Through all the cheers of victory, Vicky turned to the beast. It gave out a low growl, and nudged Vicky with its head. It was starting to disintegrate. Vicky had only spent a few hours with it, but she thought she had created a bond with it, which the animal seemed to have resonated with her. Vicky patted the beasts head, as it turned into dust, and disappeared.
"Vicky. Look!" Rachel exclaimed pointing at Vicky's kastane.
"How is it disintegrating?" Mia asked.
"I don't know," Vicky replied in a soft, uneven voice. The kastane disintegrated, alongside its scabbard.
"Are you okay?" Mia asked.
"I'm fine," Vicky said with a small smile.
"Are you sure?" Rachel asked.
"Yes. I just need some sleep," Vicky replied.
"We can't logout now. What about the HUD jammer?" Rachel asked.
"We'll logout, and meet with the team. I'll text you guys when to login. Plus, don't you have school tomorrow?" Vicky asked.
"I do," Rachel replied.
"How was the new school?" Vicky asked.
"Much more interesting than the old one, but still pretty boring, compared to hanging out with you guys," Rachel replied.
"Are you going soft too?" Mia asked. Rachel looked at Mia.
The three of them walked back to the base, and into the barracks. Vicky watched as Mia and Rachel logged out. She looked at the place the beast was lying down, when the group was having their conversation. She smiled to herself, and logged out.
Vicky woke up in her room. She looked at her phone, she had several missed calls from the captain, and some from the unknown number that called earlier. Vicky took a phone call to the captain, and looked out of her room window. The sun was setting, and everything was covered in golden hues from the sun rays.
"Vicky," the captain said answering the phone.
"Captain. I was in the game," Vicky said.
"I know, Claire explained everything," the captain said.
"Yeah! She and Clara were supposed to bring us reinforcements," Vicky replied.
"So you met Clara," the captain responded.
"Yeah. Why haven't I seen her before?" Vicky asked.
"Claire didn't tell you?" the captain asked.
"Tell me what?" Vicky questioned.
"Clara is not real. At least not any more," the captain replied, and continued "Clara is Claire's deceased twin. Her memory has been uploaded into the game."
"What? How did Clara…?" Vicky asked.
"Clara and their mother passed away in a boat accident. Clara survived the accident, but was kept alive with machines, so they decided to upload her memories into the game, and let her go," the captain replied.
"I didn't know Claire…," Vicky paused, as she was at a loss of words.
"All of that aside. How are you doing?" the captain asked.
"That gun shot hurts. I guess spending the whole day in a pod makes your body forget that it has a wound," Vicky replied.
"You sound a bit… distant," the captain said.
"I'm sorry. It's just that we met this… cool beast kind of thing,… that came with the zombies. But it had to go, with the zombies," Vicky said.
"You miss a coded beast, that you spent probably… eight hours with?" the captain asked.
"When you put it that way, you make me sound crazy," Vicky replied, and continued "Captain. Why do you work for Claire?"
"So serious all of a sudden… Her father was on my team. We're technically like brothers. I knew him since we were young," the captain said.
"I didn't know you were that old," Vicky responded.
"There we go again. You calling me old," the captain said.
"Captain. Can I ask you a genuine question?" Vicky asked, she spoke in an uneven voice.
"Sure," the captain replied.
"Why does things keep getting worse each time we think that everything is going to get better?" Vicky asked. The captain was silent for a while.
"Kid… that's a question even I can't answer," the captain replied. Vicky stayed quiet for a while.
"Did you guys make a plan about the HUD jammer?" Vicky asked.
"We're working on it. I don't think we'll be able to do anything today. The company is getting a lot of reporters asking about the rise of players in comas. Rest today, I'll call you when we're ready," the captain said.
"Okay," Vicky replied, and continued "Bye."
"Bye," the captain said, and Vicky hung up the phone.
Vicky waited for the captain to call her. She had dinner, and went to bed, with her phone on full volume waiting for the captain's call.
The next morning, Vicky woke up at eight. She checked her phone, there were no calls, or texts. She got up from her bed, got ready for the day, and then checked her phone again. She was staring at her phone, when her phone rang.
"Hello," Vicky said, answering the phone. She didn't take time to check who the caller was, as she was desperate to get back into the game.
"Vicky. Anything about the HUD jammer?" Mia asked.
"Nope. Nothing yet," Vicky said, disheartened.
"Expecting someone else?" Mia asked.
"Yes. The captain said he would call me once they made a plan to get the HUD jammer," Vicky replied.
"Oh. I was waiting for you to call me about the HUD jammer," Mia responded.
"Well in that case, I'll call you once I get a call from the captain," Vicky replied.
"Okay. By the way, did your grandma call you?" Mia asked.
"I got a call from an unknown number. Didn't bother answering it," Vicky replied.
"Okay. I guess I shouldn't answer her phone calls either, right?" Mia asked.
"I'd be grateful, if you didn't," Vicky replied.
"I won't answer then," Mia said.
"Good," Vicky said.
"Okay. Geat! This is really awkward," Mia said.
"I know," Vicky said, with a smirk
"We'll talk later. Bye," Mia said.
"Bye," Vicky said, and hung up the phone.
Since the captain was not calling her, so Vicky decided to take a phone call to the captain.
"Vicky," the captain said answering the phone.
"Anything?" Vicky asked.
"We're not exactly sure where the HUD jammer has been placed, but we are making a plan. We just need some time," the captain said. The captain sounded tired.
"Have you guys been working all night?" Vicky asked.
"Yes," the captain replied.
"I could have helped out," Vicky said.
"No you needed the rest, you've been in the game the whole day," the captain said.
"Did players die?" Vicky asked.
"What?" the captain asked.
"When we were in the game, Manic's voice said that if player die in the game, they die in real life too," Vicky said.
"No. We didn't get reports of players dying, but in comas… yes," the captain replied.
"Hmm... How about I come help you guys?" Vicky asked.
"I have a feeling that you're going to come, despite my reply," the captain said.
"Looks like you've already learnt a lot about me. I'll meet you there. Bye," Vicky said, hanging up the phone. She ran down stairs, and took her jacket. She locked the door behind her, and hailed a taxi.
"Hi. Where to?" the driver of the taxi asked, as he stopped in front of Vicky.
"Raina Corps," Vicky replied. She got into the taxi, and it drove off.
The taxi stopped outside Raina Corps. Vicky paid the taxi, and walked into the building, taking the elevator to the team's floor. When the elevator opened on the floor, the captain looked at Vicky.
"Perfect timing. We made a plan," the captain said.