“I stopped you from attacking Cypher.”
“And he from attackingme. Still, you willingly touched me. There is nothing to fear. You’ll soon be gone, failing this world. It’s done.”
The game world flickered, sparked.
Cypher watched as Vee stared at the alien’s pale hand, and it nearly broke his mind.
Vee reached out to take it.
Cypher choked, horrified and enraged.
Lotrin smiled.
Their hands touched, and Cypher exploded through the system, ravaging its codes completely. Electrical currents shot through his body, and he was able to move again.
The moment he jumped up, the game vanished, and the stadium came back into view.
He tore off his visor, sickened, and twisted to face Vee. She stood staring at him a rig away, tears coursing down her cheeks, her arms hugging her middle.
Throughout the stadium, a silence fell, and other teams tugged off their helmets.
Derek’s voice surged, cheerful and deceptive as ever. “Looks like we have a glitch, folks, but seeing as we’re so close to time, we’re tallying the results for team placement.”
Without taking his eyes off Vee, Cypher ripped the cords of the rig off his body. He rushed to her side and tugged her into his arms. She burrowed her face into his chest, and his bear groaned in satisfaction.
“It’s over,” he murmured. “It’s over.”
“I watched you die,” she whimpered.
“No, you didn’t. I was never there at all, not until the end.” He didn’t tell her about the pain. It didn’t matter.
Vee lifted her head and met his gaze. “What do you mean?”
“They put us into two separate simulations. What you saw wasn’t real.”
Her face paled and a horrible numbness settled into her eyes.
“It was real,” she whispered.
He pulled her back against him and hauled her out of the rig. Without waiting, he headed for the stadium gate, but stopped when he heard Diatrix laugh. He turned to face her.
Her laughter abruptly ceased. When he took a step toward her, she balked, but she held her ground as he closed the distance.
“What do you want, Cyborg?” Diatrix spat.
“I know you’re behind the attempted kidnapping. Just because you haven’t faced the music yet doesn’t mean I’ll forget,” he warned, scowling. “Keep an eye out, Diatrix. I’m coming for you.” Cypher turned and walked away.
“You shouldn’t threaten her,” Vee mumbled. Her grip on his arm gave him a small amount of calm. “They’ll use it against you…”
“Like I fucking care.”
Cypher had a plan, and it was a bloody one. He was done playing games.
He and Vee left the stadium as Derek announced the placements.
24
They made it back to his ship in record time despite the efforts of the championship’s producers. When the producer’s tried to stop them, Cypher showed his gun, and they backed off.
