Suddenly, there are two versions of me. The one who remembers, and the one who doesn’t. One is quickly and irreversibly absorbing the other, like a twin in utero.

Memories flow, squirming, leeches latching onto my consciousness, making it so I—

—can’t stop running, even months after Oscar’s death; years, even. I run security detail for gangs who have managed to get their hands on cloudboxes. Security inside Rithium, that is, though I do help vet the people they bring into the fold. I develop a knack for detecting undercover Police, keeping them out. In return for my services, I usually get room and board. And Rithium access.

The last guy I work for—my longest stint working for a specific gang—is this guy named Lex. Lex is smart. He has lots of cloudboxes, running in lots of places. It’s decentralized. Even when one of his places gets hit, the effect on his operation as a whole is minimal. For a while.

That’s when the raids start to happen. The ones inside Rithium, that is. Cops coming in and disrupting meetings, compromising locations. Some of Lex’ guys who get taken out stop showing up. At the time, we’re not sure what that means. Everything’s happening so fast.

This new cop starts showing up. Someone I don’t recognize right away. He works hard to keep his identity hidden. From me, anyway.

He’s good. Really good. Not only that, but he’s doing things I didn’t know were possible inside Rithium. He’s breaking the rules. And every time I see him, he seems to be able to break Rithium just a little bit more, until—

—the raid happens, the real one, the one where Lex’ entire operation gets shut down, and we are all carted away. There’s a TV in the Police Station, and I see my face in the news, as well as the faces of my colleagues, Lex included.

It looks like I’m done-zo. They’re going to make an example of us. It’s all part of the narrative. I’m going to go away for a long time. I’m going to be in prison for a good chunk of my life. Will I be experiencing withdrawals the whole time? It’s going to be murder. It’s going to be—

—a deal. Some secret deal. The FBI sets the papers in front of me. All I have to do is sign them. I’m—

—one of them, now. They introduce me to my new partner. Only, I know who he is. He’s my best friend in the world. I ran for years because I thought he was dead. Now, here he is, right in front of me. In Rithium, at least. He teaches me how to use the Dart, how to manipulate the game, how to do insane things—I can feel the muscle memory coming back to me, all the tricks and knowledge—and now, we get to live the way I always wanted to. Playing everyday. It—

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

—takes me a while to realize what it is the Black Guns do. What really scares me is I’m pretty sure Oscar already knows. He doesn’t seem to care that—

—a new group, the Bannerets, has started to fight back, standing up to the FBI. The Feds send me to execute one of them, send a message.

I go to do the job, but I can’t do it. I can’t pull the trigger. I won’t.

The target is Tanya’s brother, though I don’t know this at the time.

He asks me my name. I tell him.

At night, I lie awake in my Aberdale bed.

I’ve failed. I’ve gone against the Feds. There’s nothing left to do but wait, until—

—I’m freed by the Bannerets. The first of two times the Bannerets will break me out of Aberdale.

For a few months, I go into hiding with them, live with them. They are genuine, compassionate people. They seem to care about me. They truly believe I’m one of them. Tanya’s brother trusts me, and maybe that’s why she trusts me, too. This is the first time I’ve ever felt believed in like this, cared about like this.

They start teasing Tanya and I, telling us we clearly like each other.

We make out on the back porch, in the glow of the light, while the rest of the gang laugh and talk inside.

Late at night, while everyone’s asleep, I walk and think, staring up at the stars. I’ve become happy and complacent. I barely notice the black van pulling over, until it’s up on the shoulder. I’m knocked onto the ground. I’m—

—unable to see anything. Something is covering my face. All I can hear is the rumbling sound of the van. That, and my own hoarse voice as I scream relentlessly into the dark. There’s prick in the side of my neck, and I feel myself losing—

—consciousness. Being removed from a vehicle; different from the one I was in before. I’m being dragged, propelled. Doors open and close. I hear fans. Loud, buzzing lights.

Then, I’m dropped. My face hits a cold, tiled floor. I get my knees and look up. I see a familiar face.

It’s Samuel. He’s much the same as I remember him. Minus a couple fingers on one of his hands, a detail he seems to intentionally reveal to me right away, holding his hand up like a trophy. He doesn’t look all that happy to see me.

He snaps his fingers, pointing. I’m lifted up, moved over to a wide window, what looks like a one-way mirror. On the other side is—

“No!” I drop my revolvers, fall backward, landing on my ass in the dirt. “Nononono—”

“You get it now, don’t you?” Oscar says, crouching next to me. There’s a harsh glint in his eyes, as if he’s angry with himself, already regretting what he just did. “Now, don’t you understand?”