My instincts win out. Before I can stop myself, my right arm reaches behind me, and I shift my weight, spinning 180 degrees to face the intruder. They’re several feet away, shrouded in the shadows of trees and shrubs. Sending my half-full bottle of cider whooshing toward them, it connects with their face, making a terrible crunching sound as the glass shatters.

“Ahhhh! Fuck, Rose! It’s me!” Bell’s familiar voice cries in pain as he stumbles into the bioluminescent light holding his nose.

“Shit, my bad!” I say as I get up and sprint over to him barefoot. His nose is severely crooked, blood and cider dripping between his fingers onto his garish patchwork armor. “Why didn’t you let me know you were here?! I thought some asshole had broken in.”

He doubles over, panting and grunting in pain as I summon a healing potion from my inventory. I hand it to him, and he drinks it, letting it work its magic before explaining himself. “I overheard you two talking, and it seemed like you were having a moment… I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Oh yeah, Maya. I turn, and she looks at me like I’m the butt-probing kind of alien. “Aw, Maya, don’t look at me like that. It was an honest mistake.”

“Yeah, no worries. She hits me all the time,” Bell says sarcastically, massaging the bridge of his slightly crooked nose. I glare at him, letting him know now isn’t the time for jokes. Maya’s face does soften a little, though.

“I guess I just didn’t realize how…volatile you’ve become, Ev.”

Her words hit me like a slap, and I look away, fighting to keep my cool. My hands clench into fists for a second, nails digging into my palms. Choosing not to respond, I unclench them, take a deep breath, and turn my attention back to Bell.

“So, why exactly are you here again?” I say, unable to keep the sourness out of my voice.

“Yeah, I thought this was me and Ev’s secret spot.”

What are we in high school, Maya? My irritation simmers, threatening to boil over in a dramatic eye roll.

“Well, that’s news to me. We’ve been using this place as a meeting spot for years.”

Why would he say that? Now, Maya will definitely feel some type of way.

“I got a ping someone had entered the hideout, and I saw you were online, so I came to tell you about the latest developments,” he finishes.

My anger turns to annoyance, then exhaustion. “What is it now?” I groan.

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“Soon after you logged off, the game started glitching badly.”

“Well, that’s nothing new. SL is glitchy as hell.”

“This is different. Some players are encountering what the devs call ‘corrupted zones,’ or hidden parts of the game that shouldn’t be accessible. They believe that’s the cause of the Brute attacking the square. It spawned from one of these ‘corrupted zones.’ I’ve seen one up close, and it ain’t pretty. It looks like a desaturated sandbox mode of the game without all the detail, like a depressing version of Pickaxe Pals.

“There are also areas where time is distorted. An 8-year-old NPC girl aged five years after getting caught inside one of these areas. The devs aren’t sure what will happen if the same thing happens to a player, but they suggest staying away from them. A warning system has been put in place to let players know if they get close to one.”

“Even more reason to quit,” Maya mumbles under her breath.

I bite my tongue and continue to ignore her. “Have you alerted the other members?”

“Yeah, I updated the guild announcements and sent DMs to everyone, just in case.”

“Good work. What do you think is causing the corruption?”

“I’m not sure, but it could be someone tampering with the source code. It could also be because the game is old as dirt and fucking up.”

I purse my lips and think for a moment. If this doesn’t get sorted out quickly, the devs may just shut down the game, and there goes my livelihood. “Let’s schedule a guild meeting for the morning to discuss our next steps. Most of us are probably offline for the night.”

“Aye, cap. I’ll let everyone know.” Bell steps off to the side and brings up a holo screen. As he messages the guild, I turn back to Maya. She looks as deflated as a failed soufflé.

“Hey, sorry we got interrupted. I’m probably gonna be dealing with this for a bit, but I promise I’ll hit you up after I get everything sorted out, and we’ll hang in real life.” I can see the disappointment on her face, even though she tries to hide it with a weak smile.

“It’s alright, bestie… Duty calls. Your guildmates need you.” Her eyes flit to Bell before darting back to mine. Is it me, or is she actually jealous of my friendship with him? She shuffles her feet awkwardly for a moment, stalling to gather her thoughts. “Y’know, I may be able to help you with this. I know I haven’t played SL for a while, but I pick things up quickly. Plus, I consider myself somewhat of an expert problem-solver,” she says, smirking.

My eyes widen in surprise, and my instinct is to turn her down immediately. Her sudden appearance may cause drama with some of my guildmates who don’t appreciate her vendetta to get me to quit. Although, there is one who would love to take my place… But when I see the pleading, hopeful look in Maya’s eyes, I hesitate. I know she’s just worried about me and misses hanging out, but I wouldn’t be able to live down the guilt if something happened to her.

She’s also her own person who can make her own choices. And I must admit, she is smart as hell. But I worry if I tell her no, she’ll get mad and abandon me. How long can our bond survive the distance? I’m sure whatever I choose will have a significant effect on the future of our friendship.

Bell shoots me a look out of the corner of his eye, also waiting for my response and adding to my anxiety. I squint slightly to avoid meeting his gaze, not wanting to make Maya even more jealous. I already have an idea of what he would say anyway, that letting her get involved would be a bad idea.

Should I let her help with the investigation or turn her down gently?