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  “Fire in the hole!” he shouted then tossed it toward the dead mutant.

  A flash of intense white heat burst from the weapon of war, melting the snow in a perfect circle. I saw an open hatch a few feet below us. An avalanche or a snowstorm must have buried the entrance. I saw no other mutants crawling out of the open hatch. Had all the ones nearby escaped from the shelter? What was the shelter’s number? I had so many questions.

  “We’re going in,” Harrison said, hopping down to the solid ground around the now exposed hatch. “Keep your eyes open.”

  “Mutants!” Missy shouted.

  I sighed. Going inside the mutant-filled shelter would be dangerous, but I saw no other options.

  “Missy, come on!” I yelled, hopping down to the hatch.

  She scampered down, moving over to clutch my arm. The three of us stared into the opening. Harrison climbed down the ladder first. Missy and I followed as the sounds of mutants nearby got even louder. Would they kill us? Did I dare find out what happened when you died in the virtual simulation? I kept moving, updating my stats and skills on the way down.

  Anything over a hundred (like my leadership skill) cost five points to raise one, but I still raised my leadership to one hundred and one. I had to find out what happened with such a high score. My other ten points went into plasma pistols and rifles. I’d need better skills if we’d be fighting more mutants. I put my five stat points into brawn again.

  Chapter 9

  When I reached the bottom of the ladder, I glanced around. Everything appeared similar to the decontamination room at Shelter 12 but cleaner. Missy climbed down and rushed over to a wall, glancing at all the fancy buttons and screens.

  “Keep your hands off,” I warned.

  “Did she close the main hatch?” Harrison asked.

  “Uh oh,” Missy said, side-stepping behind me.

  “Dammit,” Harrison snapped as he walked over to the ladder.

  “Nothing came down,” I said, walking over to another hatch leading deeper into the shelter.

  I glanced through the window, seeing a bright yellow hallway. That’s different. Why is it yellow? I felt Missy’s hand on my shoulder and jumped, turning to her.

  “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

  She pouted. “I’m sorry.”

  “Coast is clear over here, but keep watching out the window, okay?”

  Missy nodded. I turned and walked over to the ladder, peering up as Harrison struggled to shut the main hatch.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Can I help?”

  “It’s stuck open,” he grunted as he continued struggling.

  As a slimy, green mutant appeared outside the shelter, I screamed, “Watch out!”

  He pulled his plasma pistol and fired off a single shot. The mutant screamed and backed away, but even stranger sounds echoed in the distance.

  “Give me a hand,” he said.

  I climbed the ladder beside him. Our bodies pressed together, we both worked to close the hatch. I pulled my own gun which had charged up enough for three shots. As Harrison kept tugging at the hatch, I fired at another mutant, chasing it away.

  “Come on!” Harrison yelled.

  “Hold on, I’ve got an idea.”

  “We don’t have time,” he said.

  I reached into my bag and pulled out my bottle of oil. Harrison furrowed his brow and stared intently as I squirted some of it into the hinges.

  “Give it another try,” I said. “This shit is magic.”

  It wasn’t, of course. Only mutants had magical abilities in the strange world I found myself trapped in, but it was good stuff. Harrison tugged at the hatch. It gave a half inch before stopping again.

  “Squirt some more on there,” he said.

  I didn’t have much of the nano-oil left, but we needed it. After I applied more of the nano-liquid, he pulled on the metal hatch. It moved another few inches.

  “No more oil,” I said, turning the tube upside down.

  “Dammit!” he yelled, pulling with all his might.

  I grabbed the hatch and pulled with him as mutants surrounded us.

  As he twirled the spinner to lock it down, I leaned forward and kissed him.

  “We made it,” I said.

  “For now…”

  He climbed down the ladder, not waiting for me. I followed, seeing Missy looking through the window on the door out of the decontamination area.

  “What is it?” I asked, walking over. “Do you see something?”

  “Mutants!” she exclaimed, staring through the glass.

  Did we really just lock ourselves into a death trap?

  “Hold on,” I said. “How did the other mutants get out of the shelter?”

  “I don’t know,” Harrison said, shrugging.

  A shriek above us got everyone’s attention. I looked up and saw a slimy mutant climbing out of a hole in the ceiling. As it fell to the floor between us, Harrison and I both shot it with a single plasma bolt. I glanced down and saw the red out-of-charge light flashing again.

  “We need to fix that ceiling,” I said.

  “No kidding.” He kept staring up at it. “Any ideas how?”

  A rounded potion of the ceiling was missing near the ladder leading topside. Whatever had made the hole wouldn’t be easy to kill. I walked over to the door and peered over Missy’s shoulder.

  “We have a better chance over here,” I said.

  Harrison stepped over, nodding. “I agree. We’ll wait for a single charge or two first.”

  “Another mutant,” I said as a ball of flesh with eight tiny legs fell to the floor.

  It scampered toward the ladder, leaving a trail of slime behind it. The poor Z-class mutant didn’t stand a chance as Harrison walked over and stomped it with his boot.

  Combat is over!

  You get 50 Life Experience Points

  You have 3,500 LXP!

  I snickered at the ridiculously low amount of life experience points and the whole idea of reality having numbers attached to it. Why couldn’t anyone else remember the truth? Harrison dragged one boot then the other across the floor, leaving a wet, slimy trail of mutant guts.

  “Are you ready?” I asked, glancing down at my gun.

  Three shots. Would it be enough. I couldn’t determine the class of mutant behind the door. Harrison nodded and walked over.

  “Move, Missy,” I said. “Watch the ceiling.”

  “Aw, man,” she said but moved.

  I reached for the handle of the hatch.

  “Wait,” Harrison said, grabbing my arm.

  I stopped and turned to him.

  “What?” I asked. “We need to do this now.”

  “Something’s not right.”

  “No kidding.”

  “Get down!” he shouted, pushing me aside as something soft and squishy splattered against the window on the hatch. A

  The smell of rotten eggs filled the air.

  “What the hell?”

  “A bigger mutant took the other one out,” he said.

  “Mutant!” Missy yelled.

  I turned and shot a Z-class mutant as it dropped from the ceiling. After squirming around a few seconds, it laid still. Missy jumped up, landing on it. Blood and guts spurted everywhere, hitting the farthest wall in the room.

  “Missy!”

  She gave me a sheepish look then lowered her head.

  “The bigger mutant must be why the others are trying so hard to escape,” Harrison said.

  I nodded. “Good point. Better question; what do we do about it?”

  He sighed, tilting his head back and staring up as he usually did when lost in thought.

  “The control room is the most secure in the shelter,” he said. “We should go there now. If we can get there and lock ourselves in, we should be able to survive.”

  “And maybe even thrive,” I said, smiling.

  What would we do with an entire shelter to ourselves?

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourse
lves,” he said. “We have to find it first. This shelter isn’t like ours, at least not the layout.”

  “Are all the shelters the same?” I asked.

  I’d never been to any besides Shelter 12.

  “Basically,” he said. “This place is different. I think the control room is on the other side of the door,” he said. “That would make the most sense, but I’m not entirely sure.”

  “With the dead mutant covering the window, we can’t even see when it’s safe to go,” I noted.

  “I don’t think he we have any other choice,” he muttered. “Something bigger will drop out of that hole in the ceiling sooner or later.”

  “How many charges do you have now?” I asked, glancing down at mine and seeing two again.

  “Five now,” he said. “I’ve got a mod that recharges faster toward the end.”

  “Nice,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Mutant!” Missy yelled.

  I glanced up and saw a mean looking mother-humper peering down at us with rows of sharp teeth exposed. The damn thing hissed before disappearing and reappearing on the floor.

  “Light it up!” Harrison yelled.

  He didn’t need to tell me twice. I fired all the shots I had left. Only one of them hit the nimble beast. Harrison hit once as well. The G-class mutant blinked back to the ceiling before scurrying away into the ventilation ducts.

  “I bet that was a scout for the other nasty lurking behind the door,” Harrison said.

  “Makes sense,” I said, nodding. “Any more of those grenades?”

  “Just nine,” he said, not cracking a smile.

  “Use them!” I exclaimed, throwing up my hands.

  “They would set off the fire prevention system,” he said. “We don’t know if it’s working or malfunctioning too. The mutants must’ve gotten in here at one point and killed everyone in the entire shelter. It’ll probably send out more feelers to see if we’re a threat or not.”

  “Let’s open the door and run for it, then,” I said.

  “I’m fast,” Missy said, tossing her head back and forth as if she were debating herself.

  “Hold on,” Harrison said. “Let’s think this through. Not all mutants are dumb. That creature could be waiting to ambush us the moment we open the door.”

  I nodded. He had a point.

  “The ceiling!” Missy shouted.

  I glanced up, raising my gun, but saw nothing.

  “There’s nothing,” I said. “Where did it go?”

  “No…” Missy said. “The ceiling! We escape!”

  I turned to Harrison. He shrugged then grinned.

  “We could get some intel,” he said. “You’re a scout, right?”

  I nodded, taking a deep breath. Despite having scout abilities, I hated confined, dark spaces. We didn’t have many other options. The information I gathered would be helpful.

  “Okay,” I said. “Can you lift me up?”

  “No,” Missy whined. “I go first.”

  “You stay here,” I said, looking up.

  Harrison bent down and wrapped his arms around my leg.

  “Whoa,” I said, grabbing his broad shoulders as he lifted me.

  As I raised toward the hole in the ceiling, I switched on the light on my gun. The narrow beam of LED light barely lit the darkness. I smelled something awful.

  “Hold on,” I said, grabbing the side of the hole. “It goes into the vents. Looks big enough.”

  “Be careful!” Missy yelled.

  “Quiet!” Harrison hissed.

  After placing my gun down, I pulled myself up and into the vent. I picked up the weapon, shining the light ahead of me. The small enclosure only went in one direction which was nice. Nothing could sneak up behind me. I crawled forward a few inches, blocking the slimy trail on my hands out of my mind. I wanted to puke, but losing any nourishment wasn’t a good idea.

  When I reached a bend in the vents, I stopped. Looking down one direction then the other, I picked the one that lead to the hallway outside of the decontamination room. After continuing a few feet, I reached a vent. I looked through the slots and saw nothing in the hallway below except for trails of slime and a few piles of malformed bones.

  I backed up. At the intersection, I shined the light in the other direction. I still saw nothing, so I kept retreating until I reached the hole in the vent. Ever so carefully, I lowered myself then dropped to the floor, almost slipping. Harrison and Missy both grabbed me to help me balance. I smiled at both while nodding my head.

  “What did you see?” he asked.

  “The hallway’s clear for now. We should go.”

  “Finally, a break,” he said, walking to the door.

  He turned the handle and opened the hatch before stepping through. I followed, gun raised, with Missy right behind me. We crept down the hallway I’d just seen from above, heading toward a black door at the end of the hall. It contrasted well with the bright yellow walls smeared with blood, mucus, and who knew what else. Harrison kept his gun pointing forward.

  “I’m scared,” Missy whispered.

  “Me too,” I said. “Me too.”

  “Keep it quiet,” Harrison said in a low voice.

  I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself as we inched toward the door. Harrison reached it first, peering through the tiny glass window.

  “See anything?” I asked, glancing down the hallway.

  The passageway branched left and right.

  “No,” Harrison said. “It’s definitely the control room.”

  “Locked?” I asked, reaching for the handle.

  As my hand touched the metal bar, a notification popped up.

  Shelter 101 Experimental Found!

  Do you wish to assume control? [Y/n]

  “What’s wrong?” Harrison asked. “Open the door.”

  “It’s asking me if I want to assume ownership,” I said.

  “Do it,” he said. “Something’s coming.”

  I accepted control of the shelter as the hatch popped open.

  Shelter 101x is Under Your Control!

  Do you want to see options?

  “Not now,” I muttered, closing the virtual screen. “Get inside, Missy.”

  She skipped past me without a care in the world. I followed with Harrison right behind me. He pulled the door shut behind him.

  “Does it lock?” I asked.

  “It should lock automatically,” he said. “Can’t you check it? You should be interfaced with the shelter’s AI system.”

  “Let me check... Oh, look at that. A new game menu. What happens if…”

  My voice trailed off as a wide range of new options became available.

  Shelter 101x Statistics:

  Build Power (BP): 0/day

  Research Power (RP): 0/day

  Life Support: 100% Operational

  Energy Production: Geothermal

  Food Reserves: 100 lbs

  Food Production: 0 lbs/day

  Shields: None

  Turrets: None

  Vehicles: Merlin

  I swiped the basic statistics away and checked out the new options as a shelter commander; create and research. When I tried to activate either, an error message came up saying the shelter needed to be cleared of mutants and manned by workers before I could do anything.

  “That sucks,” I muttered. “Did Orlando have all this power?”

  “He did,” Harrison said. “Why do you think I kissed his ass? It wasn’t for the fun of it.”

  “Now you have to kiss my ass.” I grinned.

  “Can you pull up a map?” he asked, ignoring my teasing.

  “Yeah, hold on,” I said, flipping through game menus. “How about...this…”

  A wall to our left lit up with a three-dimensional map of Shelter 101x. The lower levels were almost entirely red blobs of mutants. I zoomed in on the first floor, seeing about a dozen mutants. The highest was H-Class. While difficult, it shouldn’t be too hard to kill. I forgot all about the mention of a
vehicle named Merlin.

  “If we can clear this first level, we should be golden,” I said. “We must fix the air ducts and lock everything down.”

  Harrison laughed heartily.

  I glanced over. “What?”.

  “This,” he said, turning with his arms stretched out. “All of this is ours!”

  I smiled. The immensity of our lucky find dawned on me.

  “We’ll clear it out and keep it as our own,” I said.

  Harrison nodded. “We’ll need more than three people.”

  “I’m sure others from our old shelter would love to help. Or maybe the nomads?”

  He nodded, still smiling. It’s the most excited I’d ever seen him, and that included when I’d had his hard member inside my mouth. We foraged through a closet in the control room and found enough food to last us at least a month. The rest of the shelter would likely have all sorts of food and other supplies. Maybe we could make Orlando pay eventually. While the mutants continued multiplying beneath us, we prepared a brighter future for ourselves.

  I wanted to get the shelter up and running as quickly as possible Making smart decisions with research would allow me to build a sustainable home for Missy, me, and anyone else who wanted to help create something resembling the virtual paradise I remembered. To get there, we needed to clear the shelter of all mutants, and it wasn’t a fast process.

  Chapter 10

  Just a few days later, we’d cleared the first level of the shelter except for the smaller mutants that occasionally slipped through the air vents to attack. We killed them easily enough. It had become safe enough to leave Missy on her own while Harrison and I took the elevator down to the second floor. How long would it take to clear the entire shelter?

  He stood next to me, plasma rifle cradled in his arms, outside of the elevator. We both stared down the brightly colored but empty hallway. Squeals and grunts in the distance got my attention, but we saw no mutants. We usually smelled them before we saw them.

  “I wonder what’s so special about this place,” I said.

  “Besides all the mutants?” he quipped. “Come on. That should be the cafeterias.”