The Children of New Earth (18 page)

Cora was about to respond but was cut off by that familiar voice in the sky.

Round 6…Start!

A Swarm of hundreds came charging out of the woods in every direction. Rachel and I had no choice but to use guns to mow down as many of them as we could. If one of them got too close while one of us was reloading, Cora used her crossbow to buy us some time. After what seemed like an hour, our ammo was just about depleted. Each of us had about half a magazine left, which we decided to save just in case for the run to the beach. For now, we each picked up a sword and stood back to back, facing every direction. There were a few dozen Demons left, all quickly advancing from the treeline.

“Don’t stray too far from this position,” Cora said, catching her breath. “Let them approach, advance for the kill, then immediately retreat back.”

With this plan, we were able to cut down most of the Demons. When the attacks started to subside, we stopped a moment before killing our next target to make sure it was the last. Eventually, there was only one left. Rachel raised her sword.

“Wait!” Cora called out. “That’s the last one, I think.”

“Ok, now we head to the beach,” Aaron said.

Rachel kicked away the last Demon and we all ran into the jungle. Within seconds, the light of the moon faded and the Demon’s snarling was no longer audible. It wasn’t just dark, it was pitch black. I could barely see my sword in front of me, let alone any of the others.

“Ok, which way?” Isaac asked, breathing heavily.

This place is an island. Head in any direction, away from the clearing, and you’ll eventually get to the beach.

“Eventually.” Aaron repeated.

“You should probably put away your weapons,” Cora said. “You won’t need them, and we don’t want to risk killing each other.”

“What? You don’t trust me with a sword?” Aaron asked.

“Again, Aaron, it’s a simulation,” she replied impatiently. “But were this real and you had your power, then no, I still wouldn’t trust you with a weapon in total darkness.”

“Whatever you say then,” he said, throwing the blade down.

The rest of us did the same and Cora dropped her crossbow as well. We followed the sound of Aaron and Lynn’s footsteps deeper into the forest. I kept tripping over tree roots, running into low-hanging branches, and swatting away the occasional insect.

“Who had the time to code all these bugs into a simulation?” Lynn wondered.

“I don’t know but when I find out, we’re gonna have words,” Rachel responded, slapping a fly on her arm.

We were then startled by the female announcer’s voice.
Warning: Swarm units will self-destruct in one minute.

“Damn.” Cora said, disappointed.

“Well, so much for that plan,” Aaron said calmly.

“Must be a system protocol to stop people from trying stuff like this.”

I’m sorry, but -

“Yeah yeah, hidden code. It’s all good,” Aaron told Mark.

“Guys, I don’t wanna die,” I said nervously.

“It’s not real, we can just try again,” Lynn said.

“I don’t wanna simulate death either!”

“Maybe we can try to make it through the next round?” Aaron suggested.

“All of the new ammunition will be at the clearing and we so cleverly dropped our weapons. When the next round starts, it’s over,” Rachel reminded him.

“Well then, our only choice is to get to the beach.”

We thought for a moment, then agreed that this was our only option. We continued to sprint further into the jungle, unsure of how far we had yet to go.

Warning: Swarm units have self-destructed. Round 7 will begin in 5 minutes.

That seemed like plenty of time, but with each passing minute, my legs got heavier and the forest got darker. I was comforted by the fact that if this was real, I would be able to use my power to buy myself more time. I would scout out the forest, find out how far the beach was and then maybe we’d have a more efficient strategy. I then realized that the Parents didn’t have powers. This simulation was their reality, and they were still able to survive. I felt some kind of strange obligation to win this game for them, and so I picked up the pace and controlled my breathing. It was a miracle we didn’t constantly trip or run into a tree.

Round 7…Start!

We immediately began to hear moans and growls coming from every direction. The further we ran, the louder they got.

“There it is!” Aaron yelled.

“I see it too! There’s a light up ahead, between the trees,” Lynn said between breaths.

“Finally,” Isaac said, “I didn’t thi- OH SHIT!”

I heard a thud behind me followed by something growling and Isaac screaming.

“Go on without me!” he yelled, followed by, “OK can someone please wake me - ”

Player has disconnected.

The Swarm were upon us now. I made the mistake of turning around again, and saw them advancing at an alarming speed. The approaching light barely lit up their faces, and even though I only caught a glimpse, their level of realism was both frightening and impressive. Picking up the pace, we made a final sprint towards the light.

Suddenly I saw a dark figure jump out from my right and attack Cora several feet ahead of me. We were close enough to the light that I could see the Demon’s face, and it was surprisingly realistic. The pale skin, the cold, lifeless eye sockets, the sharp teeth; all were incredibly detailed and vivid. Whoever designed this model had almost certainly seen one in the flesh.

Running at full speed, I kicked the Demon off of Cora and turned back to help her. But she was already up and pushing me towards the light. The growling from behind us grew dangerously loud and these last few seconds felt like hours. But we were lucky enough to reach the beach without another attack. We emerged from the forest and ran as far from the treeline as we could. Expecting the Swarm to come pouring out the forest, we were relieved when they didn’t. Within seconds of my feet landing on the soft sand, I could no longer hear the sounds of our adversaries. Slowly approaching the water, I squinted against the light of the setting sun on the horizon. The others were also resting as they admired the view. It really was the perfect beach setting. The light brown sand welcomed the bright blue waves onto shore. The orange sun gave the sky a warm glow, and the calm breeze sang and danced all around us. I continued to walk towards the water, but when I was about ten feet away, I hit an invisible wall.

“What the - ?” I put my hand up and once again felt some intangible force stopping me from going any further. Mark then provided an explanation.

The area beyond this point is only rendered for visual purposes. Players cannot enter or interact with anything past this barrier.

Moments later, the announcer spoke once again.

Congratulations! Five out of six players have completed the simulation in one hour and forty seven minutes. Please prepare to exit…

The world around me went dark. The forest, the beach, the setting sun, they all disappeared and soon I was surrounded by absolute nothingness. A second later, I woke up in the VRC along with the others.

“So?” Seth asked. “How was it!?”

“Traumatizing,” Cora answered.

“I won’t lie,” Lynn said. “It was pretty awesome.”

“Anyone else find it ironic that I’m the only one that died?” Isaac asked facetiously, sitting up on his bed.

“Better you than any of us,” I said. “We don’t get a second chance out there in the real world.”

“That felt like days. How were we only in there for a couple hours?” I asked.

“It always feels super long the first few times,” Keli replied. “But after some practice it becomes a routine.”

“What’s the record on this thing?” Aaron asked.

“The fastest anyone’s gotten to the beach is thirty two seconds” Amelia replied, glancing at Seth.

“What?! How?” Aaron exclaimed.

“It’s not hard,” Seth answered with a grin. “As soon as it starts I just pick up an auto rifle and shoot my way through the forest.”

“But it’s so far away.”

“Well, we forgot to tell you this before but the more rounds you complete the larger the island gets and the further you have to run to get to the beach. At round one it's just a few hundred feet to that beautiful view. At round seven it's a couple miles.”

“Thanks, Seth. So helpful,” Rachel said.

“Oh, it’s a terrifying experience and I don’t recommend it to anyone,” he said nonchalantly. “But it’s efficient if you’re that kind of player.”

“I wanna try it again, friends,” Aaron said.

“I’ll join you,” Lynn added.

The rest of us opted out, leaving the VRC as the two laid back for another game. Isaac headed back to the room for a nap and Rachel went to practice with her Orb in one of the training rooms. Cora and I went to the main laboratory with Mark. This routine continued for a few days, and life seemed relatively normal again. The only exception was the lack of Parents. Besides Father Cameron, all residents of this Sanctuary were Neogens. This came with a certain level of freedom, as well as a developing sense of responsibility.

Chapter 13

Father Cameron himself wasn’t seen too often. According to Michael, he was always in his study, poring over old books and other literature. Some of them were already stored in the Sanctuary as part of a small library, built when the base was first established many years ago. But most were collected on missions to find supplies, at Cameron’s request. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but I wasn’t one to question learning for learning’s sake.

I was hoping to talk to him about what he knew regarding the current state of things, as well as his plans for the future. We weren’t going to change the world just sitting underground, and I didn’t like just waiting for him to decide on something. Unfortunately, getting a meeting with him proved more difficult than I’d thought. He apparently saved his appearances for welcoming newcomers. One day, I approached Michael and Micah while they were training to ask if they could get him to see me. I felt we’d become acquainted well enough for me to ask this small favor.

“Surely he does something other than read all the time,” I said to the twins.

“Well, he sleeps of course,” Michael said, slashing at a training dummy with a wooden sword.

“And eats,” Micah added as she completed a handstand.

“He was happy enough to see us when we first got here.”

“That was different,” Michael said. “You’re the first people to come to this Sanctuary in years.”

“Doesn’t that tell you something about the world?”

“The world is gone,” Micah said, standing back on her feet.

“Then what’s your plan?” I asked. “Stay here forever?”

“We could,” Michael answered. “We’ve got solar panels, food and water recyclers, and a diverse male and female population.”

“It’s not elegant but it would work,” Micah concurred.

“Well I’m sorry if I don’t agree.”

“That’s perfectly alright,” Michael said, putting down his practice sword. “Many people here don’t. But they’re loyal to our father, and he just wants to play it safe for now.”

“It
can
get kinda cramped down here though,” Micah said, completing a flip. “Why don’t you join me and Raphael on a supply run, get your mind off things.”

I was feeling a little annoyed at the time, but I agreed.

“You kids have fun now,” Michael said. “I’ll keep an eye out when I can.”

I headed back to our room to get ready. I considered asking any of the others if they wanted to come along, but none of them were there. I grabbed my pack, cloak, and Void Knife, but as I turned towards the door, something strange caught my attention. I knew the floor was made of tile, so I was quite surprised to see a patch of gray metal just beside my bed. However, after blinking twice, it was gone. I shook it off as some trick of the light, and went to meet Micah.

The exit to the Sanctuary was a short walk through a sewer and a simple climb out of a hatch onto the beach, much closer to town than the trap door we encountered about a week ago. The moment my head emerged, I was hit by a rush of warm, fresh air. Stepping onto the sand, I stretched my arms out and closed my eyes. It felt good to be outside again. At the end of the sandy expanse, we stepped onto a long, winding road. As we walked, I could see the blue ocean past the veil of trees on either side of us.

“What’s the Demon population like?” I asked. “I feel like we’re in the middle of nowhere, do they ever become a problem?”

“Well, until recently, we used the supplies stored in the Sanctuary so Demons weren’t really an issue,” Micah explained. “But we started running out so we had to start scavenging.”

“There weren't any complications at first, but they’re getting more aggressive,” Raphael added. “We almost lost a couple Neogens last month in a really bad Siren attack.”

“Yeah, we’ve seen the same behavior,” I said. “Still not sure why.”

“A lot of infected people are shut off in the buildings,” Micah said. “But luckily nothing worse has made its way to our little patch of heaven.”

“Have you ever thought about, you know, taking care of the Hollows?” I asked.

“You mean killing them?” Raphael clarified.

“I guess, yeah. They were people once just like you and me. I don’t know, in a way I feel bad for them.”

“It’d be too dangerous to clear them all out,” Micah answered. “They’re confined for now, and it’s not like they have somewhere to be.”

When we finally made it to town, something in the atmosphere changed, and I felt it best to remain as quiet as I could. The others probably shared this sentiment, as they began using hand signals to communicate. Micah turned to Raphael, made a “C” with her thumb and index finger, and shook it back and forth, as if she was holding a small bottle. Raphael gave a little salute and ran off. Micah then looked to me and motioned to follow her. We cautiously navigated through this maze of a town. It was full of small shops and restaurants, much less modern than those I’d seen in the cities. However, it was different in that there were no smashed cars, no rubble, no bodies; no sign that this place had been ravaged by a war. I found this odd, but not totally unreasonable given its secluded location.