Chapter Two
Arriving safely on the restricted island, Xian blew out the breath he’d been holding.
The transporters were certainly convenient, but he still thought being shifted through time and space was highly unpleasant. It always felt like he was being squeezed to death, but thankfully that sensation didn’t last long.
Since the restricted island wasn’t open to the public yet, the transport center there was completely empty. There was an eerie feeling inside the large building, but he shook that off as he made his way toward the security office located on the lower level to gear up.
He placed his palm on the scanner, and the doors to the secured area opened for him. As a member of the security team, he always carried a blaster strapped to his side, but he went to the armory to grab some more supplies. The first thing he selected was a specialized holo-blaster that he strapped to his other thigh. The holo-blaster would allow him to immediately neutralize any holo threats.
Next, he went to the wall display that held a variety of blades and other weapons. Since he didn’t know what scenarios he’d have to deal with, he selected a knife to take with him. The last time he was in the Final Destination Zone, he’d been caught in a rope net that had popped out of nowhere. He didn’t have a blade with him that time, so it had taken a while to free himself.
It was always best to be prepared for the unexpected.
There were protocols in the works that would shut down all the physical traps within the sector, but unfortunately, those hadn’t been installed yet. Considering that, he grabbed one of the small packs off the rack and stuffed several more items into it, including an emergency med pack and some more energy bars. The last thing he wanted to deal with was hungry teenagers.
“Evo, what program are the kids running?”
“Level five.”
That made him scowl. The level five program was the most difficult where literally anything in that sector could be a trap or a potential danger.
Perhaps the teens really did have a death wish.
If so, he would gladly oblige once he found them.
“Evo, stop the program.”
“Program is stopped. However, something is disrupting the security feeds in sectors four, five, and six so I cannot get a visual on them,” Evo announced .
“Is it their jammer?”
“The cause is unknown at this time. You should be able to reboot the monitoring system in the command center, but that would take time. I have been tracking their wrist units, which have now stopped moving.”
That was a concerning bit of news.
If the beacons had stopped moving, one or both of them might have been injured. Deciding it was more important to rescue the kids before figuring out exactly what was wrong with the security feeds, he slung the pack over one shoulder and hurried out of the security office.
Since the building was located in the center of the island, there were exits leading out to each of the different sectors. Finding the one he wanted on the display map, he stalked toward it. The doors automatically slid open as he approached, and he stepped outside and into the game.
The restricted island had been made to resemble a massive city from the 21 st century era on Earth using a combination of real structures and holo images. Tall buildings covered each city block. The bottom levels were constructed with steel, glass, and concrete, while the upper floors consisted of holo images that made them seem taller than they actually were.
He should have been more specific when he asked Evo to stop the program. The AI system hadn’t ended it. Instead, everything had simply stopped. The streets were filled with old-fashioned cars and other vehicles that weren’t moving and holo people crowding the sidewalks were stationary statues.
The cityscape looked like it was a picture that was frozen in time, and being the only moving being made him feel as if he was the only survivor who had made it through an apocalyptic event.
It was fucking creepy as hell.
While it had been midday on the main island, the sun was already beginning to set on the restricted island. He adjusted the tint of his sunglasses to a lighter shade as he followed the beacons on the map to where the teens were located. Glancing around for potential danger, he remained mindful of the fact that there were many hidden traps in the Final Destination Zone.
He paused as he realized how foolish that thought had been. He wasn’t testing the damn course out like the last time he’d been there, so there was no reason to waste any time. Annoyed with himself, he released his wings and flew the rest of the way toward the beacons to avoid the traps and roadblocks hidden throughout the city.
All of his uniforms had slits in the back that allowed his wings to release without tearing through the material, but he rarely had to use them when he was on duty. From the air, he didn’t see anyone moving so he landed back down on the ground in a scenic park that surrounded a small lake.
Gritting his teeth, he scanned the area but still didn’t see the teens.
Those little troublemakers were hiding from him.
“I know you’re here. Come on out.” When his demand was met with nothing but silence, he said, “Evo, is there something wrong with this map? The kids aren’t here.”
“Since I am still unable to access the security monitors, I am tracking their wrist units which should be about fifteen feet to your left.”
He glanced in that direction and scowled. The teens weren’t there. The only thing he saw was a large statue of some human historical figure. He didn’t have a clue who it was supposed to resemble, but that wasn’t important. What was of significance was what the statue was wearing.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he muttered as he stalked forward.
As he stood in front of the statues, he shook his head and sighed. Those little brats had strapped their wrist units onto the statue, taking precautionary measures to keep from getting caught. That wouldn’t stop him from finding them, though. If anything, it just made him more determined.
He did have to admit that he was kind of amused by their tenacity. Although they had broken the rules, they’d been determined to visit the restricted island and had done whatever it took to make it happen. With that kind of attitude and the obvious skills needed to pull it off, he wouldn’t be surprised if Magnus, Nico, Razar, and their mate, Brielle, ended up hiring the two teens.
That was, if they lived long enough to graduate.
“Evo, the wrist units are here, but the kids aren’t. I’m going to need you to scan all of the sectors you still have access to. Use facial recognition and whatever else you’ve got programmed to try to find which direction they went. They couldn’t have gotten very far.”
“Searching now.”
Studying the map again, he noticed Nicolo Artane’s marker glowing a bright red while the rest of the people on the restricted island were a pale blue. He considered reaching out to Nico, then remembered that he was busy giving their friend, Zack Keller, a personal tour of the island.
While both males would be a big help looking for the kids, he didn’t want to bother them or interrupt their plans. He could ask them to keep an eye out, though. The superhero section of the island might be someplace those boys would be interested in exploring so there was a good chance they would head that way.
“Evo, can you let Nico know about the missing teens and ask them—”
The AI system cut him off. “Commander Renn, Alpha Nico is currently dealing with an emergency situation on the other side of the island.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“A creature is trying to eat one of the power cells in the superhero sector.”
Well, fuck. That sounded bad.
“Like, a real creature? It’s not part of one of the holo programs?”
“Unfortunately, it is very real.”
“Where the hell did it come from?” he muttered more to himself than to the AI system.
“It came out of the water.”
He grimaced. Great, that was nightmare fuel. “Do they need help? I can fly over there and assist—”
“Alpha Nico has declared that everyone should stay away from the area. If the creature eats the power cell, we don’t know what will happen if—”
That was all he heard before a massive explosion rocked the island. A few seconds later, a shockwave of power knocked him off his feet. His massive white wings curled around his body, protecting him from the worst of the impact as he hit the ground with a hard thud.
Fucking hell, that was going to leave a mark.
Groaning, he slowly rolled onto his back, his body cushioned by his wings. That shockwave had been pretty damn strong but he hadn’t been injured. “Evo, is everyone okay? Is anyone hurt?”
He cursed when he didn’t get a response. He tried again, but Evo still didn’t answer him. Fantastic, he thought with a sigh. Now they had missing kids, an exploding power cell, and a disconnected AI system to deal with.
However, that wasn’t the worst part of the situation.
As he lay there, the sounds finally reached him. Slowly sitting up, he realized that the holo people were moving again, going about their business like they had been programmed to. Whatever that shockwave of power had been was strong enough to restart the game.
But something was wrong.
When a holo man walking a dog that was almost as big as he was accidentally let go of the leash, the dog ran off and bumped into a holo woman standing by the edge of the lake. The holo woman spun around and fell into the water with a loud splash.
A splash a mere image shouldn’t have made.
The ramifications of that hadn’t quite sunk in yet when the dog ran right past him, bumping up against his leg as he darted off after a squirrel.
Xian did a double take.
He had felt the contact.
The dog had been real, just like the woman currently floating in the water. People started forming a crowd near the lake, pointing at the woman and shouting for help. He started to rush forward to help, then came to a jarring halt when the body in the water transformed into a cloud of dust that was carried away on the wind.
The holos were real…until they weren’t.
The crowd of people dispersed as if they had never even seen her, leaving Xian gaping at them in stunned silence. That shockwave of power had magically brought the holos to life, but they seemed to be nothing more than animated puppets doing what they had been programmed to do.
Living their lives within the parameters of the game.
The entire restricted island was filled with simulated images and characters that were a part of the different game scenarios, but not all of them had been programmed to do mundane things like take a walk in the park.
Some of them were hostile.
Some of them were deadly.
And that revelation made him realize that things were about to get a whole lot worse. He wasn’t just on a rescue mission anymore.
It was now a game of survival.