Chapter 16
Dammit, how was I supposed to complete the mission if this guy wouldn’t budge? It really wasn’t hard to function in this game. I didn’t get why he was cowering when there wasn’t even an actual threat. This was all just theoretical, digital simulation.
I switched back to my locator mode, hoping to find someone else. I whirled around, only to see another unit bound over the wall of the arena. I didn’t even have time to register his name before his palm covered my face, obscuring my HUD, and scrambling my information sensors.
A shot of panic rippled through me.
Did the simulation contain Ghuls, too? I’d seen more than one old style Gehenna cross wing, but I’d not expected the battle software to have been updated with Ghul data already. Certainly not on the very first outing for most of us.
I was forced into the wall of the arena with a hard and violent thrust. Stone crumbled behind me, and the beast was on top of me in a tangle of metal.
I felt the impact reverberate through my true spine as the arena broke against my back, and the tension against my unit’s face as the enemy squeezed me in his palm was giving me a maddening headache.
I was about to swing on my attacker, when three sharp, scalding energy shots ripped through my Shinka’s thigh, severing its leg completely in a burst of white hot, searing pain.
My scream was involuntary. It felt like my real flesh was being burned and ripped apart with slow, agonizing precision. Not only did this virtual syncing emulate pain, but it was vivid and realistic and what a horrible fucking design.
The agony was instant, then faded as quickly as it had come, though it still lingered like phantom trauma tingling through my limbs. I could barely breathe, I was still so rattled, as the unit released my head and stood tall in the arena.
The name ‘Elio Marx’ appeared across my HUD, and I stared up at him from my wrecked position on the floor.
“Y-you…” I was at a loss for words. My own ally attacked me? Why? I knew he hated sharing a room with me, but why destroy me in the simulator? “Why did you—“
“Units recovered. Complete mission,” he interrupted, upon forcefully bridging our trackers to appease the mission.
“Elio Marx, Ansel Raithliff, Mishka. Mission Complete.” The robotic voice read back my nickname, and I was so stunned by everything that was happening, that honestly felt like the most offensive part of it all.
“Did you rename me in the official registry?” I asked, utterly dumfounded, as I tried to lift my Shinka back to its only remaining foot. My leg and my head components were blaring with warnings on my HUD, both having been damaged in the attack.
“Just fixed a couple errors,” he said, his amusement ringing through every word.
Before I could yell at him, let him know how livid I really was, the Simulation ended, and the LYNC helmet retracted from my face in my pod, severing the connection to the virtual world in an abrupt burst of white.
The game may have been over, but that didn’t mean I was done. I pulled my hands and feet from the control gel and climbed out of my VR station. I didn’t know how my rank was affected, and I was too angry to think about it. My eyes burned, on the verge of tears, but I couldn’t stop myself.
I reached the locker room at the same time that Elio did, and I was so out of my mind with rage, I swung on him with everything I had.
Never missing a beat, he dodged my fist, grabbed my wrist, then used the momentum to force my arm behind my back, and my chest against the wall.
He was completely casual and nonchalant as he pinned me there, his hard chest pressing into my back, and my arm feeling like it was half a Pascal of pressure away from dislocation.
“Didn’t get enough in the Simulator?” He whispered into my ear, too close and too smug.
“Why the hell would you do that? I hadn’t taken any damage, I was playing by all the rules, I was doing fine.
All you had to do was complete the mission.
That wasn’t fair.” I snapped in borderline hysterics.
He tightened his hold and pressed harder against me, communicating exactly how effortlessly he had me overpowered. I fucking hated him for it.
“I thought I was pretty clear.” His breath was hot against my neck, and my squirming only made him chuckle.
There was nothing I could do against someone like him.
“You let yourself get distracted helping some hopeless cannon fodder, when you should have been paying attention, Mishka,” he hissed the name for emphasis.
“This is war. Anyone could be the enemy, and you never know where they’re hiding.
Maybe next time, be more aware of your surroundings. ”
“Why are you such an asshole?” My arms prickled with goose bumps, and a cold sweat bloomed on my temples at the pain of his grip. His entire body was pressed against mine, and I would swear that Saturn men had warmer blood than the rest of us, because I was burning everywhere he was touching me.
“Because that’s what it takes to survive.
” Elio twisted my arm harder, until I heard it pop.
My sharp gasp was cut off as he covered my mouth with his hand, and squeezed my cheeks to stop me from screaming and drawing attention.
My eyes instantly started to water. I dug my teeth into his hand, but I was absolutely not going to cry.
“Next time I tell you to watch your back, I suggest you listen.”
Elio released me with one more hard shove into the metal wall, then he continued into the locker room. I stayed there, supporting all of my weight against the wall, and I focused on deep, deep breathing through my nose, as I tried to get a handle on myself again.
I felt the first tear roll down my cheek as I grabbed my limp, dislocated arm.
The pain was unreal, worse than getting mangled in the Shinka.
I thanked every ounce of medical training I had that knew how to relocate that joint safely, and I did everything in my power not to scream as I managed to pop my shoulder back into its joint while still in the hallway.
I didn’t succeed at not screaming, but with another trip to the recovery pod, I could at least make it passably functional for tomorrow. I couldn’t afford to go to the nurse and have her see right through me, so I’d just have to deal with it.
Fucking dick.
It was only by absolute necessity that I entered the locker room after he did. I fixated on my locker as I peeled off the Imperium suit, avoiding him best I could. I wasn’t looking forward to going back to our shared dorm room. Maybe I’d do him a favor and find somewhere else to sleep tonight.