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I set a palm on Lucifer's back. Resistance again. He was there, standing in place, but frozen.

  I grinned, balled up a fist, and socked Hadrian in the face. He showed no reaction, remaining in place, looping back and forth. My satisfaction dimmed.

  "Okay, Talon," I muttered to myself, "what's going on here?"

  I went to my menus.

  DEVELOPER CONSOLE

  >> ERROR

  >> FAILED TO INITIALIZE

  Odd but not terribly surprising. Had all of Haven rebooted? Why was I able to move while no one else could?

  I backed out of the cell's open door, relieved I wasn't frozen. I moved into the hall without constraint and took in my surroundings.

  Decimus, Otho, Saint Peter, and the Defenders were gone. They weren't stuck in a loop and unresponsive, they weren't lying on the floor—they were gone. Lash was mid stride, stomping into the cell as Conan and Glinda watched from outside. They were reacting to my last-second alarm. To whatever happened to Saint Peter.

  I tried to recall the exact sequence of events. Was this some trick? A method of lowering the dungeon's defenses? Another distraction?

  Talon: Can anybody out there hear me?

  I swallowed and waited for an answer. I swiped to Everchat, but the system wouldn't initialize and populate contact options.

  I reread the game log. Best I could figure, we'd booted into some kind of low power mode. That was concerning because nothing like this had ever happened, not only in my entire experience, but according to those who'd lived in the beta much longer than me.

  I resolved to calm myself. I was quite possibly the only person who could do something now. Perhaps my employee ID or dev menu privileges afforded me some extra processing power. Perhaps there were other players elsewhere who weren't frozen.

  I needed to get a status update somehow, but my first priority was making sure Hadrian was locked down. He was still shackled in the chair, visually and physically. I shut the door from outside the cell, sealing Lucifer and Lash within. As I went for the lock, the door popped open.

  I frowned and tried again. Same thing. The door slammed and then, even before settling in the frame, it just appeared open again, back to its previous position. As fast as I moved, there wasn't enough time to bolt it closed.

  I was a programmer in my former life. It didn't take long to figure what was happening. The world wasn't syncing. The door was open on the server side. Closing it locally worked for a second until communication with the server failed and the door reset to its last-known state. Haven couldn't drop packets, of course. It wasn't strictly a client-server model. But there were necessary syncs between multiple redundant servers. If we were in a special safe mode, it was likely many actions were blocked or minimized.

  Which explained why everything appeared so fuzzy. Not blurry, just low resolution. Haven was giving me the minimum to work with while avoiding the load of high-performance systems. Minimal level of detail, minimal interaction.

  "Oh, crap."

  I marched to the stairway filled with dread. After climbing a few steps higher than usual, I hit an invisible wall. I shouldn't have been able to get this far up. Transitioning to other zones was currently disabled. I was trapped in my own dungeon.

  I wandered back down with a blank expression. At least Hadrian was stuck down here with us. But we had to be ready. I drew my dragonspear and waited.

  Tad woke to blaring sirens and a mouth full of scratchy wool. He jerked in place and found himself stuck, lying on his back with Abbie on top of him, trapped between a rock and a soft place, which didn't sound so bad until you considered he was being smothered by a cat sweater.

  He shoved the HR director's unconscious form. In his weakened state, she was heavy. He used a lateral push, and she rolled off and settled beside him. Tad recoiled. Her face was frozen in anguish. An aluminum piece of server rack protruded from her neck. Abbie was dead.

  Tad sat up and pulled his legs out from under her. It was an awkward thing with a cast, and he had to shove Abbie's waist to do it.

  "Sorry." He hurried, trying not to notice her gaping eyes.

  It was only when Tad reached for his crutch that he took in his broader surroundings.

  The hallway's lights were on but obscured by black smoke rolling against the ceiling. The Superdome through the doorway was dark except for flickering orange. Combined with the waves of heat and droning alarm, Tad expertly deduced the building was on fire.

  He zombie-crawled toward the doorway, dragging his cast and wincing as he neared the siren. A lucky break. A fire extinguisher hung beside the community room entrance. Tad pushed to his feet, retrieved the extinguisher from the cabinet, and limped inside without his crutch.

  Utter horror greeted him. The Superdome was a large space, with shared desks in the center of the room and EXSIL units along the walls. It was enough to house the entire community team at their height, and now Saint Peter and his eight Defenders.

  The interior of the room had been utterly ravaged by multiple explosions. Perhaps a few improvised devices spaced evenly between the units, as the equipment varied in state. Some chunks of metal were unidentifiable, their original forms completely obliterated. A few of the machines appeared little more than knocked over. But there were... slumped forms and... body parts.

  "Does anybody need help?"

  Tad waited among the crackling flames, pain growing in his bad leg.

  A large ember blowing toward his face snapped him out of it. If he didn't put out the blaze, the whole floor would go up. He hurried to the largest congregation of flames and sprayed it down. The retardant worked surprisingly well and immediately quenched the fire. Tad limped around the community room and addressed the de-escalating threats.

  He was lucky he'd arrived before the room turned into an inferno. After several minutes, the fire was contained. Abbie's goal wasn't to burn down the building but to destroy the equipment and neutralize the community team. The flames were a side effect. After dealing with them, the room darkened, the light bulbs having blown out in the blast. He dropped the extinguisher and breathed. The fire alarm remained deafening.

  "T... Tad."

  He spun at the voice so fast that he stumbled to the floor. Tad dragged himself around Pete's toppled EXSIL machine to find the saint pinned to the carpet beneath it.

  "Pete! You're alive!"

  "I'm not sure this qualifies." The community manager spat blood and cradled his chest with his free arm. His stomach and legs were stuck.

  Tad braced his fingers under the heavy EXSIL unit and pulled, but it didn't budge. He strained against it sideways but stopped when Pete groaned in pain. It was no use; Tad's broken leg left him too hobbled for a rescue effort.

  "The alarm's on," Tad reasoned. "Fire Rescue will be here." He glanced around the room to confirm the fire wasn't returning. "You just have to sit tight a bit."

  Pete nodded, lips pressed tight. He was hurting and didn't look good.

  "Can anyone else hear me?" called out Tad.

  Even though the rest of the room was silent, Tad struggled to his feet and limped to the other EXSILs. Stephanie Hascott was crushed inside twisted metal. A couple of the others had lost too much blood to live. Tad found he lacked the grit to even approach some of the bodies who'd been literally torn to pieces.

  Pete craned his neck around his machine in an attempt to follow Tad's progress. "How are they?" he asked weakly.

  Tad swallowed, the answer too horrible to vocalize.

  The community manager sighed and rested his head against the carpet.

  "It was Abbie," growled Tad. "She worked for InLink the whole time. She shot Christian and he's hurt too and—" Tears welled in his eyes.

  For a few moments, the two of them gave in to the blaring fire alarm. The futility. It was hard to imagine anything going more wrong.

  Pete tensed. "The game."

  Tad shook his head. "Don't worry about that."

  "It's important, Tad." He grunted as he tried to turn. "I'
m not going anywhere. You need to check on Haven."

  Tad sniffed. "What do I do?"

  "What's the state of the central hub?"

  "Destroyed," he answered. "Like, it's not even there anymore."

  "The server rack?"

  Tad shrugged. "It looks like the main target of the explosion."

  "Okay." Pete nodded, slowly at first but building steam. "Haven is backed up to multiple redundant servers that constantly communicate. If one goes down, others take over, just like the internet."

  "I don't think the internet's that centralized."

  "I'm dying, Tad. Cut me some slack."

  The programmer stiffened at the admission. Pete's life was in danger and Tad was standing around moping. He wouldn't do that to the man. "What do you need?"

  Pete allowed a brief smile. "What about the switches on the wall? They're built behind the concrete column. They—"

  "I see them." Tad hurried to the switch box and opened the metal door. The column and box had protected them.

  "Switch them off," instructed Pete. "They—" He broke into a fit of coughing. "They—" This time the coughs sounded wet and sputtering.

  Tad flicked the three switches to the off positions and hopped back to Pete. The community manager was out of breath on his back, the stubble around his mouth redder than usual due to the preponderance of blood.

  "They redirect the game controls," finished Pete weakly. "Haven will be able to spin up to full power, assuming the alternate system is still intact."

  Tad dropped to a knee and splayed his cast to the side to lean over the man. "Abbie didn't have a chance to go anywhere else. She's dead. How do we check the other system?"

  The saint breathed sharply but slowly, in and out. "...Christian," was all he said.

  "I'll ask him," hurried Tad, trying to keep Pete from exerting himself too much.

  The wounded man closed his eyes for some peace. The worrying moment dragged on until Pete's eyes shot open. "The quests..."

  Tad's face tightened in worry.

  "Tell Talon... unlock... the quests."

  "Fine, just rest now." Tad gripped Pete's hand tight. "Just hold on, Pete. You'll get through this."

  The community manager had no more strength. He shook his head ever so slightly, eyes blinking with exhaustion. "My legs... body... crushed."

  Tad tried to maintain a confident face but must've looked a mess. "It's okay," he reassured. "The doctors can fix you."

  Another tired blink. No response this time.

  "What about you, in the game?" Tad offered. "We can upload you to Haven."

  Pete smiled softly. "Some people aren't built to live forever, Tad."

  The thirty-something man who liked superhero movies and cycling exhausted a final profound breath and went still.

  1720 Temple Run

  In my mind, I might've paced that dungeon hall for hours. The game clock told a different story. I constantly referred to it, worrying over the possibilities and doing my best to stay alert. Things started moving again in half an hour. I first noticed Lash jerk forward, then suddenly appear ten feet down the hall.

  "Yes!" she shouted, looking around. Conan and Glinda popped to random places, and even Crux was down here somehow. They all looked at each other and laughed.

  "You guys came back!" exclaimed Glinda.

  "Me?" asked Crux. "You were the ones who were frozen."

  "Uh-uh," insisted Lash. "None of you guys were responding." Her eyes fell on me down the hall. "You were standing in front of Hadrian a second ago."

  I pushed through them and watched as Lucifer spun around the cell in alarm. Behind him, the shackles were open. The prisoner's chair was empty.

  "He's running!" cried Lucifer, charging toward me.

  I turned just in time to see Hadrian dart up the dungeon steps and disappear.

  "Son of a bitch!"

  I was the closest and fastest and sprinted after him.

  I cursed my stupidity as I realized what happened. Everyone had been moving just like me—I wasn't special. We just weren't seeing each other's updates. Hadrian had somehow escaped his chair, possibly aided by the frozen game world or his virus. All he had to do was wait by the exit until the main update returned and zoning was re-enabled.

  The bright sky flashed in first. The ground was there. The jail yard buildings popped in, as well as the Stronghold skyline. The game update was running, but the processes were noticeably lagged.

  Hadrian ignored the incomplete background as he sped through the jail halls and into the yard. I hurried to keep pace, eyes scanning for Bandit. No dragon, no bongo—no anyone, really. This was the headquarters of the city watch under a heightened guard detail. Olive cloaks were supposed to be everywhere. Two Defenders waiting outside too. And Bandit.

  All were missing.

  We raced into the street, the sounds of the others exiting the jailhouse behind me. That reminded me to check in.

  Talon: Roll call!

  Kyle: Bro, what just happened?

  Izzy: I'm here, Talon. We just rebooted, but the legionnaires and centurions are gone.

  Talon: All the city watch is. Hadrian escaped the jail. He's losing me.

  Errol: We be near ye, at the north river. We'll provide backup.

  I rounded a corner and skidded to a halt, finding myself in the confines of the slums. The buildings were smaller here, ramshackle, with lots of places to hide and multiple alleys to cut through. I whistled sharply. Bandit had probably wandered off during the confusion, but if she was within earshot she'd come.

  I hurried southwest, checking pathways.

  Talon: Belay that, Errol. If Hadrian's looking to escape, the nearest exit is your river gate. Post guard at the east and west banks in case he backtracks and slips by me.

  Errol: Aye, aye.

  Izzy: I'm at the east gate, and I'm the only one.

  I nodded. Even alone, she was a powerful deterrent.

  Talon: I think he went west, but the east gate is the closest land exit. You better keep an eye out.

  Kyle: I'm leaving the tower then. Hadrian can't get into Dragonperch, and someone needs eyes on the west gate. Jixa and the ogres will back me up.

  I grimaced at the thought of limiting Oldtown's defenses. The Black Hat capital had been the Whisperer's target last go around. But there was no more army, no more kraken. Kyle was dead on. Sanctums were private zones locked out to other players. Hadrian had no way of entering. Besides, after everything that'd happened, he'd have to be a madman to stay inside the city, and everything about him was measured. I sprinted with my map open, trying to catch sight of my prey while calculating possible routes to each of the city's exits. I had to guess at Hadrian's intentions.

  My boots scraped gravel and I skidded to a stop. I was running too far south; there was one exit I hadn't considered. The map of Stronghold showed me about in line with the location, which would have been crazy except... the city watch and angels hadn't reinitialized yet.

  Galloping hooves pounded my way and I waved to Bandit. Her dragon form was done for the day. I reached an arm out and hooked onto the bongo's back.

  Talon: That bastard is going for the Pantheon.

  I patted Bandit's neck, relieved to see her okay. We cut directly west to the Forum. Of course, by this time, Hadrian had a huge head start on me.

  DEVELOPER CONSOLE

  >> VERIFYING ID

  Damn. I couldn't speed up the initialization of the guards. Decimus hadn't reappeared yet either. If the saints, Defenders, city watch, and angels were gone, the Pantheon was unprotected. The more I thought about all the moving parts, the more certain I was about the strategy. Hadrian was going for the fast travel.

  We burst onto the cobblestones of the main Forum, hooves clattering loudly. Hadrian turned to us from the grand portico steps before rushing inside. We galloped past Otho's abandoned spire and under the triangular roof, where the golden statue of Decimus perched. He showed no signs of coming to life.

  I didn
't dismount as Bandit cantered on the interior tiles. The Pantheon was empty. I was too late.

  A ring of maroon tiles demarked a wide section of floor. This was the fast-travel portal. Hadrian had successfully escaped. I stood in shock, wondering for a moment how he'd managed to use it without approval from the saints. Then again, it depended on a variety of factors including whether it was locked or not. Besides, Hadrian was full of tricks.

  It was that realization that had me turn Bandit's reins and zone into the rotunda.

  We blinked in with Hadrian standing right before us. In his grip was a massive red gem, the Eye of Orik, Stronghold's soulstone. The defiled tabernacle lay open on the far wall, its white cloth unceremoniously dumped on the floor.

  I pointed the dragonspear at the Whisperer. "You almost made it."

  "What are you gonna do?" he spat. "Kill me?"

  He raced past me as I speared him with my weapon.

  [Hadrian] used Shadowslip

  Damn. I shook the black cowl off my spear as Hadrian zoned out of the rotunda. I kicked Bandit ahead to cut him off.

  We appeared back in the main Pantheon. Bandit skidded around and bucked nervously. Hadrian stood in a wide stance, his back to us. Before him was Decimus, finally initialized, two silver swords pointed at the intruder, who for once was caught literally red-handed.

  "Hadrian, you are in violation of the terms of service. You will be expunged from Haven."

  The Whisperer shoved the soulstone into his inventory and searched around, eyes flashing with fear. He had enemies on either side. Decimus hovered a foot in the air and advanced.

  Lucifer raced into the portico, Bravo Team still climbing the stairs outside. The blindfolded angel paused and turned.

  "Lucifer, you are in violation of the terms of service. You will be expunged from Haven."