Page 26 of Obsession

My heart sank as I stared at the two steady signatures. “I am relatively sure it is Britta and Kann.”

“We need to find someone who knows more about holo technology.”

Torq disappeared as I stood staring at the panel. Kann and Britta were trapped inside a holo simulation, and I had no idea how to save them.

Chapter

Sixteen

Kann

My mind raced as the deep Drexian voice filled the corridor and the figure moved toward us.

Grek grek grek.We might be in a simulation, but until we could escape, this was our reality. We were in a version of the academy that included scant technology, but it did contain recreations of past Drexians, and if Zav and Britta had done as good a job with the characters as they’d done with the academy interior and detailing, we were in trouble.

Not only was the simulation was set in the early days of the Academy—centuries before females were admitted—but the school contained some notoriously tough staff. None of the Drexians I’d included in the program would understand why a female was present, much less a human one.

Drexians had not left the solar system. We had not developed jump capability. Our discovery of Earth was several centuries away. We had not even created holo technology. There was no way to explain Britta with her silvery hair and cadet uniform.

I had to hide her. I cursed silently, scanning our surroundings. There was no place to stash her, even if the Drexian approaching had not already spotted her. But a few steps away there was a heavy wooden piece of furniture that consisted of hooks with dark robes hanging on them. Without hesitation, I grabbed one and threw it around Britta's shoulders, tugging the hood up to cover her telltale silver hair. Then I snatched one for myself, remembering that Drexians once wore robes instead of uniforms.

"Don't say anything," I whispered, positioning myself slightly in front of her. “And keep your head down.”

If she objected to any of this or me bossing her around, she did not say so.

The figure stopped once he was close enough to see us. His hair was dark with flecks of gray interspersed, and his eyes were as pale and hard as shards of ice. They became slits as they shifted from me to Britta behind me. “You should be outside. The hunt has begun."

I felt Britta stiffen against me, but I cut her off before she could draw attention to herself. "We were on our way.”

The Drexian cleared his throat, the sound gravelly. "You should address me as Academy Master, cadet."

My blood ran cold as recognition hit. Academy Master Zolonskev—notorious for his liberal use of the academy dungeons. I'd included every historical detail I could find when helping design this simulation, wanting it to be as authentic as possible. Now I regretted my dedication to accuracy.

"Yes, Academy Master. My apologies." I thumped my fist across my chest in salute and nudged Britta to do the same.

Zolonskev's eyes were cold as they swept over us, and I prayed the shadows of our hoods would hide any telling details. “I will let you go, but only because the security chief is part of the hunt, and I do not wish to make a detour to the dungeons.”He eyed us and then lifted an arm, extending one long finger to point to the door at the far end of the corridor. “Now go.”

I turned and pushed Britta forward, blocking her body with mine as much as possible as I shuffled her toward the door.

Thudding footsteps told me that the Academy Master was walking in the opposite direction as the sound grew fainter. I snuck a glance over my shoulder to confirm that he was no longer watching us. Then I stopped prodding Britta and allowed myself to release a breath.

Britta kept her voice quiet when she twisted her head to me. "Who was that?"

"Academy Master Zolonskev," I whispered. "Known for throwing cadets in the dungeons for the slightest infractions. And since we're stuck in this simulation, we need to stay on his good side.”

“Or out of his way.” Britta shivered. "Since the program is malfunctioning, we can't even be sure the safety protocols are fully functional.”

I tried not to think about what that meant—that the dangers were real and if we died in here, we would actually die.

I shook my head as if refusing to let this be true. “We don’t know the safety protocols were damaged. All we know for sure is that we can’t get out—for now.”

“For now,” she repeated, and I knew she was wondering how long it would take someone to stumble onto the holochamber and figure out what had happened.

Britta swiveled her head to take in the hallway. “What do we do now? The scary guy is gone, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be back, and I know he isn’t the only NPC in this place.”

“NPC?” She had used that term before, but it wasn’t one I knew.

“Non-player character,” she said, giving me a half smile. “It’s actually a term used in role-playing games on Earth, but I use itwhen I work on holo programs. It’s basically all the characters who aren’t real.”

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