CHAPTER 1
JULIAN “JULES” WHITE
“On me. On me,”Etna says into the mic.
I shift my view on the screen, looking for his green triangle. He’s not close, but I head in his direction anyway.
Etna follows up with “Fuck,” and his green triangle turns to a medic sign. He’s dead, though he can be revived if someone gets to him in time.
“That’s what he said,” Horny responds. “I feel like we just got a sneak peek into their bedroom.”
I can’t help myself. I laugh. Fucking Horny. Seriously.
“Fuck’s sake,” Caulder mutters. I hear his voice as if it’s from a distance, which means he’s not logged in with a headset on but sitting beside Lo while Lo plays, hearing everything we’re hearing.
It only makes me laugh a little more.
“I got him,” Lo says, and I stop running in that direction.
The game commander makes an announcement as it does every time we’re not right on top of each other.“Your team is separated. Survival is higher when you stick together.”Damn thing wants us to hold hands or something.
I turn my guy into a gas station and grab a gas can, a scuba mask, and a battery. The battery is for a mission, but the otherthings are good to have on hand in case we travel by vehicle or end up in the water. Opening other cases gives me XP.
Just as I’m coming out, I’m shot. I wince. “Fucker. Bots got me.”
“Where?” Horny asks.
“Gas station.”
“I’m right here,” Hilt says. “You don’t have a selfie?”
I open my bag and check. “Nope. Used it last time the bots got me.”
There’s gunfire outside and then Hilt is laughing. “Bitches got me too. Why are there so damn many right here?”
“I’d say they’re protecting something, but they’re not actual players.”
“Wow,” Horny says. “I’m out too. There’s like eighty of them.”
“That’s dramatic, but yeah,” Hilt says.
“So what I’m hearing is y’all are sacrificed and we’re going to move on and leave you as bot feed,” Etna says.
“Good to know where your loyalties lie during an apocalypse,” Horny mutters.
“With my husband. Obviously.”
I don’t need to be in the same room to see the big smile on his face. And on Keno’s.
Setting the controller aside, I lean back against the couch to watch. My vision is following Lo around right now.
I miss my friends. This is the first night we’ve all gotten to hang out online in almost three weeks. With three different team schedules to work around, it’s not easy finding time that works for everyone.
I’m back in Chicago, where I was drafted two and a half years ago. I spent my initial year here, was traded to Arizona for a year, and then traded back to Chicago. The thing that sucks the mostis that Arizona was the first place I’ve ever been where I felt like I actually made some friends.
There are a few guys on the team who seem cool, but we don’t hang outside of the game. We’re not that kind of friends. Not the kind that I can show up on their doorstep because I’m bored, and they’ll invite me along to their wedding cake tasting like Keno and Etna did last winter.
Not the kinds of friends you can waste an entire night with talking shit and playing first-person shooter games.
