“Something’s wrong.” Beth groaned and dropped onto the grated floor. “I have a pounding headache.”

Maverick knelt beside her and put a hand on her back. “Are you dehydrated? Infected? Do you see any symbols on the top right of your vision?”

Beth looked, but it hurt to even move her eyes. “Nothing.”

“I’ll get you some food, water, and medicine. Sit tight.” Maverick disappeared inside the enclosed portion of the base and came back a few seconds later with a bottle of pills and a waterbottle. “Here.”

Beth held out her hands and took the proffered items. After she’d taken the aspirin and chugged the entire bottle, Maverick produced an apple and a can of stew from his inventory.

“I just want to sleep,” she said.

“TJ?” Maverick shouted. “Any ideas what’s wrong with her?”

Obviously, they weren’t going to get an immediate answer, especially if TJ was out of lives. Did he ever say how many he had? Beth couldn’t remember.

“I’m tired.” She yawned and tried to get to her feet. Her avatar swayed and fell back to her knees. “Shit.”

“Maybe the game isn’t designed to have you logged in for three days straight. You might need to try to sleep in-game.”

“Maybe.”

Maverick put a hand under her elbow and helped her to her feet. They hobbled together to the sleeping pallets.

“I’ll repair the base while you rest.”

Beth lay on the pallet, and within seconds, she passed out.

~*~

When Beth woke, she still felt a little groggy. Her vision blurred at the edges and tracked slowly as she turned her head.

“Mav?” Her voice slurred.

The headache, thankfully, was gone, and in its place was the feeling that she was floating.

Was she high? She waved her hand in front of her face and laughed.

Holy shit. She was high.

“Maverick?” she mumbled again.

A figure appeared in front of her and smoothed down her hair. “Shh. I’ve got you.”

“Mama?” Beth’s eyelids grew heavy and she grabbed the hand drawing soothing circles on her shoulder. “Hold me.”

A second later, the body curled in behind her, pulling her against a feminine chest, and Beth fell back into the darkness.

~*~

The second time she woke, Beth turned and looked at the person still curled against her. The woman was blonde, with a cute button nose, full, red lips, and huge green eyes that were staring at her with a satisfied haze. Above her head was the name Anna May. She wore a black lace bra and leather booty shorts, then completed the outfit with black combat boots.

Beth blinked. “Carrie?”

“Close,” the woman said. “It’s me, Warren.”

Warren’s feminine hand came up and brushed the hair off Beth’s forehead and tucked it behind her ear.

“Warren?” Beth repeated, dumbfounded. “Warren? As in, Warren from Poky?”

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She nodded.

Beth pushed the female avatar away and got to her feet. It’s just a game, Beth reminded herself. But the problem was, it was more than a game. Beth felt things. She remembered Warren’s hands on her bare stomach while she slept. She remembered cuddling deeper into Warren’s arms.

Frackin’ hell.

“What the hell, Warren?” Beth had half a mind to shoot him, like she had TJ.

“What?” Warren got to his/her feet.

Beth didn’t even know how to classify him anymore. She refused to think of him as a woman, but everything about him screamed woman. From the giant boobs and the perfect hourglass figure, modelesque face, and slender fingers that he/she was currently using to seductively trail up and down his/her arm.

This was hella confusing.

“Just, don’t touch me, okay?”

Warren’s pouty lips pulled up into a wicked smile. “Why? Did you like it?”

“No,” Beth said. And she meant it. She absolutely hated being touched by people she didn’t give permission to. “Are you in one of those bot tanks?”

“What?” His/her perfect eyebrows drew down.

“Are you in one of the bot tanks or the tanning beds?”

She laughed, a musical sound that grated on Beth’s last nerve. “No, they aren’t upgrading anyone to the implant, so you and TJ are the only ones allowed in the bot tanks. It’s too bad, too. I bet you could really get off in one of those.”

Beth stared at him, trying to piece together what he just said. “What?”

“You know, robots that can do everything for you.” Warren’s eyebrows wagged suggestively.

Screw it. Beth pulled out her gun and aimed it at Warren’s head.

A massive arm came around her from behind, wrapping her up and pulling the gun from her hand. “Uh uh uh,” TJ said, releasing her and stepping back as she spun on him.

“Don’t kill him, he’s just here to help.”

Beth glanced at the Glock in TJ’s hand. Stupid, infuriating man. “Give me back my gun.”

“I don’t think so. Anna May is just here to help. You can’t shoot her.”

Anime? Beth glanced at Warren’s name over his head again. Yup. Anna May. Anime. She focused back on TJ, grabbing the battle ax from her inventory and holding it like she was going to swing at TJ. “Fine. I’ll just kill you, then.”

“Nyx, you’re starting to hurt my feelings.”

She stared at him completely dead-eyed. She couldn’t care less about his feelings. He’d given her some sort of implant that had decided she was going to live inside of a zombie apocalypse game.

“Besides,” TJ continued, “you need her.”

“Tell him not to touch me again.”

TJ looked over Beth’s shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “You’re touching her?”

Beth sidestepped so she could see them both.

Warren just shrugged. “Don’t tell me you didn’t want to.”

TJ lifted the gun and the sound of the shot had Beth covering her ears. She looked over at Warren’s body. There was a spray of brain matter on the wall behind him. Beth didn’t know what to say. Thank you? Yeah, she’d shot TJ a few times, and yeah, she’d debated shooting Warren, but seeing TJ do it for her. She didn’t know how to feel. She was a strong woman who didn’t need someone to look out for her, but it was nice that he had. Not that she’d ever admit that to him.

“Help me drag the body over the edge. You’re getting good at disposing of corpses.” There was a twinkle in TJ’s eyes that made her uncomfortable. Beth left Warren’s backpack and grabbed one of the avatar’s arms while TJ grabbed the other. Together they dragged it to the edge of the base and tossed it over.

“Team work makes the dream work.” TJ held up his hand for a high-five, and before Beth knew what she was doing, she’d complied.

Seconds later, Anna May’s throat cleared behind them. “Having fun?”

Beth spun to face Anna May, expecting her/him to shoot them.

“This is your final life, and the last time I’ll warn you. Do. Not. Touch. Her.”

“Or what?” Anna May put a hand on her hip and shot TJ a flirty smile. “Are you gonna spank me?”

Holy shit.

TJ returned the smile and walked—no, stalked—toward Anna May. When he was toe to toe with her, he ran a finger from her shoulder across her collar bone, then down between her breasts.

It was like a train wreck, Beth didn’t want to watch, but she couldn’t look away. TJ’s boldness seemed to embolden Warren/Anna May, too.

Anna May stepped closer and pressed herself to him. “I’ve been very naughty.”

“Um, TJ?” Beth felt the need to remind him that despite Anna May’s sultry curves and sexy feminine voice, behind that avatar was a pimpled, perverted twerp who probably still lived in his parent’s basement and the only action he saw was his right hand. “He’s a dude.”

TJ glanced back, a smirk on his lips, then he stepped away from Anna May, putting some distance between them. He cleared his throat and pointed at Anna May. “You do it again and you don’t get your bonus.”