Defenders of the Realm

by Dave Willmarth

  Doctor Feelgood walked into his office as he was finishing up with Talbott. She made her way to the sitting area and plopped down in one of the comfortable chairs, a great sigh of relief escaping her as she did so. “What a day.”

  Richard moved from his desk to take a seat across from her. “Problems I should know about?”

  “Nothing critical. Elevated stress among the masses. Concern over the bomb and the current security situation. Lack of sleep. The usual.”

  “You’ve been briefed on Dayle?” Richard wasted no time in getting to the point. Then as if he’d just realized what she had been saying, added “Do you need me to bring in more people for you?”

  She grinned knowing at his delayed response. “No, I’m good. But if I need more people I’ll let you know. As for Dayle, yes I’ve been briefed.”

  “Michael asked me if we should put him in the game with the others. Let him socialize, maybe find a reason to live. I said no. I’m already second-guessing myself.”

  “I was actually planning to go and speak with him before you called. I’ll go there next. I need to spend some time with him, let him share his reasoning with me. But I think you made the right call for now. I doubt he’s stable enough for that kind of interaction yet.”

  “And if he doesn’t change his mind? What are your feelings on allowing him to unplug?”

  The doctor pressed her lips together. “Obviously not my first choice. But I’m no robot. I can understand his attitude, and sympathize. Even with my training, I can only imagine the mental and physical pain he’s dealing with. Ultimately, I believe it’s his decision. My job is just to confirm that he knows he has other options, and is of sound mind.”

  Richard’s eyes grew wide. “Physical pain. Shit! Can he feel the pain from his body while he’s in VR? Are we… are we doing anything to block it?”

  She nodded and leaned forward to place a hand on his arm. “Relax. Yes, to both questions. His brain registers the damage and the pain center can’t be shut down altogether. So even though the pod is feeding him a steady supply of pain meds, there’s a limit to what we can safely give him in his condition. Those same meds might be altering his perception as well. Which leads back to my comment about him being of sound mind. I think we-”

  She was interrupted as both of their comms bracelets went off. A moment later Heimdall’s voice rang out “Richard, there is an emergency in med lab three.” They both sprang to their feet. Med lab three only had one patient at the moment.

  Dayle.

  They ran for the elevator, Heimdall had it waiting. It took them to the second sublevel where they dashed past security checkpoints and dodged staff as they hurried to the med lab. By the time they got there, the room was full of doctors and nurses. They were gathered around a table working on Dayle.

  It was hard to look at his mangled body. Even with all the healing benefits of being inside a pod since the explosion, he still looked like he’d been through a meat grinder. His left leg was gone from just below his hip. The right extended maybe halfway to his knee. His left arm was still there, but missing large chunks of muscle. It bore a web of surgical scars. Likewise, his torso was scattered with recently stitched wounds.

  One of the doctors shouted “Clear!” as they used a defibrillator on Dayle. His poor body arched for a moment with the shock, then settled again. The others closed back in to resume CPR, and Richard lost sight of him.

  “What the hell happened?” he demanded. Off to his right, a technician was sitting against the wall, her knees drawn up into a fetal position and her arms wrapped around them. Tears streamed down her face. She looked up at Richard, the anguish on her face clear.

  “I was in VR with him. We were talking about Lugs and the fuzzy bunnies. He was actually laughing for a moment. But all of a sudden he got quiet. He… he forced himself out of immersion. Ripped the mask off his face and began to inhale the gel. I…it took me a few seconds to follow him out. I hit the emergency release on his pod and called for help. We pulled him out as fast as we could…” She began to sob, and her next words were unintelligible.

  Richard just looked at her, stunned by her words. Dr. Feelgood moved to sit next to the sobbing technician and wrapped her arms around her, whispering soft words. The two of them rocked back and forth as the young woman cried. He turned back to see what was happening with Dayle.

  The medical team shocked him twice more over the next several minutes trying to restart his heart. To no avail. Eventually the lead doctor stopped the efforts, and everyone stepped back. She noted his time of death, then looked to Richard. “I’m sorry, boss. His body was just too weak from the trauma. By the time we cleared his airway and could start trying to revive him…”

  Richard nodded. “I’m sure you did all you could. Thank you, all of you. I’ll get out of your way.”

  He felt numb as he left the room and headed back toward the elevator. He knew he should go back and make a show of support of some kind. Help the doctor take care of that young tech. But he needed to move, to think. He found himself conflicted all at once. Sadness at the loss of Dayle mixed with relief over the man having solved his dilemma for him. And shame for feeling that relief.

  Michael burst from the elevator as Richard approached it. Richard held up his hands to stop his friend, and quietly explained what happened. He watched Michael’s face as he experienced likely the very same emotions Richard was.

  He said “They’re cleaning up in there. There’s nothing we can do. Let’s go figure out what to do next. He didn’t have any family that we know of. We searched when he was injured. But we need to notify his team and the others. As well as the authorities, and to… make arrangements.”

  Chapter 14

  Honor the Fallen

  Alexander was just getting ready to retire to with Jules, to their quarters when every citizen in the keep froze. Looking around, he spotted his father’s avatar. Richard simply said “Get all the players together in your quarters. I’ll meet you there.” His avatar disappeared, and the citizens went about their business.

  Most of the players had seen the event and weren’t surprised when Alexander used guild chat. “I need to see all adventurers in my quarters immediately.”

  He could already see Brick and Sasha moving toward him, so he waited for them to catch up before heading into the main building and up the stairs. His father was waiting for him, pacing back and forth. “What’s up, dad?”

  “Let’s wait for the others. I’d rather not say this twice. Be a good host and get everybody a drink.”

  Alexander’s gut clenched. His father’s news must be dire if he was suggesting drinks. But he and Jules went about pouring a cup of wine for everyone, handing them out as folks arrived. Max and Lainey were last, as they’d been scouting the forest on the plateau. When they arrived, the room was already tense and nearly silent. Richard closed the door behind them, and turned to face the group.

  “I’m afraid I must inform you all that Dayle has passed.” He cut straight to it. He just didn’t feel capable of softening the blow. He waited for the initial reactions to play out. The gasps of surprise, the tears, and the multiple ‘when’ and ‘how’ questions. He held up a hand to silence everyone, then continued.

  “He had regained consciousness within the immersion. We’d placed him in a private VR room so that our medical staff could explain to him what had happened, and bring him up to date on his physical condition. He seemed to adjust to the news quite rapidly. But a short time later he asked to be unplugged and allowed to die.”

  Lyra and Misty both broke down and began to cry openly. Warren put an arm around his sister and tried to comfort her. Benny did the same for Misty. Sasha and Lainey moved to join them. Richard waited for a minute or so.

  “About an hour ago, as one of our techs was spending time with him in VR, he forced himself out of immersion, ripped off his facemask, and purposely inhaled large quantities of the gel. Our people did all they could to save him, but it just wasn’t possibl
e. His body was too weakened from the previous trauma.”

  There was silence in the room, save for the sounds of Lyra and Misty crying. Richard tried to make eye contact with each of them to gauge their conditions. A moment later Lyra spoke up. “What… what are you going to do with him?”

  Richard tried to be as sensitive as possible. “He had no family that we’ve been able to locate. Nor did he mention any friends other than all of you. We thought to hold a memorial service for him. If that’s what you think he’d want.”

  Misty nodded. “Out by the lake. He and I walked out there once after our med tests were over. He wanted to see if there were any fish in it. Talked about wanting to have a cabin by a lake like that someday. Sit on the shore, drink beer and fish.”

  Richard smiled at her. “That sounds lovely. We’ll do exactly that. And if you think he’d like it, we’ll find a permanent resting place for him there.”

  Misty nodded, tears still streaming down her face. Martin, who had remained at the keep when the rest of the healers from Antalia returned home, said “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to attend. As I’m sure some of my folks would. I’ve never met Dayle, but I feel I’d like to pay my respects.”

  Richard nodded his head at the priest and added “You can sleep here in the game tonight while we make arrangements. Or you can leave immersion tonight and sleep in your quarters at Olympus. We’ll have the memorial around noon tomorrow.”

  Nearly everyone elected to leave immersion immediately. Alexander stayed, not wanting to abandon Jules to a night alone after such news. He also wanted to notify the citizens of Dayle’s passing. Martin said he’d get Silverbeard to send him to Antalia to break the news to the others there. The rest all wanted to help in some way to prepare for the memorial. They dispersed to their rooms and logged out.

  Richard said “I’ll see you in the morning, Alexander. Jules, if you like, we can transfer you to limbo and provide a video feed so you can watch?”

  Jules nodded her head, unable to speak. She sniffed loudly and wiped her nose with her sleeve. Alexander said “Thank you dad.” Leading her to a sofa where he pulled her close and held her a while. Richard’s avatar disappeared, leaving them alone.

  “I sort of understand why he did it.” Jules whispered into Alexander’s chest. “When I was stuck in the darkness, there were lots of times I just wanted to die. To get it over with.”

  Alexander stroked her hair and listened. He had fought that battle himself as his condition grew worse. Especially on days when he was in greater pain than normal. There were days when the hopelessness threatened to overwhelm him.

  Jules continued “If… there had been a way for me to do what he did, I might have done it. No. I would have done it.”

  Alexander froze. “But not now, right? You don’t have those thoughts anymore?”

  Jules sat up and looked into his eyes. “Not now, no. I have you now. And all the others. I have a life here, and a hope that my body will get better enough to have a life in the real world too. With you. When I was in the darkness, I was like Dayle. I had nobody. No family, no love. No hope.”

  Alexander hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. “You will have a life in the real world. I promise you. You’ll have me for as long as I last. I can’t promise you forever... you know that.”

  The two of them sat there in silence a while, then got up and moved to the bedroom.

  *****

  Richard didn’t need to do anything when he came out of VR and set his headset on his desk. Plenty of people had been watching the feed, and the techs monitoring all the players at the keep and in Antalia were ready and waiting for them to emerge from their pods. They would have to undergo the usual battery of medical tests as soon as they were out, but would then be escorted to their quarters.

  Michael sent him a message saying he was handling the preparations for the service. Knowing him as Richard did, he imagined that by sunrise there would be a small army of people setting up the service by the lake.

  Mentally exhausted, Richard left his office through the side door that led to his sleeping quarters. After a hot shower, he crawled into bed. For the first night in a long time, fell quickly into a deep sleep.

  *****

  Alexander awoke just as the sun was rising. He shook Jules awake immediately. At first there was the usual sleepy grumbling, but as soon as he mentioned getting ready for Dayle’s service she was wide awake. They went down to breakfast together and sat with the citizens. When nearly everyone was finished eating, Alexander stood.

  “If I could have your attention please? I have some sad news. Most of you know Dayle the adventurer. One of our own. And many of you know that he was badly injured in an attack by the Dark One’s minions in our homeland. Last night we received word that Dayle has passed away.” He sat back down as the citizen around him reacted to the news. Silverbeard came to join him at the table.

  “That be sad news. Dayle were well liked by all o’ us.”

  Alexander placed a hand on the old dwarf’s shoulder. Leaning in to speak quietly, he said “We’ll be returning to our homeland briefly for his funeral. Most of the others have already gone. Jules and I will be leaving shortly. I expect we’ll be back by nightfall. Please hold down the fort for us?”

  “O’course, me King. Ye need no’ even ask. As ye said, them demons will be takin a day or two at least ta get here. We’ll be fine till ye return.”

  Feeling slightly better about leaving, Alexander took Jules hand and returned to their quarters. They sat on the sofa and waited a few minutes before Melanie’s avatar appeared. Jules was instantly on her feet and hugging Melanie, the two of them crying together. Alexander asked “You’ll stay with Jules in limbo?”

  Melanie nodded “Every single minute. We’ll stay here until it’s time. We’ve got girl stuff to talk about!” Her sad smile put a lump in Alexander’s throat. He’d never seen Melanie be anything but happy and bubbly. Rising to his feet, he hugged them both. He gave Jules a kiss, then sat back down and logged out.

  The tech that was waiting for him when he woke up in the pod was a new face. He introduced himself as Jack and held up a robe for Alexander as he stepped out. He escorted Alexander (along with three security guards) to the closest med lab for testing. The med staff worked quickly and efficiently to get him through the necessary protocols and released him in less than an hour.

  Back in his office near the top of the tower, he grabbed a shower and threw on some clothes appropriate for a memorial. When they’d locked themselves inside the Olympus compound after the bombing, his father had sent someone to bring all his things. So he had access to his full wardrobe. He chose a plain black suit and white shirt. No tie.

  From there he went to his father’s office. Richard was waiting for him. There were the usual corporate documents for him to sign. While he was doing so, Richard updated him.

  “There’s still no sign of Matt. No evidence of him being anywhere after the explosion. Howard is being questioned, but so far isn’t talking. None of the other players or conspirators that were arrested seem to have ever met Matt or Howard in person. The FBI has checked out his brother and sister, but they are clean as far as anyone can tell. Our guys are checking into them anyway.”

  “How’s everyone doing? With Dayle passing, I mean. How’s the staff taking it?”

  Richard grimaced. “I’m afraid I need to apologize to the young lady who was watching over Dayle when he died. She’s taking it really hard. Blames herself, and thinks we blame her, too. I reviewed the security footage. There was nothing she could do. She was sitting next to the pod with a VR headset on, talking to him in limbo. He woke up and ripped his mask off. She came out of VR maybe 5 seconds later and hit the emergency release. She pulled him out as quickly as she could, but he was already suffocating. He managed to nearly fill his lungs before she got to him. That man was determined to die. The willpower it must have taken…”

  Alexander asked to see the video feed. A
s soon as he saw it, he wished he hadn’t. But somehow he felt he owed it to Dayle to witness his last moments. Slightly shaken, he said “I’ll go talk to the tech if you want. I know her a little bit. Her name is Nancy.”

  Richard patted his son on the shoulder. “Please let her know I’m sorry I was short with her yesterday.”

  Alexander did just that. He asked Heimdall where Nancy was located. She was in the cafeteria, so he went to join her. When he reached her table, she was sitting with two other female techs, all of them dressed for the memorial. Seeing that Alexander wished to talk to Nancy, the other two said quick goodbyes and disappeared.

  “I hear you were the one with Dayle when he took his life. That couldn’t have been easy for you.” Alexander began, as tears began to roll down her face and she just shook her head.

  “I’m so sorry. I did everything I could… I never expected… he surprised me when he just disappeared. I took too long coming out to get him...” Her head drooped as her voice trailed off.

  “Nancy, you did everything right. You did as well as anyone could in that situation. I saw the video feed. You came out just five seconds after he did. He planned it, Nancy. He was ahead of you from the first step. There was no chance you could’ve saved him.” Alexander reached out and took her hands in his. “My dad was a little short with you yesterday. He feels terrible about that. Please forgive him.”

  Nancy’s eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. “Forgive him? For what? Oh my god I’ve been sitting here waiting to be fired. It’s me that needs forgiving. Dayle was my responsibility.”