Prisoner 3-57: Nuke Town (11 page)

‘
You
created a psychotic version of your sister. Rose went mad and killed
everyone. If you have strong feelings the game will create things to
test you. I loved Stephanie like she was a daughter. I loved Lily
even more.’ I remembered Lily. The old lady had been the first
person to be kind to me in over six years. She had died during a
mission on Earth. It was the same mission where I had nearly been
killed myself. The same alien that killed her had cut off both my
hands. ‘They both died during the evacuation of Earth.’

‘
Lily
wasn’t real?’ I asked.

‘
No.
She was created from my memory,’ he smiled at the memory of his
deceased wife. ‘I created them because I didn’t want to
be alone. Life in the real world is hard, 3-57.’

‘
So
I have been told.’

‘
No,’
he replied, with a shake of the head. ‘You have no idea what it
is really like. Crime happens constantly. Murder and rape are
everyday occurrences. The ships are overcrowded. There are news
reports of riots every single week. Pregnancy is illegal. Forced
abortions and prison sentences are the punishment. The government has
even started executing people. The ships are cold, damp and there is
hardly any food.’

‘
That’s
why you are in here?’

‘
Yes.
At least until we reach the new home.’

I
had heard of this before, but still didn’t know what this place
was.

‘
What
is the new home?’

‘
We
are heading towards a new home. It is going to be a new Earth. We
have to make two more Star Jumps using the time gates, but they
reckon we could be there in thirty or so years.’ I didn’t
say anything out loud, but what good would reaching this new Earth be
for Arthur. He would most likely have died of old age by then. ‘I
know what you are thinking.’ He chuckled to himself. ‘I
won’t be alive to see the new Earth. I never planned to be, but
Jane, Lena, Alisha, Iaso and Saul all have a real chance of making
it. The longer they stay in the game the better quality of life they
have. I want them to make it. That is why I am going to give
everything I have to keeping them alive.’

‘
Why
are you telling me this?’

‘
You
are not a bad person, 3-57. Sure, you act tough, but you are not
insane. The game twisted your brain and messed with your mind. If
Jane and the others are going to have a real chance of surviving this
mess they need you. We always needed you. The reason we lasted so
long in the last game was because of you. You fought hard for us. I
know they are all pissed now, but they will come around. Jane doesn’t
hate you. She wants to trust you. The woman mourned you for months.’

‘
She
did?’

‘
She
did,’ he confirmed. ‘We need you to step up and lead us
again.’

I
took a deep breath in.

Things
could never go back to how they were.

Did
they have too?

‘
Okay,’
I said, ‘wake the others up and get ready. A new fight is about
to start.’

Chapter Four:
Inventory

I
walked into carriage five, just as Fiona was pulling up her white
trousers. The sight of her cute naked ass did things to the inside of
my body. The woman was beyond sexy. Her body looked like it had been
hand sculpted by the gods. Artists could spend years dedicated to
creating the perfect smile, but here it was before my eyes. Fiona was
a masterpiece. She looked back over her shoulder at me and smiled.
This time it was a naughty smile. I must have had a pretty naughty
expression on my face too. I was practically drooling over her. She
slipped on her top and zipped it up. I was disappointed to see her
naked back disappear, but the memories of our time in the shower
stayed fresh within my mind. I think the image of her naked body bent
over in front of me would stay with me for the rest of my life.

‘
We
have about two minutes before those things get here,’ said
Fiona.

‘
What
weapons do you have?’ I asked.

‘
Not
much left.’ She tied her belt around her mid-section and tapped
her handgun. ‘Police issue automatic side arm with one magazine
left.’ She scooped up her sub-machine gun. ‘One magazine
left in this bad boy, too. What about you?’

I
pulled the acid shotgun from my back holster and handed it to her.

‘
What’s
this?’ she asked.

‘
A
present,’ I replied, as I unclipped the ammo pouch from my
belt. ‘It is a pump action acid shotgun. Those things don’t
like fire, so this might work on them too. It will burn through
anything it touches. You have enough rounds in there to survive this
thing.’ I handed her the ammo pouch.

‘
What
about you?’

I
tapped my thigh holsters with the two bolt revolvers.

‘
I
got three re-loads for each gun.’ I pointed to the bolt rifle
on my back holster. ‘I have one magazine left in that and three
grenades.’

‘
What’s
this thing?’ she pointed to the computer tab on my belt.

‘
That
is a remote guided tactical nuke that is sitting in orbit.’

Fiona’s
jaw nearly hit the floor.

‘
You
were carrying something like that on you?’

‘
It
is my plan b,’ I told her.

‘
Going
out with a bang, eh?’

‘
If
Prisoner X gets me then I will make sure I get him, too.’

‘
We
will get him,’ replied Fiona. ‘I got your back, 3-57.’

A
sense of dread washed over me. I would have thought that her words
would have comforted me, but all it did was remind me of Emily. Emily
had said she had my back, too. I had promised her that I had hers,
but in the end I let her die. It hurt my heart to even think about
it. I could have saved her. Prisoner 3-59 had slit her throat from
ear to ear. I had the chance to save her, but Rose, the one inside my
head, had taken over my body and forced me to watch her die. How had
Emily felt? She had looked so frightened. Her eyes had pleaded with
me to save her, but all I did was sat there, unable to move.

‘
You
okay?’ asked Fiona.

‘
Huh?’

‘
You
spaced out for a minute there,’ she disarmed me with a smile.

I
have to keep her alive.

I
like Fiona.

She
is nice.

‘
Fiona,
I won’t let you die,’ I told her.

The
words left my mouth before I could stop them.

Her
smile grew even wider and she stepped into my personal space. A sweet
gentle kiss was planted upon my lips. I closed my eyes and sank into
the embrace. I wished the kiss could have lasted forever. It felt so
nice. I could feel her true emotions for me through the kiss. We
hadn’t known each other long, but she had strong feelings for
me. It was not love, but it was something like love. It was something
nice.

‘
We
will get through this together,’ she replied. ‘I did some
research on the Prisoner X experiment last night. The game creators
sent us a file on Prisoner X in the hope it would help take him
down.’ I had seen the file. The majority of the missions had
detailed files and information, but I never read them. I never had
time. ‘It explained that the experiment was an evolution of the
3-57 experiment.’

‘
The
game they put me in?’

‘
Yes.
You created a living hell for yourself. It was the perfect
punishment. They gave Prisoner X more power in the attempt to create
a darker and more terrifying game for prisoners and players, but as
we know, he took control of the gaming world. The safety protocols
are gone, which means that anyone that dies in the game will die in
the real world, too. Prisoner X cannot construct anything, though. He
doesn’t have the ability to build things like the game
creators. He is more like a virus that can take over the control of
AI’s in the gaming world.’

‘
That’s
good to know,’ said a man sitting with his back to us.

We
turned to face him.

The
guy stood up. He was big. I would have to say about six foot seven.
He wasn’t just big, he was muscular, too. The guy wore a loose
white shirt, stained with blood, and black combat trousers. He had an
Earth Force assault rifle slung over his shoulder. He turned to face
us. I instantly recognised him. He was an inmate from the same prison
as me.

‘
Prisoner
3-05,’ I said.

‘
3-57,’
he nodded his balling ball sized head.

3-05
was an older man, nearly fifty. He had long white hair, tied back
into a ponytail, and a big bushy beard. On his arm was the prison
tattoo that confirmed he was an inmate.

‘
You
know each other?’ asked Fiona.

‘
I
know of him,’ I replied. ‘He was called the Librarian.’

‘
I
like books,’ admitted The Librarian. ‘I read that same
file on Prisoner X. You two are going after him?’ We nodded our
heads in reply. ‘I will tag along.’

‘
Why?’
I had to know.

‘
I
am going to spend the rest of my life in this video game. If I help
you kill Prisoner X they might put me in a game with books. It’s
a long shot, but what have I got to lose. I am either going to die
today, or I will die tomorrow.’

‘
Fair
enough,’ I replied, ‘we could use all the help we can
get.’

Suddenly,
a voice broke over the trains intercom.

‘
This
is Levi. We are about to crash through a horde of these
indestructible zombies. The good news is that in five minutes we are
going to arrive at Central City Station. Central City doesn’t
seem to be infested by these aliens. There might be something there
that will save us, but if even a single one of those bastards gets on
board the train then we are all dead. Do you understand? This is a
battle of survival. Don’t let a single fucker onto the train.
Lock and load, people. We must hold them off at all costs. Fight
until your last breath. Spread out through the carriages. Good luck.’

‘
It’s
game time,’ said Fiona.

She
kissed me again.

I
melted into her lips.

‘
We
can do this,’ I told her. ‘We will not die.’

I
really wouldn’t let her die. I wouldn’t. She had to live.

Chapter Five: Five
Minutes of Madness

The
train rocked and the overhead lights flickered out for a moment. We
were passing through an underground tunnel, which led to Central
City. Darkness surrounded us. I pulled my bolt revolvers from their
thigh holsters. I gave myself a moment to get used to the weight of
the guns. They were heavy, which was an odd feeling, but then again I
felt empty inside. How many of us were going to come out of this
alive? I usually felt indestructible with my bolt revolver in hand. I
felt like I could take on the world, but these monsters didn’t
die. They were like the ultimate zombies. Levi and the others had
managed to kill one by burning it to death, but it took nearly two
minutes to kill the damn thing. We would not be allowed that much
time in this situation.

Suddenly,
claws began to carve through the metal roof.

Glass
exploded into the carriage.

Menacing
howls threatened to blow my eardrums.

‘
Get
ready,’ said Fiona, as she cocked the acid gun.

The
Librarian was looking nervous. We had two newcomers in the carriage
with us. One was a red haired young man. He must have been in his
early twenties. He wore mixed matched body armour from different
eras, armies and races. The other person was a tall skinny black guy
with an impressive goatee and a shaved head. He wore a desert combat
uniform that soldiers would have worn in the twentieth century.

A
demonic skinless face appeared in a smashed window.

I
fired off a snap shot.

The
bolt struck it square between the eyes and drilled through the skull.