean?” Howard asked. I could see him twirl his mustache in confusion.
I was stumped. Here was a card that should help or hinder us; it all depended on how the programs tossed the virtual D10 dice. But all we had was some faux tarot card with a picture of blocks falling from the sky. Falling masonry? Of course, what the hell else could it be?
And then we heard the sound.
It was from the upper floors of the old building.
At first I worried, it might be an earthquake, perhaps it took one to bring this place down. But the sound was limited to the upper section of the building and it didn’t shake. And earthquake would’ve rocked this building from side to side. Just the same, I ran to a doorframe and advised everyone to do the same.
I heard the shouts of the bootleggers go silent. Then they became screams as the mobsters tried to get out of the way of something. I thought they might be in danger from the earthquake, if that is what it was, but still the building didn’t move. I decided I had to know what happened outside the building and ran to a room with a window that looked into the front. It was hard to see even in the moonlight, but I was shocked by the carnage outside the building.
All of the masonry facing on the upper part of the building, right over the entrance, was on the ground. Some pieces continued to bounce off the ground and the blocks that collapsed were settling into place. The card had caused it to happen.
I looked down at the card and noticed a glow from it. Then the glow faded as it was no longer needed. I placed the card inside my jacket, next to the logbook. There was no way to tell when it might be of use again.
I could see the bloody remains of two gat men underneath the rocks. They weren’t able to get out of the way in time and paid for it with their lives. In the distance, I could see the remaining mobsters who were trying to figure out what to do. They decided to retreat for the time being and returned to the path up the hillside. We were safe for the time being.
“The card caused the stones to collapse off the surface of the building?” Bonnie asked me. Like the others, she had left her position under a doorframe now that the threat was over.
I nodded. She starred at me with incomprehension.
“That’s impossible,” Lester announced. “There is no scientific way a piece of paper would cause the front of a building to fall off. Surely, we must have disturbed something when we entered the building. The bootleggers disturbed it more and the blocks fell on them.”
“Right now I don’t know what to believe,” I told him. “But I do believe I am very tired and we need a safe place to sleep. Why don’t you light that candle again and we can find us a room?”
Lester snorted and struck another match to light the candle. We used it to find a place that seemed far enough to the back, yet still had a second exit if needed. It appeared to be an old examination room, but most of the leather on the chairs and tables rotted off years ago. I kicked some dust from the floor and chased out a family of mice so we could have a place to sleep.
We settled down best as we could, with each of us taking a different corner. I hated sleeping on a floor, but there was no alternative. Soon, my teammates were snoring away. Even computer simulations needed rest.
I thought about taking out the pocket watch to check in with Sandstone Gems. I wanted to know what they did while we slept. Instead, I used the time to reflect on why I was in this VR game.
In some ways, this game was a metaphor for my life. I’d entered the workforce three years ago with all kinds of dreams and hopes, only to have them smashed the real world. I soon found out the valuable archaeological work I was supposed to perform was simply a way to make the politicians happy. They wanted us off the site way too soon so the people who voted them back into office could get on with building a road or development and put money in their pockets.
Even the treasure in diamonds represented something missing from my life: a woman. I hadn’t dated anyone in years because none saw future in a career that could barely support one person, much less two. And what happened when the children arrived. There was the manner of the student loans. What woman would want a man saddled with so much debt? I wasn’t a smooth operator who could charm the panties off a girl in a bar. I never developed the kind of social skills needed to get ahead in that meat market. I was always a loner as kid, who preferred his books to human interaction.
It landed me here in this place. Okay, this wasn’t a real abandoned asylum and the people snoring around me were simply computer programs. But it felt real and this made all the difference. At least they followed my lead. This was a different feeling and I had people who would listen to me for a change. At least I hadn’t gotten everyone killed. Or recycled, I wasn’t sure what happened to these simulations in the vast Sandstone system.
Maybe there would be a place for me at this company. I’d survived two days inside the game, had I not? What did they expect? I had the impression from Rhonda the company didn’t expect me to last anywhere as long as I had.
I dozed off after an hour of speculation. I dreamed I was back at the call center job. It was different this time. The phones were constantly ringing, even when I hit the answer button on my console. Over the sound of the phones, I was told that my work was substandard and I would be let go. I tried to get up and looked down at the chair in front of the desk where I was seated. There was a chain attached to it that ran around my waist. When I tried to get up, the chain kept me in place. The desk changed into the gaping maul of hell and began to pull me into it.
8
The light woke me. The sun was out and streaming through the window of the abandoned asylum. I could see it better now; there was plenty of holes in the walls and dead leaves in the middle of the room where we slept. My companions were asleep in their own corners as they slept better than did I.
She was right in front of me. The wolf girl. Next to her was the shotgun the bootleggers had taken from me with a box of shells. Chamita brought them back to me.
This time there was no wolf with her, but I had no doubts it was wandering around in the exterior. She probably sent it out there to prowl for any intruders or search for game. I’d seen that wolf of hers in action. I was glad it was outside the building and not in with us.
She sat in front of me cross-legged and didn’t make a sound. If I hadn’t turned and looked right at her, I would never have noticed Chamita. Where did she get that name? I needed to look up her character card in the logbook. I glanced down and noted she had a spear in her lap with her hand on the shaft.
The spear shaft was made from a polished piece of wood. I guessed a fallen tree branch, perhaps birch. It was smoothed down to a polish by her use of it. The spear point was made from a sharp piece of metal, which she could have found in the old building. As before, she wore the animal skins, which hid everything she didn’t want us to see. I noted her predominate color was brown to blend in with the scenery. Today she’d smeared mud on her face.
I didn’t see any blood on the spear point, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if I learned there were a few less mobsters in the world.
She had the knife used last night holstered on to her loincloth. I shuttered when I thought how deadly her attack had been. Chamita emerged out of the darkness and killed three gat men before they knew she was there. The game would be over for me and the rest of the group if Chamita hadn’t arrived.
“How did you learn to be invisible?” I asked her as I sat there. “I didn’t hear you at all this morning. Where is your wolf?” She continued to sit in perfect stillness after I’d talked to her.
“Lobo outside,” she told me. “Keep bad men away.”
I’d seen what Lobo could do and I wanted to be away from him myself.
“Pardon me,” I told her and reached in my jacket to find the logbook. I took it out and studied the plans for the building we were located inside.
Another cache was in the basement. I wasn’t sure if it was worthwhile to go down there, as we’d be trapped if the mobsters attacked again. The last two caches had things we needed; I didn’t want to push our luck. Our real goal was still the treasure and it was supposed to be around this abandoned asylum.
While I had the logbook open, I read up on the asylum. Founded in 1860 by a homeopathic physician from Baltimore, it was very popular with North Eastern American clients until people began to question the methods of the founder. The director and founder of the asylum was known as Dr. Henry Jadder an
d was a respected member of the Baltimore medical community. He’d taken his inherited fortune and used it to build this hospital in the wilderness for clients who wanted to get away from the eyes of the public. There were reports of obscene experiments to cure the insane and a team was sent into investigate. When they arrived, the inmates were loose and the staff slaughtered. Dr. Jadder was never found and people thought he’d gone mad.
Most of the former patients recovered, but couldn’t tell the authorities what happened. There were no records of what took place in the hospital books. The only thing discovered which was out of the ordinary were the dissected bodies of several patients in a sealed basement laboratory. The laboratory was discovered by accident and it was assumed the Jadder went crazy at some point and killed his staff.
The asylum was closed. No one wanted to go near the place after the disaster and it fell into ruin. The road to it gradually disappeared as the forest reclaimed it. The place was forgotten by everyone except the families who were affected. The mountain people knew about it, but they stayed away from the place.
“Cave,” she said to me. “There is cave below this place. You can hide there.” Still Chamita didn’t move.
“So where do you come from Chamita?” I asked her. “Let me see what I can find in the logbook.” I thumbed to the character sheet for her and read her specifics.
As expected, she had high points for physical ability. Her endurance level was superb and she was deadly with a bow and arrow. Likewise for a thrown spear or knife. Sandstone Gems went all-out to create her program. Other than the mud on her face, she was clean, a lot cleaner than you would expect a person who lived in the forest to be on a daily basis. She was someone’s fantasy. It was the only explanation I could find.
There wasn’t much listed on her background. I guessed it was part of the mystique of her character. Chamita was supposed to be some wild woman who appeared one day and no one knew from where she came. They called her that name because it was on the brand of canned fruit she stole out of a farmhouse when discovered. The police tried to chase her down, but she was too quick. Since her appearance two years ago, she’d become a legend in the hills of North West Pennsylvania. No one had photographed her.
