Back in the Game Read online

  I sat up just in time to see my door guard running down the corridor toward us. With a click, the doors locked and the guard could do nothing but pull on them and bang on the glass. Brock reversed back down the ramp and into the clinic’s car park.

  “Hey, he’s still running!” David called in amusement.

  He was right. The door guard was still chasing us down the driveway as we zoomed past the gated entrance.

  “Keep going, man. You can make it!” David encouraged.

  “Shut up! I’m trying to drive here!” Brock yelled.

  His tires screamed as he turned us onto the main road.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, feeling suddenly faint from all the excitement.

  “What’s going on?” David asked incredulously. “We just broke you out of the asylum, that’s what’s going on!”

  Making a lot of noise is more like it.

  After a half an hour getaway, Brock pulled over and asked David to take the wheel.

  “Noah, we’ve found the Transfer Orb with the videos on it,” he said, turning to lean on the corner of his seat.

  Transfer Orb? Videos? What are you . . . ? I shook my head as old memories started to emerge from the fog.

  “If you know where the . . . whatever is, what’s the problem?” I waved at the four-wheel-drive’s cramped interior. “Why go to all this trouble if you already have what you need?”

  “It’s a little more complicated than that.” He ground his teeth. “Someone found it before us and put in an auction for a stupidly high price. Even if we combine all our Moola it still wouldn’t be enough to afford it. But there’s a dungeon in New Calandor that would give us enough Moola if we all did it together. I managed to recover your account so you can do it as well.”

  “All?” I couldn’t process what he was saying. It was too much to remember all at once.

  “I’ll show you when we get there.”

  “Get where?”

  David turned back as well with a big grin on his face. “The Dream State, obviously!”

  “Eyes on the road, David!” Brock shouted.

  “Right,” he turned back. “Give me a break, Brock. You had no idea what I had to do to steal this uniform!”

  Brock rolled his eyes. “Give me a break. Isn’t your roommate an orderly? Speaking of, I have to leave town, so he’ll have to stay with you. I admit, you’re not as off the grid as I am, but your apartment is under your roommate’s name, right?

  David nodded.

  “It should take them a while to find out where you live if they begin searching for Noah through his friends. Just make sure your parents don’t tell them, either. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll think he’s bouncing around the country with me.”

  “You’re leaving us? Way to see this thing through, Brock,” David replied.

  “I have no choice!”

  “Oh, come on, guys,” I called, putting a drunken arm around both of their seats. “This is the first time we’ve all been together like this since high school. Teaming up to break me out of an asylum, now that’s a reunion!”

  Brock grinned back at me. “I like to think of it more as a daring rescue.”

  * * *

  It was strange. Ever since I began my rehab a month ago I had felt weak, as though all of my muscles had been worked to the brink of exhaustion. Simply moving my emaciated body was agony, especially while learning to walk again. Yet now, having finally left reality once again, I’d never felt stronger.

  As soon as I appeared outside the Galrinth Gateway and saw the familiar medieval cityscape, I knew Brock had been right. I needed to deal with my issues inside the game before I could deal with my issues in the real world.

  The evidence to put Wona away was still in the Dream State, and it took some convincing for me to realize that this was all that mattered. Even so, I was still uncertain about his plan. After the subtle threat insinuated in Wona’s last message to me, I was hesitant to return to the place where they tried so desperately to put me in a coma.

  Brock appeared from the crowd in his beige leathers. “This way, hurry!”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.”

  We began moving through the city streets toward the Synth Square. All around us the archaic architecture brought back memories of the first time I had arrived here under Data’s tutelage. It was all familiar, not just in a warm nostalgic way, but also in a threatening way. Even now, I was worried that dying here might leave me comatose.

  “How can you even be sure it’s the same Transfer Orb?” I asked as we passed the shop where Data had brought my first sword, a tarnished copper piece of crap.

  “Trust me, I’m sure!” Brock called. “I memorized its item code when I encoded the videos on it. I know it’s the same item!”

  He led me to the Synth Square and I noticed David standing outside a large wooden building beside the spell shop. As always, his Heavy avatar was wearing its bulky shoulder armor.

  “Hey! It’s still there,” he said, as though he had anticipated the question Brock hadn’t asked yet. “No one’s made a bid for it yet, either. Not surprising considering only a madman would pay that much for a Transfer Orb.”

  I went to walk in to see it for myself but Brock held me back by my Spellcaster robes. I was lucky Brock managed to recover my account after I was taken out of the game. Thanks to him I was able to keep my equipment, my abilities, and my stats. However, after what he told me we had to do, I knew I would need them.

  “Before you go in.” Brock sent me a message and it popped up in my vision. “I sent this message to myself before I encoded the videos of the beta player’s overdoses onto it. It’s the Transfer Orb’s item code.”

  The message said E40Y78Z5, and as he claimed, the message was dated back to before I had my accident. I nodded and he let go of me so I could enter the auction house. The massive hall was filled with different avatars of each Niche. Many of them were gathered around one section of the wall that portrayed a painfully familiar item in what looked like a hologram. A glowing green orb.

  That’s it!

  I assumed most of the players were more intrigued by the extreme price of the item than the item itself. Brock moved through the hall and gestured me to a panel that rose up from a hole in the wooden floorboards. When it came to chest height, it stopped and he flicked his finger across the screen.

  “Read ‘em and weep,” he said, pointing to the screen.

  I didn’t want to believe him, but what he’d said was true. The code was the same as in Brock’s message. The Transfer Orb we needed to convict Wona was right there and yet we couldn’t nearly afford it. It was just as Brock had said after he freed me from the asylum. It had happened only two days ago, yet after going cold turkey from the drugs they had been giving me, it felt like it had been over a year.

  “So what’s this dungeon called?” I asked as we left the hall and headed back to the Gateway in the town square.

  David smirked. “Pirate Cove. Sounds like something out of a Disney movie, doesn’t it?”

  “The point of it is the treasure we can get there. If all six of us can collect the Moola from there, we should have enough altogether to afford the Transfer Orb.” Brock waved his hand as we strode swiftly up the stairs toward the Gateway.

  I frowned in confusion. “Six of us?”

  “Hello-hello, sick boy!” a familiar voice called.

  I turned as another familiar female voice shouted. “Over here!”

  I grinned as the three girls came into view. Chloe, Keri, and Siena stood by the Gateway, Siena waving with an extended arm.

  “Siena and I really had to push them hard to make sure they could get to New Calandor after how badly they screwed up their last Tertiatier dungeon.” Brock gestured to the girls in amusement. “And by them, I mean David.”

  “Hey!”

  Chloe put her hands on her hips as she stalked toward us. “It’s the truth, Davey. Keri and I barely even need you on dungeons anymore.”
/>
  Keri clasped her hands behind her. “You have to admit that he makes them a lot easier, though.”

  “Enough chitchat!” Siena exclaimed, flicking her red ponytail aside. “Noah’s back, we’re all happy about it. Can we do the dungeon now?”

  “Seconded,” I said. “We never know when someone with Moola to spare comes and buys that Transfer Orb. We’re in and out of this dungeon. Get the Moola, get the orb, and get out.”

  “Settle down, Noah,” Keri said, as though reprimanding me for being impatient. “We’ll get there.”

  I caught David’s eyes and he raised his hands in confusion. “Yeah, sure, man. Whatever works, eh?”

  Chloe raised an eyebrow at Keri and we moved to the Gateway. Brock grabbed my shoulder and shook his head. The list of settings appeared with the map of the Dream State, and after choosing ‘New Calandor’, we vanished from the Galrinth town square and appeared in the last city I had been in before leaving the Dream State over a month ago.

  I thought back to the pain of the physiotherapy and learning to be mobile again after my paralysis left me, using a frame just so I could walk.

  What a terrible month that was.

  Chapter 3: Pirate Cove

  New Calandor was not a medieval city in any sense, nor was it a dark ages or renaissance-era setting. It was closer to a Victorian or Regency era in its aesthetics and architecture, which was perfect for a dungeon called Pirate Cove. It was the only city with active vehicles, even if those vehicles were nothing more than horse and carriages.

  The brick roads were filled with NPCs wearing the fashion that suited the time, including corsets, parasols, colonial-style white wigs and pocket watches hanging from dark waistcoats. Of course, they were mixed with the usual diverse rabble of the player avatars. I followed Brock and Siena through the crowd with Chloe and Keri at my elbows and David trailing behind.

  It’s like the whole group is back together. That is, except for Data.

  “Remember everyone, Pirate Cove is a Tertiatier dungeon. If you get killed there by another player, they can steal whatever you have equipped,” Brock said.

  Chloe groaned. “I know Noah forgot stuff for a while, but you don’t need to state the obvious, Brock.”

  “Redundancy isn’t always a bad thing. It prevents misunderstandings.”

  To be fair, I sort of appreciated the reminder that just because I wasn’t at risk of slipping into a coma, there were still stakes if I was killed here.

  Siena rolled her eyes. “You see, kids? Being good at the game isn’t all it’s cut out to be. You have to be obsessive about this kind of stuff, too.”

  “It’s why he’s so good,” David said in his defense.

  Siena’s eyes shifted and she murmured. “I could beat him.”

  Siena may have had one of the Color Blades, but I wondered if that would matter against a Range Niche like Brock if she couldn’t reach him. Then again, I wouldn’t put it past Siena to take a few arrows to get to him.

  Keri gave me a sympathetic look. “So how was your treatment?”

  I smiled. Trust Keri to actually care about my well-being in the real world.

  “It was hell, if I’m honest. Relearning to walk after being paralyzed for a month was painful work, but the drugs and professional physios my parents paid for made the process a whole lot shorter. I’m still having trouble staying on my feet for long periods of time though.”

  “Well, it’s good to know you’re on the mend then,” Keri replied, giving me her angelic smile.

  Chloe bumped her hip into mine. “Must be good to get at least the illusion of being able to stand strong again.”

  I nodded grudgingly. I couldn’t deny that the illusion of having strength was far better than no strength at all. However, the idea that I could return to my weak body without the evidence I needed to put Wona away was something I dreaded most of all.

  “How far away is the Gateway from the city?” I asked, seeing that we were approaching the ships anchored in the harbor.

  It was then that I saw a pathway leading down the harbor. The area around the docks was filled with the sound of bustling sailors and seagulls calling in the overcast sky. Many large boats filled the water, but we only had a clear path to one. We followed it up a boarding plank onto the ship’s deck.

  “Who said the Gateway was outside the city?” Siena asked as the Gateway on the ship’s deck appeared before us.

  David nodded with his bottom lip stuck out. “It makes sense. If we’re going to run into pirates, what better way to do it than sailing on a flash ship like this?”

  Chloe stepped up to the Gateway. “I highly doubt we’ll be setting sail. This Gateway will probably just teleport us straight to the cove.”

  “Let’s find out,” I said.

  We selected the option to enter Pirate Cove together.

  Chloe wasn’t entirely wrong. Although the sails lowered and we launched off into the ocean, we didn’t see the journey itself. We were simply teleported to a new area. I knew we wouldn’t see the journey back either considering the state of the boat we were on after appearing in the new dungeon.

  The thing was a mess with a hole smashed through the broken deck, torn sails, snapped masts and splinters of wood spread out along the stern. The bow was gone, seeming to have crashed right into the rock when entering the cove.

  It was dark inside and I heard Chloe groan when a cold drip of water fell onto her hair. With the cold and broken wood everywhere, I was almost tempted to say shiver me timbers, but thought even that joke was below me.

  “Hah, pretty haunting place, isn’t it?” Brock said.

  “Where’re all the pirates?” Siena asked as she pulled out her rare Color Blade, the Ruby Edge lighting everything with its red glow.

  Brock put a hand on the side of the boat and jumped from it onto the damp rocks. “Further in, with all the other players doing this dungeon. Watch each other’s backs and don’t go running off. I’m looking at you, Siena.”

  Siena placed an offended hand on her large chest. “Would I do something like that?”

  The fact that she had done this in almost every dungeon I had completed with her made me chuckle. We followed Brock off the boat and began tailing him into the darkness of the cove, Siena’s Ruby Edge lighting the way.

  The red glow was soon overtaken by lanterns that lit a path of empty bridges over the water going further into the cove. Despite this, Siena didn’t withdraw her blade. This was all I needed to see to know that I should be cautious here.

  “Be on your guard. These bridges are known points of ambush,” Brock warned. “They aren’t Chaos Engines, but with the frequency that pirates attack players on them, they might as well be. It’s not uncommon for another group of players to take advantage of other parties being attacked either.”

  “Are the pirates strong?” Keri looked around nervously. “This place gives me the creeps.”

  “This is a Tertiatier dungeon, Keri,” Chloe snorted. “Besides, who would be afraid of pirates?”

  There was a sudden splash of water and David squealed like a little girl. We all turned to see that a hand had reached out from the water and grabbed him around the ankle. The gaunt face of a pirate emerged, a red bandanna on his head and a sharp knife between his rotting teeth. In shock, David equipped his mace and was about to cave the thing’s head in when more hands shot out from the water, trying to snatch at us.

  The rest of us jumped back from them, but before we could attack there were clicking sounds all around us, and Brock shouted, “Everyone, hit the deck!”

  Everyone but David, who was held upright by the pirate, crouched or fell to the bridge. A volley of projectiles flew in whizzing lines over our heads.

  Guns?

  Granite sprayed where the bullets hit the opposite wall, many of them pinging off of David’s thick armor as he raised his arms defensively.

  When the barrage was finished, Brock rose to his feet and raised his hands as two of his own flintlock
pistols flashed into his open grip. With puffs of gunpowder, he fired them in the direction of the muzzle flashes and two pirates hit the dirt. The guns vanished from his hands. Like real flintlocks, they could only be fired once.

  Where can you even buy guns?

  Still screaming, David had gone about smashing the heads of the pirates that had emerged from the water, as though angry they had made a fool of him. Siena and I took out another two, me with the familiar Crystal Blades that I had synthed in Lucineer and Siena with her Ruby Edge.

  Two more gunshots came from Brock and two more flintlocks vanished from his open hands. I assumed they were the last loaded pistols he owned for he equipped his bow next and began firing arrows.

  Chloe finally started tossing her throwing knives at the remaining pirates. As always, her aim was impeccable and she finished them off with ease. What Brock had said about the ambush made sense. If the bullets had hit their targets, we would have been sitting ducks to any passing players that decided to mob us.

  The fight was over in a matter of minutes. Keri rose and used a healing spell to recover David’s Hit Points, and we all stood, panting.

  Siena laughed. “Wooh! Now this is what I call a dungeon!”

  “This . . .” Brock gestured to the dead pirates around us before they disappeared, dropping their weapons that we collected. “Is what I call a close call.”

  Chloe screwed up her nose. “Bah, I hate the smell of gunpowder.”

  Keri bit her lip and looked down in shame. “I’m sorry . . . I froze a bit.”

  Chloe patted her back fondly. “It’s okay. I did too.”

  “And weren’t you the one ready to chide any of us for being afraid of pirates?” David teased.

  “I wasn’t afraid!” She snapped back. “It just surprised me is all. At least I didn’t scream like a girl!”

  “I might have,” Keri admitted.

  “It surprised all of us.” I let the Crystal Blades vanish from my grip. “Let’s keep going.”

  I stalked ahead, crossing the bobbing bridges to the next rocky edge of the cove, determined to finish the dungeon, but feeling their eyes on my back.

  Brock caught up with me, expression questioning. “Having fun yet?”