"You're going to join a bunch of nutjobs who think Draco is Al-Qaeda? I have no idea why we hang out," Savorn said.
"Well, you're free to join me if you want. It's not too far to reach their headquarters from here," Fredlin said as he finished butchering the elk. "And if I were you, I'd get as far as I could from San Francisco. That main's gonna blow up any minute."
Savorn sighed. "Look, Fredlin, I think you're crazy, but if you're serious about joining the Iron Dragons, I'm in."
"Really? I figured you'd give me all sorts of flack about it," Fredlin replied.
"I might think they're nuts, but have you seen the board rankings lately? The Iron Dragons just overcame the Kingdom of Gloran and the Kraken Gods Mercenary group. They're on fire," Savorn said. "But they don't let just anyone in. I assume you've got an invite?"
"Smart girl," Fredlin said with a chuckle as he dug out a small letter from his satchel. There was an image of a large dragon made out of iron emblazoned on the letter. "They sent this to me last night."
"Can you get me in, or do I have to prove that I'm insane before they consider me?" Savorn replied with a laugh. Then, in the distance, she heard a loud boom sound out. She paused and turned around to face the direction of the sound, but saw nothing.
"You alright?" Fredlin asked. "Hear another elk?"
"No," Savorn whispered. "An explosion, I think." There was another boom, and this time it had been closer.
"I'm not hearing anything," Fredlin said. "Maybe it's a –" His words were interrupted as the power to Savorn's game system was abruptly cut.
"What the hell?" she gasped once she realized that she was sitting in her bedroom. She fumbled for a moment, trying to regain control of her senses. Getting kicked out of the game sucked hard, and for a moment she felt as if she were going blind. After a few seconds passed, she was finally able to regain her senses long enough to pull the haptic goggles off.
A stinging sensation welled up in her eyes right away, and she began to hack and wheeze. "The…hell?" she gasped out as she fell to her knees and began to blindly crawl away from the computer. The smell of smoke was overwhelming. As she instinctively crawled toward her window, she felt little pricks of pain in her knees that were accompanied by the sounds of glass crunching. She yelped in pain as the sirens in the background began to grow louder.
Savorn grunted as she hoisted herself up, stumbling to the window. She needed air, and badly. Opening one eye, she could see that the window had been shattered. Sticking her head out the window, she tried to take a deep breath of fresh air, but felt only more pain as the smoke entered her lungs. In the distance, someone was calling to her, but she was beginning to lose consciousness from the smoke inhalation. Another explosion in the distance rocked the entire house. Holy crap, she thought as she slid to the ground. The Iron Dragons were right.
CHAPTER ONE
"Is this a good sign or a bad sign?" Sang asked as she pointed to the horde of players who were trudging toward the home base of the Iron Dragons. Originally, the plan had been for them to just stay in an abandoned castle for a few days while the entire team of mercenaries found a suitable home, but word had gotten out that this castle was the new base of operations. Now more people than ever were arriving to meet with the team.
"A bad sign, I'd wager to say," Van said as he leaned over the castle wall. He suddenly looked dead tired, and she realized that he must have just received some bad news.
"Did the main explode?"
"Took out an entire block," Van replied. "Just got word in from the team."
"How many dead?" Sang asked, bracing herself.
"Three hundred," Van said. "The worst part? It was a residential section."
"What?" Sang gasped. "I thought they were targeting the factory district!"
Van sighed deeply and shook his head. "It turns out that the information they leaked was just to mess with us. They were sending a message with that explosion, Sang. If we keep pushing, they'll kill more innocents."
"Well, they can think that'll scare us off," Sang replied, "but they're dead wrong. By the end of this, we'll kill every last one of those bastards."
Van shrugged. He didn't look nearly as enthused as he'd been at the start of the mission a few weeks before. It seemed that with each attack Draco levied against them, Van only grew more depressed.
"Look," Van offered, "I don't know about any of that. I’m just saying that we need to get this operation moving a little faster. We can't keep taking hits like this."
"If we let them push us to move faster, we're going to make a mistake," Sang replied. "We've only got one option: stay on the course. If we modify our actions because of their attacks, then we're only going to trip up."
"That's easy for you to say," Van said. "But you're not in charge of this operation."
"And you're not in charge of what happens outside of this game!" Sang warned. "We've got the full force of the government working from behind the scenes, so let them worry about stopping Draco in the real world."
Van shook his head. "I'm sorry, it's just not getting any easier. I thought it would, but… I think this job is going to kill me."
"If it's any consolation, it will probably kill the both of us. Now, come on – you've got some newcomers to welcome," Sang said as she patted him on the shoulder.
"I have no idea how you can make light of all this," Van said, trudging down the stairs to meet with the new recruits.
"It's an acute reaction to stress," Sang replied. "You can either laugh or cry. I'm choosing to laugh, because if I cry, I don't think I'll ever stop."
The gates to the interior of the castle throne room swung open as fifteen players entered. The lieutenants of the Iron Dragons were all present. There were Kylian, Bidane, Capello, and Sahara. They had been with Sang and Van from the very beginning of the mercenary company's formation and were all adamant about the fact that they believed the truth – that Draco was actually an alien organization. Jet had apparently told them as much, and they believed him wholeheartedly.
"Alright, team," Van said as he walked in front of the crew that had been patiently waiting for him. "Let's induct these newbies quick. And keep the alien talk down… that means you, Capello. The story is that these are terrorists."
"Lame," Capello grumbled.
"Yes, sir," Kylian said. "If you don't know already, there was an explosion."
"Yeah, I’m well aware," Van said quickly. "Now, shush. Here they come."
The gaggle of players walked up to Van. Leading them was a player that Sang could barely remember. There were so many members of the Iron Dragons now – nearly 500, and the number was growing with each passing week. Soon, they would have enough of a force to push into more Designated Reality Zones.
"Greetings, prospective members of the Iron Dragons," Van said as he held his arms up high. "My name is Van and I welcome you to our humble base. Now, I’m not going to mince any words here. Most of you know who we are. Most of you know that we aren't here to just play a fun game and have a good time. We are here for a singular purpose. To investigate and fight against a terrorist organization that works with Draco." Van paused for a moment and Sang glanced at the crowd, waiting for a few people to walk away, but no one did. That was odd.
Van continued, "Draco is actively aiding and abetting a terrorist cell working against the interests of the United States, as well as several other countries. No doubt you've heard about the deaths of innocent players who were playing this game. 17 people died three weeks ago, all within fifteen minutes of each other. 12 more were found dead a day later. One of our very own, whom we called Dolly, passed away due to health complications involving this game. So, I'm going to be honest with all of you today. We are not here to goof off. We are a resistance force. If you join us, you are agreeing to potentially risk your life for the cause."