probably just kill you, though.”
I open my mouth to say something, but he interrupts me. “But I can make sure your chip is destroyed the moment you leave The Aftermath. No tracking. No gamer. Just you. I’ve got friends who can make you whoever you want to be in every national database in less than ten minutes, who’ll make sure you have anything you need to survive in the Provinces. All you have to do is say yes.”
Twenty-nine days is a long time to plan and execute an escape. And if I managed to make it this far so rapidly, I can do it again when the time is right. All I need is for Olivia to disappear one more time and then I can give it another go.
But if Declan is right—like he is about the border—I won’t last in the world outside the game once I break free. It doesn’t make sense to risk so much just so I can immediately stare death in the face. He’s offering to fix me so she’ll never use my head again.
If I say yes.
If I let him use me.
“What is it you need me to do?” I spit out.
He grins like someone who’s won a major battle. This must be what a flesh-eater looks like right before snacking on his victim. Or, at least, what his gamer looks like behind his wall of screens.
“I’ve been sent into the game to retrieve a character with a glitch that’s affecting the characters around him. His last known location was Nashville.”
Another glitching character? “Where do I fit in?”
“The navigation on my AcuTab doesn’t work in this game—too many firewalls—and all I have to go on is a general direction. You know the area. You can help me find him quickly, so I can get out of this place. This is a very sensitive and special assignment and I have a limited amount of time to get it done.”
No, this is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. But I hear myself ask, “And you’ll get me out, too, if I help?”
“I swear on my life.”
“How long will it take?”
“A few days. Maybe a week at the most.”
“Won’t you get in trouble for helping me? Thirty minutes ago you told me escape is illegal.”
He shrugs and gives me a smile that looks more like a grimace. “You said it yourself—you’re only one person. My boss will never know I busted you out. I need to find this character, and I’m willing to break a few rules to do it.”
This situation is wrong on so many levels. I’ll have to go back to the bar on Demonbreun and allow Olivia to play me whenever she feels the urge to, which is much too frequently. And whatever Olivia free time I have will be spent with a boy who’s just as shady as she is.
But he won’t turn me in if I do this. And there’s a chance—even though it feels much slighter than before—that I’ll still escape.
My answer comes out in a whisper that’s so soft, I barely even hear myself. “Yes, I’ll help you.”
CHAPTER TEN
We start our trip in bitter silence. I’m raging inside, terrified. I’m furious at myself for giving in to Declan, but also I don’t know for sure if he’ll follow through on his end of our bargain. What happens to me if he turns on me? I kick at loose crumbles of asphalt and grip the straps of my bag so tightly my knuckles turn white and my shoulders slump from the pressure.
But I think the worst part of this trip is the obvious: I’m going back the way I came.
My journey was a failure.
No matter how I look at my situation, I’m at a severe disadvantage.
Declan follows several paces behind me. When he’d suggested it, he’d sworn it was to protect me in case we were attacked from behind—this right after he had told me we were taking the highway instead of the woods for safety and the sake of efficiency. Yeah, sure. What he meant was he didn’t want to deal with me attacking him. I haven’t turned around to check, but I’m certain his electroshock gun is drawn, ready to send pain slicing through my body at the slightest provocation.
I can almost feel the electricity thrumming from the
I open my mouth to say something, but he interrupts me. “But I can make sure your chip is destroyed the moment you leave The Aftermath. No tracking. No gamer. Just you. I’ve got friends who can make you whoever you want to be in every national database in less than ten minutes, who’ll make sure you have anything you need to survive in the Provinces. All you have to do is say yes.”
Twenty-nine days is a long time to plan and execute an escape. And if I managed to make it this far so rapidly, I can do it again when the time is right. All I need is for Olivia to disappear one more time and then I can give it another go.
But if Declan is right—like he is about the border—I won’t last in the world outside the game once I break free. It doesn’t make sense to risk so much just so I can immediately stare death in the face. He’s offering to fix me so she’ll never use my head again.
If I say yes.
If I let him use me.
“What is it you need me to do?” I spit out.
He grins like someone who’s won a major battle. This must be what a flesh-eater looks like right before snacking on his victim. Or, at least, what his gamer looks like behind his wall of screens.
“I’ve been sent into the game to retrieve a character with a glitch that’s affecting the characters around him. His last known location was Nashville.”
Another glitching character? “Where do I fit in?”
“The navigation on my AcuTab doesn’t work in this game—too many firewalls—and all I have to go on is a general direction. You know the area. You can help me find him quickly, so I can get out of this place. This is a very sensitive and special assignment and I have a limited amount of time to get it done.”
No, this is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. But I hear myself ask, “And you’ll get me out, too, if I help?”
“I swear on my life.”
“How long will it take?”
“A few days. Maybe a week at the most.”
“Won’t you get in trouble for helping me? Thirty minutes ago you told me escape is illegal.”
He shrugs and gives me a smile that looks more like a grimace. “You said it yourself—you’re only one person. My boss will never know I busted you out. I need to find this character, and I’m willing to break a few rules to do it.”
This situation is wrong on so many levels. I’ll have to go back to the bar on Demonbreun and allow Olivia to play me whenever she feels the urge to, which is much too frequently. And whatever Olivia free time I have will be spent with a boy who’s just as shady as she is.
But he won’t turn me in if I do this. And there’s a chance—even though it feels much slighter than before—that I’ll still escape.
My answer comes out in a whisper that’s so soft, I barely even hear myself. “Yes, I’ll help you.”
CHAPTER TEN
We start our trip in bitter silence. I’m raging inside, terrified. I’m furious at myself for giving in to Declan, but also I don’t know for sure if he’ll follow through on his end of our bargain. What happens to me if he turns on me? I kick at loose crumbles of asphalt and grip the straps of my bag so tightly my knuckles turn white and my shoulders slump from the pressure.
But I think the worst part of this trip is the obvious: I’m going back the way I came.
My journey was a failure.
No matter how I look at my situation, I’m at a severe disadvantage.
Declan follows several paces behind me. When he’d suggested it, he’d sworn it was to protect me in case we were attacked from behind—this right after he had told me we were taking the highway instead of the woods for safety and the sake of efficiency. Yeah, sure. What he meant was he didn’t want to deal with me attacking him. I haven’t turned around to check, but I’m certain his electroshock gun is drawn, ready to send pain slicing through my body at the slightest provocation.
I can almost feel the electricity thrumming from the
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