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  Harrison turned his head, staring at the door. I settled into the stiff chair, arms folded across my chest as I thought about what fate might have in store for us. What could be worse than working in the waste treatment center? Orlando wanting me in his sick and perverted harem. No way in hell that was happening. Not to me or Missy.

  * * * * *

  Orlando strolled into the room and stopped near the table, flanked by three armed men. He slowly shook his head as he stared at Harrison.

  “I knew you would betray me eventually, but I didn’t think it would be over a woman.”

  “What are you going to do to us?” I asked.

  Missy leaned over and clutched my arm.

  “Keep stabby-girl under control,” Orlando said. “If you give me the beacon, I won’t kill you. Losing your life over something that doesn’t even work isn’t a good idea.”

  “Why do you want it if it doesn’t work?” I asked.

  Orlando turned, thin lips pressed together as he frowned.

  “Am I talking to you?” he asked. “You need to keep your woman under control and give me the beacon. That’s the only way you’re getting out of this alive. I’ll demote you, of course, but you can gradually work your way back up.”

  “The beacon’s missing,” Harrison said, surprising me.

  I turned to him, brow furrowed.

  “Someone stole it,” he continued.

  “Fine.” Orlando took a deep breath. “If you can’t tell me the truth, you’ll die.”

  “That’s the truth,” Harrison weakly protested. “The beacon’s gone.”

  Why hadn’t he shared that information with me? I wondered.

  “Then you’ll all die,” Orlando said and turned to leave the room.

  “No, wait,” I said.

  He ignored me and stormed out, the guards following. They slammed the door shut behind them. I turned to Harrison. He frowned, shaking his head.

  “Why didn’t you tell me someone stole the beacon?”

  “I’ve had other things on my mind,” he said.

  Missy let go then scooted her chair away.

  “You two not fight now,” she said.

  I ignored her, still staring at Harrison.

  “What do you want from me?” he asked. “You got sloppy.”

  “Don’t blame this on me,” I said. “What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know,” Harrison snapped.

  He pushed his chair back then stood, pacing back and forth behind us. I sighed, not wanting to die without knowing what would happen to me in the simulation. Missy smiled and bopped her head like she had no worries. I envied her in some ways. Her ignorance had to be bliss. I leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, an idea popping into my head. The vents.

  “I’ve got it,” I said.

  Harrison stopped and turned. “What?”

  “The vents.” I glanced up. “One of us can get out, kill the guard, and open the door.”

  “We’re too big for that small vent,” he said.

  I motioned toward Missy with my eyes. “Not all of us.”

  He sucked in his breath then pursed his lips together.

  I leaned over and put a hand on Missy’s shoulder. “Do you want to get out of here?”

  She nodded, her smile widening.

  “Can you climb through that hole and help us out of here?”

  She glanced up, her smile fading.

  “I don’t want to, thank you.” She turned her head away from me.

  “Orlando will kill us if we don’t escape,” I said bluntly.

  Her head whipped back around as her eyes widened. “No.”

  “Can I lift you to the ceiling? You can crawl through the vents to the next room. Once you get back out, you must stab the guard outside.”

  Her smile returned momentarily then faded. “No, I can’t. Too scary.”

  “Leave her alone,” Harrison said. “We’ll fight them when they come back.”

  “That’s suicide. Missy can handle this. I know it. Right, baby girl?”

  She tentatively looked up at the ceiling again. I stood and climbed atop the table.

  “Never mind,” I said. “There’s no way to get the vent cover off. We don’t have a knife.”

  “I have one,” Missy said.

  She bent over, pulling a blade out of her boot. I smiled and reached down for it. After she gave it to me, I used it to pry the vent cover off, not caring about screwing it. We had one chance to get out of the shelter. Even if we get out, I don’t see how we would survive long in the cold wilderness. Maybe we shouldn’t even try.

  Harrison hopped onto the table. “I’ll help you lift her.”

  “No,” Missy whined, walking toward the wall.

  “We don’t have a lot of time,” Harrison said.

  He glanced toward the window in the hatch.

  “You like games, don’t you?” I asked.

  Missy looked back then nodded. “Yes…”

  “Come on.” Harrison clapped his hands. “We’ll lift you up.”

  “I don’t want to leave you,” she whined.

  “You’re not leaving us,” I said. “Remember the plan? You get out in the next room then take out the guard and let us out.”

  Missy took a step forward. After more convincing, she allowed Harrison and me to lift her up and into the vent. I watched as she squirmed out of sight.

  “You sure she can handle this?”

  I nodded. “She’s tough.”

  As we waited for her, Harrison resumed his pacing. I kept watch on the hatch, hoping we had enough time to enact our plan. Back in the real world, I would have never sent someone like Missy on such a dangerous mission, but trapped in the Core, I had to be realistic if we wanted to survive.

  “This is a bad idea,” Harrison muttered.

  He hopped off the table and walked toward the door. I followed.

  “Yeah, but we have no other choices right now.”

  We continued walking, my heart pounding.

  “This is it,” Harrison said near the door.

  I walked over and peered through the tiny pane of glass. Harrison banged on the steel to get the guard’s attention. When he turned around, Missy struck, plunging two blades into his neck. Blood squirted out, pooling on the cement floor.

  “Open the door!” I gestured wildly.

  The hatch swung open. Missy stood smiling, covered in blood and still holding her knives.

  “Fun!” she declared.

  “Get him in here,” Harrison said, grabbing the guard’s feet.

  He pulled the body into the holding room, but a dark trail of blood gave everything away. We didn’t have a chance of keeping this hidden.

  “There’s no time to clean it up,” I said. “We should go.”

  I stepped out of the room, almost slipping in the blood. Missy laughed as she held her knives. We walked down the hall until we reached another hatch.

  “Come on.” Harrison opened it then slipped inside.

  Missy and I followed, shutting the hatch behind us.

  “What are we going to do?” I asked.

  “Leave the shelter,” he said. “It’s our only choice.”

  “That’s suicide.” I turned to Missy. “Put those knives away.”

  “I need to clean them,” she said then wiped one on her pant leg.

  The hatch opened, causing my heart to beat faster. A guard walked in.

  “What’s going on in here?” He pointed his plasma rifle in our direction. “Drop the rifle!”

  Harrison obeyed, gently setting the plasma weapon on the floor.

  “It’s okay,” Missy said, sliding toward the guard.

  He raised his weapon. “Stay back!”

  “It’s okay,” she continued in a soothing voice. “We want to go.”

  “You can’t…I mean, I can’t just…You…”

  The guard’s brow furrowed as he lowered his rifle.

  “Now!” Missy shouted.

  She pulled a
knife then lunged at the guard. He raised the rifle but couldn’t fire as Harrison plowed into him. As they wrestled on the floor, Missy danced around, thrusting her knife.

  “That’s my thigh!” Harrison shouted at one point.

  He punched the guard’s face to a pulp before standing.

  “Sorry,” Missy said, knives behind her back.

  “What was that?” Harrison asked.

  I turned to Missy. She smiled.

  “How did you do that to him?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “I get feelings sometimes, and people do what I tell them.”

  “We don’t have time for this.” Harrison handed me the second guard’s weapon. “We need to make it to the first floor, get suited up, and leave with as many supplies as we can carry.”

  I nodded, my heart still pounding. We left the second room and headed straight for the elevator. It came quickly, the door sliding open. Once inside, Missy smashed all the buttons then turned and smiled.

  “No,” I scolded.

  She frowned, lowering her head.

  “Get your rifle ready,” Harrison said as the door slid closed.

  I raised the weapon and pointed it at the door as we rose a single floor before stopping. When it slid open, I prepared to shoot anyone on the other side. I breathed a sigh of relief as the door shut and we continued up. Only two more floors to go. How are we going to pull this off? Take it easy. Don’t get stupid.

  The door slid open then shut again before we continued up. Missy giggle as we rose another floor. Harrison shot her a nasty look but said nothing. On the first floor, the door slid open once again. Three men turned, fumbling for their weapons. I lit them up along with Harrison. They fell one after another, two of them screaming.

  Combat is Over!

  You get 300 Life Experience Points

  You have 2,450 LXP!

  “Dammit,” Harrison muttered. “Let’s go. Come on!”

  I grabbed Missy’s hand and dragged her along behind me as I left the elevator. With the rifle gripped in my other hand, we walked toward the decontamination room and the hatch leading to the outside world. Could we make it without being stopped? We ran down the corridor, stopping at a more secure hatch. Harrison tapped open a code to open it then stepped aside. Missy ran into the oval room first. I followed, rifle up, hoping she didn’t run into anyone.

  “Get suited up,” Harrison said.

  He stepped into the room, shutting the hatch behind him. As I walked over to Missy next to a line of enviro-suits on the wall, I wished we had more time to come up with a reasonable plan. The deep thump of a plasma rifle going off got my attention. I twirled around. The control box next to the hatch was smoking and sending showers of sparks into the air. I smelled burnt plastic in the air. Harrison walked to the other side of the room and rummaged through lockers. I turned to get Missy and myself dressed for the weather outside.

  “But I don’t wanna go outside,” Missy said. “It’s too cold.”

  “We’ll be warm and toasty in our suits, baby girl.”

  “But what if they break down?” she asked.

  I didn’t have an honest answer for her.

  “What are you going to do here on your own?” I asked. “You can’t kill the whole shelter. They’ll kill you for what you did.”

  Missy frowned. I hated manipulating her, but we needed to escape.

  “Come on,” I continued, slipping one leg then another into an enviro-suit. “They’re good.”

  “I can live in the vents,” Missy declared. “They’ll never find me.”

  “No, you can’t!” I insisted then frowned like a disappointed mother.

  “We don’t have time for this,” Harrison said from near the ladder.

  He stood with his helmet in his left hand, dangling at his side.

  “Give me a minute,” I said.

  I walked toward Missy, hands up.

  “We need to go, baby girl,” I said.

  “No!” she cried then backed up against the wall.

  “We’ve got company,” Harrison said.

  I glanced over my shoulder and saw a glimpse of someone through the glass window in the hatch. We don’t have time for this!

  “Missy, come on, we’re leaving,” I said, my voice firm.

  Sparks shot out of a small point on the metal door. The red-hot spot moved upward. How long until they get in? I turned to Harrison then Missy. She had scampered into a suit and was holding the glass and metal helmet in her left hand, swinging it back and forth.

  “Get the helmet on,” I said as I walked over to the ladder leading out.

  “The helmet scares me,” Missy whined.

  “You’ll be fine,” I said. “Just remember to breath, okay?”

  She nodded then placed the helmet over her head. As Harrison walked over, sparks and smoke continued to shoot out of the metal hatch to the room. He stopped and pulled out a knife. Missy’s eyes lit up.

  “We’ll cut the other suits,” he said. “It’ll take them a while to fix them or make new ones.”

  “Good idea.” I pulled a knife of my own then walked over to the suits.

  Missy needed no encouragement as she ran over to the other suits, a knife in each hand. She plunged the blades into one of the suits repeatedly. After the passive psionics display and her violent tendencies, she worried me, but we had to keep going. Freedom meant nothing if we didn’t survive.

  “Come on,” Harrison said, motioning with a wave of his arm. “Let’s go.”

  The sparks continued spitting out of the door as the circle of white-hot motel almost completed, giving them entrance to the room. I grabbed Missy’s arm and dragged her toward the ladder.

  “Get your helmet on,” I said. “We’re going outside.”

  “Noooooo…”

  A loud crash behind us spurred her into action. Harrison followed behind her with me taking up the rear. The others rushed into the room, firing their weapons, as I slipped out of the main hatch to the shelter.

  Chapter 7

  When the hatch leading outside opened and I climbed out, I saw a snow-covered landscape stretching into the distance. I shielded my eyes from the brightness with my right hand. Even with gray clouds filling the sky, everything looked brighter than inside the shelter. Harrison walked forward, trudging toward a range of mountains in the distance.

  “Hey, wait up,” I said, hurrying after him. “Where are we going?”

  “I don’t know,” he growled, not looking back.

  “Slow down,” I said. “We need to stick together.”

  He turned, scowling. “Do we? What if I say no?”

  I swallowed as he stared into my eyes.

  “You wouldn’t do that to us, would you?”

  “It’s so white,” Missy said, walking away.

  Harrison and I continued our stupid staring contest.

  “I don’t want you two slowing me down,” he said.

  “We won’t.”

  He sighed. “And no complaining…”

  “You won’t hear anything negative from either of us. I promise.”

  He turned and resumed walking. Missy ran ahead, her boots leaving impressions in the two or three inches of snow on the ground.

  “I can help look for food,” I said.

  Harrison stopped again, still fuming as he turned around.

  “You can, can you? Great! We’re saved for sure now!”

  “Hey,” I protested. “Stop being so sarcastic.”

  “Or what?” he asked, stepping toward me.

  Missy pulled her knife and held it up. Harrison stopped and turned toward her.

  “No,” I said, moving in between them.

  Missy still lunged with the knife. Harrison’s hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She dropped the short blade and struggled to free herself. As I stooped to pick it up, she pulled out a second knife with her free hand and swung. The blade slipped sliced my suit open.

  “Nooooooo!” I screamed.

  I glanced down at
the damage.

  Warning: Depressurization of Enivro-Suit

  “No kidding!” I yelled.

  Harrison let go of Missy.

  “Sorry,” she cried then sobbed.

  “You two are quite the pair,” Harrison said.

  As he shook his head, Missy turned and bolted toward the mountains.

  “We have to go after her,” I said, holding my hand over the puncture in my suit.

  “You’re not gonna make it far like that,” he said. “Come here.”

  I stepped toward him. He held my arm and studied the tear.

  “We need to patch this up,” he said. “We can’t do it here. Can you hold on?”

  “I’ll be fine,” I lied, secretly terrified of dying in the stupid simulation.

  Harrison turned and walked toward Missy, his huge feet leaving even bigger impressions in the snow. I followed, still holding my hand over the rip. Micro bursts of freezing cold air slipped through anyway, chilling me to the bone. We’d never make it to the mountains, and I saw no other shelter nearby. Am I going to die? My vision blurred.

  “Hey, wait up…”

  I took a few more steps before my legs gave out under me. I toppled to the snowy ground. As I got even colder, I stared up at the gray sky covered with clouds, the scene so different than the virtual world I’d entered. What had happened? On the bright side, if I died, I would finally figure out what happened after death. For all I knew, if you died in the simulation, you never came back. My vision blurred. I closed my eyes. Warmth washed over my body.

  * * * * *

  “Scout, wake up,” Harrison said, shaking my arm. “We’ve got company.”

  I groaned as I opened my eyes.

  “Where are we?” I asked, looking around and seeing icy walls.

  “Harry made us a home,” Missy said, clapping her hands.

  “Dammit, I told you, my name’s Harrison.”

  I sat up, smiling. “Who’s the company?”

  “Mutants are coming,” he said. “I saw them while out scouting. They’re gonna smell us and head this way soon. We need to get going.”

  “Let’s fight them,” I said, feeling better after sleeping.