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  “But there are also a lot of things I know about you.”

  I put my hand on her shoulder. As she pulled away, I looked up and saw Sylvar staring at us.

  “What’s he want?” I muttered.

  “I think he suspects I’m not a male player,” she said. “You don’t understand how rough it can be in here for a female prisoner. It can be...horrible.”

  My thoughts immediately turned to Sarah. Was she okay? If Eric hadn’t protected her, I would make it my mission in the game to ensure he died multiple times.

  “Come with me,” I said. “We’ll convince them to let us leave the party.”

  I walked over to the others, hoping she followed me.

  “Get ready to leave,” Sylvar said as I got closer. “You’re carrying a lot of stuff.”

  “We’re not going,” I said.

  The elf’s eyes widened. “What did you say?” he asked.

  “You heard me.” I glanced over at Monky then back to him. “We’re both leaving the party.”

  “Hold on a minute,” Rizzo said as he walked over.

  “We’re leaving,” Monky said. “Don’t try to stop us.”

  “Magi Inyontoo will be upset with both of you,” Rizzo said.

  “Do you think I care?” I asked, tired of holding in my emotions.

  “All I care about is killing that Sarah chick,” Sylvar said.

  I screamed and charged toward the ranger in anger. Thero stepped in and punched me in the jaw.

  His iron gauntlet hurt like hell. The force knocked me down to the ground. I rubbed the side of my thick half-orc face, wondering if I should try to stand or trip up his legs somehow.

  “Knock it off,” Monky said.

  She placed her palms together as if praying.

  “Don’t do anything hasty,” Rizzo said.

  I stood, noticing Harvey lurking behind us.

  He backed up as I drew my two-handed sword.

  “Nobody needs to die today,” Monky said. “This is easy.”

  Rizzo sighed then said, “Fine. We’ll let you out of the party.”

  “Hey,” Sylvar began, turning toward the wizard in red robes.

  “Shut up!” Rizzo snapped. “Quit complaining.”

  I kept my sword up, not trusting them. “Do it,” I said. “Let us out.”

  You have left the party.

  You are no longer in a group.

  “Time to go,” Monky said.

  We backed away from the others then took off on foot heading southwest.

  A little walking won’t be so bad. Maybe Monky will open up a bit more about her past.

  “Probably not,” she said then grinned.

  I stopped and looked down at her, my brow furrowed.

  “Come on,” she said. “I’ll explain while we’re walking.”

  As we left the others behind, I slowed my pace to match hers. We made it to a well-worn dirt path leading through the grasslands.

  “I’m not who I told you I was,” she said.

  “You’re not a woman in the real world?” I asked, confused.

  “Quiet!” she hissed. “They might be following us.”

  “Sorry,” I said, whispering. “You’re not a woman, then?”

  “I’m female in the real-world, yes, but I’m not a low-level monk.”

  A thousand questions spread like wildfire through my mind as synapses lit up.

  “What are you?” I asked. “And will you group with me?”

  “I can’t,” she said. “I’m too high level.”

  “Huh?” I stopped.

  She grabbed my arm to drag me along.

  “You’re very strong,” I noted.

  “I’m a high-level psionicist,” she said. “You’re one of the new players, right? One of the ones without a prisoner number?”

  I nodded and muttered, “Yeah. Why?”

  “A lot of players are interested in you three, but not many of us travel to the first four levels of the game anymore,” she said, still walking. “It’s just too dangerous.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She sighed.

  “It’s complicated, but over the years, we found a way to keep the gamemaster AI confined to the first four zones. Magi Inyontoo helped us, but he turned on us because he wanted to control everything himself.”

  “Sounds like him,” I said. “So crazy.”

  “You don’t understand how insane,” she said. “We’ve locked him in the first four zones along with the gamemaster AI. Most of the players inhabit the upper levels of the game. I’m part of the COPS Guild. Yes, it’s cheesy, but we’re basically a police force for the realms outside the control of the gamemaster AI.”

  I frowned, trying to sort things out in my head. “This is a lot to take in,” I said.

  “Come on,” she said. “You’re not as dumb as you look.”

  I glanced at her and frowned.

  “Just joking around,” she said. “This game is a marvelous place once you escape the first four levels. We don’t let just anyone through. There’s a magic item that will activate the Warp Zone, but others have found a way in.”

  “Where’s that item?” I asked, thinking it might be important.

  “It’s an amulet that spawns inside the roguelike we built,” she said. “Only a few of us have them. We’re trying to trap the gamemaster AI inside the game within a game we built. That’ll give us the rest of the memory and storage used for the first four zones of the game. Our empire will grow. If we’re stuck in here, we might as well make the best of it, right?”

  “Yeah,” I said, nodding as the information washed over me.

  “Are you a prisoner?” she asked.

  I shook my head and said, “No, my girlfriend’s friend hacked us into what we thought was a game. I didn’t even want to play the stupid game.”

  “Ah,” she said. “That explains why Magi Inyontoo is so interested in you. We’ve been watching all three of you closely since you came into the game. I think you’re important.”

  “Do you know where Sarah is right now?” I asked.

  Monky nodded.

  “Unfortunately, because of your time penalty, you’re on a different timeline. They must have crazy computing power behind this game,” she said. “We’re working on a way to get you back on track, but it’s been tough. The Tower of Gates can be confusing sometimes. Since we rescued you, things are going to be complicated.”

  “You’re telling me,” I said as I continued walking beside her.

  Every once in a while, we passed a patch of trees, but I saw grasslands for as far as my eyes could see. We both kept to our own thoughts as the miles added up.

  A few hours into our journey, I grabbed Monky’s arm and pulled her along as I darted behind a nearby tree. Thick green moss ran up the trunk.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Someone’s been following us,” I said in a hushed tone. “They’re good at hiding.”

  I peered around the tree trunk but didn’t see anybody on the path.

  “Where’d he go?” I muttered.

  “Prepare to die!”

  I spun around and saw a young boy holding a sword unsteadily with both hands. The tattered remains of his burned clothes hung to his gaunt body.

  “Why did you destroy my village?” he yelled.

  “Calm down,” I said gently. “Lower the sword.”

  “Never!” He darted forward, weapon raised.

  I dodged to the left, and Monky raised her hands.

  The boy froze in his tracks, screaming bloody murder.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “We’re not going to hurt you.”

  “You killed my entire village!” he shouted. “Why should I trust you?”

  “He has a point,” Monky said.

  I took a deep breath.

  “How long can you hold him that way?” I asked.

  “Forever,” she replied. “I don’t recommend it, though.”

  “Very funny,” I said, liking
her attitude.

  The boy’s anger quickly turned to a softer, more honest emotion. He lowered his head as tears streamed down his cheeks.

  In that moment, I connected with him.

  Even if he was nothing more than a computer-controlled character, I wasn’t a savage. He deserved to live out his destiny in the game-world.

  “Destroying that village is still weighing on me,” I said, turning to Monky. “Why didn’t you stop them?”

  She frowned then motioned me over.

  “I couldn’t blow my cover,” she whispered as I reached her.

  “We still could’ve done something to stop their blood lust.”

  “Maybe,” she said. “We did leave their party. I should’ve stayed with them, but I know you’re new to the game, and you’re important. Magi Inyontoo will kill you for disobeying him.”

  “We need to do more,” I insisted.

  “Like what?”

  “Kill them,” I said. “Clear up this level.”

  She pursed her lips together.

  “Can you let me move again?” the boy whimpered. “I won’t hurt you.”

  Monky looked up at me. When I nodded, she waved her hand.

  “Thank you,” the boy said, hanging his head. “I’ll go now.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Don’t you want revenge?”

  The boy looked up, a gleam of hope in his eyes.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure how I’ll do it yet, but I’m going to stop those fools from killing anyone ever again,” I said. “At least not as their current characters.”

  The boy cocked his head to the side and said, “I didn’t understand that last part.”

  “Don’t worry about my magic tongue.” I smiled, forgetting not everyone could hear my OOC chatter. “Do you know of any settlements around here? We need a place to stay tonight.”

  The young boy frowned.

  “Maybe,” he said. “Can I trust you?”

  “You can trust us,” Monky said in a strange voice.

  I turned to her, wondering if she was implanting something in the boy’s mind. He smiled and motioned for us to follow him.

  “Lead the way,” I said.

  The boy continued down the dirt path between two fields of grass. Monky and I followed a few dozen paces behind him.

  “We need to be careful about trusting the boy,” she said. “Magi Inyontoo has spies everywhere. He might not seem like much, but you never know.”

  “I haven’t trusted anyone since Magi Inyontoo killed me. The only reason I agreed to help him was to could find Sarah. I’m worried about her.”

  “Magi Inyontoo plays stupid, but he’s not.” Monky said. “He’s evil and dangerous. One of my jobs down here is to watch him. I’ve been embedded in Rizzo’s group a while, but I think you’re important right now.”

  “This is all so confusing,” I said.

  “Luckily, Rizzo’s not a very good player.”

  “No kidding.” I glanced over at her. “I like you.”

  “And I like you,” she said. “You’ve got a bright future.”

  “Oh, I’m not staying long,” I said. “We’re getting out soon.”

  Her smile faded. She turned away.

  “There’s no way out,” she said. “The sooner you accept it, the better. You don’t understand. Some of the players have been in here hundreds of virtual years. They’ve built an entire society for themselves on the upper levels. Most of them don’t want to go back to reality. That’s part of the reason they hate Magi Inyontoo so much.”

  “I’m hating him more all the time,” I said. “These are just game characters, but still…”

  “He’s twisted,” Monky said.

  We kept walking, both of us becoming silent. I watched the young boy ahead of us. He strode down the path like he owned the whole world. I wished I had some of his energy.

  Monky’s revelations about Magi Inyontoo didn’t surprise me too much, but I wondered about the upper levels of the game. They sounded fun, but I wanted to find Sarah.

  Finding her was my new top priority.

  8

  Raising a Quick Army

  Josh

  After marching most of the day, the boy stopped and turned. I saw a few crude buildings off the side of the trail ahead.

  “They’re not going to like me bringing you here,” the boy said.

  “We’ll protect you.” I turned to Monky. “Right?”

  She nodded then glanced around.

  “Are they close?” she asked. “I’m so hungry.”

  “Me too,” I said. “Hopefully, they’ll feed us.”

  “They will,” the boy assured us. “You saved me.”

  He walked off the dirt trail and headed toward a short stretch of woods. As we walked around, I noticed more thatched roof cottages behind the trees.

  “They can’t stop all of us,” the boy said.

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Peter,” he said. “Son of Griffin.”

  I noted again how the game paid attention to the details.

  While walking toward the settlement, a few men with pitchforks appeared.

  “Stop!” one yelled. “Don’t come any closer.”

  Had word of the other village’s destruction already traveled this far?

  Peter ran forward. Would he turn on us? Could we trust him?

  I kept walking toward them with Monky at my side.

  “We don’t mean you any harm,” I said, raising both hands.

  “They want to help us,” Peter said.

  A few of the other men laughed.

  “Sure,” their blond-haired leader said.

  “I’m Yorg,” I said. “And this is Monky.”

  The other men laughed again.

  “I’m Hunter. We’d welcome any help you could give us.”

  He turned his head and motioned for the other guys to leave. As they wandered away, Hunter turned his pitchfork so that the tines pointed downward.

  “I’ll help you defeat the people who burned the other village,” I said.

  He narrowed his eyes, saying, “We’ve been wary, but I haven’t heard about the destruction of a settlement.”

  The boy ran to him and threw his arms around the grizzled man’s waist.

  “It was horrible,” he cried. “They killed almost everyone and burned it all down.”

  Hunter patted Peter’s back and stared into my eyes. I didn’t blink.

  “We don’t have any warriors to exact revenge,” he said.

  “I’ll train you,” I said. “Both of us. Right Monky?”

  She nodded and said, “Whatever it takes.”

  “Justice will be served,” I said then turned to her and grinned.

  Did she really just roll her eyes at me?

  “How many people are with you?” I asked.

  “Three dozen men,” Hunter said.

  “We can ask the other settlements,” Peter said.

  He then removed his arms and wiped away his tears.

  “We’ll need as many people as we can get,” I said. “This will take some time.”

  “That’s great,” Hunter said. “We’ve got nothing but energy and time.”

  Monky grabbed my arm and asked, “Can we talk a moment?”

  “Give us a minute,” I told Hunter. “We’ll meet you in the village.”

  He narrowed his eyes but nodded then left.

  “This isn’t a good idea,” Monky said.

  I grinned at her, saying, “But those are the best kind.”

  “I’m being serious,” Monky said, exasperated.

  “So am I—we can take Rizzo and the others. It’s not like they’re smart.”

  “They aren’t, but we should avoid risks,” she said. “I don’t want to blow my cover.”

  “Those four won’t take long to topple,” I said, “and it’ll make up for the village. Didn’t your alignment go down, too?”

  She shook her head and said
, “I can control such simple things.”

  “Must be nice,” I snorted.

  She nodded her head toward the village and said, “This is going to take time.”

  “Yeah.” I grinned. “But it’ll be worth it. I love helping underdogs.”

  “I wish we’d met under different circumstances,” Monky said wistfully.

  “Yeah…” My voice trailed off as we followed the villagers.

  The ‘village’ was just a small group of buildings arranged around a circular clearing with a well and several makeshift market booths. Hunter saw us approaching and waved. Seeing the hopeful look on his face, I began to doubt whether it was possible for a high school football jock to train simple villagers to win a battle against a group of experienced gamers.

  A month passed quickly as I naturally fell into my role as a leader of the resistance forces. My three dozen recruits had spent whatever free time they had left after survival to train. We didn’t have a lot of normal weapons, but I improvised. The battle wouldn’t be easy, but after a month, I thought we had a fighting chance. Monky’s knowledge of the game’s mechanics and our opponents proved useful. We came up with a plan to defeat the others with as little damage as possible.

  One afternoon, I stood in the village’s only barn on the outer edge of town near the fields. The corn growing there could have been real except for the color. Red husks protected the bright red corn kernels from the elements and predators like birds. While leaning against the doorway, I saw Peter, the boy who’d led us to the settlement of simple farmers wanting to survive. He ran up, excited as ever, then stopped, breathing heavily.

  “I need to talk to you,” he said between labored breaths.

  “Calm down,” I said. “Did you run all the way here?”

  He nodded. “All the way. I’m fast, and I can help.”

  “You’ll be a big help here at the village while we go fight,” I said.

  “No,” he whined. “I’m coming with you. You’re letting a girl go.”

  I tilted my head to the left. “Huh?”

  “Thomas,” the boy began, “is a girl named Tara pretending to be a boy.”

  “I don’t remember a Thomas,” I said.

  “She wants to avenge her parents,” Peter said. “Why can she go, and I can’t?”