Prisoner 3-57: Nuke Town (25 page)

‘
I
don’t care!’ roared the familiar voice of General Riggs.

I
looked as far as I could to the right.

A
metal hatch led out into a corridor.

It
was half-open.

In
the corridor was the scar faced General Riggs, the towering figure of
The Warden, and the youthful Ian Owens, otherwise known as IO.
General Riggs looked more than pissed off. He was fuming. He was
practically spitting fire. The Warden was stood to one side watching.
He said nothing. That is what he did. He observed. He waited. He
calculated his next move. Ian Owens was talking fast and making a lot
of hand gestures.

‘
We
made a deal,’ said Ian.

‘
He
failed the mission,’ replied Riggs. ‘You said he could do
this.’

‘
He
did, didn’t he? 3-57 killed Prisoner X.’

‘
We
lost over three and a half million players.’

My
god...

Rose
killed three and a half million people?

‘
You
agreed to the deal,’ protested Ian.

‘
The
board will not grant him a pardon. Now, put him back in the game.’

‘
What
if I refuse?’

Riggs
glare said it all. It was like looking into the eyes of a rabid dog.

‘
I-I
will put him back in the game,’ mumbled Ian, his head now
lowered in submission. Riggs and The Warden disappeared off down the
corridor and out of sight. Ian cursed under his breath, buried his
head into his hands and screamed in frustration. ‘We had a
deal,’ he said to himself. The young game designer looked back
into the room. Eye contact was made between the two of us. He cursed
again and walked off.

Chapter Nine:
Location Unknown

I
woke to the sound of a cell phone. I sat bolt upright, not sure what
to prepare myself for. It took a moment for me to understand where I
was. I was sitting in the back of a very fancy car. A driver in a
black hat was sitting in the driver’s seat. My own attire was
causing me some confusion. I was wearing a smart black suit, which
came with a bow-tie. The world flashed by in a blur of motion
outside. We were driving through a city. It was night time. It looked
like London. I could see people walking down the side walks, working
in office blocks and driving down the opposite side of the road in
their hover cars. There was no gunfire, un-dead zombies, chaos or
carnage. It was normal.

Only
now did I realise that the ringing sound came from my jacket pocket.

I
plucked out a fancy touch screen cell phone.

‘
Hello?’

‘
3-57,
this is Ian.’

And
then it hit home.

I
was back in the damn game.

This
wasn’t London. There was no London. Earth had been destroyed.

‘
I
am sorry that I couldn’t keep my word. I know you did your best
to defeat Prisoner X. General Riggs refuses to grant you the pardon
that we agreed to. I did fight your corner, but they won’t
budge on the matter.’

I
saw him attempting to defend me, but I remained silent.

He
continued.

‘
Things
are happening out here, big things. The news of the three point eight
million deaths is spreading throughout the alliance. The public is in
uproar and the council is split. They are blaming each other and
trying to cover their backs. Riots have broken out on several vessels
and more star ships are threatening to break away from the alliance
completely. It won’t be long until someone else is in charge. I
will keep my word. I will get you the pardon I promised.’

‘
Why
are you helping me?’ I had to know.

‘
Over
three million people died last night, but nobody is focusing on the
two hundred thousand people that you saved. You are a hero. I will be
broadcasting your story to the alliance next month. The whole of the
human race are eagerly anticipating the second season of the Prisoner
3-57 show. They will see you escape the star ship, free-fall through
space, reunite with your sister, escape the drop zone, breakout of
the contaminated safe house, survive the gorefest on the bullet
train, and they will witness your search for the non-player
characters that murdered the woman you love, and see you fight with
all your heart to save four million people from Prisoner X. They will
also see that you were offered a deal and that deal was not
maintained.’

‘
And
what do you gain by doing this?’

Ian
laughed.

‘
I
gain more than you know,’ he remarked. ‘Until I secure
your freedom this virtual reality game will be your reality. You
don’t have to thank me.’ The phone line went dead.

‘
I
don’t have to thank you...?’ I asked the cell phone.

I
placed it back in my pocket.

The
car rolled to a standstill by the side of the curb.

‘
Will
that be all, Sir?’ asked the driver.

‘
What?’
I replied.

‘
Do
you require my services any more?’

‘
Where
am I?’

I
glanced at the big beautiful house beyond my window. It was an old
house with three floors. Houses sat on either side of the property,
but they too looked incredibly valuable. This whole street did. What
was I doing here?

‘
You
are home, Sir.’

‘
I
live here?’ I asked.

‘
That
is correct, Sir.’

I
popped open the car door and stepped out into the cool night air. A
faint breeze danced by. The fresh night air teased my nostrils. I
closed the car door and approached the house. The car pulled away and
disappeared into the night, but I didn’t care too much about
that. I wanted to see inside. Was this really my house? What was the
catch? What was my mission? Who did I have to kill this time?

I
searched my jacket and pants pockets.

I
found a house key.

It
slotted nicely into the lock. The front door opened into a long
hallway with polished wooden floors. I stepped into the house and
soaked it all in. It smelt like home. It smelt like our old house did
when I was about eight years old. Framed photos hung on the wall.
They were like snapshots of my memories plucked straight out of my
mind. There were ones of my father, my mother and even of Rose as a
young girl.

The
floorboards creaked above me.

Someone
was upstairs.

This
was the catch, eh?

Slowly,
I crept up the stairs towards the second floor. My eyes fell to my
left forearm. My x-com would have a mission report, but to my
surprise there was no x-com to see. I pulled back my sleeve just to
double check. There was no x-com. Did that mean there was no mission?
If that was true, who was upstairs?

Chapter Ten: The
Person Upstairs

I
stood in the doorway to the master bedroom. My mouth was so far open
that my jaw nearly hit the floor. Wide eyes looked her up and down.
She was a beauty beyond description. I had always thought this, but I
had never seen her wear such clothes. A very revealing see-through
nightgown was held up by two thin shoulder straps. The piece clung
close to her body, mapping out every delightful curve. The base
stopped about one third of the way down her thighs. There was more
than enough cleavage on display, but I could see her naked breasts
through the thin fabric. Her long black hair was tied back into a
ponytail behind her head. She looked slightly older than before. Her
eyes were full of experience and pain, but it was still the same
woman.

‘
How
long has it been?’ I asked.

‘
Three
years,’ replied Emily.

‘
You
look incredible.’

‘
Thank
you.’ A blush blossomed on her beautiful cheeks.

‘
What
are you doing here?’ I had to know the truth. Emily had always
been straight with me. She had been a good friend and my first real
ally. We had escaped the moon colony together in the first game. She
was a pilot that worked on a prison transport ship. The two of us had
become intimate. I could trust her. I knew this deep down within my
heart. I could trust Emily. She had died during the battle outside of
London. Her throat had been slit from ear to ear. I could have saved
her, but Rose had stopped me. My sister took control of my body and
forced me to watch Emily die. I have never forgiven myself for what
happened. Emily was important to me.

‘
I
came to be with you.’

‘
What
about what happened?’

Emily
unconsciously touched her neck.

There
was no scar, but there wouldn’t be. That had been part of the
game.

‘
That
wasn’t your fault. It was her. Prisoner X.’

‘
But...’

‘
IO
told me everything. I know the truth about you, 3-57.’

‘
You
know I am dangerous.’

‘
I
know you are the man I fell in love with.’

Fell
in love with?

‘
You
love me?’

‘
Don’t
pretend like you didn’t know.’ She started to walk
towards me.

‘
Why
would you come back to this game?’ I asked her.

‘
IO
told me that something big is going to happen. It is something he
needs your help with. He needs our help. We made a great team, didn’t
we?’

‘
We
did.’

She
stepped into my personal space.

A
hand was placed upon my chest.

Still,
she moved in closer.

‘
Are
you real?’

‘
Does
it matter?’ she replied.

My
heart sank down into my stomach.

She
wasn’t real?

This
wasn’t really Emily?

‘
Things
are changing in the real world, 3-57. You won’t be here for
long, but for once you don’t have to fight. It doesn’t
matter if it is just a day, or an hour, but for once you are free
from the constant struggle of death and carnage. I want to spend that
time with you. I miss you. I have missed you every single day since I
died in the game. I never thought I would get to see you again. I
never thought I would get to tell you that I love you.’

‘
I
don’t know what to say,’ I admitted.

Did
the words of a fictional character actually matter?

‘
You
don’t have to say anything.’

Soft
lips were pressed up against mine. I instantly melted into her touch.
I forgot how good it felt to kiss her. Gently, I cupped her face, as
I applied greater pressure to the kiss. I don’t know who did it
first, but our mouths opened and I welcome her tongue inside. Within
a second we were devouring each other with deep lustful kisses. Her
fingers began to fumble with my belt, as we walked backwards towards
the bed. At no point did our lips break. I finally had Emily back. It
didn’t matter if she wasn’t real. I had lost Jane and
Fiona, but Emily was back. She was programmed to love me. If what she
said was true then a new battle wasn’t that far away. This time
I would be on my own. I had lost my father and Rose. I lost my
friends, but for now I had Emily. She was here. Her feelings for me
were not real, but I didn’t care. I just want to stop for a
little while. I just want to stop fighting. I want to find a way out
of this spiral of death. I will find a way to escape the fighting. I
will find a way to be free.

***

The End

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