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  I pursed my lips together, not wanting to show a hint of surprise.

  “So?” Harrison asked. “Why would we care?”

  “If you tell me where I can find the machine, I’ll give you Missy.”

  My stomach clenched as I fought to keep what little food I had in my belly down.

  “I’d tell you if I knew where to find it,” Harrison said.

  While I wanted Missy to be safe, we really didn’t have an idea of where Merlin had gone. Even if we did, I wouldn’t hand him over to Orlando. He would be key in regaining control of the experimental shelter. In fact, he was probably our only hope of getting Shelter 101x back.

  “I don’t know either, but I wish I did because I’d tell you,” I said.

  Orlando nodded while staring at me with narrowed eyes.

  “Can we get ready for this journey?” Harrison asked.

  “Make it quick,” Orlando said. “Two of my strongest men will wait by the exit to accompany you back to Shelter 12.”

  Harrison and I both remained quiet. Orlando turned and walked out, almost falling twice.

  “Is he ever not wasted?” I asked.

  Harrison shook his head.

  “We can use that to our advantage,” I said.

  He nodded then stretched and yawned.

  “Stop,” I teased, yawning myself.

  “I’m so tired,” he said.

  His defeated voice scared me.

  “Don’t talk that way,” I said. “We’re still alive, and we’re getting control of our own shelter.”

  “A fiefdom,” he snorted, shaking his head then walking toward the hatch leading out of the room.

  I followed him outside where two guards led us to a storeroom a few hatches down the hall.

  “We’re getting weapons, right?” Harrison asked.

  “No,” a guard said. “Grab those backs and your suits.”

  I walked over and slipped on an enviro-suit.

  “We’ll need weapons to control the others,” Harrison said.

  “That’s why you’ll have us,” the guard retorted.

  “We’re not leaving here without weapons.”

  The guard stared off into space.

  “Orlando says we can give you the weapons when we get to the other shelter, not before,” he said.

  Harrison muttered a few curses before putting on his own enviro-suit. After suiting up and putting on our helmets, we grabbed the meager sacks of supplies. I wondered how many people I’d have control of in the other shelter. Would I have enough Build Power (BP) and Research Power (RP) to do something? And how did Shelter 12 differ from the newer, experimental one. I had too many questions for my liking.

  The guards escorted us outside of the shelter. I watched the hatch slowly close before staring up at the dull, cloud-filled sky.

  “Let’s move out,” one man escorting us said.

  Harrison walked next to me as I followed him. Another guard with a plasma rifle walked behind us. Even if we got a chance, killing them made little sense. We’d need their help to keep the people in Shelter 12 under control. Orlando had oppressed them so long, I seriously wondered if they’d rebel before we even arrived. We walked through the wasteland, none of us talking.

  Chapter 17

  When we arrived at Shelter 12 later that afternoon, I hated and loved the sight of it at the same time. After Harrison and I opened the hatch and climbed down into the decontamination chamber, the others followed. The heavy metal barrier shut above us, blocking the outdoors. The two soldiers who had accompanied us stood together, talking to each other as three other men carrying rifles stood nearby.

  “Listen up,” Harrison said, taking charge. “I know what Orlando probably told you, but guess what? Screw him. Scout and I are in charge here. We’re the same person. You don’t want to test either of us. Am I understood?”

  “We’re with you, sir,” a man said, stepping forward.

  He took off his helmet, revealing close-cropped blond hair.

  “Skinner? Is that you?” Harrison asked, walking closer.

  “Yes, sir,” the man replied. “We’ve been waiting for your return, sir.”

  Harrison grabbed the man and squeezed him as I walked over.

  “You should’ve said something sooner,” Harrison said.

  “We didn’t want to take a chance, sir. With everyone having a helmet on, I wasn’t sure who we could trust. Everyone he sent is from the old squad.”

  I wished Harrison would tell me everything, but I kept my mouth shut.

  “This is good news,” he said, letting Skinner go. “Does Orlando have anyone loyal to him here?”

  “A few men and women,” Skinner said.

  “Keep your eye on them, but don’t make any moves. He never suspected you of remaining loyal to me?”

  “He’s crazy, sir.” Skinner shrugged.

  I smiled, able to tell why Harrison liked him.

  “Okay, go get everyone in the auditorium. We’re making an announcement.”

  Skinner nodded then turned and walked out of the decontamination room with his squad.

  “Are you sure that’s a smart idea?” I asked.

  “The announcement?” He grinned. “You don’t even know what it is yet.”

  “No, I don’t. That’s the problem.”

  “We’re going to play Orlando’s game for now,” he said. “We need to appear supportive of him. Meanwhile, in the background, we’ll find out some way to use Merlin to our advantage and retake control of our other shelter. Did you accept control of this one yet?”

  “No, hold on.”

  Accept control of Shelter 12 [Y/n]

  “Done,” I said, glancing over the new options available.

  The shelter operated on two major game mechanics — research power (RP) and build power (BP) Research power unlocked new technologies while build power allowed me to build stuff. Pretty simple. I glanced at the options for Shelter 12, unimpressed.

  Basic Weapons (UNLOCKED)

  Adv Weapons (1000 RP)

  Basic Food (UNLOCKED)

  Micro-Crops (500 RP)

  Basic Energy (UNLOCKED)

  Adv Geothermal (500 RP)

  Basic Resources (UNLOCKED)

  Adv Mining (1000 BP)

  Basic Military (UNLOCKED)

  Adv Military (1000 RP)

  Orlando hadn’t researched anything beyond the basics, but I didn’t have enough people to generate daily research power. Not to mention I didn’t have as many options as in the other shelter. I double checked the roster of people under my command, hoping I might be able to spare some people to be engineers.

  Engineers

  0

  Soldiers

  24

  Cooks

  10

  Cleaners

  25

  Teachers

  2

  Fixers

  74

  Trashers

  40

  Children

  21

  Farmers

  87

  Makers

  245

  Total Population

  528

  The bare bones crew needed to stay in their respective spots if we wanted to produce all the food and supplies Orlando expected from us while keeping everything else running smooth.

  “You almost ready?” Harrison asked.

  I nodded and waved the screen away.

  “Just a bit worried. I don’t see how we can produce enough to feed ourselves and help the other shelter. We’ll need to go to half-rations. The people are gonna hate us.”

  “We’ll be okay,” Harrison said, putting a hand on my shoulder and squeezing. “We have to put down the law now, or they’ll try to question us and rebel.”

  “Are you sure? We know the people here.”

  “Maybe, but they hate us. Trust me. After escaping and being wanted, we’re suddenly made their leader. None of them will like it. Well, except for my old squad.”

  “I trust you,” I said,
meaning it.

  “Come on.” He motioned for me to follow with a nod of his head. “Let’s get to the auditorium.”

  “Who’s going to give the speech?” I asked.

  “Me,” he said. “While I don’t agree with it, more of them will respect the message if it’s coming from me. Don’t look at me that way. You know it’s true.”

  “It’s true, but it’s one of the things I wanted to change.”

  “We’ll have time for women’s rights later.”

  “I hope so,” I said.

  We walked to the elevator in silence. The gray, barren walls reminded me of the other shelter and Missy’s murals.

  * * * * *

  I stood to Harrison’s left and a few steps behind him as he talked on stage in front of all the inhabitants of the shelter. Orlando hadn’t officially given us control via the game menus, but we would be in charge until he changed his mind.

  “Together, we’re going to build a new world…”

  I smiled, loving that he’d used some of the speech I’d given at the experimental shelter we’d found. We needed to get through all the bullshit politics and contact Merlin. Surely the most advanced artificial intelligence in the game could help us.

  Harrison continued speaking. While he had assumed control of this shelter, I still had ownership of the second experimental one. I wished he would get the damn speech over with because I wanted to contact Merlin and come up with a plan.

  “Screw you, traitor!” someone shouted from the audience.

  Instead of ordering guards or ignoring him, both reasonable options, he jumped off the stage and headed into the crowd. Everyone parted, leaving the man who’d spoken up all alone as Harrison walked up. I couldn’t look away from them.

  “Say it again,” Harrison said. “I dare you.”

  The man laughed. “Screw you--”

  Before the man finished speaking, Harrison rushed forward and grabbed him by the neck. The man pulled a knife, but Harrison easily disarmed him. A hushed silence fell over the crowd as the shelter’s new leader held the man in a headlock.

  “Do you submit to me?” Harrison asked.

  “Screw you,” the guy mumbled.

  Harrison kept squeezing until the man stopped moving. Nobody in the crowd spoke as Harrison let him drop to the floor then returned to the stage.

  “Clean that piece of shit up,” he said. “Now!”

  Several people jumped into action, dragging the heckler away. Had he been too harsh? Or was being ruthless needed to keep the shelter under our control? I worried about what type of monster I might become with too much power in my hands.

  “Any other questions or objections?” Harrison asked.

  The crowd remained silent.

  “Dismissed,” he said then turned to me.

  He walked over as the auditorium cleared.

  “You killed him,” I said.

  He nodded.

  “I know him from way back, and he would’ve caused us trouble,” Harrison said.

  “Still…”

  “Are you up for this?” he snapped.

  “I only wanted a better life for Missy and myself, and now…”

  “And now she’s gone,” he said. “We have to keep going. Merlin can help us.”

  “We need to contact him. Any luck yet?”

  “I’m trying,” he replied, putting a hand on my waist. “For now, we have to deal with our current situation. Are you with me?”

  “Yeah, I’m with you,” I said, trying to sound like I meant it.

  “Look, I know you cared about her, but you have to face facts…”

  I nodded, keeping my lips pursed together as I stared into his eyes. We left the auditorium after it cleared, heading toward Orlando’s old quarters on the first floor of the shelter. The moment we opened the hatch, I realized how much cleaning we needed to do and missed the newer and unused experimental shelter.

  “Nasty,” I said, walking in and glancing around. “We should get to work.”

  “I’ve got stuff to do,” he said. “You can stay here and clean if you want.”

  “Excuse me?” I put a hand on my hip.

  “We should have someone else cleaning this up,” he said. “We’ve got more important things to do like lock down the shelter and make sure everyone’s onboard with us. Not to mention contacting Merlin and finding a way to get to your experimental shelter.”

  I took a deep breath. He had a point, but I didn’t want strangers in my sleeping quarters.

  “He might’ve left something valuable behind. I’m staying to look and straighten up.”

  “I doubt he left anything here,” Harrison said. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay...we’re sleeping together, right?”

  “We have been,” he said. “Something changed?”

  “No, but…”

  I let my voice drift off. He shook his head then turned to leave. I wished I could turn all my emotions off as easily as him. Assuming control of the shelter with him, I needed to do better with not bowing to feelings when important decisions needed to be made. Harrison left the large, lavish quarters without saying another word.

  While I hated to admit it, he was probably right about Orlando not leaving anything valuable behind. Still, my instincts told me something wasn’t exactly right in the living area. I searched through the most obvious places first, checking drawers and bookshelves. Everything had been stripped cleaned and left unwashed. The place stunk.

  I ventured into his private bedroom and noticed they’d left the same sheets on the fluffy mattress in middle of the room. Those needed to be burned. I walked over and ripped them off. I set them into a pile for disposal then noticed a lump in the center of the bed. Curious, I lifted the mattress and spotted a wooden box underneath.

  Had he forgotten something after all? I grabbed it then let the mattress plop back down. Sitting on the edge of it, I examined the plain, wooden box. It wasn’t big enough to hold very much, and it wasn’t heavy. After checking for traps and finding none, I opened the lid, hoping I didn’t see any strange sex toys or anything. The book inside surprised me.

  I picked up the leather-bound collection of pages and opened it. No way! I read Orlando’s thoughts in his own handwriting. Had he kept a diary? I immediately thought of Harrison and telling him, but I held off, unable to stop reading. When I saw my name mentioned, my heart almost stopped beating. I flipped through to the last entry.

  “Augorn 24th, 2987: I want Scout but not for the reasons she might think. Her body’s nice even if her mind’s blown out. I want her for her memories. Are her memories of the real world the same as mine? Does she hold the secret for getting out of here?”

  I set the book in my lap and took a deep breath. Did he remember the real world too? I stood and went to find Harrison. At the door, I stopped, changing my mind. He didn’t believe me, and Orlando’s diary hadn’t been explicit in what he knew or believed. I needed more facts. Others could finish the cleaning later. I flipped back to the beginning of Orlando’s journal, reading from the very beginning.

  His words intrigued me enough to keep flipping through pages. I forced myself to get through every page. All the while, I kept hoping for another mention of the real world behind the game we were trapped in. The rest of the journal was filled with vile thoughts of a sick and twisted man. When I got to the end of the journal later that evening, I wanted to throw up. How had such a maniac climbed to a position of power?

  As I laid in bed, I wondered about the other shelters. How many people remembered the real world? If Orlando believed, why did he keep it a secret? The questions kept bouncing around in my head. After hiding the book, I curled up on the bare mattress, thinking of Missy. Had she abandoned me too? I felt so cold and alone. Not even thoughts of Merlin or escaping the game could cheer me up.

  Chapter 18

  An entire week went by with no contact from Merlin, Missy, or even Orlando. Harrison and I worked opposite shifts, barely seeing each othe
r except for a few minutes here and there during the day or late at night when he went to bed and I left. The situation wasn’t ideal, but we had to do quite a lot to keep the shelter running efficiently. When we finally got a chance to see each other, it wasn’t under the most ideal circumstances.

  “It’s not right,” I said.

  “No kidding,” Harrison snapped.

  I frowned as we stood next to a table. We’d commissioned the room for meetings and important discussions. Harrison glanced down at a list of people on his tablet.

  “That’s the only way we’ll survive,” he said. “They have to die.”

  “We could banish them from the shelter,” I offered.

  “That’s a slower death, but they’re still dead at the end.” He took a deep breath. “I’ll do it myself. You don’t have to worry about getting your hands dirty.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked. “Has Merlin contacted you yet?”

  “No. I told you I’d tell you.”

  I raised my hands. “Don’t need to snap at me.”

  “This is a hard decision for me too,” he said. “I know most of these people.”

  “How are we going to do it?” I asked in a quiet tone.

  “We’ll give them something that will put them to sleep…”

  His voice trailed off.

  “That’s probably the best way,” I admitted. “Are you going to tell them?”

  Harrison sighed, clenching his fists like he always did when he got anxious or nervous. I waited for his answer, not pressuring him. With an outbreak of Tom’s Troubles in the shelter, we needed to kill those infected before they spread it to everyone. I hated the idea of doing it even though I was certain about being trapped in a virtual game. Killing someone still felt real.