It had been several weeks since the majority of people disappeared in the Rapture. A lot of people went crazy. Some hid in caves, others tried to get away, but not many survived. Doug was lucky. For the past several weeks he had been able to keep his bunker stocked with canned goods and plenty of water stored in tanks, along with a diesel generator and alternative power sources including the solar panels on the roof of his old house on the surface.

Being on the outside however now that he had to abandon his bunker was daunting.

Abandoning the safety of the bunker meant risking exposure to the dangers of the outside world, including starvation, disease, and predators. His enemies might be different than those in the game, but he wasn't foolish enough to believe that his survival would come without sacrifice.

With these thoughts swirling around in his mind, Doug continued to navigate the stolen Suburban through the littered streets of Chicago. What should have taken him only a half hour drive turned out to be two hours because of the many detours he had to take due to the hundreds of abandoned cars and piles of garbage and other debris he encountered along the way. The further he got away from the heart of the city however, the better the roads got. When he pulled into the familiar suburb of Stony Island, he finally felt confident that he wasn’t being pursued.

Doug finally arrived at the Safehouse, which had become the unofficial headquarters of his group of hacker friends who called themselves the "Cyber Police". How many of them had survived the rapture and ensuing chaos, he didn't know. They used to meet regularly to work on projects and share ideas about how to subvert the corporate conglomerate known as CyberBolt Entertainment. Their goal was simple: Identify the company's true motives, take down its servers, and force them to change their ways.

They had taken a stand against the corporation's greed and corruption, and they wanted everyone else to join the fight too. But then the Rapture-like event occurred, and Doug had his suspicions that somehow CyberBolt was involved. So he decided to keep a low profile, playing the game and searching for hidden secrets.

He pulled up to the front of the warehouse that was painted black and covered in graffiti. He stepped out of the SUV and looked around nervously, making sure nobody was watching. Once satisfied that he was alone, he approached the steel garage doors and entered a code on the padlock to unlock it. He pushed open the heavy metal doors and returned to the Suburban and drove it inside. After parking the vehicle, he secured the steel doors again, and looked around the mostly empty warehouse. On the far side was a small room that had been built with a bed, and a mini fridge. Noting the haphazard way the blanket was thrown on it, he could tell that somebody had been using it.

Doug crossed the empty room and headed toward a door with a keypad next to it. After entering his access codes, the door opened to reveal a dimly lit stairwell down to the basement where their covert operation had been housed. An office occupied the space, with computer desks arranged in rows.

Noting that the room was empty, Doug walked across the floor to another door where their small gaming room was housed. Knowing Kyle, he was probably fully immersed in Conquest. Doug opened the door to see his friend sitting on a couch, wearing a VR headset with a visor and had haptic gloves on. But what he didn't expect was to see him with company.

Kyle was seated beside a pretty redhead woman who wore a white tank top and baggy jeans. Her hair was tied in two braids, and she too was wearing a VR headset with a visor and haptic gloves. In fact, Doug immediately recognized the gear as his own.

Who is this woman? And who gave her permission to use my gear?!

Angrily, Doug marched over to them ready to rip the visor off of her face when suddenly he saw something that made him hesitate. The console they were connected to displayed their gamer handles prominently on the screen. Kyle's handle @AtlasBrawn84 he recognized of course, but he also immediately recognized the woman's handle @CrimsonSongbird.

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Jenn?! How is she here?!

Before he could say anything, the woman turned off the equipment and removed the visor from her head. Doug stared at her, dumbfounded.

She has the same sapphire eyes and the same red hair with strands of silver ... Her features are uncannily similar...

"Doug?" she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

His mouth opened and closed soundlessly. A moment later, he shook himself and cleared his throat. "Yeah," he choked, "Is that you Jenn?"

Her eyes widened, and she jumped up from the couch and backed away.

Doug's heart pounded in his chest.

Is this really happening?

"How is this possible?" she stammered, "Have you been stalking me?!"

Doug chuckled and put his hands up defensively, trying to diffuse the tension. "No! Not at all!" he said, holding up his hands in surrender.

Jenn looked around nervously. "I don't want any trouble," she warned, eyeing his array of weapons.

"I honestly had no idea you were here." Doug insisted, "How did you find this place anyway?"

"I came here months ago because Kyle here told me he could help me get my microchip implant removed." she explained, "You guys were able to make arrangements for me to see Doctor Franklin at a secret clinic where he performed the procedure."

Realization dawned on him, "Oh, okay. That makes sense how you know about the Safehouse, but why are you here now?"

"Well, to be honest... I've been here for a few weeks since the Rapture happened." she shrugged, "It was the only safe place I could think of where I could lay low for a while, and Kyle let me in."

Doug nodded slowly, and eyed Kyle with disapproval.

What kind of person lets someone he doesn't know into his private lair?

"So, um..." he paused awkwardly, "You look just like your avatar in Conquest."

Jenn scoffed. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

Doug went red in the face, "I just mean, you're just as attractive in real life as you are in the game." he stammered, "And that's not something I would have expected. Especially considering Kyle here..."

In real life, Kyle was rather obese. In fact, it seemed like he had packed on a lot of additional pounds since the last time Doug had seen him several weeks ago.

How is that even possible?

But in the game, Kyle's avatar was extremely athletic and muscular. Even Doug's avatar didn't look completely identical to his real body, considering he had enhanced muscles in the game... but for the most part he had decided to accept the game's avatar cloning feature so that his face and most of his body structure was identical to himself in real life.

The problem wasn't the differences in appearance; it was the complete lack of resemblance in personality. Sure, Doug hadn't exactly been a social butterfly before the Rapture, spending more time playing games than talking to others. In real life he was extremely paranoid and usually preferred to be alone. His online persona, however, was very different. In the game, he was outgoing, friendly, and charismatic. He always spoke with confidence, never afraid to ask questions or challenge authority if need be.

"So, you think I'm attractive." Jenn smirked.

Doug blushed furiously. "Um, well... yeah." he replied lamely.

Jenn laughed. "Thanks! You aren't half bad yourself. Are you single?"

Doug blinked.

Did she just flirt with me? Maybe the game really is affecting my brain after all.

"Uh, yeah, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Because we should totally go out sometime!" Jenn smiled, batting her eyelashes.

Doug's heart skipped a beat.

Is she serious?

"Uh, yeah, sure." he shrugged, trying to act casual, "But how exactly do you go on a date during the apocalypse?"

"We'll figure it out." she giggled.

Kyle suddenly removed his visor. He stared at Doug and grimaced, "Oh, hey Doug... I didn't expect to see you here!"

Doug rolled his eyes.

Of course Kyle would log out right when things got interesting.

"Hey buddy, glad to see you." he sighed and pointed to Jenn, "I see you failed to follow protocol."

Kyle looked askance, as he struggled to stand, "What can I say? She needed help." he shrugged, "Besides, we can trust her. Can't we Jenn?"

"Of course!" she smiled and nodded.

At least she seems sincere.

Doug rubbed his temples and groaned. "Okay, fine. If you insist. But don't blame me if we get raided."

Doug glanced back at Jenn again suspiciously as she headed towards the door, worrying what kind of trickery she might try to pull on them.

"Look, Doug." Kyle whispered to him, "Please be cool. I think she's into me."

Doug snorted and rolled his eyes, "Whatever dude. Let's just keep our wits about us."

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