Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
The green text on the black screen disappears, and as it does, anxiety creeps into my chest. I enter a few recovery codes, doing everything I can think of to make it stop. And then the green cursor blinks in the middle of the screen. I stare at it and then attempt to type. None of the keys work. The commands I enter don’t appear on the screen.
What the fuck is going on? I have no way of controlling my system, and now I know I have gone too far. Maybe Preston was right. Should I ask my dad for help? He’d never have allowed someone to attack his server.
After a few more seconds, the cursor stops flashing. What appears to be an ancient video game appears. It reminds me of Doom, one of the most iconic first-person shooter video games from the nineties. Except this is a custom design, a lookalike of the original with several modifications. Whoever is orchestrating this attack wants me to play. So I do.
I fight droves of demons as I make my way through the first level. Blood splatters with each demon I kill, satanic imagery present throughout the fictional world. There are elements in this game that remind me of The Fallen Universe my father created. The classics inspired my dad. Doom and Diablo are two of the games he’s publicly mentioned over the years.
Whoever coded this game must know that because I see so much of those games infused with parts of The Fallen worlds. I enter a dungeon, one that reminds me of those I’ve seen in Diablo. The more I play, the more I see how much Mage Wars is like both games.
Does this person want me to know something? Was my dad more than inspired by these games? He would never. I know deep down in my soul that his worlds are his and his alone. Yes, there are similarities. I can say the same of any creative product on the market. Even the most popular books have others like them.
I’m about to fight the last battle when demons ambush me. Hitting the buttons as fast as I can, I do my best to shoot and dodge, but my efforts are worthless. Because the owner of this game never planned to let me pass. That would mean granting me access when all they have done is keep me from the truth.
This is The Queen’s doing. I must have gotten closer to her this time. Grunting and yelling at the screen, my fingers move faster. I work even harder to reach the next level, and then I’m hit, one after the other, until my character is dead. The game slowly fades until the screen turns black. Deep red blood runs from the top of the screen, dripping down the center where it forms words.
It spells out, You Lose, Jamer.
Fucking bitch. How is The Queen this good? And how does she know my screen name? Only gamers and hackers from my inner circles know who I am.
“Everything okay?” Shannon asks.
I spin the chair around to face her. “Yeah. Sorry if I woke you. It’s early. You should go back to bed.”
She shoves her hair behind her ears and yawns. “What are you doing?”
I grip her hips and pull her down to sit on my lap. “Looking for The Queen.”
“Oh.” She sounds surprised. “How come?”
“So, I can shut down her website. So, I can make her pay for the shit she’s doing to my friends. We lost our last game because everyone on our team is fighting. And it all started with her.”
“What does she have against you guys?”
“We assume one of us dated her. I’ve been looking for her since the first edition of Dethroned. I was hoping she’d quit… I should have found her by now.”
She presses her palm to my shoulder and smiles. “You’re the smartest guy I know, Jamie. If anyone can find her, it’s you.”
“She’s beating me,” I admit. “Always one step ahead.”
“Maybe you just need to find the reason for her hatred.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, thinking over her words. “How do you suggest I do that?”
“Can you catfish her somehow?”
I laugh in her ear without meaning to.
Shannon smacks me on my bare arm, and it stings a little. “Don’t laugh at me, Jamie. It’s not a bad idea. Isn’t there some way to use your super nerd skills to lure her into a trap?”
I consider her question. “Yeah, I guess.”
“This is a first,” she coos, running a hand through my hair to push it off my forehead. “I’ve never seen you so unsure of yourself.”
I stare into her green eyes, and my pulse races, my heart slamming into my rib cage. She’s beautiful and smart, sexy without even trying, and I’ve never liked her as much as I do right now. She just called me out on my shit. I’m acting like a scared boy running away from a girl.