“That’s messed up…” Montgomery croaked as he kneeled with his back to the headless man. A pile of vomit lay before his friend, a testament to how much the scene disturbed him. Yet, he did not flee.

Blake nodded.

“Yeah, he needed to die, but I went a little overboard. I guess I was holding in a bit more anger than I thought.”

Montgomery glanced up at Blake, a disbelief written across his face. “Ya think?”

“We should go,” Jeff advised his friend and pulled on his leather sleeve.

“Hold up.” Montgomery shook off his friend and climbed to his feet. “How are you gonna hide all this?” he gestured toward the body and three empty law enforcement vehicles.

“Well, the body’s going in the portal,” Blake began. “After that, I’ll try to pick up the chunks of bone and brain. Although, I’m not gonna get it all, and I’m sure backup is just seconds away.”

“Good luck with that,” Montgomery grimaced.

Blake examined the three abandoned vehicles and their flashing emergency lights. To his relief, they faced away from the crime scene and would not have recorded the altercation on their dashcams.

“We need to get rid of those cars, too,” he added. “If I drive them into a lake, do you think they can still track them through GPS or whatever it is they use?”

“How the hell would I know that?” Montgomery replied. “I’m not exactly in the habit of killing cops and hiding the evidence.”

“It would work,” Jeff said confidently in a deep bass.

Montgomery gave his friend a strange look. “Well, whatever you’re gonna do, you better do it fast. I bet every sheriff in the county is on their way here, right now.” He shook his head. “You weren’t kidding when you said they were out to get you. They shot you in the back and everything.”

Blake nodded, “Yeah, although, better me than Oliver.” He then bent down and grabbed the portly corpse by its arm. “I got this, you guys just need to worry about my brother.”

“Right, but you better have this place clear for when we come out. I’m not sitting in a jail cell.” Montgomery slapped his best friend on the back. “Come on, Jeff, it’s time to go.”

Blake followed his two friends as they ascended the tower steps. After they slipped through the trap door into the room above, Blake said, “When you get there, open a holochat with me. I want to see how you guys do, and be there to offer advice.”

“Sure thing, bud,” Montgomery remarked as he searched the small room for the portal. “Keep that temper in check.”

“It’s over there,” Blake pointed. “Here, I’ll show you.” He pulled the body the rest of the way up the stairs and chucked it into the portal. There was no flash of light that accompanied the event, nor sound to signify a transition. Instead, the corpse just disappeared.

“Freaky,” Jeff muttered.

Montgomery took a deep breath. “You got that right. You sure I’m not going to land on that when I go through.”

“My brother invited you to his group, right?” Both men nodded. “Then you’ll be fine. He should be there when you get out of the portal. Remember, he said an Ursa was nearby, so stay quiet when you get there.”

Montgomery nodded, but remained frozen. He stared intently at the invisible portal, as if he could discern its position.

Blake rolled his eyes. “Hey Jeff, I think Montgomery’s scared. You want to show him how it’s done?”

“Pfft. I ain’t scared of shit.” He turned his back to the portal. “See, watch this.” Slowly, he began to step backward. “I just thought it was freaky, is all. Don’t worry about…”

Montgomery suddenly disappeared, mid-conversation. Rather than grandstand like his friend, Jeff only grunted and strode toward the portal. A moment later, he, too, was gone.

Okay, where’s a lake I can dump the cars at?

While he considered his options, he hurried down the stairs and approached the crime scene. He collected the scattered remains and covered anything too small with a layer of dirt. After he was sure there was nothing visible, he headed toward the three vehicles.

Luckily, all three cars were running with their doors open. He slipped into the closest, stashed the chunks of flesh in the passenger seat, and shifted it into drive. A moment later, he drove down the gravel road. He searched for a way to turn off the flashing lights, but after a few minutes of no luck, he gave up.

Why hasn’t he called yet?

While the transition through the portal was not instantaneous, it only took a few short moments to an outsider’s perspective. Blake’s worry grew as he turned off the forest road onto the county road, and then onto the main highway.

Did something happen? Are they dead?

He immediately sent a chat message to Jeff, Montgomery, and Oliver. None of them responded. His concern continued to build as he drove into the Fort Apache Reservation. All he could think about was his friend’s and brother’s corpses, forever stuck on an alien world. There would be no way to retrieve them, no way to say goodbye.

No, that’s stupid. They’re in the faction. If they were dead, I’d be notified. What the hell’s going on over there?

Finally, ten minutes after they transitioned through the portal, he received a holochat call from Montgomery.

His friends and brother appeared before him in a forest. They breathed deeply in exhaustion and leaned against a wide tree while seated on the ground.

“Are you guys okay?” Blake blurted. “What happened?”

Between gulping breaths, Montgomery responded. “Yeah… we ran into… a monster…though… and had to… take it out.” He gestured to the side and added, “Tadah!”

Blake panned the video in the direction his friend indicated until the corpse of an Ursa was revealed. Two spears remained lodged within the large beast.

“Nice job, guys!” he praised them.

Jeff nodded, and Montgomery flipped two thumbs up.

“Wait, why’s Oliver out of breath?”

His brother answered in between his own gasps. “I’ve… been… running… for hours!”

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Montgomery, finally recovered his stamina, and responded, “No you haven’t, you big baby. You ran for like ten minutes, max.”

Oliver flipped him the bird.

Montgomery snorted. “That’s the thanks I get for saving your life?”

His brother added his other hand to the first, and presented him with two raised middle fingers.

Montgomery turned to Blake and said, “Dude, your brother’s an ungrateful ass.”

Blake nodded. “Yeah, he is.”

Oliver narrowed his eyes, but remained silent.

“So, what happened?” Blake asked as he passed the reservation casino, lights still flashing.

“Like I said, the second I popped in, I saw Oliver here running from a big ass bear.” He hooked his thumb toward Blake’s brother. “A little stabby, stabby, and I got its attention real quick. Once Jeff showed up, we kicked its ass,” he added proudly.

Maybe I was worried for no reason. There’s a reason they survived the Apocalypse, long before they met me.

“And check it out, I got five hundred kay nano!” he bragged. “At this rate, in just ten years, I’ll be able to upgrade an attribute!”

Blake laughed at his friend’s sarcasm. “Not quite that long, but yeah, it takes a while.”

“Dude, you didn’t tell us we had to kill hundreds of these things just to hit level one!” Montgomery complained. “You’re supposed to hit level one after your first kill and shit. Don’t the Devs know any better?!”

“I’ll be sure to let the Architect know at our next meeting,” Blake added, dryly.

Montgomery nodded, unfazed. “You totally should. It sucks at game design. I mean, if I saw it took weeks to hit level one, I’d cancel my sub on day one.”

His friend continued to rant about the Collective while Blake drove down highway two-sixty. The tirade calmed him. It reminded him of his past, and the good times they shared.

Too bad Rajesh isn’t here, too. Maybe mom’s right, and he’ll change his mind.

Soon, a sign for Horseshoe Cienega Lake appeared, and he turned into the pull off. In late March, it was still too cold for most people to fish. The parking lot was surrounded by half melted piles of snow, and there were no cars in sight.

Good, no witnesses.

Rather than slow as he neared the lake, Blake accelerated. The police cruiser hit almost fifty miles an hour by the time he swerved off the road and into the large body of water.

When the vehicle slammed into the lake, it felt like he hit a telephone pole. The airbag immediately deployed, and threw him back into the driver’s seat. He collapsed the safety device, forced open the door, and swam to the shore.

By the time he reached land, his leathers were soaked. Montgomery continued to blather on in the background, and he momentarily paid attention to the rant.

“I would’ve made it so everyone got a combat class AND a crafting class. What’s this bullshit, one or the other. How stupid is that? I mean…”

He snorted and lowered the volume of the holochat’s feed. Blake ran a hand through his wet hair and strained out water. He then sent a message to his parents informing them that Oliver was safe and sound.

Blake decided to keep the details about the police to himself for the moment. He did not want them distracted, and he wanted to inform them through conversation, not a quick message. After answering their many followup questions, he began to sprint back toward town.

It took him almost thirty minutes to reach the out-of-the-way lake by police cruiser, and he expected to double that time to get back. Along the empty stretch of highway, Blake was able to run flat-out, and even surprised himself by his speed.

With a Physical Power of twenty-four and a half, he almost reached the fifty miles per hour speed limit, despite his wet clothes. As he ran, he distracted himself by listening to Montgomery’s ongoing rant.

He saw that his friends were now on the move, and interrupted the long-winded diatribe. “Montgomery, shut up!” he ordered. “You’re never going to ambush the Ursa like that.”

“THANK YOU!” Oliver told his brother. “I’ve been trying to tell him that for five minutes now!”

“Oh please,” Montgomery twisted his lips into a sneer. “If we sneak around in the woods like mice, it’ll take days to find the big bears. BUT,” he held up a finger as he shouted. “If we make noise, we can bring them to us and take them out like we did the first one.”

“And what happens if you bring in two at the same time, or one drops out of a tree and kills you before you know it?”

Immediately, all three of his friends on the alien planet froze and looked up.

“Naw,” Montgomery concluded after a barked laugh. “The trees aren’t tall enough to hide a big bear. Besides, those things were pretty stupid and angry. Do you really think they’re going to just sit there and wait for backup?”

“Don’t underestimate their intelligence,” he warned. “They like to play dead and wait for you to get close before they go in for the kill. Check your logs and make sure they’re really dead before you consider it safe.”

“Okay, Grandpa,” Montgomery mocked him.

Dear Lord, how the hell did Montgomery survive for two years without me?

He knew Jeff did nothing to rein in his companion’s brazen attitude. It was always Blake or Rajesh that tempered the group and proscribed caution. Jeff was always just along for the ride.

Flashing red and blue lights in the distance suddenly vied for his attention. The moment they appeared, he immediately used a Spatial Step to reach the trees and hid behind a large pine before they could see him.

He quickly muted the holochat feed in case he needed to run. A minute later, a line of police cars sped past him without slowing.

Good, they didn’t see me.

He watched as they slowed, a mile down the road, and turned into the lake’s entrance.

I guess the cop car won’t have time to sink.

He had hoped to have enough time to hide all three vehicles, but perhaps this result was better. Now, the police would assume he fled to the lake, and would expend effort to search the area. The fact that it was on an Apache reservation, and not US soil, would only complicate things.

With any luck, the fire tower would be abandoned, and his friends could slip back out of the portal unnoticed.

Yeah, right. Who are you kidding?

Blake snorted and resumed his sprint down the highway. While he kept a watchful eye for additional cops, he finally checked his notifications. He had been too busy to do so before. After the action died down, he had been so distracted that he had forgotten all about it.

For killing a fellow human, you have been awarded an achievement. - [Mark of Cain]

The [Mark of Cain] achievement grants you twenty-five percent additional nano when killing your own species.

That counted? He wasn’t even in the Collective.

Blake glanced at his left forearm, still sore from earlier, and observed the symbol now drawn upon it. The more humans he killed, the larger the tattoo would grow. However, if enough time passed, it would begin to fade until it all but disappeared.

Achievements like this were one of the many reasons he hated the Architect. It incentivized murder, and only benefited those without a conscience.

At least it’s not a title. Until people learn about the tattoo, and demand bare forearms, I can just cover it up.

Blake did not intend to share the disturbing achievement with anyone else, or take advantage of it. He wanted to forget it even existed, so he dismissed the horrific alert and brought up his next.

You have gained mastery over a spell. Mind Blast is ready to evolve.

Blake sighed. The message came at a time when he had too many demands on his nano. He only had seven mega-nano to his name, yet he owed at least thirty or forty to their landlord. Their faction hall upgrade would require another two hundred and fifty, and he still needed another one hundred and fifty mega-nano to evolve his three spells.

It looks like I’m in for a long grinding session once they’re safe.

He unmuted his holochat feed and increased the opacity so he could once again see how his friends fared. To his surprise, they were mid-battle. Montgomery rolled away from a powerful swipe, while Jeff stabbed it in its rear.

The wound only pissed it off.

Jeff turned and fled before it could retaliate, while Montgomery reached for his dropped spear. The retreating man circled a tree, barely ahead of the giant predator on his tail. When the Ursa slowed to follow, Jeff ran straight toward Montgomery.

Oh, good. They’re setting up an ambush.

After Montgomery had retrieved his weapon, he set up, hidden behind a thick tree. Meanwhile, Oliver watched the battle unfold from the safety of a rock grotto.

He looked exhausted.

Serves him right.

Montgomery waited for Jeff to pass him at full sprint. A moment later, he popped out of his cover, braced the butt of the spear to the rocky ground, and aimed the tip for the surprised Ursa’s head.

At the last moment, the monster tried to dodge, but it was too late. It had too much momentum, and could not change direction in time.

The spear impaled the Ursa through its neck, and severed an important artery. It continued to thrash and run, but its movements quickly slowed. Finally, when its brain completely ran out of oxygen, it collapsed to the ground, still.

After a round of ‘Hell Yeah!’, Montgomery moved to retrieve his spear.

“Wait!” Blake warned. “Check the logs to make sure it’s dead.”

Montgomery rolled his eyes, but compiled. After only a moment, he continued forward and announced with a cocky grin, “Another five-hundred kay in the bag.”