Once Dan was done exercising, he stretched and meditated, then ran back to his usual spot and waved Nick over while he caught his breath and stretched some more.

“What’s up,” asked Nick.

“I forgot to ask,” said Dan. “How’d it go last night?”

Nick laughed. “Didn’t go at all. I ain’t wanted to come off creepy or nothing. Mostly just hoping an opportunity presents itself at some point.”

“Be careful. Use me as a cautionary tale.”

“I know it, Danny. Hey, man, you’re bleeding. Looks like from a couple places.”

“No matter. The camera working?”

Nick lit a cigarette and took a drag. “Looks like I got to quit soon anyhow. Only got three left. Wish you didn’t wreck your pack. Mac had a big vape thing I got for after. Camera’s working but Chet wanted to talk to you.”

Dan grunted. A moment later he said, “Send him over.”

“You know I’m injured, right? Walking back and forth ain’t doing my calf no favors.”

“Neither is smoking or trying to hookup,” said Dan. He yelled out, “Chet!”

Nick smiled and puffed on his cigarette as Chet ran up. “Hey.”

Dan asked, “You get that camera to show on the Profile Reader?”

“Dang. I was hoping you talked normally. Didn’t they have TV or YouTube where you guys grew up? I didn’t think anyone actually talked like some of you guys here. Not in real life. English is my second language and I have no distinguishable accent.”

Nick laughed and asked, “Where’d you growed up, Chet?”

“Mostly Oklahoma City. Same as Austin. Leena and Carlos, the dead one, also live there. Mac lived west of Tulsa. I think Sapulpa. Winston and Luke are hillbillies like you guys. Becky’s from…well, she lives in Lawton now. I think she’s from there, but she also lived in San Diego for years. If Ace said where he’s from or lives, I missed it.

“I believe alive Carlos is from southern Mexico or south of it. Both times he’s eaten, he’s given me the hot sauce from his meal.”

Smiling, Nick asked, “How you figure that from him not liking hot sauce?”

“People from southern Mexico all the way down to Chile and Argentina generally dislike spicy foods. Peru is somewhat of an exception.”

Nick turned to Dan and said, “I told you he was smart. He was accepted into MIT up in New York at just 16 years old.”

“Actually, I was 15 when I accepted, and MIT is in Boston. I had many offers to various schools long before this one, but I had to ensure my mother and sister would be fine before considering any. I’ll start the fall semester this year. Or would’ve if not for, uh, this. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Danny.”

Dan, still staring at his daughter, said, “It’s Dan.”

Chet turned to Nick. “I’d like to discuss a private matter with Dan. May we please have some privacy?”

“Sure,” said Nick, smiling as he hobbled away.

Once Nick was out of earshot, Chet said, “It seems I’ve been relegated to red-shirt status. A tertiary character. I can’t accept that. I believe you’re the protagonist. Love interest is out. Sorry, but I have my eye on Leena. I’d rather not be the antagonist. That leaves confidant, deuteragonist, and foil.

“I care little which, but we need to spend more time together starting now. I will require some time to continue wooing Leena. I hate to put my foot down so early in our new partnership, but I really must demand time for that. I think I have a real shot with her. Most girls call me a pervert or at least cross their arms when I stare at their boobs. She just lets me look.”

Dan stopped staring at his dead kid to study Chet for a moment. “The camera’s working?”

“I can connect it to a Profile Reader. Once disconnected, it continues to show its feed on the reader for 15 or 20 minutes. With another transmitter, I believe I could make the connection last until the devices are out of power.

“I’m unable to find a power source without disassembling the devices, and I lack the necessary tools to do so. The store has some items I’m unfamiliar with, but none sound as if they’re tools or a device with useful components.”

Dan was looking back at his daughter when he said, “Nothing helpful in the store. I’ll get another camera at some point. Fifteen minutes is plenty for now.”

“Should I move my stuff over here or will you be moving closer to the group? When do we start my personal training sessions? I want to be OP as soon as possible.”

Dan said, “Go get ready to connect it to the reader on the Agility Trial.”

I checked if the camera in the Core trial had been replaced. It had. I’ve never seen that camera taken before. I hoped it wasn’t coming out of my pay. And if it was, I tried thinking of a way to prevent Dan from stealing the replacement.

[Replaced by whom?]

No idea. I think there’s a whole building where all the fancy technical folk work out of. There’s a building for first Game staff too. I heard those two buildings are in the mortal realm and have a ton of prude staff working in them.

I have a bird’s-eye view of each member of my team I can cycle through. I can move the view around a little too. There was no way for me to see how the Core Trial’s camera was replaced.

I’ve seen Profile Readers destroyed before. I’ve never seen how or when they’re replaced either. I get docked some pay if one of my team members destroys a reader. Isn’t that some bullshit? How could I ever stop that? And how is it my fault?

[You can use Veil to place cameras. According to the materials I was provided, you purchased one the second day.]

Yeah, but that’s expensive. Each one costs 3% Veil, and they don’t help me kill participants at all.

[What was the purpose of the camera you spent your own Veil on then?]

To look at orifices, of course. My team designated a spot along the stream south of the Agility Trial as the toilet. It was the perfect place to put one. Since it looked like I was in it for the long haul, it would be Veil well spent.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

[I see. Continue.]

This is an important part. Most of the mentals we track had been deep red for Dan since the Game initiated. There’re four types of anxiety tracked separately. They’re not labeled individually. Two of his were always deep red.

When he walked up to the Agility Trial, I noticed another type of anxiety increasing.

The night before, after the orekuns were killed and Dan was helping patch everyone up, I also noticed the same thing but to a much lesser extent since everyone was spread out. I thought it was due to Mac dying, or the battle, maybe the venom.

Social anxiety. It had to be. Being around people caused him anxiety. The more people there were, and the closer they were, the worse it got.

This may seem obvious since he had always stayed away from the group, but there could’ve been a dozen explanations for that such as maybe he thought the others smelled, or maybe he disliked seeing so many stupid looking faces all at once.

So, Dan was very tense when he walked up to Chet at the Profile Reader. Chet started connecting the camera. Dan told Nick to get everyone to watch the reader once he entered the Agility Trial.

Nick loudly said, “Now? Come on, man. Heal up first. You’re bleeding from a bunch of places.”

Most of the others had started walking over. Dan was backing up, trying to position himself so no one was behind him. He could see Nick, Austin, and Chet at the Profile Reader to his front right and all the people gathering on his left. Luke was kind of behind him but way off to his left playing with Bonnie.

Dan’s anxiety just started spiking hard. He ignored Nick and asked, “You done, Chet?”

Becky walked up closer to Dan and said, “Where’s the medic bag? Let me see how your wounds are doing.”

“I’m fine, ma’am. Just…,” Dan trailed off and started looking around all wild eyed as that new anxiety line shot up deep into the red.

Winston said, “Listen to your brother, son. You ain’t looking so good. Looks like you fixing to collapse. Why don’t you get some water and sit a spell. Let Becky have a look at those wounds.”

By this time, everyone but Luke and Bonnie were crowding around. Dan kept backing away while barking out, “All y’all back off! Stop crowding! Chet, get me that damn camera!”

“Relax, son,” said Winston. “No one’s crowding nothing. We just worried, is all. You’re injured and you’ve been pushing yourself hard. That Trial will still be there tomorrow.”

Dan had backed a good distance away from the group with his hand on his knife hilt. “Y’all don’t get it. Just stop crowding. And talking. Back up! Camera, now, Chet!”

Chet walked the camera to Dan, handed it off, and said, “Feed’s showing on the reader.”

“Y’all just watch the screen. Damn,” snapped out Dan as he rushed towards the entrance and entered the Agility Trial. The door closed and his anxiety dropped. He set his backpack down and positioned the camera on the ground. The Trial hummed to life.

Once he walked into the center, a voice counted down from three and a thick beam of light running between both walls around waist high flashed towards Dan.

He dove over the beam and rolled under the next one, twisted on the ground to avoid the next that ran between the ceiling and the floor, kipped up and jumped over a diagonal one where it was low against the right-hand wall.

And he just kept going, leaving blood stains on the floor where he rolled. It seemed to me he didn’t really look around much at all. It seemed like he could do it blindfolded. Like he had memorized the pattern.

Keep in mind this was Hell difficulty. The beams came fast and furiously. On Normal difficulty this was a test of agility. On Hell, it was a test of stamina, speed, and reaction too.

Since Dan wasn’t in shape, and was injured and hurting pretty good, even after everything I’d seen, I kept thinking, “Oh, this one’ll definitely get him!” But they kept on not getting him. It was infuriating. He almost died so many times. So close!

Like most of the Stat Trials in this difficulty, the participant must last a minute or two minimum to rate F and live. After that set time, in this case, two minutes, they just need to yell out, “Stop,” or “End,” to finish. Every 30 seconds past two minutes increases the rating. If they hit SS, the event automatically ends.

Can you guess what he rated?

[No.]

Ah, well, it was SS. On top of the XP and fragments, the special reward for SS was an Agility Grade-Enhancer.

Dan was sucking air and sweating heavily, his face purple again. He rested for about 10 minutes before collecting his rewards, triggering the door to open. He somehow knew how to work the enhancer. I didn’t think that was possible without a Class, using an enhancer.

Nick called in as Dan absorbed his special reward, increasing his Agility Stat from F to C-grade. “Hey, you okay, man? Looked like you were fixing to pass out and we couldn’t see you no more. Door wouldn’t open neither.”

“Yeah. Meet me at my spot,” replied Dan between huffs. The fragments went into the backpack. He grabbed the camera, exited, placed the camera outside the door, and walked away from the Trial and everyone crowding its reader.

Winston walked with Nick over to Dan stretching at his usual spot. When they arrive, Winston said to Dan, “Hey, son, I was waiting to see if you remembered me. Your brother never did.”

Dan looked at Winston for some time. “I think I do, sir. Did you used to work at the supply store down in Shattuck?”

“Naw. My brother and his wife run it, and I used to help out now and again. I had a farm nearby. I knew your daddy and your granddaddy too. Real shame what happened. Goddamn animals, they are. Did it to my place in Ellis County too. Was worse in Woodward County. Real shame what happened after. All that with your family. And your maw. My wife used to keep me apprised.”

Dan held his hand out to shake. “Is it Mr. Hunt?”

“No, Green, but you can call me Winston. You ain’t kids no more, son. Do all of us need to do what you just done?”

“No, sir. Just two do. And not like I done it. I went for a higher rating. Y’all just need the minimum for now.”

“Just two? Why’s that,” asked Winston.

“Y’all are going into two groups. Only one member of the party needs to complete a Trial. A few of the Trials can’t be done as a group but those ones ain’t too physical.”

“Second oldest here is Luke,” said Winston. “I got married before he was even born. My wife’s real sick. Hasn’t got out of bed for months. Now that we know only 3% or so of humans been sent here, even if my wife did too, she’d have died by now. Without me there taking care of her, giving her those meds and changing her oxygen, she wouldn’t have lasted the night.”

“I’m real sorry to hear that, Mr. Green. My condolences.”

Winston took his hat off and said, “What I’m really asking is…y’all don’t need me. I can’t do nothing here. And I won’t abandon my wife. I’m all she got and she all I got. She’s a good woman. We had it rough back in the day but stuck it out. Together. Always together. Used to be a real big deal when a black feller married a white. I know it ain’t no more, but it used to be.

“I apologize for rambling on and saying all this but even if I could hop around like you done, I’d still want to go be with my wife. If you know what I’m saying.”

Dan kept looking at his kid for a while before replying. “You can’t think like that, Mr. Green. Defeatism. You can’t let it get in your heart. Just like on a farm, you do what needs doing. That’s it. You go until this place gets you. It’s fixing to get a lot harder, so you get as hard as needed to remain.”

Winston sighed. “Let’s say I get hard. Hard as needed. Will I see my wife at the end of it? Is she alive? Will I be home before she dies?”

“Trying’s better than quitting. I know that.”

“Give me a guess. No lying neither. Don’t give me false hope.”

The ghost ran out and Dan’s daughter disappeared. I paid for it again. None of the other Trauma I had available had done much to him, but I had a new idea. To create a crowded feeling, I paid for a dozen of what’s called images. Creepy and translucent monsters appeared all around Dan. His social anxiety increased a good bit, but he only had eyes for his daughter. She asked, “Why’d you kill me, Daddy?”

Dan said, “If I had to guess, Mr. Green, I hate to say it, but I’d guess no. That don’t mean I’m right though.”

Winston seemed relieved. “I was a crop farmer just like your daddy and his daddy was. We from the same neck of the woods. I hate asking, but it’s a sin if I do it myself. Mind going on a walk with me and doing this old man a big favor?”

Dan kept looking at his daughter. “Me doing it’s a sin too.”

“Yeah, but like you said, you do what needs doing. I ain’t sure I can do it myself. I’m asking. Please. I just want to go be with my wife. That’s all I’m asking.”

Dan turned to Nick and said, “Bring everyone to the Strength Trial. Carlos needs to watch close and understand what needs doing, so make sure he knows that.”

Nick scoffed. “You just done one Trial, Danny. Who you picking to do the agility one? Which two?”

“Not up to me. I’ll train whoever’s doing it. But the strength one needs training done too. And all the others.”

“At least let Becky or me check out your wounds,” pleaded Nick.

“I done told you I’m fine. Just get going.”

“Jesus, alright. I don’t even know where that one is though.”

Dan said, “This area’s a circle. The Strength Trial is closest to nine o’clock. Due a bit east of it.”

“You really fixing to kill Mr. Green?”

Dan looked back at his daughter. “He’s right here. Talk him out of it if you can.”

“Oh, before I forget,” said Winston as he took a pipe, a box of long matches, and a bag of tobacco out of his jacket pocket and handed them over. “Take this, Nick. And there’s no talking me out of nothing, son. Me and my wife always done everything together. We been through the thick of it together. Real hard times. I can’t let her be alone for the next part. We’ll do that together too.”