The last of Xax’s companions, a nearly blind old man with a rusty voulge, grinned and said, “Go on, sorcerer. I’ve got your back.”
“Thanks, Lovash.”
“Hold on now,” whined Lev. “I’m not doing anything until I get an explanation!”
Xax gave an exaggerated sigh. “Look, it’s just a game. There’s always an exit from each level. Look around. See any other exits than that one?” He pointed at the cave entrance. “You don’t want to play the game, fine, let’s get through the exit and back to your nice cozy study.”
“Tell me who you are,” Lev demanded.
Xax looked at Surly again and gave a small jerk of his head. Surly grinned, grabbed Lev by the neck of his robe, and began hauling him toward the cave.
“Wait, stop! You can’t do this!”
Surly stopped at the entrance to the cave and held Lev there. Lovash said, “What do you think is in there, boss?”
“I have an idea,” Xax said. When Lev turned wide eyes to him, he added, “A nice study, I imagine.”
Telia slid to one side of the cave mouth, two knives at the ready. “That’s not the impression you gave us before, wizard.”
Xax approached Lev and clapped a hand to his shoulder. “Be a sport and scout the place out for us, eh?”
Spittle flew from Lev’s mouth as he shouted, “Fuck you! Fuck the whole lot of you!”
“Shouldn’t speak that way to men with weapons,” Lovash said and prodded Lev’s belly with the tip of his voulge.
Surly grunted and heaved Lev through the pitch black entrance. Xax heard Lev tumble and slide and the “oof” he made when he struck something hard.
Telia looked at Xax. “Do we follow him?”
Xax shook his head.
There was sobbing from the darkness below. “What’s happening to me? What’s…what’s that noise?”
Xax smirked at his companions. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He turned and walked away.
Moscow
Monday, June 9, 2138
12:19 a.m. MSK
Tyoma stared down at himself lying in the arm chair and didn’t know what he should be feeling. However uncomfortable it made him to have to stare at himself — the real version of himself — he didn’t dare look away, because the room around them was a much greater horror. So much blood. Everywhere. So much. Stop thinking about it!
He concentrated harder on himself, his face looking slightly off given that he wasn’t looking at it through a mirror. A small war was going on inside his mind. A tiny part of him wished his original self was dead and gone, because the universe felt disjointed when there were two of him in it. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly why it had to be that way, but it was there regardless. Yet he couldn’t deny that most him was excited at the idea of having something much closer than any twin had ever felt. He had a true companion now. Someone who would understand everything he felt and enjoy every passion and hobby just as much as he did. At least at first. He realized that the two of them would become two different individuals, even if only slightly. They would make some different choices and take some different paths. Their experiences in life would diverge and they would become their own persons again. A sense of relief coursed through Bunny Tyoma’s mind and his headache lessened.
Original Tyoma’s eyes flickered and opened. A grin spread over his face. “That was fun. I’ll have to tell you about it later. We need to get out of here.” He pulled the cable from his slot and sat up in the chair. “Good God, it’s a mess in here.” He put a hand to his throat as if he might retch. He caught sight of Viktor, lying like a drowned puppy against the wall. He’d seen enough horror vids to know that the bad guys had a tendency not to stay dead. It didn’t look like that would be a problem in this case — the war bot had all but torn Viktor’s body to pieces. Even the silvery mask was shattered.
“It’s a horror,” Bunny Tyoma agreed.
“You’re going to have to carry me.” Tyoma indicated his knee.
“With this body it’s not a problem.” Bunny scooped up Tyoma and walked carefully through the gore until he passed the silent war bot and reached the lift. The panel next to the lift flashed an indicator to show that it had registered his presence. Bunny relaxed to wait for it to arrive. He saw that Tyoma was studying him.
“We’ve got to come up with a new name for you. Bunny doesn’t feel right, and I’m sorry but I just can’t call you Tyoma. What do you think about Xax?”
Bunny chuckled. “I’m not a wizard.”
“Well, think about it. Xax has been our character for years. If you have a better idea…”
“What is it?” There was a look on Tyoma’s face as if he’d been struck with a thought.
The lift arrived and Bunny got on.
“Sorry,” Tyoma said, “it’s Javier. He’s asking for our help.”
The lift began to move even though neither of them had told it where to go.
“Javier?”
“There’s so much I haven’t had time to tell you about yet. He’s a new friend.”
The lift didn’t go far before it stopped and the door opened. Bunny shifted Tyoma in his arms and got off. The blond mobster that Viktor had called Tavik was there, the rifle slung over one shoulder. He scowled at Bunny.
“This has been one long, shitty day,” Tavik said. “Your ugly face is the last thing I need to see. Out of the way.”
Bunny stepped aside and Tavik got onto the lift.
“That way,” Tyoma said, pointing.
As he walked, Bunny made a decision and caught Tyoma’s eyes. “I can’t really explain why, but I think I’d prefer to be called Bunny for now. I’ll think up something better later.”
“Okay, Bunny it is then. I’ll get used to it.”
When they reached a cross-corridor, Tyoma pointed to the right. They could see several figures on the floor all the way down near the lift. “There they are.”
“Who are they?” Bunny said as he trudged forward.
“One of them is Javier’s son, though I believe he’s dead.”
As they drew near, Bunny saw two med bots hovering near the blood-soaked body of a man. A young woman huddled nearby staring down at the man. She didn’t appear to register the presence of the approaching pair.
“Stop here,” Tyoma said.
“What does Javier want us to do?”
“Just a second. I’m talking to him right now.”
Tyoma had never seen the girl and the dead young man before, but he nevertheless felt a deep sense of loss as he studied the woman’s face. It was clear she’d been deeply traumatized.
«I’m sorry, Tyoma, but you need to hurry,» Javier said. «The police will be here soon.»
«But why take them to our place? Aren’t the police best suited to deal with them?»
«Can we please talk about this as we move? I have good reasons. A stretcher bot should be here any moment.»
Tyoma looked over Bunny’s shoulder and saw the stretcher gliding down the corridor. “Javier wants us to take them to our compound. Set me down and get the body onto the stretcher.”
Bunny stepped aside as the stretcher bot whisked by and stopped near the corpse. He carefully set Tyoma down on the carpet, then knelt between the med bots to scoop up the dead man and place him on the stretcher. The young woman yelped and fell back against the wall, a hand raised protectively as she stared wide-eyed at Bunny.
“Don’t be afraid,” Bunny said. “We’re here to help.”
«Sorry, Tyoma, I forgot,» Javier said. «The last time she saw that man, he tried to kill her.»
«Crap, thanks for telling me! What’s her name?»