“Target in sight,” Ethan replied as he stopped and stared at the floating ball. He didn’t see anyone or anything dangerous around.
“Hold your position for a moment and be wary,” Michael responded. “I’m sending in a drone. We don’t know the location of the last enemy player, but if I was a betting man, I’d say he was left behind to guard their flag.”
Right after Ethan and Kyle had acknowledged the order, a hover drone flew out of a side passage and approached the flag.
“Scans are picking up energy signs scattered about the ground. They’re probably mines,” Michael reported.
As Ethan watched intently, the hover drone flew over toward the flag. However, before it got to it, there was a loud zap and the drone exploded. Ethan immediately looked toward the source of the energy discharge and saw a small turret droid hidden in a crevice that was halfway up one of the nearby rocky walls.
“Another drone lost. Those are expensive and time-consuming to make,” Michael remarked sadly.
“I hate gun turrets.” Kyle cursed. “The annoying things aim and fire too quickly. Watch out.”
Grunting, Ethan pulled out a grenade. He took a few steps out into the open, and the moment the turret was in sight, he tossed the grenade at it. Prioritizing the explosive, the turret locked onto it and shot it right out of the air with a bang. However, instead of exploding, foam sprayed out of the grenade and splashed in every direction, blinding and confusing the turret for a moment. Ethan was already unloading his pistol at the turret. His third shot penetrated its armor before it could swerve and aim at him. Sparks burst out of its new hole, and it went dead.
Michael sighed. “Well, at least my drone was avenged. Good job.”
“What are the enemy gunners doing?” Ethan asked as he stepped forward and warily scanned the ground. Kyle drew a pistol and covered him.
“They are continuing to push toward our flag, but Jude and I have slowed them down to a crawl,” Michael responded.
Jude laughed. “A few incineration grenades can really make a man hesitate.”
“We have very different definitions of a few,” Michael replied.
From off in the distance, Ethan thought he heard a deep boom, but he ignored it and focused on the problem in front of him. Before they could get to the turret, they needed to deal with the mines Michael’s drone had detected. Trying to hook the ball was probably a bad idea with so many mines around it. It would trigger them if it fell.
Taking another step toward the flag pole in front of him, Ethan switched on the scanner in his helmet and studied the ground. His scanner wasn’t all that powerful, so he needed to look directly at a hidden mine to find it, but he quickly began to locate and identify the devices. They had pressure triggers, which allowed him to step around them and get closer to the enemy’s flag.
“Be careful. We still don’t know where the enemy is hiding.” Kyle still had his pistol out and was scanning the surroundings.
“Just keep covering me. We need to get the flag and get out of here as soon as possible,” Ethan replied as he stepped over a mine. He was about halfway through the minefield now.
That was when there was a loud crackle of energy and Kyle shouted in alarm. “Something’s here!”
CHAPTER 14
RUNNING FOR IT
Instantly, Ethan spun around to see what had spooked Kyle. For a moment, his eyes showed him Kyle jumping away from a shimmering transparent haze, but then his scanners kicked in. They pierced the enemy’s optical camouflage and revealed the player beneath. Kyle was being attacked by a cloaked swordsman, and they were too close together for Ethan to get a good shot.
As Ethan hesitated, the enemy player lunged forward and slashed his frantically retreating ally. Kyle screamed and fell over backward as the enemy’s sword sliced right through his arm and tore it from his body.
“Ah, crap,” Ethan swore as he quickly hopped back through the mines and toward his fallen ally.
The enemy was wearing black armor that had been shaped to make it resemble ninja garb, and he had a katana-like sword in hand. He glanced at Kyle’s fallen form before dismissing him and charging Ethan instead.
Ethan immediately began firing his pistol, but at the same time, there was a flash and the air around the enemy player suddenly twisted in on itself. Ethan’s shots missed as the enemy once again became blurry and almost impossible to see.
“Son of a glitch,” Ethan cursed as he threw himself sideways and hurriedly switched weapons to his blade. Most likely, the enemy had somehow overcharged their cloaking device to overpower his scanners. The effect would only last a few seconds and had probably muddled the enemy’s vision as well, but Ethan was still now at a dangerous disadvantage. He was off-balance and had lost track of the enemy.
A soft thud to his right alerted Ethan. He spun around with his sword up in a defensive guard, which allowed him to block the blade that came slicing toward his head at the last moment. Jumping back again, Ethan prepared a desperate defense, but no attack came. Instead, the enemy player let him go. Once they were out of striking range, the man in the ninja-like armor lowered his guard and gave Ethan a respectful and formal bow before quickly switching back to a proper sword stance.
Ethan scowled at him. “Fraking cosplayers. So now you want to fight fair, huh?”
A moment later, the enemy advanced, and Ethan stepped forward to meet him. Their glowing energy blades buzzed and hummed as they cut through the air and collided with each other. The enemy stepped sideways and launched a series of attacks that Ethan dodged or countered. Ethan parried a low blow and tried to slash at the enemy’s ribs, but the man easily hopped out of the way.
Ethan grunted sourly as he watched his opponent. Obviously, this guy considered himself some sort of swordsman. The ass was probably still level five, even if he was slightly more skilled than Ethan. That made sense. It was quite common for many players who were level five in swordsmanship to become obsessed with reaching the next level, since it was so hard and so few people had accomplished it. One of the main signs of a blade-master wannabe was seeking duels with strong opponents, even under dubious circumstances like in the middle of team competitions. Ethan had no such obsession. Fighting people like this just made him want to cheat so the jerks didn’t get what they wanted. In fact, wannabe blade-masters were so common that Ethan had developed several strategies to deal with them.
Stepping back, Ethan reached down and drew a dagger with his free hand. The enemy hesitated before following after him. It was unusual for players in Worldshift to wield more than one blade, since it reduced the power you could put behind your strikes and everyone wore armor, but Ethan had a plan. He stepped forward and slashed at his opponent several times with both weapons. However, instead of being aggressive, he tried to draw his opponent out, and it worked. The enemy easily deflected each of Ethan’s attacks and then stabbed at his face.
Ethan was ready for it. He leaned out of the way of the attack, and while the enemy was committed, he flicked his wrist. There was a soft click as a specially built mechanism attached the tip of his hookshot to the end of the dagger’s hilt. Then, Ethan raised his arm and triggered the device. There was a soft hiss as his hookshot fired, sending his dagger flying straight at his opponent’s chest.
The enemy was still pulling his own blade back and was caught completely off guard. The glowing dagger hit him straight in the chest and penetrated his armor. As the enemy stumbled back from shock, Ethan activated his reel and pulled him in closer. At the same time, he batted the enemy’s sword away and attacked. Ethan’s blade glowed as it cut through the air and then impacted the man’s neck. There was a loud crack as the sword sliced right through armor and flesh, severing the man’s head from his body. The player was killed instantly, and his mangled corpse fell to the ground.
“Stupid samurai cosplayers.” Ethan grunted as he turned to look back at his fallen ally.
Kyle was still lying on the ground where he’d fallen, and his arm w
as still cut off. Ouch. Although, it looked like he’d managed to apply some medical gel to seal the wound. Normally, losing a limb wasn’t a huge deal in Worldshift, but the rules were obviously different here in the tower. Kyle was breathing raggedly and looked exhausted as he lay on his back. He wasn’t trying to get back up.
“Are you all right?” Ethan asked him in concern as he walked closer.
“I’m fine, I think. Cheating ninja bastard. I took some meds to help with the pain, and they just started kicking in.” Kyle wheezed. “I’ve always wondered what it feels like to get an arm cut off, and now I know. It’s especially painful!”
Ethan winced. “Well, I think you’ll be restored to full health after this match is over since it’s just a bonus round. Do you feel up to moving?”
“No, that definitely isn’t happening, man. I’m hard fragged. I think I went into shock after losing my arm. I need to take some more powerful meds or get used to losing body parts somehow. You should go grab the flag and leave me behind. It’s a bonus game so it doesn’t matter if I die.”
“All right, I’ll try to finish this as quickly as possible,” Ethan replied before turning to run back to the minefield around the flagpole.
“Do that!” Kyle yelled after him. “This seriously hurts, man.”
Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Ethan to make his way through the minefield and grab the blue ball atop the pole since he’d already mapped the location of most the mines. Once he had it, he hopped back out of the minefield, gave Kyle a goodbye salute, and then ran into one of the chasms.
“Kyle is down along with one enemy player, but I’ve got the flag and I’m heading back now,” Ethan informed everyone on team speak.
“Yes, Kyle has informed me of what happened,” Michael replied. “I’m sending you a route now. It should allow you the best chance of avoiding the enemy. However, they know you have their flag and are trying to intercept you. I’ll update your route as I get new information.”
“Affirmative,” Ethan replied as he picked up speed.
Running as fast as he could, Ethan made his way through the twisting maze of the rocky chasms. Crumbling brown rock surrounded him as he followed the route Michael had uploaded to his map. He made good time, even though his path was far from straight, so he soon reached the halfway point back to his own team’s flagpole.
Ahead of him was a wide pit with a natural stone bridge across it. The stone arc was only a few feet wide, but it looked sturdy enough, so Ethan ran onto it. Glancing down, he saw a gaping chasm that was so deep the bottom was lost to shadows. Ugh, even if he survived falling into that, it would take him forever to climb out of the hole.
As Ethan finished crossing the bridge and made it to the other side, Michael spoke up. “Watch out, movement to your left.”
Immediately, Ethan spun around and saw an enemy player step out from behind a rock and raise a rifle.
“Frak.” Ethan clutched the glowing blue ball. There was no cover nearby, so he kept running and drew his pistol. As the enemy opened fire, Ethan shot back. Unfortunately, his pistol wasn’t very accurate against distant targets or while he was running.
The air was full of loud bangs and zooming bullets, but somehow Ethan managed to reach a large rock and jump behind it without getting shot. Once safely behind cover, he kept his head down and desperately looked around for an escape route.
As the enemy drew closer, Ethan noticed a pile of rocks to his left. They were a dozen feet tall and blocked the way into a side passage. Ethan smiled at the sight. That was his way out.
Working quickly, Ethan pulled a smoke grenade out of his inventory and tossed it in the enemy’s direction. There was a clatter when it landed near the enemy’s feet and then it exploded. Thick black smoke spewed in every direction, blinding the player with the rifle.
Immediately, Ethan made his move and sprinted toward the rock pile at an angle. He had a few moments of safety, but then the enemy player burst out of the smoke and fired at Ethan. As a bullet whizzed by his head, Ethan grimaced in despair as he waited for the incoming hail of bullets to slam into him. Then, he remembered he had a new energy shield and immediately activated it. As he held out his arm, a circular shield of yellow energy burst into being. The shield was mostly transparent except for some circuit-like lines that ran through it. There were brief flashes of light as bullets bounced off it.
Unfortunately, Ethan still had two big problems. The shield was already being worn down, and he couldn’t use it and his hookshot at the same time anyway. All he could do was keep running as bullets zipped past him and bounced off his shield.
Thankfully, Ethan reached his destination before his shield fizzled out. After routing power to his hookshot, he shot a line at the chasm wall beside him and jumped. His sudden change in trajectory threw off his enemy’s aim, making most of his shots miss, although one bullet glanced off Ethan’s shin.
As Ethan’s reel activated, it pulled the line taught and yanked him farther into the air. However, since Ethan had been running almost parallel to the rock pile he was now tethered to, the tight line also caused him to curve through the air. More shots zipped around him, but he was now a very difficult target, and none of them came close. He sailed up and over the pile and then disconnected his line, which caused him to fall.
A moment later, Ethan landed safely on the ground on the other side of the rock pile, and a quick look around confirmed the chasm ahead of him was empty of hostiles.
“All right, sweet!” Ethan bragged as he quickly started running again.
“Indeed, nice move,” Michael agreed over team speak. “I’ve updated your route again to compensate for that maneuver, and I’ll see what I can do about getting those enemies off your tail.”
“That would be appreciated,” Ethan replied as he ran past a tall column of stacked stones.
There was movement to Ethan’s right, but a quick glance revealed it to be one of Michael’s drones. The hovering machine zipped past him. It seemed to be carrying something. Ethan didn’t stop to see what it was doing, but a few moments later, there was a loud boom behind him and a crash of falling rocks. It sounded like the rock column had been toppled.
“Yes, that should slow him down,” Michael remarked without explaining himself.
Unfortunately, Michael had less welcome news to share a few moments later. “Ethan, the other enemy gunner is approaching from down the passage to your left.”
Ethan grunted and turned to look. At first, he saw nothing but the entrance to another chasm, but then a humanoid figure charged out into the open. Ethan cursed vehemently and fired off a few rounds from his pistol to slow the enemy down before turning away and picking up speed. This was a terrible spot to be ambushed. There were no large rocks or other cover around him. All he could do was keep running.
Regrettably, the enemy wasn’t suppressed for long. He quickly raised his rifle and opened fire. A swarm of bullets shot through the air toward Ethan, who couldn’t use his shield to protect his back and run at the same time. For several desperate seconds, none of the shots hit Ethan, but then he felt something slam into his back. He yelped from the pain and stumbled but managed to catch himself and keep running, although his speed was reduced by the injury. Every twist of his back sent a stab of pain down past his hip, and there was still a fair distance to the closest cover.
“I’ve got you now. You’re not getting away with our flag, you coward!” the enemy gunner yelled before opening fire again.
A new rain of bullets shot through the air around Ethan and ricocheted off the rocks beyond him. None of those bullets hit Ethan, but the gunner kept firing off bursts as he ran in pursuit. Desperately, Ethan sprinted for cover as quickly as he could. When he was just a few feet from the nearest clump of rocks, another bullet slammed into his back. The force knocked Ethan over and sent him rolling across the ground. He landed in a heap on the other side of the rocks, although he managed to keep his grip on the flag/ball thing.
Pain b
urned through Ethan’s back, and he groaned as he tried to pick himself off the ground. He couldn’t quite manage it, so instead he reached into his inventory and pulled out a med-shot. After injecting the needle into his leg, the pain receded a fair bit. However, Ethan was still stunned and unable to get up when the enemy gunner stepped around the rocks and pointed his weapon at his face.
“All right, kill time!” The gunner laughed as a shiver of fear went down Ethan’s spine. He really wasn’t looking forward to learning what getting shot to death in the tower felt like.
That was when a drone whizzed into sight and shot the enemy in the face. There was an explosion of red sparks as the energy blast hit the player directly in his face plate.
“Ugh, hacks!” The gunner yelped as he stumbled backward. The drone’s weapon hadn’t been powerful enough to finish him off, but it seemed to have blinded him.
Ethan blinked and stared at the scene for moment before quickly recovering his wits. He needed to act.
“I completely forgot about you guys.” Ethan laughed as he jumped to his feet and drew his pistol.
The enemy gunner tried to orient on Ethan and tackle him, but it was obvious from his clumsy movements that he was still blind, so Ethan easily dodged and finished him off with several close-range pistol shots to the chest. Blood sprayed into the air, and the gunner collapsed unmoving onto the ground.
“Ethan, are you all right?” Michael asked over team speak.
“Let me check,” Ethan replied as he winced and studied his interface. It didn’t look like he had much internal damage, although he still felt stiff and sore. His armor and the med-shot had apparently done their jobs.
“Get moving, you pansy. Don’t lose us this game,” Jude said.
Sighing, Ethan shook his head to clear it. “Right. I’ve still got the flag, and I can at least walk.”
“Then head my way now. I’m close but so is that other gunner,” Michael told him.
Worldshift- Virtual Revolution Page 15
