by Isaac Stone
15
“Hey big boy!” I yelled as hard as I could. “I’ve got your mother in here and she says I’m the best she’s ever had!” It had to attract at least one of them who understood English.
It worked.
Two seconds later, the first gat man ran into the tunnel with fury in his eyes. Behind him came the second, followed by the third. All had pistols. The first one fired at me when he ran into the tunnel, but his shot went wild and I nailed him in the gut with the shotgun. He went down, the thug behind him brought up his gun and Chamita struck from the side, spearing him through the throat. He went down in a spray of blood. The third tried to turn around, but Howard fired three shots in succession into him and he went down as well.
I was about to give the order to advance slowly to the door when Lester ran past me. He screamed some battle cry about “happy few!” and soared out the door. This left me with no choice but to follow him. I heard the women behind me and prayed none of the bootleggers were waiting for us on the other side.
By the time I was out in the sunlight, I could hear the bursts from Lester’s Tommy gun. He stood upright and fired off several rounds at the remaining two thugs. Before I could reach him, he’d taken a hit in the leg. Lester went down with the heavy Tommy gun bouncing off the ground. The remaining two thugs saw us and took off for reinforcements.
“That was a very stupid thing to do,” I told Lester as I used Chamita’s knife to cut open his pants leg. His left thigh bled badly and I worried the thug managed to hit close to an artery. The VR blood flowed out just as quickly as the real version.
“I wasn’t going to let you have all the glory,” he grumbled. I could see him wince from the pain.
By now, Bonnie was holding his hand as she pleaded us to do something to save him. Chamita produced some of the healing fungus she’d brought along and applied it to his leg. It seemed to stop the blood, but I didn’t know if it could fix a wound this bad.
“Will be fine,” Chamita said as she fixed his wound. “Heal fast.” I wasn’t so sure.
Howard and I made a circle of the perimeter as the women dealt with Lester’s wound. We discovered the exit from the caverns was next to the abandoned asylum. Strangely enough, we’d made a big circle in the caverns and ended up in the same place we started.
“We both know the bootleggers will be back,” I said to Howard. “We need to take positions we can defend when they return. The basement of that asylum didn’t work out so well.”
“Can’t use that old building,” Howard agreed. “I was afraid of falling through the floors.”
“We could go back down there and see if we could get some more help from the cave dwellers,” I speculated. “But I’d rather not venture back into those caverns.” The sun was now high in the sky.
“Can’t say I disagree,” Howard replied. “I’d be happy never to go down there again. Would like to get that giant scorpion’s head to mount on the wall of my cabin.”
“We can do that later. Right now, we need to figure out how to get you off the mountain and to civilization. We can’t count on anyone’s help but our own.”
The dice spun in my favor today. The hit points of the bootleggers didn’t match ours when we attacked from the cavern. My lure worked. As we walked the overgrown garden where we were, I turned and looked at Chamita. Right next to her was the bag she’d brought along. The one that contained her photographs and jewels.
“What’s that?” Howard pointed to something shiny on the ground. We went over to check it out.
It was a set of keys to a truck. One of the bootleggers dropped it during the firefight. Now I had the keys to a truck, all I needed was one for my team. If I could get them off the mountain with their part of the treasure, the game would be over and I would get my bonus.
I looked the truck keys over and handed them to Howard. “Can you drive one of these?” I asked him.
“I drove plenty of trucks in the army,” he told me. “If it’s a newer model, won’t be any trouble.”
“Good. When I talk to Chamita about her sparklies, we can get you three your share of the treasure. Then you can leave this place. By the way, how did you get up here?”
“We had a ride from a farmer. He took us a few miles from the site then let us off. He’s supposed to be back in three days to pick us up. Guess I’ll need to find a way to get in touch with him if we leave early.”
I watched Chamita work on Lester. She seemed to have a good knowledge of first aid, which was good, as he needed medical attention right away.
We decided to stay put for the evening. By the time Howard and I finished with the perimeter patrol, it was getting late. Chamita went in search of game and we found a supply of fresh water from a mountain spring next to the old building. Lester’s leg improved over the next few hours and he hoped to be walking in the morning. If nothing else, the wound brought him and Bonnie closer together. I hoped their share of the treasure would be a nice chunk to get them started in married life. If I recalled my history, the economy was due to hit a landmine very soon.
It was odd the way I’d begun to consider these NPC’s real people. Chamita gave me a little hug before she left and I appreciated it. Of course, this got snickers from the other members of our team. She did have a little more spring in her step when she left with the spear.
“At least we don’t have to worry about her bringing back a giant rat this time,” Bonnie mentioned as she watched Chamita vanish into the brush. “I considered starvation before eating that thing.”
“The white fish was good,” Lester mentioned. “I can see that cavern used for all kinds of biological field studies in the future.” He sat on the ground as Bonnie cave him water to drink from her canteen.
Howard and I went out to look for fallen wood to start a fire. We found plenty, and brought some back to get a campfire going to cook whatever Chamita brought back.
“You’re not worried the bootleggers will notice our fire?” Howard said to me as we sat there and watched the flames.” We both sat on a log.
“They know we’re here,” I told him. “We’ll post watch again. Chamita will scout them out too. By the time she’s back, we’ll know what they’re up to.” I tossed a piece of wood on the fire.
“Sorry you have to delay your wedding night,” Howard brought up. “Guess you can consummate it later.”
I turned and starred at him. There were parts of this VR game I couldn’t fathom. In their effort to make it as real as they could, the designers gave the NPC’s some agency and they acted upon it. I couldn’t tell Howard that none of this was real and Chamita didn’t matter because I would fracture the game. Worst of all, I could kiss that bonus good-bye if I pulled that stunt. So I kept my mouth shut and played along.
“You are going to have to decide,” Howard continued, “how to deal with her later. I get the impression Chamita doesn’t know what a city looks like. She’s probably never been in a train or car. You’ll l have your hands full. But I guess love solves everything.”
Fact was, I would miss them all. We’d been through a lot, even if this was a VR world. Chamita I would miss most of all. There was a real danger in this game being confused for reality. Plenty of jokes abounded about gamer dudes who fell in love with their characters, but this system took it to the ultimate level. I’m sure it would be a major attraction for the sales department.
Chamita made her appearance an hour after sunset with a deer slung over one shoulder. This was a small one, so it wasn’t hard for her to carry it. She went to work skinning the carcass and cutting out the meat. In less than an hour, we had venison roasting on a spit. For the first time in days, we had a decent meal out of something all of us recognized.
Chamita and I posted the first watch. Most of the time, she sat next to me on the log and didn’t say a word. I had the sensation she was afraid I was about to leave her. I could see the pain of Lobo’s loss in her eyes. The attachment she had to the wolf was intense. She seemed happy to have so
me physical contact. Every hour or so, she’d spring to life and check something in the brush. It was always an animal of some kind.
I was ready to nod-off when Howard nudged my shoulder. “I got the next one,” he told me. “Either of you love-birds see anything?”
“No,” I responded. “Been quite all night. Chamita saw some movement in the brush a few times and went to check it out. But it was a rabbit or squirrel each time.”
“I’ll wake up Lester and Bonnie when it’s their turn,” he said. They were curled up next to each other near the fire.
“If you want privacy…” he started to say.
“I’m alright,” I told him and walked to the other side of the fire with Chamita. We found a soft, grassy spot and lay down.
I leaned back and wondered what would come next. Something told me everyone in the master control room at Sandstone Gems took notes and watched. Let them, I didn’t care by now.
I felt Chamita’s curls on my neck. She folded her tiny form on top of me, planted a kiss on my lips and fell asleep. Guess I was spared my marital duties in this VR life. I drifted off as I watched her sleeping form and wondered why real life couldn’t be this nice. Well, I could do without the cavern and murderous bootleggers.
I woke the next morning with the smell of the campfire smoke in my nose and the sun on my face. The dew was in and I was soaked from it. I reached over for Chamita, but she was gone. I rose up to see where she was and found the other members of the team snoring away. Lester had fallen asleep while he sat. His leg appeared to be in much better shape.
The next thing I knew, Chamita was at my side. She bent down on her heels and whispered into my ear. “They here,” she said. “Bad men. Wake others quiet.”
16
“How many are there?” I asked her. Chamita held up three fingers.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said to her. “Any one of them with a Browning could kill all of us. Can you circle around behind them and do some damage with your spear? I’ll wake the others.” She nodded and disappeared with silence into the brush.
I crawled over to the others. Howard was easy to wake; I nudged him. When he opened his eyes, all I had to say was, “We got visitors.” He reached out and grabbed the carbine that was next to him. I told him Chamita was out in the brush and he nodded.
Bonnie and Lester proved to be difficult. They were entwined, which made it impossible to wake them separate. With Lester’s leg, I’d wanted him to be the last one up this morning. I solved the problem by telling them both to wake and be quiet. Once their eyes were open, I let them know about what was out there.
“There are three of them,” I told my team once we were all in the same place. “Chamita is out there with her spear. I’d put the odds on Chamita since this is her home territory.” What I didn’t tell them was I’d looked up the stats in the logbook once Chamita left and she had a very high combined score with her weapons as opposed to three red shirt gat men with cheap guns. If, on the other hand, the mob boss had sent someone with the skills of a sniper and a machine gun, the odds didn’t look so good.
We sat there and waited for the VR dice to roll.
Five minutes later, I heard a scream from the brush.
“That’s one,” I said to my companions.
There was the sound of gunfire and then it was quiet. We sat tight and waited. The only noise we heard for ten minutes was the sound of cicadas. Then there was more gunfire and another scream.
“Two,” I counted. We stayed quiet but with guns ready.
And then a crazed gat man blasted through the brush with a revolver in his hands. Howard had his shotgun up and his finger on the trigger when the man fell over forward. He went down and didn’t move, blood pouring out of a knife from his back. We stood up and walked over to look at him.
Chamita materialized from the undergrowth and walked over to the body. She reached down and pulled the knife out of him. It had gone through his back, between his ribs, and punctured his heart. The man died instantly. She wiped the blood off the knife on his clothes, holstered it, and held up three fingers.
“That’s all of them,” I said. The day’s outlook suddenly improved.
I had a brief vision of me on the phone to our teenage son. He was trying to explain to me why he would be out late. “Just don’t piss your mother off,” I told him. “She once killed three men with a knife in the space of fifteen minutes.” Fantasies can be fun.
I felt the game was at an end. All we needed to do was find the trucks. And then I could see Howard, Lester and Bonnie off. Then the game would be over and I could return to my own world. We’d come far, but the game was about to end.
Or so I thought.
“You bastards have cost me a lot of money!” A voice growled behind us.
We spun around to see the angry form of a mighty man who held an automatic in his left hand. I should have known. Boss Fight.
17
I cursed myself for being a fool. We had less than two minutes to live. He had the drop on all of us and could shoot fast enough to kill us all. I needed a plan or it was game over for me.
“Don’t you want to know where the treasure is?” I said to him. “Kill us and you will never have the jewels.”
“I can kill you one at a time until the last one tells me,” he growled, as the hammer clicked back on the automatic. He had on a different suit today, one more adapted for a jungle safari.
“Why don’t I give you the treasure now and you go?” I offered to him. “You’ll have what you want.” The others remained quiet.
Guess the dice hadn’t rolled in my favor this time. He’d won the roll for opposition. But I still had a few moves left.
“Where is it?” he demanded. I motioned to the bag near the burned-out campfire.
“Go get it and bring it to me,” he ordered. “You think I am such a sap I don’t know what you’re up to?” He held the gun a little higher.
I sent Chamita a look to know I had something in mind and walked over to the bag. It contained the box of photographs and the one with the jewels. I walked back slow to the mob boss, as I made sure my path went right by Chamita. I held it out when I was two feet from him, but right next to her.
“Let’s see it, asshole,” he demanded again.
I pushed the bag into Chamita’s hands and yelled, “Run!” She took off in a sprint that would have made a gazelle proud. There was no time to calculate the potential hit points and stats, this was an act of desperation.
This caused two things to happen at the same time. The mob boss swung in the direction of Chamita’s form and fired off three shots. These were useless; she’d gone into the dense forest in a zigzag pattern. It was impossible for him to get a good aim on her. He then swung the gun at us as I collided with him. The mob boss went down as I bounced off his sold form, but he managed to get up to fire three more shots until his gun clicked on an empty chamber. One of the bullets struck Bonnie in the shoulder and she hit the ground. In between his shot and the one that hit Bonnie, Lester fired a burst from his Tommy gun and struck the mob boss in the forearm.
He swore and ran off into the brush after Chamita, blood streaming out of his arm. Lester had shot him in his left arm and the mob boss carried his gun in the right hand.
Howard fired two more shots after him with his shotgun, but the mob boss was lost in the brush. I could see where he was headed from the blood trail. The air smelled of gunpowder and dry weeds.
Lester, in no great condition himself, had his shirt off as he tried to stop the blood flow from Bonnie’s shoulder wound. I worried she might go into shock any minute.
“Howard!” I cried out, “Do you know if Chamita brought any more of that healing fungus up from the caverns?” I looked around for it.
“It’s over there,” Howard pointed out and ran to get it. Chamita had wrapped the fungus in leaves and left it there the previous day.
“How do you feel?” Howard asked Bonnie as he worked the fungus around the wound to s
tart the healing properties. Lester ripped her blouse away from the shoulder when he tried to stop the blood flow.
“Hurts,” was all she managed to say.
Howard unwrapped the leaves and looked inside the package. “It’s still fresh!” he called to me and went to where Bonnie lay on the ground with Lester. By now, he’d stopped the blood flow by putting pressure on the wound.
“Howard, you take care of Bonnie with Lester,” I told them. “I’m going after the boss. He’s trying to find Chamita. He may have more ammunition with him.” I turned and ran into the undergrowth as I followed the trail of blood.
It was easy to follow the blood trail. The mob boss bled constantly from the bullet hits he’d taken from that Tommy gun burst. The bright red color dotted the ground. It was splashed over tree limbs. With only the sound of insects in the background, I followed his spoor. The ground was dry and soaked up the blood the moment it hit.
I stopped at the tree line and looked out. If I blew through it and the mob boss was there with his gun reloaded, the game would end that second. In the distance, I saw him.
His hat was off and he’d finished reloading the automatic. As I scanned the area for signs of Chamita, I saw him slap the cartridge into the handle and swing it up, away from me. He was unaware I watched him from the tree line.
We were right next to the rear entrance of the abandoned asylum. A stairway once had terminated at the stone stairs to the ground level with glass doors to mark them. The glass was gone and the door boarded up, but Chamita worked feverishly to get those boards off. She still had the bag with the treasure in it in one hand. His gun swung in her direction.
I looked down at the ground. There was a rock the size of a hen’s egg. “I can do this,” I said to myself. I had the stat points for the body type I played in the game.
“Hey!” I yelled at the mob boss and unleashed the rock in my best imitation of a major league pitcher.
The rock missed him.
By the time he turned and fired in my direction, I was down on the ground, behind a bush. The bullet went over my head. The bush would provide no protection if he fired through it, but I relied on him not wanting to waste ammunition. I heard a breaking sound instead of a gunshot ten seconds later.
