Desert Read online

  "But if she's watching, she'll see me go in. Won't she be suspicious when I disappear behind her desk?"

  Max grinned at him and patted his cart. For the first time, Les noticed the new addition to it. There was a brightly colored spread covering the top and sides of the cart. His cleaning supplies were holding the spread in place by being placed on top of it on the cart.

  "You're kidding, right?"

  "Nope," Max said. "The bottom shelf is plenty strong enough to hold your body weight, and the cover will hide you. I'll park the cart right beside her desk and do my thorough cleaning of the crew's workstations. You climb out, and you'll have the added bonus of the cart obstructing any stray camera that we don't know about."

  "And they aren't going to think it weird you put the computer on the floor?"

  Max shrugged. "Not so much when they see the cleaning I'm going to give all the desk surfaces. Wouldn't want the computer to get wet, now would I?"

  Les shook his head, but he knew they were already cutting it close on time. He crawled onto the bottom shelf of the cart. It was a tight fit, even for him. Good thing it was a short ride.

  He had practiced at home installing the mirror disk onto his own laptop to get his installation time as low as possible. If they came back before he was finished, they were through.

  Once the cart was in place, he crawled out carefully and made his way to the computer. Max always worked with a little music playing from a small device he had permanently installed on his cart. The added noise was a nice touch for tonight, as it would cover any sounds coming from Les's work.

  He had to give Max credit. He had covered all the bases for him.

  The chip was installed in record time and he was just setting the last screw to put the laptop back together when his cell phone vibrated. It was a voice text from Mary.

  Stalled as long as I could. Leaving now. Get out. Hurry.

  He whispered just loud enough for Max to hear and crawled back onto the cart’s bottom shelf.

  Max waited until he was situated, taking the time to give the desks one last drying swipe before reaching down and picking up the computer to replace it. He had just gotten behind the handle of the cart when the elevator alerted them to the crew's return.

  The woman sneered when she saw him. Her liking of Mary didn't extend to him. "Are you still here? What's taking so long?"

  Max lifted a shoulder slightly. "The desks hadn't been spring cleaned yet, and I had a little extra time on my route tonight."

  She glanced over at her computer, a concerned look on her face. "You didn't get my terminal wet did you?"

  "Of course not," Max said. "I put it on the floor until I was done and the desks were dry."

  She grunted and went over to check it, anyway. The man simply ignored Max. He always did.

  Max started pushing the cart to the open doorway. Then he stopped suddenly. Knowing it wasn't a good idea, but having to know, Les pushed the cover aside at the corner of the cart and risked a peek.

  The man had come up behind Max and had placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from leaving.

  Ah, shit, he thought. They had timed it perfectly. What had given them away?

  Then the man placed a twenty dollar bill onto Max's cart. "It looks real nice. You did a good job. Thanks."

  Even at this distance, he could hear Max's swallow. "Thank you, sir. I do try," Max said.

  "And we appreciate what you do, don't we Sue?" the man said.

  "Yeah, sure, whatever," Sue said.

  "Thanks again," Max said, starting forward again. Les's weight had to make the cart harder to push. "But I'll start running behind if I don't keep moving. Have a good night."

  "You too," the man said, his voice now coming from in front of the cart. He must be holding the door open for his friend.

  Seconds later, they were past the hallway and in the elevator. Here, there were no cameras, thank God.

  Les climbed out to find his friend leaning heavily against the railing of the elevator. "That was way too close," Max said.

  "Nah," Les said. "It was just perfect if you ask me. A little excitement to get the adrenaline going."

  "Mine was going just fine before the hand on my shoulder I must say," Max paused. "I wouldn't doubt if I didn't pee myself a little."

  Les laughed. "Well, as long as the man didn't notice, it's all good. Though you might need to go commando for the rest of the night to avoid the smell."

  Max started to answer, but just then his phone rang. Mary. "We're out and A-okay," he answered.

  Les couldn't make out the words but he could hear the distress in Mary's voice all the same. He'd better make a quick round to the cafeteria before going back to the desk. Maybe grab a fast snack while he was there.

  It wouldn't do to have the love of his life mad at him. Even if to her they were just friends. Someday soon, he'd have to do something about that.

  CHAPTER TEN: Pixie's Confession

  Louella had been wrong about one thing. Even dead people needed sleep. Maybe it was something to do with the direct to brain connection from the game. Even though there was no longer a functioning brain in the outside world, for some reason the game still thought there was. Not that she was complaining about that. She'd take every day she could get. But it was something good to know.

  However, her situation did bring up an interesting point. Not to mention one that she really needed to bring to the others’ immediate attention.

  Blake had said that Cora intended to kill them all while they were in the game. If the game kept you going even after your body died, how on earth would they know that they didn't have bodies to go back to? More importantly, what would happen if they exited the game? Would the game stop them? Or would their virtual bodies simply vanish for good?

  Louella didn't know, but it had her worried. She knew she was stuck in the game forever—or as long as she could stay alive, anyway. But the others?

  She was still laying on the bathroom floor where she had cried herself to sleep the night before. The tiny windows at the very top of the bathroom's walls were heavy ones to keep people from seeing in, but they did let in enough light to tell her the night was officially over. No sooner had she realized that then the pounding started on the door.

  Time to confess exactly who and what she was. Whether she wanted to or not, the others needed to know.

  She opened the door to Nika's worried face.

  "Are you okay?" Nika asked. "You haven't been in there this whole time have you?" Then she gave Louella an odd look and ushered her back into the restroom, following her in and closing the door behind them.

  "What's wrong? And don't say nothing because your eyes are puffy and red, and I can see that you've been crying. A lot. What's happened?"

  Louella's eyes started getting moist again. She just hoped she could get through this without crying. Probably not.

  "I got a return message from my parents finally," she started. Then she took a deep breath. "I've been hiding stuff from you all." She saw Nika's look and gave her a sad smile. "Not game stuff, me stuff." She looked down at the floor, not able to meet Nika's eyes any longer. "Who I am, and why it was so important to me to hack my way into your beta test."

  "I can't see that making much difference to us here in the game," Nika said, her uncertainty coming through loud and clear in her voice. "As long you aren't keeping secrets about the game from us, I can't see how it's any of our business who and what you are outside."

  "Thanks," Louella said. "I thought so too, until last night. Now it matters that you all know. Quite a lot actually."

  She glanced over at the closed door. "Is everyone else up too?"

  Nika shook her head. "Just me and Evan. He went to use the restroom in the main hall. It's just us." She hesitated. "Do you want to tell me now, or wait and tell everyone together?"

  Louella considered. It might be a good idea to tell Nika and let her decide whether or not to tell the others. Learning that you might not have a b
ody to go back to would really put a damper on the game's fun. On the flip side, everyone had a right to know. What if they were dead in the outside world and then died in the game? Then again, wouldn't that be the very best way to die? Without all the worry and fear that usually goes along with it?

  Better to leave that decision to Nika. It was too much responsibility for her to handle.

  So she told the woman her story. Everything. When she finished, tears were streaming down both of their faces.

  "Oh, Louella," Nika said, her voice breaking. "I'm so sorry. And I'm so very glad that you hacked your way in here. You deserved a chance to experience life as it should have been for you."

  The pixie sniffed and raked the backs of her hands across her eyes. The implications for the team hadn't hit Nika yet. It wasn't just all about her now. She had friends to worry about. At least she knew she was dead. They might be and just didn't know it yet.

  "Thanks, but as bad as not having a body to go back to is, I don’t think you understand everything," Louella said. "I'm pretty sure my wings were damaged after my body died. So if I get rebooted in the game...." A lone tear escaped and made its trail down her cheek to hover on her chin.

  Nika frowned. "You think your character's code will disappear from the game if you get killed?" She paused. "If that's the case, then we'll take the time to set you up in town before we go on. We can't risk losing you for good. Not when a miracle has saved you this far."

  Louella just shook her head. "I won't abandon you all, even though I do admit I considered it for a while. But the truth is... well, Blake said Cora planned to do away with all of your bodies, right? Tie up loose ends?"

  Nika's breath quickened as she finally understood. "My God. We could already be dead and not even know it."

  "I really hope not, but there is that possibility. That's why I'm sticking with you all. We make a good team, and if we look out after each other, we might make it through Gaia." She hesitated. "And if not, then at least we won't die alone."

  The Amazon swallowed before nodding. "And it'll be quick and painless too. More than we could ask for in the real world, I guess."

  "Yeah. I can say with certainty I sure as hell didn't know I was dead."

  Nika hesitated, but finally asked. "I hope you don't mind, but I've been wondering. Just how old are you?"

  "Seventeen," Louella said. "Apparently holding there too."

  There was a knock on the door. Nika glanced at her before opening it. She nodded. Louella knew she looked like crap, but at least her virtual body would always be somewhat presentable. She wiped her eyes for any remaining stray tears before the door opened to show Evan standing there.

  "I was getting worried about you two," he said. "Is everything okay?" Then he must have caught a look at Nika's face. The woman was trying very hard to take the news in stride, but Louella could tell she was struggling with the possibilities. They were pretty damn dire.

  Finally, the Amazon broke and ran to bury her face in Evan's shoulder, no longer able to hold her tears. He gathered her into a hug, with one hand supporting the back of her head while she cried.

  It looked like a personal moment, and truthfully, Louella just wasn't up to retelling her story this quickly. She slipped out past them. Not so hard to do with Evan concentrating so hard to console Nika.

  When she reached the outer room, the others were still in bed, sleeping. After a second's hesitation, she climbed the stairs and headed for the stables. Sunshine wouldn't care if she wasn't really alive, and she wouldn't have to explain herself to him either. She smiled, her tears finally running out. He'd be on her side as long as she had apples and sugar cubes.

  Luckily, she had stocked up on both. She'd kept her word last night to the horse too. Though that seemed a long time ago now. She had taken the time and spent the gold to give Sunshine a single stall with an upgrade of premium oats with just a touch of honey added to them. After all, she had promised him the sweetest ones she could find.

  In the real world, there would have been brushing involved, but as virtual bodies didn't sweat—not even NPC horses—that wasn't a necessity. But as she had the time this morning, she figured she'd go through the motions, anyway. After a few soft strokes of the brush against his coat, they both seemed to relax. After a minute, she started talking to him.

  Even if he didn't understand her, it helped to get everything off her chest. He wouldn't judge her. But it sure as hell startled the crap out of her when he talked back.

  When they had hit level eleven last night, she hadn't taken the time to check her new stats or abilities. Of course, that wasn't as vital as she had been the one to program hers herself. But until Sunshine spoke to her, she had totally forgotten that she had given herself the ability to communicate with the animals within the game. It had been one of her fail-safes in case Nika had refused to let her join the beta testing party. Which had admittedly been touch and go for a little while.

  She had figured that maybe she could make friends with some creatures and not feel so very alone in the game. As Nika and the others had been so accepting of her that hadn't been an issue. As such, she had totally forgotten about it, to include what level activated the ability.

  "Don't you think it's rude to ignore me?" Sunshine asked. "Aren't you going to answer me?"

  "I-I'm sorry," Louella stammered. "It's just that... can you talk to everyone?" Maybe Sunshine was just a special horse. It might not have anything to do with her.

  He snickered. "Not hardly. Though there are a few things I'd like to say to that rancher you got me from." He turned his head so that one soulful eye stared into hers. "He was not a nice man."

  Louella was quickly coming to grips with her new reality. She could bloody well talk to animals. How cool was that?

  "You still haven't answered my question," he said, somewhat impatiently, stomping his foot and narrowly missing her own.

  "I'm afraid you caught me off guard," Louella said, moving her feet a little further from his. "What was your question again?"

  "Well, I'm not sure what you mean by the 'real world'," he said. "I mean, this world is all I've ever known and it sure as hell seems real to me. So I asked, very nicely, what you meant by that."

  Ah, she thought. How do you go about telling someone, even if that someone was just a horse, that they were really only code within a very real game? She hesitated and Sunshine stomped his foot again, moving ever closer to actually landing on one of hers.

  Thinking quickly, she started brushing him again. "Well, it's kind of like another place," she said slowly. "Like how we leave the town by going through the gates out into the desert. Only my world is a lot farther away, and very different."

  "You came to this world by a gate?"

  She thought about it, then nodded. "That's as close as I can come to explaining it, actually. Something like a gate, anyway."

  Sunshine shook his head. "If you came to this world, then you aren't in that world anymore. So whoever told you that you're dead there must be wrong." He turned his head to focus that eye on her again. "You're very much alive. You are just in this world, not that one."

  He was very smart for a horse, Louella thought. Well, he'd just have to think her a tad bit on the stupid side, because she sure as hell wasn't going to try to explain that he was nothing but code. Then he would think her crazy. So she tried another tactic.

  "I guess you are right." She looked down at her body, her arms still going through the motions of brushing his now shining coat. "I mean, I do feel pretty alive here."

  He blew out a puff of air and snickered again. Then he looked behind her and turned away, walking back into his stall and looking into his food trough. It was empty again.

  She took the hint and bought more honeyed oats from the stable master, but a much smaller portion of them this time. She didn't want him becoming a glutton. Louella told him as much when she saw his look at the half-empty trough.

  "Were you talking to Sunshine?" a voice asked from behind h
er.

  Whirling, she saw Evan standing there. Then she realized that Sunshine had probably seen him before he had walked away. It explained why he was so willing to stop the brushing. She gave the horse a glare, and he snickered again, then dipped his snout into the oats, munching away.

  Evan cleared his throat. Great, now everyone was going to start thinking she was rude. That was the second question that she'd missed answering.

  "Actually, I was," Louella said with a tiny shrug. "I programmed myself with the ability of creature communication. It must have kicked in with that last level we gained." Another glare at Sunshine. "Although he waited until this morning to say anything."

  The horse snickered again, without even stopping his munching. Disgusting. He was so a boy horse.

  Evan looked thoughtful. "Can you talk with all the creatures in the game?"

  "I don't know," she answered. "I'd actually totally forgotten the coded ability until Sunshine spoke to me this morning. It will probably depend on how much AI quota the programmers gave the creature." Louella gave him a smile. "With you being the more expert programmer, you'd know more about that than me."

  Smiling he shook his head. "Touché, Pixie."

  Louella walked over and shut Sunshine's stall door. She didn't want him to go wandering before they were ready to head out for the day. After making sure he was contained, she bought food for the other mounts they had acquired, thanks to Striker. With her back still turned to him she asked, "I take it Nika filled you in on my situation?"

  "She did. We talked about how to handle it from here and we would like to leave the others in the dark if that's okay with you." He paused, waiting for her to turn back to him before going on. "We don't think knowing would help anything right now, and why lay that on them when there isn't a dang thing we can do about it?"

  She nodded. She could get that. "Sounds good to me." Of course, that meant she was going to have to pretend nothing was wrong. That might prove difficult. On the other hand, she wouldn't have to deal with all the pitying stares and looks. She'd still just be one of the gang. And Nika and Evan would have to play it cool too, or the others would know something was up.