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  Beta World, Volume 2

  Thomas MacRae

  Published by Happy Gazelle PLT, 2018.

  Copyright (c) 2018 by Happy Gazelle PLT

  www.happygazelle.com

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. The literary perceptions and insights are based on life experiences and conclusions drawn from research. Businesses, characters, events, incidents, locales, names, and places are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual events or actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

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  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  The morning was windy as Ryland ran his usual route along the river. He was still pushing sleep from his mind as he breathed in the fresh air. There weren’t many people out yet, which is what he liked about his morning runs, the solitude, the chance to think, to be alone. Adam had still been asleep when Ryland left their dorm room that morning. Adam still acted like he was concerned about Ryland, after he had come into the dorm room to find Ryland shaking and sweating while playing his VR game.

  Ryland had put the game away in his closet, but that hadn’t stopped Adam from asking Ryland multiple times if he was okay, what the game was about, why he had been having such an intense physical reaction to playing it. Ryland had evaded the questions as best as he could, giving half-hearted, half-true responses. Adam had even asked if he could play the game, to which Ryland had replied with a harsh “No.” After that, Adam had avoided Ryland.

  After his run, Ryland showered and dressed for class. He took the bus from his dorm to his literature class and took his usual seat in the lecture hall. It had been a couple days since Ryland had been pulled into a beta version of a VR game that had mimicked his real life by scanning his brain and creating a 99.9% accurate virtual reality.

  He had escaped the simulated reality unscathed, but he still felt a strange distance from the world around him, a distrust. He felt hypervigilant, hyperaware of everything around him, paying attention to the smallest details, looking for any changes, no matter how minute, signs that what he was experiencing was another simulation. But he never saw anything strange or out of place and gradually, he was settling back into a mundane routine.

  He hadn’t heard from Aims since the phone call that had been disconnected. When he had tried to call her back, he had been greeted with a message that said her phone number was no longer in service. Ryland had tried calling the number two more times but had gotten the same error message both times. He had no other ways of contacting Aims. He didn’t even know her last name.

  Ryland opened his laptop and prepared to take notes, as his favorite professor walked up to the front of the room, wearing a vest with birds on it. As Ryland’s professor began to talk, Ryland’s phone began to vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket. He didn’t recognize the number that was calling. Ryland hesitated for a moment before silencing the phone. He had just put it back into his pocket when it started vibrating again. It was the same number calling again. Ryland silenced it again but felt a growing sense of unease. He held the phone in his hand and told himself that if it rang again, he would answer it.

  His phone started vibrating again. Ryland stood and squeezed his way out of his row as discreetly as he could, pushing past the legs of his classmates, whispering apologies. He stepped outside the room, into the hallway. The hallway was empty, and, in the silence, the vibrating phone sounded deafening. Ryland answered.

  “Hello,” he said.

  “Ryland, I swear to god, stop sending me to your voicemail.”

  Ryland knew it was Aims immediately. “Aims?”

  “Yeah, who else?” Aims sounded annoyed, but there was an undercurrent of something else in her voice.

  “Are you okay?” asked Ryland. “I was worried after our last phone call got cut off and I couldn’t get ahold of you.”

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” said Aims. “For now.”

  “For now? What does that mean?”

  “Look,” said Aims. “I need to ask you for a big favor.”

  “Okay,” said Ryland. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  Aims let out a heavy sigh. “I need your help.”

  “Okay, what do you need?”

  “They found me,” said Aims.

  “What? Who?” Ryland was trying to whisper into the phone, but he felt like his voice was echoing loudly down the empty hallway.

  “Who?! Who do you think?” said Aims, sounding annoyed.

  “The agents from Inhabit?” Ryland guessed.

  “Yeah, I don’t know how exactly, but they found me,” said Aims. “I managed to get away initially, but now, I can’t seem to shake them.”

  “Where are you now?” asked Ryland.

  Aims seemed to hesitate. “I’d rather not say. I’m calling from a payphone, but I still don’t feel like it’s safe to say.”

  “What do you need from me?” asked Ryland.

  “I need a place to hide,” said Aims, “at least temporarily.”

  Ryland was quiet for a moment, trying to put all the pieces together.

  “Look, I wouldn’t have asked you for help if I had anyone else I could ask,” said Aims, sensing Ryland’s hesitation.

  “No, I want to help,” said Ryland. “I’m just trying to figure out how. I’m kind of stuck here at school. I don’t have a car or anything.”

  “Yeah,” said Aims. “Well, I’d say I have about a day until they find me where I am now. Maybe less.”

  “Okay, do you think you could somehow get here?” asked Ryland.

  “It’s far,” said Aims. “But yeah, probably.”

  “Okay, then yeah, you can crash here as long as you need,” said Ryland.

  “Thanks.”

  “Do you need my address or anything?” asked Ryland.

  “No,” said Aims. “In fact, don’t say anything about where you are. Like I said, anyone could be listening.”

  “Right.”

  “You’re sure it’s okay?” asked Aims.

  “Positive,” said Ryland. “Besides, I owe you, big time.”

  “Yeah, you do.” Aims was quiet a moment. “Ryland?”

  “Yeah?”

  “There’s more I have to tell you,” Aims sounded upset. “And it’s not good.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’m not going to tell you now, but I just,” Aims seemed to struggle to find the right words. “just be prepared for some really bad news.”

  “Okay,” Ryland wasn’t sure what this meant, but it made his gut twist.

  “I got to go,” said Aims. “But I’ll see you soon.”

  Before Ryland could respond Aims had hung up the phone. Ryland stood in the hallway, unable to go back into the classroom, no longer interested in his literature professor’s lecture. He felt that his heart was beating faster. This wasn’t over. There was more.

  Aims hung up the payphone outside the gas station. Payphones were hard to find these days and she’d had to go out of her way to locate this one. She looked around, her glance subtle, but effective. The gas station was relatively deserted, only locals, filling their tanks, and a lone gas station attendant slouching behind the counter inside, scrolling through he
r phone.

  Aims walked back toward her car. She knew she needed to ditch it since it could easily be connected to her. She knew she couldn’t drive it all the way to Ryland’s school, which was more than 12 hours away. Aims sat in her car, thinking. She had plenty of money, saved from her days working to develop the VR game, Inhabit. Obviously Laran Technology had drained her bank account as soon as they realized she was a threat, but she was smart enough to have set up a separate account that they didn’t know about. It was well-hidden and ready for just such an occasion.

  Aims almost felt a sense of satisfaction at how much her paranoia and preparedness were paying off. Aims checked her rearview mirror. The gas station seemed just as innocuous as before. A dark-colored car pulled onto the gas station and stopped in front of one of the pumps. Aims might have thought nothing of it, but as she sat there, formulating a plan, she began to feel that something was off. She glanced over at the car again. It was still sitting at the pump. There was a woman pumping gas. She was tall, her hair in a high ponytail, sunglasses covering her eyes. She looked harmless enough. Aims watched her for a moment. The woman pulled out a phone and looked like she was typing in a text, taping her fingers against the screen.

  Aims couldn’t have said why, but she felt her heart rate increasing, a sense of adrenaline starting to move through her system. Aims didn’t question these kinds of things. She knew it was better to trust her body, her gut. She put her car in drive and pulled out of the gas station parking lot. She glanced in the rearview mirror as she pulled away. The woman with the ponytail was already back in her car, pulling out of the gas station behind Aims. Aims pressed down on the gas pedal. Her car jumped. She needed to put as much distance as possible between herself and the other car. Although Aims prided herself in her preparedness, when it came down to it, she had little experience with these kinds of “cat and mouse” games.

  The gas station had been on the edge of a small city. Aims knew the city had a bus station. She had already scouted it out a day before, knowing she would probably need to ditch her car. She had decided that taking a bus would be more effective than trying to fly. Aims glanced in the rearview mirror. The woman’s car was catching up. Aims drove faster. She glanced at her speedometer. She was driving close to 90 mph, too fast for the residential street on which she drove. Ahead of her, was a minivan going the appropriate speed limit. The road was single lane, which trapped Aims behind the minivan. Aims glanced in her rearview mirror again. The woman’s car was about to catch up with her.

  Without thinking about it too much, Aims swerved across the double yellow lines, into the oncoming lane of traffic. Luckily, there were no cars on this side of the road. Aims zipped past the minivan and then swerved back onto the correct side of the road. She glanced back and saw the car following her do the same thing. Up ahead, a car pulled onto the road in front of Aims. The car stopped completely, blocking the road. Aims was confused for a moment, before realizing this new car was identical to the car following her. There was more than one.

  Aims swore out loud to herself. As she came up behind this new car that was now blocking the road, she squeezed the steering wheel and jerked it to the right at the last moment, pressing the gas. Her right tires went off the road, up over the curb, through the grass. One tire went onto the sidewalk. She heard the metal bottom of her car scraping concrete. Her car bounced violently as she swerved around the car that had stopped on the road in front of her. Then she swerved back onto the road. Aims’ hands were shaking, her breath coming fast. She knew she needed to do something fast. She had no idea how many other cars there were, and she wouldn’t be able to dodge these two for much longer.

  Now there were two cars following behind her and it wouldn’t take them long to figure out a way to trap her again. Aims turned down the next street she came to. This took her deeper into the city. She turned again at the next street, hoping to confuse the cars following her, or throw them off the track. When she looked back, they were still behind her, gaining speed. Aims tried to get her bearings. Which way was the bus station? She tried to read the street names as she went speeding past. Whitaker Street. Aims frowned. She had no idea where she was.

  She turned sharply down another street and then groaned when she saw a red light in front of her. Aims pressed her brakes out of habit. One of the cars following her pulled up behind her. The road had split into two lanes and the other car pulled up beside her. Aim realized she was trapped. Enemies, behind her and beside her. There was a pickup truck stopped at the red light in front of her, blocking her escape. Otherwise Aims might have run the red light. Two men climbed out of the car behind Aims. They were both wearing sunglasses and walked quickly, almost in unison. Aims could feel herself starting to panic, to lose her ability to formulate a plan. She put her car in reverse and pressed the gas.

  Her car slammed into the car behind her. The two men jumped back. She heard someone shouting. Aims put her car in drive and pressed the gas. She yanked the steering wheel violently to the left. She pulled the sharpest U-turn of her life and sped off in the direction she had just come. She turned right down the first street she came to and noticed a building she recognized, a large mural covering the side of it. She was close. The bus station was only a couple blocks away. Aims looked in her rearview mirror. For the moment, there was no one behind her. She had lost her following, though she knew they would soon relocate her. Aims pulled her car into a narrow alley between two buildings. The alley led to a small Employee Only parking lot.

  Aims parked her car in an empty spot and climbed out. She had packed a duffle bag with clothes, but she couldn’t grab that now. Instead she took her backpack with her computer. The bus station was a couple blocks away and Aims’ instinct was to sprint there as fast as she could, but she knew that would instantly give her away. She focused on making her steps even and natural. She pulled on sunglasses and put her shaking hands into her pockets. She slipped between the buildings and out onto the sidewalk. It was quiet, calm. There was no sign of the cars that had followed her. It took Aims about 10 minutes to walk to the bus station. It felt like it took much longer.

  There were several times when Aims thought she saw one of the cars following her, but each time, she was wrong. Somehow, she had lost them. Aims bought a bus ticket when she reached the station, her hand shaking as she handed her card to the attendant. She hid in the bus station bathroom until her bus starting boarding. She was afraid that the woman and the men following her would be checking the bus stations and airports, looking for her. She didn’t see any sign of them.

  As Aims settled into a seat on the bus, she finally let herself relax slightly. Soon she would be arriving in Ryland’s college town. She hadn’t wanted to call Ryland. She hadn’t wanted to ask for his help. But she had found herself in a complicated situation and there weren’t many people she could trust. And then there was the information she had discovered, information about Ryland. She dreaded having to share it with him, but knew it was necessary and inevitable. The bus started slowly rolling out of the station. Aims slouched down in her seat, tried to look as small as possible and waited to arrive in the Midwest city where Ryland’s school was located.

  Chapter 2

  Ryland had a difficult time concentrating in any of his classes. He couldn’t focus on his homework assignments, and everything Adam said seemed to annoy him. He couldn’t help but worry about Aims, wonder what had happened, how she had been discovered, what information she had, if he was in any danger. He received a phone call from Aims when she arrived. She called from a phone at the bus station. She still didn’t have a phone of her own. On the way to the bus station, Ryland wondered if Aims would look like the version of herself he had interacted with inside the beta version of Inhabit.

  He knew he had looked similar to the way he looked in real life, but that wasn’t always the case. You could make an avatar that looked any way you wanted. As soon as Ryland arrived at the bus station and saw Aims, he knew it was her. She had the sa
me serious, slightly condescending look in her eyes. She was pale, her hair naturally curly and cut into bangs that flew in a variety of directions, no makeup. She spotted Ryland easily. Ryland gave a little wave, tried to smile. He wasn’t sure what was appropriate in this type of situation.

  “Hi,” said Ryland.

  “Hey,” Aims regarded Ryland and shifted her backpack onto her back.

  “You want me to give you a hand?” Ryland offered.

  “I got it,” said Aims.

  Ryland nodded. “My dorm’s this way.”

  “I remember,” said Aims. Then she smiled.

  Ryland laughed. “Oh yeah, I forgot. Technically, you’ve been here before. You want to steal another moped?”

  “Don’t think I wouldn’t,” said Aims.

  They began walking in the direction of Ryland’s dorm.

  “So, is everything okay?” asked Ryland.

  “We probably shouldn’t talk about it here,” said Aims.

  “Really?” Ryland looked around. “You think anyone followed you?”

  Aims shrugged. “I’d rather be careful, then caught.”

  Ryland was silent.

  “You have a roommate, right?” said Aims.

  Ryland nodded.

  “Is he going to be cool with me crashing or is he going to think I’m intruding?” asked Aims.

  Ryland shook his head. “We can just tell him you’re a friend visiting.”

  Aims nodded.

  A silence settled over them. It seemed strange to be together in the real world. It almost felt as if the things that had happened in the beta world had happened to two different people.

  Ryland was relieved to see that Adam was not in the room when they arrived. He didn’t want to deal with him now.

  “I have some extra blankets and pillows,” said Ryland. “You can sleep on my bed and I can sleep on the floor.”

  “Sure,” said Aims. “Honestly I’m not even worried about that right now.”