VRSS (Virtual Reality Simulation System) (A short story)

‘Hello and welcome to the Virtual Reality Simulation System,’ a disembodied woman’s voice said whilst I had strapped myself into my pod, ready for a good afternoon’s gaming. ‘The team at VRSS Corporation has spent decades developing the most advanced gaming platform in the world. Once you have climbed inside and made yourself comfortable, the pod will transport your mind to a new world, completely virtual.

‘Once there, your aim is to beat your opponent and win. Throughout the world, hidden in various places are weapons. Any weapon that has been developed will be at your disposal during the game. Also, throughout the world, there will be certain icons that you can activate. These will give you the special weapons. But be careful, because some weapons you may find may not be on your side.

‘The world is completely random, meaning you will never play on the same map twice, unless you add it to your favourites. You can select if you would like everything randomised, or everything to your liking. The choice is totally up to you.

I tapped in the necessary commands that I would like the game to follow, and another menu popped up.

‘Thank you for telling the pod what you would like,’ the woman’s voice continued. ‘On this screen are the number of people that are currently looking for a game with your specific requests. Pick one to invite them to your game. If they accept, a chat box will automatically open.

There were a lot of people waiting for someone to invite them. I didn’t bother scrolling so I decided to hit the randomise button instead, letting the pod choose for me. It didn’t take long at all for it to pick a person out from the crowd. The chat opened, and they started to type in a message.

‘Hey, thanks for inviting me. My name’s Richard. May I ask who you are?’ the message read.

‘Joe,’ I wrote back. ‘No problem. This is only my second time playing?’

‘Awesome. This is my first time, so I’m not expecting to be any good. But that doesn’t mean you should go easy on me. I would like to experience this game for what it’s worth. How was your first time like, may I ask?’

‘Different. Very Different. I never experienced anything like it before. Everything felt so real, so fresh, and incredibly detailed. I lost the game, though.’

‘Ah, sorry to hear that,’ he wrote back sympathetically. ‘Yeah, I’ve heard that your first time is daunting. How did you lose?’

‘I was running down a set of stairs away from someone, but they got the better of me and met me down the bottom. I didn’t react in time. I was shot in the chest with a shotgun. The world degenerated and the pod’s door was opening before I even knew what had happened.’

‘Blimey, that sounds rough. Well, I can promise that I won’t do that. Lol.’

‘Anyway, shall we start?’

‘Yes, let’s. See you there.’

‘Yes, see you there.’

And the chat closed and the third and final screen popped up.

‘You are now about to enter the virtual world. When you are in that world, everything will feel real, smell real, including pain. The game will not end until one of you loses. When the game ends, the world will unload and your mind will come back to reality. You will not have any side-effects from playing the game, this includes any lasting pain that you may experience during the game. If there is an error, the game will unload automatically, and you your mind will be brought back to reality.

The screen went black.

‘Please close your eyes. You are now about to enter the world. Thank you for choosing to play with the Virtual Reality Simulation System. I hope you enjoy your game, and good luck.’

***

The feeling of having your mind transported to somewhere else is like no other I’ve ever experienced. If I had to describe it, however, I would say that it was as if I was slipping into a dream, but bringing my body along for the ride instead of a bunch of images in front of my sleeping eyes.

It only took a couple of seconds before the world rendered in place. I saw the building’s interiors pop into existence, followed by the windows and the doors. Roads weaved themselves into place, objects formed, coming together as if they were being sculptured by a skilful craftsman. I was watching an entire world being created in front of very eyes, and it was the most awesome sight I have ever had the pleasure to watch.

Once everything had slotted into place and I was able to move freely about the newly generated world, I was buzzing with excitement. I didn’t know what to do first or where to go. There was one thing I was certain of, however, and that is, somewhere in this world, is Richard. This is the first time he’s ever experienced anything like this before, so I can only but assume that he’s feeling the same as I am, adjusting to everything the same as I am. But, he’s out there, nonetheless, and that makes me want to prepare myself, because once we see each other, it’s all systems go from then on out. Anything could happen.

Knowing that Richard is somewhere in this world, my thoughts snapped into place and I focused my mind on finding a weapon. I looked around, trying to gather my bearings, to see where a suitable hiding place for a weapon would be. As I was turning on the spot, I caught my reflection in a car mirror that sat to my left. The car looked very old, as if it had been used for many years before finally giving up the ghost and being dumped in the middle of nowhere. That nowhere, being in the middle of a road that ran through the middle of two very tall skyscrapers that look as if they needed serious maintenance. I noticed that I was wearing a plain white T-shirt and a standard pair of blue jeans, both fitting me comfortable. I wondered how long it would last before it was never again immaculate.

I decided to check inside the car for a weapon. I wasn’t worried what sort of weapon I found, I just wanted one so that I was prepared for a sudden attack, whether it was me who was doing the attacking or the one being attacked. The car door was locked so I looked around and found a decent sized stone, and with a decent sized swing, smashed the stone against the glass. I completely underestimated the strength of the window when the stone just bounced right off it, leaving only a scratch. The clang made a nice echo around the buildings and I wondered if Richard had heard that. If he did, then I had better get a move on and get out of here as quickly as I can before he spots me. For all I know, he’s already found a weapon and is ready to pounce at any minute now.

I pulled back my hand further than before and swung as hard as I could. This time, the stone penetrated the glass with ease. The scratch must have weakened it more than I thought. Bits of glass littered the passenger seat and small shards of glass dropped and broke into smaller chunks as I reached in and unlocked the door, allowing me to open it and climb in, careful not to catch myself on the glass pieces. The first thing I did was reach for the glove compartment – I was hoping it wasn’t just in the movies. When the small door was open, every nut and bolt imaginable dropped out, landing all over my feet. I searched inside, but there was no gun inside, so I checked down the sides of both seats just in case, but I also found nothing. Climbing out of the car, I sighed with disappointment.

‘If I were a weapon,’ I said to myself, thinking to myself, ‘where would I be?’ I concentrated hard on my surroundings before coming across a bin sitting a little way down the road. Not wanting to waste any time, I jogged towards it and lifted the lid. The putrid smell hit my nostrils forcing me back before I breathed in any more.

‘They haven’t missed anything out, have they,’ I said, trying to swat away the smell with my hands. However, before I turned away, I saw something black sitting on top of the rubbish inside. Taking a deep breath, I moved back towards the bin and peered inside.

‘And Bingo was his name-o,’ I said happily as I found a pistol sitting on top of a bunch of rubbish. Lifting the gun out of the bin, I carefully closed and replaced the lid so not to generate any unnecessary sound. I then tried to breathe in as much clean air as I could as I, to try and stop myself from feeling queasy.

I looked at the pistol. I’m not the greatest with identifying weapons. A pistol is a pistol and I have no clue what the differences are. What I do know, however, is how to check to see whether it has any ammo in and how to load one. Luckily for me, it was fully loaded with six bullets. I checked my surroundings to see if there was any ammo, but I didn’t get lucky. I wasn’t mad, it just meant that I had better make these six bullets last for as long as I can, because for all I know, Richard has found an automatic with a bunch of ammo lying beside it.

I know I shouldn’t keep worrying about what Richard is doing and focus on my actions so that I can prepare myself that much better, but my mind keeps racing away with me, and keeps on thinking about the inevitable. I know that we’re going to meet up at some point, it’s just a matter of where and when, and that scares the heck out of me.

Storing the pistol in one of my trouser pockets and making sure that it sat comfortably so nothing unexpected would happen, I decided that the best move I can do right now is move as silently as I can, but as quickly as I can so that I could try and find more weapons and a suitable hiding spot, just in case. At first I had thought of venturing into one of the skyscrapers, but the way they looked told me it would be best if I stayed on the ground, so that is what I did. As well as skyscrapers, average sized buildings were all over the place, and down beside each one, alleyways snaked through, allowing me to stay in shadow, as well as keep myself cool from the sun and look in every bin, box, and bag that I can find for anything at all.

‘Oooh, you’ll come in handy,’ I said, lifting up and upturned box and revealing another pistol. Picking it up, it was a lot heavier than the last one. I checked to see whether it was loaded, and it was. I smiled at how lucky I was getting with loaded weapons, but then frowned once more at how I’ve only ever managed to find is pistols. I know beggars can’t be choosers and all that, but when in a scenario like this one where you can be bundled upon at any second, you kind of hope for a bit more than just pistols, especially when Richard could be armed to the teeth with a machine gun of some kind. There I go again, thinking of something I shouldn’t.

Pushing the thought to the back of my mind once more, I carried on forward, taking a right into another alleyway that led out onto a carpark. This was the last place I wanted to find myself as it was out in the open. There was no way that I was going to walk across the centre, even though it is the direct route. I decided to play it safe and go around the outer edge, keeping as close as I can to the building on my left. Once across, I ducked into yet another alleyway where I found an open door.

This door made my mind race once more as it appeared to have been forced open by someone. Now, there could be two explanations as to how this door came to be like this: 1) it was like this when the world was generated. Or 2) Richard came through here. These two possibilities led to two options: Either I can turn and walk away, and find Richard somewhere else, or go inside and see what I can find, possibly finding him on the other side, or find no one and keep searching for a weapon. I took a deep breath as I thought about this hard, before coming to a definitive answer. I came into this world because I wanted to play the game, and I know I’ve got to be tactful about my approaches, but sometimes you’ve just got to go through the door if you want to make any progress.

For the third time, I pushed all thoughts about my opponent to the back of my mind, letting the thoughts about my movements and options to flood back in. I very carefully stepped through the door.

Something behind it prevented from opening fully so I had to squeeze myself through. Once inside, dust snuck its way up my nose, causing me to sneeze unexpectedly. I tried to muffle it as much as I could, but it had already happened and caused a large echoing sound by the time I had lifted my arm up.

Looking around, I came to the conclusion that he did not come through here as this place was too dark, dusty and damp looking, plus there would have been disturbances in the thick layer of dust on the floor in the shape of someone’s footprints if they had walked through here.

Upon turning back, I heard a noise of something clicking coming from behind me. I immediately froze and my heart quickened. Then I heard something powering up, getting ready to do something, but whatever it’s getting ready to do, it can’t be anything good. I want to turn around and confront whatever’s behind me, but I find myself frozen in fear. I feel as if something’s watching me, studying me, waiting for me to move before pouncing. I take a risk and start turning, slowly, so that I don’t give off the impression that I am of any threat. Once I’ve completed my one-eighty, I see a red dot in the distance. Could it be Richard? If it was, wouldn’t he have said something by now? Does that mean what I think it means? A million thoughts rush through my head all at once; struggling to think clearly; sweating madly. Dust settles all over my head and clothes. Some particles even managed to creep their way into my eyelashes, trying to make me blink, but I forced myself not to so I can keep an eye on whatever it is in front of me. I couldn’t be him. Could it be some sort of machine? I was told before entering this world that there would be certain traps. This place was too dark and the visibility was incredibly poor for me to see through the dust to make out what machine in particular, and decreasing rapidly as my eyes sting, trying to clean themselves but to no avail.

The door was just behind me. I now realise that turning around was a mistake because that now means I’ve got more moving to do before I am in the clear. My heart’s racing faster than ever. The fear running through me, causing my adrenaline to rise and in turn causing my breathing to rise, which forced more dust up my nose. I could feel it agitating the lining of the inside of my nose, daring me to sneeze.

I have to get out of here. I have to otherwise I might just end up like a pincushion and this game comes to a quick end. I count to three in my head, expecting my body to move but it never does. I try again.

One…

I prepare my body for rapid movement.

Two…

I have to be extremely quick.

Three…

As quick as my legs, drunk on fear, would carry me, I darted backwards. It was an instantaneous reaction. The second I moved, maybe even quicker, the machine started firing. Loud, explosive sounds penetrated every inch of the room, sending bullets hailing in my direction. Somehow, I managed to squeeze myself through the barely open door and into the open before they made contact with anything. Loud clanging sounds of metal hitting metal at a tremendous force made me jump as my body reacted to all the dust. I coughed and spluttered as a few bullets found their way past the door and into the wall opposite. The mounted machine gun kept on firing for a good few seconds before settling down again. After spitting out the last few particles of dust, I stood up straight, allowing fresh, clean air to rush into my body, giving me the oxygen I need.

It was a trap. I wouldn’t have foreseen than in a million years.

A sudden noise behind me. I mask my jump by turning around, raising my gun and pointing it as straight as I can towards where I think the noise came from. A bunch of boxes had fallen over emptying their contents all over the floor. I sigh a massive relief. I want to find Richard before he finds me.

I walk forward, as fast as I can without causing too much noise. Gun ready in my hands that are now soaked in sweat, making it hard to grip, but I held it firm nevertheless.

Coming to the end of the alleyway, there was nowhere else for me to go to keep a low profile. Either I turn back or I move forward out into the open. If I keep a keen eye out, then I might be able to get away with it.

In front of me is a high end apartment complex. It wasn’t too far away from where I was standing and doesn’t have that many broken windows compared to the other buildings surrounding it. If I were to go anywhere safe, I would pick there. Not wasting any time with hesitating, I made a break for it and ran. The ground was uneven: Bits of grass and weeds were sticking out of the cracks in the ground, and bits of concrete were lying at odd angles, threatening to trip me up if I wasn’t paying attention. I made it in a matter of seconds. Diving in through the front door and taking a breather. Normally I’m pretty good a running good distances without losing my breath, but when your body is trying to process everything else, preventing it from being relaxed, then not even adrenaline can prevent you from getting out of breath.

I wondered whether a weapon would be stashed somewhere in here. I wasn’t worried about what weapon I would find as long as it wasn’t another pistol, because although they are very handy with precision, having three wouldn’t be so. At least with two I can duel wield.

The first thing I did was check behind the receptionist’s desk just in case there was anything hidden in the drawers or behind the computer screen, but I found nothing. Today isn’t the greatest day for finding anything other than pistols. Maybe upstairs can provide me with something. The elevator doors were open. I saw a very rundown system. Yeah, I had better take the stairs. I pushed open the double doors and started to climb stairs that went all the way up to the top floor. I wasn’t sure what floor to go to for the weapons could literally be anywhere. I checked the map to see what floor was on and eventually decided on exploring the top floor, which was the fourth floor because that was the first floor my eyes went to.

‘Up we go,’ I said as I started to climb upwards. After the second floor, my legs began to tire, but I pushed myself forward until I eventually reached the top. Regaining my breath back for the third time, I opened the doors, entering the fourth floor

***

The place was well kept. Compared to the outside, I wouldn’t have guessed this was abandoned. A few desks still had pieces of paper on them, some sorted neatly into piles, others not so. I decided to check the desks that were the messiest as anything could be hiding underneath notebooks, graph paper, photographic paper, and a load of pens.

‘Oooh,’ I exclaimed excitedly as I found a small pocket knife on the furthest desk from the door and closest to the window, ‘you’ll come in very handy,’ I said checking its sharpness by stabbing the desk with it and making sure it stood up on end. Satisfied, I pulled it out and pocketed it, making sure that it wasn’t sitting awkwardly just in case I had to make any quick movements again.

It was at the moment when something moved out of the corner of my eye. I turned towards the window and tried to locate where it was and what it could be. It didn’t take long before I was about to conclude that it wasn’t my imagination playing tricks on me when I saw a figure move out from behind an air vent on the opposite building. I didn’t need a telescope to tell that it was Richard.

‘What is he doing?’ I thought to myself as I watched him setting something up. He appeared to be loading something big and when he hoisted it onto his shoulder, I knew instantly that it was something extremely bad for me.

‘Time to go,’ I said, but before I could make my getaway, he fired his rocket launcher, sending a rocket powered bomb towards the very building that I was in. Everything from that point on happened in slow motion. I turned on the balls of my heels and ran as fast as I could, jumping over desks, knocking monitors onto the floor where they smashed, sending cascades of paper flying all over the place. I could hear the inevitable whistling as the rocket rushed towards me. I crashed into the double doors where they flew open and made a deafening smack against the walls. But nothing compared to what happened next. The explosion was instantaneous and catastrophic. Apocalyptic even. The shockwave hit me like a freight train, pushing me over, sending me toppling down the stairs where I was greeted by a truck load of debris. Bits of dust, plaster, papers, and even brick covered me all over. I felt a heavy, hard object hit my back, sending an intense pain all around my body. The explosion itself nearly ruptured my ear drums; all I could hear was a high pitched ringing noise.

***

I laid on my back, covered in debris for an unknown amount of time. Blinking out the falling dust, I noticed that the entire top half of the building had been completely obliterated. I was lucky not to be covered in anything heavier than a few bricks. The rubble managed to lodge itself in the gap where the doors once were. After most of the debris had stopped falling, I tried to manoeuvre myself out and it was then I noticed that one of the doors had landed on top of me. As I slowly crawled out, I found the other door laying in pieces down the stairs, accompanied with a few bricks. I groaned as my body protested against my movements. My back was hurting incredibly so. The ringing in my ears was slowly dying down, but there was still a possibility that I might have to put up with this dreadful ringing until the end of the game, and that is something I was determined would come sooner than Richard thought. I wondered if he thought I was done for in here, but the fact that he wasn’t dematerialising meant that I was still alive, and that meant he was going to try again, and that meant he was going to up his game.

Now that I know he has a rocket launcher, I can formulate a plan in my head. A rocket launcher is a long range weapon, which means if I am able to get up close, he won’t be able to fire it without the threat of injuring himself in the process. I just have to hope he doesn’t have anything else, although the chances of that happening are pretty remote.

What was left of the door clattered to the floor as I pushed myself out with what little strength I had left, and once I was out, I struggled to pull myself together and stand up. I patted myself down to check whether I was bleeding anywhere and that I still had my two pistols and my knife with me and they were still sitting happily in my pockets. My white T-shirt was ruined. It wasn’t white anymore, but grey with dust with holes here and there. My trousers weren’t any better.

I have no idea where to go from here. If I enter the next floor, who’s to say he’s waiting for me with another rocket ready and primed, and if I go outside, that would make me an even better target. I had to think of something, but the ringing in my ears prevented me from thinking clearly.

I wiggled my finger in my ear to try and make them pop, but all it did was make my ears more uncomfortable still.

I thought about my two options and decided that it would be better if I stayed indoors so I slowly made my way downstairs. With each step, I had to either navigate round something or hop over it. Then, a loud scraping sound came from above. I was surprised I was even able to hear it considering, which must mean that my hearing is slowly coming back, or the noise was incredibly loud. I looked up and saw a rather large piece of the wall slowly edging itself out from the rest. Then it came loose and started falling. The weight of the thing fell fast, so I had only a couple of moments, maybe not even that, to move out of the way. The only way I could go was through the double doors leading to the third floor. Before the doors even had a change to swing shut, the large piece of wall crashed onto the stairs, breaking into smaller boulder sized objects. I sighed at the fact that I narrowly escaped once more. That was the third time. I’m not a man of superstition, but the rule states that three’s the magic number. Who knows what’s going to happen next, and now that I know how strong Richard is, I can prepare for him.

I didn’t want to get too close to the window as that would make myself known to him outside, if he is even watching, that is. I kept a low profile as I thought about what to do next by ducking underneath the desk closest to the door. Once comfortable, I noticed that the ringing was barely audible, and that made me feel relieved. The light wasn’t that great under here, but anyone would be able to notice the sniper sitting so obviously beside me.

‘Oh, hello,’ I said pleased to see it. I grabbed it and checked whether it was loaded.

‘Now that is so helpful,’ I said sarcastically when I only found two bullets. I looked around to see if there was any spare ammo, but there wasn’t any. Maybe there were some somewhere on this floor, but I couldn’t risk being seen. But if I kept a low profile, maybe I could, but all it takes is the tiniest bit of movement in the wrong place and then it would be game over. As much as it pains me to do so, I decided to leave the sniper behind. If I don’t find any ammo for it, all it is going to serve is an unwanted weight that will slow me down.

I had better start thinking of a plan. All I have to do is make sure he doesn’t see me but I am able to see him and then it’ll be all over for him. If I’m quick, I can escape this building and get to somewhere less dangerous and better hidden. That might mean he is able to come after me, but that’s what my pistols are for.

That was the best plan I could come up with in a short amount of time, so I just had to put my faith in its solidity.

Crawling out from underneath the table, I rolled out.

***

The sun was blazing when I exited the building, making my eyes water as they were forced to adjust quickly. Surprised that I had made it all the way down without being spotted. With my sniper in hand, I jogged towards the building that sat on the left of the one where I saw Richard last. The adrenaline from earlier dampened the pain of the rubble and the door landing on top of me, but now that I’m a bit calmer, I feel my ankle twinge with each step indicating that I had badly twisted it, my back and shoulder aches from when the door landed on me, and my knee feels as if I had bruised it. I might have been injured, but I am far from beaten, and as long as I am still in this game, then I shall continue fighting for as long as I can.

Due to my body’s protests, I get out of breath fast and when I eventually make it to the other building, which was a couple of stories higher than the one I was previously in, I’m drenched in sweat and my knee is barely holding my weight. I’m forced to take a rest and sit on one of the couches in the main reception area before making my way upstairs – I still don’t want to trust the elevator.

‘I hope my plan’s worth this amount of trouble,’ I said to myself as I huffed and puffed up each step until I reached to top. Exiting the stairs and standing on the roof, I make my way to a secure place where I’m confident I’m hidden from Richard.

I sit on the floor, stretch my leg out so that it can rest better, and gradually and carefully peer over the ledge, where I was pleased to find him sitting behind a vent. I wasn’t sure what he was doing and from his still actions, I couldn’t guess what his plans were. If he was waiting for me to lose, then he’ll be there for a long time. I prop my sniper on the ledge and positioned it so that I am able to look through the target viewer with ease so I’m not twisting my body wrongly, straining it and causing even more damage. I cock the gun, ready to fire when the time was right. Looking through the target viewer, I have a good angle on Richard. With one shot, I can win this game here and now. I hesitated as I adjusted the sniper ever so slightly, making a good shot unnecessarily better.

‘Whatever you do, don’t move,’ I said as I had my finger on the trigger. I’ve never fired a sniper before, so I have no experience on the strength of the kickback, but that won’t matter once I’ve won.

I gently squeezed the trigger, waiting for the massive explosive sound of the bullet leaving the barrel. My poor eardrums are having a rough time of it today. I knew there would be some kickback, but I never expected it to lift me off the ground. As soon as I knew the bullet had left the gun, I looked over, expecting Richard to have been hit, but instead all I heard was a faint clang as the bullet hit the vent behind him. I could see him jump out of his skin and look over. He was too quick for me and managed to see me looking at him before I had a chance to duck. The kickback made it so that I had missed. I didn’t hold the sniper well enough to prevent the kickback from being as strong as it was. I’ve only one bullet remaining, and watching Richard pick himself up and run into the building, I knew it would be a waste to try and hit a moving target, especially when I failed to hit a static one. I sighed with thoughtfulness. I don’t know what he is thinking, but the only option I have right now is to head back downstairs and head over to where the building he is now currently in and meet him there. I have two pistols. I am fully prepared for a close encounter if there ever was one.

knowing that I won’t have any need of it from now on,I chucked my sniper away, and it would only slow me down I moved as fast as my injured body would let me. I ran back downstairs. My back, shoulder and knee were excruciatingly painful now, but I refused to give up. Bursting through the front doors, I ran to Richard’s building. Maybe I should have thought of this plan before. I should have snuck upstairs and made a surprise attack, but I had to try and be clever and use a sniper, which only makes this battle an unpredictable mess. For the third time, I found myself running up some stairs.

‘Stop right there,’ I heard a voice shout from above. I instantly stop and look up. Richard is a couple of staircases above me, pointing a gun right at me. ‘There’s nowhere to run now,’ he said, ‘I know you’re injured, which means I can move a lot faster than you can, so you might as well give up now instead of making a fuss. I don’t want to chase you just as much as you don’t want to chase me or be chased, so let’s just end this right here, right now.’ I know what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to make me feel beaten. He’s playing the psychological game where I drop my weapons and give myself up.

‘You couldn’t stop me with a rocket, so how can you possibly think that you can stop me with a bullet?’ I retorted.

‘I’m closer to you now, so there’s no chance of me missing,’ he defended his poor aim.

‘That goes for you, too,’ I said. I had my pistol out, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to lift my arm up and fire quicker than he can pull the trigger. The only thing to do is retreat. I hate retreating, but if it’s your only option, then it isn’t as bad as it sounds. At least you get to fight another day instead of being stupid and advancing forward, only to lose. I stared at him, waiting for him to say something, but he must have been waiting for me to talk, so there was an incredibly intense silence, making the atmosphere thick and heavy.

‘You got lucky,’ he said, breaking the silence, ‘but everyone’s luck runs out eventually.’ I knew he was about to pull the trigger so it was now or never. I made a break for it. The tension in the air allowed me to move that much faster. I heard a bullet embedded itself in the stair that I was just standing on. I heard a growl of anger followed by quick, deep sounding thumps as he made his way down the stairs. He was right in saying that he was faster than I was, but I was nearer the bottom, so I was able to break free from the confined space and into the open reception area, where I hopped over the front desk and kneeled down, waiting for him to burst through those doors at any second. I heard the doors hit the wall as hard as they were kicked open and it was at that moment I lifted my head and arm above the counter and fired my pistol as soon as I could.

Unfortunately, he was able to move out of the way and he ducked behind a chair where he returned fire. This was now a full on shootout. I heard a bullet after bullet hit the desk behind my head. I flinched at every single splintering sound. After it stopped, I made the most of my turn and returned as much as I could. All my bullets made contact with the chair cushions, making their stuffing burst free. I didn’t want to waste any more bullets, so I stopped and ducked back under, just as he went for another round. I had to think of something fast, but the sound of Richard’s gun firing made it difficult to concentrate properly.

Then I saw my escape goat. The bottom draw beside me was open just enough for me to see what was inside it. A load of papers was at the bottom, but sitting on top could not have been more helpful. I had found a grenade. It was if the game was helping me, even though I knew it was here all along. I grabbed the grenade, waited for Richard to stop shooting before I pulled the pin and threw it over the counter. I knew where I was throwing it so I was confident it would find its target. I sat behind the counter, waiting for the explosion. I heard it land, bounced, and after a second of silence, was followed by a sound matching that of the explosion on the fourth floor earlier. I covered my ears as everything was ripped apart. Afterwards, when all I could hear was a few bits of chairs and tables landing onto the floor, I cautiously peered over the counter. Nothing but devastation. There was nothing left except remains.

But, there was something missing. Or rather, someone missing. The fact that the game hadn’t ended meant that he managed to escape before the grenade blew up. I wasn’t sure whether he was able to escape unscathed, but he was still out there. I knew that we wouldn’t meet each other again until he has a fool proof plan.

***

When the dust eventually settled, I gingerly crawled out from behind the receptionist’s desk. He was nowhere to be seen. I had to keep a very close eye on my surrounding area if I want to be one step ahead of him. The trouble was, there was something about him that made me think whether I was capable of being one step ahead of him. His voice was strong with experience. He lied by saying that this was his first time. He’s done this before. He knows what to do, what to expect, how to deal with the unexpected. I don’t know what I’m going to do if I want to win.

It was annoying that there weren’t any more grenades. That one came in very handy, having allowed me to stay in the game for a bit longer, but am I only delaying the inevitable? No, I can’t think like that. I have to push on with a clear mind on what to do next. I have my two pistols, loaded. Hopefully, after seeing what I can do, the next time we meet, he will have to be cautious around me. I might be able to use that to my advantage. Of course, I still have to be very cautious with my movements, just in case he has something up his sleeve.

Stepping out of the building, I see nothing of interest, only a few cars scattered around the place, and bits of rubble from the top floor of the building when it blew up, narrowly missing a van that has its doors open. Maybe there’ll be something helpful in the back of the van. I was hesitant on whether to trust the van, just in case it’s another trap, but if I act as if it is a trap, I can prepare myself, just in case something does spring out at me.

With each step I take whilst making my way over to the van, I look both ways, looking as far as I can in every direction, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. Anything at all. My body is still damaged. My back and shoulder is throbbing like mad and my leg is struggling to take my weight – I’m practically dragging it behind me at this point. I sigh with a massive relief when I get behind the van, but I can’t relax properly because there may be something waiting in the back of the van.

I lean against the side, thinking that the best way to see what’s inside is to be quick. Then if anything is in there, I can get out of the way before it can fire. Hopefully, that is all I will need.

‘One. Two. Three,’ I said slowly before moving as quickly as I can with my injured body, moving my head round so that I can peer inside, letting my mind study what’s inside before moving back round. I grunt as a fresh burst of pain shot through my leg, making my eyes water.

Nothing happened. I’m curious. I risk another, slower look. Still nothing happened. I take a deep breath and take the risk of looking right at it.

‘Woah,’ I said as I see something awesome sitting on its end at the back. I climb in and pick it up. A sword, shiny, unused and balanced perfectly in my hands. I was ecstatic at seeing this here because, if there’s one thing I’m good at, its sword fighting. I wouldn’t class myself as a professional, but I can class myself as a natural, and that is all I need. I climbed out of the van to give me more space so I can test the quality of the sword by swishing it about, twirling it around in my hand. Using a gun is something I knew I would have to do and probably will have to use instead of this sword, but maybe I can manipulate the situation so that I can use this to my full experience and therefore, advantage.

For the first time since entering this world, my head’s clear. Ideas form inside my head. Will I be able to pull them off, is the question. There’s only one way to find out. I don’t have anywhere to store my sword, so I have to carry it around with me, but I keep my pistol in the other just in case of an unexpected attack. I move forward, keeping a wary eye on everything.

***

The sun was extremely hot in the sky. Before I was darting about from here to there, but now that I’ve stopped running and resorted to walking – or rather limping – I can now feel the sun bearing down on my back, making me sweat and uncomfortable. I had to find shade, so I took an immediate left and buried myself in one of the buildings that ran parallel along the road. With all the running about I did, I never really had a chance to study the map that I was in, but now that I had been walking, I was. The map was big enough to allow me to walk far enough so that I wasn’t able to tell how long I had been walking for and on either side of the road, buildings of various sides stood. My heart was beating very fast with the threat that Richard could be in any one of these buildings, ready to take me out the second he had the chance. I knew that walking in the middle of the road was not my best ideas, but it did allow me to see as much as I could in every direction.

Now that I had come to a stop, my leg started to throb its worst yet. I couldn’t find the right position to make my leg comfortable. If I keep this up, I’m not going to have a functional leg any time soon, and that will be incredibly bad if I have to do some running. After the heat from my back had died down a bit, I was determined to keep going, but my leg forced me to stay where I was. I have no adrenaline running through my body so I was running on fumes. I think Richard did more damage to me than he realises.

After one final grunt, I pushed myself onto my leg, putting my entire weight onto my good side and started forward once more. I was practically hopping at this point.

Then I saw something move on top of the parking garage on my left. It was a human being shaped object so I knew that it was Richard. I wasn’t sure whether he knew I was down here or not, and that meant there could be a trap ready and waiting for me. There was one thing I knew for certain and that is this match would go on for a very long time if I don’t head up there. Trap or not, I have to confront him at some point.

And so, as silently as my almost dead leg would allow me to be, I made my way into and up the parking garage. There were five floors in total with the fifth being the one outside. I gradually sneaked my way round each corner, expecting an attack, but nothing happened. I have my gun ready in my hand, shaking and slipping with sweat, but I managed to keep a tight hold on it. My sword had a specialised handle, designed specifically for grip so although my hand was now drenched, I was able to keep a firmer hold on that compared to my gun. To be honest, I wished it was the other way around because I knew that I would be using my gun a lot more than my sword, but if things go my way, I might be able to use my sword instead, and that would make me have the advantage considering I know how to use one, probably better than he does (fingers crossed).

Eventually I dragged myself up onto the fifth floor where the sun greeted me with its usual hot rays. There were only two cars up here and both had a wheel missing – one had the front left and the other hand the back right missing. I looked around, studying the area for any traps, but, thankfully, saw nothing.

‘That was a lucky escape back there, you know,’ a voice suddenly said. Only thinking about who said that, I turned around on the wrong leg. I grunted with pain and I nearly fell over forwards, but I caught myself with my other leg. Standing upright, I was able to get a proper look at who Richard was. He was wearing the same getup as I was, but with a different coloured shirt that used to be light blue. It was a ruffed up with dust and ripped patches as well, but I would say that it was better looking than mine was, but then again, he didn’t have a load of rubble and a door land on top of him. He was in his mid-forties, so about a couple of years older than I was.

‘How you managed to survive a blast like that is extraordinary, but one that I can see, left you damaged.’ The way he was standing and his tone of voice confirmed that he had done this before.

‘I was lucky enough to have seen you before you fired,’ I said.

‘Yes.’ He said simply. ‘Although it was a good hiding place, the wrong move can leave you exposed. It was a risk that I knew I could take since I had confidence you wouldn’t be able to survive. Unfortunately, that confidence made me a little inaccurate with my aiming. And speaking of aiming,’ he adjusted himself slightly to make himself more comfortable against the wall he was leaning against. I thought he was going to attack so I flinched, raising my sword upwards, but when I realised he wasn’t advancing, I quickly lowered it again. He smiled at my actions before carrying on with what he was saying. He knew that I was nervous I can bet you he is preparing or already prepared to use that to his advantage. I have to be prepared for that.

‘Your sniper shooting is atrocious, to say the least.’

I was about to say something, but he cut me short before I had a chance. ‘The way you held the sniper didn’t help and the way you had positioned your body meant you would be shooting anywhere but at me. I suppose that leg of yours didn’t help matters and that I thank myself.’

‘How did you know I was up there?’ I asked.

‘Mirrors, of course,’ he said as if it was so simple, I should have known that myself. I raised my gun up. He didn’t flinch.

‘Are you going to shoot me here and now?’ he asked.

‘Surely even you would know what a gun pointing at your face means,’ I said.

‘It means you don’t want to win this battle fair and square,’ he said.

‘What does it matter? The rules state win. They don’t say how.’

‘True,’ he said, ‘but what’s a victory if your opponent offers himself to you?’

‘A victory that doesn’t put strain on my leg,’ I said.

‘Good answer,’ he said, smiling. I cocked my gun, ready to fire the moment he makes a move. His experience told him of my intentions so he didn’t move a muscle. Instead, he kept talking. I knew he was trying to get inside my head, and I wasn’t going to let that happen, but what he said next made me think more than I should have done.

‘Are you good with that sword?’ he asked.

‘What does it matter to you?’ I answered with a question.

‘Because I am, too,’ he said, pulling out a sword from behind him. I can only guess that, that sword was there before he got here. ‘How about a one on one sword fight?’ he asked. ‘I’ve always wanted to go up against someone with a sword in a battle before.’

‘Sorry,’ I said, ‘but as you can tell, my leg is a little bit injured at the moment. What makes you think that I can defend myself or even move quickly with it?’

‘Hmm,’ he said, ‘good point. I was hoping for a rather dramatic ending, but it turns out that I won’t be able to get that. Ok. You win. You can shoot me now.’ He dropped his sword onto the floor, lifted his arms up and offering himself to me. I was ready to fire. My finger was on the trigger, slowly squeezing it. Any second now it was going to go off, winning the game for me, but I couldn’t do it. He knew I wouldn’t be able to do it. I lowered my gun.

With as much will power as I had left, combined with as much energy and adrenaline as I had left, I straightened up my leg, putting as much weight as I dared on it. It seared with pain like nothing I’ve ever felt before, making my eyes water again and my vision all blurry. But, blinking my vision clear, I nodded.

Richard smiled. Then, without warning, kicked up his sword, grabbed it in his hands, and ran towards me. I defended myself just in time. Lifting up my sword, positioning it in such an angle the two swords connected with a resounding clang. He was strong, but I managed to keep him at bay before he retreated and advanced once more. I pivoted on my good leg as I swung my sword around. It connected with Richard, who had a much stronger swing than mine and so my arm was forced back. I ducked just in time as he swung once more, narrowly missing my head. He was slowly stepping forward with each swing, forcing me to step back, trying to make me put all my weight onto my bad leg and therefore collapse so he can take the final swing, but, and as strange as it must have looked for a person watching, I was hopping backwards. He was a good fighter. I would even say he has had more training than I, but I refused to give up so easily. I fought back with all my strength – what I had left of it – and pushed him back a couple of steps.

Then, our swords connected and remained stuck together as we pushed against them once more.

‘Your body is injured, yet you fight well. I give you credit for your determination,’ he said surprisingly calmly as if he wasn’t putting any effort into pushing. ‘But my body’s at the peak of its health, and so it’s only a matter of time before you give out. I will be interested to see just how long you will go before the inevitable.’

I will not waste my energy and tell him that the inevitable will be him losing. I pulled back, taking another swing, but he defended perfectly, sending my arm backwards. I had to hop out of the way to dodge his stab. I went for a swing whilst he was defenceless, but he knew what I was going to do before I did, and he ducked, spun around and lunged for me once more. I bowed my head, hearing the swish of the sword above me and the feeling of the air being pushed out of the way. I swung upwards, successfully knocking his sword of course, allowing me to go in for another attack, but only to miss once more.

He then took it up another notch and started to fight dirty. He wasn’t getting anywhere with sword fighting, so he decided to knock me down to the ground another way. As I was ducking, he brought his knee up and it cracked against my forehead. I was pushed onto my back. My forehead throbbing.

‘That’s dirty,’ I said checking to see if I was bleeding. I wasn’t. I stood up. Both of us were out of breath. ‘The only reason why you are fighting dirty is because I am giving you the run for your money. You are unable to defeat an injured man, and a man with the use of only one leg of that.’ I was making him angry. I could see it in his eyes that he was not expecting me to go down hard. A few swings and that would be it, but I wasn’t going to let that happen and that is making him furious. ‘So what I’m basically saying here is,’ I said, knowing that this will send him over the edge so I prepared for an onslaught of attacks, ‘can you imagine what it would be like if I was at the peak of my health?’ Those words hit a nerve, just as I knew it would. He knew what I was saying. I am better than him, and he hates that. And I knew he will step up his game, fight even dirtier if he has to just to get the better of me.

‘How dare you,’ he shouted, launching himself towards me, sword primed, ready for the strongest attack yet. But I was ready and I raised my sword upwards, knocking him off track once more. As my hand was raised, he swung with his free hand. His fist connected with my leg. My knee smacked against the ground. Pain beyond anything I’ve ever felt before. He stepped away, letting me struggle back to my feet.

An injured leg is nothing compared to losing the game, and that was the thought that gave me the determination, the strength and the adrenaline needed to put both my feet down. I had to fight as if I wasn’t injured. I had more power in my swings and was much more agile in my dodges. I had so much more power than I had before, it felt incredible. I could see it in his eyes that I was slowly overpowering him, pushing him backwards to the point where he had nowhere to go. He came to the ledge of the carpark and he knew there was nowhere else to go. He stopped fighting and stared at me. My sword was pointing at his throat signifying that I had won the battle. Won the game. Won the war.

‘Congratulations,’ he said through heavy breathing and a forced smile. ‘You are better than me after all. Even as injured as you are now, you still came out on top, and for that I accept my defeat at the blade of Richard’s.’

‘You showed so much power,’ I returned with my own congratulatory speech. ‘It was only through luck that I managed to survive when others would have perished. I could have shot you earlier, but I honoured your wish and fought with a sword, and now you have lost.’ This was it. This was the moment I have been waiting for. I raised my sword for the final time, I drove it forward, penetrating his side. He didn’t make a sound. He didn’t make a move. He only let his weakness take hold and with one final look at me, fell backwards off the building. I didn’t want to watch him fall. I only waited for the world to degenerate around me and for me to wake up. I heard the loud thump of his body hitting the ground below, making me flinch. Now that I had stopped, and the adrenaline had stopped pumping, the pain in my leg came back even stronger than before. I collapsed to the ground. Propping myself up against the ledge, I placed my sword onto the floor, and sighed with relief that it was finally all over.

Then the world started to fade away. Slowly at first, revealing a white background. I watched as everything unloaded. Then it was my turn. It was quick and simple.

‘Pod deactivating,’ a disembodied woman’s voice said through the speakers. I opened my eyes and saw the pod’s door opening.

‘Joe, your dinner’s ready,’ dad called from the kitchen below.

‘OK,’ I called down. I turned off the Virtual Reality Simulation System. That was a heck of an online game.

THE END