“You are not authorized to approach the rift any closer,” Cyrus warned in a voice that made it sound like he really wanted me to push forward.

“That’s the weakest attempt at discouragement I’ve ever heard.”

“Now they can’t say I didn’t try.”

“Who can’t? I thought you said you were the administrator of the game.”

“I am. That doesn’t mean no one is watching.”

“Like who?”

“No offense, Lucas, but when you’re checking out something that isn’t supposed to be there, lingering for a long time and talking about it isn’t really a good idea.”

“Got it.”

So I reached out and touched the glowing slit in reality.

Blinding blue light flashed and my world lurched as if a giant invisible fist punched me in the back. I staggered forward and the cavern disappeared, replaced by a weirdly sci-fi room.

The room was only about a dozen feet across, sheathed in softly glowing walls. The one in front of me was covered with sleek gauges and blank, green screens.

Instantly, everything melted into the wall. It happened so fast that if I had not been looking straight ahead, I never would have seen anything. In a blink, the wall in front of me looked smooth, blank, and softly glowing like the rest of the room. Little crackling slivers of silver lightning crawled along the ceiling before fading into the seams at the corners.

“What is this place?” I breathed. The air felt charged, as if I was surrounded by huge machines or an electric power station. A faint hum vibrated up through my boots, felt more than heard.

I smiled as I turned a slow circle and spread my arms to better feel the charged air. Breathing deep the slight ozone smell, I sighed. This was more like it. I might have discovered computers only recently, but I’d taken to them like a landlocked otter to water. Now the computer nerd in me was doing a dorky dance inside.

“Beam me up, Scotty,” I whispered as dozens of Star Trek references poured through my mind.

“More appropriate than you know,” Cyrus chuckled, sounding immensely pleased. “For not only boldy going where no other baby human has gone before, finding a rift in this construct world’s reality, and stepping into it, you receive an emerald Infiltrator loot box.”

“Don’t you usually let the other voice announce that?”

I almost referred to her as Eva, but Cyrus wouldn’t know that name. I was still hoping he’d agree to let me name her voice. I might get another title, or at least a really cool loot box.

Even though the room was blank, it was clearly some kind of high-tech place, and I liked that feeling. The multiverse had magic and teleporting. Did they have space ships and laser blasters too? That would be awesome.

Somehow Cyrus filled his voice with a shrug. “Technically, you have momentarily stepped outside of the containment area for human earthlings. No one but me knows you’re here.”

“Did anyone else know I was back in the cave?”

Again, the suggestion of watchers. The thought of some invisible aliens watching us fighting and dying on this strange world sent shivers up my spine. Were they the people responsible for casting us into this death game?

“No one is watching closely yet, but that will change. Trust me, it’s in your best interest that no one else realizes you managed to find a crack in the environment.”

“What is this place?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Right,” I said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Ignore the man behind the curtain, eh?”

“Wizard of Oz. Another appropriate reference.”

“So . . . What? The forest and mountains and monsters aren’t real? Am I in the Matrix?”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Cyrus chuckled. “I actually considered basing the challenge world on that concept. That was such a good movie, and Earth copyright doesn’t extend out to here.”

I paced around the little room, not seeing the blank walls, but thinking back to the Colorado land mass crashing onto the planet.

“So this whole world was created for the contest, whatever that is?”

The idea seemed ludicrous, but so did the idea of ripping a big chunk out of a state and teleporting it across the multiverse.

“Indeed. You have no concept of how important this game is and how vital it is for you and the other humans from Earth to perform well.”

“I’d understand more if you explained it.” And I understood our lives and the lives of everyone back on Earth hung in the balance.

“You’ll all receive an update very soon with more information.”

“So why let me see this place? What do you gain from me stepping out of the contest for a minute?”

“A chance to speak in private, of course. You are showing a delightful knack for a bit of chaos, and that is always entertaining.”

“Wouldn’t want you to get bored,” I muttered.

“Indeed! I am glad you agree.”

I pressed one hand to the warm wall. “What’s behind these panels, and what were all those guages and screens for?”

“Just maintenance features.”

“Let me guess, the world back there.” I gestured behind me at a black ripple in space that led back to the cavern. “That’s like an amusement park ride, and I stumbled into a staff-only area where I might glimpse how the ride works?”

“Did you assume the planet was nothing but earth and stone and water like your home?”

I shrugged. “I’ve only ever lived on one planet, so yeah.”

Cyrus chuckled. “You saw how I had to integrate the lands from Earth. That’s not as easy as it looks. Earth’s entry into the game was approved very last minute. Squeezing all that mass into a completed build in the literal final seconds is tricky.”

“So, are there other contestants?”

“I cannot share more information with everyone yet.”

“But we’re outside of the game,” I reminded him. “No one can hear us. I’d love to hear more about how you managed to transform all that land into these new mountains. That’s incredible.”

“It is, isn’t it,” Cyrus said.

I could imagine him grinning and rubbing imaginary fingers together. He was still just a child, after all. Maybe I could get him to talk about himself and his work more. I needed any leverage I could get to tip the scales in our favor, and seeing behind the curtain might prove hugely important.

“The effort was not unlike taking a thousand piece puzzle and adding two hundred more random pieces without changing the overall size. I processed over sixteen million changes in a matter of seconds, resulting in a seamless integration. A masterwork.”

“Except for just one tiny crack, which I stumbled on?”

The odds of that seemed way higher than the possibility of Isabella suddenly appearing and turning out to be a Sith lord.

“There may be a few other inconsistencies here and there,” Cyrus admitted. “However, only one with particular skills could find them.”

“Why would such a person even look?” I asked, pretending disinterest.

“Because information is power, and although this particular crack in reality is not of itself very useful, it may show the way to far more valuable opportunities.”

Exactly what I was thinking. That Cyrus would suggest the same thing was intriguing and puzzling. He was running the game, after all.

“So you want me to find the other cracks in your reality? Why?”

Cyrus hesitated for a moment before responding. “I love experiments, Lucas, and your unique mix of abilities offers a wonderful opportunity for an experiment that could prove the most interesting of all.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“Besides information and the heartwarming knowledge that you are assisting me in a great work?”

“Yeah, besides all that.”

“First, consider the fact that you are not supposed to be here. If anyone else found out that you managed it, there would be . . . Consequences.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“Definitely not. The easiest way to resolve this little mistake would be for you to suffer an unfortunate accident here in the dungeon.”

“What’s our other option?” I asked, my smile fading.

Cyrus could wipe me out in a blink and no one would ever know. I had been thinking I was on his good side, but if I ever pushed him too far, my life could take a fatal twist.

“I’m glad you asked that. It turns out that terminating annoying contestants even before the viewers get a chance to start voting is considered bad form.”

“You’re going to keep teasing me about viewers, eh?”

“You’re backsliding, Lucas. Luckily for you, I have decided to initiate an experiment. There are great and unique benefits in it for you, starting with not dying on the spot, and I get to enjoy a bit of unexpected fun.”

“Sounds like a win win.” I found I was quite open to running experiments with Cyrus.

“One other thing, Lucas. You cannot share anything about this experience or anything related to it moving forward with anyone. Not even your brother.”

“Why not?”

“Because then we’d end up back at terminating annoying breaches of protocol and anyone who might have learned things they weren’t supposed to know.”

“Got it,” I said quickly. Threatening my brother was a low blow, but I took that to mean that Tomas was still alive.

“Good. Good. I knew I could count on you. Back to those rewards I mentioned. In addition to the emerald loot box you already received, you’ll receive a second one to kick off our little experiment.”

That was more like it. “You can’t upgrade it again? I mean, I am doing you a favor. It doesn’t cost you anything to upgrade a loot box, does it?”

Cyrus burst out laughing, sounding genuinely thrilled. “Excellent question yet again. Of course someone has to pay, and they are already on the hook for two emerald loot boxes. Upgrading them again might draw enough attention for someone to start asking questions you do not want asked.”

“Then I think two emerald loot boxes sound perfect.”

I wished I knew more about those other people. Who were they? Why would they pay for loot boxes? What did they get out of it, and what could they do to me if they decided the investment wasn’t worth it?

That was a sobering question I considered as I turned and stepped back through the rift.