CHAPTER 15
MALICIOUS INTENT
The present
Matrix kept a safe distance at the rear of the crowd and
allowed his eyes to scan the circular room. The air was thick with the cloying scent of narcotic smoke and unwashed
bodies.
He stood in a raised platform that surrounded the sunken
fighting pit. Most spectators stood
around the rim while a select few who had the money and power sat in ordinate
chairs on a raised dais. One of the
people who held this coveted position was the mercenary Flame.
Sprites taking wagers moved through the crowd. One approached Matrix who immediately
retreated when Matrix glared at him. They disappeared down a long tunnel to Matrix's left, where Matrix
supposed the money changed hands.
Matrix wasn't concerned with any of it. He moved between the raging throng and for a
moment the bodies parted and he witnessed the carnage within the hole. Flame sat on her makeshift throne and
cheered and Matrix figured she had a lot of money wagered. What puzzled him was Bob had said she was
competing, not that she was one of the spectators. The crowd had quieted somewhat. Matrix assumed the fight was over.
Matrix finally found himself beside the dais. A brutish sprite stood guard, his arms
crossed over his bare torso. He wasn't
as tall or bulky as Matrix, but the former renegade could see the power within
his compact frame. He made no
indication that he noticed Matrix was there.
"Flame," Matrix said.
The man raised an eyebrow, "Who are you?"
"Mind your business," Matrix said, "I want to talk to
Flame, now."
"Well then," the man reached behind the dais and took up
a wicked looking war hammer, "You'll talk to me first."
"Gun," Matrix raised his formidable weapon.
"No there's no need for that."
Matrix looked up at the sound of the voice. The woman who leaned over the dais was not
attractive in the slightest. Her
burgundy skin was marred by dozens of scars. She had small mean-looking eyes and a pinched mouth. Her nose was set at an odd angle, broken
more than once, Matrix surmised.
"Well, well," she ran her tongue over her lips, "Aren't
you a big fella? You here to fight for
me handsome?"
"I'm looking for another mercenary," Matrix said. "Is there someplace we can talk in private?"
"If you like," Flame said. "Cracker?"
The brutish sprite laid down his hammer and helped Flame
down.
"Follow me tall, green and luscious," she said.
Matrix grunted his reply. Flame led him down the hall he had observed earlier, past betting
cages and closed doors. One she opened
with a keycard. Stairs ascended into
darkness. Matrix's infrared revealed a
door at the top.
"Guard the door, Cracker."
"You got it, Flame."
Matrix didn't know what to expect when Flame opened the
door but the richly furnished room wasn't it. Flame closed and locked the door behind them.
"Now then," she walked over to a sideboard and poured two
glasses of wine, "shall we begin?"
"You can begin by telling me where I can find Raven."
He could see the change in her stanch. Her shoulders stiffened and she had the
glasses in a white-knuckle grip. Matrix
thought she might break the stems.
"I see," Flame made a vain attempt to relax, "So which
one of your relatives did he delete?"
Now it was Matrix who tensed, "He didn't delete
anyone. He kidnapped them."
"Same thing," she approached him and offered the wine
glass.
"No," Matrix said. "Do you know where he is?"
"I might," Flame said, "What's in it for me?"
"What do you want?"
She licked her lips again, "How about a tumble?"
Matrix didn't have time for this. Gun flew into his grasp and was pointed at
Flame, "How about I let you live?"
"Now, now, let's not get testy," Flame said, "Besides the
fact that you'd never get out of here alive if you deleted me."
"You'd be surprised at what I can do," Matrix
smiled. Flame shuddered.
"That's what I'd like to know," Flame said. "You seem to think you're in control here,
but I'm the one holding the winning hand. You could delete me if you like but you'd never find out where Raven
is."
"I'm sure someone else knows. You probably don't anyway."
"I may or may not, do you want to chance it that I do and
you've deleted me?" Flame said. "And how much time do you have to find
someone else? The longer this person is
with Raven the shorter his processing will be."
She leaned back and sipped the wine, "So, let's deal
shall we?"
Matrix holstered Gun, "I happen to be married with a
daughter and a baby on the way."
"What's your point?"
Matrix glared in disgust at her.
"All right," Flame said, "There is one thing you can do
for me."
"And that is?"
"Fight in the pit," she said. "Once and only once. An
opponent of my choosing. I'm going to
make the largest bet imaginable. If you
win, I'll tell you whatever you want to know."
"And if I lose I'm deleted."
"Basically," Flame said, "I hope you can fight bare
handed. They don't allow guns in the
pit."
"Don't you worry about that," Matrix said. "You want to tell me about my opponent?"
"Now that would spoil all the fun. I will tell you that he's never been defeated."
"Perfect," Matrix said, "When?"
"The next fight starts in a millisecond. So do we have a deal?"
For Enzo, Matrix thought. "Yes."
***
Seven hours into the past.
"Dot, get up now!"
Dot struggled to pull herself from the warm darkness. The voice that had screamed within her processor sounded terribly familiar. She could just ignore it and drift deeper into that place.
"Dot! You must get up. Enzo, Ronnie, the baby!"
Dot's eyes opened and she immediately began to cough from the thick smoke that filled the Diner. The memory returned. The transport careening to a halt, the flash of white light, the explosion, the wave of heat and then darkness.
The Diner was burning down around her.
Enzo, Ronnie, and Baby Dot were still upstairs. Dot forced herself to move towards the back. Her eyes and lungs burned as she half stumbled half crawled away from the merciless flames.
From somewhere far away, she heard a siren but she knew
they'd never get there in time. Dot
stayed low and crawled up the back stairs. The door was open -- maybe they had gotten out? Dot didn't want to take the chance. The smoke wasn't as bad in the apartment,
"Enzo? Ronnie?" She checked both rooms and was thankful they
had gotten out. Now she had to give
herself out!
She stumbled to the front door outside, dashed down the
stairs and ran around to the front of the Diner – then stopped cold.
"Dot!"
Dot stared in mute horror at the scene before her. Captain Syn, holding a laser pistol to
Enzo's head. Five other heavily armed
sprites stood nearby, two held weapons on Ronnie and the baby.
"No!" Dot
screamed, lunging for Syn, not seeing the sixth sprite until it was too
late. Something slammed down hard on
the back of her skull. Then there was
pain and darkness again.
***
The malicious tittering woke Dot from her forced
sleep. Her brow furrowed from the pain
radiating from the back of her skull. The world around her slowly came into focus.
From what she could gather she was in a basement
somewhere. Her first guess would be
Level 31. The room was semi-dark,
stacked with crates of various sizes, with exposed pipes in the ceiling and
walls.
It was to one of these pipes that ran horizontally along
the wall that Dot realized she had been tied.
How long she had been standing there, bound by both her
wrists above her head, she wasn't sure. The six sprites (damn it all, why hadn't she seen the sixth one?) were
lounging around against or on top of the crates. Two were engaged in a card game. Captain Syn was leaning back in a rickety old chair, apparently dozing.
Then she saw Enzo and Ronnie.
They were both sitting against a crate, their hands bound
and someone had stuffed an oily rag into Enzo's mouth.
"He was getting on my nerves."
Syn was now awake and staring at her.
"You sorry piece of null fodder."
"Better mind your manners, Ms. Matrix," Syn spat, "You're
not exactly high on my list right now."
Dot looked at Ronnie, "Where's the baby?"
"I --," Ronnie had never looked so stricken. "I don't know. They took her away."
"Syn," Dot glared hatefully at him, "If you've hurt that
baby – if anything
happens --,"
"I'd be more worried about what happens to you," Syn
approached her. He moistened his lips
and stared lecherously at her. "Your
Guardians ain't here to protect you. You'd better be real nice to me if you want to live."
"Syn, where's the baby?"
"Don't you worry none about the brat. She's fine for now."
"Please," Ronnie begged from across the room, "Let me see
my baby."
Syn didn't even look at Ronnie, "Now you're gonna do
something for me Ms. Matrix."
"And that is?"
"You're gonna call that old coot in the Principal Office
and have him get your Guardian here."
"So I'm the bait in a trap for Bob?" Dot said, "Not very original, Syn."
"It'll work," Syn grinned with his rotted teeth, "If they
want to see you – Syn motioned to Ronnie and Enzo – those two and the baby
alive again."
"No!" Ronnie
screamed, "Oh please, not my baby!"
"Do what you want to me Syn," Dot said, "But leave them
out of this. This is between you and
me. I'm the one who humiliated you."
"Yeah, you did," Syn growled pushing his face close to
Dot's, "And I'll get back at you for that in my own way."
Syn turned away, "Get that old fart in the Principal
Office on a vid-window."
The moment the window came open and Phong answered the
call, Dot screamed, "Phong!"
"Dot? My
User! What has happened?"
Syn stepped in front of the window, "You'll be talking to
me, old man."
"Captain Syn," Phong said darkly, "What is the meaning of
this?"
"Getting' senile in your old age? This is a request to have the Prime Guardian
join us. You know the drill. Get him here in two milliseconds or well
--,"
"You will not harm her!" Phong warned.
"Not just her," Syn switched the vid-window to
double-sided. "The baby is here to."
"Not even you could be that calloused and cruel," Phong
said.
"Don't push me old man. Get the Prime Guardian here now. I'll contact you in two milliseconds and no funny stuff or rescue
missions. And you tell that renegade
brother of hers not to try anything either, understand?"
"Yes, understood," Phong said. "Now you understand this, my son. Hurt any one of those sprites and I will be forced to delete
you."
The vid-window closed. Syn snorted, "Big talk from a senile old man."
"You don't know Phong," Dot said.
Syn turned back to her, "Now I wonder how we can make
those two milliseconds go faster?"
"Syn!"
The captain turned abruptly. A dwarfish sprite, followed by two other sprites and a binome
strode up, "What in the net do you think you're doing?"
"What do you mean? You wanted Dot Matrix I got her for you. I've already
been in contact with Phong --,"
"You basic idiot! You could have used her to get into the Principal Office and caught the
old sprite unawares! Now he knows all
about you. We've lost the element of
surprise!"
Syn looked completely taken aback, "I – I thought this is
what you wanted. I told them to have
the Prime Guardian here in two milliseconds. Besides, I wasn't about to face
that renegade."
"Yes," Dot smirked, "I'm looking forward to watching
Matrix break your spine in half."
"Shut up!"
"What's the matter, Syn?" The dwarf said, "You're not afraid of the renegade, are you? There is no room for cowards with the
Chosen."
"So I take it, you are the leader here?" Dot addressed the dwarf.
"Ripper at your service, Ms. Matrix," Ripper inclined his
head. "I've been wanting to meet the
woman who defeated General Ashar. You
are quite impressive."
Dot ignored his words, "Syn took Ronnie's infant. Where is it?"
"The baby too?" Ripper looked at Syn with something akin
to respect, "Maybe there's a place for you in the Chosen after all and perhaps
we can make this plan of your work Syn."
Syn looked inordinately pleased, "See!" He pointed a pudgy finger at Dot. "I told you I'd get back at you!"
"You haven't done anything yet," Dot said.
"Not yet," Syn was leering at her again.
"You want her, Syn?" Ripper said, "Well I'm certainly not going to stop you. Might be fun to watch."
Syn took a step towards her but halted when from across
the room, Enzo started screaming around his gag. Syn turned and walked over to him. "I've got a score to settle with you too, Little Freak!"
Syn yanked Enzo up by his collar and swung a meaty fist to
strike him across the temple.
"No!" Dot
screamed, as she struggled against her bonds, "Syn don't you touch him
again! Do you hear me? I'll delete you myself!"
Syn reached for Enzo again and in a desperate act, Dot
changed her tactic, "Syn! Why are you
bothering with him anyway? I thought we
had unfinished business?"
Syn paused. He
lowered Enzo to the floor, "What?"
"Why are you wasting time with a little boy? That's not what you really want is it?" Dot purred.
Syn moved carefully towards her. "No."
"I'm tied up and helpless," Dot said, "And you have an
audience. Don't you want them to know
how a real man does it?"
Syn was standing before her now. "I always knew you wanted me."
"Well?" Dot said.
Syn grabbed her by the back of her neck.
Dot smiled sweetly at him and rammed her knee into his
groin.
Syn gave a sort of strangled whine, like a newborn kitten
and pitched onto his side.
The other gathered members of Daemon's Chosen burst out
laughing.
"Well done, Ms. Matrix," Ripper said, applauding. "I like a woman with fire."
"If you want to end up like Syn, come a little closer,"
Dot hissed.
"Oh you won't do anything to me," Ripper's voice was
dangerous. "Unlike Syn I have no qualms about shooting certain sprites between
the eyes."
Ripper looked down at Syn, "Somebody get him out of
here."
Two of the sprites helped Syn up and half dragged him
away.
"There will be plenty of time to get to know each other
Ms. Matrix," Ripper said, "For now, we await your true love. He's the real
objective after all."
"You won't get him that easy."
"Oh it will be quite easy. You see that was Dariem's problem. He was too honorable."
"His – name – is – Bob," Dot enunciated every word,
"Don't forget that."
"It doesn't matter what his name is, you're all going to
be deleted anyway. So enjoy your last
few milliseconds of processing."
"You won't get away with this!" Dot yelled as Ripper walked away. She looked at Enzo and Ronnie and thought of the baby. She had to do something. She wasn't going to give up yet.
***
Phong watched Matrix pace through the War Room. The venerable sprite was again trying to
make contact with Super Computer. If
they couldn't, it would be up to Hexadecimal to try and open a portal. They didn't have much time.
"Matrix, my son, please calm yourself," Phong said.
"Calm myself?" Matrix threw his hands up in frustration, "How can I be calm? That son of a virus has Dot!"
Hexadecimal, who was sitting across the room, holding
Melissa in her lap cleared her throat loudly.
"Oh --," Matrix said, "Sorry Hex – nothing personal."
"Yes," Hex said sounding rather putout. "Any luck, Phong?"
Phong leaned over the console, "AndrAIa?"
AndrAIa was poking around the inner workings of the
console trying to boost power, "Give me a nano and I'll let you know."
The game sprite climbed to her feet and walked over to
one of the workstations and began programming, "I'm going to tap into the core
energy and divert it to the portal generator. Think the boost will help, Hex?"
"Immensely," Hex smiled. "You'll lend me your power, my sweet treasure?"
"Yes," Melissa said, "I hope Enzo is all right."
"Don't worry Melissa," Matrix said, surprising everyone
in the room, "We'll get him back."
Phong nodded his approval, "Then let us hurry to the
Portal Generator and let us all pray to the User that we succeed."
***
"Prime Guardian, what are you doing here this
early?" Rule stepped into the office.
Bob clutched at his stomach, "I wasn't feeling to well,
so I figured since it will be dawn soon, I'll get a leg up on some paperwork."
"Listen," Rule smiled, "It doesn't sound so bad. Maybe
the storm passed. I hope to call my
parents soon. I know they're worried."
"Try it now. I'm
sure they won't mind.
"Thank you," Rule said, "Um sir, are you all right?"
"Well I could use an antacid," Bob said. "Must have been that five alarm chili of
mine."
"I have some in my desk," Rule said.
Bob sighed with relief; glad the storm seemed to be
passing. He had been worrying himself,
about his friends in Mainframe and at the factory. He had received a garbled message from Mouse and Ray about
AndrAIa and a portal appearing but then communications had cut out again.
To make matters worse, he had been up all night with
nausea. Plus, he was pretty certain he
had a fever. He hoped he wasn't coming
down with the stomach flu or something. That was all he needed.
Rule re-entered his office. "Here you go sir. Um – I
hope I'm not overstepping my bounds Prime Guardian, sir, you look rather
flushed."
"I think I have a fever," Bob said.
"It's probably the flu from being out in that
weather. Why don't I make you some
tea?"
"Thank you, Rule," Bob said. "Maybe I'll nap a bit." Bob put his head down on his desk.
The next thing he knew Rule was shaking him awake, "Prime
Guardian!"
"Yes – what?"
"An urgent message from Mainframe, sir!"
Bob activated the vid-window. The picture was still distorted somewhat but Bob could make out
Phong's worried face. "Phong?"
"Oh Bob! Thank
the User! You must – to Mainframe –
have Dot --,"
"What?" Bob said,
"Phong, you're breaking up. Rule, try
and increase the power."
The picture distorted wildly for a moment, then Phong's
voice came through loud and clear, "Daemon's Chosen have taken Dot!"
Bob's world shattered, "No! No it can't be!"
"Must return – two milliseconds – time running out –
portal."
"I read you Phong!" Bob said, "I'm on my way to the portal generator room now."
"Hurry Bob! We
will be waiting."
The window closed, "Prime Guardian?" Rule said.
"Contact Katiyana and tell her where I've gone. She's to assume control until I've
returned," Bob was already running from the room.
***
"Come on, come on, what's taking so blasted long!" Bob said.
"We're trying to increase the power now," Zif said. The Chief of Operations had been called when
the technicians had been unable to get the generator to work. "We'll get you there, I promise."
"Dot," Bob whispered. They had better not have laid a finger on her!
The portal came to life.
"Good luck, Prime Guardian!"
Bob stepped through the portal and could sense the energy
was unstable. No more portal travel
would be possible until the storm was completely over. Then he was on the other side and Matrix and
AndrAIa was waiting for him.
"Bob!" Matrix said.
"What happened? Where's Dot?"
"Come on," AndrAIa started away and Bob hastened to
follow, "Daemon's Chosen have her. Captain Syn is one of them."
"Captain Syn is a member of Daemon's Chosen?" It was too incredible to believe.
"Yes, and they've given us two milliseconds to bring you
here," Matrix said. "And time was up
twenty nanos ago."
As they entered the War Room they found Phong at a
vid-window. Bob had never seen the
dwarf before, but Captain Syn was in the background holding a laser pistol on
Dot, who was tied by her wrists to an exposed pipe.
"Was Captain Syn not clear, old man? The Prime Guardian in two milliseconds or
Ms. Matrix dies."
"I'm here!" Bob
strode forward, "Let her go you miserable sons of nulls."
"Just her?" The
dwarf smirked, "What about the others?"
The vid-window rotated to the left to reveal Enzo and
Ronnie Lore.
"Enzo," Bob's voice was an agonized whisper, "What do you
want?"
"Why you, my dear General Dariem," the dwarf was
tremendously pleased with himself. "Alone,
on Level 31. Behind Al's Wait and
Eat. You'll be contacted then, and
please Prime Guardian, no rescue attempts, or tricks, or having Matrix back you
up. The baby is here too, hidden, and I have no qualms about deleting it,
understand?"
"Yes, I understand," Bob spat, "I'm on my way. I should be there in ten micro's."
"Very good," and the vid-window closed.
The questions started immediately.
"Bob you're not going alone are you?"
"You're really going to do it?"
"Is it wise, my son?"
"Let me back you up," Matrix said, "They'll never know
I'm there."
"No," Bob donned his Glitch armor, "You heard what they
said, any tricks and they'll hurt the hostages. I have to go alone."
"Bob – please," Matrix whispered.
Bob placed his hands on Matrix's shoulders, "Don't worry
Matrix, I promise I won't fail."
"We will be watching your every move, my son," Phong
said. "Good luck to you and may the
User protect you."
***
By the time Bob reached Sector 31 he felt awful. His skin was clammy, his body feverish and
his stomach roiled unmercifully. Yet he
pushed himself on. Dot and the others
were counting on him.
WARNING: INCOMING GAME
"No!" Bob hissed, "Not now." Then he realized it was going to land right where he was supposed
to be.
Would they allow him to finish the game? Surely they knew that if he didn't they'd
all be nullified. He would have to wait
until the Chosen's representative met him then hope he was allowed him to
finish the game. If not they were all
deleted sprites.
The cube slammed down with an ominous finality.
***
"Where do you cowards think you're going?" Ripper demanded.
Four of the six sprites were heading for the door.
"That's a game cube, Ripper, I'm not staying for
that!" One of them tossed the remark
over his shoulder.
"Cowards! You are
banned from the Chosen!" Ripper
screamed. "And what of you Syn?"
Syn, having recovered somewhat from his injury, said. "I
go to meet the Guardian,"
"And you two?" He
said of the remaining.
"For the Glory of Daemon!" One of them said.
"Good," Ripper said, "I am glad I have a few loyal
comrades left."
"Ripper!" Dot
said, "Let Enzo, Ronnie and the baby get clear of the cube! If Bob doesn't make it in time --,"
"He will and you know he will," Ripper said, "He doesn't
want to see any of you nullified either."
When the field passed over them, the room abruptly
changed. No longer were they in a
basement storeroom, but a forbidding dungeon. Oily torches burned in scones on walls coated in slime. The exposed pipes became wood timbers. The
crates treasure chests. Dot now found
herself tied to a wooden wheel, etched with archaic symbols.
"Fascinating," Ripper said, "This is not the first game
I've been in though, yet it amazes me every time."
Ripper approached Dot, "Syn, do you think you could find
your way up to the Prime Guardian?"
"Yes."
"You had better reboot," Dot warned.
Syn ignored her and kept walking.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Dot muttered.
"Not a bad idea," Ripper said, "I believe this is the way
one does it?"
Ripper tapped his icon, "Reboot."
The greenish glow enveloped him and he found himself in a
plain brown tunic and pants, with a leather belt around his waist and a small
dagger in a sheath.
"Well this isn't very flamboyant," Ripper said. "Let's see what you come up with, Ms.
Matrix."
Ripper went to reach for her and must have noticed Dot's
look, "Keep the laser pistol on her brother. If she does anything, shoot him between the eyes."
Dot's teeth ground as Ripper reached over and tapped her
icon, "Reboot."
Dot closed her eyes against the light and when she opened
them –
Ripper was giving her a look even worse than Syn's. Dot looked down and saw she wore nothing
more than a leather loincloth and halter.
"How sweet," Ripper ran a finger along the edge of the
halter.
Dot recoiled from his abhorrent touch as bile rose in her
throat.
"Maybe I'll just have my revenge on you, hmm?" Ripper smiled evilly, "For your sake, your
Guardian had better come soon."
***
Bob knew the game, Spire of
Infinity. The object was
simple. You started at the top of the
tower and worked your way down to the bottom and rescued the sacrifice that the
owner of the tower, an evil necromancer, was going to use in a dark ritual. Each floor of the tower had greater dangers. Bob rebooted into an armor-clad warrior,
with a glowing broadsword and four daggers in a sheath across his chest.
Bob knew he was not up to his
full power. He felt lightheaded and
ready to vomit. Still he forced himself
to wait a few more precious nanos for the Chosen's contact. He knew the User was stuck on the floor
below him. He had to get to him before
it was too late.
When he sensed the User
moving, Bob entered the Tower, hoping to both stop the User, end the game and
get to Dot before the Chosen decided Bob had double crossed them.
Bob made it to the second
level, missed the User taking the door to the third by a nano and was trapped
having to solve several complex riddles. He dashed from the room, dodging traps and game sprites, but missed the
User again on the third level when he was seized with agonizing muscle spasms.
For the nth time, he wished
Matrix were fighting alongside him. He
nearly caught up on the fourth but missed again. His strength was ebbing at an alarming rate and now he was
fighting just to keep going.
So it went on like that for
eleven levels. Then on level twelve, he
managed to trap the User. If he could
get to the damsel first (and he had a hunch about that) the game would be won
and hopefully, he would be where Daemon's Chosen was holding Dot.
Bob practically dragged
himself down the long hall and was astonished to hear voices, one familiar.
"Looks like we're all going to
be nullified," Dot was saying.
"No! Your Guardian is here! He
will come for you!"
Bob heard someone crying and
he realized it was Ronnie. He couldn't
begin to imagine how terrified she must be. Keeping his back pressed against the wall. Bob moved closer to the
dungeon entrance.
"Face it," Dot was saying,
"You've lost."
"Shut up, wench! I'm going to enjoy taking my revenge out on
you."
"You can try, but you'll
regret it."
"You try something, Ms. Matrix
and your brother and the woman will get a shot between the eyes," the dwarf
said, "Relax. You may just enjoy this."
Bob peered around the wall
into the room. Dot caught sight of him
first.
"It's a shame about your other
two companions," Dot said, "While you have all the fun, they get to stand there
and guard the prisoners with their nasty lasers. No rest for the lackey's eh boys?"
Good girl, Bob
thought. Now he knew how many he was
dealing with.
"We gonna get a crack at her,
Ripper?" One of the guards asked.
"Of course, just wait your
turn," Ripper's hand seized at Dot's breast cruelly.
Random fury, nothing like Bob
had felt in some time, came to explosive life in his core-com. With an animalistic cry Bob rushed into the
room two fiery blasts dealt severely with the other sprites.
"What in the net --?" It was all Ripper had a chance to say before
Bob blasted him with a bolt so powerful it knocked the dwarf several feet.
Bob was across the space of
the dungeon in a split nano. As Ripper
was struggling to rise, Bob threw himself at the dwarf and began to beat him
senseless.
"You never," Bob
growled, punctuating each word with a blow to Ripper's face, "ever -- touch
her again!
"Bob!" Somehow Dot's frantic
voice broke through his bloodlust, "Bob stop!
"What?" Bob stared at his balled fists, which were
smeared with Ripper's blood. What in
the net am I doing? He looked up at
his love, "Dot?"
"It's okay," Dot said. "Bob -- Enzo and Ronnie!"
"Yes," Bob fought to compose
himself. He left Ripper there and
stumbled over to Enzo and Ronnie. "You
two all right?"
Bob pulled the gag from Enzo's
mouth and the little sprite doubled over and heaved. Bob held him, "It's okay. You're safe now."
"B-Bob – I tried to stop them
but they came into the apartment and --," Enzo said.
Bob cut his bonds, "Enzo I
need you to do something for me."
"Okay."
"Take Ronnie and look for her
baby. I'm going to free Dot and end the
game, all right?"
"All right Bob, you can count
on me," Enzo said.
Bob went to Dot, "Baby I was
so worried," he kissed her over her face, "Did he --?"
"No," Dot said. "Bob are you all right? You don't look well at all. You're burning with fever."
"I --," Bob realized, with the
adrenalin rush fading, how really very bad he felt. For a moment, he leaned against Dot for support.
"Bob you're sick," Dot said,
"Why hasn't the game ended?"
The ominous sound of footsteps
echoing down the hall and the User stepping into the room answered Dot's
question.
"That's why," Bob said. "I thought this would happen. You're the damsel, the sacrifice. If he frees you first, we'll lose the game."
"Sacrifice?"
Bob drew one of his daggers
and began to frantically saw at Dot's bonds.
"Bob!" Dot suddenly said.
Bob turned. The User now held a blood-red gem that
glowed with an ill-omened light. His
body suddenly became as smoke, which passed through the gem to coalesce on the
floor. It began to reshape itself but
not in its original form.
"No, not a shape
changer!" Bob drew his sword and
waited.
When the transformation was
complete a golden gryphon with razor sharp beak and talons and burning red eyes
stood before him. And without preamble,
it struck.
***
Captain Syn dashed through the halls of the spire,
clutching Baby Dot in his sweaty grasp. He had to find a place to hide until the game ended. The storage bin in which he had laid the
infant had transformed into a treasure chest in the game, which he found ironic
because of the tremendous wealth at his grasp that he could never have. He had almost expected not to find the baby
there after the cube landed. This
little brat may be his one chance to still come out on top. He could ransom her back to the mother, or
steal off of the system and sell her on the black market at System 998.
He had almost been deleted several times by the game
sprites. Now panicked beyond belief,
every corridor held a hideous beast or deadly trap. They wouldn't catch him, they wouldn't!
"Syn."
The captain came to a screeching halt at the sound of his
name. The hall was empty when he turned
to look behind him.
When he turned back again Phong was standing in his path.
"What the --?" Syn cried, "How in the hell did you get in here?"
"Give me the baby, Syn," Phong held out his spindly arms.
Syn laughed, somewhat hysterically, "Out of my way you
senile old fool!"
As Syn went to move past him, Phong reached out and
tapped Syn at a certain spot on his left arm. Pain shot up the appendage, followed by a numbing of his whole left
side.
"What – what did?" Syn nearly dropped Baby Dot, but Phong reached out and lifted the baby
from Syn's arms, opened his built in file drawer and created a makeshift
cradle.
"Now will you surrender peacefully?"
Syn reached for Phong with his good arm, "I'll delete
you!"
Phong's arm extended and he tapped another spot. Syn's right side lost all feeling. The captain toppled over.
"You – you – old --!"
Phong leaned down and put his face close to Syn's,
"Remember my son, there is only one path to success but many paths to failure."
And the elderly sprite left him there.
***
Bob leapt and rolled to his right, bringing the sword up
and the beast roared in pain as steel sliced through golden fur and flesh. The gryphon leapt and the ground shook when
it landed. Bob was running for the
exit, hoping to lead it away from Dot but it leapt again and blocked the
way. For a tine they stood staring at
each other, man and beast, then the gryphon's mighty head darted forward and
Bob had barely enough time to leap out of the way, but in doing that, Bob
didn't notice the beast's tail. It
whipped around catching Bob in the face and the monster smashed the crown of
his head into Bob's torso.
"Bob!" Dot was
screaming as Bob hit the floor hard. He rolled, narrowly avoiding being crushed by the beast's great
paw. Bob chanced a glance at her and
saw that she was trying to free herself. He had no idea what would happen with the game if she did, but he did
know he couldn't let the gryphon near her.
He was on his feet as his enemy leapt again and Bob did a
forward roll, came up and slashed at the gryphon's underbelly eliciting another
howl, as burning blood spattered on the floor. The gryphon whirled around, its eyes filled with murderous rage.
Bob beckoned to it in challenge with his hand. The gryphon roared and lunged, but Bob
wasn't fast enough that time and the hooked beak closed around Bob's arm. Now it was Bob who roared in defiance and
pain. The gryphon lifted him up, shook
him like a dead carcass, and tossed him aside. Bob hit the floor hard and rolled several feet
Unconsciousness was stealing upon him, but Bob fought
against the urge to merely lie down and sleep. He was a Guardian, to mend and defend. The gryphon was circling again and Bob drew two of his daggers. When the gryphon charged again, Bob hurled
both daggers into its eyes.
The gryphon screamed a high-pitched wail that had Bob
falling to his knees and covering his ears, then the beast fell on its side,
trying to paw out the daggers. Bob
dashed across the room, avoided its thrashing body and plunged his sword into
its side. The gryphon gave one last
dying scream and went still.
Bob collapsed against the carcass that was already
beginning to cool. The darkness was
calling to him
"Bob! The game!"
Dot's voice sounded like she was millions of sectors
away. With much effort, Bob climbed to
his feet and stumbled over to her. He
drew his third dagger and sliced through the rope.
"Dot," he said hoarsely, "In order to win – well – you're
a sacrifice."
"Bob --,"
"Give me your hand."
"But Bob --,"
"Trust me."
Dot held out her hand and Bob pricked her finger with the
tip of the dagger, then pressed her finger against the wheel.
GAME OVER
"Oh Bob," Dot went to kiss him but he was slipping away,
falling down a dark tunnel and Bob welcomed the oblivion.
***
"Oh man, this is getting ridiculous," Bob said. He came to in what he immediately knew to be
the examination room of the infirmary. That had to have been one of the roughest games he had ever played and
he felt every bit of his time within.
He thought he should get up. He wondered where everybody was. Yet he didn't have the energy to make the attempt. So he lay there, slipping in and out of
consciousness, wondering why no one had come to be with him.
Finally, the door came open and Bob managed, with much
difficulty, to raise himself up on his elbows and was surprised to find it was
Rose Norton.
"Rose," Bob said, trying to concentrate around the
throbbing pain in his skull "What are you doing here? Is the storm over?"
"Yes," Rose moved up to him and gently pushed him back
down. "Lie still, you're busted up
pretty bad."
"I can feel it," Bob muttered. His stomach was still protesting, though not as badly. "So why
are you here and where is everybody?"
"Dr. Chancery called me." Rose opened her Notepad and examined it critically, "As to where everybody is, I asked them all
to stay in the waiting room until I finished my testing."
"You still didn't answer my first question," Bob said,
"Why did Dr. Chancery call you?"
"He found something he couldn't identify on some routine
tests he did, so he had me called in. You've been unconscious for six milliseconds."
"Six milliseconds?"
"Bob there is something important I need to tell you and
I need for you to listen to me, understand?" Rose asked.
"Yes."
"After Dr. Chancery called me, I decided to run my own
tests," Rose unexpectedly laid her hands on Bob's own, "We're sure of your
diagnosis although we're not sure how you contracted it yet. You have Hybrid-X."
"T-the – viral infection?"
"I've run the test four times to be sure," Rose said,
unexpectedly, her eyes filled with tears. "Bob, I consider you a friend and I promise you you won't find better
care than what I'm going to give you. I
will do everything in my power to find the answer."
"Rose," Bob whispered, "You've got to tell me – is it
contagious? Can I infect others?"
"No," Rose said.
"You're certain?" Bob's voice rose in panic, "I've been
with --," He halted, feeling sick, but not because of the illness.
"Yes Bob, we're certain," Rose said, "Since examining
you, we've made some new discoveries. This is not so much as a virus, but a virulent strain of poison. I'll need to run more tests on you."
"You're saying poison," Bob said, "So this was
deliberate?"
"It would seem so," Rose said, "So we're going to have to
figure out who has the knowledge and technology to create such a thing but for
now, we have more immediate problems to address."
Rose glanced towards the door, "Did you want me to tell
her?"
"No," Bob said. "I will. Are they all waiting
out there?"
"Yes," Rose said. "I'll have a orderly bring in a wheelchair."
She left him then and Bob lay back down on the bed and
tears escaped from under his lids.
My User, he had the infection. How in all of the net was he going to tell Dot?
