Chapter 74: Team Building Exercise

“If we meet like this again,” Donica said, “I’m going to have to insist one of us who has an actual house play host.”

Miguel laughed.

I started to, but I noticed Lena’s hunched shoulders. I reached over and massaged the back of her hand; she only glared at Donica a little.

“We would have a lot more space there,” Erin said. “But I don’t mind this. It’s... cozy.”

Of course Erin would say that. While four of us squeezed ourselves around the counter, she crouched on the floor, marveling at Bernie through her camera. She’d let him sniff her free hand and was now using it to scratch his chin. We’d all taken turns admiring him. Or, in Donica’s case, trying and failing to pretend to be comfortable around him.

Well, I wasn’t sure she didn’t have the right idea.

To my annoyance, the “all” in question included Miguel, and not because one of us had loaned him our phone. The one he’d used to admire Bernie looked identical to the one he’d lost in the tunnel, but he assured me it was a newer model.

On which he’d installed his almost nonfunctional copy of the Third Eye app.

The game puts him in the hospital, he tells us to quit, he can’t even access most of the content, and he still reinstalls it? Crazy bastard.

At least he’d told me over Discord. I’d had time to try to ask someone else.

We’d find out in a little while if that had worked. I had a text agreement sitting on my phone, but if I’d been invited to a meetup of possible crazy people, I’d agree and then make up an excuse after the fact.

I didn’t know what I’d do about seating if we got another team member. Pace, maybe. I already felt like it. For now, we’d pulled my and Lena’s computer chairs over to the counter, so we could seat five.

I thought we already seemed ridiculous in the tiny space. Lena and I were dressed for our apartment, and Miguel had on similar gear, jeans and a long-sleeved band tee, but our other guests looked out of place. Though it was Sunday, Donica must have come straight from her office. She wore slacks, a button-down shirt, and an honest-to-God sports coat she’d hung at the door beside her parka. Even Erin had ditched her usual DU hoodie for a floral-patterned blouse she kept fiddling with the frilly sleeves of. I thought Donica could have told her a visit to our apartment shouldn’t count as a special occasion, but nope.

In addition to the five of us, Erin had set up a tablet on the counter with a Discord voice call open. ShakeProtocol’s too-handsome face smiled from it. Technically, the sweats he wore should have been the most casual attire on any of us. On him they looked almost as good as a Third Eye costume.

Apart from Donica, I’d left it to Erin to decide which wiki team members should be invited, IRL or online. Only ShakeProtocol had made her cut.

Maybe she’d worn the blouse for his sake rather than for a visit to my and Lena’s apartment.

“Since I’m only seeing this through a camera,” ShakeProtocol said, “could someone clarify for me what the Daimon looks like IRL?”

“It’s so cute either way,” Erin cooed. “The physical version is a dragon plushie.”

“I can do you one better than a description,” Lena said. “Gimme a sec and I’ll send a pic.”

She did.

ShakeProtocol’s eyebrows raised. “Not quite what I would’ve expected. But I suppose it is cute.”

Lena narrowed her eyes. “You suppose?”

“I don’t think that’s really the important thing,” Donica said.

I glanced at her. Playing peacemaker, I wondered, or just impatient? Either way, she was living up to her claim to being a better teammate than when we used to play on her server.

“Agreed,” I said. “I hope we get the chance to all just hang out sometime, but I wouldn’t have asked everybody to brave the snow just for that.”

“Of course,” Erin said. “Sorry. It’s just, as amazing as a lot of Third Eye stuff has been, Bernie here is the first really cute thing I’ve seen. And I love his name.”

“Right?” Lena said. She slipped off her chair and joined Erin on the floor, petting Bernie. “I thought he was just the best thing ever when he was just a stuffed toy.”

Donica pinched her nose.

“Perhaps,” Miguel said, “we should start things off?”

I nodded. I took a deep breath and chased it with a sip of water.

“You have the floor, OldCampaigner,” ShakeProtocol said.

“I know. Just. Collecting my thoughts.” I stood up and rolled my shoulders.

This shouldn’t have seemed so intimidating. Lena and I had already discussed our pitch. I knew what I needed to say.

Giving a presentation wasn’t all that different from making a video. Except that instead of leaving comments, people could interrupt you. And you couldn’t do retakes when you screwed it up. And you had to see everyone’s faces as you talked.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I felt Lena squeeze my hand. “We got this, remember?”

I smiled down at her. “Right.”

Miguel cupped his chin. It didn’t hide his grin.

“Most of us have been playing Third Eye intensely for the last couple weeks,” I said. “I know Lena and I have. It started out as just a game with incredible graphics. Then we got sucked into collecting materials. Number goes up. Addictive. Then the ARG stuff – that’s what interested me in the first place. I feel like we’ve still only scratched the surface of it.”

I was surprised no one had interrupted me yet. I paused and took another sip of water.

“In the last couple of days especially, we’ve started to encounter things that aren’t... gamelike. Or not just that. Donica and I got lost in a site full of Third Eye phenomena and it felt like the space was changing around us as we explored. We’re pretty sure the time was, or else it put us into some kind of a fugue state.”

Miguel’s grin slipped. He remained silent, though.

I flicked a glance to Lena. Although she kept petting Bernie, she was smiling up at me.

A shot of nerves, a shot of confidence. Like swigging a Red Bull in one hand and a beer in another; uppers and downers. I’d outgrown that after college. Good thing, considering I couldn’t afford either anymore.

“Miguel believes,” I said, “and I’m inclined to agree with him, that Third Eye Water pushed him over a railing while we were hunting for materials.”

Frowns all around, except from Lena, who’d heard me rehearse. Well, and Bernie, whose mouth was open in a happy pant.

“This stuff can be dangerous,” I said. “Scary. The smart thing for all of us to do is probably to wash our hands of it and walk away. The responsible thing for us to recommend to other people? Same.”

Erin stood up, one hand clasped over her chest.

“That’s not what I’m going to say tonight,” I said quickly. “What I’m going to suggest instead doesn’t extend to you, Miguel. To be honest, I invited you because I thought you wouldn’t have the app installed on your phone and I want someone without it to observe our experiments. You’re welcome to stick around for the ARG stuff, of course, and we could use your help, but I’m not sure how much you’ll get out of it.”

“You say that,” he said, “but I’m sure you couldn’t press on without my company.”

“It’s a definite plus,” Lena said. “Also, we knew you’d believe us, since you were trying to sell us on this shit being real before any of us were ready to buy.”

Miguel laced his fingers behind his head. “I provide many services.”

Erin covered her mouth; Donica and ShakeProtocol rolled their eyes.

“For the rest of us,” I said, “for the active players, Third Eye might be dangerous. It definitely is scary. But it’s also offering us something amazing. Beyond the graphics. Beyond even the magic, or sufficiently advanced technology, or whatever you want to call it. It feels like it’s serving up personalized content. Stuff we really wanted, whether we realized it or not.”

I watched Erin while I said this. Good call, sort of.

Among the things I saw was what I’d expected to. She sank onto a stool and her hands fell to her sides. As always, she didn’t have the same control over them she did over her face and voice. But then, I couldn’t assess her voice, because she clamped her jaw so tightly not a sound emerged. As for her face? As soon as she realized my eyes were on her, she fixed her gaze on the opposite side of the room.

“I think that’s quite enough, Cameron,” Donica said.

I thought she was right.

I’d hoped Erin would admit she’d gotten something as personal and meaningful as Lena had, even if she didn’t care to share what it was. It would explain a lot.

I hadn’t meant to upset her this much.

“It’s fine,” Erin croaked. “He’s right.”

“Don’t blame Cam,” Lena said. “This part of the pitch was my idea.”

Donica had stood up and moved toward Erin, but Lena was closer, extending a hand.

After a moment’s hesitation, Erin took it. “Sorry. I didn’t expect... it would hit that way. For you, I mean.”

“Me neither.” Lena put on a grin. “Back then, I just wanted something to get me out of the apartment.”

That startled a laugh out of Erin, which proved that whatever issues she was dealing with, they weren’t the same as Lena’s.

Donica joined them, an odd expression on her face. Her hand hovered, half outstretched, like she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to offer comfort after Lena already had.

Erin grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She cleared her throat. “That was... really insightful, Cam. More than I expected.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I think?”

Erin turned back to me and managed something of a smile.

“I don’t care what you’re getting out of Third Eye,” I said. “If it’s something too personal and you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. Just know, I think we’re all either getting it or going to.”

“Provided,” Miguel said, “that you remain active in the game.”

This time, all of us except Donica flinched. “It certainly makes the bottom 1% thing look worse,” she said. “You have to play well enough to win your life-changing experience?”

“It also assumes we want life-changing experiences,” ShakeProtocol said. “I backed an interesting game, not a therapist.”

“You’ve got everything on lock, huh?” Lena asked.

“I’d like to think so.”

She heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Why are the hot ones always delusional?”

I snorted.

To ShakeProtocol’s credit, so did he. “Seriously, though. I’m sure we’ve all got our problems, but I’d rather the devs stayed out of mine.”

“I’m with that,” Donica said.

“Totally fair,” I said. “That being the case, I wouldn’t blame either of you if you wanted to bail at this point. Hell. I’ve already said I think it’s the smart thing to do.”

Donica’s smile looked forced enough I thought she was considering it. Actually, I thought that if she didn’t want to support Erin, she’d have ruled out the possibility of ever interacting with Third Eye again after what happened at the construction site.

ShakeProtocol, on the other hand, shook his head. “You make it sound like the only reason to keep playing is to have some kind of personal revelation. That’s absurd.”

Lena bristled. “I don’t know how much you found, but if you’re not getting something crazy cool out of this game, it can be... a lot.”

“I’ve found enough to continue playing,” he said, infuriatingly calm. “I’m going to keep playing for two reasons. First and foremost, I’m committed to the team. I enjoy the company, and I’m going to do my part.”

That seemed to have finished restoring Erin’s morale, and her smile.

“Second” ShakeProtocol continued, “if I take your premise seriously and accept that there’s real magic to be had, why would I possibly turn down the chance at it?”

“If that’s good enough for you, great,” Lena said. “Don’t say it’s absurd for Cam to demand a higher standard, though.”

I reached over and threaded my arm through hers. She let me tug her closer to my chair. “It’s fine. I just want to make sure everybody’s on the same page.”

“It seems like we are,” Erin said.

“Okay.” Was it? I felt like I was digging all of us in deeper and trying to convince everybody to pick up a shovel. I glanced at Lena.

She gave me a nod.

But she was biased.

I took a deep breath.

My phone chimed.

I checked my texts. The new one read, ‘We still on? Will be there in ten.’

So much for getting everyone on the same page in advance.

“So.” I scratched the back of my neck. “This suddenly became an urgent question. How comfortable are we talking to a reporter about this?”