“Mr. Chairman! I’m glad to have caught you between meetings.” The owner of Nexus Co. made no effort to disguise his disgust at having to talk to Loki again.

“Anything for one of our cherished stockholders.”

“I was wondering if you had time to review my proposition, Mr. Chairman.”

“Yes, I have.”

“And…”

“I’m afraid we must refuse, Mr. Loki.”

“I don’t see why? Wouldn’t it be in everyone’s best interest if you accepted?”

“Listen carefully. I find it highly unethical that you are a shareholder of a gaming company when you are a guild owner; I...”

“Calm down, Mr. Chairman. You make it sound like I became a shareholder on purpose! I inherited these shares when a dear friend of mine passed. To my dismay and complete surprise, he left me all his shares in your company in his will. I find it highly unfair that you accuse me of unethical behavior!”

“Don’t think you fool me.” The man kept his cool, despite Loki’s provocation. “I know what goes on in your building and your debt-collecting operation. You might have found a way to entrap people in my game to pay debts to you. You might have gotten through to my hardware division, and yes, I also know about your little spies inside the company.” Loki smirked. He didn’t bother hiding it. There was nothing the chairman could do about it now. He’d been meticulous in doing everything legally. At least, that’s how it looked on paper. Anything under the table had been done by discardable pawns that were either dead or permafrosted. He’d also gone to great lengths to ensure that Nexus would go down with him if he went down.

“I won’t have you getting one single paw inside of AstroTerra. What credibility would the game have if you could access inside information? You can use your dirty little lawyers and agents as much as you like. You can even call the senators that are in your pocket. I don’t care. I have ensured that it is impossible for you or any other gaming guild to be involved in the game’s inner workings.”

Before he could say anything else to the chairman, he hung up on Loki. Only a few people left on the planet dared to do that to him. People make mistakes when angry, but it was challenging to rile this man up. The secret was to provoke an adversary enough, but not so much that he snapped. Looking at his paralyzed legs, he allowed himself a smile. Yes. Today was the day he finally got his revenge. It hadn’t been easy to be so extraordinarily patient. How often had he considered having that brute’s life terminated in prison? Or to send him a picture of his dead relatives? He had waited all this time to inflict him with the most pain possible.

He wondered how the lot of disposable pawns he’d nurtured over the years were doing. He couldn’t wait to see the footage they were preparing for him.

*

“What if the Slayer doesn’t get into the pod?” asked the girl in blue robes. Both girls had been the hardest ones to convince to get on board. After all, this was a one-way trip.

“He will. We’ve been through this millions of times, Shirley. The Slayer is a gaming freak. Do you think he will resist trying out the pod or reliving his glory days? Besides, that’s why we sent Wilson. He has a silver tongue when he wants to.”

“But what if he doesn’t?”

“He will,” assured Gary. Brian sat under the tree, silent as ever. He had been closest to Roth but, surprisingly, had been the first to accept Loki’s deal. Gary wondered if it was because the closest you are to someone, the harder their betrayal hits you. Most likely, it was because he was the only one here with kids.

“What if his mom comes looking for him?” insisted Shirley. Gary grimaced. They had all known Mrs. Bessie growing up. She had been a force to be reckoned with in their neighborhood. Growing up, he learned fear of the Slayer and respect for Mrs. Bessie. But the dread he had of Loki was far more significant. He owned them. There was no saying no to that psycho.

“She won’t. Loki got that letter made for her. You all know how good his forgers are. Even the hologram stamp on the right upper corner is indistinguishable from the real thing.”

“What else would you expect from that weasel... Makes you wonder how much of his empire is built on forgeries,” contributed Xana. She was the kindest of all of six, well, five. Roth was no longer one of them. How low they all had fallen for her once pure soul to have become dark enough to agree with what they were about to do.

“What if she tries calling the prison to learn more about what happened?”

“You know as well as I do how powerful Loki is. I can’t believe he hasn’t covered that.”

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“What if he asks for help from other players? Or asks them to call game support for him?” Gary begged for Xana’s help with his eyes.

“Shirley, we’ve been through this already,” said Xana soothingly. “Calm down. He can talk to players, but if they ask game support to help him, they will be blocked by Loki’s people. Anyone looking up his information will only see the case file he forged.”

“What if someone calls the police? You know? He makes friends with someone, makes them feel sorry for them, and has them call the police to help him?”

“Shirley, how would Loki be able to keep whole floors full of capsules with permafrosted slaves if he didn’t have a way to get away with it?” Gary bit his lip at the thought of his family becoming one of the people locked away in Loki’s basement. Since he became indebted to Loki, he had wondered why he wasn’t sent down to join a farming team. Why hadn’t Loki permafrosted him too? For some time, he told himself that it was because of how talented he and the gang were. They weren’t as skillful as Roth, but they were pretty good. He told himself that Loki had recognized their talent and valued them for it. A few weeks back, when they had been made this offer, he finally understood Loki’s patience.

“We have no choice but to trust Loki. He said that he’d take care of that if it came to it. Let’s trust he will.” Gary tried his best not to let his voice tremble or for Shirley to see how hard he was closing his fist. On the one hand, he didn’t want to put his freedom and life in the hands of that snake. On the other, what choice did they have? This was their only chance to escape the mud pit and ensure the debt wasn’t passed on to their families.

Another player materialized inside the village. His gloomy expression heavily contrasted with the beautiful spring day in Green Country.

“It’s done,” he announced.

“He got in?” asked Shirley urgently.

“Yes. He’s in. There’s no coming out now, no turning back.”

“You used the ‘mom’ card?”

“Yes. He was completely out of it. He... no. Never mind.”

“What?” asked Shirley. “He what?”

“He held on to me, crying and apologizing for what he had done.” Gary was stunned hearing this. That was entirely out of character for the Slayer he knew. “He seems different.”

“Wilson,” Gary said the word through clenched teeth, “what are you saying?”

“He’s throwing the question out there. The question that all of us are thinking and none are talking about.” Brian had remained under the shadow of a nearby tree and was so silent and still that Shirley even jumped in fright when he entered the conversation. He had a way of blending in and remaining quiet until he was sure no one else would say what he wanted to.

“What question?” asked Shirley.

“Are we actually going to do this?” completed Xana. The group was silent for a few moments.

“We’ve been over this many times. If we don’t do this, our debt won’t disappear, and Loki will go after our families. We have worked for him for years, and our debt has only grown. Besides, the Slayer isn’t innocent in all of this. We trusted him when we went into that loan. We trusted him when we all signed that cursed contract with Loki. What did he do for us in return?” Gary left the question hanging in the air. He searched for hesitation in the eyes of the squad but only found the renewed determination he was fueling. “He sold us to that devil. Even if we wanted to, we’re so caught up in his evil web that we can’t turn back. It’s us and our families or him now.” Gary sighed in relief, seeing everyone exchanging looks and silently nodding.

“Remember. We are all just going to scare him. This is just a game, right?” Everyone avoided eye contact with Gary. It was a flimsy excuse, and they all knew it. “All that he’s going to feel is in his imagination. His body will be comfortably inside the pod.”

“I don’t understand why he’s not here to do this himself. Why not send Zin? Or Xerxes? Or someone else? Why does he have to get us involved? And why not just permafrost him like the others?” asked Wilson. Gary bit his lip. He had suspicions but preferred not to share them with the group. It would only hurt morale. There had to be a reason why Loki kept them around for this long and why he was making sure Roth was being permafrosted outside his facilities. What he wanted to do this time was different. It was worse. It was so cruel that even he, powerful as he was, feared it being traced back to him.

When the police came looking for suspects, it would be easy to blame it on someone related to the victim and with a motive. Cursed be that wretched monster. We’re only scapegoats to him. Before he could dodge the issue, Brian spoke his theory.

“It’s because he knows it will hurt the Slayer the most if the ones hitting him are us, his former friends.” Gary hadn’t considered that side of things. “As for him not being here himself, perhaps it’s because he wants the Slayer to know that he is a nobody. He wants to make the Slayer feel he is unimportant. Someone who doesn’t even merit his presence to torture him.” Or because he doesn’t want to be implicated in this. Or even, because he takes pleasure in manipulating others into doing horrible things thought Gary.

“I think he’s just terrified of Roth. You all saw what he did to him. Remember? 22 broken bones? He looked like a half-dead mummy after Roth beat him to a pulp. His pasty figure can’t even leave his force shield’s safety, much less his tower.” Gary couldn’t help looking over his shoulder to ensure that none of Loki’s spies were listening. If they brought word of Shirley’s sass, they would all be in a world of trouble.

“Shut up, Shirley. What if someone hears you!” warned Xana.

A new player materialized inside the square. It was a girl. They ignored her. Gary mentally reviewed the script Loki had given them. He also checked he had the item needed for this operation. To waste an epic-grade consumable for something like this just went to show how much Loki hated the Slayer. He had planned things out to the smallest detail. What kind of sick mind plans so thoroughly for someone else’s pain? He had even given them lines that they had to read to Roth. What kind of desperate soul chooses to help that sick mind fulfill its fantasies? Our kind, he realized as he looked at the eyes of his mates. They all hated the Slayer for what he had put them through. They all wanted payback. But this was too much.

A few seconds later, a new player materialized. He had a large build and broad shoulders. His jaw was squared. Although the face differed from what Gary remembered, he could see the resemblance to the Slayer. Gary turned on his observation skill to read the name of the avatar. Pax. It wasn’t Roth. Gary gestured to Wilson toward the newcomer. Wilson went on to confirm the identity of the new arrival.

“Roth...?”

“Wilson...?”

Their target had arrived.