“Are they coming? I thought they were too far off,” Van asked.
“I don’t know. Once again, there’s too many unknowns. Too many variables. Van, this is the first time we’ve ever had to face real forces from another planet! What are they like? What do they comprehend? The word ‘alien’ usually means entirely foreign. This whole thing is beyond my wildest dreams. I’m not excited like you are. I’m dreading whatever happens next.”
“Don’t be afraid,” Van said. “I’m sure we can kick any alien’s ass if they come against us.”
“I’m not afraid, Van. I’m just dreading the future. You realize what’s at stake here? We’ve uncovered a massive plot—one that Draco has been planning for who knows how long. How long have they been here? What’s their big plan going to look like? With technology so advanced, they can literally induce brain and tissue damage in a pod! How can we even hope to compete with that kind of power?”
Van shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Van… and we can’t just stay out here,” Sang said quietly. She looked up at him, tears welling up in her eyes. “As scary as it was. As deadly as it was, we can’t stay out here. We need to go back. There’s still so much work to do. We’ve discovered only a small piece of the puzzle, and... you and I, we work well as a team. We get along... and more importantly, we’re the only ones who have seen this stuff up close. We can’t let Draco win.”
“So, you’re telling me that you want to go back into the game, with me?” Van asked. He was surprised to see that Sang, despite her worries and fears, wasn’t about to give up.
“The doctor says we need time to recover, but yeah. We’re going to have to go back into the game. They’re going to be shutting this whole operation down on account of some fears of our cover being blown, but once we sit in front of the brass and tell them everything we’ve seen, you can bet that they’re going to want to send us back in.”
Van nodded. “And you’re okay with that?”
“I don’t have a choice, Van. Whatever information is in my head won’t stop clawing at me. That Dragon was hatched because of me. I felt some kind of bond to it, I swear. With your skills as a player and my link with the Others, we’re the only ones who are qualified to do this. I can’t do it alone, Van. I need you. I know you’re probably wanting to bail... I know this thing was well beyond what was asked of you, but Van, you’re the only person I can trust to have my back. You don’t owe me a damned thing, but will you join me anyway?”
Van slowly nodded, feeling a few tears well up in his own eyes. Never before had he been important enough to be asked something like this. The pleading desperation in Sang’s voice indicated that she needed him for more than just help. She needed him to actually win this thing. It meant the world to him.
“I dunno...” Van joked. “I wasn’t planning on sticking around, but… hey, if it’s important to you, I’ll do it. I’ll join you. But you owe me for this.”
“Absolutely!” Sang said, smiling widely and throwing her arms open wide. Van leaned in and they hugged awkwardly. Van chuckled, knowing that she was completely unaware of the fact that he had signed up for this fight several hours ago.
“Van,” Sang said as she finally released him from the hug. “I need to tell you something, too. It’s been on my heart lately and I need you to know what I’ve been thinking.”
“Go for it,” Van said as he leaned back in his chair. It turned out those pills he had taken were the pure opposite of Cwake, and he was feeling euphoric.
“All I could think about as I raced to save you was the fact that you were so happy with your line of work,” she said. “All I could think about was how much I tried to judge you for what you did. Van, I’m sorry that I didn’t take you seriously, all this time. It wasn’t right of me to act as if you were somehow lesser, just because of what you chose to do.”
“Huh... I appreciate it, but ironically, I think your words kind of got me thinking, too,” Van said. “I wasted so much of my life thinking about the future that I never once thought about a better today. I wasted so much… potential.”
“At least you were always thinking about the future,” Sang mumbled. “I was so caught up in achieving success that I didn’t even notice when it had arrived! Then I was just going through the motions.”
“Yeah, I think we can agree that we’re both pretty messed up, can’t we?” Van asked. Sang laughed at that.
“I suppose so,” she said. “But right now, I’m going to make you a promise.”
“What’s that?” Van asked as he tilted his head back and felt wooziness come over him as the drugs continued to push him deeper into a state of relaxation.
“I’m gonna be better about it. I’m gonna respect you and I’m gonna start respecting myself. No more judging. No more frowning,” Sang said.
“And I’m not gonna chase after things anymore,” Van mumbled, half-asleep. “I’m gonna build me a life worth living, one brick at a time.”
“Yeah,” Sang said with a long heavy sigh. “One brick at a time.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Van shifted uncomfortably as he sat in front of the panel of three men. The room was relatively small, and it was cramped. A small lamp hung over everyone and it swung occasionally as the air conditioning kicked on and off. He had no idea where they were, but he knew it was an important meeting.
Sang was sitting next to him without making much of a sound. They had been given a few days of forced rest and nourishment, in which Van had never eaten so many green foods in his life, and then they’d quickly been shoved into a van and brought to some kind of warehouse. Sitting before them were three people, none of whom would tell Van their names, but they seemed important. Sang had just told Van to speak when spoken to and be polite, but that was about it. One of the men was wearing a military uniform, another was wearing a suit, and the third was wearing some kind of lab coat. It was like something out of a movie, but of course, Van’s life had been like something out of a movie for the last week anyway.
Sitting beside Van and Sang were Agents Neil and O’Hara. They were both very well dressed today, having had their uniforms pressed to perfection. Neil looked especially nervous, though, and kept glancing over at Van every few moments. Van had been coached earlier about what to say and what not to say by Neil, and there’d been far more threats than Van liked to hear. Still, he understood that the entire operation they were planning hinged on these individuals okaying the plan.
“These reports are… interesting,” the military guy said after what seemed to be an eternity. “We’re most grateful for your willingness to put your lives on the line for this kind of information. It’s not every day that you meet non-combat operatives who have this kind of bravery. We appreciate your hard work and your willingness to dive into the battle.”
“The lab tests were very conclusive on your physiology,” the scientist guy said, looking straight at Sang. “Your body was severely damaged and poisoned during your time of interacting with these pods, but now? Now you are completely healed. A miracle if I have ever seen one.”
“Ultimately,” the center-sitting, suit-wearing guy said, “this has proven to us beyond a reasonable doubt that there is indeed some sort of alien activity going on inside of that game. Your reports about the simulation being one used to somehow harness human talent for some kind of insurrection makes this more than a simple matter of interest also, and turns this entire situation into a national security issue. Our conversation with the White House has brought back the go-ahead to begin a taskforce to formally begin investigating this game. Yet, there are some problems. First and foremost, we’ve confirmed that there’s a setting, or something, that makes this simulation lethal. The CIA broke into the man you called Trefor’s home a few days ago, and discovered him dead within his pod. The attendants who were working there showed his medical records as being perfectly fine until a single moment when all of his vitals went flat. This confirms that Draco has some ability to manage the lethality of their systems, although judging from the fact that Van wasn’t immediately killed, it would appear they cannot simply remotely kill an individual.”