by P. J. Hoover
“Can you tell who they are?” I ask.
“I can tell you who they are,” Zachary says. “They’re from the other simulations. Players who are still alive. When Iva opened the simulation, they were able to get in, just like us.”
Taylor’s head snaps back the way we came and her eyes go wide. “Oh, that makes sense then.”
“What does?” Zachary says.
She narrows her left eye, the one with the Oculus. “I keep seeing people coming into the simulation. If it’s open, then that’s how they’re doing it.”
“How many?” I ask. On the one hand, more people keeps the attention off of us. On the other hand, more people means more trying to get the key and get to the control room first.
Before Taylor can answer, the ceiling above us slides aside, revealing the shining sun directly above. The floor, a giant platform, begins to rise, higher and higher until it comes to a stop level with the ground above. Whatever waits for us, it’s our turn.
We stand in the center of the colosseum. Around us, the bright blue stands are filled with the people we’d seen outside. They’re dressed in bright clothes that stand out against the blue background. The umbrellas still cover their heads, and they sip drinks. But worst of all, I see them passing money back and forth, as if they are placing bets on our survival.
“Welcome to the Zone Alpha Fighting Arena!” Chaos’s voice booms around the colosseum. “Contestants, we thank you for your participation!”
“It’s not like we had much choice,” Taylor mutters.
Aside from the three of us, no one else is on the floor of the arena. I scan the whole thing slowly, in a circle. There are columns and barricades and a couple of trees scattered around, but no one to fight as far as I can tell.
“Please introduce yourselves,” Chaos says. I can’t imagine he’s really here. I think it must be like the heads-up display—a simulation of his voice—because if he is here, then that would mean that the final zone where the control room is would be unprotected. But I am guessing that whatever happens here, details are being fed back to him.
Taylor steps forward first. She lifts her face to the crowd and fixes on them a look that tells them she wants them all dead.
“Taylor,” she says. “Sister of Adam, soon to be risen from the dead. Bearer of the Oculus.”
At this last part, a collective gasp rushes through the crowd.
“The Oculus,” Chaos says. “When you lose, it shall be mine.”
Maybe it truly is him after all and not just an NPC.
Taylor spins in a circle, trying to pinpoint the source of Chaos’s voice. “When you lose, I’ll cut the eyes from your head and devour them,” she says.
It’s gruesome but also the perfect thing she could say. Never show weakness. Assume victory. It reminds me that we will get through this.
Zachary goes next. “Zachary Gomez,” he says. His voice, like mine, is broadcast loud enough for everyone to hear.
“A petty god among us,” Chaos says. “Coming for your execution early, I assume.”
Execution early . . . as if the stakes for Zachary are as great as they are for us.
Zachary bites his lip and glances around, like he’s looking for the nearest exit. But to his credit he says, “You assume wrong.”
I let out the breath I’ve been holding since Chaos first spoke. If Zachary can pretend to be brave even when he’s not, then our odds of success increase exponentially.
“I’m never wrong,” Chaos says.
Zachary looks at me and smiles, like he has a secret. I smile back.
I step forward, ready to get this behind me. But all the people watching me makes me second guess myself.
They’re not real people, I tell myself. They’re NPCs. The only reason they’re here is to fuel the zone.
I think about lying right then. Using another name. If I use my real name right now, it announces to Chaos that I’ve gotten into the simulation. But if I don’t use my real name, if I pretend to be someone else, then I’m allowing fear to control me. There is only one thing I can do.
“Eden Monk,” I say, using my real name, not even going with the nickname. “God killer. Bearer of the Power.” I only use my normal voice, but my words echo around the entire arena.
The crowd falls silent. Whispers run throughout the stands. Clouds swirl across the brilliant sky above. This Chaos had not been expecting. I shouldn’t have been able to get in, and yet here I am.
“You killed my brother,” Chaos says. His voice is even but filled with cold malice. “And the power that runs through you is not rightfully yours. Once it is reunited with its other half, I will pull it from your bodies bit by bit as you wither away until you are nothing but dust. Then I will consume it. And when that happens, nothing will be able to stand in my way.”
I don’t blink. I don’t move. His words are filled with my fate. Except . . . then I remember the prophecy.
“When we meet, I’m the one who will kill you,” I say. “At least that’s what the prophecies say.”
“The prophecies are wrong!” His voice loses its calm control, instead roaring like thunder across the colosseum. The sky darkens. The clouds swirl faster. The sun is blotted out.
I don’t even realize I’m shaking until I clench my fingers into fists to keep them still. I can’t back down. I can’t show fear. Not now.
“The prophecies are never wrong,” I say. “Now can we get on with it?”
A full minute goes by during our standoff. The whispers continue. The sky remains dark. But after the minute, the clouds part and the sun returns. Once again the crowd places bets, cheers, and celebrates. Their lives are not on the line. Ours are. And Chaos’s is. But until we meet in Zone Digamma, we have to play the game. We have to reach the end.
A new platform is lowered down to the ground of the arena. From it steps a familiar figure, dressed in a bright yellow dress that contrasts against her dark skin. Next to her stands something half lion, half eagle. It bares its teeth at if to protect her from anything that would come near. It’s possibly her companion. Her bodyguard. Or perhaps it’s a kid like us trapped in her simulation and unable to break free from her spell.
“Raven?” I say.
Her face remains passive as her eyes meet mine. She carries a tray as she walks toward us, the lion creature at her side, supporting her. She’s limping, and I remember that Taylor had severed her leg off back during the struggle for the Oculus. The yellow dress is too long to see her leg . . . or what remains of it.
“I’ve selected weapons for each of you,” Raven says. “To make things fair.”
As if anything has ever been fair.
“What are you doing here?” Zachary asks. His face, unlike hers, is a combination of anger and confusion.
Her mouth doesn’t move, but words form in my head. He’s forcing me to be here. To do this. I’m sorry.
I open my mouth, ready to respond. But that would only let Chaos know that she’s spoken.
Fight him, I think back to her.
He’s too strong. Raven’s thoughts reach my mind. He’ll kill me if I don’t help him.
So many responses run through my mind, but I’m not sure any of them will make a difference. Raven had wanted the Oculus so badly. But had she wanted it for herself or was it for Chaos all along?
You’re strong also, I think, remembering how she’s captured all of us except Hudson. Don’t let him win.
Raven only presses a finger to my head in response. It’s such an odd gesture, like she’s trying to tell me to think about something. But when she pulls her finger away, nothing has changed.
“Your weapon, Eden Monk,” Raven says aloud. Her voice carries across the arena. An ax appears on the tray she holds. It’s not just any ax either. It’s the ax that won me the labyrinth simulation. The one I originally found in my parent
s’ supplies. I can’t take my eyes off it. This has to be a sign that someone is helping me. And I would place my own bets on the fact that Chaos does not know about it.
I try to act like seeing the ax is no big deal as I reach for it. I don’t dare meet Zachary’s eyes. “It’s okay, I guess,” I say.
Okay minimizes it. Feeling it in my hand is perfect. It lets me know that we will succeed. We have help beyond what is known to Chaos.
Raven limps to Taylor next. “For you, Taylor, sister of Adam.”
On the tray appears the giant bow she’d used in the labyrinth. Next to it is a quiver full of arrows. I’m not going to touch one to find out, but my guess is that the tips are laced with poison, just like they’d been before.
Taylor lifts the bow and quiver and lowers them over her shoulder. She doesn’t thank Raven. She doesn’t say anything for the crowd to hear.
Raven waits for a response, but Taylor only crosses her arms and glares.
Finally Raven moves to Zachary. Silence fills the void, and I’m guessing inaudible words pass between the two of them. Words that are being kept from Taylor and me. But they’re being silent too long. Chaos is going to get suspicious.
“Could we hurry up?” I ask, acting like I’m ready to begin the challenge.
Raven smiles finally, maybe for the first time since we’ve seen her. Then on the tray appears a metal ball about the size of a grapefruit.
Zachary picks it up and stares at it. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
If he were Hudson, I’d say he could throw it like shot put. Nobody could beat Hudson. But Zachary Gomez is not Hudson. Whatever it is, I’m hoping it gives him some sort of advantage also.
“You’re supposed to attempt to win,” Raven says. Then she limps back to the platform with the lion at her side and is slowly lifted from the floor of the arena.
“Well, my citizens of Zone Alpha,” Chaos says like an announcer. “I believe we’ve waited long enough, but the wait is over. Let the games begin!”
The crowd erupts in applause and the name calling begins. Some cheer for us, standing and waving their hands. Others spit out venomous ways they hope we will die. If we do die, I can almost imagine our heads back beside the roadway, hanging from poles.
“Stick close together,” I say, edging next to Taylor and Zachary. We press our backs together and wait.
A hole opens in the ground, and a platform is raised. Standing on top of it is a man decked out in full gladiator attire. Black leather covers him, and his face is mostly shielded by a helmet. He raises a sword and runs directly for us.
In less than a second, Taylor nocks and arrow and fires at him, hitting him directly in the chest. The man falls to the ground dead. He’s lowered into the ground, but as soon as he’s out of sight, a new platform is raised. This time a new creature appears, half-man, half-bull, like the creature at the center of the labyrinth. He snorts and growls and springs for us.
Another arrow flies, but it bounces off him. She fires another, but it’s the same result. He gets closer with every second.
“Do something,” Zachary shouts.
Taylor lets another arrow go, but the creature’s skin it too thick. I dash forward, cutting under his bulky arm, and I swing the ax, catching him in the stomach. The blow is solid, and he falls to the ground, lowered like the gladiator.
“Are we having fun yet?” Chaos says.
We are definitely not having fun, but my adrenaline is pumping. I’m twenty yards away from Taylor and Zachary, and before I can get back to them, another platform raises between us, cutting off my path.
This time three monsters appear. One turns to me, locking its eyes on me. It spits venom directly at me. I barely jump out of the way. Then I run, as fast as I can, for one of the barriers. Something to hide behind. I reach it as another stream of venom shoots out.
I have to get close to it to kill it, but if I get too close, the venom will hit me.
I peek out from behind the barrier in time to see Zachary and Taylor running in opposite directions from each other. Zachary dashes to one of the columns and attempts to hide behind it. Taylor positions herself behind a barrier, like me.
Each of the monsters is different. The one chasing me is small and quick, and slithers around like a lizard. It’s bright orange and covered in scales. Scales I’m not sure my ax will go through. The one facing off against Taylor is tall and slim and iridescent. It seems to be able to snap in and out of visibility, making all her arrows fall short of hitting it. And the one that has Zachary cornered against the column has pinchers like a crab. It grabs out, trying to catch Zachary. He darts one way and then the next, evading it. But it’s taking chunks out of the stone column that’s protecting him. Pretty soon the entire column collapses. Zachary takes off running, retreating away from the thing.
This is bad. This is really bad. The creature in front of me shoots more venom, this time aiming over the top of the barrier. I jump back just in time. The venom hits the sandy ground in front of me. I can’t stay here. The only way to stay safe is to get away from it.
I run from one barrier to another, but the creature follows. I pull on the power. There’s no need to keep it secret now. But it won’t come. I don’t even feel a spark of it. It’s like it’s been taken from me. Or muted in this arena so I won’t have an advantage.
I scan my inventory quickly on my heads-up display. The apple is still there, but it’s grayed out, mocking me. However I win, it won’t be with the power.
Taylor shrieks from across the arena, but I can’t afford to look her way. I run from the current barrier and climb one of the trees. Branches extend far to the sides. The creature sees me and shoots venom upward. I scramble out of the way.
Some of the venom falls back, landing on the orange scales. They bubble at the contact, and the creature hisses in pain.
While it’s down, I take my chance. I drop down from where I am and land on the creature’s back. Before I can overthink it, I chop my ax downward, over and over, until I break through the thick scales and reach the creature’s brain.
When the creature finally falls silent and collapses to the ground, I roll off it, trying to catch my breath.
“Oh, it’s a victory for Eden Monk!” Chaos calls. “But it looks as if Zachary Gomez, our godly contestant, is in a bit of trouble.”
I roll over and jump to my feet. Taylor stands next to the body of the creature that hunted her. She yanks an arrow from its chest. But Zachary is in serious trouble. Every object without thirty yards of him has been destroyed, leaving only piles of rubble. He runs back and forth, trying to evade the crab-like creature, but it’s almost like the creature is toying with him.
I look to Taylor who nods. Then we both run in the creature’s direction.
It spins when we get close, and in half a second it snaps out with a claw, nearly catching me. I throw my ax, still dripping with blood from the other creature. It sinks into the hard shell of the crab creature, sticking there. This only seems to make the creature more angry.
Taylor lets loose a volley of arrows, one after another. They hit and bounce off. One finally catches between the joints. But poisoned or not, it doesn’t slow the creature.
“Wait! I finally got it!” Zachary says, and he rushes up to the crab creature with a bravery I never would have dreamed possible. He presses something on the metal ball he’s been given. Two blades shoot out from the side. Zachary throws it into the air, above the creature. The blades spin, round and round, as it guides itself and lands on the creature’s back,
“Get back!” Zachary shouts.
It’s not a second too soon. The metal ball snaps and locks into position. It beeps once, twice . . . five times. Then it explodes in a ball of sparks and electricity.
I flatten myself to the ground, barely missing the explosion. Bits of my hair are singed, but I’m alive. We’
re all alive. And the three creatures are dead.
XX
The people in the stands begin to descend, coming for us. If this is the next phase of the game, then we are in serious trouble. I’m sucking air and about to collapse. But before they reach the arena floor, a circular wall made of blue bricks begins to pull together in the center of the arena around one of the massive white columns.
“Come on,” I shout, and we run for the center. We’re barely inside when the bricks seal closed, forming a protective barrier around us. At the same time, the first people reach the arena floor. But instead of coming for us, they shuffle toward the dead carcasses of the creatures. As we watch from inside the short brick wall, they devour the dead creatures. The blood and body fluids leak out and cover people’s face. Their stench fills the place.
“That is seriously nasty,” Taylor says.
I don’t look, but the slurping sounds are hard to ignore. Zachary’s normally brown skin is green, and he looks like he’s going to throw up at any second.
“You okay?” I ask. My own stomach rolls. I try to keep it steady.
“No,” Zachary says. “How do we get out of here?”
It’s a game. We won. We need to claim the reward before we can move on.
“We need to get the key,” I say.
“Which is where?” Taylor asks. She still clutches the giant bow, but she only has one arrow left in her quiver.
I’m still gripping the ax also. I think about hooking it to my belt, but if something else attacks, I need to be ready. Zachary’s weapon is gone, exploded into nothing. Then the platform we stand on begins to lift and spiral around the white column, slowly moving upward, to the top. This seems to get the attention of the crowd of people because from below there’s a shout. I look down to see them pointing at us then rushing toward the base of the column. But we’re at least twenty feet in the air by now. They can’t reach us.
Unfortunately this doesn’t stop them from climbing. Two then four then eight people begin to climb like monkeys, crawling up the column and toward us. And unless I’m imagining it, they are ascending faster than we are.
