The Excisionists: Book 1 Page 7

  I was shocked at what I’d seen now knowing I’d had the same experience. I ran to her side and slipped my arm around her shoulders. “You did a brave thing.”

  She smiled weakly at me and then shot a stern look at Jinx. “Tell me what you know.”

  Jinx’s indigo eyes shot around quickly in all directions to judge her surroundings. “Take me to one of the caves and we will speak there.”

  I whipped around and jogged toward the nearest cave. “Follow me.” I tapped on my headset to switch off Cygnet’s voice so she wouldn’t interrupt. We rustled the leaves and disturbed the hidden animals as we moved through the verdant foliage.

  When we reached the cave, we ducked inside the low hanging ledge of rocks and felt our way inside. The interior was slick and dark until I pulled out the plant that resembled dozens of water drops clustered in a flowery arrangement. At the base of each drop was a glowing lengthy yellowish-orange filament that extended almost to the end of the drop. Each one sparkled with an inner light and acted like a prism projecting scattered light and rainbows across the cavern walls. I could see more runes on the walls but decided to wait to collect them until after Jinx explained what she knew.

  The pale gray-blue skin of Iolite’s face was now lit with an orange hue. “Why couldn’t you speak in the open field?”

  Despite the cave being bathed in orange light, Jinx was still pallid and mottled as if the shining glow couldn’t strike the surface of her skin. “The plants have the ability to transfer whatever they hear to the Nomads of the tribe Floros.” She turned her eyes to rest upon mine. “Mica, you must pass off every quest on this planet to obtain all of the abilities from each of the tribes before we can move on. I’m going to give you some tools that will help, but first I’ll explain what’s going on.”

  Iolite leaned back against the wet rocks. “Go ahead.”

  She spoke without hesitation. “My father is an Excisionist who built most of the game. He had tried for years to get me and my siblings to conform but was unsuccessful. He began to study our brains and physiological responses extensively to find a way to help us integrate into the society he’d help build. My sister and brother were his first experiments for the Omega Wave Interceptor Device because they were older than me and had more defiant personalities. He was happy with the progress at first but eventually decided he didn’t want his own children being unable to make decisions on their own. That was when he tried to remove the devices. Both of them were so damaged that my sister eventually died, and my brother was so mentally disassociated that he couldn’t function unless he was plugged into a computerized world built by my father.”

  Iolite was visibly moved by her story. “That’s sad. How did you deal with your sister’s death?”

  She gazed off in the distance. “We weren’t close.”

  She furrowed her brows in response to Jinx’s uncharacteristic lack of feeling. “But that was your sister. And your brother isn’t what he used to be. Doesn’t that make you feel…something?”

  She shook her head. “I used to be tied down by my emotions like the rest of you, but found it extremely liberating to let it all disappear. You see, society is built upon the construct that we must have a reaction to everything. And many people believe that their empathy is what makes them good. Deep down though we’re all the same. We all want to eat, sleep, be comfortable, and avoid conflict. However, when it comes right down to it, we would all do anything necessary to preserve what we have. Emotions just get in the way and being able to identify with whatever someone else experiences is just a waste of time. Doing this doesn’t get us any closer to fulfilling our basic needs.”

  I didn’t know why adults always acted like what they said was one-hundred percent true. “You know, you should be nice to other people if you want them to be nice to you and help you when you need it.”

  She eyed me. “You’re obviously not old enough to grasp the concept of freedom I’m offering you.”

  “He’s not wrong. If you watch people in jail, they are so cutthroat that they never get anywhere. It may get you to the top of the food chain for a short time, but there’s always someone else pulling you down from the bottom.”

  Jinx sneered. “The rise to the top is sometimes the best ride of your life.”

  Iolite’s reply was pragmatic. “You know, for someone who’s freed from emotion, you seem to have a lot of anger.”

  She snapped back at the perceived attack. “I didn’t say I don’t feel anything, I just don’t have the same pointless attachments to members of society that you do.”

  She narrowed her eyes at us. “Neither of you really understand what’s at stake, and I’m the best person you could be with in this game.”

  “Enlighten us then.”

  She drew in a calming breath. “I’ll get back to my story about my brother which was designed to do just this. Over time, he responded to the game and became part of the Alchemist’s Crypt finding purpose in posing challenges to NPC’s formed by my father. The only way I could be with my brother again was to play the game and figure out the puzzles he designed. Although the game has been modified greatly to accommodate many players, I know his mind works the same way it did before we entered the game making it easier for me to predict where the gems are and how to kill enemies. I know more about this game than anyone could possibly imagine.”

  I was so impressed by her tale. “That’s so cool. We’ll win this for sure.”

  Iolite was still leaning back against the wall of the cave. “Hmmm. Interesting story. But it begs the question, if you know how to defeat the game, then why would they let you in it?”

  Her eyes filled with glee. “They don’t know that I’ve played the game. I did it by sneaking into the room with the computer interface when my father was gone for weeks at a time. He has meetings all the time with the others of his group to manage society and infiltrate the government. Back then I was able to hack one of the NPC’s and play without anyone knowing, not even my brother.”

  Iolite frowned. “How could he not recognize you? You’re his sister after all.”

  Her tone was distant and slightly melancholic. “I never got close enough to interact with him directly. I just watched him.”

  Iolite was still not convinced. “Why did you pick us to join you if you can see how far behind we are on our game progress? Just look at our stats, they’re nothing impressive.”

  Jinx floated closer to Iolite and put a bony finger on her chest. “You have something special that none of the other players have. This bond between you and your brother will motivate you to do anything and everything you have to just so you can save him. I’d like to study that. I don’t know anyone who behaves this way. And I like that you’re skeptical about everything, it keeps you out of danger.”

  “You can’t tell me that there’s not a single other player in the game that’s related to someone else. It’s improbable that everyone else is alone.”

  She retracted her mottled hand and smiled sardonically. “My father said they were separating them all. One gets the Omega Wave Interceptor implant and the other plays the game to see how it affects the brains of siblings and find out what the long-term effects are of both systems on similar genotypes.”

  I cut in. “How did we get in then? Why didn’t one of us have to go get the thing in our brain?”

  She turned toward me and got close. “That was me. I watched all the potential players and their interactions with their families. You two were different. From what I read in your files, you came from a poor background and had to fight for everything you had. Plus, you weren’t twins so it would be easier to hide what I did. Your profiles were so drastically different from the others that I decided to pick you for companions in the game.”

  Iolite stood up straight. “Hide what you did?”

  She turned back to Iolite and nodded. “Yes. I hacked the system and sent a message to Dr. Sonnet, Genesis, and Alchemy to allow for a side experiment in the game that they could tell n
o one about. It was not to be discussed with my father either until after debriefing of the game subjects that complete the objectives. They had to be given top security clearance to even be reading the briefs which made them feel more loyal to my father. They think the message was from him.”

  “And how are you planning on keeping it a secret when we get out of the game? Won’t they go find your dad to tell him about their experiences with their project?”

  Jinx’s eyes flashed. “They won’t make it that far.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Her lips twisted upward into a devious smile. “I’ve put a few contingencies into place that will keep them quiet.”

  Iolite quickly glanced at me and then back to Jinx. “Mica, I need you to do something for us right now.”

  I looked quizzically at her gray-blue face. “Now?”

  “Yes. We’ve been in this cave for a while. Go check to be sure no one else is nearby listening to us. We’ll wait here for you to check, and make sure you look at all sides around us before you come back to report your findings.”

  “But–”

  Jinx wouldn’t let me finish my protest. “Mica, this is a very important mission for you right now. After you get back, I’ll let you decide where to go next.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay, fine. But don’t talk about anything else until I get back. I don’t want to miss anything.”

  They agreed, and I handed the glowing plant to Iolite before moving silently outside the cave. I listened for movement in the plants and heard the buzzing noises of the insects and animals. Nothing was disturbed. No tracks were visible, no evidence of spies was visible, and when I touched the cool leaves of the plants, they responded like they normally did. After searching outside for some time, I returned to the orange glow inside the cave. The two stood near each other without speaking.

  I walked back into the cavern and addressed them as if they were leaders in an army. “My report is negative. There was no sign of spies and we’re safe here. Did you talk about anything else?”

  Iolite was tight lipped and standoffish. “Good job.”

  Jinx seemed the same as before. “Mica, thanks for checking for us. I need to check on the rest of our party and then I’ll bring them back to meet the two of you. You need to gain the skills of all the Nomads and Iolite will help you.” She pulled something small and shimmering from beneath her gauzy robe. “This will shift color when you get close to hidden objects. Green means gems, red means enemies, and blue means underground items. Collect everything you can, and I’ll be back. Don’t die. I’ve got three more players to find too.”

  I slipped the orb into my pouch and we headed outside. The light was disappearing as night drew closer. “How will you find us again?”

  “The orb makes you visible to me wherever you go. That’s where I’ll send the troops of the undead to surround you when I reach undead status.” With that, she turned as a long slim sword extended from her bony hand. She streamed away and disappeared into the foliage.

  I turned back to Iolite. “I need to get the spells from the cave before we leave here.”

  She seemed stiff. “Okay. I’ll go with you.”

  We slid into the darkness of the cave and I read the runes to make them transfer to my leather bracelet. “Thrash and grip, slide and trip.” The first rune moved off the wall. “Grow and run, vines undone.” The second rune followed the first. “Shield and guard, leave all unmarred.” My bracelet was getting rather full.

  Iolite interrupted. “What do these phrases do?”

  “Um, they let me control stuff, but I don’t know what they all do until I use them at least once. I don’t have to say the spell after the first time I either kill an enemy with it or pass of a quest. I can select the rune on my bracelet to make stuff move.” I pointed to the fourth rune. “This one is so I can hear through plants.”

  “How do you know that?”

  I shrugged. “I just do. I can read them and know what spell goes with them. Sometimes it’s easy to know what they do by what they are called. Watch. Lend me your ear, listen and hear.” The rune shimmered and moved as I read the spell.

  She nodded. “Oh, I get it. What’s the last one say?”

  I read it to her. “Flower and bloom, dispel the gloom.”

  “Does that mean you can make the plants flower?”

  I shrugged. “Probably. Let’s go try it out.” We headed out to the nearest towering plant and I touched the rune as I spoke. “Flower and bloom, dispel the gloom.”

  The plant leaves curled and then opened with six plum colored orchidlike flowers scented with vanilla and spice. I plucked them from the leaves and dropped them into a bottle that I tossed into my pouch.

  “What are they for?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why don’t you ask?”

  “Didn’t think about it.” I tapped my headset and turned Cygnet back on. “Cygnet, what are these flowers for?”

  Her familiar voice filled the air. “These flowers are called Spider Lilies and are useful for increasing attacks on difficult to defeat enemies.”

  “You said I could make potions, but I don’t know how to make any of them. How do I figure that out?”

  “Recipes for potions may be obtained in the ancient scrolls housed chests found inside the Antediluvian Forest.”

  I looked back at Iolite. “Where’s that at?”

  “The Antediluvian Forest is to the west, but be warned, it is protected by ancient spirits.”

  I shook my head. “Great, another thing I have to get that’s surrounded by enemies.”

  Iolite laughed. “That’s the point of any game isn’t it? And besides, it will probably increase your health which you don’t have much of.”

  I stuck out my chest. “I got more than I used to. I had to kill a Domordian to get it.” My shoulders slumped as I realized where it had gone. “But I guess you can’t see that because Jinx took that away.”

  She looked away. “Let’s get going.”

  “Okay.”

  We headed west to find the forest and only had to stop twice along the way to kill a few small groups of foes. It was much easier to defeat the pockets of attackers with Iolite, partly because she moved quicker than I could. By the time we reached the forest night had fallen and we needed the orange light from the plant leaves once again. The trees were humongous and gnarled. Shredded black bark, gray-green moss, and bioluminescent mushrooms littered the ground. Heavy olive-green and russet leaves hung from the woods. Vines strung about the canopy and drops of water splashed ripples into tiny pools of otherwise still water. It was eerily quiet and thick mist hung in the air.

  I pulled out the orb expecting to see red, but it was green indicating gems were present. I peered around looking for crystals but didn’t see any. “Do you think this thing is working?”

  Iolite looked at the orb and then around at the trees. “Maybe. I wonder if it will change when we go further in.”

  I was nervous but followed by her side deeper into the blackness. The water in the air reflected back the light, further obscuring our view. I picked a few mushrooms and after another fifty feet or so, they no longer grew on the ground. A dark pathway opened before us leading into the unknown. Suddenly, the orb shifted red and high-pitched shrieks of a black winged foes pierced our ears.

  I repeated the spell of the first rune that came to mind. “Flower and bloom, dispel the gloom.”

  Instantly, the wizened old trees shivered and dropped petaled globes of light around us. The screeching clawed bats retreated from the light and flew in circles around us just out of reach. Iolite shifted into a large black gorilla with shiny silver eyes and sharpened metallic teeth. She jumped into the air and slashed with black claws and silvery teeth, dropping bat after bat from the air. Each of them dissolved when they hit the ground and left behind a single white crystal. I collected the crystals while she finished them off.

  I gave her a high-five. “That was awesome!”
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br />   She smiled and shifted back to her Eva form. “Yeah. I wonder what’s next.”

  “Me too. Hey, look at this.” I pointed to our stats. “We have a combined wallet now with all the other players on our party. It still shows who’s collected each item, but I think we can all use them if we want to.”

  She poured through the lengthy list. “Huh. Hey Cygnet, can I use items from other players in my party?”

  “Items from other players that are not consumable may be shared however, only one player may use the item at a time. For shared items that are consumable, such as crystals used for upgrades, permission must be obtained prior to their use. Players may opt to turn off permissions to allow all party members access to consumables as needed. Players may use the items they have on their person that has been added to the shared wallet without permission from other players in their party, including any crystals obtained from defeating enemies.”