Gods of Blood and Bone (Seeds of Chaos Book 1) (3 page)

Then it was gone, and where the air had once been, one of those glass balls my captors and the boy had used sat in my palm.
 

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, so freaked out I felt I might start sputtering gibberish and banging my head against the wall. My heart beat like a subwoofer inside my chest as I opened my eyes and brought the ball closer to my face for inspection.
 

The early morning sunlight angled through my window and glinted off the marble-like sphere. A branching, maze-like pattern was etched into the clear glass in spidery, metallic lines. Inside the glass shell some sort of shimmering liquid swirled slowly around. Across the face of the marble, a string of letters rose to the surface and flowed past my eyes. The words read “MAKE A WISH.”
 

That was too much for me. “Zed!” I screamed.
 

He came rushing into the room, still holding a piece of bread in his hand and looking around frantically. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you see this?” I held up the ball, my hand shuddering. “Tell me!”

“Yes, I see it. Calm down, what’s wrong?” He held his hands in up a calming motion and pushed my arm down. “What’s the matter?”

I pulled my hand free and shook the marble. “Look closer. What do you see?”

He frowned and peered at it. “It’s a marble, Eve. Probably from a street vendor. Are you feeling all right?” He placed his hand on my forehead to test my temperature, and I brushed it away in irritation.
 

“What about that?” I pointed to the screen hanging in front of my face. “Do you see that?”

His eyebrows scrunched together further and his voice grew tight. “See what, Eve? What am I supposed to be seeing?”
 

I shook my head and pressed the palms of my hands hard to my eyes. “You’d know what I was talking about if you could see it. It’s hanging in the air, dammit!”

“I’m going to get you one of those sedative pills. You stay right there, Eve. Don’t move, and try to calm down. Just stay there, okay?”
 

Where would I go to get away from my own head? Besides, I barely had the strength to get to the bathroom. Did he think I’d run away? Jump out the window?

I took my hands away from my face and nodded, and he bolted away, the piece of bread now squished in his fist, forgotten.
 

The bread was so ludicrous, so removed from everything my crazy brain was trying to smash me with that I couldn’t help but laugh.

I was still giggling when another window popped up, different than the others.
 

EVE, YOU’RE PERILOUSLY CLOSE TO BREAKING THE RULE ABOUT DISCLOSING GAME INFORMATION TO NON-PLAYERS. YOU REALLY DON’T WANT TO DO THAT.

—Bunny—

My laughter died in my chest, and I froze.
 

WHEN HE COMES BACK, YOU BETTER REALIZE THAT YOU’RE FEELING SICK AND FEVERISH, AND HAD ANOTHER HALLUCINATION, IF YOU CARE FOR HIS OR YOUR OWN SAFETY.

OH, AND BY THE WAY…NICE TO MEET YOU. :P

—Bunny—

“Who are you?”

I’M BUNNY, YOUR GAME MODERATOR.

—Bunny—

Chapter 3

I desire the things that will destroy me in the end.

— Sylvia Plath

Zed sat watching me eat, concern etched all over his face.
 

I stuffed the fresh sausage, eggs, biscuits, and gravy into my mouth ravenously, both to satiate my hunger and to excuse me from discussing my “hallucination” with him.
 

My heart was beating fast, too fast, as if I’d had too much caffeine and couldn’t calm down. It was a sour feeling.
 

When I’d finished, I licked the plate and plopped backward onto my pillows with a big sigh.
 

He pushed a glass of cloudy yellow liquid toward me. “Drink this. It’s vitamix and lemon water. You need to get some nutrients to help rebuild your strength.”

I sighed and shot my little brother a look.
 

He grinned back at me and rolled his eyes. “It’s good for you. Just drink it. Doctor’s orders.”
 

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, just think of this as practice for when I join the Peace Corps. You’re my dummy patient.”
 

I snorted and complied, gulping down the mixture made only slightly better by the taste of lemon. “Okay, I feel better now. I think I just needed something in my stomach.” I let out a loud yawn, not fake at all. “I’m really tired now. I don’t think I’ll need that pill. I’m just gonna go back to sleep.” I studied his worn face and bloodshot eyes. “You should probably go to sleep, too. I know you don’t have anything important to do. And I’m fine, so you don’t need to keep ‘mother hen-ing’ me.”

He studied me for a moment while I did my best to look sane, calm, and not as if I was trying to make him leave for some ulterior motive. Even though I was hallucinating invisible screens who called themselves Bunny, freaking out, and trying to shoo Zed away so I could talk to them. In short, I was lying.
 

“Okay. If you need anything, just shout.”

“Roger.”
 

Zed was a genuinely good person, and the opposite of me in almost every way. Brave, popular, handsome, and he had an unselfish nature.
 

That’s why I sent him away, and didn’t say anything about the reason my heart was beating so frighteningly hard. Because if I
wasn’t
crazy, whatever was going on wasn’t good, and he didn’t deserve to be involved in it. And if I was crazy, it would pass along with my lingering sickness, and no harm would come of it.
 

Alone, I took a deep breath and whispered, “Umm … Bunny? Are you there?”

YES. NOW THAT HE’S GONE, LET ME EXPLAIN WHAT’S GOING ON.

—Bunny—

“First things first, am I crazy? Is this a paranoid delusion?”

NO. THE DOCTOR WAS ONE OF OURS. HE TOLD YOUR FAMILY THAT SO THEY WOULD IGNORE ANY STRANGE ACTIONS OR ACCUSATIONS YOU MIGHT MAKE ABOUT BEING ATTACKED OR THE GAME.

—Bunny—

“That’s just what a paranoid delusion would say. How do I know you’re really there?
 
Is this really happening? And why do you want to keep it a secret?”

THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF PROOF, IN TIME. THE FIRST PIECE BEING THAT YOUR BROTHER ACKNOWLEDGED THE “MARBLE’S” EXISTENCE. IT’S NOT A MARBLE, BUT IT
IS
OBVIOUSLY REAL.

—Bunny—

I slid the ball from under my pillow where I’d hidden it, and rolled it around my palm. “But he couldn’t see these…hologram screens.”
 

THAT’S BECAUSE THEY’RE ONLY IN YOUR MIND.

AND DON’T MAKE THAT FACE. JUST BECAUSE THE SCREENS AREN’T REALLY THERE DOESN’T MEAN YOU’RE IMAGINING THEM. SOMETHING ELSE
IS
REAL. THE VR CHIP EMBEDDED IN THE BASE OF YOUR BRAIN.

—Bunny—

“VR…Virtual Reality? Embedded in my brain? Is that what they were doing to the back of my neck?” I paused. “Wait, you can see me?”

I’VE GOT ACCESS TO YOUR LINK CAMERA, AND OUR DOCTOR PUT A COUPLE DIFFERENT MONITORING DEVICES IN YOUR HOUSE UNDER THE GUISE OF CHECKING FOR DANGEROUS MOLD SPORES THAT COULD EXACERBATE YOUR CONDITION, SO WE CAN KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR INITIATION.

SIGH. IF YOU’D JUST LET ME EXPLAIN WITHOUT INTERRUPTING, ALL OF THIS WOULD BE A LOT EASIER. JUST BE QUIET FOR FIVE MINUTES.

—Bunny—

I raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
 

YOU ARE NOW A PLAYER OF THE GAME. AND AS FAR AS I KNOW, YOU’RE NOT CRAZY. WE TEST FOR THAT BEFOREHAND. THE GAME ISN’T THE CONSOLE OR COMPUTER TYPE YOU MAY BE USED TO. IT’S COMPLETELY INTERACTIVE, COMPLETELY REAL. THE OUTCOME IS ONLY DEPENDENT ON YOU, AND BY LEVELING UP, YOU CAN GAIN THE ABILITY TO CHANGE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOURSELF, IN REAL LIFE. YOU LEVEL UP BY COMPLETING QUESTS GIVEN TO YOU BY ME, YOUR MODERATOR, AND BY ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE TRIALS, WHICH ARE GAME-LIKE TESTS OF YOUR ABILITY. YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN 1 FREE SEED, TO USE AS YOU SEE FIT. YOU MAY NOT TALK ABOUT OR DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION ON THE GAME TO NON-PLAYERS.

AND EVE…THERE ARE NO DO-OVERS. YOU ONLY HAVE 1 LIFE.

—Bunny—

* * *

Bunny had given me an introductory quest to familiarize myself with the Game’s “user interface,” and then left me in visual silence, writing that he had something more important to tend to.
 

I didn’t proceed with the quest, but instead thought about what he’d said till the lingering fatigue of my sickness overpowered everything, and I slept. I woke and raided the fridge, my body ravenous for the nutrients to rebuild itself, then slept again.
 

The next morning, I was ready to deal with the situation once more.
 

“Bunny?” I called into the empty air of my room, hoping nothing reacted and I could write it all off as a crazy dream.
 

YES.

—Bunny—

Tch. No such luck. “I’ve got some more questions.”
 

I HAVE ANSWERS. SOME OF THEM, ANYWAY.

—Bunny—

“How are you talking to me like this?

WE BOTH HAVE VR IMPLANTS, AND THEY SEND SIGNALS TO EACH OTHER. YOUR BRAIN KNOWS WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME AND ACTIVATES THE CHIP.

—Bunny—

“You can read my
thoughts
?”

LOL, THEY MAY WANT US TO TELL YOU WE’RE ALL-KNOWING, BUT WE CAN’T RECEIVE MESSAGES YOU DON’T WANT US TO. YOUR PRIVATE THOUGHTS ARE YOUR OWN.

—Bunny—

“Did they do the same thing to you they did to me, or did you accept it willingly?”

THIS IS MY JOB.

—Bunny—

“Working for who?”

HAH! NICE TRY.

—Bunny—

“You warned me to keep this Game a secret. What happens if I talk about it with other people?”

TRUST ME. YOU DON’T WANT TO DO THAT.

—Bunny—

“But what if I did?”

LET’S JUST SAY THAT THE INFORMATION YOU REVEALED WOULD NEVER MAKE IT ANYWHERE FURTHER.

—Bunny—

I wondered exactly what that might entail, but the gist was pretty obvious. If I told someone, they’d never be able to tell anyone else. The easiest way I could think to ensure silence was death. “Okay. Next question. What if I refuse to play?”

LOL. YOU CAN’T REFUSE. YOU’RE A PLAYER, AND THERE’S NO GOING BACK. REFUSING TO PLAY WOULD REALLY ONLY BE DECIDING TO PLAY
BADLY
. WELL…PERHAPS YOU COULD KILL YOURSELF, BUT RATHER THAN ‘NOT PLAYING,’ I TEND TO THINK OF DEATH MORE ON THE TERMS ‘LOSING.’ ”

—Bunny—

I swallowed. “Well, what happens if I play well?”

IF YOU PLAY WELL, YOU GET MORE SEEDS. AND THE SEEDS ARE REALLY THE POINT OF IT ALL. THEY ALLOW YOU TO CHANGE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOURSELF, EXCEPT PERSONALITY. THE 13 ATTRIBUTES. THEY MAKE YOUR WISHES COME TRUE, LITERALLY.

—Bunny—

“Thirteen Attributes?”

PART OF THE QUEST I GAVE YOU, WHICH YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVEN’T DONE.

—Bunny—

I bit the inside of my lip. “I had a lot of things to think about. This is overwhelming.”
 

YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO BECOME A LOT MORE ADAPTABLE. SIGH. LET’S RUN THROUGH IT NOW, THEN.

—Bunny—

I frowned, and hesitated. “Umm, what do I…?”

DOUBLE SIGH. YOU’RE A BIT USELESS, AREN’T YOU? SAY “DISPLAY QUESTS.”

—Bunny—

I bit the inside of my lip again, this time for a different reason, but held my irritation back as I always did. I wanted to set Bunny straight, but there was nothing I could say. There was nothing special about me at all. I wasn’t a great student, I wasn’t pretty, and I was especially nonathletic. I was the type of person who was mostly ignored, except for the occasional bullying. An invisible girl. But that didn’t mean my jaw didn’t clench and my tongue didn’t burn with the desire to spit something cutting at the screen.
 

Instead, I said, “Display Quests.”
 

INTRODUCTION TO USER INTERFACE–STATUS WINDOW

USE VOICE COMMAND “DISPLAY STATUS WINDOW.”

COMPLETION REWARD: 5 EXP
NON-COMPLETION PENALTY: NONE

I followed its instructions, and a larger window popped up.
 

PLAYER NAME: EVE REDDING

TITLE: NONE
CHARACTERISTIC SKILL: N/A

LEVEL: 1
UNPLANTED SEEDS: 1

SKILLS: NONE

A small, quickly fading window slid into my peripheral vision, telling me I’d gained five experience points, and giving me instructions for the next part of the “chain” quest.
 

“These are measures of…me?”

YES.

—Bunny—

I poked at the word “Strength” on the screen.
 

STRENGTH: ABILITY TO EXERT PHYSICAL FORCE.

“I’m level seven strength? Seven out of what?”
 

7 OUT OF INFINITY. THOUGH IF YOU DON’T LEVEL UP ANY OF THE BALANCING ATTRIBUTES, YOU WILL REACH A POINT WHERE YOUR BODY IS SO STRONG IT’LL DESTROY ITSELF. USE THE ATTRIBUTE WINDOW TO DISPLAY ALL OF THEM AT ONCE.
 

—Bunny—

“Display Attributes,” I said. Another EXP gain notification popped up, along with a larger window.