Chapter Two
Chapter Two
“So, what do you think?”
Before answering that particular question, Zack “ZK” Keller glanced around and carefully studied the city street he was standing on. It was a familiar setting, yet completely strange at the same time. Unlike the futuristic cities back on Earth that were inundated with the latest technology, architecture, and other advancements, what he saw now looked like one of the great cities that had existed during the early 21st century.
Tall buildings made of steel and glass rose up majestically to tower overhead, and the streets below were packed with old-fashioned cars and other vehicles. The sky above was a brilliant array of vivid colors, but the multiple high rises blocked the full view of the setting sun. The promise of rain hung heavy in the air, and the scent of cooking meat from a nearby food truck drifted along on the cool breeze, mixing with the acrid smell of car exhaust.
The sidewalks were packed with people dressed in suits holding briefcases, while others were wearing more casual clothing and carrying backpacks or shopping bags. He had seen similar locations from watching old vids but was a little weirded out to find himself standing in the center of the sprawling metropolis.
But that wasn’t the strangest part.
All the people were frozen in place, which meant he and Nico Artane were the only actual living beings present on the crowded street. It was an eerie feeling being surrounded by so many, yet still being alone.
While it was difficult to imagine that most of what he was seeing wasn’t real, that was the true wonder and madness of the new planetoid his friends had created. When he had first heard about what Magnus, Nico, and Razar Artanes’ idea, he’d honestly thought they were out of their fucking minds. Owning a planetoid wasn’t something people just decided to do on a whim. Sure, they’d had a plan, but Evo had to be one of the most ambitious undertakings ever imagined.
The most astonishing thing was they had actually pulled it off.
What had started out as a simple game concept had been turned into a fully interactive game world. At its core, Evolution was an advanced multi-layered survival game that combined several different types of programs into one complex universe. Inside the game there was no limit to what a player could do. People could become someone else and design their own perfect dream world where anything was possible.
They could live out their wildest fantasies and build a whole new existence to enjoy. While it could be played by the standard formats, it went beyond wrist units, screens, virtual reality, and holo-tech. To fully experience Evolution, the Artane brothers had decided to try something that had never been done before.
They’d made the game an actual reality.
After they had arranged to purchase the planetoid located in an isolated area near a giant blue star, the Artanes had formed it into a live-action version of the Evolution game. The planetoid was made up of an endless sea of vibrant blue water and multiple islands with a wide range of different landscapes. Each island was designed to represent various settings and stages from the game. There were also some special locations created specifically for Evo that didn’t appear in the virtual version, but most of those sites weren’t open to the public yet.
Everything was powered by a reinforced electrical grid, cutting-edge nanotech, and an extensive network of satellites that surrounded the planetoid. The islands had been terraformed with the help of some Dragon Warrior magic, and the end result was a wonderous merging of magic, technology, and innovation.
What Zack had seen of Evo so far was impressive as hell, and it had exceeded any expectations he’d had. The Artanes’ plans being successful wasn’t surprising. He knew that Artane Electronics was at the top of their industry for a reason. They had proved exactly why many times over the years with their latest creations and inventions.
Still, nothing could compare to Evo.
The Krytos brothers had certainly outdone themselves with the creation of the live version of their game. While Zack was damn proud of what his friends had accomplished, he hadn’t exactly been jumping for joy at the thought of joining in the beta testing stage of the project. He’d tried to put it off, claiming it would be too damn crowded. While that was true enough, the Artanes had seen through his ploy.
To make sure he attended, they had arranged for his transportation to Evo and set him up with a beautiful suite at the luxury resort. After he’d checked in, Zack had taken a walk around the main island to get a general feel for the place. Seeing everything for himself had exceeded any expectations he’d had, but Zack knew he still had a lot more to see.
He”d missed the first few weeks of the beta testing, but the excitement about Evo hadn’t died down. If anything, experiencing the game for themselves had made the beta testers even more enthusiastic about the place. While Zack certainly didn’t fit into the crowd of gamers, celebrities, and influencers that were currently present, that didn’t matter. Everyone was enjoying themselves, no matter who they were or where they came from.
For his first night on the planetoid, he’d joined his friends for dinner over at Wonderland, the massive sanctuary and casino run by the Barra siblings. It had been a long night of drinking and catching up with everyone, and that alone had made the trip worth it. His friends had been there for him during his lowest point, so he was glad to be there to celebrate the opening of their new business venture.
It had pleased him immensely to find out that the Artanes were finally mated to their long-time crush, Brielle Lee. They’d spent years dancing around each other and hearing the story about how they had ultimately gotten together had been highly amusing. Having an AI system play matchmaker for them seemed quite fitting since they were the designers of Evo. Even so, he had to admit that it was also a little creepy that a computer system could be so intrusive.
While the Artanes’ new relationship hadn’t been that surprising, Zack had been shocked to discover who else had recently found their soulmate. His old friend Zenix Li, the Chief of Security on Evo, had recently mated Ayla D’Nye, the famous D’Aire singer. For someone as secretive as Nix to end up with one of the most popular celebrities of their era was irony at its best.
After a long night, he”d planned to spend the day relaxing, but Nico Artane had shown up at his door bright and early to drag him to the newest island that had been created. Being able to travel to the other side of the planetoid in the blink of an eye was definitely a convenience he could get used to, and seeing the new site was pretty damn astonishing.
Finally deciding on how to answer his friend, Zack said, “I can’t decide if you’re a fucking genius or just plain crazy.”
“Can’t I be both?”
The hint of pride in his friend’s voice made him chuckle. “Either way, it works. Is this supposed to be old New York?”
“Not exactly. It’s a combination of a few different cities from the historical records and old vids blended into something new. We wanted to make the city unique since there is a lot of shit going on here. This island is pretty large, so it’s the host of several different game sites. Since they all required an urban landscape, it made sense to put them all here, and just split them up into different sections. Like the Zombie Apocalypse—”
“Ah, hell no. Been there, done that already, and have the scars to prove it,” Zack quipped dryly.
While he could joke about it, the thought of being back in that kind of scenario had his stomach clenching and his pulse speeding up to a frantic rhythm.
“Yeah, I know,” Nico said lightly, but his steady hand came down on Zack’s shoulder in a comforting gesture.
Even though his friend knew his darkest secrets, Zack definitely did not want to have a panic attack right now. He took several deep breaths to try to calm himself down and was relieved when it worked. It had been weeks since the last one had hit him, but he was aware it could happen again at any moment.
Considering the absolute mess of his life, having random panic attacks was pretty low on his list of shit to worry about. As melodramatic as that sounded, sadly, it was true. The past year had been an excruciating hellscape to endure, but at least he was still breathing.
The same couldn’t be said for several of his closest friends.
A killer headache made his head throb as it did every time he thought about what had happened, but he gladly suffered through the agony. In a strange way, the pain made the memories of his friends feel more real.
Zack’s entire Strike Force Team had been doomed the day they had been sent to Light City on his last mission. What was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance assignment had quickly turned into a deadly rescue mission.
After they had been lied to and sent into the city with faulty information, what had awaited them had been a fucking bloodbath. The evil mastermind behind a slave trading operation had attacked Light City by tainting the water system with a drug that could control humans and drive Krytos and Helios crazy. An aerosol version of the drug had also been released into the air, making the entire city a veritable death trap.
Light City had descended into complete chaos and countless people had died as a result. Even with their extensive training and experience, it had been a struggle for Zack’s Strike Force Team to survive. In the end, he’d been badly injured, but losing several team members had been worse than any physical pain he’d experienced. He would have gladly traded places with any one of his team members to give them a chance to live again, but that wasn’t possible, no matter how much he’d wished it were so.
Zack knew he had been suffering from survivor’s guilt, and that had taken a long time to come to terms with. Longer than dealing with the pain of losing his left leg and having a metal plate put into his head to replace part of his damaged skull.
And recovering from that had been fucking brutal.
The Artane brothers had been instrumental when it had come to his cybernetic implants and bionic leg. They had worked closely with the medical team that had been in charge of his surgeries, upgrading and fixing the implants when the first round failed. Although he had felt like he’d been turned into a fucking cyborg when he’d woken up, at least he’d still been alive.
But his recovery hadn’t been easy.
No longer being on a Strike Force Team hadn’t been as difficult to come to terms with as he’d assumed it would be. Finding out that his team had been sacrificed to save Regent Marks’ son had destroyed his faith in the Alliance. His injuries had allowed him to retire in peace, but having so much free time wasn’t something he was used to.
He didn’t know what he wanted to do with this next phase of his life, though.
Zack was sure the Artanes were about to offer him a job on Evo, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to work at the floating amusement park. Saying he hated crowds was the understatement of the year. He fucking loathed them with a fiery passion. Being surrounded by so many people on the daily would be a personal hell for him. He wasn’t much of a gamer either, but working private security would be suitable considering his background and experience.
Living somewhere besides Earth did have its appeal, though. He’d always wanted to freely travel and visit new places. He’d thought he would get a chance to do that when he’d become a strike force officer but had been disappointed when he’d been stationed on Earth. Over the years, he’d rarely ever made it off planet. Living on Evo would be like being able to explore different worlds without the endless space travel.
The only problem was most of it wasn’t real.
Zack rubbed at the scar that ran from his cheek down to his jaw on the left side of his face. That particular mark had been there before the events in Light City had occurred. He’d been told the scar made him look fierce, but he’d never bothered getting it removed since it actually worked in his favor and kept people from getting too close.
“Since you didn’t bring me here to fight zombies, what is this section? Monsters? Aliens?”
“Nope, no monsters…yet. We’re still drafting the designs for those, but there are aliens in the south end of the city between the zombie section and the area we like to call Final Destination.”
“What is that?”
“It’s the largest section on the island where players have to avoid being killed by random accidents and natural disasters while going on a treasure hunt. It’s not as crazy as it sounds, and there are ample warning signs. It’s actually quite fun, but it sucks having to start back at the beginning.”
Zack gaped at him.
The whole thing sounded pretty fucking mental to him. He reached up to adjust the gray skull cap he wore on his head. Since he was no longer in the military, he’d been letting his black hair grow out, but that wasn’t why he was wearing the cap. The sight of the metal plate on the side of his head usually freaked people out or interested them a little too much. Because of that, it was simply easier to keep it hidden from view.
“What kind of fucked up hell island is this?”
“Don’t worry, hell is actually located on another island.”
“That…is not something you should be saying so calmly. Really, Nico. You are seriously making me regret coming here.”
“It’s not all bad,” Nico assured with a little chuckle. “There are also clues and treasure hidden around the whole island for a geocaching game. And the section next to where we are is actually a dating site. It has all the locations and activities people enjoy when they are starting a relationship, like museums, a carnival, and other things they can do together. It’s also where people can sign up to have old-fashioned weddings and other events like that.”
“And that isn’t considered bad?” Zack scoffed. “Fucking hell, get me off this rock.”
Nico snorted in amusement. “Relax, we aren’t in that section. This one is something I’m sure you will enjoy.” He spread his arms wide and grinned. “This is the superhero game.”
That sparked Zack’s interest.
During his rehab, he had watched countless superhero vids with Nico. He was pretty damn sure those old vids and comics were where the Alliance scientists had gotten the idea for the enhancement drugs all elites were given. While all elites were stronger and faster than regular civilians, only a select few developed an additional ability. He wasn’t one of those people, but he’d always enjoyed the idea of having an extraordinary power that he could use to help people.
“So, exactly how does it work? Do we get to select what type of ability we have? And can we choose whether to be a hero or a villain?”
“Hey, that’s not a bad idea. At the moment, this game is programmed so that the superheroes are fighting against a secret organization that uses robots they created to kidnap people with abilities to experiment on. There is also a faction of the government that is rounding up superheroes for their own nefarious purposes, so it’s hard to figure out who is friend or foe. Players can select an ability from a list or get one at random. But I really like the heroes versus villain option.”
“All of this is a program?”
“Most of the buildings are real, but the majority of the high rises are mere images past the first few floors. There are some exceptions like the central terminal, the hotel, and other key locations. Most of the people are images as well. This island is completely covered with sensors and holo tech to fill in what you see and simulate whatever the game requires.”
“So, it’s like a giant outdoor holo room,” Zack surmised as he glanced around.
“Actually, that’s exactly what it is. The protective barrier around this island also acts as a domed projection screen, so that is why the sky looks like Earth. Everything is a mix of reality and illusions.”
“This all just seems like a really bad idea.”
“Don’t worry. Everything is programmed not to cause any real damage.”
“So you say. What happens if the program adapts and decides to invade the other islands?” Zack argued. “Didn’t we watch a vid where that actually happened?”
“All of the active locations have their own protective barriers surrounding them courtesy of the Dragon Warriors that helped terraform the islands. So, if anything bad happens, it will be contained to a single location. But I’m not going to lie…these scenarios are dangerous, no matter how many safeguards we put in place. This level of integrating real, holo, and virtual hasn’t been done before, which means we will have to adapt as we go. But that’s why this particular island is age-restricted. People will also have to agree to additional terms before they are allowed in.”
“Considering all of the death and destruction on this island, that’s probably wise.”
“So, do you want to start the program? There are more techs and staff members running around here testing the various levels, so we’ll be interacting with real people while we play.”
“How can you tell who is real and who is holo?”
“If we did things right, you won’t be able to tell until the holo images disappear. We want the world to be completely immersive and interactive, so tell me if something feels off or doesn’t seem authentic.”
They spent the next few minutes debating over the game scenario they wanted to start with. They also scanned what the other players were doing, but before they could select their own superpowers, a voice interrupted them.
“Alpha Nico, there is an urgent issue that requires your attention.”
Zack glanced around to see who had joined them, but he quickly realized that the artificial intelligence system that ran the planetoid was speaking to them through the hidden speaker system. Evo was essentially the most advanced supercomputer in existence, but when it came to the Artanes, the system acted like a terrifying AI mother hen watching over its brood.
“What is it, Evo?” Nico frowned as he glanced up at the sky. “And why aren’t you connecting to me through our nanotech link?”
“Something is interfering with the nanotech links in this sector of the planetoid.”
“Do you know what is causing the disruption?”
“Unknown at this time, but I suspect it could be unforeseen effects of the Xenon magic merging with the technology on an island within this sector. The more pressing issue is the creature currently trying to eat the power cell closest to your location. You need to hurry if you are going to stop it before it reaches the cell. I’ll also notify the other teams on-site and send them to—”
“Don’t!” Nico exclaimed before he started to run. “Keep them away from this area. ZK, get back to the transport center and go back to the main island.”
“To hell with that. I’m not leaving you to deal with this alone.” Zack’s bionic leg allowed him to keep up with his friend, but pain still surged through his thigh as he pushed himself to the limit. “Can’t you turn the power cell off remotely?”
“Not exactly. The power cells are a mixture of tech and magic that run everything here on the surface, so there is an extensive process to shut one down. I’m not even sure a creature can actually damage it, but if one of the cells were to explode, it would be bad. Like really, really fucking bad.”
“You said there is a protective barrier around the island, right?”
“There is, but there are several power cells located on smaller islands surrounding the entire city which means they are all located within this barrier. If one of them explodes, the other islands will be safe but we’ll be fucked.”
“Evo, can you target the creature using the satellite defense system?”
“Negative, Alpha Nico. The creature’s body temperature was the same as the water, but now that it’s on land, it is identical to the power source. If we target it, we might end up blowing up the power cell by mistake.”
“Of course, it can change its body temp, because that makes perfect fucking sense,” Nico growled. “Why can’t any of this shit be easy?”
“What I’d like to know is why didn’t you add creature attack to your list of possible disaster scenarios?” Zack bitched.
“Honestly, we only discovered there were native creatures here on the planetoid a few weeks ago,” Nico admitted.
They’d just reached the shoreline when they heard a loud roar and they got their first glimpse of what looked like a giant prehistoric spiked raptor on the small island a few miles off the coast. Sparks flickered and flashed where the creature was biting and clawing at the thick electrical fence that protected the island. The power cell itself looked like a glowing sculpture of purple light coils sitting on top of a wide metal base in the center of the small island. Once the creature made its way through the fence, there would be no stopping it from reaching the power source.
“What the serious fuck?” Zack huffed out in disbelief. “You built your amusement park on a planetoid with freaking dinosaurs? Did you not learn anything from the old vids we’ve watched?”
“We thought they were restricted to the water!”
“Well, apparently not,” Zack pointed out dryly. “How do we stop that thing before it blows us up?”
“We could take one of the boats and—”
“Fuck, no.” Getting closer to that thing sounded like a really bad idea. “We need to stay the fuck away from that thing. Do you have any real weapons available?”
“We stash laser rifles in the patrol boats.”
He followed Nico as he raced down the dock and climbed onto a sleek white boat that looked more like a luxury vessel than a patrol vehicle. Zack stayed on the dock while Nico disappeared into the wheelhouse. He came back out carrying two laser rifles that he tossed into Zack’s waiting hands.
By the time Nico jumped off the boat, Zack was already lying down in position and taking aim. It had been a while since he’d held a laser rifle, but years of experience took over as he sighted down on the creature and took the shot.
Nothing happened.
“Fuck, that thing has armor plating or something protecting it.” Zack muttered a vicious curse before taking another shot. Then, another. No joy. Nothing penetrated the armored scales. “Aim for the eyes or throat. I think that light patch might be a weak spot there.”
“It’s fucking impossible to hit that from this angle. I’m a decent shot, but—”
“Doesn’t matter,” Zack countered. “Just keep shooting until—”
His words cut off on a harsh inhale as the creature destroyed the fence and it exploded into a brilliant display of light and heat. The flash hurt his eyes, and he quickly pulled away from the scope and tried to blink his vision clear.
“Fuck! We’re too late,” Nico shouted as the creature raced toward the power cell. “We have to get the fuck out of here before it—”
The second explosion rocked the world.
When the creature collided with the power cell, it let out a horrible scream, and a massive fireball was released into the air. The flames were racing toward them too fast for them to run to safety, but Zack thought they might have a chance of surviving if they could roll themselves into the water.
But before they could move, a figure appeared on the dock right in front of them.
Zack couldn’t see the female’s face since she was facing away from him, but she was tall and built like a dream. Long, glossy hair rained down to her slim waist in a wavy black curtain, and her dark leather pants hugged her perfect ass like second skin. Sadly, he didn’t have time to really appreciate the view.
Not when they were all seconds away from dying.
She held up her hands, and a shimmering shield appeared in front of them, saving them from being barbequed by the blast, but it didn’t completely stop the shockwave of the explosion from reaching them.
When that energy struck, the dock shattered into pieces, raining splinters of wood down around them as they were flung into the air. She created protective bubbles around him and Nico that saved them from the worst of the blast, but it still felt like he was being torn to pieces. As his vision blurred, Zack frantically searched for the mysterious female to make sure she was okay, but all he saw was a wall of flames before everything faded away.