Harrison stood in the middle of the pack, his burly arms crossed as he stared over his cart. An adorable owl the size of a pinecone sat on his shoulder snuggling up against his beard. You’d think his pet would make him look ridiculous but instead, he looked like a master with his student.
Breaking from our formation, Victoria ran to his side.
He turned to her at his name. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he dragged her down behind the safety of the cart.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
When his eyes found me, I went stiff. I managed a mechanical wave. He might forgive her, but that guaranteed me nothing.
“We are here to help,” Victoria replied. “We think this might be a trap.”
“Oh you do, do you?”
A better opportunity to divert the subject wouldn’t present itself.
“Yes,” I said, joining them behind their cover. “Worst case scenario they did this to lure us into the forest. I was hoping we could recruit you to help us form a party to relieve any players that find themselves retreating for their lives.”
“You mean you want me and my men to leave the cozy protection of our carts here to help a bunch of overhyped baboons?” He looked as stoic as a granite wall.
Victoria rolled her eyes.
His charade crumbled like frozen butter crushed by a falling bowling ball. So this is what she was getting at.
“Why didn’t you say so?! Red!” The soldier that had been standing next to him bent down.
“I know you heard that. Go tell Wilson. This is just the kind of thing he’s looking for.”
“Outside the barricade, sir?”
“You heard right. Go!”
With his helmet on I couldn’t see the guy’s hair, but I suspected his hair resembled the name. He was tall and scrappy like Treetop, without the awkwardness as he ran.
“Well. That will give us some backup. By the way, you have good instincts. You’re right about the goblins. There are five times more than I have ever seen gathered at once.”
“You can see them clearly?” I asked.
“Oh yeah. Jocelyn here might be small but she makes it possible to see better at night than I do during the day.”
With a nod, Harrison jumped up and little Jocelyn flew up into the sky about thirty feet and started circling. The large man palmed the top of the cart and leaped up in a single movement to stand there.
“Let’s go! Form up on the other side!”
The lot of them followed him over the overturned carts.
I leaped up, daring to put my back to the enemy for a moment to offer Victoria a hand.
She surprised me by grabbing my hand after taking a single step to hop up without grabbing the ledge for help. Without using her hands, she stepped off the other side, landing with a spring. I had to hurry to catch up.
Another dozen players soon joined us at the flank. A scrappy-looking man with a crew cut led them. They weren’t well geared, but their spears and shields were decent.
We joined the rear of Harrison’s group as he talked to the group’s leader.
I felt like my hands were tied with Victoria there. With Peter and Oliver, they had been the ones to do most of the worrying about her. Now the full responsibility was mine.
Harrison waved us over to introduce us but grabbed my arm as soon as Victoria shook his hand.
“Get her and run at the first sign that we may be in trouble.”
As if that wasn’t obvious enough, but the pressure mounted.
With so many players fighting in the woods, most of the stone throwing had stopped.
With Wink’s hearing activated, while keeping her invisible, the reality of the situation became clear. Why didn’t I thought of this before? Not only could I hear the dying cries of men, but with pinpoint accuracy, I knew where they were falling. If it only ended there. Screeching, thuds and snapping became vividly close. It was a sick guessing game of trying to imagine what new injury fit the ghastly sound.
I wasn’t the only person that was listening in or perhaps watching. A lot of shuffling of boots was going on among the group.
Even from here, details were hard to make out with night vision due to the light vegetation. It looked like a torrent of black flames engulfed the heart of the forest from all the movement.
Only a couple hundred players joined us closer to the forest, but they were in groups scattered about, not close enough to help us here.
A single player, hundreds of meters north, was the first to come running back from the forest. There was no goblin after him. Halfway back, a projectile pitched from behind, black streaks tailing it, struck the man in the back. He collapsed, motionless.
Only when he fell did players rush out to help him. More stones shot out one at a time at those that came to help. Another man fell, but two players grabbed him, dragging him back while players with shields blocked the next shot.
Individuals started to sprinkle out of the forest, mostly to the north.
Another group joined us. Vector’s. He had fifteen of some of the most famous names in gaming with him. Scarecrow’s famous fro was hidden beneath a leather cap. Marabella, his sister and an expert rhythm gamer, was already small, but her large leather made her look thick in the trunk. Samison, Corkscrew, LadyHeadshot, HandshakeDeath… My heart seemed to beat twice as fast. I was looking at gaming royalty. Their followers combined would reach into the billions.
When I turned my internal fanboy off, I had to admit they were rather scrawny and under equipped. Their shields were the best items they owned. That didn’t deter them. True professionals all—dealing with nerves was one criterion for being the best.
Marabella was doing what had been named a micro dance. Her feet shifted and hips inched back and forth to an internal beat. She was known for zoning out like this before a competition. Her brother was a player versus player specialist, but music ran in the family. He nodded to his own private tune. LadyHeadshot leaned forward closely studying the forest. A rival of hers, HandshakeDeath, stood beside her stroking the stubble of his chin. All were focused, save one.
Treetop towered over them from the rear, downing bottled water. How was he even standing?
“I’ll be right back,” I said.
Victoria, finding Treetop, patted me on, her brow furrowed.
Seeing me approach, Vector met me halfway. He offered his hand.
“Lucius.”
Suddenly the eyes of many men and women I had looked up to for years settled on me.
I took Vector’s hand. He held mine with a firm grip, stealing my attention from asking about Treetop.
“Thank you,” he said.
Unsure what he was thanking me for, I moved to open my mouth, but quickly closed it finding myself mute.
“You’ve helped gamers save face since Freedom went live. The athletes have an obvious advantage here, but not for long.”
“That ends tonight,” Corkscrew replied, a strategy expert known by his hooked nose and constant squint.
Treetop roared that he agreed. Everyone else seemed to agree with his assessment, though not as loudly.
“Will you lead us?” Vector asked.
My mind began to swim, completely taken aback by the request. It was one of the greatest moments of my young life. They knew me. They were acknowledging me.
I studied each face. There wasn’t an objection among them. Treetop’s eyes were now able to focus, so his smile was obviously for me.
I remembered Victoria and a strange question came to mind. Would I be able to leave Destiny if she were here?
“Thank you, but you brought this group together. I have other responsibilities, for now.”
He glanced at Victoria. “I understand.”
There was something else that had to be said and only I could say it.
“I’ve been a fan of yours for years. I’m still a fan.”
He placed his hand on my shoulder, studying me for a moment, then nodded. My meaning was clear.