Feyland: The Complete Trilogy Page 3

  Back to the rental-quality systems. The thought left a sour taste in his mouth. For years he’d helped around the cafe in exchange for system time. Marny’s uncle didn’t mind the extra help - or the way people would come in to watch Tam play, after he got good.

  Good enough that he won last year’s tri-state simming tournament. He’d scored his system out of it - plus a chance to compete at nationals. And he could have won there, too, if only…

  His heart twisted at the memory and he yanked himself back to the present - away from the poisonous thoughts of what might have been.

  “Ok,” he said to Marny. “If your uncle has some parts, that could work. I might end up needing them.”

  He didn’t even want to think about his system failing. The best part of his day was when he could pull on the helmet, slip on the gloves, and go slay some monsters. Be a hero for a little while, someplace where he was the best.

  “Why don’t you ask him,” Marny said, direct as usual.

  “Fine then, I will.”

  Maybe Zeg had something worth scavenging. Tam’s little brother could figure out how to wire it in - the only thing the Bug was really good at. His blood-stabilizing meds made the kid so manic he couldn’t concentrate on anything unless it was full of fire or electricity.

  Tam shook his head and went back to reading. There were no solutions.

  Sometimes he was pretty sure his life was on its way to being permanently broken.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “How’s school going, Jennet?” Dad asked after dinner on Thursday. “It can’t be much like prep. Are you sure you made the right choice?”

  She’d made the only choice. “It’s fine, Dad.”

  If by fine you meant bleak.

  Whatever the Dark Queen had done to her, it was severe - and getting worse. Every morning, a paler version of Jennet stared out of the mirror. Dizziness swirled around her when she stood up or walked too quickly. She could hide the hollow shakiness filling her up, but eventually Dad would notice she was sick again, the way she’d been right after she lost the battle with the queen. The doctors had no clue. They’d called it ‘summer pneumonia’ and had kept her in the hospital ten days. But this time, she didn’t think hospital meds would help.

  Her time was running out.

  Dad leaned forward and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Are you meeting people? I know it’s not an easy transition, but by next summer there should be a lot more families here in the View.”

  If she made it to next summer. “I’ve met a couple of the company kids. They seem nice.” And tragic, as far as gaming went.

  The dark-haired girl shared a lot of her classes, but she was all anti-tech - in full rebellion against the company both her parents worked for. And from Jennet’s few conversations with the other Viewer, he didn’t seem to be much of a gamer. He claimed to like simming, but he had no idea about any of the new games or systems.

  “Glad to hear it.” Dad smiled at her, though there was worry in his eyes. “The academics here can’t be that challenging for you. Going back to your old school as a boarder is still an option. I wish you’d consider it.”

  Panic stabbed through her and she shook her head. They had been over this so many times. Wherever the Full-D system was, she had to be. The only way to save herself was to get back to the Dark Court - she knew it in her bones.

  The only problem was, she couldn’t get there.

  She’d tried, over and over, had spent frustrating hours in-game, trying to get past the first level. No matter what she did - rolling new characters, trying all the quest lines - she couldn’t get to the Dark Court. Couldn’t even get past the starting areas. At least, not by herself. Just as the queen had decreed - she was barred from Feyland.

  “A review of the academic subjects isn’t going to hurt me, Dad. I’m staying here, with you. Not changing my mind about that.”

  She’d tried telling him what had happened. But every time, the words dried up in her mouth. How could she explain? It was pretty unbelievable. If it weren’t for the fact that she felt what the game was doing to her, she wouldn’t believe it herself. And she didn’t think he’d listen to her argue about why she should be allowed to play again on the Full-D. He’d just see it as gamer excuses. The system was currently off-limits to her - which just made everything more complicated.

  Two years ago, Dad had used his program-manager privilege and brought a version of the new Full-D system home. Always working, that was Dad, but in this case it had been fun for her, too. He’d let her try out the early versions of the games the company was developing. When the next-gen system came out, he’d scored one of those, too, arguing that his daughter was a great tester. It was true.

  At first she and Dad had run the proto-sims together. He was a terrible player, but he’d watch how she did things in-game and take the information back to the game designers, the rest of his team. She even played an early version of Feyland, though it was nothing like the world she’d become lost in.

  Then Dad’s work heated up. His old college friend, Thomas Rimer, joined the company as lead game developer. That had been fun - Thomas was like an uncle to her, and always brought her interesting things to read. Old books, rare ones unavailable in e-format, full of fantastical creatures and odd stories. It was obvious, reading them, where his ideas for Feyland had come from.

  Dad had gotten even busier with work and she spent more time by herself on the Full-D, playing through the same old content. Until she’d found the password-protected files. Dad’s security was always easy to crack, and she was curious to see what his development team was working on.

  What she had found was magic.

  Golden light surrounded her, and she was transported to another world. She walked through a meadow of flowers and felt the breeze against her face, smelled the fresh scent of grasses and earth. Pixies fluttered around her, laughing. Odd creatures gave her quests that led to unexpected puzzles. Her first fight in-game had been ferocious - magebolts sizzled from her magical staff and she had slain a black wyvern, receiving a glowing treasure in return.

  She’d known that VirtuMax was working on adaptive technology, but this, this, was beyond anything. The game was incredible, and the sensory interface felt real. More than real. Everything else fell away and she was there, in an enchanted world.

  She spent the summer in-game. Sure she ate her meals, slept, hung out with her friends, but her mind was spun about with the silver threads of Feyland.

  Until she was defeated by the Dark Queen. And then Thomas died.

  His death hit Dad hard, not only because he’d been a co-worker, but a good friend. VirtuMax got paranoid and work on the game stopped. Rumors flew that Thomas’s death was some kind of corporate espionage. They cracked down on security, stepped-up transfers to the View - and Dad absolutely forbid her to use the Full-D.

  But by then it was too late.

  “You’re looking tired,” Dad said. “Make sure you get to bed on time tonight, all right?”

  “I will if you will.” She smiled, to show she was teasing, but he didn’t look so great himself. There were lines on either side of his mouth that hadn’t eased since Thomas died.

  “You drive a hard bargain.” He smiled back, though there was something distant in his eyes. Probably already thinking about work.

  She couldn’t take another night of pretending to watch vids while trying to ignore the Full-D systems in the game room. “Right. So, I’m going out to board a little.”

  “Be careful.” He always said that.

  There was nothing dangerous here, in the half-built world of The View. The fence was live, and nobody without a chip or a pass was allowed in.

  “I am.” Besides, she always wore her helmet.

  There was still some watery light in the sky as she coasted down the empty streets, the g-board humming under her feet. She didn’t have the energy to try any tricks - not that there was much here to work with. No rails or half-pipes or ramps. So she just bala
nced on her board, moving past houses and landscaping that didn’t exist yet, except inside some architect’s sim.

  Nobody here. Nobody who could help her. Which left Crestview High, with its drastic losers. The sky grew darker, and she shivered. There had to be a reasonable gamer here, somewhere. Even if they didn’t live in The View.

  She’d seen a flyer earlier that week for the school’s Gaming Club. The meeting was tomorrow. Maybe she’d find her champion there.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jennet walked into the Media Room and stopped, her heart sinking. The room held a cluster of netscreens, an old console, and a dismantled moto-sense setup. She’d assumed the Gaming Club would have basic sim equip. But no. Not in Crestview.

  A clump of boys and a purple-haired girl were sitting around screens showing a battle RPG. They hadn’t noticed Jennet yet.

  She took a careful step backward, trying to breathe softly. This had been a mistake. Maybe she could still get away unseen.

  “Hey. Rich girl,” a voice called. “You in the right place?”

  Jennet halted and looked across the room, meeting the gaze of a large girl with fierce eyes. She looked familiar, and her name rolled into Jennet’s mind - Marny. They shared a few classes. The rest of the gamers lifted their heads, fingers on their pause buttons, and the air in the room went heavy and cold.

  Great. An invisible exit was out of the question now.

  “So, you’re too good to answer?” Marny asked. “What are you doing here, anyway? Looking for a cheap boyfriend?”

  The other kids laughed, though the big girl’s words hadn’t been entirely kind to them, either.

  Jennet took a deep breath. This was her last chance. If there wasn’t a ‘leet player here, she didn’t know where she’d find one.

  “You guys aren’t the only ones who game, you know,” she said. “I’m a simmer.”

  The tension in the room gained an interested edge. One of the boys pushed his yellow hoodie away from his big-nosed face.

  “You? A simmer?” He looked her up and down. “Right.”

  The skinny boy next to him let out a high-pitched giggle. “Yeah, like I’m sure she’s really prime at Unicorn Fantastic. Or RainbowGems.”

  The other kids laughed, ready to dismiss her.

  Jennet gestured to the netscreens. “Do you guys play Rumble?”

  Yellow-hoodie’s eyebrows went up. “What, you’re gonna challenge one of us to a duel? If you hadn’t noticed, princess, these are screens, not sims.”

  “Ease up, Fernald,” Marny said, leaving her solo screen and walking over to the other gamers. “If she wants to duel, let her. Maybe she could show you a thing or two.”

  “Right. You really want to duel?” The boy named Fernald folded his arms, then glanced at the skinny kid next to him. “Clarc would be a good pick - he’s fairly dud.”

  The skinny boy flushed, but he didn’t say anything. Clearly Fernald was alpha dog in the Gaming Club.

  “Or you could face off with Shella.” Fernald nodded to the purple-haired girl. “You know, stay at the female level. Girl on girl.”

  This guy was an idiot. Jennet stepped forward. “Who’s the best player here? That’s the one I’m dueling.”

  Fernald gave her a mean smile. “You’re looking at him.”

  “Then we’re on.”

  She was glad, actually. Fernald was too full of himself by far. And he was in for a serious battle, whether he knew it or not.

  There was a general scramble as the gamers shifted, and an empty chair opened up for her. Jennet sat, put on the headset, and gave the 3D-mouse a couple test swipes.

  It had been months since she’d played Rumble, but it was a pretty simple PVP combat game. The worst that could happen was that Fernald would end up beating her. She pressed her lips together. If he proved to be the best gamer in school, she wasn’t sure she wanted to ask his arrogant face for help - let alone spend time in Feyland with him.

  “We’ll go Basic Mode, just for you,” Fernald said. “How’s that sound?”

  Jennet shook her head. She wanted to push him, and herself, to the limit. “Hard Mode. Best two out of three.”

  “You really want to eat cement twice in a row?” Fernald gave her a look of mock sympathy. “I’m not gonna cut you any breaks.”

  “Whatever.” She selected the Rumble icon and pressed the play button.

  The pre-set characters popped up, a dozen of them on the selection screen. She didn’t hesitate in making her choice - Nika, the ninja assassin. All that time spent dueling her friends last spring was about to pay off. If she wasn’t too rusty. She had one chance to remember how to play - one loss she could absorb. After that, she’d better be on.

  “Ready,” she said, meeting Fernald’s stare.

  “Ok, princess. Show me what you got.”

  The arena appeared, a big walled circle enclosing the characters. Inside were the usual obstacles and traps: randomly scattered mines, a pit, some pillars, and a couple floating platforms. Jennet clicked through the function bars, reminding herself of Nika’s combat skills. Slice, Leap, Throwing Star, Dash.

  Then Fernald’s character materialized - a massive tank-bot called Reaper. Good. That thing carried a lot of armor and some serious weaponry, but it was clumsy. She had the advantage of speed and maneuverability.

  The tank-bot moved forward, bladed hands snicking together, but Jennet was faster. She leaped Nika onto one of the platforms and got a couple throwing-stars off. One of them stuck into the metal side of Reaper’s head, like a jagged earring, but it didn’t cause much damage. For that, she’d need to hit the vital spots - eyes, neck, under the ribs.

  Reaper lurched forward, one arm now transformed into a laser-cannon. Red beams sliced the air, and she somersaulted Nika out of the way. Adrenaline zinged through her, and she felt her focus tighten up. Every shift of her fingers sent her character dancing away from the tank-bot.

  Fernald let out a vicious laugh. “Fancy moves aren’t going to win this for you. Listen. You can still surrender.”

  “I don’t think so.” Jennet dodged away, keeping far enough that Reaper couldn’t hack at her, but not so far that he could use his cannon again.

  Just in time, she realized Fernald was backing her into the pit. Certain death from razor-sharp stakes waited at the bottom. For a moment Nika teetered on the edge, and she heard the other gamers suck in their breaths. She twisted the mouse violently and managed to fling her character to the side. Too slow. She’d evaded the pit, but the tank-bot was on her, clashing and slicing. There was no escape. Her screen flashed red, and Nika went down in a splash of blood and flutter of black cloth, defeated.

  Jennet let out a silent breath. Okay. One round gone. She had to do better than that. She would do better than that.

  “Yeah!” Fernald leaned back and cracked his knuckles. “You like that? Want some more?”

  She was getting the rhythm of the game back into her body. This next fight she’d go on the offensive, take the tank-bot down with a quick assault. She didn’t think Fernald would expect that.

  “Best two, remember?” She batted her eyelashes at him. “If you can beat me again, that is.”

  “Heh. In your dreams.”

  This time, when the arena opened, she didn’t hesitate. In two fast moves, she blocked Reaper’s clashing hands and slid a blade into his right eye. With a clank and groan, the tank-bot tilted and fell backwards. The ground shook when he landed, and a puff of dust rose in the air.

  The gamers were silent. Most of them were staring at Fernald’s screen, but Marny was looking straight at her. A smile lifted the corner of the big girl’s mouth.

  Fernald’s expression was as black and stormy as a tornado. “Lucky break. It happens. Even the worst noobs sometimes win - by a fluke.”

  “But, dude,” the skinny boy began.

  “Shut it, Clarc,” Fernald gave him an elbow to the side. “And get out of my way. It’s time to take the princess down.” He shot Jennet a nar
row-eyed look. “Here comes your loss.”

  He’d be on guard now, but Jennet knew she could take him. She grinned at him over the screen.

  “In your dreams,” she said. She heard Marny smother a laugh.

  Fernald scowled at her. Good. She had no doubt he’d rush her character and try what she’d just done. A quick and bloody death.

  Sure enough, the tank-bot charged forward, this time carrying a huge axe. The weapon whistled down - but Nika was already gone, sliding around the side of Reaper, her blade seeking the weak spot under his ribs.

  Fernald pivoted his character and tried to pound her again. At least he wasn’t a hopelessly bad gamer. Just an annoying one. She swallowed, and danced Nika back a few paces.

  Click. Barely heard - the sound of a mine, primed and ready. Adrenaline surging, she hammered the dash command and ran Nika across the arena in a blur of black. There was a sudden, fiery explosion right where she had been standing.

  “Dammit!” Fernald wasn’t as quick. The blast rocked Reaper, but didn’t take him down.

  Now she was in trouble. Nika was out in laser-cannon range again, and she wouldn’t be able to dash for another ten seconds. Plenty of time for Fernald to hit her with a couple deadly shots. She had to keep him off-balance - and her character out of his sights. She dodged Nika behind one of the stubby pillars scattered through the arena.

  “Hiding?” There was a sneer in Fernald’s voice.

  “Yeah, and you’re it. Come and get me.” She checked the cooldown on her dash. Eight seconds.

  Reaper clanked to the side, trying to maneuver for a clear shot. She circled Nika around the pillar, letting a flutter of black cloth show. Red beams shot past, taking out a part of the pillar. Time to find a new hiding spot - the whole pillar was probably next. She imagined Fernald thinking the same thing. Focusing the cannon on the pillar. Pulling the trigger - now!

  She rolled to the side, and kept rolling as the pillar exploded. Five seconds to go. And nowhere else to hide.