File Six: Endure It

My back nearly slammed against the crumbled rubble of a wall. I sensed this dimension was one of his creations. I allowed the hazy numbness of shock to seep into my bones. A dull pain pulsed up my back. I understood if it weren’t for the numbing of the shock, the pain would have flashed up my spine and exploded throughout my body as overwhelming agony. I wished he would release me so that I could drift into pleasant unconsciousness.

Out of the corner of my eye, Travis approached me like a wolf. I noticed him lick his lips and pace slowly toward me. One foot in front of the other. I cringed, only to feel another fiery pulse erupt through my back. “Travis, I told you before. You don’t own me.” I lowered my head and closed my eyes. My voice pathetically rasped through the air.

“Ah, that’s where you’re mistaken. Seems like I let you think too freely. See?”

His hand squeezed around my neck, but its touch felt metallic and cold. I almost screamed, but managed to stifle the noise to a groan. My feet left the ground, but my eyes remained closed. I refused to look at him. Despite my tenacity, temptation welled inside of me to just give up. His lips brushed against mine.

From my position, there ceased to be a point to fighting. His other hand groped around my body, and I writhed. The dull pulses in my back transformed into a constant burn. Powerless, I gave into Travis’s demand. I would be his next conquest, and then a deleted memory.

“Up, girl!”

A forceful yell and boot to my ribs caused me to jerk awake and cough simultaneously. The smoke of a snuffed out fire entered my nose and made the cough turn into a sneeze. “I’m up,” I muttered groggily. Remnants of the dream flittered across my mind. It seemed the kiss I gave Travis from a week ago still haunted me. I touched the base of my spine and winced. I deduced that a root that poked through the tent had been the culprit.

“Quit daydreaming, D!”

I smacked my cheeks with my hands. “Right.” I glanced at Ryuu, and glared at Tamara, who stepped in from another Glitcher team to take Eugene’s place. Rumor claimed he lived in the deep web more often than not, since I left, which worried me, but it still stung that he missed such an important time in my life.

Tamara strutted up to me, pushing her face as close as she possibly could to mine. Our noses touched. “This is Audacity, not some family amusement park.”

I simply stared at her. “In case you forgot, navigator, I happen to be the captain of this team.” I wished Travis would have just entrusted the role to Ryuu. Then again, lately, he sided with Tamara on most things. I heard Tamara’s breathing turn into huffing, but I decided to check the calendar on my HUD. Six more captives to free, and two more days of this competition. My tongue clicked against the roof of my mouth.

“Well, captain, if we don’t get a move on, innocent people are going to die!”

“Yeah, D. Plus, if we aren’t careful, we are going to be on thin ice, if not the next batch that needs saved.”

Our team quickly became the underdog, something my audience threatened me over, but I won some of them back by giving away cool stuff for their continued support. The ones who failed to be appeased simply left. I growled through my teeth. At least Tamara stepped back a little. “I do realize that, guys. Right now, what I need you both to do is what you’re good at. What you’re actually good at, which does not include ganging up on me.”

Ryuu chuckled, and Tamara rolled her eyes.

“There’s going to be a good supply drop right outside of our tent. Grab as many weapons as you can carry, Tamara.”

“Right, I got this, Ryuu.”

I nodded, and observed Tamara wink at Ryuu, and nausea spread through my stomach. “Okay, while we wait for that drop, we need to plot a course that will effectively save everyone and get us to the goal first. We have two days left conduct our rescue and reach the canyon. I want to make it in one.”

Ryuu gaped at me, and Tamara laughed outright. “You’re insane,” they said in unison.

“Thank you. Anyway, look at this,” I said, and pointed to the light blue path I drew onto the map I projected from my HUD. I circled the hostage locations in red. “There’s twenty miles to the canyon from our current location, according to Tamara’s reconnaissance on this level. There are three groups of two hostages evenly split up along this one route. We shouldn’t need to worry about encountering other teams, because they’re focused on winning. If we rescue the hostages, and cut through the forest to the canyon, we may even be able to beat out the other teams.”

Tamara held her hand up in the air. “One problem with that, Einstein. Each ‘group’ as you called it is really a mini-convoy. How are we supposed to take them all out and run for our lives to the end point?”

I rubbed my temples to keep the impending headache at bay. “Simple. We’re conducting Operation Crucible. I take out the first convoy, you two head on and take out the second one on your own. We meet up at the third one and head to the goal.”

Ryuu nodded, but Tamara nearly burst into tears and clutched at her shaking ribs. “You seriously expect us to not eat and not sleep all to make this crazy plan of yours a reality?”

I looked down my nose at Tamara. I wondered how she managed to pass Adversity the first time. I guessed she would have been the captain, and that she didn’t care much for winning. “Company, march!” The beating thrum of a helicopter proved my sense of timing still worked.

“The supply drop.”

I nodded at Ryuu. “Grab what water and food you can, since Tamara’s hauling the weapons.”

Tamara blocked the entryway of the tent for a minute or two. Her lips moved as though she wanted to say something.

I icily gazed at her. “I. Said. March.”

Surprisingly, I saw Tamara vanish through the tent flap without hesitating.

Ryuu shook his head, yet grinned at me as he left.

I exited the tent and headed toward the destination flashing on my HUD.

“Heads up, captain.”

I watched Tamara ready a blaster to throw in my direction. I caught it lightly in both hands. Some protection out in the wilderness with bloodthirsty competitors made more sense than no protection at all. I still planned on using some stealth as I eased my way into the thick, fake woods. Whether it was fake or not, this reality felt real. A rush of adrenaline alerted me to small noises, and my power clued me in on areas to clip through the game.

Though I had honed some of my ability, clipping through a game to get to unassessed areas drained me quickly. Travis promised to work with me on my endurance after this gauntlet. He called it the Endurance Test Gateway once. I figured that must mean if I could live through Adversity, I could handle his more serious methods.

Static filled my ears and caused me to hide behind a pile of fallen logs. I inched toward the convoy and waited. The flashing dot moved forward to the next convoy. One uniformed man stood in front of the logs. I glanced down the sights of my blaster and hesitated. Noise would draw attention.

The guard faced me for a moment longer, then turned to head back to the others. Right as he turned, I jumped around the log heap on the left and delivered an uppercut to his chin. He crumpled up and dropped to the leafy forest floor. I subdued the two other guards in a similar manner. My heartbeat relaxed afterward, and I forced myself to listen.

Out of the serene stillness of nature pierced a muffled plea. I snapped my attention to a direction and shuffled toward it. The muffled noises grew louder, and I found a woman and a young boy gagged and bound next to some set explosives. The timer ticked away. One minute thirty seconds. I checked to make sure no wires attached the captives to the explosives directly before I untied them and freed them from the confines of their gag.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you, lady!”

The woman moved to embrace me, so I allowed her to do so. The boy curled his fingers around my pants leg. I placed a small device on them that would cause them to warp to the Mariana Trench with other similar victims. I pressed the button on the pin-like device and watched them vanish. Forty five seconds left. I spotted a familiar fraying in the game next to me. I picked up the explosives and rushed into the glitch. I set them down and ran away. Instinctively, I dove to the ground and waited. A dull tremor rumbled under me, but no flames leapt out from the crack. I set off for the third convoy.

I hunkered down upon arriving at the agreed meeting location and observed the activities around me. It appeared as though there was only one guard near me, though the small piles of leaves and brush around him disturbed me. I continued waiting. The man never moved, and Ryu and Tamara were late.

“D, it’s a trap!”

Ryu’s panicked voice sent me into a frenzy. “What do you mean?” I whispered.

“There is no third convoy. Only one victim. Three people are here.”

“You sure?” I squinted up at the sky. The sun began to sink down to kiss the horizon. Hours wasted.

“We’re sure, captain. You’ve been next to him the whole time.”

“Worse, our indicators show that there are explosives set to drop on your location in thirty seconds.”

“Are you guys—”

“Safe—”

My heart thundered in my ears. I moved toward the man in the uniform. I cut the ropes holding him against knifepoint. Some jerks had split a tree with some kind of pointed projectile right at the man’s neck. I pulled at the man, but he remained anchored in place. I looked down, and realized he stood on a land mine. A tear trickled down his cheek. He pointed up to the sky, and I noticed a helicopter moving toward us. He shook his head slowly. I fell over backward before I could place the transportation device on him. His arms stayed outstretched.

My body shook as heat rose within me. I sought out another crack within the game. When I understood fully what happened, I started to cry. The man, as death screeched down from above, sheltered me. Not with his body, but with his ability. The darkness surrounded me. It seemed the man threw me into a glitch, if not formed one around me. Red splattered over the green earth, and the stench of burnt flesh carried on the air. I retched and dry heaved.

“D, are you—”

“Alive.” My voice barely registered on the mic.

“Great job—”

“We lost one of our own.” My hands clawed at my HUD to no avail. They worked their way down to my uniform. Diligently, they ripped the constricting cloth from my body. I rocked back and forth in the middle of an ever darkening forest. My tongue dried, and I mouthed the words I’m sorry over and over until my jaw ached. Arms scooped me up and carried me to our destination, despite my kicks, bites, and punches. Something hard and metallic connected with my cheek, and the darkness swallowed me.

My head pounded when I came around. My fingertips pressed at my puffy cheek. Tamara offered me a peppy grin and giggle for an explanation. Ryu’s hand glued itself to my back, where it rubbed back and forth methodically. Clapping grated against my ears.

“Amazing! The underdog team impressively pulled ahead and stole the number two spot! We will keep you informed on what happens next during the final hours of Adversity!”

“You survived, love.”

“Don’t act like you didn’t see it.”

“I’ll be here when you get back.”

“What do I do now?” I mumbled.

For a moment, I thought Travis stood behind me. A ghost-like chest cushioned my head, and phantom arms enfolded me in their safety. “Endure it.”