Yvvaros: The Digital Frontier (21 page)

Tess was grinning from ear to ear, a style of smile that Luke had never seen on her before. She was radiant and gorgeous, and very much alive. A shiver went down Luke’s spine and he ran forward, even though the distance between them was too short for his speed to be practical.

“You…” Luke pulled her tight against him, his heart thumping in a way that he was sure she’d be able to feel through their bodies. “Why...?”

“You know why, Luke,” whispered Tess. “Or at least you know some of the why.”

Luke opened his mouth but found that his throat was paralyzed by emotion. His temples ached in rhythmic spurts, as though trying to match the pattern of his confused heart.

“Luke… Kato… I wasn’t happy in the outside world.” She smiled sadly. “And that’s putting it mildly. Yvvaros has saved me.”

“You could have just… kept playing it. Normally, I mean.”

“It’s not a game, Luke!” Tess’s voice rose to a yell. “It’s never been a game! And people are starting to realize it!”

“My dad helped design it, Tess.” Luke shook his head. “It’s not something mystical, it’s just…”

“It doesn’t have to be something mystical!” Tess glared at him. “You know what I’m talking about. It’s a world, Luke. Another world.”

All he could offer back was a weak shake of his head.

She isn’t wrong. I’m wrong.

“We always dreamed of fantasy and adventure. We wanted there to be a next step for mankind, but we never considered anything like this.” Tess set one of her hands on his shoulder. “It’s a digital world, a game, sure… but it can support us! The part of us that’s really us, our minds! Our thoughts!”

“Tess… what are you saying?”

“I’m not saying anything Luke, it’s already done,” said Tess. “I’m going to live here now.”

This is too much…

Luke could only shake his head, not as much in disagreement as in disbelief. He began to wonder what was happening with Ben outside the game, and about just how much time he’d have before the ambulance showed up and he’d have no choice but to…

To what? Go back to the real world, where Emily is dead? Where Tess is just a ghost player in an insignificant video game?

“Luke, listen to me… I’m still here.” Tess was holding his hands gently now, and crouching down to meet his sunken gaze.

“I… I know,” said Luke. “I believe you. I don’t know how, but you did it. You went all in.”

“The developers are aware of the people who have managed to do it. And they don’t like it.”

Luke blinked a couple of times, his mind so exhausted by the chaotic events that it took him a second to really hear her.

The developers? My dad?

“They’re increasing the difficulty on all of the leveled monsters,” said Tess. “I guess they think that if they press hard enough for a couple of days, they can make a stand and dissuade more players from trying it.”

“This is insane.” Luke took a deep breath and then set his hands on his head. “It’s almost like they’re trying to kill off-”

HARDCORE RULES: ACTIVE

PERMADEATH RULES: ACTIVE

GUILDCHAT: DISABLED

The messages flashed across Luke’s vision. He read them several times in a row before the full implications settled into his head.

“Jesus…”

Luke looked out the nearest window. The sand was shaking visibly, centered on a couple of points further out into the desert. The floor underneath them began to vibrate in the familiar manner of an earthquake.  A second later, four Dunidans exploded out of the ground a couple of hundred feet away.

“We can’t stay here!” Luke turned to Tess and saw fear, real fear, in her eyes.

“Oh my god,” she said, shaking her head. “Kato… there are too many of them.”

If we stay here, they’ll destroy the guild hall, and both of us along with it.

“We’re going to Stark Town!” Luke grabbed her hand and began pulling her toward the door. “I’m not going to let you die!”

Several members of Athena’s Wrath were standing outside, still within the wall of the compound. They waited a distance from the gate, looking surprisingly unconcerned.

“We have to move!” shouted Luke. “Permadeath means you die for good!”

“We know,” said one of them. A moment later, she disappeared.

“Just log out.” The other one smiled at him and then also became empty space. Luke looked over to Tess and rubbed his hand on her shoulder, feeling almost claustrophobic in how profoundly trapped he felt by the situation.

I’m not going to let Tess die, no matter what.

“Come on, we’re wasting time!” Luke pulled Tess forward hard enough to make her stumble. He ran up to the gate and threw it open, suppressing his fear as much as he could.

He didn’t stop running. He pulled her with him as the giant worms surfaced along either side of them, dolphining out of the ground and then back into it as near to them as the creatures could manage.

CONJURE SWORD 3

Magical blades materialized on either side of Luke’s head, though he knew that they would be little more than pinpricks against the mighty Dunidans. He didn’t slow his pace down, even though the distance across the desert and into the Inner Plains was intimidating enough to seem hopeless.

“Luke, it's coming!” Tess screamed in a louder voice than Luke had thought her capable of. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see what she was pointing at.

Luke launched two of his conjured swords forward. His goal wasn’t to take the beast out, or even deal impressive damage. He just wanted to get one of them into its grotesque, tooth crowded mouth.

Both of the projectiles flew at the Dunidan, aimed at the back of the creature’s gaping mouth. Both of the projectiles struck true, and the monster let out a cry that was more vibration than audible sound.

It crashed forward into the sand, not even close to defeated, but injured enough to be distracted. Luke and Tess didn’t slow down. The other worm twisted its path as it dove through the air, changing course and sliding across the sand toward them head on.

ELEMENTAL INFUSION: ICE

PIERCE ATTACK 3

Luke launched himself directly forward at the monster, his sword held in front of him like a jouster would hold a lance.

This is my biggest gamble.

Instead of leaping into the air and trying to attack the Dunidan from the most opportune angle, he charged forward into its mouth. Luke could hear Tess’s screams from behind him, the words twisting together into nonsense as time slowed down and his plan took hold.

At the last second, Luke turned to the side. He used his elementally infused sword as though it were a giant icicle, crushing it into the creature’s teeth. Just as the other one had, it began to close its mouth.

Permadeath... That means I’ll be out of the game, for good. My dad would be so proud.

“Slow!” Tess had her staff raised at the worm. Luke responded to what had happened before he completely understood it, pushing himself away from the deadly monstrosity.

As he rolled back onto the sand and into safety, the Dunidan moved in slow motion. It was the effect of Tess’s debuff. She was the one running now, and as she passed by Luke, she grabbed his hand and pulled him forward with her.

Their feet struck the ground in matching rhythms, neither of them slowing down even as their stamina meters began to dip down to dangerous levels. The sand slowly gave way to thin crabgrass, which grew thicker as they progressed into the relative safety of the Inner Plains.

Stark Town appeared on the horizon, and even from a distance Luke could see that it was more crowded than ever.

“Come on!” Luke looked over at Tess, who was running alongside him, her robe blowing against the wind. “We have to push our way inside!”

“Wait…” Tess slowed down as they both crossed the threshold into the town. “I hear… screams?”

They moved further in, watching the scene ahead of them with wary eyes. Chaos was breaking out in the settlement, and most of the players were in a dead sprint away from it, in the opposite direction of where Luke and Tess were heading.

“What’s going on?” shouted Luke. One of the players running past shook his head and gestured behind him with his hand.

“The Tymians are coming into Stark Town through the Underground!” The player yelled. “It’s a World Event!”

That… can’t be possible. Are they trying to kill everyone off?

Tess looked as though she could read his mind, and nodded solemnly.

“It’s only going to matter for the players who’ve gone all in,” she whispered. “For players like me. Everyone else can log out, or eventually make a new character.”

“Tess!” Luke grabbed her hand tightly and stared into her scared, vulnerable eyes. “I’m not going to let that-”

The world was suddenly wrenched out from underneath him, and Luke saw black. A spasm took hold of his stomach and for a moment, he thought he was going to throw up.

“Tell us what happened, kid.” A man was standing over him dressed in a police uniform, and Luke realized that he was back in Ben’s living room. “And explain just why the hell you’re playing a video game while you’re friend’s sister is dead in the other room!”

Because she’s still alive, in Yvvaros.

“Luke…” Ben was standing on the other side of the cop, watching him with concerned, desperate eyes. Luke nodded slightly and watched his friend’s expression shift to one of relief.

“You want to start talking?” The cop had his arms crossed and was frowning at him. A stretcher with Emily’s unmoving body was being wheeled out of the house behind him.

What is there to say?

“I… I’m still just in shock,” said Luke. “It’s hard for me to believe. To process.”

Damn it, I need to get back in-game! I need to save Tess…

The cop looked unsatisfied, but after a moment he shrugged his shoulders and turned back to Ben.

“You’ll have to stay somewhere else for tonight,” he said. “Technically, since you’re 18, it’s not our responsibility to track down someone to take care of you. I will call your parents and alert them to what’s happened, so you don’t have to-”

“Ben, we can head to my place!” Luke jumped to his feet as an idea entered his head. “Come on, let’s go!”

The police officer looked suspicious but said nothing. Ben started to walk toward Luke, who gestured for him to lean in close.

“Go get your headset,” he whispered.

“It’s not going to do me any good without my computer, Luke!”

He’s right…

Luke shook his head as he tried to think of a solution.

“Well, pack it into your sister’s car!” yelled Luke. “You have to get in-game and protect Tess!”

The cop had wandered back upstairs. Ben was still shell shocked and shook his head in confusion.

“What about you? You’re going to protect her too, right?”

“Yeah…” Luke smiled. “I’m going to use my dad’s computer to set things right.”

“…What?”

“He’s one of the developers! If I can figure out how to use his computer to get admin access in-game, then I can stop all of this.”

Ben stared at Luke, processing what his friend had just said. Luke didn’t waste any time and packed up his laptop and headset into his bag before rushing out of the house.

Can I make it in time?

The sidewalk was mostly empty on Luke’s way back home. All of the kids and teenagers were still in school and it was easier for him to sprint along as fast as he could. His backpack swung from side to side with each stride and he did his best to keep it held steady.

The driveway was empty and Luke let out a sigh of relief. He ran in through the front door and headed straight for his dad’s room.

I just need to log onto his computer, and hopefully I can figure out how to get admin access…

Chris Smith’s bedroom was a mess, with empty liquor and beer bottles scattered across the floor. The bed was unmade, and there was a sharp looking hunting knife violently stabbed into the wooden nightstand next to it. Luke’s father’s laptop was set up on his desk, still powered up from its use the night before.

Alright, I just need to figure out his password…

The task had sounded much easier in his head than it turned out to be in reality. Luke began typing in everything he could think of, his dad’s name, his dad’s middle name, his mom’s name, Yvvaros, password, and dozens of other random guesses. The log in screen refused him every time, an unyielding gatekeeper.

“Fuck!” Luke slammed his hand down on the desk next to the keyboard.

I don’t have time for this! What would my dad use as his password?

Luke took a deep breath, and then had a sudden idea. He slowly typed his parent’s anniversary in and then hit enter. It was still the wrong password, as he’d expected. His mind began to buzz as another idea formed. Slowly, making sure each keystroke was exact, he typed in the day and year that his mother had died and hit enter.

WELCOME

“Yes!” Luke smiled, silently giving thanks for his luck. As the desktop came into view, he pulled his headset out of his bag and plugged it into his dad’s laptop.

“Luke?”

The voice came from the doorway behind him and caused him to jump with surprise. Luke turned around and saw the last person he would have expected.

“Sam? What the hell are you doing here?” It was impossible to keep his confusion and impatience from seeping into his voice.

I need to be helping Tess right now!

“You weren’t at lunch, and…” Sam looked visibly upset, as though she was on the verge of crying. “Everybody in your first-period class said that you just got up, and left. I’m worried about you, Luke.”

“I don’t have time for this,” said Luke. “I have to-”

“Luke.” Another voice entered the room. “You shouldn’t be in here.”

“I’m sorry, Luke!” Sam had her hands pushed together as if pleading for his forgiveness. “When I realized that you were skipping school I told the office, and they…”

“They called me.” Chris Smith took a step into the room. “I had to leave work over this.”

I can’t let him stop me!

“No, you don’t understand!” yelled Luke. “You’ve set people up to die!”

Sam look confused, but Luke’s dad just smiled.

“In Yvvaros, you mean.” He took another step into the room. “Luke, nobody is going to get hurt over the new conditions in a video game.”

“There are people who live in that world!” Luke gestured angrily with his hand. “People who will die for good if respawning stays turned off.”

“You're foolish,” said his dad. “Those aren’t people. Those people died when their real life bodies died. The other developers and I are just trying to keep more people from committing suicide.”

Luke took a step toward his dad’s bed. He still had the headset in one hand and was limited by the range of its cord, but managed to move far enough to take hold of the knife and pull it free.

“Luke…” whispered Sam. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” said Luke. “I don’t want to. Dad, just tell me how to turn off permadeath.”

“Is this a joke?” Chris Smith let out an incredulous laugh. “You’re this addicted to that stupid game? To the point of making empty threats?”

“I’m not making an empty threat.” Luke double clicked the Yvvaros launch icon, hoping that it would default to admin access. “I’m going to do whatever it takes.”

The log in screen popped up on the monitor. Unfortunately, his dad’s log in information was not saved in the username and password fields.

“Give me your headset!” shouted his father. “I’ve had enough of this.”

So have I…

Luke typed in his own login information quickly and took a deep breath. Sam and his father were both watching him. He didn’t want it to have to come to bloodshed, but it was clear that there was no other choice.

Saving Tess is the only thing that matters…

Luke positioned the knife against his stomach and slowly began to push it in.

“Don’t!” screamed Sam.

It’s too late…

He pulled the headset down over his head carefully and then leaned forward onto the desk as hard as he could. The pain of the blade entering his abdomen was excruciating.

And then he was inside Yvvaros.