"A hero?" Van repeated. He pointed to the short sword hanging off of his belt. "This is what a hero wields," he mumbled as he pulled out the weapon. Short bursts of flames arced across the sword. "This sword deals 150 damage per hit. It has a 30% chance of igniting someone on fire. And I can wield it. I can swing it with all my might in this world because my game muscles are strong! In the real world, I lose my breath taking the stairs."
"I'm not trying to tell you that this is an easy thing," Sang said. "It's gonna be the hardest thing you'll have to do, but try to remember that you have something waiting for you outside of this pod. You're not even 25 yet! You have your whole life ahead of you, so you can do whatever you want, be whatever you want."
"I want to be in here," Van said as he gestured toward a mountain in the distance. "I want to climb a mountain with my bare hands. I want to fight against dragons and orcs. I want to lead a band of adventurers into a stinking sewer for two weeks only to find a very disappointing end to an overrated quest. I don't want my entire life to change in a single instant. But I know it is. I know it's going to change. And I'm going to keep moving forward, damn it. So, get the hell off of my back."
Now it was Sang's turn to grow heated. "Get off your back? Van, I am trying to keep you sane here. You really think you can carry all of this weight on your shoulders without cracking? I watched you barely keep your wits together last month, and now you're dealing with the fact that your entire home will be gone soon? You need to sort through these things instead of just pushing forward."
"Sort through them? What, do you want me to see a counselor? Take some time to see a psychiatrist in between the battles for the survival of humanity?"
"No," Sang said, "but you do need to slow down and breathe for a minute. We've been pushing every second of every day. I know you've been playing without me. I know you're spending far too much time in here. You've got to ease off the throttle, just a little."
"How can you say that when we're facing Armageddon?" Van asked. He shook his head again. "How can you say that?" he whispered.
"Everyone needs you, Van," Sang said as she placed both her hands on his shoulders. "I need you. Yeah, there's gonna be times where we don't get to sleep, I get it. But now, we're in a good place. We're making good headway and people are acting on our behalf. And you're the one tying us all together. If you aren't functioning at your best, then we all suffer."
Van growled a little at that. "I'm not logging out, if that's what you're gently trying to suggest."
Sang shrugged. "I'm sorry, man, but I think it might be for the best if we take a break for the night. Jet will be there in the morning. You need sleep."
"How can I sleep?" Van asked, his voice quivering a little; it looked as if the anger was rapidly beginning to fade. "How can I sleep when Draco just blew up a residential area?"
"If you don't sleep," Sang whispered, "Draco will get away with more than that. We need you sober."
Van opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out. He slowly lowered his head. "Yeah, I guess… some sleep wouldn't hurt. I'll see you on the other side, then." He glanced up and looked at Fredlin, who was watching them from afar.
"We’ll be right back," Van said.
"I'll be here," Fredlin replied.
And with that, Van vanished from sight. Sang let out a sigh of relief and unplugged herself from the game, as well.
The bright lights of the pod greeted her as she opened her eyes in the real world. The transition never got any smoother for her. She even felt her stomach churning a little as the pod slowly opened. The motion sickness was the worst part of waking out of the gaming coma.
"What's the matter?" Agent Neil asked as he walked up to help Sang out of her tube. "You guys win the war early or something?"
"Van needs to get some sleep," Sang replied. She glanced over to see that Van had already fallen asleep in his pod. Neil reached over to slap him, but was pulled back by Sang.
"Hey – ow!" Neil grumbled.
"Leave him alone. He's starting to scare me," Sang said as she stretched her arms out. The command center was quiet, as there were only a few operators in the observation room that was above the pods. She could see them quietly working from behind the glass. For all the manpower that the CIA had poured into this project, though, she rarely ever got any decent information from them.
"Yeah? He starting to lose his mind?" Neil asked.
"No!" Sang snapped. "But he is starting to crack from the stress of having to face the end of this game."
Neil shrugged. "So, what? The nerd will find something new."
"Neil, you have no idea what it's like to be in there. It's unlike anything that I've ever experienced. If I'd spent the last ten years of my life in there, I'd be freaking out, too. I mean, it's gotta be like having to shoot your own puppy."
Neil slowly nodded, a rare look of compassion crossing his face. His normal grin shifted to a frown. "I guess, when you put it like that. Sucks to be him, I suppose. But will he pull through?"
Sang shook her head. "I don't think he's gonna make it if he keeps it up like this. How much Cwake are you giving him?"
"Legally, I must inform you that we cannot give any of our workers stimulants," Neil said loudly as he looked around. And then he added more quietly, "I've been dosing him up like a college student during finals week."
"Well, cut him off," Sang said. "He's not allowed to go in unless he's gotten at least six hours of sleep."
"You're not the boss of me," Neil said as he crossed his arms. "I remember that, before his untimely poisoning, Frederick put me in charge."
"Just shut up and do as I say," Sang said as she shoved past him.
"Yikes. Fine, then – whatever," Neil grumbled. He bent down to hoist Van up over his shoulder. "Come on, big guy, time to get you in bed."
As Sang went on to examine a few of the consoles by her bedpost, the door to the command center opened. A man wearing military fatigues and a helmet that read MP entered. She glanced at him and frowned. If this was another military inspection, she was prepared to scream until her voice went out. The military had done nothing but crawl all over the operation, and had refused to provide any real support. The death of their major general had done nothing but complicate the issue even further, as the new general was far less cooperative than the old one had been.
"Sir!" the man said, standing at attention before Neil. "I have been informed to tell you something!"
"And what's that?" Neil asked, grunting a little from carrying Van over his shoulder.
The MP drew a revolver then, and shot Neil in the gut at point blank range. Neil staggered and crashed to the ground, Van tumbling down atop him. It all happened so quickly that it took Sang a moment to register what was going on. The bang of the gunshot echoed through the entire room.
"My God!" Sang screamed. She couldn't react, though – her body was too tired, and she didn't have enough time to move.
The MP looked at her with wide, wild eyes as he aimed the revolver at her. With a wicked grin, though, he whispered, "We are as numerous as grains of sand." Then he placed the revolver against his own temple and pulled the trigger. The gun rang out again and Sang could feel the warm specks of blood splatter across her. The body slumped to the ground and the man gasped for air for a few moments before ceasing to move entirely.
"Ahhhhh, ahhhh, I've been shot!" Neil shouted. "Holy crap, why does this hurt so bad?"
Sang rushed toward Neil and looked at the bright red stain over his stomach. "Hang in there. Medic! I need a doctor!" she shouted as she looked up at the console room. The staff was gone. Van was on the ground, still catatonic.