Chapter 22

The Meeting

“Gentlemen, ladies,” Mr. Osmond said, once the group's electronic devices had been put away. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice. You may not know each other, but I know all of you, and I've called you here for a reason. Since we are all implant wearers I'll start the introductions.” He held up his left wrist and made it glow violet. “Mr. Osmond. Mentalist.”

Angie was next. She wiggled the stump of her left arm. “Angie. Berserker.”

Liam did the same. “Liam. Air Mage..”

Howie raised his left wrist. “Howie. Cook. I'll be honest. I'm not sure what I'm doing here.”

The girl Leo hadn't met put down her book and raised her left wrist with a shy smile. “Charlotte. Assassin.”

Leo raised his own wrist. “Leo. No character class.” Then it hit him. “I know you!” he pointed at Charlotte. “I know you from the previous future!”

“In case you haven't heard already, Leo claims to know the future,” Mr. Osmond continued. “And after a bit of investigation, I've concluded he is legitimate.”

Charlotte put down her book and looked at Leo, curious. “What did you see?”

“You were the youngest implant wearer, aside from me, to make it to the refugee camp at the city stadium. You were the only one close to my age. That's why I noticed you. We never spoke or anything, but I saw you around. I think you get eaten by monsters two and a half weeks post-Change, so be careful.”

Charlotte looked at Leo for a long moment with a nervous smile. “Okay.”

“According to Leo, I didn't live past the first day, so it could be worse,” Mr. Osmond said.

“Are you sure you didn't see me?” Angie asked, “or these guys?” she motioned to Howie and Liam.

“Not a thing, sorry,” Leo said. “I have no idea what happens to you.”

“This is ridiculous. How is any of this possible?” Liam asked.

“It's not,” Mr. Osmond responded. “But in case you haven't noticed, we are living in impossible times.”

“And you've brought us all together to save the world?” Liam said. “What's the plan?”

“The plan is a lot of things,” Mr. Osmond said, “but the reason I called you all here is that we believe aliens helped make the game School's Out, and because of this, the game contains hidden messages and opportunities to gain Demon Tears. Hopefully, these hidden messages will tell us what we need to do to prevent Leo's future from happening. The fact that School's Out is one of the most banned games in the world gives credence to this belief. And because the game strongly encourages playing together as a six-person team, I've found five people who I believe are willing and able to form a team with me to play this game.”

“You realize two of us are amputees, right?” Liam asked, wiggling his left stump for emphasis.

“The new gaming pods connect directly to the brain, so that won't be a problem. You will have two hands in the game,” Mr. Oswald said.

“Neat,” Angie said.

“And who's providing us with these expensive gaming pods?” Leo asked.

Mr. Osmond smiled. “Leave that to me.”

“Again, really not sure what I'm doing here,” Howie said. “I don't play VR games and I have a restaurant to run.”

“A lot of common character classes have useful skills,” Mr. Osmond said. “I suspect, as a cook, you have a rapid-movement skill and superior knife-wielding abilities, either of which could be useful for both gaming and the future apocalypse.”

Howie sighed and stood up. “I'm not saying I believe Leo or that I don't, but I worked hard to get where I am in life, and I've got my restaurant to run. When I was young, I lost three different jobs because of the time I spent gaming.”

“But this is to save the world, Howie,” Angie said, pleading.

Howie shook his head and looked at the rest of the group, “If you want to, come by my diner for something to eat, or if you want to meet up to train, that's fine, but I don't want any part of this 'saving-the-world' nonsense.”

“Think about it, at least,” Mr. Osmond said.

“Already have. Sorry.” Howie squeezed Angie's shoulder and left, shutting the study door behind him.

“Well, that was disappointing,” Mr. Osmond said.

“Howie can be a drag at parties,” Angie said. “Like the time me and a friend tied firecrackers to the neighbor's Chihuahua. Should have heard him chewing us out.”

“That is cruel,” Charlotte said.

“We never actually lit the firecrackers,” Angie said, defensive, “and that Chihuahua was mean.”

“I happen to know the guy to take his place,” Leo said. “Jason Young. He's not an implant wearer, but he wants to be. And I know he's spent a lot of hours playing School's Out, and he's very good.”

“Are you sure he can be trusted?” Mr. Osmond asked. “Keep in mind, your friend could make quite a bit of money by turning us in.”

“I'd trust him with my life,” Leo said.

“I'll let you bring him on board then,” Mr. Osmond said with a sigh. “It will be Saturday at the earliest before I get the pods installed. In the meantime, I want you to get to know each other and do what you can to familiarize yourselves with the game. Once those pods arrive, I expect us to play together like a well-oiled game-playing machine.”

“Is our team getting a name?” Charlotte asked. “Like Osmond's Demons?”

“How about Imp Insanity,” Liam said.

“I'll let you guys work on that,” Mr. Osmond said. “But first let me stress that the five of us getting together, two of whom are known ex-implant wearers, will ensure we are investigated by the authorities. Drones may follow you. Assume you are being watched at all times and everything you say is being recorded. My hope is that any investigation will be a low priority and that they'll leave us alone during our three-week time frame.”

“A drone followed me here,” Leo said.

“Us too,” Angie said.

“Not me,” Charlotte said, “but now that I'm with you guys, I'm sure they will.”

“Yes.” Mr. Osmond looked over at the group to make sure they were paying attention. “To that effect, I'm going to ask you to never say the B-word, or the I-word, but especially the B-word.”

“Bitch?” Angie asked.

“'Bitch' is fine. I'm referring to the other B-word. If government police overhear us talking about the end of the world, they won't care. People talk about the end of the world all the time. But if they hear you saying that B-word-users will turn into monsters and eat everyone, they will care a lot. They will arrest you. They will subject you to lie-detector tests and enhanced interrogation techniques to determine the source of this no-doubt terrorist-linked rumor. Do I make myself clear? I, for one, don't want to experience the end of the world from a jail cell.”

“Oh shit,” Leo said. “We may have a problem.” He told them about Trent, Trent's anti-Bio-Blessed-church, how Trent had made a bet with Tagert about Leo's predictions, and Tagert's prediction website. “When the police paid Tagert a visit about his website, he immediately named Trent as his information source.”

Mr. Osmond sat down. “This could be a big problem. It's possible they dismissed Tagert as a lone crazy person. But if a bunch of people start making the same predictions, they're likely to take him more seriously.”

“That would put Trent on the spot, and endanger the people close to him,” Leo said. What if he had saved Trent from committing suicide in the future, only to get him or his family thrown in jail, or even killed by the police?

“Which would lead the police to you.” Mr. Osmond's eyes became distant. “It would appear Tagert, as well as Trent and his family, are liabilities. Leo, have you ever killed anyone?”

“Are we going to kill somebody?” Angie asked. “Cool.” But she looked nervous. It was clear that for all her tough talk, she'd never killed anyone.

“No. I mean, yes, I have killed people,” Leo said, as an influx of memories made him sick, “but I think killing Tagert is a bad idea. It's apt to draw attention. And killing Trent and his family is not an option. If I have to be jailed or executed to get the word out, then so be it. This is bigger than all of us.”

“If we don't do something, Trent, along with his friends and family, will be arrested, and this time they'll be subjected to a lie-detector test and intensive interrogation. If we can eliminate Tagert as a source of testimony, I might be able to lay a false trail. What if some crazy implant wearer from China or the Middle East made all these predictions a month ago? It would only be natural for us to learn about it now.”

“What if Tagert accidentally overdosed on a drug that messed up his memories, preventing him from being a reliable witness?” Leo asked. “From what Trent was telling me, that seems like something Tagert would do.”

“Serpent Jelly might work,” Mr. Osmond said. “It's a psychedelic substance that alters memories and causes memory loss, but it's secreted by a tree toad in a remote African country and isn't exactly sold on street corners.”

“I might know of a source,” Leo said.

Mr. Osmond looked skeptical. “Keep me updated. In the meantime, I encourage you to communicate with each other and prepare for the end of the world, but never say the B-word in relation to these preparations.”

Leo nodded and sent Trent a message via his implant concerning what they'd discussed with Tagert and the possible danger.

I may have a solution on my end. Talk to you later. Trent, or Pyro Mage 43:2, responded.

"How did you become an assassin?" Angie asked Charlotte. "Did you kill people? How many people have you killed?'

Charlotte shook her head. “I've never killed anyone. I got Assassin Uncommon, because I'm always sneaking around school to avoid notice. Plus, I poisoned a couple of jerks with Ex-Lax cupcakes.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Cool.”

“Oh, before I forget,” Mr. Osmond walked up to Leo and touched Leo's left wrist with his own.

A message popped up on Leo's implant.

Teach requesting contact. Yes/No

Leo selected Yes. Then he, as—Future Man 10/16, requested contact with Mr. Osmond and felt it as it was accepted.

Teach appeared in his short list of contacts, under Mr. Al and Pyro Mage 43:2.

Mr. Osmond left the study.

Leo made implant contact with the rest of the group.

Angie was Zrrkr #1

Liam was Air Mage 87

And Charlotte was Spider-007.

Teach: I'm using my networking skills to set up a private group connection among the five of us so we can stay in touch. Implant communication is the most private and untraceable communication system we know of. Please use it.

Sure enough, when Leo pulled up his contact list, he saw a group connection with the four names together. For the first time in either life, Leo was part of an implant group.

Angie threw a doughnut at him, like a ninja's shuriken, smacking him in the face. “Come on Leo, let's spar!”

***

“You say you lived fifty years in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. You must have learned some amazing fighting skills,” Angie said, standing up and moving gracefully around the chairs in Mr. Osmond's study towards Leo.

Leo stood up, backing away, looking for something to throw or use as a weapon. This again.

“I too, would like to observe what you learned in these fifty years you claim to have lived,” Liam said, standing against a wall so he could watch from a safe distance.

“Me too,” said Charlotte, putting down her book.

Great. “We'd better take this outside,” Leo said, taking a defensive stance, “or Mr. Osmond and his mother will kill us.”

“A true warrior is prepared to fight anywhere, anytime!” Angie threw a quick jab at his face that Leo blocked.

Teach: You may fight anywhere and anytime, except inside my house. Take it to the backyard. Now. Mr. Osmond sent the message through their new implant group chat.

“That man is no fun,” Angie said, joining the other two in following Leo out of the study.

“Got to drop by the bathroom first. Too much coffee,” Leo said.

After Leo finished, they made their way outside, into a grassy backyard with several large rose bushes resting against the surrounding stone walls.

“I spent fifty years learning how to survive,” Leo said, standing on the grass in front of the other three. “I spent most of that time sneaking around. If I encountered someone or something dangerous, I'd run away and hide. If I got captured, I'd beg for my life. That happened more than once.” Leo needed to convince these guys he was what he claimed to be. But without his former stats, he wasn't sure he could.

“So what did you do when you had to fight?” Angie asked, bouncing up and down in front of him.

“When my life is on the line, I fight dirty.”

Leo stepped casually forward and used his left hand to throw a handful of talcum power, liberated from Osmond's bathroom, into Angie's face, while revealing the knife he'd been concealing behind his right wrist. Obviously, he wasn't going to stab her, but he needed to show them he meant business.

Like most of Leo's plans, this didn't work out as anticipated. Angie dodged most of the talcum powder and blocked his knife with her one hand. Pushing the knife to the side, she used her smaller size to get underneath him, pick him up, and send him slamming brutally into the ground. His knife left his hand as his body hit the ground, landing a few feet away.

Angie laughed. “Nice try.”

Leo lay on the ground, body limp and unresponsive as Angie stood over him, bending his wrist in a direction it wasn't meant to go. His open eyes stared off into the distance, then rolled up into the back of his head. His head thrashed back and forth, the muscles in his arms and legs started to spasm, forcing Angie to release his wrist to avoid hurting him more.

“Is he okay?” Liam asked. “Did his head hit a rock?”

“He's faking,” Angie responded. “Come on Leo, admit you lost already. Some apocalypse warrior you are.”

Leo started panting. Foam and mucus formed around his mouth and a wet spot formed around the genital area of his pants.

“Shit! He's having a seizure!” Liam shouted. “Do we call an ambulance?”

“He's faking,” Angie responded. “And didn't he just go to the bathroom?”

“What did you do, Angie?” Liam asked.

“First aid for a seizure is to keep sharp objects away from him,” Charlotte said. “Turn the patient onto their side, make sure they can breathe.” She kicked his knife away.

“Do we call an ambulance?” Liam asked again. “We need to get our phones back!”

“If he's a known epileptic, we can wait for him to recover and he should be fine,” Charlotte said. She tried to push Leo over onto his side, but his leg spasmed backward, kicking her shin. “Ow! But if he's not, it might be more serious. Or he might have a brain disorder—which could also explain his visions of the future. He might also be on drugs.”

“Dammit! You told him about Mr. Al, didn't you?” Liam said. “If he's taking that man's stuff, it's no surprise he's having a seizure.”

“I've never heard of anyone having a seizure from Mr. Al's drugs. Usually, they just drop dead,” Angie said.

“We'd better get Mr. Osmond,” Charlotte said. “This is his house, after all. Let's see what he wants to do.”

“He's faking,” Angie said again, but she didn't sound as sure.

“I already messaged Teach. Where is he?” Liam asked.

“Fine. Whatever. Let's go find Mr. Osmond,” Angie said.

The three turned away from Leo, whose muscle spasms were slowing down to once every thirty seconds. “Mr. Osmond,” Liam called out. “Please get out here. Where did he go? We should get our cellphones and call 911.”

“Considering our circumstances, Mr. Osmond might not approve,” Charlotte said. “Mr. Osmond!”

Angie felt a prick on the back of her neck. Leo was standing behind her with his knife.

“In a life-or-death situation,” Leo said, “that would have been me putting my knife through your neck, Angie. Charlotte would be next, since she's an assassin and might be dangerous. I'd ignore you, Liam. No offense.”

“That's fine, none taken,” Liam said with a shrug. “I get that a lot.”

“I would then run away and hide while Angie and Charlotte either died or recovered from their stab wounds.” Leo put his knife away. “And that is how I survived fifty years in Armageddon hell.”

There was clapping from an open window, where Mr. Osmond was watching and listening.

Teach: Good acting, Leo. I almost believed it.

Angie laughed. “I knew you were faking.”

“So you would piss your pants to win a fight?” Charlotte asked.

“I've done a lot worse than that,” Leo said. “I had to play dead several times. Got pretty good at faking a death rattle. Once they even buried me in a mass grave. That was horrible. I had to wait for night to dig myself free and escape with their attack Doberman.”

Teach: To keep up a pretense of normalcy, Leo and Charlotte should continue to go to school. Angie and Liam have been kicked out of their schools for the time being, and can help me out around the house if they want. I'll show them the information I've obtained, with difficulty, concerning School's Out.

“Darn it,” Leo said. “Let me clean up first.”

“Cool,” Angie said.

***

“So what happened to your Doberman, the one you escaped with?” Charlotte asked as the two of them walked to school. “Did the two of you bond?”

“It wasn't quite like that,” Leo said. “I had to kill the dog to escape. Then I carried it to a safe location and ate it. Best meal I'd had all year.”

“Ew,” she said, a look of disgust on her face.

“Do we go to the same school?” Leo asked, to change the subject. “How come I've never seen you?”

“We're in the same school, but I'm in the eighth grade, and I try to avoid notice,” she responded.

“'Assassin' has great stealth options,” Leo said. “When October 16th comes around, you'll be able to turn invisible for short periods of time.”

“Cool,” Charlotte said. “Is the world really going to end?”

“I believe so,” Leo said. “Sorry.”

“At least I won't have to put up with the mean girls any longer,” she said. “I know they'll be Afflicted. 'Daddy bought me a bunch of b-word for Christmas. I'm so pretty,'” she said, mimicking another girl. She stuck a finger into her mouth and pretended to vomit.

Leo laughed.

They walked past some missing kid posters stapled to an old wooden fence. Through a window in a big rundown house across the street from them, Leo saw a slender shadow move with fluid, inhuman grace. Something about the shadow made his brain's internal alarm system go nuts.

“ALERT! ALERT!” Imp shouted in his head. “Special quest! Destroy the child-eating monster! Reward is forty Demon Tears and possible bonuses!”

“Are you sure?” Leo asked silently. “I know what it looks like, but that doesn't mean an Afflicted person actually ate those children. Anyway, it's too early for the Afflicted.”

“Something wrong?” Charlotte asked, oblivious to what was going through Leo's mind.

“No, just my--,” Leo motioned to his left wrist, “reminding me to water Mom's potted plants,” he lied.

“This is a special quest, Leo. I do not make mistakes,” Imp responded, sounding indignant.

“What about Charlotte? Is she getting the quest, too?”

“I have no contact with Charlotte's Imp. You may include her in the quest if you want.”

“I see.” Leo made special note of their location before continuing to school. This quest was going to require some thought.

***

They were both late for class, which meant they had to go to the principal's office to get a tardy pass.

When Leo got to his homeroom, Jason was hanging out with other students. As close as he could tell, they were talking about the D.U.D game. Leo sighed.

He spent the rest of the class trying to stay awake through a droning lecture. When the bell rang for the end of class, he grabbed Jason and pulled him into the hallway.

“Hey, we were talking,” Jason protested. “They were going to set me up with some badass D.U.D mods.”

“I don't care about your stupid naked pet cheerleaders, Jason. This is way more important.”

“How did you know about that? And what?”

“A guy's playing School's Out for research purposes,” Leo whispered. “He's setting up pods for a six-person team to play the game through to the end. He wasn't sure about you, but I put my neck out and told him you were a great guy and an amazing player. So you'd better be there Saturday.”

Jason's eyes lit up. “You're serious? Wow! Nobody has gotten to the end of the game. I checked.”

Leo nodded. “Totally. I'll text you the address.”

When Leo made it to the cafeteria for lunch, Brick and his two cronies were waiting for him.