Sinner's Run Ch. 02

"Easy on him," Nala said, pushing the smaller woman away. "Noah's a bit lost right now."

"Happened to all of us at first, hon," Montana drawled as she stepped off the dias, walking towards one of the branching hallways to another section of the barracks. "Don't ya fret. See you on the Run sometime. Hopefully for you it won't be through my scope."

Noah watched her go before turning back to Nala. "Was that a threat?"

"Do not worry," Larka said, patting him on the head again. Behind her, Archangel was moving towards another hallway "Is simply life around here. You get used to it."

Noah had a hard time imagining he would ever get used to any of this, as more and more characters from the game he knew inside and out appeared on the dias two by two. He knew all their names, all their faces, and it was surreal to see them all in the flesh rather than the 3D models he'd always known.

The last two to appear were the ones he was least familiar with. The first was a slight human woman who looked borderline malnourished with a shaved head. Her body was lined with red geometric patterns, her eyes a deep scarlet color. She appeared on the dias sitting cross-legged, as if it was the most casual thing in the world for her. A moment after she appeared, her eyes flicked over to Noah, and he felt a chill run down his spine. Experiment 32.

By contrast, her partner was all over the place. "Three in a row, baby, eat it!" he yelled, doing a mad dance in place. His build was gangly, yet he somehow had a six-pack visible on his bare torso. His arms were cybernetic from the elbow down, and the burn scars on his upper arms left no doubt as to where the lower parts had gone. "Did you see that last run? Oh baby!"

"That jumping fool is Quirrel," Nala said in a flat voice. "I got partnered with him on his first day. He's an idiot. A brave idiot, but an idiot all the same."

"Whoooo!" Quirrel ran in place for a moment, then stopped and looked right at Noah. "You!" he said, sounding like he was doing a Hulk Hogan impression.

Noah blinked. "Me?"

"Yeah, you!" Quirrel sprinted over to Noah, almost tripping over his own feet as he did. The sudden approach made Noah take a few steps back as the gangly man got right in his face. Quirrel's brown hair smelled like dirt and sweat from the contest he'd just won. "You best remember this face, friendo. It's gonna be looking down at you. You may think you're hot shit because you're a big bad Prime now, but don't forget what that means." He jabbed Noah in the chest with a finger.

"W-what does it mean?" Noah managed.

Quirrel grinned wide. His teeth were yellow, the ends jagged. "I get to kill your ass over and over and over again, baby! Hahah!" He shoved Noah, then sprinted away, hands in the air like he'd broken the tape at the end of a marathon.

"I do not like him," Larka drawled.

"He's a jerkbag!" Fidget agreed, nodding vigorously.

But Noah was rooted in place, his entire body feeling cold. "He was kidding, right?" he asked Nala. "You don't really kill each other out there?"

Nala gave him a flat look. "I mean, technically we don't."

The chill got worse. "Define technically."

"Well, whatever tech they use in the arena keeps us from dying completely. Though we're still working with live ammo out there." She shrugged one shoulder. "And live explosive with the grenades. So even though you might feel like you died, you didn't really."

Noah's head spun as his brain tried to wrap itself around that concept. "I think I need to lie down," he said.

"Ooo, they'll probably have your room ready!" Fidget piped up. She ran towards one of the hallways - the same one Montana had gone down earlier - looking at the corner. She waved him over. "You're down here with me!"

Noah walked over to her, feeling like a robot as he did. Fidget was pointing to a list of names on the wall. Montana. Fidget. Iago. Quirrel. Experiment 32. Noah Welkin. Dimly, he realized the names on the wall were of the last few characters added to the game.

"Come on!" Fidget chirped. She tugged on Noah's hand, and he let himself be pulled down the hallway, his mind still churning.

The petite, peppy girl led him to a door with his name on it. "Here we are!" she said.

"Thanks," Noah said numbly. "I'd like to be alone now if I could."

"Sure sure! I'm just down the hall if you want!" Fidget skipped away, as if she didn't have a care in the world.

Noah put his hand on the door. It slid open to allow him through. Beyond it was a room furnished with only a bed and a desk. A small device of some kind sat on the desk, but Noah ignored it.

He sat down on the bed, taking deep breaths. "Don't suppose this trick will work..." he muttered. "Dorothy, don't fail me now."

Noah tapped his heels together three times. Nothing happened. THe room didn't disappear, his normal clothes didn't return, he didn't wake up at his desk where he'd fallen asleep. All that happened was the heels of armored boots clicked together, and the sound echoed through the room.

"Fantastic," he muttered, fingers clenching the thin sheets. "Fucking fantastic."