Diego had three abilities: Shield Block, Turtle, and Shield Rush. He might have survived if he’d used Turtle, and he probably would have killed at least one of us if he’d used Shield Rush. But he’d wasted the opportunity to use any of his abilities. He must have thought he had more time. Who doesn’t? I didn’t use a shield, so I took Turtle.

  Trix convinced Kiara to loot Diego and Brinkley. Diego had The Survivor’s Headband, which depicted a tiger’s eye surrounded by a bunch of dudes with big hair. The headband offered +2 constitution and the promise of an increased will to survive. I liked the stat boost but wasn’t sure how helpful the will to survive was, given Diego’s fate. Brinkley’s staff increased the effectiveness of spells cast by anyone in the party. I saw a tear course down Kiara’s cheek as she slipped on Diego’s headband.

  TRIX: Kiara, I added you to the party chat.

  KIARA: Good—Diego showed me how this worked.

  WILL: Oh, good. Trix, what’d you get from Brinkley?

  TRIX: Be more sensitive, Will.

  WILL: Oh, yeah. Sorry.

  KIARA: It’s okay.

  TRIX: I only took the Bind spell he used against you. Anything else he had is for you, Kiara.

  Kiara nodded.

  WILL: Bind, I hate that spell.

  TRIX: But now that it’s ours, you’re going to start loving it soon enough.

  I wiped my blade on Diego’s pants and inventoried it.

  KIARA: Did you two know each other before the game?

  WILL: No, but I wish I did. It might have made things different.

  Trix shook her head.

  TRIX: That’s a nice sentiment, Will, but you wouldn’t have wanted to know me.

  KIARA: Why? What was your life like before you got here?

  TRIX: You don’t wanna know.

  KIARA: Try me.

  Trix looked down to the ground, uncharacteristically lost in thought for a few seconds, and then looked back at us.

  TRIX: I was a drug dealer.

  Kiara put a hand to her face and trembled.

  TRIX: I knew you didn’t want to know.

  KIARA: No, it’s not that. I want to know your story.

  TRIX: After I had Adelaide at sixteen—my sweet little Adelaide—I pushed Z on the streets to keep us off them. I never used. I knew what it did to people—the shakes, the deterioration. I watched addicts die. I watched new ones replace them the next day.

  I took their money knowing I was taking their lives too.

  When I started selling, my supplier made me take a gun. I didn’t want to take it, but he said he wouldn’t let me sell unless I took a gun.

  That gun saved my life, but it’s also why I’m here.

  One night, one of my regulars approached me. I told him I wanted to see the cash, but he wasn’t showing. So, I reached for my gun and then he pulled a knife and slashed at me. I was faster with the gun, but two BioZone agents were nearby when the gun fired. And that’s my story.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  KIARA: I’m sorry—especially for Adelaide. You think she’s okay?

  TRIX: She’s okay. She’s a smart girl. I told her what to do if I didn’t come home for two days. I know she’s okay.

  That’s when I noticed a rather big party a block away headed toward us. I gestured for Trix to look at them.

  WILL: We’d better move.

  TRIX: I forgot about those X’s that dropped on the map. And now we’ve drawn attention to ourselves. Yeah, let’s go.

  Kiara turned to look at the approaching party.

  KIARA: People will keep attacking you until that bounty is collected.

  WILL: Trix, have you read up on the bounty?

  TRIX: I haven’t had time. Have you?

  The big group was edging their way closer. As they approached, Corporal Keel’s chanting grew louder in my mind, even though his hunting knife was stored in my inventory now. I tried to push it away, but thoughts about the synergy I could get from stacking low-level abilities pulsed in time with the chanting. I took a deep breath to clear my head and noticed Trix was watching me with a worried look.

  WILL: We can clear the bounty ourselves.

  Trix chuckled.

  TRIX: By falling on our own swords?

  WILL: We can clear it at a Quadrant Stronghold. That means returning to the Trust Foundation.

  TRIX: That sounds a lot like falling on our own swords.

  KIARA: What’s the Trust Foundation?

  TRIX: We think it’s the way out of this quadrant.

  WILL: Or one of the ways out.

  KIARA: Why don’t you want to go back there if it’s the way out?

  TRIX: We’re not strong enough to fight anything in there.

  Kiara looted the last of Brinkley’s items—a power adapter with a frayed cord and a bobblehead doll of a rat.

  KIARA: It’s like the game was designed to kill off all the players.

  TRIX: You’re gonna keep the dolls?

  KIARA: Sure. Maybe later it becomes useful. And it doesn’t look like there’s a limit to what you can toss in the inventory.

  We headed away from the group advancing toward us, walking fast for a half block when we unknowingly walked past an NPC named Verminister – Level 11 – hidden in the darkness of an alleyway. After we passed him, he rushed us from behind with a wave of rats. We spun to see our attacker. Verminister had a long wispy mustache that looked like rat whiskers, an abbot’s brown frock—the same brown of the rats that surrounded him—open-toed sandals, bright red rosary beads hanging around his neck, and he carried a long shepherd’s crook upon which was inscribed, I will walk in darkness but fear no evil.

  With my last Snoop, I revealed Verminister’s info. I hadn’t noticed it before, but Snoop let me select a mob’s level and look through their combat history. I scanned the top page of Verminister’s history and saw he’d killed several player characters and he’d been farming rats.

  Trix shot a wave of blue fire at Verminister. At the same time, Kiara cast the Magic Smack spell that she’d used against me. Verminister held up his shepherd’s crook and it absorbed both of the attacks. “Thou shalt not kill!” said the apparently pious man.

  The big party following us was drawing nearer, and it looked like at least three of them were carrying assault rifles. They were close enough now to pepper us with those rifles if the fight didn’t go Verminister’s way.

  TRIX: We need a new strategy. Can you snoop him?

  WILL: Already did, but did you see those assault rifles? Should we run?

  KIARA: No, I want that shepherd’s crook.

  Reluctantly, I pulled out Corporal Keel’s Hunting Knife. Swayed by the weapon’s malice, bloodlust coursed through me, and I rushed Verminister. It felt like the wrong choice to use this evil weapon, but its wickedly sharp edge cut a clear path to victory.

  As I closed the distance between us, Verminister called out. “A man burdened with the blood guilt will flee to the pit. Let none give him refuge.”

  I stabbed with my knife but Verminister repelled it with the Shepherd’s crook.

  Verminister searched out my eyes with his own. His gaze pulled me in. “The wicked oppose the righteous, Will. But God defends his servant.”

  Verminister took a step back and the rats surged forward, leaping and clawing at me. I staggered back, watching my health dip. Trix ran to my side and swatted at rats but there were too many. When my health had dropped to half, I slammed on Turtle. I immediately had more control. The fight slowed down, and I could feel out the space around myself. My health was still dropping, but not as fast, nowhere near as fast. A Turtle timer popped up over my health bar and started to decrease. It looked like I had a minute of Turtling. The fight was manageable again. I focused on one rat at a time, stabbing and stomping. My Vamp ability kicked in and soon my health was topped off and the rats were in retreat.

  Meanwhile, Verminister was kneeling with his head bowed. “Yes, Lord, I shall blot out the memory of this heathen from under heaven.”

  WILL: Trix, can you use that Bind spell?

  TRIX: Yeah, but then I’m tapped out.

  WILL: Do it.

  Trix put her hands against her temples and focused on Verminister.

  He looked up at her and held up his shepherd’s crook. “This is real deviltry. What hex from the pit has the devil gifted ye?”

  I surged and stabbed again, but Verminister couldn’t block as before. As the hunting knife scored flesh I heard Keel’s dark laughter. Verminister’s health dropped to the red and Kiara blasted him to finish the job. With the rat’s shepherd dead, the vermin scattered.

  TRIX: Get that crook, Kiara. Quick.

  Kiara looted the crumpled body and the seven adventurers were upon us just as Turtle ran out.