by Dante Doom
Van suddenly felt completely overwhelmed. He had no idea what to do, and no idea what to say. The information had been sent. Their desperate attempt to extend the mission had been a success. The intel would shed a ton of light on Draco’s operation.
“It’s Sang,” Kenwar said. “As I was running around, I saw her! She looked real hurt, but was able to hide. She had an arrow sticking out of her back—I think she might be dying.
Van’s stomach wrenched at those words. Sang was dying? All thoughts left his mind as he realized the enormity of the decision that he had made. By abandoning Sang, he truly had left her to die. Was this something that he could live with himself over? Just because she was willing to sacrifice others for the mission, did that mean he was justified in sacrificing her? Guilt washed over him and he felt a powerful urge to go back for her. The job was done anyway—the data was safe. What did he have to lose?
“I’m going back,” Van said as he shook his head. “Damn it. I’ve got to go back for her.”
“Are you insane?” Kenwar asked. “You’ll die in there! She’s gonna be dead soon, so we need to log out and tell Neil that we did everything we could before things get bad for us.”
“You can go wherever you want,” Van replied. “But if I leave her now, I’m no better than her. I shouldn’t have left her in the first place. Maybe it was the right decision and maybe it wasn’t. But I can’t let her die.”
“Do you mean she’s going to die for real?” Kylian asked. Van turned to face his team. They were all looking at him with fear in their eyes.
“I’m afraid so,” Van said. “If I were you, I’d log out of this game and find something new to play. This… this game isn’t a good thing.”
“To hell with that,” Bidane said. “Those sons of bitches tied me up! Dolly’s in the hospital for dehydration because of them. I don’t know what’s going on, but I want angry, fiery revenge.”
“Bidane, you should know better than the rest of these people,” Van said. “This isn’t a game anymore. Dying in that zone means dying in the real world also.”
“So?” Bidane asked as she crossed her arms. “Just because it’s not a game doesn’t mean we can just leave our own behind. I hated Sang because I knew she was cheating, but no one deserves to die over a game.”
“Aye,” Kylian said. “And if there really are some murders going on here, it’s my moral obligation as a former law enforcement officer to do anything I can to help. No wheelchair’s gonna stop me from doing my duty in this place.”
“I think you guys are crazy,” Sahara said. “I have this welt on my stomach in the real world. I’m not going in there.”
“I love how brutal this game is!” Capello said. “Just point and tell me who to kill!”
“Not so fast there,” Kylian said. “I’m perfectly fine with risking my life here, but if this dying in-game thing is really true, then there’s no way I’m going to let you in there, Capello.”
“But we’re going to need you for the escape,” Van quickly said. “If we’re running and being pursued by our enemies into regular territory, your fighting skills are going to come in really handy.”
“Fair enough,” Capello said. “I don’t care what I do as long as I get to see some action at some point.”
“You’ll see plenty,” Van lied. At this point, it was way easier to lie than to convince this psychotic fifteen-year-old not to risk his life for funsies. Kylian nodded appreciatively at Van.
“Alright, well, if everyone’s made their decision,” Kylian said, “we best go rescue Sang before it’s too late.”
“Are you guys sure you want to do this?” Van asked. “I can’t ask you to come with me.”
“I’m not doing this for her,” Bidane growled, “or you. I want revenge. They crossed a line with me.”
“Where you go, I go,” Kylian said. “Especially when it’s a chance for me to do something good for once.”
“I’m not going!” Kenwar said as he crossed his arms. “I refuse.”
Van put a hand on Kenwar’s shoulder. “I understand. You’ve gone above and beyond. Just stick around here.” Kenwar let out an audible breath of relief, but said nothing else.
“What about the army?” Kylian asked. “There’s plenty of players who are waiting for orders.”
“And what, we send them to their deaths?” Bidane snapped. “We don’t have time to play around—let’s go.”
“Good luck, guys!” Sahara said. “I’ll be rooting for you!”
Van took a deep breath and moved forward to lead his team back down the mountain. He desperately hoped that they weren’t too late.
Sang gasped as she shifted in the tree. Blood was pouring down her back and her entire body felt as if it were on fire. One of the side effects of the monster attacking her had been numbness. An arrow had struck her in the back, but she hadn’t noticed until the numb status effect wore off, revealing that her hit points were slowly draining. She had only fifteen points left, and after that, she’d be dead. She had managed to climb up in a tree to avoid detection, but the soldiers were everywhere. Without the ability to send messages, nor the mental stamina to try any kind of hacking maneuvers, she was going to die.
She wondered if it was a good thing that she’d be killed in the line of duty. The choices that she had made were too dark, too horrible to consider. Would a short life sacrificed to save the world be better than a long life with those memories always haunting her? Sang coughed a little, watching as her health dropped down another point. At this rate, she had maybe another hour left before she’d be gone forever. Perhaps the worst part of dying was the fact that Van would probably blame himself for her death. He had made the most tactical decision in leaving her behind, and the conversations with the patrolling soldiers indicated that they were still looking for him. At this point, she had to believe he had probably escaped.
Sang sighed and blinked a few times, feeling her eyelids grow heavy. Maybe the reason she was so okay with dying was the fact that she was exhausted. Perhaps if she had gotten a full night’s sleep, she’d have been angry or upset, but all she could feel was a sense of hope that relief was coming soon. She would leave this world behind knowing that she had performed all of her duties to the very end. Whatever guilt she carried, at least she knew she’d been trying to save the world. And, who knew, maybe it would be saved?
A loud crashing noise accompanied by screams echoed in the distance. Sang was too tired to look around. She laid her head back and closed her eyes, waiting to find out what waited for her in death…
“Jeez, what a bloodbath,” Kylian said as they entered into the Designated Reality Zone. There were bodies all over the place. The bodies belonged to the Kyrissian soldiers.
“That stench,” Bidane groaned. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Van knelt down to inspect one of the corpses. The body had a large hole torn in the torso and it looked as if the man’s guts had been ripped out. The eyes were still open and the deceased soldier wore an expression of terror.
“Lots of bodies, but all of them Kyrissian,” Kylian said. “I’d wager to say that whatever army did this didn’t take a single casualty.” He walked up to a tree that had a massive claw mark in the side of it. “That is, if it was an army that did this.”
“Alright, guys, get ready for a fight,” Van whispered. Kenwar had given him instructions as to where Sang had last been seen. She had climbed up in a tree a few miles in. The instructions weren’t the best, and Van had considered forcing Kenwar to come along with him, but at the same time, you could only push someone so far before they snapped. As far as Van was concerned, Kenwar had earned his freedom for his willingness to continue cooperating.
“This… this is beyond the pale,” Bidane said as she pointed to a pair of legs that were sprawled out on the ground. A torso was hanging off of a tree branch a few feet away.
“What could have done this?” Van muttered as they continued to investigate the area. It was clear
that the damage sustained to the environment itself indicated that whatever had been there was powerful and angry.
“Whew, so glad I didn’t let Capello come along,” Kylian said. “That boy would have been so excited to face whatever this thing is.”
“Before we go any further,” Bidane said, “let me cast a spell.”
“Magic doesn’t work in this area,” Van replied.
“Not true,” Bidane said. “It just doesn’t work like we’re used to. See, I noticed a while back that all of the spells that we priests use were incredibly detailed. So detailed that I decided to memorize some of the prayers as specifically as possible, more than just the words you usually need to cast them—you know, for my character. If you can physically slash a sword in this realm and it works, why can’t I physically utter the words to activate a spell?”
Van shrugged. “Well, give it a try.”
“Here I go. Ahem... prepare yourselves.
“In the name of the White Fox,
I invoke her powers—
Let my allies stand firm
And their skin be as steel.”
Bidane held her staff up high and tapped the earth three times. On the third tap, a light emanated from the top of her staff. Beams began to leap out and strike against Van, Bidane, and Kylian. As the beams touched against Van’s body, the words Damage Resistance 25% appeared over his head. He could feel his skin grow tougher, and he felt more stable.
“Very nice,” Kylian said. “This should come in really handy. How long does it last?”
Bidane shrugged. “24 hours in the regular game, but who knows for this area?”
“Onward,” Van said as he unsheathed a halberd that he had found lying on the ground earlier. He hadn’t memorized any of his bardic abilities, which was unfortunate because that would have come in very handy in this battle. The next best thing that he had was a weapon that functioned as both an axe and a spear. He hadn’t used one before, but it rested comfortably enough in his hands. It was far better than his darts anyway. Those things wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans in this kind of fight.
As they trudged through the forest, Van noticed that the trail of wreckage continued in the direction that Kenwar had pointed him. A fear rose up instantly. Was this a trap? Had Kenwar used the idea of Sang’s potential death as a way to lure him back into the clutches of Draco? No, he thought after a moment, that didn’t make sense. Kenwar was still pressured by the fear that he would die of a poison pill in his gut, meaning that he had every incentive to protect Van. And besides, if Kenwar had been planning on betraying him, wouldn’t he have done so earlier, before the information on the data stick had been uploaded and released?
“Heads up!” Kylian shouted as he pointed toward a pile of bodies in the middle of a clearing. One soldier was standing in the middle, clutching his side. Blood poured from his wound.
“Hey, you alright?” Van asked as he cautiously approached the man. The soldier was wearing Kyrissian gear, although he wasn’t wearing a helmet.
“I… ugh, it hurts so bad, I can’t move. Can’t sit,” the man grunted as he held onto his wound.
“What happened?” Van asked as he slowly walked up to the man.
“It was like lightning; I couldn’t do a thing,” the soldier said. “You should get out of here while you still have a chance.”
“What was like lightning?” Kylian asked. A loud hissing from the trees answered Kylian’s question as a green blur leapt from above and landed atop the soldier. Van recognized it as one of the lizard creatures that he had seen earlier. The man screamed in pain as the lizard slashed and clawed away at his guts.
“Holy crap!” Bidane said.
The lizard creature turned to face them and grinned. “My goodness, back for more?” it asked.
“Lemuel…” Van said. He raised his halberd high and readied for the charge.
“I am most displeased with this unit,” Lemuel said. “They foolishly allowed important information to slip through their fingers. That idiot Zac thought it would be funny to ignore my orders and do his own thing. I should wonder who’s laughing now.”
Kylian walked up next to Van, his great sword drawn. “What’s the plan, boss?” he asked.
“We kill it,” Van replied just before he charged the creature and swung the axe part of his halberd hard. Lemuel dodged low and rolled on the ground, getting behind Van. It swiped with its claws, sinking them deep into Van’s back.
“Arg!” Van screamed, but the word RESISTED appeared above his head and he realized he felt nothing.
“Magic? My goodness, you aren’t as dense as I thought,” Lemuel remarked. Van spun around in time to block the next clawed attack with the steel haft of his spear. Block appeared above him. Lemuel chuckled out a throaty laugh.
“We’re not letting you get out of this alive!” Van spat as he shoved the lizardman backwards. Kylian leapt in the air and brought his sword down hard, but Lemuel rolled out of the way and scrambled to his feet.
Bidane held her staff high and recited a prayer.
“Glory on high,
Flames below:
Show your might.
I call of you, White Fox!”
A pillar of flames came from the sky and crashed down atop Lemuel. 15 damage rose above his head and he shrieked in pain.
“Come on!” Van shouted to Kylian as he pressed the assault, thrusting dozens of times with his spear. Kylian flanked Lemuel on the right and the two began to swipe and slash in unison. Lemuel shrieked defiantly and fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.
“How do you like that, you scaled bastard?” Bidane shouted.
Lemuel ceased moving entirely. His eyes rolled back into his head and his claws flexed for a few seconds before stopping.
“Wow, that was easy,” Kylian said. “He died faster than I thought he would.”
“Too fast,” Van said, shaking his head. He glanced at the creature’s wounds and noticed that they were rapidly sealing themselves back up. “Don’t celebrate yet!”
Lemuel began to twitch and, in an instant, he was standing on his feet, his claws sinking into Kylian’s shoulders.
“Arrrg!” Kylian screamed out in pain as he struggled to stay on his feet. Lemuel was hanging on his back and his claws continued to dig deeper and deeper into his skin. Blood poured out the sides of his body.
“Die!” Van shouted as he shoved the tip of his spear into Lemuel’s back. The words Damage Resistance floated above Lemuel. It was as if the monster’s body had adapted to the attack. “Bidane, another spell, quick!” he ordered.
“Can’t do the fire one—I’ll cook Kylian!” Bidane said.
“What about…” Van tried to think of the solution as he swung his axe into the monster, but the blow merely bounced off. Kylian was punching Lemuel, but it appeared as if the lizard’s skin had somehow thickened to ignore all physical damage. “Can you enchant my weapon?”
“Sure, but it’ll take a minute,” Bidane said. Van threw his polearm to here. “Enchant it, quick!”
“A little help, guys!” Kylian screamed. Van rushed up to Lemuel and wrapped his arms around the monster, trying to pry it off of Kylian. Between the two of them, they were able to turn the tables on Lemuel, and they fell into a grapple.
“Hahahah, keep trying,” Lemuel taunted. “Do you not realize that you are fighting one of the most powerful beings in this world? You two are nothing to me.”
Van desperately tried to get the creature into a chokehold, but its limbs were too strong. He felt a few cuts from the razor-sharp claws digging into his stomach. The words 10 damage hovered above him. He watched his health bar quickly drop down. In the reality zone, his health was nowhere near as high as it was in the regular game. The pain was intense.
“What is your problem?” Kylian said as he shoved one of his daggers into Lemuel’s eye. The lizard hissed and screamed, leaping backwards from them. It pulled the dagger out and threw it on the ground.
“Not bad,” it
said with a chuckle. The damaged red eye began to heal immediately, regaining its piercing yellow color. “But it’s going to take more than that to stop me.”
Van and Kylian stood up quickly and prepared for Lemuel to attack, but all the beast did was chuckle at them.
“Do you see how hopeless it is to try and fight me?” Lemuel asked. “Van, I implore you, make the smarter decision here. Your friend will die soon and you can do nothing to save her. I can smell her life dripping away, second after second. She has maybe ten, fifteen minutes left at best. Can you kill me in such a time? Can you even kill me at all?”
“Why toy with me?” Van shouted. “Why not just finish me off?”
“I have no reason to! You have won the battle, my friend. You managed to outwit us and steal our data. Such an action is something to respect. I am punishing those who failed. And your desire to return to save an ally is admirable, albeit foolhardy. She will not survive. You were strong enough to press on, but she was weak. She was weak because she could not command your loyalty enough to keep you by her side.”
The words stung Van—he felt himself wincing at the accusation.
“It’s not weakness… I mean, if anyone was weak, it was me,” Van said. “I never should have abandoned her.”
“To sacrifice a pawn so that you can advance your goal isn’t weak,” Lemuel replied. Van could see that all of the creature’s wounds were sealed up now. “Rather, it is the ultimate strength. You have won our little conflict, and of that I am pleased. But if you seek to rescue Sang, I will slaughter you all. We do not believe in mercy, Van. I am allowing you to leave because I have no impetus nor need to slay you. I would much rather see you continue down your path. Think about it. Your people need you, don’t they? What’s the value of one life against that of millions?”
“Those aren’t the choices we get to make,” Van replied. “No matter what. We don’t get to choose who lives and who dies based on some sick sense of morality.”
“That is such an individualist mindset,” Lemuel said. “It sickens me. Go ahead, strike at me again. Grab your newly enchanted weapon and hope against hope that it can kill me. Or you can walk away, knowing that you have won this engagement.”
