Beth lay on something lumpy and wet. Her breath wheezed in and out of her lungs, and pain radiated from her head. A quick glance at her health told her it was down to 80. Zombies moaned around her, their feet scraping on the ground as they approached. The only light streamed through the hole she’d just fallen through.

What the frack?

She groped around semi-blindly for her battle ax; she’d had it in her hand when she fell. It had to be around here somewhere. Her fingers curled around the slick handle and her stomach roiled as her brain filed through the possible sticky liquids that could be on it. None of them were good.

One of the zombies reached her as she yanked the ax free with a slurp. She swung the blade wildly, gripping the handle with both hands. As the zombie stumbled backward, headless, Beth got to her feet, the light blurring as her head swam. She really needed a better light source, and the zombies were too close to give her time to put on her stupid helmet.

A hand gripped her shoulder, and she spun with her battle ax extended. It scored a gash across the obese zombie’s stomach and blood splattered all over her. She gagged and switched her ax for her Glock. She fired almost blindly into the fray, shooting at the slightest movement or sound around her.

Welcome to level 6! You’ve received 1 skill point.

Beth only stopped when she was out of .22 rounds. Trading the gun for her battle ax again, she spun in a slow circle, her chest heaving with her breaths.

“That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” a familiar voice said from above her.

Beth jerked her gaze upward, and Maverick was silhouetted above her. “Mav!”

“Hey, Beth. Need some help out of there?” She couldn’t see his smile, but she heard it in his voice.

She wiped the blood from her arms and put on her mining helmet, then switched the flashlight mod on. As she’d suspected, Beth landed on a zombie in her initial fall and had killed it with her ax.

“Looks like a bloodbath down there. I’ve got a rope, want me to pull you up?”

“Yes.” There was a set of stairs, but the boards were broken and jagged nails stuck out of them. Could she die of tetanus in a VR game?

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The rope hit the floor, and Mav disappeared for a couple seconds. “K, I’ve secured the rope, tie it around your waist and I’ll pull you up.”

Looking around wearily, she tied the rope around her hips so she could sit on it like a swing as he pulled her up. Slowly, he began to lift her; she could feel the jerking hand-over-hand motions.

When she finally got to the top, Beth grabbed the floor and heaved herself over the edge.

Mav collapsed next to her. “I’m out of stamina.”

She laughed, then as her thoughts drifted to TJ she got serious. “How did you get back in here?” She glanced over at him and his cheeks pinked. The actual detail in this game was insane.

“I stole a couple pods from the Poky test site.”

Beth raised her eyebrows. “Stole?”

He shrugged sheepishly. “I kinda thought TJ was holding you captive. It was pretty fishy that he didn’t let me talk to you, and then you didn’t reply to any of my texts.”

She didn’t know how much to say. Someone was probably watching them right now. TJ was probably watching them right now. “You can’t be here. It isn’t safe.”

He flinched as if she’d slapped him.

“What I mean is, they’re watching. They can see my live-feed.”

“Are they treating you okay?” Maverick rolled onto his side and stared at her.

Beth shrugged. “No.” Tears burned her eyes, but she refused to cry. She didn’t want to show TJ how much he’d hurt her. How much she hated being in here, and how weak she was.

“Want me to come back to New York?”

She laughed, but there was no humor in it. “There’s no point. I’m stuck in the game.”

“What do you mean, stuck? Can’t they just take the electrodes off? Wake you up?”

A traitorous tear tracked down her cheek and she wiped it away with her blood-smeared hands. “They said they’ve tried. I’m not coming out of it.”

“There’s got to me more to it than that. You wouldn’t be stuck in the game unless they gave you a permanent implant. Did they?”

She shrugged, but the hair on her neck stood on end. “Not that I know of.”

“Was there an update?” His serious gaze bore into hers, and she had to swallow down her fear.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Fucking hell. I’m going to kill him. I’m going to fucking kill him.”

Beth leaned forward and put her hand over his mouth. “Don’t talk like that.” Not only could TJ hear them, but he could probably track them, too. That thought scared her more than anything. “Wait! He can probably find your location while you’re online. Like tracing a phone call or something.” She had no idea how any of that worked, but she’d seen movies. TJ was probably trying to find him right now.

Maverick pushed himself to his feet, then offered Beth his hand and pulled her up too. “I’d like to see him try.”