Chapter Fifty Four: I Still Believe That I Can Not Be Saved
May 1, 2010
Truth or Consequences, NM
The mood was festive as the bus pulled into town.
Dozens of fans, supporters, and other well-wishers gathered around as the exhausted and stunned members of Rocinante exited the Beast onto the highway.
This was the site of the last raid. It was still an hour until the end of the contest, but they had picked this place to be their last attempt.
T-or-C was just a couple of hours from home for all of them, and as they had been on the road for an entire month, they were eager to get back to see their families and sleep in their own beds.
What they had not expected was this huge crowd, especially in the middle of the night. The contest rules stated that the challenge would run until midnight on the last day of April. This had been clarified to mean that the challenge would run until the end of April 30 in the last time zone on the planet. That was in American Samoa, five hours behind New Mexico, so even though the calendar had switched from April 30 to May 1 several hours earlier, they still had another hour of possible raids.
Jess had been adamant that they end in T-or-C, and now it was clear why. This little party was no doubt her plan all along. Marc suspected that the location had been leaked to their “fan club,” and that was all but verified when he saw a huge area of the desert had been blocked off with police tape. He was sure that the final raid was inside that space, and they it had been protected as soon as the nearest raid to the town had appeared.
As they approached the crowd, a corridor opened, giving them a clear path to the raid site. They walked the last hundred feet, surrounded by cheers and whistles.
Sure enough, the raid was there, unclaimed and waiting.
They had met fans on the road before, but nothing like this, their entire strategy had been to avoid others after all. This was the first time they would be performing for a crowd like this.
By the time they had exited the Beast, George had already started setting up the cameras, and as they reached the raid spot and confirmed the reservation, he was all set with a thumbs-up.
“I know it’s a bit unnerving to play with an audience like this, but after today, you’re going to have much larger ones, so you better get used to it,” Jess warned.
“You leaked our plan?” Leeroy complained. “I could have let Peter know, and he could have met us here.”
“Look over there,” Jess pointed over to the edge of the crowd.
Peter was standing there with a woman Marc recognized as Selina’s mother. There was also an older couple standing beside them. They might be Ryan’s parents. Marc had never met them, and they seemed a bit old, but he remembered Ryan saying something about being the youngest in a large family.
“You really pulled out all the stops, didn’t you? This is why you insisted we all wear the hunter’s jackets, right?” Marc said accusingly, glaring at Jess.
“What did you expect? This is the last one. We gotta milk it for all we can get.”
Hovering around the crowds and the relatives, Marc picked out at least two more cameramen. They were doubtlessly brought in by Jess to get more footage of the crowds. She never missed a trick.
Marc had to give her credit. She had pulled it off. They had made it. Their current standing in the rankings was hovering in the mid-50s, all but guaranteeing them a competitive spot in the finals. As it was still the middle of the day in Europe, there would surely be a few last-minute upsets, but they could safely count on keeping their place. They were all exhausted, but the last few days had been upbeat as they solidified their place.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without Jess and the sponsor’s support.
An unfamiliar man ran up to them and grabbed Marc’s hand.
“TRAV! It’s such an honor, and L’ROY, TSUKI, DEV, and, of course, the magnificent PANDARA! I got the space set up, just like you instructed. It’s all ready for you. This is going to be so awesome!”
“Guys, this is Phil. He’s one of the mods on the Rocinante channel on the forum. He’s basically one of your biggest fans,” Jess waved at the smiling man.
“Uhh. Thanks,” Marc said and he politely pulled back his hand.
“You did this?” Ryan asked, wide-eyed.
“Yeah. I mean, we couldn’t stop anyone from taking the spot if they really wanted to, but everyone here is your fans. We just want to be here to see you finish your last raid.”
Selina was eyeing her mother in the crowd, and it was obvious that she wanted to run over to her, but she steeled her expression and turned to the rest of them.
“Okay! Let’s do it then!”
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It wasn’t an easy raid by any stretch, but by now, the team was in top shape, and they handled it expertly and efficiently.
Three, full-grown Dire Wolves were formidable opponents. Not only were they fast and strong, but they were intelligent and, when coordinating in a hunting pack, would turn any mistake into a fatal one.
After a month of constant raids, Team Rocinante did not make mistakes. Marc hoped they put on a good show. He always wondered what they looked like to observers: a bunch of kids jumping around and shouting at invisible monsters.
It was all over in a matter of minutes. They completed their final raid and were overwhelmed by the moment, further enhanced by the screaming crowd. They grabbed each other in a group hug and collapsed into each other.
Moments later, the onlookers rushed at them, and it became a surreal moment. None of them had experienced anything remotely like this. People fighting to shake their hands or pat them on the back. Family members and loved ones grabbing them and hugging them.
Marc had no family there to meet him, but there were plenty of fans who wanted to shake his hand.
The celebration continued. Marc looked around to see banners and handmade signs. They stayed there until 5 AM, the official ending time, when they could confirm that they finished in 52nd place. Even Marc was surprised they had done so well. A few weeks ago, it had looked pretty grim, but it seems that many teams had burned out.
The pace had been brutal, but they had worked very well together. Marc imagined this is what it was like to have siblings. They could annoy you at times, but there was a trust and shared fate that always brought them back in line.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
The hardships had been real, but manageable, only because of the sponsorship they had received and the extra work and value that Jess had brought them. Each one of the team understood all she had done, and while she was never the powerhouse player, she pulled her own in the game and was nothing short of a miracle worker outside of it.
Now, they were all looking forward to a well-deserved rest while they awaited the instructions for the finals. So far, only the dates and location have been published. In less than three weeks, they would be back in Salt Lake City, this time with the top 100 teams from around the world, to participate in a tournament that would last five days. Awakening had gone viral and was now a global phenomenon, and this first tournament was expected to be the biggest event of the year.
Eventually, a patrol car pulled up to the party going on beside the road. The officer walked up, but was quickly intercepted by on of the security contractors, who explained what was going on.
“A video game? At five in the morning? You sure? It’s not some kind of rave thing, is it?”
Eventually, the officer walked back to his car, shaking his head. He stayed there watching them, however, just to make sure it wasn’t some kind of alien invasion or satanic ritual.
“Maybe we should wrap things up? I know everyone is dying to get back home. Did you get everything you need?”
Jess furrowed her brow, then motioned to one of the new cameramen. They conferenced for a bit. Then she nodded to Marc.
“Yeah, I think we are good. For today, at least. Still, some follow-up stuff, but that can wait until everyone’s had a chance to get some family time in.”
Ryan ended up going to his parent’s place while Selina and her mother piled into her station wagon, and George took the wheel. That left Marc, Jess, and the rest of the support staff to get all the vehicles over to Pinos Altos.
The sun was getting high in the sky when the caravan finally pulled into the RV park, effectively taking over the whole lot. After promising to come back before dinner, Marc grabbed Torren, and they drove up the road to his cabin. Alone for the first time in a month.
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They ended up all taking the next day off.
Marc went back, and everything was fine at the cabin. Cyrus had been tending the greenhouse, and helping himself to the fresh produce, and Lily had taken it upon herself to dust and air out the cabin once a week, so everything was exactly as he had left it. He’d need to restock some supplies, but he could raid the leftovers from the stores in the Beast until he had a chance to hit the market.
He met Jess at the Lobo for dinner, and they discussed the operations for the next few weeks.
The beast would be leaving the next day, so he and the team would need to clean it out of all their personal gear. Cowboy Jon would be driving it back to California, so this was likely the last time they would see him.
The Pinkertons, who had rotated through so fast it was never worth learning their names, were already gone. This last batch was based in Albuquerque and had only been with them for a couple of days.
Jess would stay in Pinos Altos for now, though she said she wanted to book a hotel room for a few days before giving the RV a thorough cleaning.
“What about George?”
“Oh, I’m keeping him. I already extended his contract through the finals, and I’m sure we can find plenty of work for him going forward.”
“Doesn’t he have to go back to school?”
“I figure I have the summer to talk him into dropping out. Film school is a waste anyway, that boy has a future!”
Marc wasn’t so sure George’s parents would be so easy to convince, but then again, Jess had managed to place herself as one of the most recognizable gaming journalists on the planet. Her vlog reports were now picked up by every major news agency in the world, and she was likely going to be booked for interviews for months to come.
George had truly become a member of the team, and Marc was glad he was being offered a chance to join them in Salt Lake City. He was even starting to play Awakened. He said that understanding the game would help him better position the cameras and understand our movements.
By now the confirmed list was published on the I.S.K. Awakened website, and they promised to have another announcement in the next few days regarding the final tournament. Marc was the official team contact, so he should be getting something directly from the company soon.
There were a few surprises in the final list. Their final rank was not 52. It was actually 50. It appears several teams had been dropped from the final rankings, including the number-ranked team, Team Pemburu from Indonesia. There was no official explanation, but the forums were full of speculation, most of which involved the team being disqualified for some of the tactics they had used to rise so high.
Marc was sure there was some kind of surveillance of the teams going on. He still had no explanation how a video of them had appeared during the launch announcement, when there was no cameraman or crew observing them at that time. They had been in an empty parking lot specifically because they wanted to avoid people watching them.
Everyone arrived the next morning to pick up their things and say goodbye to Jon Deere. It was a bit sad to see the Beast drive away without them. It had been their home for a month, and they had spent more time sleeping there than in hotels.
After a month of living under siege conditions, everyone was starting to adjust to life back as normal human beings. It was strange that they didn’t need to be constantly checking on the next raid. They didn’t have to religiously police their cellphones to make sure that the batter never dipped below 50%. The leaderboard that had stayed up on a screen through every meal and meeting was now a static picture. There would be no more updates.
Without a word, they instinctively moved over to the Lobo and sat at a table. No one was leading, but they were so used to working as a unit that they moved together instinctively.
They sat there for about ten minutes without saying a thing. Finally, Cyrus came out and barked at them.
“You guys going to order something of what?”
They all sat there in stunned silence for several moments before they all burst out laughing. That broke the ice and got their brains working again.
“Coffee!”
“Coffee.”
“Another coffee.”
“Coffee. Decaf, though.”
George was immediately attacked and heckled for his order.
“What? Regular coffee gives me a headache.”
“Congratulations, by the way,” Marc added.
“Huh? What?”
“Oh, about that. I haven’t quite locked that one in…” Jess added sheepishly.
Marc slowly shook his head and gave Jess a disapproving look.
“Jess is planning to adopt you.”
“Huh?”
“Kid, you did a great job. We’re extending your contract through the finals. Maybe have some other work for you after that.”
“Huh?”
“Are you estúpido, or what?” Selina slapped her cousin on the shoulder. “She’s offering you another job.”
“But I have to get ready to go back to school.”
“We’re offering you enough to pay for another semester, and fund your movie.”
“… really? Editing too? Including color correction?”
“You do this, and I’ll get Spike Lee to come to your premier.”
George now looked as shell-shocked as the rest of the team.
“Okay, with that taken care of, we should work on the schedule. We’re going to need some interviews and background done this week. Maybe some shots of you at home, some background with your families if you are cool with that.”
“I don’t know if Peter…”
“Yeah, it’s all volunteer stuff. But just so you know, the broadcast networks know who you are and where you live now, so they will come knocking sooner or later. If they haven’t already. Nothing we can do about it now. The more stuff you put out first, the less other reporters will have to dig their talons into. Think about it. But think fast.”
This was disturbing enough to cut into the overall enthusiasm at having made it into the top 100. The looks around the table were grim.
“I’ll be heading up to Salt Lake about a week before the tournament. George, you’ll be coming with me. We’ll stay in a hotel. No more RV life for me for a while. The rest of you, just rest up, and prepare for the tournament. We don’t have anything official from the organizers yet, but you’ve all heard the rumors.”
“PvP?” Ryan piped up.
“Are they really going to add that? For the tournament?” Leeroy had already made his thoughts on directly confronting other players clear.
“It’s more than likely. We know it’s been in the works, some of the betas who were not in the tournament have been involved in the testing. I’m sure I.S.K. will want to do something big for the tournament, too, so it fits.”
“Ryan’s right. We need to get ready for anything they might throw at us. What else?” Marc turned back to Jess.
“That’s about it. I’ll have new contracts made up in a few days. You can have Sheila look them over if you want, but I am pretty sure it won’t be a problem.”
“What do you mean, new contracts? What’s wrong with the old ones.” Selina leaned in. More than anyone else on the team, she was the one most interested in the financial aspect.
“Well, You are now in the finals. That’s a big deal. I’m not sure any of you know how big a deal it is. The contract we are preparing is another placeholder until you are set up with an agent. All it will do for now is preserve your rights. It will also ensure that no matter what happens at the tournament, you’ll be pulling in six figures this year. Once you have an agent, you can start looking at the other offers that have been coming in.”
“Offers?”
“Promotions, book deals, appearances. Trust me, no matter where you place, you’ll be set. If we do manage to win… well, the winner’s pot won’t be the only big number you’ll be looking at. You… We, we’re famous.”