Page 4 of 3013: Hellion

Bypassing the long lines, he made his way toward where the private employee transporters were located. There were several people already waiting there, some dressed in their uniforms, while others had on clothing that clearly showed they were enjoying some free time.

Xian knew he had quite the reputation amongst the rest of the employees on Evo, so everyone quickly got out of his way the moment they saw him coming. The operators who were in charge of programming the transporters paused when he held up a hand. Giving them a curt nod, he strode right up to one of the empty circular platforms, not bothering to program it with the location first.

“Evo, transport me to the restricted island.”

“Transporting now.”

He was more than ready to get his rescue mission over and done with, but he had to find the troublemakers first.

Chapter Two

Arriving safely onthe restricted island, Xian blew out the breath he’d been holding.

The transporters were certainly convenient, but he still thought being shifted through time and space was highly unpleasant. It always felt like he was being squeezed to death, but thankfully that sensation didn’t last long.

Since the restricted island wasn’t open to the public yet, the transport center there was completely empty. There was an eerie feeling inside the large building, but he shook that off as he made his way toward the security office located on the lower level to gear up.

He placed his palm on the scanner, and the doors to the secured area opened for him. As a member of the security team, he always carried a blaster strapped to his side, but he went to the armory to grab some more supplies. The first thing he selected was a specialized holo-blaster that he strapped to his other thigh. The holo-blaster would allow him to immediately neutralize any holo threats.

Next, he went to the wall display that held a variety of blades and other weapons. Since he didn’t know what scenarios he’d have to deal with, he selected a knife to take with him. The last time he was in the Final Destination Zone, he’d been caught in a rope net that had popped out of nowhere. He didn’t have a blade with him that time, so it had taken a while to free himself.

It was always best to be prepared for the unexpected.

There were protocols in the works that would shut down all the physical traps within the sector, but unfortunately, those hadn’t been installed yet. Considering that, he grabbed one of the small packs off the rack and stuffed several more items into it, including an emergency med pack and some moreenergy bars. The last thing he wanted to deal with was hungry teenagers.

“Evo, what program are the kids running?”

“Level five.”

That made him scowl. The level five program was the most difficult where literally anything in that sector could be a trap or a potential danger.

Perhaps the teens really did have a death wish.

If so, he would gladly oblige once he found them.

“Evo, stop the program.”

“Program is stopped. However, something is disrupting the security feeds in sectors four, five, and six so I cannot get a visual on them,”Evo announced.

“Is it their jammer?”

“The cause is unknown at this time. You should be able to reboot the monitoring system in the command center, but that would take time. I have been tracking their wrist units, which have now stopped moving.”

That was a concerning bit of news.

If the beacons had stopped moving, one or both of them might have been injured. Deciding it was more important to rescue the kids before figuring out exactly what was wrong with the security feeds, he slung the pack over one shoulder and hurried out of the security office.

Since the building was located in the center of the island, there were exits leading out to each of the different sectors. Finding the one he wanted on the display map, he stalked toward it. The doors automatically slid open as he approached, and he stepped outside and into the game.

The restricted island had been made to resemble a massive city from the 21stcentury era on Earth using a combination of real structures and holo images. Tall buildings covered each city block. The bottom levels were constructed with steel, glass, andconcrete, while the upper floors consisted of holo images that made them seem taller than they actually were.

He should have been more specific when he asked Evo to stop the program. The AI system hadn’t ended it. Instead, everything had simply stopped. The streets were filled with old-fashioned cars and other vehicles that weren’t moving and holo people crowding the sidewalks were stationary statues.

The cityscape looked like it was a picture that was frozen in time, and being the only moving being made him feel as if he was the only survivor who had made it through an apocalyptic event.

It was fucking creepy as hell.

While it had been midday on the main island, the sun was already beginning to set on the restricted island. He adjusted the tint of his sunglasses to a lighter shade as he followed the beacons on the map to where the teens were located. Glancing around for potential danger, he remained mindful of the fact that there were many hidden traps in the Final Destination Zone.

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