Halloween Hacker

"At this moment, I don't really care, lover."

Evie attacked Chris once more, pushing him back into his apartment and locking the door behind her. Before he could even think to protest, she had dragged him over to his sofa and pulled his T-shirt off. From there, they stripped off the rest of their clothes like they were burning their bodies and collapsed onto the couch in a hot and heavy make out session. There was no need for foreplay; Evie's pussy was soaked and Chris's cock was as hard as iron. They joined in a frenzied mixture of emotion and desire, making love with the passion one would expect from a couple that had never expected to be together again. Despite the sheer lack of logic in this situation, both were simply glad to be together once again. Evie continued to ride Chris like a madwoman, bound and determined to drain him of every last bit of his seed. He was only too happy to oblige, and they soon climaxed together. In the aftermath, they laid panting and heaving from their exertion, their faces aglow with affection and love.

"Damn," was all Chris could say.

"Got that right," Evie giggled.

"I just... I still don't get it. How is any of this possible? Did I dream it?"

"Only if I dreamt it, too. I remember every second of our adventure, Chris. But the crazy thing is, even at the end of it all, the only thing I wanted was you. Giving up everything I was programmed to want for a life with you was the only thing I could even think about."

"That's got to be it!" Chris realized, nearly throwing Evie off the couch in the process.

"WOAH!" she shrieked, grabbing on to him. "What's it?"

"This life was all you wanted, right? It was your heart's greatest wish."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, remember what Lot said about the Gomorrah? That many of his people believed it was only destructive in the hands of the unrighteous?"

"Of course," Evie nodded.

"When Yosef held the Gomorrah, it turned red and transformed him into that monster, but when you held it-"

"It turned blue!" she finished.

"Exactly! That had to be a sign, Evie. It was being held by someone righteous, and when you made the selfless decision to destroy it for the greater good, it granted your deepest desire in exchange. It's the only explanation I can think of."

"So, it looks like you're stuck with me. Er, that is, if you want to be?"

"What do you think?" Chris replied with a smartass grin. "But, I mean, how is this going to work? Do you have a job or any documentation making you a real person?"

"Crazy enough, yeah," said Evie. "I found a purse next to me in the moving van. It's got a wallet, photo ID, and a credit card. Looks like the Gomorrah set me up to make my way in this real world of yours."

"But what about work? How are you gonna-"

Evie silenced him with a loving kiss. "Don't you worry about it. I'm a smart girl. I'll figure something out."

*****

One year later

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to American Ninja Warrior! I'm your host, Matt Iseman."

"And I'm Akbar Gbaja-Biamila. With us, as always, is the lovely Kristine Leahy, who is down on the course with our next competitor. Kristine?"

"Thanks, guys! Yes, I'm here with the newest rookie to the American Ninja Warrior scene, a young lady who looks to come from quite the pedigree in athleticism and adventuring, the one and only Evie Granger. Evie, great to have you here."

"Thanks, Kristine," said Evie.

"So, Evie Granger? The same as the world-famous video game heroine?"

"That's right. And yes, that is my real name."

"That's incredible!"

"Yeah, crazy coincidence," Evie replied with a laugh. "When the first games came out years ago, I got teased a bit in school, but I decided to just own it, and she kind of became my role model from then on."

"Clearly! You've got the haircut, the accent, and red tank top all going for you; all you're missing is the dual revolvers!"

"Yeah, pretty sure they wouldn't allow those on the course."

"You got that right. Ok, your run is up next. We'll let you get ready. Good luck, Evie. Back to you, Matt!"

"Thanks, Kristine. Looks like we got a serious action heroine on the course tonight!"

"Can't wait to see how she does!" Akbar agreed.

Evie collected herself mentally and stepped up to the starting line. Ahead of her awaited a course of six physical challenges, each stationed above a pool of water. If any part of her touched the water, she was done. But if she finished or made it far enough with a fast time, she'd qualify to move on to the semifinals next month. In spite of the pressure, she wasn't worried; she'd been training all year for this, not to mention her time as an adventurer before she had met Chris. Taking one last moment to glance over to the sidelines, she saw her fantastic boyfriend ready to cheer her on and blew a kiss to him.

First up was the Floating Steps, a series of five two-foot-square platforms, each set at a steep downward angle. One false move would send Evie plummeting into the water below. Though she was tempted to move through them quickly, she knew this was the most likely way to fail, especially for rookies. Instead, Evie took her time, getting a good grip on each platform before even thinking about the next one. As she reached the highest step, she flung her body forward to grab the rope and swing to the safe platform beyond.

"And our resident gamer is through the Floating Steps!" Matt cheered over the loudspeaker.

"Nice run," Akbar agreed. "Now, the real challenges begin."

The Spinning Bowties appeared to be a relatively simple obstacle; all Evie had to do was swing across two bowtie-shaped wheels with pegs on their edges. The only problem was the lack of a bailout option. Once a competitor was on the wheel, they only had one shot to jump the gap. Evie found that staying on was no problem; all her years of rock-climbing had strengthened her grip to insane levels. But her petite frame presented a different challenge, as she had to swing five or six times on the wheel to generate enough momentum to make the gap. She could only hope that it wouldn't tire her out too much by the end of the course. Once she was confident in her speed, she released from the final wheel and even stuck the landing for good measure.

"NICE!" Akbar exclaimed. "She doesn't look like any rookie I've ever seen!"

"She's definitely got the strength of a ninja, but does she have the balance? We're about to find out," Matt replied.

Evie grinned with confidence as she approached the Broken Bridge, a series of six unstable planks suspended above the water by ropes. It was a notoriously difficult obstacle, especially for the male competitors focusing more on strength, but Evie specialized in quickness and agility. After eying each of her landing spots on the planks, she began her run. Evie made sure her speed was just a steady jog; not too fast to throw off her balance, nor too slow to destroy her momentum. By the time she reached the other side, the planks were barely moving as if she hadn't even touched them at all.

"That good enough balance for ya, Matt?" Akbar joked.

"I'll take it!" he laughed. "Go, Evie, go!"

Evie couldn't help but get a massive grin on her face. Not only was she having the time of her life, but the entire crowd was rooting for her. Hell, even the announcers and other competitors wanted her to succeed. She had quickly learned that Ninja Warriors don't compete against each other; they compete against themselves. If you fail, it's nobody's fault but your own. After blowing another kiss to Chris, which elicited a few catcalls from the audience, she eyed down the fourth challenge.

The Wingnuts were similar to the Spinning Bowties in that they were all about swinging from one handhold to the next, but they were far more treacherous. Instead of two easy-to-grab handles, Evie only had a thick bar with a couple of indentions to grip. To add to the difficulty, she had to swing her body sideways to proceed, rather than the standard front-to-back. She made the first two jumps without too much issue, but an awkward grab on the final Wingnut stymied her momentum, forcing her to take several precious seconds to build up enough speed for the dismount. Evie nearly missed the platform, only keeping her run going with an instinctive grab to keep her foot dry.

"WOAH! That was close!" said Akbar.

"Yeah, maybe a little chink in the armor, but you wouldn't know it by looking at her face, would ya?" replied Matt.

"Nope, she looks ready for more! Two more obstacles, Evie! You got this!"

Evie knew the Lightning Bolts would be her toughest challenge on the entire course, as it was designed to test upper-body strength. To cross the pool, the competitor had to use a metal bar to swing across three cradles, taking the bar with them on each swing. Adding to the difficulty was the fact that the cradles rocked back and forth, requiring the competitor to slide the bar all the way to one end of the cradle before it would be stable enough for them to swing through to the next one. It was a daunting challenge for even the most seasoned veterans of American Ninja Warrior, but Evie knew none of them had faced such a challenge during a life-or-death scenario. That would be her edge.

Evie began with a strong bounce from the springboard and grabbed the metal bar with little effort. She then used what was called a "switch grip," grasping the bar overhanded with one hand and underhanded with the other. This gave her a bit of extra stability as she worked her way through the obstacle. By now, the length of the course was taking its toll on her muscles. As such, it was tempting to change her planned strategy for the obstacle and opt for sheer power to get through it. But even with this temptation, Evie remained focused, knowing it would take good technique to get her to the end.

She began by doing a pull-up to get the bar at chin level. Once her body was as high as she could get it, she thrust her arms straight up and flung her body forward, landing the bar in the next cradle. Getting to the other side of the cradle took significantly less power; a simple bunny-hop with her arms did the trick. With each move she made, the crowd began chanting her name louder and louder. They knew if she could make it past this obstacle, she was likely to finish the entire course.

At last, Evie made it to the final cradle and stared down the dismount, spanning six feet across and dropping twelve feet in the process; she could not afford even a single miscalculation. To make matters tougher, her palms were burning from the strain of the extended run. Instead of trying to get off the bar as quickly as possible and risk the fall, Evie tightened her grip with her right hand and let go with her left, blowing some cool air on her palm to restore a bit of its strength. This action got the announcers and the crowd fired up; they could feel they were watching something special. After repeating the process with her other hand, Evie swung back and forth a few times before releasing and landing the dismount with six inches to spare.

"SHE'S THROUGH! EVIE GRANGER GETS TO TAKE ON THE WARPED WALL!" shouted Akbar.

"This is a moment many rookies can only dream of! Go for it!" Matt said.

Evie beamed as she stood in front of her final obstacle: The Warped Wall. Normally, the last challenge for a Ninja Warrior is a curved 14.5-foot-high wall that served as the finish line for the course. But this season, competitors had the choice between the standard wall, at which they would have three chances, or one chance at the 18-foot-high Mega Wall. Almost every male competitor that made it this far at least attempted the greater challenge, as they were then given one chance on the normal Warped Wall should they fail to climb the Mega Wall. Still, the number of men to make it to the top and claim the $10,000 bonus prize was only in the single digits. As Evie loosened up her muscles, she glanced up at the announcer's booth, placed just to the side of the top of the wall, where contestants would often banter with the hosts before their attempt.

"What do you guys think?" Evie shouted up to them.

"Is she serious?" Matt asked his cohost.

"No way!" Akbar said, his jaw hanging open.

"I want it all!" Evie cheered.

"She's doing it, Matt! Evie Granger is lining up for the Mega Wall!"

"This would be historic; no female Ninja Warrior has ever scaled the 18-foot monster!"

"Come on, Evie! Beat that wall!" Chris shouted from the sidelines.

Evie embraced the raucous cheers from the crowd, who had joined in Chris's chant of "Beat that wall." With the deafening noise filling her ears, all the aches and cramps in her muscles seemed to fade away into nothing. She took the best runner's stance she had ever taken in her life and gazed up at her target. It was just explosiveness and drive, nothing more; Evie had practiced this obstacle more than any other. With a primal grunt she bounded down the track and hit the curved portion of the wall. One after the other, she drove her feet down, propelling herself as high as she possibly could. After five steps, she knew she could push no further and flung her hand out above her, managing to catch the lip of the top with the tips of her fingers.

"SHE'S GOT IT! SHE'S UP!" Akbar exclaimed.

"Are you kidding me?! She beat the 18-foot Mega Wall! The first female competitor ever to do it! Forget Evie Granger: Survivor, she's Evie Granger: Ninja Warrior!"

Evie screamed with delight as she rose to her feet and hit the buzzer to mark her official completion of the course. She spent a few moments reveling in the praises of the announcers before descending the ladder on the side of the structure and bounding into Chris's arms. As they embraced, Kristine approached with microphone in hand to do the post-race interview.

"Evie Granger, wow! That's all I can say!" Kristine gushed. "What a performance from one of the best rookies I've ever seen on this show. Evie, how do you feel right now?"

"Good god... such a blast! That was the most fun I've ever had in my LIFE!"

"Well, know what's more fun? The fact that you won the $10,000 bonus prize!"

"I never in a million years thought I'd actually make it up that thing!" Evie replied, giggling nervously all the while. "But I owe it all to my boyfriend, Chris. He's the one who convinced me I'd still make it up the normal wall if I missed on the Mega Wall."

"Well, we're all glad he did," Kristine nodded. "Nice job, Chris."

"Thanks," he replied.

At that point, Chris stepped back and allowed Evie to have her time in the spotlight. She would be all his soon enough, anyway. He couldn't help but smile at the irony of her winning $10,000 from this event.

Yeah, that money will come in handy... once I give her this engagement ring in my pocket.