Know Thy Enemy

by Dawn Chapman

  MISSION COMPLETE

  NUMBER OF ENEMIES KILLED 100%

  BONUS ITEMS DROPPED

  Pierce scanned the rest quickly.

  Then Pierce dismissed all the messages and got to collecting the loot and other items from the dead. There were a good number of guns and enough ammunition to keep him going a while longer. He grinned, pocketing the last few items.

  “I’m free now,” Wayne advised. “Still want help?”

  Wiping the blood out of his avatars face, Pierce answered, “I’m cool.”

  “How did it go? Any bonuses?”

  “The usual. This is getting too easy.”

  “It’s not going to be so easy up there,” Wayne warned. “Don’t forget that.”

  “I know.” But deep down he was not sure he believed it.

  Chapter Three

  Drayk

  The team entered—with Drayk in tow—a room completely different to the one they’d been talking in. Drayk had never been told what the rooms inside the academy contained, so as he stood and absorbed what he saw. Dark walls, grey shading, with gold lettering surrounded the whole space.

  His mind raced. What did it all mean? Was it science or magic?

  Several horizontal chambers, linked by flashing wire-lights, stood semi-circled together. The other team members moved to their own chambers, marked with their names. Drayk watched as each stepped inside, grabbed a headgear set, and proceeded to power up their machines.

  Their bodies settled back, then lifted from the floor, as if there was no gravity within these chambers. It fascinated Drayk, yet terrified him.

  Haal moved inside his line of vision, speaking calmly. “Come on, I’ll help.” He indicated one empty chamber, so Drayk stepped toward it. Haal handed him headgear, he took it, then slid inside.

  “Once you’ve got this on,” Haal tapped it, “it’ll take the chamber a moment to calibrate your physical attributes.”

  Drayk wanted to try it—all of it. “Got it.”

  “The game portrays you as you are now; there’s no hiding from anyone here. Other games, sure, you can play whoever you want, but we’re playing something a little different.”

  Words formed on the tip of Drayk’s tongue; he wanted to ask so many questions. They’d probably seem stupid to him. Instead, he looked into Haal’s eyes. He stalled, gearing up, adjusting the headgear. Haal secured it around his ears, made sure it was tight over his eyes. “See anything?”

  “No, nothing,” Drayk replied, shaking with nerves. “It’s pitch black.”

  Several sounds screeched in his ear, the worst of them a pounding garble. Then, he recognised the noise: Language. It came through in a cool female voice. As the language morphed to Drayk’s own, Haal grinned, seeing Drayk realise she was talking about him.

  It grew clear: “New player found. Scanning for attributes. Zero training detected.”

  Drayk swallowed as several screens popped into sight, passing so quickly he hardly had a chance to read them. Still, the quick female voice correlated the gist of everything for him.

  “Drayk Vellis, eighteen, schooled at Mont Vega. Specialty in science and engineering. Permanent resident: Manor Frool Orphanage.”

  Shivering at the orphanage’s mention, Drayk hoped it’d be over soon. He wanted to be rid of that place so much.

  The voice continued, “Physique and mental capacity—loading. Stats set to zero. Scanning, complete. Profile uploading. Initializing game drop point, in… Five…”

  Will I really be going in like this, with nothing? Drayk sucked in a breath. He felt a slight tap on the side of his face helmet. “Okay in there?” Haal asked.

  Drayk nodded but didn’t think Haal’d see that, so he answered aloud. “Yes. She’s counting down.”

  “Four…”

  “Great. Just breathe in and out. You’ll be fine. See you on the other side.”

  “Three…”

  Drayk’s body tingled from head to toe, the stats screens in front of him shimmering then vanishing. Nothing but blackness invading his mind’s eye. Panic set in. I can’t do this. Then he saw his face. It morphed into his brother’s. And it came: Yes. I can do this.

  “Two…”

  Whirring sounds pulsed in his ears, growing louder. Louder. Drayk wanted to cover them, to protect himself.

  “One…”

  Bam!

  Drayk’s feet hit something hard; pain shot through his body. The world around him blinked in and out, assaulting his senses in one massive hit. When he looked down, he stood in full black combat uniform, like the others. His thin, ragged clothes were gone.

  He tried breathing in, but then he couldn’t let anything out. His body strived for more oxygen, yet he couldn’t get it. Am I going to die already?

  Bright light triggered him to cover his face, but soon it dimmed, so he peeked at the world around him. The sounds and smells came to him a moment later. The stench of rotting flesh assaulted him. He gagged and fell to the floor. How could this be so real? Seem so real? It was then Drayk glanced around; everyone was there. Several things struck Drayk at once—not only the darkness surrounding him but the fact they were inside a building. Haal watched over them all.

  Haal took a step toward him. “You good, Sprout?”

  Drayk wanted to shake his head. His body tingled everywhere; he’d already started a headache. He tapped the side of his temple and grimaced.

  “Drei!” Haal shouted. “Got any protection buffs?”

  “A few, but nothing a newbie can take.” Drei reached inside her backpack, pulling out a two-toned-coloured vial. “This might be the best. FYI, it’s the only one I’ve got, Haal.”

  Haal took the vial, giving it a little shake. The two colours mixed and began glowing. He handed it over. “This should help some, Sprout. At least ease things your first time in.”

  Forcing himself to stand on wobbly legs, Drayk took the vial and popped off the lid. A strong, pungent, flowery odour wafted up. He hesitated, and Haal motioned to drink. “It’ll make you feel better.”

  Drayk downed it in one gulp. The sweet sensation washed over him. Not so bad.

  The voice in his head spoke clearly: “Vial of Drax absorbed.”

  The annoying pop-up stats screen came back, this time Drayk got a chance to read some of it.

  NAME—DRAYK VELLIS

  LEVEL—BASIC—1/100

  ARMOUR—BASIC—25/100

  AGILITY—BASIC—25/100

  ABILITIES—MASCOT

  HEALTH—100/100

  BUFF—VIAL OF DRAX—3 HOURS 58 MINS REMAINING

  The voice again, “Buff timer, counting down.”

  Staring at Haal, Drayk asked, “Who’s the annoying woman in my head?”

  “The AI. Called Mrissa. Our team manager.”

  “An AI?”

  Haal nodded, then moved to the group’s front.

  “Heart Rate elevated,” Mrissa said in his ear.

  Drayk could only watch as the team formed a tight circle around him. He knew it was standard protection—for a mascot in a game.

  Having never been part of a team before, it scared him. With a deep breath, he imagined a protective shield. That helped; he managed to relax—just a little.

  Mrissa responded, “Heart rate dropping.”

  “Where are we?” Drayk whispered to Stai, who was closest. The team stepped from the building out into the open. The dark green foliage around him smelled sweet. As his boots crunched leaves, a red light flashed before him, his stat screen flashed—

  LOCAL FLORA—1 HIT EVERY FIVE MINS

  HEALTH—99/100

  BUFF—VIAL OF DRAX—3 HOURS 55 MINUTES REMAINING

  “I’m taking damage already?”

  Stai edged closer. “It’s the flora. Poisonous to us. The buff you took should allow some protection. You need more, let me know. We’ll find something to use.”

  Drayk took a closer look at his stat screen. Something for him to watch.

  Drayk froze.

  It
might be a game, but this felt much more real. A loud humming noise emanated ahead. The silver of a Gen-Shield shimmered. He’d never been in the line of fire before. What happened here affected his real life.

  Mrissa was back. “Heart Rate accelerated.”

  “Keep moving, we’ve got your back,” Stai reminded him. One of the guys poked him in the back to get him going. Drayk shuddered. He wasn’t the bad guy here, but he felt like it. “I’m gonna slow you down.” He sucked in ragged breaths. “I should stay here.”

  Stai glanced to her left, raised her gun. The strangest creature Drayk had even seen appeared out of the dark green.

  The alien tried to react, his pink hands gripping a stick like weapon. Stai’s gun fired silently. The creature fell; no retaliation.

  When she returned Drayk’s gaze, she didn’t need to say the words, but she spoke anyway. “It’s not safe here. Now the quest bonuses are listed. This is an easy take. It’s supposed to be a science facility. Minimum guards.”

  As the team moved forward, their shooting grew more frequent—and louder. The building ahead loomed above them. Drayk got his first look at the alien structure. Twin moons hung low in the sky barely illuminating the four stories, edges sharp.

  Callo leaned in. “Something, isn’t it? This planet? Amazes me every day.”

  “Lo, he doesn’t know our position,” Stai interrupted. Then continued, “This is a top-secret game: Fight for New Ararat. We’ve been playing for a few months now.”

  “I’ve never heard of it,” Drayk admitted. Haal, Torin, then Drei moved out and stayed ahead of them.

  Drayk took a step to follow. Callo grabbed his arm, tugging him to the ground. “Let them go first; they can pick out the enemy danger zones.”

  Flanked by Torin and Drei, Haal edged further away. It wasn’t long before a drone spotted them. Incoming fire from the building kicked off. It was minimal but still deadly. Drayk and Callo took cover when needed, dodging in and out, but picked off the enemy with ease. They were obviously not as well trained in defence as Haal, and the others were in attack. Drei and Torin, excellent shots, did it all: popping up, taking aim, hitting their targets with precision.

  Drayk wondered what levels their skill stats and abilities were. He wanted the chance to get to know them all if they survived this mission.

  The damage he was taking was a concern. He hoped they’d be done and settled hours before it ran out.

  HEALTH—95/100

  BUFF—VIAL OF DRAX—3 HOURS 45 MINUTES REMAINING

  Moments later, Haal’s voice echoed into his ear. “Back door is open. Come on in.”

  With Callo, Stai, and Vic by his side, Drayk rose. The quartet headed toward the main structure. Foliage crunched underfoot until they met harder, more solid ground.

  A scream erupted ahead, followed by several bursts of gunfire. Torin’s panicked voice echoed in Drayk’s ear. “Pull back.”

  “I’ll go.” Stai stepped forward. “You guys watch the rear.”

  She sneaked forward, body hugging close to the ground, then bounced from wall to wall.

  “Back door open or not, that didn’t sound right,” Drayk said to Callo, who raised an eyebrow, concern etching his face.

  Stai vanished from Drayk’s line of sight.

  Loud banging followed muffled shouts. Drayk heard Stai curse then, “Filthy animals!”

  The blast of two energy shots struck the wall, inches from Drayk’s head. He let out a scream, instantly feeling childish, then Stai came back into view, face flushed. “We’re good.” She never batted an eye as he pretended to straighten his uniform.

  She motioned, come in. Drayk hesitated, but behind him came screaming and moaning, so he decided it best to follow all of Stai’s directions.

  With the rest following close, they entered. Drayk asked Stai, “What was that?”

  She pointed behind her, but as Drayk peered over her shoulder, she stopped him. “You don’t need to see.” She didn’t hide swallowing back a gag. “Hell, I didn’t need to see it. Or smell it.” Stai pinched the bridge of her nose, trying not to breathe through it.

  Now Callo pushed past her into the space while she held Drayk’s questioning stare. Callo’s curse made Drayk want to look even more, no matter how much Stai said he didn’t want to see it.

  Despite only being the mascot, he pushed past her, with Vic behind him.

  Standing over two large lumps, Callo’s whole body shook. Drayk moved closer then glanced down, expecting to see Torin or Drei.

  That wasn’t what he saw.

  The pulsating mass on the floor dripped blood; one creature worked at eating the other pink humanoid. Drayk covered his mouth. Bile rose, but he couldn’t stop it. The humanoid was dead, and the pulsating monster was severely damaged but alive for now. Drayk turned, vomited.

  “It’s okay.” He felt a hand on his back. “Never seen anything like it, either.”

  “This is a science base, yes? I’ve seen units before.” Drayk pointed to the wall around them. “They’re experimenting on species.”

  Callo nodded. “They’re creating monsters.” Then, with one shot, he ended the creature’s pulsating life.

  Footsteps came from the room’s other side, as Torin, Haal, and Drei entered. “Monsters?” Haal asked, staring at the mass on the floor. He frowned.

  The stats screen popped up. Drayk quickly scanned it. This time it shocked him.

  LEVEL UP—MISSION COMPLETE—ENEMY BASE ACQUIRED—

  ENEMY LEFT ALIVE—ZERO—BONUS AWARDED 100%

  LEVEL—BASIC—2

  EXPERIENCE—171/3000

  HEALTH—95/100

  BUFF—VIAL OF DRAX—3 HOURS 20 MINUTES REMAINING

  Chapter Four

  Pierce

  After six months of doing everything by himself, Pierce felt pretty silly stretching his neck while Wayne secured his tie. “I can do this a dozen different ways, you know?” Wayne said as he finished his work. “I could teach a whole class on how to tie these fuckers.”

  “Just be sure you’re not suffocating me,” said Pierce. “I have to breathe if I want to save the world.”

  Wayne giggled. “You’ll look as good as you could have at prom,” he said. “Who were you going to take again?”

  “Pamela Jameson,” said Pierce. “I’m not sure if I look good in blue marine…”

  “Pamela Jameson,” Wayne repeated, finishing his work. “I always had a crush on her. In fact, I had a crush on almost every girl in our class. Who’d she actually go with—?”

  Pierce interrupted him. “I’m not sure I look good in blue marine,” he said again, eyes on the mirror.

  “It creates empathy. Gives people the impression you’re one of them.” They both stayed silent. “Well, that’s what they said.”

  Pierce studied his face. The scars made him look like the evil sergeant in Platoon. He remembered his grandfather showing that movie on his old TV, to show young Pierce that becoming a soldier might not be such a good idea.

  “Shall we go then?” Pierce broke his gaze. “Are they downstairs yet?”

  Wayne walked to the front door monitor, pressed the button which activated the security camera. “I see a black limousine,” he said. He pressed another button, switching to another camera. “A bunch of soldiers in the lobby. A guy. And a girl. She’s holding a flower basket, the kind they used to bring to funerals.”

  “Very funny. No press?”

  “None I can see.” Wayne turned. “Think I should’ve worn a suit as well?”

  Pierce was already by the door. “Just to accompany me downstairs? Why bother?”

  “The girl’s really hot.” Wayne was still looking.

  “Are you coming? Or are you going to stare all day?”

  “You are one lucky son of a bitch, did you know?”

  “Well, maybe if you work hard, stay focused, one day you’ll have your body shredded into pieces,” Pierce said. “Shall we go?”

  As part of the contract he’d signed after
selection, Pierce couldn’t talk to reporters the week before the game. Apart from Wayne, no one knew his address. Even his agent could only contact him by video message, and he called many times during the first month. Reminding Pierce, “Every game company on Earth is offering millions for your endorsement. Most of these talk show hosts will die for an exclusive interview. Call me.”

  However, now that the game was about to start, the contract stipulated he’d need to give a press conference and pose for photographs. Pierce didn’t like the idea of abandoning his training at this critical moment, nor did he care for publicity, but it didn’t seem like he had much of a choice.

  “So, what you gonna do while I’m out?” Pierce asked while they waited for the elevator.

  “I have a pile of games waiting for me.” Wayne held the elevator doors opened, and they got in. “And there’s my porn. Have to catch up. So, I’ll either be playing by myself or with myself.”

  Pierce burst into laughter. “Only you. I can’t laugh in this situation. Oh, man, I have to be serious now!”

  Wayne laughed with him. “I’m sorry. It was too good to pass up.”

  The elevator doors opened. The lobby was taken by security guards. One tall man in a suit stood ready, waiting for Pierce. He’d clearly gone through a number of plastic surgeries. The woman with the flower basket stood at his side. Her long, dark hair reached the middle of her back. A tight vinyl dress displayed generous cleavage. Pierce couldn’t tell if she was there just to give him flowers.

  After a moment of awkward silence, Pierce whispered. “What now?”

  “Now you go out there. Do your thing. And you better do it well.”

  Pierce held his breath, then pushed his wheels and rolled out into the lobby. No reporters at all. Good. He didn’t have to worry about neighbours. His family owned the building; he’d evicted everyone else before moving in.

  “Good afternoon!” The man in the grey suit offered his hand. “I’m Roy Wilkinson. Here to make your trip as pleasant as possible.”

  Pierce shook his hand. The woman smiled without moving or handing him the flowers. Pierce looked back, hoping to see Wayne behind him. The elevator doors had shut though, and Wayne had disappeared.