Virtual Prophet (4 page)

CHAPTER NINE

Danielle

Daniel descends from the sky and stalks towards me with fire in his eyes. “I thought you agreed to this too easily,” he snaps.

“What’s the problem?” I ask. 

“He’s not there.”

“Perhaps flying and trying to sense him at the same time is beyond your abilities,” Carl suggests.

Daniel opens his mouth to speak and then snaps it shut as hatred smolders in his eyes. Carl smirks; I think he’s enjoying himself.

“Don’t forget who runs the show on the red side of things,” Daniel says. “Odds are very good that I’ll be your boss again, Carl. When that happens, I’ll remember the difficulties those gold flecks in your eyes have caused me.”

“Even if I turn back soon, I doubt you’ll still be alive and in charge.” Carl’s tone is menacing. “If you want to start throwing threats around, though, we can certainly play that game right now.”

I move between them before they start to claw at each other like animals. “Okay, boys, both of you have impressive muscles. Now calm down and focus on the task at hand.”

They continue glower at each other, but Daniel looks at me and nods grimly.

“Do you know for certain he was in our camp?” I ask.

“Of course he was,” he says. “His group was on the road and arrived at your front gates this morning. There’s no way you turned away a group of Gamers, is there?”

“We accepted the group that turned up this morning,” I confirm. “You told me he isn’t a Gamer.”

“He isn’t, but the majority of his group are.”

I walk over to the chairs and grab the remaining full bottle of Timeless wine. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you, Daniel. I gave you permission to take him, and now you say he isn’t in my camp. Why don’t you take one more fly over and search very carefully for him. If you don’t find him, then get lost.” I smile sweetly. “I look forward to never seeing you or your crew near my colony again. Ever.”

Daniel smiles and shakes his head. “That promise required that I leave with my prize. If I don’t get him today, then I’ll come back as often as I like until I find him.”

I shake my head. “No, you won’t. You have one hour to do your business and get out of here. The next time I see you, I’ll view it as a declaration of war. If you push me, then we will fight you, and I promise things will get very messy.”

I take a step forward so that my face is close to his and give him my best intimidating look, which has become impressive thanks to observing Carl for these past few years. “I have enough Eternals here to kick you from the Game, Daniel. Don’t push me. I’ve got nothing left to lose and everything to gain from making you dead.”

Daniel looks at me for a moment, and then one corner of his mouth turns upwards into an amused grin. “Calm down, girl,” he chuckles. “I come looking for one individual and you start talking about going to war?”

“I’m serious.” I continue to stare at him.

He looks into my eyes and nods. “I can see that you are,” he says. “I was just playing with you, Danni. Some birthday fun.” He raises his hand and makes a twirling motion with his index finger. Behind him, a glowing white doorway materializes.

Just before he steps through, he looks over his shoulder and grins. “Take care of yourself, Danni. It’s a tough world out there now.”

Then he’s gone.

I look at Carl. He holds up his hand for a moment and turns his head from side to side, as if listening for something. Finally, he nods. “He’s gone.”

I move back to the fire and sit down in one of the chairs. “Well, that was fun,” I say.

Carl chuckles and moves to sit beside me. “You had me going when you said that he could take someone from the camp.”

I pour the remainder of the wine from the first bottle into our glasses. “I was serious about that,” I say. “If he’d found who he was looking for, then he could have taken him.”

“Really?” Carl asks.

“Absolutely,” I say. “I was fairly certain that he wouldn’t be there, though. We stalled him for long enough here.”

“Who got him out of the camp?”

I look sideways over the top of my wine glass and arch my eyebrow.

“The old man,” Carl says.

“The old man,” I agree.

“How did you know he was in town?” he asks. “No Timeless can sense when he comes or goes.”

“I don’t know,” I shrug. “I always seem to be aware of him.”

“Who is he? I’ve met some strange creatures over the years, but this old man is... noteworthy.”

I wonder who the old man is, too. I was surprised to find out the Timeless had never heard of him. “He’s a friend, that much is certain,” I say. “I find myself wondering more about the man Daniel came looking for.”

“Me too,” Carl admits.

“Hopefully when the old man brings him back we can get some answers.”

CHAPTER TEN

“You’ve been on Tygon before, right?”

Cooper looked up from inspecting the new tattoo on his right bicep and let his sleeve fall back into place. “Yes,” he replied. He leaned back and put his feet up on Trew’s desk. Trew was still looking for answers, and the office where Sylvia resided was the next logical place to look.

“Why did it cost Brandon his life this time?”

Cooper shook his head. “The answer to that question is pointless at this moment.”

Trew had heard this answer before, so he kept asking new questions. “Do you know why video feeds have been lost?”

“No, but I would guess that it was planned.”

“By whom?”

Cooper smiled and ran his hands through his hair. “There’s only one person on Tygon who could have set something like this up.”

“Brandon?” Trew asked.

“That’s where I’d put my money. You’ve seen what he was like as a kid. I mean, he still is a kid... you know what I’m getting at. The best players are ten, maybe twelve steps in front of the rest. With Brandon it was always like he’d finished the current game and was one or two entire contests ahead of everyone else.”

“So what do you think we should do next?”

Cooper shook his head with a frown. “It’s not for me to say.”

“Sure it is,” Trew said.

“No, it’s not. This is Brandon’s simulation. Thorn warned that the rest of us were not to interfere in how it was being played. Doing so could ruin everything Brandon has accomplished up until now.”

“Maybe before, but things are different where you’re concerned.”

Cooper thought about it for a few moments. Trew saw his eyes register with understanding as he nodded.

“You think I’m allowed to weigh in now because I’m here full time,” Cooper said.

“That’s right,” Trew agreed. “I think Brandon paid the price to put you into play. He’s not here, but having you inside the Sim allows you to use your considerable experience and talents to assist us.”

“He is here, you know.”

“He is?” Trew sounded confused by the statement.

Cooper leaned forward and tapped Trew on the centre of the chest. “It’s taken him decades, but he was able to breed and groom an individual from this planet to emulate him. There are moments when I swear that you are him.”

“Really?” Trew asked.

“Without a doubt. Most of the time, you’re a confident young man who knows exactly how to move forward. Still, there are rare moments of hesitation when I see you wondering what Brandon would do.”

“Yes,” Trew confirmed.

“Well, don’t,” Cooper said. “Know that you and he are the same. There will likely be some areas where you are even better than him.”

“I doubt that,” Trew laughed.

“I don’t.” Cooper nodded seriously.

“What makes you say that?”

“Because I know that boy,” Cooper said. “The only way he would leave this simulation in the hands of someone else is if he was absolutely certain that he was leaving it to someone better than he was.”

Trew thought about it for a moment. “So he’s stacking the deck of cards,” he said. “He knew it would increase his chances of success to have you here with him, and so he brings you in.”

“Leaving you behind as a version of himself because he knows he has to exit to get me in,” Cooper says. “Very clever.”

“Very sweet, boys,” Sylvia’s voice spoke up. “Cooper is absolutely correct, by the way. Brandon had been working for decades to produce someone who might exceed his qualifications, and he was convinced that you are that person, Trew.”

You mean NPC
,
Trew wanted to say, but he didn’t. Serious soul searching and internal debate had led Trew to put that dilemma aside — for the moment anyway. Finding out that the base elements of his cells were digital bits instead of carbon changed nothing. Everything broken down to its smallest unit was the same material.

“I have some interesting news to share,” Sylvia said.

“What is it?” Trew asked.

“There is one monitor on Tygon which is receiving a live feed of events occurring inside the Game.”

“What?” Trew jumped out of his seat excitedly. “How were you able to determine that?”

“Since ‘the Day’ occurred, I’ve been testing all sources on the planet for connectivity. There are an incredible number of feeds to check, so it’s taken me days to complete the process.”

Cooper chuckled. “One of the last feeds you checked was the live one?” he guessed. “Isn’t that always the way? The last place you look is where the treasure is so often hidden.”

“Not at all,” Sylvia said. “It was the first place I looked, but it wasn’t live the first time I checked it. There must have been a program in place to force me to check the entire complex system before it became active. It’s as if there was a built in factor which forced us to be in the dark for exactly forty-eight hours of our time, and almost three years of Game time.”

“Brandon,” Cooper guessed.

“Most likely,” Sylvia agreed.

“Where is the feed?” Trew asked. “Can you patch it to me here?”

“I can’t redirect it to any other location. You’ll have to go to the terminal itself.”

“Brandon’s penthouse?” Trew guessed.

“Yes,” Sylvia said. “Although it’s your penthouse now, Trew.”

Trew was already walking towards the door with Cooper close on his heels. 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Angelica landed flat on her back with a loud thud.

She lay there for a moment, blinking her eyes as the numbness faded and the pain spread like liquid fire throughout her frame. She gauged the messages being sent to her brain, waiting to see if there were any indicators of serious damage. She moved her head slowly from side to side and wiggled her fingers and toes.

“You’re trying to kill me,” she announced to the air above her.

Samantha’s smiling face appeared overhead, her hand coming into view. Angelica grabbed it and stood up, looking around to see if anyone was watching. Of course they had an audience. A small crowd always formed when Eternals gathered to train in the yard.

“I may not be Carl,” Samantha said, “But I am over two hundred years old, sugar. If I meant to kill you, you’d be dead.”

Angelica nodded as she stood and slowly stretched her arms behind her back. She felt a heavy throbbing near her right eye and reached up to touch the spot. She pulled her hand away and showed Samantha the blood. “Is it bad?” she asked.

Samantha came closer and inspected the wound. “It could use some attention,” she nodded and raised her hand close to the wound, holding it there as warmth began to emanate from her palm.

Angelica sat quietly, feeling the warmth spread into her cheek and down her body. After a few moments the pulsing and pain subsided. A minute later Samantha removed her hand and inspected the area.

“There,” she announced. “Good as new.”

Angelica nodded and bent down to tie her shoes. “When do I get that skill?” she asked.

Samantha shrugged. “Reiki? You already possess that skill, girl.”

“I can’t do that with it.”

Samantha laughed and shook her head. “Of course you can’t,” she said. “Keep practicing and you’ll grow in all abilities. You’re just a young one, A. Stick with it, and in a few decades it will come to you.”

“I thought I would have more powers to start off with.”

“Then somebody gave you the wrong info,” Samantha said.

“She was a Timeless,” Angelica walked back into the middle of the sparring area and stood five feet away from Samantha.

“An old one?” Samantha guessed.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“It’s different for each of us, A, but no one ever gets all the skills to start. What would be the fun in that?”

“I guess you’re right,” Angelica said.

“You have serious skills in the area of damage. There’s no way you can be equally as good at healing as you are at hurting. It just doesn’t work that way.”

“You’re beating me easily, which makes you better at hurting than healing,” Angelica countered. “Yet you can hold your hand over my cut and make it disappear in seconds.”

Samantha shrugged. “You know my real strength is healing. The only reason I can beat you is because I’m a Timeless with over two hundred years’ experience. A regular person couldn’t best you in combat.”

“Is that true?”

“It is if you want it to be,” Samantha tapped her head. “The one thing we have that normals don’t is the knowledge that this is a Game. Knowing that allows us to manipulate the world, and the people living in it. At first we aren’t very good at it. But we get better as time goes on, while normal players die and come back to start from scratch.”

“Is that why Danielle is as skilled as a Timeless?”

“Absolutely,” Samantha nodded. “Because she knows this is a Game.” Samantha stepped close to Angelica and whispered. “If normals believed the truth, most of them could do more incredible things than any Timeless. Danielle and Melissa, and the others who have jumped straight down the hole to find reality are anomalies that Timeless have never seen in the entire history of the Game. Exciting things are happening, Angelica, and you are here at the best time ever.”

“We don’t have long.”

Samantha waved her hand absently. “You’re not on Tygon anymore, girl. You will live for thousands of years in here if you learn what we’re trying to teach you.”

Angelica froze and looked slowly towards Samantha.

“What’s wrong with you? You look as if I have a second head sprouting from my neck.”

They don’t know
,
Angelica thought
.
The Timeless don’t know this all ends in just a few Earth years.
She shook her head and smiled to break the tension. “Nothing’s wrong,” she said. “Just thought I felt a chill run up my spine.”

A voice from the other side of the area interrupted their conversation.

“You can feel it too?” the voice rumbled.

Angelica didn’t bother to face the newcomer. “Feel what, Carl?” she asked.

“Your slow, painful, embarrassing death,” he said with a hungry grin.

“You can’t do that now,” Angelica said. “We’re on the same side.”

Carl walked over to a nearby picnic table and sat down. “Tell her, Sam,” he said.

Samantha winced and looked at Angelica with sympathy. “Thing is, that sometimes Timeless kill each other. It doesn’t matter if they’re on the same side or not. It doesn’t occur often, but if they really hate each other, then it can happen.”

Angelica laughed and looked over at Carl. “So you’re just gonna kill me?” she asked.

“Eventually,” he nodded, “but now that you’re one of us, there’s not such a rush. Last time I tried it was because I knew you were leaving the Game and you wouldn’t be coming back to play again. Now that I know you’re here for longer, I’m willing to wait and give you a fighting chance.”

“That’s mighty nice of you,” she said.

“Not really,” Carl laughed. “I could snap you in seconds. You can’t even beat our worst fighter in hand to hand combat yet.”

“Worst fighter?” Angelica looked at Samantha who blushed. “Samantha has been easily putting me on my back for the past two years.”

“I really am a very bad fighter,” Samantha admitted. “For a Timeless.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it, darlin’,” Carl said. “No one can heal like you, and you have other considerable talents. Just cause you can’t fight well doesn’t mean much. Especially when you don’t have to fight very often.” He smiled mockingly. “Plus it gives us a member who can help the young ones learn the basics.”

“Ahh, look at you, being so sweet to me!” Samantha ran over and kissed Carl on the cheek, ignoring his attempts to push her away. Then she looked back at Angelica. “But seriously, girl, he could kill you super easy. I’m surprised he hasn’t done it already. Actually, check yourself; you might be dead and just not realize it yet.”

Angelica couldn’t help but laugh. Samantha was always able to make people laugh, and her laughter was a treat to hear. “Stop it! You’re making me feel bad about myself.”

Samantha pushed Carl playfully. “Make her feel a little better, Carl. Give her a compliment.”

Carl frowned, but nodded his head. “At the two year mark we all suck,” he confided. “If I had to rate you against the thousands of recruits I’ve seen over the centuries, only the sisters were better than you are at this stage of the Game.”

Angelica was surprised and encouraged by the compliment. She hadn’t expected to hear a kind word from Carl today. For the past two years, they had both gone to special lengths to stay out of each other’s way. “Why thank you, Carl. That must have been painful for you to admit. I appreciate it.”

“It was,” he agreed. “Just hurry up and improve. When you can give Raphael or someone decently skilled a run for their money, then I might decide to kill you.”

Angelica ignored the threat. “What two sisters are you talking about? Real sisters? Or Sisters in the Timeless sense?”

Samantha answered. “Real sisters. They were sisters on Tygon who both became Timeless here. They’re pretty famous in our circles. I’m sure you’ll hear their story someday.”

“She knows them,” Carl said. “Don’t let Angelica play the poor new Timeless, Sam. She was one of the best players to ever be in the Game.” He looked at Angelica and watched her closely for a reaction.

“The Timeless sisters that Sam is referring to are old friends of yours, Angelica.”

“I have no idea who you’re talking about, Carl,” Angelica said.

“Skylar and Courtney,” Carl said.

Angelica gasped in surprise as Carl chuckled and nodded.