No Way Out.

No Way Out.

l o a d i n g d a t a . .

Things change with every passing day. Modification, evolution, transformation. Whatever the case may be.. change is enevitable. As time progresses, technology will advance beyond man's wildest dreams. There shall even be a huge advance in the gaming industry as virtual reality games grow increasingly popular. Each game's designer knows that to please the masses, they have to come up with the best possible game that they can. Something new and exciting. Something that will take the general gaming public by storm. Something that will make the player thirst for more.

One video game manufacturing company or h.Y.p.E is about to slave away for years trying to create the perfect game. The project they're working on is highly classified. Only 6 people share the secret of the game. These six individuals are the people who will put every ounce of effort they have into making this the best game that they possibly can. They are the ones that will sculpt the project and bring it to life.

In the year of 2065, 8 of the world's top ranking gamers are called to a desolate location in the heart of the United States of America. Each recieved an invitation that had preached of a new game. A game that would "blow them away" and "leave them crying". The invitation had also stated that they would be at the location to test drive this particular game when it previewed at a private venture.. Unless they were 'chicken'. Each of the players had great confidence in their gaming skills. And, fueled by their thirst for new entertainment, made their way over to America A.S.A.P. None of them asked questions about the sort of game that this was, or why they had purposely been selected.. All that they knew was that they were being given an opportunity to test out something that in their personal invites was said to "revolutionize" the gaming industry. With eager anticipation they arrived at the rather primitive looking building that belonged to the company h.Y.p.E.

Once inside the building the gamers were promptly escorted to a small room, in which 8 seats were situated. After around 6 minutes a small man dressed in a neat black suit entered. He stood infront of the individuals and addressed them as if a school teacher would a class. His manner was firm, his appearance was professional.. The first thing he said had a large impact upon all of the people seated.

"This is your last chance to leave. After we proceed to the next room there shall be no turning back. If you do not wish to continue, please leave now. You have been warned."

The eight people stared blankly at eachother, still fueled with their desire for this new game they all shook their heads, refusing to leave.

"...Very well..."

Was the man's reply.

He then went onto lecture them about the game, though not going into it in too much detail. The game was virtual reality, and the environment was a city from which the players had to escape from. Escape though, would not be simple and each person would have to make it to the exits located in the north, south, east and west of the city. After they collected the amount of points needed to make it through the exits that is. Points could be earned by collecting special items, defeating one of the game's foes (which consisted of power hungry cyborgs, human adversaries, and many other characters alike), or overcome difficulties that occured as the game progressed. Points could also be earned by taking out one of your fellow players. 80 points infact. The highest number of points that can be achieved for a single act. Once a player had collected exactly 200 points, they could then go and collect one of the four keys needed to escape the game. The keys to the exits were scattered in many places through-out the city. The player would have to locate the key before searching out the exit. After they had breached one of the four exits, they had beaten the game.

The man then passed out a handbook to each player.

"This contains the plot and what I have said so far in greater detail. I suggest that you keep these manuals close to you. They may come in useful..... Now, if you will, follow me."

He led the group into the room nextdoor to the previous. In the new room there were eight rather large machines. The room was a lot bigger than the one that they had previously been in. The eight machines each had a chair inside, along with a large screen and a keyboard infront of the player. There was no sign of any virtual reality headset. What was strange about the games was that each had a seal, much like a small door, to the left and the right. These ensured that the player would be locked in at all time, and could only concentrate upon the game. The original man was joined by five other people. Three men and two women. Each were dressed in extremely professional clothing, and made no attempt to greet the guests. Each of the players was escorted in-turn to seperate machines, where they seated themselves, getting as comfortable as they possibly could. Once the eight gamers had seated themselves in the console, the doors shut automatically, locking all of the gamers tightly inside.

What happened next took the rather confused players completely off guard. A voice bellowed from a small speaker, present in every machine.. A voice that inflicted a strange, un-natural terror into the hearts of the eight ordinary people.

"You are now about to become one with the game. .. This is real. Everything that is going to happen from this point on is real. You bleed in the game, the blood is real. The PAIN is real. Everything is real. From now on you're on your own. Whether you choose to make it through the game that way or not is up to you. Whether you choose to turn on your 'teammates' or not is up to you. Whatever the case, there are four keys, four exits.. One exit to a person. Each exit can only be used one time and one time only. Only four of you will make it out of this game.. Alive. You are the best gamers in the world. But, only four of you have the potential to beat this particular game. Goodbye and ..goodluck..."

[hr]

PLEASE ENTER ALIAS.

Autumn considered this for a moment before typing her own surname into the keyboard which sat directly infront of her.

PHOENIX.

She had to strain her eyes to see, as the box she was placed in was lit only by the light which came from the screen itself. After a mere couple of seconds another message appeared across the screen.

THANK YOU AND GOODLUCK.

She let out a shriek of bewilderment as a blinding white light caught her completely off-guard.

[hr]

The Player's Handbook.

Title: No Way Out.
Genre: Sci/ Fi, Futuristic.
Run Time: N/A.

Introduction;
The year is 2104, the war is almost over- and machines seemed to have gained complete dominance. It all started with a virus which infected a single computer program. Ever since that moment, the virus had spread dramatically. It enabled artificial intelligence to think asthough a human would, and practically gave them a life of their own. It was not long before chaos ensued when cyborgs started to obtain a major superiority complex, making them feel asthough humans were an inferior race which should be destroyed completely. The war raged throughout the world, claiming the lives of more than three quarters of the earth's population. Death and destruction laced the planet. In one particular city the war was still in full force. The civilians who lived their had made it clear that the city was their territory, and they would be damned if they were going to fall to a bunch of machines. So even though the humanitarian cost rocketed, the brave souls continued to fight the never-ending battle. Rogue humans made this fight increasingly difficult for the warriors. Rogue humans were the individuals who had let the absence of law and order go straight to their heads. A rogue would not think twice about double crossing another one of their kind to steal supplies, or wound (sometimes even kill) another human being for nothing other than a bit of fun.

Points;
10: Picking up an essential item [ie map].
10: Picking up an essential weapon [ie gun].
15: Fighting off a human adversary.
15: Fighting off a robot adversary.
20: Helping a human in need.
20: Defeating a human adversary.
30: Defeating a robot adversary.
70: Defeating "the Queen".
80: Taking the life of another team player.

Places;
The City-
The city is a grand size of exactly 10x10 miles. The city is surrounded by a giant wall. Escape is impossible unless you beat the game. Each player starts off in a different area- around a mile apart [give or take] from the next.

North Side-
The north side of the city is where most of the rogue humans dwell. These people are mercenaries. This area is where the least amount of cyborgs are found. Despite this fact, gang warfare makes this side of the city extremely dangerous. Although rogues are violent, they also strive on stealth- many just waiting to ambush their unfortunate victims from amongst the malevolent shadows.

South Side-
The south side of the city is rumoured to be the home of a machine called the "Queen". The Queen is said to be the most feared opponent in the city. No one really knows exactly what this cyborg looks like, but stories have swept through the city- creating uproar and panic. Not even the bravest choose to venture to far into this area of the city.

The Subway-
The subway runs underneath the city. Of course there are no working trains anymore, but a lot of civilians take refuge here as not many cyborgs below the city. Although this may be the safest area of the city, there is still threat from both rogue humans and cyborgs that have strayed too far.

The Keys;
Once a grand total of 200 points is collected by the player, they may then seek out a key. Keys are scattered throughout the city. If a player comes in contact with a key before they recieve 200 points- they may keep hold of this key till the desired points are collected but, only then can they locate and escape through the exit. There are only 4 keys in the game, so there can be only 4 winners. Keys can be taken from rival players at any given stage in the game.

Gold Key- Opens the NORTH exit.
Silver Key- Opens the SOUTH exit.
Bronze Key- Opens the EAST exit.
Platinum Key- Opens the WEST exit.

Useful Hints;
When the layer has entered the game they shalll find an item like a small clock around their wrists. This item keeps track of that individual's score- letting them know how well they are progressing. Remember that items can be useful during the course of the game. Throughout the city you will find maps and other such items. Don't forget that you are only human and as such you will need food, water and sleep. Talking to people can be a great help as you may learn more information about what is happening in the city. You can interact with other opponents, who you can either befriend or dispose of.

How you decide to play this game is completely up to you. Your fate lies in your own hands. Will you beat the game- or will the game beat you?

[hr]

"What the..?"

She stood dumbfounded. The twenty-two year old mechanic's jaw dropped in awe. She seemed to be standing on a sterile street, lit only by worn, flickering street lights. The night was in full swing, she could hear definete sounds of commotion which came from couple of blocks away. A placid moon tried to break through the relentless thickness of oppressive clouds. An eerie fog spread a solemn reach, wrapping around her lower body. She noted the abandoned buildings to her left and right. They looked semi-demolished, as if they had been caught up in a deadly cross-fire. Upon her wrist was a small object, which looked like an ordinary clock. She glanced at the number on the screen. "0". Cluthed tightly in her left hand was a small book labeled "The Players Handbook".

"Just a game.. it's just a game."

She muttered those words slowly, saying them over and over to convince herself that no matter what- she would be safe. Her right hand made it's way to her hair, as she ran her fingers through untamed auburn strands- clearing these from her eyes. Her golden brown eyes danced as if they were fireflies.

"Perhaps I should do some reading before I do any exploring."

She glanced down at the handbook.

"Just a game..?"

A sharp chill reached up Autumn's arms, she soon broke out in many goosebumps.

"If it IS just a game- how come I can feel the cold..?"

Bernard followed silently, listening intently to what was being said. He had been ranked the number one gamer in Europe for the last three years and had jumped at the chance to try something before anyone else. He looked around the room to his fellow elite gamers. They didn't look like much, but either did he and Bernard knew that looks had absolutely no outcome of a game. Once all the introductions were finished Bernard took his seat.

PLEASE ENTER ALIAS

Bernard didn't have to think, he had planned on using his gaming alias from he beginning. He smiled as he typed in his name. Lord Khan. After a second or two five words appeared on the screen.

THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK

'Well that's the first time a game has wished me good luck.'

Bernard threw his arms up in front of his eyes as a blinding white flash erupted from the screen. When Bernard finally opened his eyes, he was standing on set of tracks. Looking around he saw that he was in a subway tunnel. Deciding not to take any chances, Bernard quickly climbed out and into the platform. Many people were there, dressed in old ratty cloths, coving themselves with blankets. Unnerved, Bernard quick left working his way outside. He smiled as he looked around the area. This was amazing, everything looked real, and the people seemed to interact with the player perfectly. Even the snow, it was so detailed, it wasn't just a white speck and it was.............

"It's cold?"

Bernard let out a breath and watched as his breath heated the air in a cloud of steam. The streets were empty. There was no sound and no lights and the fog hanging around his feet wasn't helping either. He'd be fine, he was used to colder conditions, plus he had a jacket, so he didn't have to worry about that.

"Well better get started, the best way to learn a game is by trial and error."

Bernard looked at the device on his left wrist.

PLAYER: KHAN. POINTS: 0

It wasn't until then that Bernard realized that he was holding a booklet in his right hand.

"The Players Handbook? Well I'm sure that will come in hand sooner or later."

Bernard put the booklet in his back pocket and walked off. He had taken only three steps when he heard something behind him. Quickly turning, Bernard hand just enough time to see a fist before it collided with his face. He fell back to the group with a hard thump. Before he could do anything there was a knife at the throat.

"Just give me the jacket, that's all I want. I don't want to have to kill you man. Jacket, that's all I want."

Bernard nodded and removed the jacket, tossing it aside. The man with the knife grabbed it and ran off.

"Fuck. That hurt!"

Bernard ran his hand across his mouth.

"Blood? I thought they were just trying to scare us. But, but this is actually real?"

Bernard looked around again. The street was once again empty and silent, except for him sitting on the ground.

"Maybe I had better take a look at that hand book after all."

She stood upon the ruined pavement, making sure to stay hidden within the shadows. She drew just enough light from the streetlights in order to read the basic manual.

"..So which area of the city have I started in?"

She knew that she would have to investigate further to find this out. But, investigating meant that she would be putting herself into a large amount of peril. If she could feel the cold ..could she also feel pain? If this city was as dangerous as the manual described- would she even make it through the night without being hunted down by a cyborg of some description or another human being- possibly one of the individuals that had also been transported to the city. If you took one of these ordinary people's lives you scored the maximum amount of points that could be scored for a single act. Would the people that she was playing this game with be comfortable with killing another human being? She feared the worse. It seemed asthough surviving this game would be just as difficult as locating one of the keys to the exits, then making it to the exit and escaping. A cold chill made her body shake. She took a couple of steps forward, embracing the night headlong.

"Come on. You have never let a game beat you before."

She lifted her head high as a bitter snow fell. She embraced the icy droplets upon her forehead. It was perfect. The detail was faultless. Yet, despite this fact she continued to convince herself that she was just stood in the midst of a virtual reality game. Even if she lost- she would wake up in that strange machine and then return to the warmth and safety of her modest semi-detatched house in England. She placed the handbook to one side, but only after she was sure that she had memorized it perfectly. She had to find out where she was, or at least which region. That way she would know if she was in any real trouble or not. The handbook had instructed her about the South Side, North Side and about the Subway and she decided to stay clear of these places of menace if she could help it. But, the manual failed to talk about the East Side and West Side. Or the center for that matter. What if these areas were just as bad? What if they were worse? Taking a deep breath she paced forward, darting through the lurid shadows.

"Right. Lets see what you have got instore for me."

Mark walked into the room wearing a blood red long sleeve t-shirt, black jeans, black con high-tops and a black jean jacket. He was a good looking guy, well built with blond hair that draped over his left eye, who was obviously of Asian decent.

The building was sketchy, but he wasn't about to let that stop him. He clenched his fists looking at his black finger gloves. His good luck gaming gloves. A smile crossed his lips as he pushed open the door to find eight other people in the room.

He tried to pay attention to the other people in the room. He kept to himself, not speaking to people just out of habit.

When he was entered into the casket like structure his interest really began to peak. Nothing like this in Tokyo. When they handed him the manual he smiled to himself. Never read a game manual in his life. Wouldn't start now.

Suddenly the speaking stopped and everything went dark.

PLEASE ENTER ALIAS

He looked down at the keyboard. A small smile streaked across his lips. Always the hardest part of the game for him. He needed a name that was cool, yet bad ass. Freedom. There was a huge flash of light and he was kneeling in a city behind a tattered building.

What a cool game. He thought as he shoved the book into his back pocket and looked at the watch like device on his wrist.

PLAYER: FREEDOM. Points 0

A flicker caught his eye. There was a fire behind him. He squished himself against the wall of a building blending in with the shadows. A group of people were all huddling around a massive fire. Some were arguing, others were sleeping. This must be the Rogue camp. North side. Time to get some points. He thought as he snuck farther into the city.

Bernard sat up and looked around; the street was once again empty. And silent. Bernard stood up and wiped the rest of the blood off his face. Looking at his hand he shook it violently in an attempt to shake the blood off, no luck. Bernard quickly ducked into a nearby building that he desperately hoped was empty. It had originally been at least a two story building, but everything above half way on the second floor had either been ripped off or smashed. There was no one in the room when Bernard entered. Looking around, Bernard could see why. The roof was incomplete, only half of it remained the walls were bare, the wallpaper mostly ripped off and a pair of skeletons sat in the corner where the roof still covered. Bernard slowly walked towards the skeletons. The people running the show hadn't said anything about skeletons, but Bernard wasn't ready to rule out the possibility of some sort of android disguised as a skeleton to catch unsuspecting people. Once he was close enough Bernard gave each a quick jab with his right foot, both fell apart like a puzzle. Bernard let out a sigh and pushed the rest of the bones aside. Bernard pulled out the hand book from his back pocket and opened it to the first page and began reading.

"Title: No Way Out. Genre: Science Fiction, Futuristic. Run Time: N/A.

Introduction. The year is 2104, the war is almost over- and machines seemed to have gained complete dominance. It all started with a virus which infected a single computer program. Ever since that moment, the virus had spread dramatically. It enabled artificial intelligence to think as though a human would, and practically gave them a life of their own. It was not long before chaos ensued when cyborgs started to obtain a major superiority complex, making them feel as though humans were an inferior race which should be destroyed completely. The war raged throughout the world, claiming the lives of more than three quarters of the earth's population. Death and destruction laced the planet. In one particular city the war was still in full force. The civilians who lived there had made it clear that the city was their territory, and they would be damned if they were going to fall to a bunch of machines. So even though the humanitarian cost rocketed, the brave souls continued to fight the never-ending battle. Rogue humans made this fight increasingly difficult for the warriors. Rogue humans were the individuals who had let the absence of law and order go straight to their heads. A rogue would not think twice about double crossing another one of their kind to steal supplies, or wound (sometimes even kill) another human being for nothing other than a bit of fun.

Points: 10: Picking up an essential item. 10: Picking up an essential weapon. 15: Fighting off a human adversary. 15: Fighting off a robot adversary. 20: Helping a human in need. 20: Defeating a human adversary.30: Defeating a robot adversary. 70: Defeating "the Queen". 80: Taking the life of another team player.

Places. The City. The city is a grand size of exactly 10x10 miles. The city is surrounded by a giant wall. Escape is impossible unless you beat the game. Each player starts off in a different area- around a mile apart [give or take] from the next.

North Side. The north side of the city is where most of the rogue humans dwell. These people are mercenaries. This area is where the least amount of cyborgs are found. Despite this fact, gang warfare makes this side of the city extremely dangerous. Although rogues are violent, they also strive on stealth- many just waiting to ambush their unfortunate victims from amongst the malevolent shadows.

South Side. The south side of the city is rumored to be the home of a machine called the "Queen". The Queen is said to be the most feared opponent in the city. No one really knows exactly what this cyborg looks like, but stories have swept through the city- creating uproar and panic. Not even the bravest choose to venture to far into this area of the city.

The Subway. The subway runs underneath the city. Of course there are no working trains anymore, but a lot of civilians take refuge here as not many cyborgs below the city. Although this may be the safest area of the city, there is still threat from both rogue humans and cyborgs that have strayed too far.

The Keys. Once a grand total of 200 points is collected by the player, they may then seek out a key. Keys are scattered throughout the city. If a player comes in contact with a key before they receive 200 points- they may keep hold of this key till the desired points are collected but, only then can they locate and escape through the exit. There are only 4 keys in the game, so there can be only 4 winners. Keys can be taken from rival players at any given stage in the game.

Gold Key. Opens the north exit. Silver Key. Opens the south exit.
Bronze Key. Opens the east exit. Platinum Key- Opens the west. exit.

Useful Hints. When the layer has entered the game they shall find an item like a small clock around their wrists. This item keeps track of that individual's score- letting them know how well they are progressing. Remember that items can be useful during the course of the game. Throughout the city you will find maps and other such items. Don't forget that you are only human and as such you will need food, water and sleep. Talking to people can be a great help as you may learn more information about what is happening in the city. You can interact with other opponents, who you can either befriend or dispose of.

How you decide to play this game is completely up to you. Your fate lies in your own hands. Will you beat the game- or will the game beat you?"

Bernard read aloud, but softly, he always did when reading instructions or directions, it just made it easier for him to remember if he heard it. Bernard looked at the score counter on his wrist, it still read 0. So letting that guy steal his jacket didn't count as "helping" him.

"Great. I'll bet that I'm having the worst luck out of all of us. Damn near had my nose broken and had my jacket stolen. I thought L.A. and New York were supposed to be bad. I've only been here ten minuets and all this shit has happened."

Bernard felt around in his pockets and a smile spread across his face. His cigarettes and his lighter had come here with him. And if everything else felt so real. Bernard pulled a cigarette from the contain and put it in his lips, brought the light up to the cigarette and lit it. He took a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds then let it out.

"Man, these guys are good. Even my cigarettes taste the same. Well, had better tray and get some points so I can win this thing."

Bernard bent down and grabbed a femur from one of the skeletons. It wouldn't do much good against a robot, but he was willing to bet that a human being clocked in the head with one of these would go down after a hit or two.

She paced down the deserted road, keeping alert at all times. She hugged her arms, braving the icy breeze. Autumn walked at a reasonably slow pace, making sure to make as little noise as possible, whilst trying to stay out of any highly lit areas. It wasn't long before she heard a strange sound, much like a car being crushed. It was coming from direcly behind her. She thought fast, removing from the road which she tread, and hiding behind what appeared to be the remains of some kind of vechicle. She knelt down, making sure that she was well and truly out of sight. The noice got louder, the crashing, banging and smashing sounds were almost to much for her to take in. It was not long before she saw the source of the commotion.

"Oh my god.."

A strange kind of creature marched down the middle of the street. It was like nothing like she had ever seen before. The machine had limbs made out of car parts and other features made out of what seemed to be old appliances.

"That must be a cyborg. Christ, what a peculiar piece of machinery."

What was even more disturbing is that she watched the cyborg drag something along in it's metalic claws. She could just about make out what it was. A man's body. It must of been an older man. The corpse made twisted cracking sounds as it was pulled along. Autumn turned away in disgust, covering her ears as she waited for the cyborg to continue on it's way. After a good ten minutes she returned to the center of the road, her eyes fixed upon the scenery which lay ahead.

"I'm going to have to be catious ..although that was an incredible piece of equipment."

Being a mechanic by trade, Autumn had a fetish for cold and hot metal alike. She adored cars and bikes of all different sorts, and seeing this machine made her curious about how it functioned. If she could figure it out, she stood more of a chance of defeating it. She looked to her feet, there lay the blood of the cyborg's victim, laid out in a long, morbid trail. She shook her head, reminding herself for the final time that it was just a game, and that blood was not real- and that man was certainly not dead.

"Pull yourself together, woman. Onwards, lets see what those freaks are really made of."

There were still a few erect buildings as Mark passed onward into the city. His eyes darted from side to side looking around. Then a large building caught his eye and he smiled. The sign that hung there red "Mall" this was his chance.

He snuck up to the revolving doors and crouched inside. He slowly spun the doors trying not to attract any attention by movement or sound.

Mark rose to his full height inside the mall. Empty. Everywhere was empty except for that little camp. He shook his head and started to look around.

There were a couple of gift shops, a food court, some clothing shops, nothing of interest yet. Then there was the sporting goods shop. Bingo.

He walked casually through the detectors at the front of the store and found a backpack. He pulled the price tag off of it and threw it around his shoulders after tossing the manual in it. He smiled to himself.

Then he felt his left wrist vibrate. He pulled up the sleeve of his shirt and coat and looked at the device.

PLAYER: FREEDOM. POINTS: 10

He couldn't help but smile. Looks like he was doing pretty good. Time to go the weapons section though.

He found the gun counter at the back, near the fishing supplies. Nothing. Everything had been cleaned out. Even the knives. With a sigh he turned and left the store. At least he had a good start.

Bernard left the building. The fog on the ground had gotten heavier; he could no longer see the ground and the fog now came up to above his knees.

"This isn't a good thing."

Two blocks away Bernard found the city library. Bernard slowly climbed the stairs. This would be the best place to acquire a map, ten easy points, but Bernard also suspected that there would be people living here, after all the library was a large one, close to the size of the New York city Library, and had bathrooms and a source of water, if the what hadn't been shut off. One of the large doors on the front was off the hinges, lying on the ground a few feet in front of the door way. Quietly Bernard slipped into the main hall of the library. Most of the building was intact, well what he could see of it. The computers were lying on the ground in broken heaps.

"Of course that would have been too easy. But the card catalog should still be intact."

Bernard hopped over the counter and found the multiple rows of cards, looking through until he found where the city schematics were kept. Deep in the stacks.

"Just great. Well, maybe they made this is too realistic. I was hoping to just have to do a puzzle or two and get the map that was hidden behind a revolving statue or something. This is worse; I have to go looking through the bloody stacks. It's a right good thing mother was a librarian."

It took Bernard damn near an hour to find the door that led to the basement and to the stacks and to finally get it open. Bernard pulled out his lighter and flicked it on so he could see on his way down. At the bottom of the stairs there was a light switch on the wall.

"Why the hell not? Might as well try it, even though it won't work."

Bernard reached out with his hand and flicked the switch. There was a few seconds pause and just as Bernard opened his mouth, the lights flickered and came on.

"Well I'll be damned."

Bernard put his lighter away and continued down the long hall that led to the stacks. The end of the hall ended in a massive underground room with five levels. Bernard watched as the lights in the stacks turned on one by one.

"Sublevel three, four hundred thirty eight point seven three five three."

Bernard headed to the stairs which were centered in the massive room, each step he took along the metal walkway creaked and echoed in the room. He didn't like this, it was still too easy. The stairs barely looked like they were being held up but Bernard didn't have much of a choice. Gently, he put one foot on the first step and pushed down. It held, so he put a little more weight on it. Once he had done that, Bernard put all his weight on the first step. He tested the next three steps in the same fashion. After that he made his first mistake and got cocky. The fourth step gave way under his weight and he fell through the stairs below the ones he fell through held his weight when he landed. Bernard hit the stairs and rolled to sublevel three.

"I have got to be having the worst bloody luck out of all the damned players."

Slowly, Bernard stood and rubbed his back where he landed. He went up and down the stacks until he found what he was looking for, the city schematics. Bernard grabbed them all and pulled them off the shelf. Water mains, electrical plans, subway system everything was here. The street plans were also there they were the last page.

"Perfect."

A beep came from his score counter.

PLAYER: KHAN. POINTS: 10

"Alright, time to get this show under way!"

Those words had barley escaped his lips when sub basement five light up in a bright red light. Bernard had a guess to what that was, but he didn't want to stick around to find out. He ran back to the stairs and used them to get back to the second sublevel. As he rounded a corner he heard the sound of metal breaking behind him. There was a door marked "NO ENTRY" on this level. It either led into the subway tunnels or into a dead end, but he was willing to take that chance. Bernard saw the door and sprinted full speed, jumping at the door bringing his right knee up and crossed his right arm over his face, holding the maps and schematics tightly in his left hand. The door was loose and fell away easily under his weight. Bernard hit the ground and rolled to his feet, taking of in the direction he was facing, not even caring where he was going at this point.

She followed the fresh trail of blood down the obtuse road. The atmosphere seemed to be married with a strange sense of perturbed melancholy. The trail began to thin, and it wasn't long before she found herself standing upon a crossroad. The scent was dry.

"Bloody hell! Now which way do I turn?"

The words tumbled from her mouth, and she immediantly ralised that she was speaking out loud. She turned tound swiftly, hearing the faint sound of footsteps which came from behind her. Autumn stood completely still, her legs frozen with fear.

"Friend or foe..?"

A foreign voice bellowed through the haze, one of a man. The voice was firm, and she could tell by the direct tone that this person meant business. She hesitated for a split second before replying to the stranger's question.

"Excuse me.. I wandered into this city by accident. I come from the outside. In answer to your question- if you mean me no harm, then I am a friend. If you do however wish to harm or mug me, then I am indeed a foe."

"Hmmph."

The silence cut deeper than the sharpest of blades.

"I could tell that you are not from around here. You look very out of place."

A tall, rugged gent emerged from the mist. He must of stood at around 5'11'', she could barely see his facial features, but telling by the warm glow in his eyes he was a man of around her own age. Possibly just older.

"You are lucky that you have wandered into this area of the city, this is Warrior territory. We are the few who stand up and fight against those demons who have invaded our city. Very few of those wander this way these days, we have fought them all back. Trouble is they are all but impossible to kill, bastards."

A troubled look lit Autumn's eyes.

"..Impossible to kill. But, they are not even human. They are machines. I'm sure there must be something inside them that when destroyed shuts down the rest of them."

"Everytime we come near to destroying them they retreat. They have some sort of way of regenerating themselves. Anyway, you better seek safety here. There are some quarters here that you may have. They are not great, but it's better than being out there."

"What area of the city am I in?"

"Why, you are in the most eastern area you are actually heading more towards the west. See this crossroad? Well, you turn right and you are heading south, left and you are heading north."

"Thank you for your help.."

Autumn bravely stepped forward, wandering over towards the right side of the road.

"What are you doing!?"

Exclaimed the man, chasing after her.

"It's highly dangerous down that way."

"I know.. I just think that I can figure out a way to at least disarm those beasts. They don't have eyes, so they must have some kind of sensor that they see with. Maybe if I can figure out where that is.. it will render them harmless. It's just a hunch, but if I can help I can."

"You will be walking to your own death-"

"Then so be it!"

Autumn turned round, looking this individual straight in the eye. The way you could interact with civilians in this game was amazing. The man that she was looking at seemed as real as she did. His features were perfect, he was almost handsome.

"You are brave, I'll give you that. What is your name?"

"A.. uhh.. Phoenix."

"Pleasure to meet you, Phoenix. My name is Styx. I hope that we meet again, but this is as far as I go."

"I appreciate that. Take care, Styx."

Before she had a chance to walk away, she could see him remove something from his belt, he then hurled this object towards her with some great force. Her reactions were quick, and she caught it within her right hand. Due to the bulkiness of the object and the fact it was made of a heavy metal, the impact made her hand tingle slightly. Pain..? This certainly was odd. She recognized the object immediantly as a large wrench. She used similar tools when working.

"It's not ideal, but it will be better than nothing if you find yourself in a spot of bother."

"..Thank you."

"Goodbye, valiant stranger."

He left just as quickly as he had arrived, turning upon his heal and darting back into the shadows.

Taking a deep breath, Autumn promptly turned to the right. She quickened her pace, making sure to stay alert and vigilant. She grasped the wrench tightly within her right hand. She failed to notice the digit on her watch change-

PLAYER: PHOENIX.
POINTS: 10.

On his way out of the mall he found a clothing store and took a sweater from one of the racks. The store was called Eco-lothing. It looked as though everything was made from environmentally friendly clothing, not that he really cared, considering this was just a game. It was just nice.

With a smirk on his face an his backpack with something in it he started to move towards the entrance of the mall. There was a little bounce in his step, he was excited.

His footsteps echoed throughout the desolate mall, but after one of his steps there was a metallic echo. He stopped dead. Looks like it was time to have some fun.

Mark ducked in behind a plant near the center of the mall. He waited for a giant metal machine to walk near the plant. His mouth dropped open. The detail in the robots was exquisite. He had never seen anything like it.

He put that quickly behind him. It was time to act. He threw himself up at the robot. It's arm quickly extended towards Mark. His chest was overwhelmed with pain upon contact. He was launched backwards into a support beam.

The pain he felt was incredibly real. He held his chest as he tried to get up. This was a very real game. They weren't fooling. As he rose to his feet he realized that the robot...thing was moving towards him.

This was the first time that Mark had ever been frightened of loosing. He did the only smart thing and ran. He ran out of the mall and towards the South side of the city. It really didn't matter what side, as long as he was away from that thing.

When he finally stopped he was on another deserted road. He bent over to try and catch his breath when a cough came to him. He opened up his hand and there was spots of blood scattered across the palm. How real. Simply amazing. Then the pain hit him again. Mark let out a small groan before falling to his knees. It felt as if his ribs were broken.

Bernard kept running until his legs couldn't carry him anymore. He passed three stations, two of which had people dwelling in them, the third was empty and looked like the stairs had caved in. After taking a nice long breather, Bernard returned to the third station. The lights were on, but they were flickering and provided very little light, which was probably why no one was there. Bernard climbed up and gave the area a quick look over. Bernard found the bathroom and ducked inside. The lights in the bathroom were on and seemed to be normal. Bernard opened the baby changing station and spread the street map out. He reached into his pocket looking for his marker.

"Damn. That was in my jacket. So was my Duct Tape, damnit. I'm going to kill that guy as soon as I get a gun or sword or whatever weapon I can. Beside this damn bone. Well now I need to find a pen or pencil. With I had thought of that while I was in the library, but I'm not going back to that bloody place."

Bernard folded up the map of the streets and stuck it in his pocket, leaving the rest of the maps there. He began to walk away and stopped.

"Hrm. Maybe a few others would come in hand."

Bernard turned around and took the subway maps as well. Bernard continued to flips through the maps.

"The airport layout? Well, there's bound to be something there, there always is, as well as....."

Bernard paused as he flipped through the maps, finding the elementary, middle and high school layouts. There was even a college.

".....as well as in the school. But which one? Usually there's only one school. But here we have four. Four schools and four keys. Could it really be that easy? No, but it's still worth checking out. Now, how far away are they?"

Bernard put the subway map on the floor next to the city map. Finding the address, which was conveniently listed on the building schematics for each of the schools, Bernard found them on the maps and compared the locations. The nearest school was the elementary school three miles away. Just over a mile to the south. That looked like it would be in the heart of the south district, where the "Queen" was located. He wasn't brave enough to go that way, at least not yet. The high school was about three miles to the east. A way that wasn't described in the player’s handbook.

"This just keeps getting better and better. Well, better get going. Should take me almost two hours to get there, assuming that I don't run into trouble along the way."

Bernard didn't even want to think of what he could possibly run into. From what he had read his mind was flashing images of The Terminator and Motoko Kusanagi. The Terminator was an android covered in human flash programmed to destroy humanity from an old move he found in a box of his parents old movies. Motoko Kusanagi was a complete android, from an old television show and graphic novels which Bernard had a passion for, much faster, strong and smarter than The Terminator. Oh god he hopped they'd be like the Terminator.

"God, I would really love a cigarette right about now."

Her urge for a cigarette was unusual, as she very rarely smoked. And when she did it was normally in a social environment, when her and friends met for a quick drink after work. Autumn worked in a garage, she loved toying with engines. Growing up she felt asthough the other females were as if aliens, as she did not have a thing in common with any of them- well, except for perhaps an expensive taste in footwear. Autumn had always been a tom-boy. At the age of fourteen she fell in love with her first ever game's console. Since that day she had been addicted to gaming, traveling around the world at times to compete in certain tournaments. When she recieved the invitation to try out this new brand of game, her heart soared. She couldn't believe that she was one of the people purposely chosen. She had almost instantly packed her bags. It was outside the vacant building belonging to "h.Y.p.E" that she started having second thoughts. It looked so desolate- not the sort of place where you would expect to find a piece of equipment that would change the future of gaming. But, she went along with it anyway. And it brought her here.

Into this corrupt world.

There was something about this place that wasn't right. The smells, the sights, the sounds- everything with perfect. It all seemed so very real, right up to the cold wind that now raged through the forsaken streets. She could not put her finger on it. Something was almost certainly amiss. She could see how this game would be a test of character, but to inflict actual pain upon a person? ..Or was it actual pain?.. Autumn new that she would have to dwell further into the game to find out the answers to all of her questions. She wondered what had happened to the other people that had been transported into this city. Where they even here? If so, where they even alive? What if the corpse that the cyborg dragged hurridly along was that of one of her team mates. She shuddered at the thought.

"Don't think like that. Just play the game ..play the game."

She made a plan in her head, deciding to hunt down a cyborg and stalk it's every move. It had to have some kind of weakness. Even Achilles had his untrustworthy heel. She assumed that instead of eyes and ears- the robots had a sensor. She wasn't sure what this sensor picked up though. It could be a camera, or perhaps just a heat sensor. Her curiosity had completely overwhelmed her. She continued to tred the barren street, heading dead south.

Three hours had passed. Several times he had run into things that he had run either run or hide from. The last time he had seen a large group of humans, at least thirty of them. Armed with, well he couldn't exactly make out what they were, but Bernard didn't want to take any chances, not after having his nose almost broken and almost being trapped in a collapsing library. He still wasn't convinced that if he died here he'd actually die for real, but he wasn't sure if he had any extra lives of not. And being armed with nothing more than a femur, he wasn't going to take his chance against an armed mob.

The building didn't even have a name; it just said "Middle School" above the door that looked like the main entrance. Slowly, Bernard climbed the three stairs that led up to the main doors. Gently Bernard pushed open the door. It creaked as he pushed. He heard several screams as he did.

"Run and hide! Something is coming!"

"Wait. Don't run, I'm not here to hurt anyone!"

Most of the people continued to run away. One little girl stopped and turned to face him.

"Mommy. He looks strange."

"Honey don't look at him he's just.........You, you're not from around here."

"No, I'm not. I'm from the outside. Myself and several others have come to help. I've come here to defeat the Queen. But that's all I know. Can you please tell me more? The more I know, the more help I can give."

'More like the more points I can get. But helping people is supposed to give us points as well, so this should net me a good chuck, and I've still got 190 left to go. I need all the point I can get.' Bernard though as he followed the woman and her child deeper into the school.

[desc]As Mark was on his knees in the middle of the street, the echo of footsteps begin to reflect of the torn walls around him. He unclenched his stomach and wiped the blood off of his face before getting to his feet.

He crept up to a wall and pressed his back against it. The footsteps grew louder and louder. He closed his eyes and hoped it wasn't another robot.

He cautiously peaked his head around the corner and brought it back quickly. It was a girl. She wasn't wearing tattered clothing like the others. Maybe she was a player.

Then he got an idea. One way to find out. He kept himself against the wall and silent until she walked past when he reached out and wrapped his right arm around her mouth and grabbed her left wrist with his left hand pulling her into him and keeping her left arm extended.

Her sleeve slipped up and he saw the same device as he had.

PLAYER: PHOENIX. POINTS: 10

As his eyes caught it he read the name and sighed. He was just barely strong enough to hold her there to read it before he finally let go.

Immediately she turned around and all of a sudden there was a wrench in his face. Mark went down.

The streets grew narrower, the streetlights that had once lit the roads now dimmed, and she found it increasingly difficult to see what was ahead of her. Bravely she carried on, tip-toeing through the shadows. Her footsteps seemed to echo, making her feel more and more pensive.

It was then she felt something tightly snare her wrist, and a hand covered her mouth. She hesitated for a second, frozen with fear. Her free hand gripped the wrench tightly. She closed her eyes, and swung with all of her might, clouting the threat behind her with the instrument. She heard a loud thump, as whoever they were hit the deck. slowly she turned around, standing over what appeared to be a person. A rogue? No. Whoever it was was dressed differently from the other man that she had just encountered. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of what looked like the same device she had upon her wrist. Kneeling down over the body, she took his wrist in her hand, inspecting this closely.

PLAYER: FREEDOM. POINTS: 10

"..My god.."

She looked at her own watch, her body shaking as she recalled the points for the death of another player.

PLAYER: PHOENIX. POINTS: 10.

He was still alive. She checked for a heartbeat, and upon finding one she wondered what she should do. If she took out this person now there would be another 80 points upon her watch, making it quicker and easier for her to get out of this hell. But, then she wondered that if she were able to feel pain- then maybe so was this gentleman. She grasped the wrench tightly.

"Could you really kill a man..?"

She already knew the answer. Even if this was just a game, it seemed all too real. She moved the man's body further into the shadows, keeping him hiden from any dangers that may of been lurking. She gently placed her hand against the wound upon his head.

"Blood. We're going to have to do something about that."

She removed her t-shirt, revealing a smaller tank top underneath. She placed her t-shirt against the wound to stop wipe away the blood. She hit him with great force, it was a surprise that the wound was not life-threatening. Hours seemed to pass before the man stirred, opening his eyes. Her t-shirt was soaked in blood, she threw this to the side. She grew fearful, what if this man's intention was to destroy her and claim the points? It was a chance that she was going to have to take. She was too far in now. As he opened his eyes, she could only whisper;

"Sorry. I didn't mean to hit you that hard- you just spooked me. Were you one of the others who were sent into this game?"

Bernard was surprised to see that a majority of the inside of the Middle school had been either rebuilt or untouched. The people living here had done a good job of keeping the place in a fairly clean and livable sense of order, they even had the lunchroom up and running. Bernard smiled as he thought of all the humanity could do when they needed to. He cut his thoughts short, this wasn't humanity. These people were nothing more that lines of code, nothing more.

"So how long has the city been like this? And if everything is so bad here, why don't you just leave?"

The young girl put her thumb in her mouth while the mother answered.

"The city has been like this for as long as I can remember, maybe even before some of us were born. Living like this, you tend not to think too much about the past and only worry about living day to day."

The mother let out a sigh as she led Bernard into what he gathered used to be the teachers lounge.

"And we can't leave. The robotic monsters guard the exits. They let people in, but they don't let anyone out. I'll leave you here, the elders will join you shortly, it just takes them a while to get here. They can answer all you question. Come on dear."

The mother motioned for the small girl you stared at Bernard for a few seconds, then smiled and waved before running back to her mother.

Maybe things here aren't as bad as I originally thought. Sure the city is a complete disaster, but these people seem to have decent lives, considering what's on the outside.

"Heh, I just can't catch a break. Wha...yeah. Freedom, nice to meet you."

A smile touched the corner of her mouth as the man regained consciousness.

"I am really sorry, Freedom. I just thought that you were out to hurt me. My name is Phoenix, and it's bloody nice to meet you too."

She started to pace nervously as she pondered what to say. She decided to kick-start the conversation with a little bit more information about herself, as she strongly thought that this may break the ice a little;

"I'm a mechanic on the outside, when I'm not behind the controls of a computer game. Just your average lady in her twenties.."

The interaction with the other players in this game was little short of amazing. Autumn was generally a chatty person, and was always eager to talk but, for the first time in a long while she was speechless. She glanced down at the man in a state of awe. She felt slightly awkward as she could of given the gent a severe case of head trauma. But, hey- despite the head wound the man (who was obviously of an asian decent) still looked remarkably attractive.

"It's fantastic, isn't it? Although I do not think 'fantastic' is the right word in this case scenario. I have never experienced everything like this before. Everything seems so real, from the cold chill racing down my spine to the sensation of pain. Where exactly are we? Do you know anymore than I do?"

She paused as, judging from the confused look upon his face he was having a hard time taking in everthing that she had just muttered. Despite this fact she felt that she had to keep on talking. There was so much that she now wanted to say and share with someone. So many questions were floating around in her head. Maybe Freedom would be able to help her find the answers to these unholy equations. Her next words chilled her right to the bone.

"What if this is not actually a game. What if ..what if this is real?"

[PLEASE ENTER ALIAS


REV typing into the console was the easy part and the name was easy too because Rev had been a nickname for almost all of his gaming history. He got that name because he was always in a hurry he guessed. Checking out cheat codes and such so he could beat the game in a hurry and start another game. That sort of thing. He took a big breath and pushed the enter key.

THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK

A bright flash and suddenly Rev found himself on a dark road holding a small book and wearing a watch. Looking for a place with enough light to see by he found a corner to put his back to so nothing could jump him by surprise. Then opened the book to page one reading every word looking for a clue or something that he could take advantage of. Immediately seeing the part about getting points if he could obtain a weapon, he started grabbing everything around him. A glass bottle, then a small lead pipe, but nothing seemed to happen. But still Rev kept the pipe thinking it might help out even if it not be worth any points to the game. But it made him feel better then being empty handed.

Rev slowly walked into the middle of the street examining all the near-by buildings for something useful and trying to figure out a plan. Just trying to figure out where he was in relationship to the city was not known.

The building to his right had a sign with a donut and cup of coffee on an old sign outside. OK, he thought, this will be my starting point. I will circle around it clockwise till I find a goal. Entering he went to the cash register and rummaged around in the drawers underneath it, finding a few useful item for himself. He had found two pencils and a few sheets of paper which he put the coffee shop in the middle. Trying to create his own map as he went looking for the key. It seemed important to find a key as soon as possible even if he hadn't any points because the points might just happen as he was searching. He remembered the man with H.y.p.e. had said that there were only 4 keys and Rev knew he wasn't going to be the one without one. There were eight other players here.

In the back of the building was a small row of personal lockers. All the ones without locks were empty. But three had small locks on them. Remembering his lead pipe he tried to pry the lock off of one and slipped and skinned his fingers. Ouch that hurt he thought. Strange how the feeling of pain and the vision entering his brain was so real. But he knew it was all pixels and electronics. But this was the first time a game ever hurt him.

Finding a big mixing wand for making donuts he was able to pry the lock off one of the lockers. Opening it he found a fairly good size back-pack. The contents inside were a pair of leather gloves, a small swiss-army like pocket knife, a cheap binocular and a first-aid kit. Getting excited Rev pryed the other two locks off quickly and opened the second.

Nothing but air and a can of spray paint was in the locker. It was too good to be true Rev thought to himself. Opening the last locker he exclaimed aloud," All right, the mother-lode!" Inside the locker was canned food of all sorts. Enough to last about a week he figured. Stuffing everything in the back-pack but putting the gloves on and the knife in his pocket he headed to the entrance to the store giving it a once-over as he left. I'll sleep here tonight if I do not find anything better he thought.

He poked his head outside just to make sure it was safe before he entered the street. "This is going to be a breeze!" he spoke outloud to himself just to hear some noise. Then glancing at the watch and seeing it made him feel even better.

PLAYER: REV POINTS:30