Cloudless Night in Neon WInter

Her callousness was an act. But why? Cole could not calm his mind as he observed Sinje. She was overreacting to the death of a character, she had barely known, because it somehow tied into her connection with Mr. Jenkins.

If she was that good at hiding her emotions, Cole wondered what else she had hidden from Alyx's questioning. Was she the one who had messed with the door logs?

Jam looked at Cole's narrowed eyes in surprise. Cole was intently staring at a sobbing woman, and there was no hint of empathy in his burning observation. It was not what Jam would have expected from Cole, but he quickly shrugged it off. If he did not offer any help to Sinje, he was no better than Cole.

Sinje looked up as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Jam wordlessly gazed down at her, his eyes full of sympathy. Sinje took a deep breath, remembering her surroundings for the first time. Accepting Jam's hand, Sinje stood up, ignoring the derision on Ms. Hopkins' face. Sara looked like she was on the verge of tears, and Sinje quickly understood that she had allowed her emotion to blow things out of proportion.

Cole saw Sinje's eyes brush over him, and when her demeanor instantly shifted, after a hint of panic, he grew more suspicious. He wanted to march up to her and question her, but instead he wiped his face of expression. Jam was standing protectively near Sinje, and Cole felt he would alienate too many of the department employees, if he confronted Sinje at that moment. 'I'll have to settle with storing the information to report to Alyx, she will know what to do.'

"Some might think it silly to cry over a virtual character, but that is cruel. Why shouldn't you care about something that acts and looks like a real person." Jam noticed the panic on Sinje's face, and he spoke comforting words. "Thank you." Sinje muttered, careful to keep confusion from entering her expression.

"Alright that's enough, we have a mission to complete." Ms. Hopkins had been uncharacteristically quiet for too long. Jam tensed as if he was about to unleash a tirade, but Sinje quickly stepped forward, motioning Ms. Hopkins to lead.

///

The group, now missing two of its original members, stood on a small hill, staring at a large castle. They had navigated to their destination with more than a little trouble. They had avoided quicksand, hidden from a towering golem, and cut down countless sludge men, in the hopes of reaching the castle. 

Yet there the castle stood, dark walls thrusting towards the sky, in a gesture of power. The sun reflected off the slick material, giving the structure a sharp sheen that promised danger. The walls looked impenetrable, and Cole remembered how Darby had mentioned something about needing a key. 

The group had avoided the path described by their guide, and were no stronger than when they had started. LIkely they would have increased in strength, or acquired more powerful gear if they had followed Darby's path, yet here they were before their final challenge. The only change was their missing companions.

Everyone turned to look at Ms. Hopkins. This had been her idea, and she had been a relentless leader, pushing them to find ways to conquer challenges that should have bested them.

Cole had gained some appreciation for her leadership skills during the game, Ms. Hopkins had a way of driving her underlings to reach past their limits for success, something he had not noticed in her work at the company, where she barely interacted with the others.

"That's our way in." Ms. Hopkins pointed to a small indentation on one of the walls. It was about the length of three people (stacked upon each other} off of the ground, but promised the only break in the seemingly perfect bulwarks.

"How are we going to reach it?" Sara spoke up, asking the question on all of their minds. "Let's go find out." Ms. Hopkins had not wasted much time during their journey, and she was not ready to start. It was not a plan, but as she stalked towards the wall, her confidence gave the group hope that they would succeed.

"Sara, you and Jam will try to launch us up the wall." Ms. Hopkins' plan sounded dangerous and impractical. "It doesn't matter if you get hurt, it's not like your real body will sustain any injuries." Ms. Hopkins glared at the group daring them to utter words of rebuke.

"If it feels real, you can still get mental scars from anything experienced here." Jam muttered to himself, and when Ms. Hopkins looked ready to cut down his words, he swiftly changed his tune. "We might as well try it."

Sinje went first, climbing onto Jam's shoulders, before trying to jump for the opening. She was not close, and she quickly came tumbling down, her fingers clawing at the smooth wall. She tried a few more times, never getting very close. At the very least she did not get hurt; Jam was careful to catch her every time, and since she did not get far off of his shoulders, there was not a great distance to fall.

"You next." Ms. Hopkins looked at Cole, there was no room for argument in her gaze. It seemed she did not want to attempt her own plan. Cole shrugged, he was excited for the challenge. Maybe it would help him, if he was ever chased again.

Backing away from the wall, Cole took a breath and called out. "I am going to run towards you, try to launch me up when I get to you." 

Jam nodded and set his feet, weaving his fingers together to create a platform. Cole began sprinting towards Jam. pumping his arms as if he was being chased by one of the shadowy assailants.

As he reached Jam, he lunged forward, feeling his foot land firmly in Jam's grip. Cole was thrust upward, and his other foot scrambled for purchase against the slick material as it forced him further up the wall. It felt like he was slipping, and Cole felt his breath escape as he pictured himself falling to the ground.

There was no way the plan would work… Cole's brain suddenly stopped as he felt his fingers contact with the ledge. Cole felt a rush of exhilaration, and he swiftly pulled himself onto the ledge. He couldn't believe his body had actually managed to make the jump. Maybe it was because the game enhanced his abilities, or maybe the life and death experience had allowed him to trust himself and take greater risks.

"Go destroy the core." Ms. Hopkins did not allow Cole to bask in his success, and she urged him on, not giving him the chance to help others up the ledge. Cole turned towards the crevice, noticing a small tunnel leading into the castle. 

It took some effort, crawling on his hands and knees, to traverse the small tunnel that curved upwards, but after a few minutes Cole exited the tunnel. The room he entered was unfurnished with black walls made of the same material as the fortresses' outer ramparts.

Cole wondered why there had been a tunnel in the side of the wall as he made his way to the door. 'Hopefully, I won't have to face the final boss on my own.' Cole shuddered slightly. Opening the door revealed an equally unfurnished hallway, almost as if no one was supposed to be in that section of the castle.

The hallway stretched and winded, but Cole spotted a large ornate door in the distance, and he decided that the door was his goal. As he approached, a loud roar resounded and the castle shook, as if rattled by the departure of a great beast. Cole nervously pulled the latch on the door up, to allow him to open the door.

He expected to be greeted by a ferocious monster, but the room was empty. It appeared he had entered the back door as he stood behind a large throne. The room was enormous, more decorated than the hallway, with large tapestries on the walls, and a plush red carpet.

There was a massive hole in the ceiling, which was rimmed with a gold metal, showing that the opening was intentional. Pillars stretched to the roof, and when he stood in front of the throne, Cole could imagine a great ruler sitting in the regal marble. The whole hall echoed with power, and Cole quickly began to look around for the core, he did not want whatever had roared to return.

As soon as he put his mind to the search, he noticed a chalice at the foot of the stairs that led up to the throne. The cup was on a small pedestal, and was surrounded by a moat of dark sludge. Inside the chalice was a withered apple core that continually excreted the sludge.

Cole snorted, Ms. Hopkins' plan had worked too well. It was almost as if she had already completed the game before and knew the perfect strategy. Getting the core was too easy, and as he picked it up, crushing it in his grip, the whole scene exploded in a nova of light.

After his eyes recalibrated from the assault, Cole found himself back in the real world room, with cubes rapidly sinking back into the floor and ceiling.

"That was brutal. You basically fed us to that monster." Jam's voice rang out and Cole noticed the others blinking their eyes as they adjusted back into reality. 

"It worked." Ms. Hopkins spoke smugly. "How was our time?" She glanced towards the man who had greeted them when they first arrived.

"You set the record." He appeared just as the simulation faded, and he did not seem too pleased to award Ms. Hopkins' strategy.

"Where is Sivil?" Cole asked, hoping that the man had gone home so he could go and talk to Alyx.

"Your companion is in the waiting room bothering one of my employees."