SAVE POINT 4
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Rosabella
"What's the trade?" I snap.
I don't know where I am or what's going on, but I know about bargains.
Negotiations.
It's how I survive in the world of online gaming and have been making it through high school: I give you this, you give me that. I do this for you, you owe me one.
And I'm a hard-trade driver. I don't even let the few friends I have get off easy.
...But Dad is involved here. His life. It makes me feel shaky and off-balance—like the ground is wobbling and I could fall into a vat of lava with any tenuous wrong step.
I draw in a trembling breath, attempting to hide my unease behind steel eyes.
The gray-haired man looks me over with an impressed, lifted eyebrow, "Determination 65 looks good on you. Well, you're brave for a reason; you're gonna need to be. Your Dad's been taken into high-security prison custody for his crime. In fact, it's highly unlikely that anyone has enough skill to bust him out at this point—except for this squad of sexy individuals in front of you."
I clamp down on my teeth, outrage stinging my eyes and the back of my throat, "You just lied to me about killing him—"
"We couldn't have you run," interrupts the pink-haired girl, shaking her hair out over the collar of her body armor like she's more interested in it than this conversation.
"I technically didn't lie about the killing part," the gray-haired man notes quickly, bringing up a finger "He's been scheduled for execution in seven days."
"Execution?!" I balk, my head crashing in dizzying circles.
Seven days?
A week to save him?
I can figure this out.
I can DO this.
"How is that legal?"—the words fall out of my mouth, tripping—"I'll get a lawyer."
"There's no lawyers in The Game, what do you think this is, Phoenix Wright?" pink-haired girl scoffs, studying her nails this time.
I have to think.
I have to act—
But what can I do?
"You can get him out—you're sure?" My voice shakes; I can't hide it anymore. My whole body is shaking, trembling at the thought of losing Dad. He's been there for my whole life. If he just disappeared, my entire universe—any kind of stability in my life—might too. ...What would I do...without him?
"We can save his life if you choose to," the gray-haired man replies grimly.
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'If I choose to?'
What kind of messed up gimmick is this?
Of course, I choose to! I can't let him die!
"Choose what?" I narrow my eyes, but my voice is desperate.
"To help us."
"I'm listening." It's almost habit to say the words. Something finally familiar on my tongue in this strange situation—something giving me a semblance of control even as I'm flailing. They are the words I always type in the game chats online when someone approaches me with a trade. I'm always open—always willing to at least hear them.
It should be the same in this case.
"Someone destroyed our town," The man's eyes are intense and crinkled with sudden, tangible pain.
Pink-haired girl snaps her gum, shifting her weight on her feet at his elbow, "You really aren't going to take this minute to tell her who?" ...Is it just me or does she look royally pissed?
"We want to—need to fix it," the man continues, waving her off like a fly, and continuing to look directly at me, "You help us fix it, and we'll get your—" he paused, blinking, suddenly, as though he has something in his eye, "father out of prison safe before his execution day. I swear it."
I think it over, tapping my foot on the ground like all the nervous energy in me has filtered to my ankles.
"...I can fix your town in a week?" I ask skeptically, "What do you want me to do, plant flowers? Paint fences?" I know how obnoxious and sarcastic my tone sounds, but I'm just having a hard time processing the weight of this trade...
"This isn't funny." One of the guys from side steps forward to interject. He's middle-aged; his brown hair, fluttering behind him in the wind, is straight and long, and deep freckles dot his nose. If I was looking at him from behind, I might have thought he was a girl because of his locks, if not for his burly, warrior stance...
"Rosabella has a point, she doesn't know what's involved," the gray-haired man says patiently, cutting the other man off with the slice of his hand before looking back at me, "It requires you to take some things back that were stolen from us and put all of those things together to bring our town back to life."
I don't like the hesitance of his words.
How carefully he's speaking.
Or his darting, sideways glance at the members of his black-clad group.
"Why do I get the feeling you're not telling me everything...?" I hedge.
The pink-haired girl throws both hands on her hips, "Do you want to save your Dad or not?"
"Of course!"
"Then, take the deal," she gripes, "We're good on our end. Rainer there can open a steel-shut door with one pinky finger"—she gestures to the long-haired guy whose squat muscle mass alone seems to back up her statement—"and Dorkcus over there—"
"Dormouse—" the nerdy, sickly-looking beanpole of a kid with dark hair who she's pointing at, corrects swiftly.
"Not my fault you chose a shitty nickname from Alice in fucking Wonderland," the girl barks back, "...but he can hack into any electric grid, key-code or computer system faster than you can sneeze. ...He's a heck of a cipher-wiz too—"
"Aw, go on any longer about him and he'll get a crush," coos the tough guy she'd called Rainer, feigning softness.
The nerd shoves him in the shoulder, but he isn't able to even budge the guy.
They seem friendly with each other...
Can I trust them?
Their leader, the gray-haired one, appears the most trustworthy. ...And do I really have any other choice here? It's them or Dad will die. They could be lying, but it's probably unlikely...
"You'll get my Dad out of prison before they execute him...safely?" My voice wavers slightly, like my decision.
"Sure, Kid. Piece of cake," the pepper-haired one nods.
"One more condition," I growl, feeling for that one second like they might listen to me. "You tell me why this isn't my street and why you're all dressed like you're straight out of Comic-Con 2014."
Pink-haired girl laughs at that.
A yapping, high-pitched snort.
"Oh damn!" she shrieks, "She's good!"
She claps me on the shoulder, "You really think we'd haul you into this mess without explaining things first? Buckle up, you've got a hell of a learning curve—"
"She needs to shake on it first," the hulky guy, Rainer, spits, shoving forward again with a sense of urgency written in the lines of his face.
It's kind of intense.
I back up slowly.
He's not going to attack me, or something, is he?
The gray-haired man lifts his hand like a peace offering between the two of us. "Sure"—his voice is even and calming—"She'll shake on it, right Rosabella?"
I look at his hand, extended there in midair and make a decision.