Prisoner 3-57: Nuke Town (5 page)

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Mission:
Reincarnation

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Complete

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Eleven Players

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Submitting Player
Status Information

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Factory Worker

Saul Duke

Level: 9

Missions Complete: 8

Kills: 15

Experience: 250/500

Credits: 920

Status: Active...

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House Wife

Jane McCarthy

Level: 17

Missions Complete:
16

Kills: 21

Experience: 90/500

Credits: 1650

Status: Active.....

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Student

Lena McCarthy

Level: 16

Missions Complete:
15

Kills: 20

Experience: 100/500

Credits: 340

Status: Active....

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Military (Retired)

Arthur Sheppard

Level: 15

Missions Complete:
16

Kills: 33

Experience: 330/500

Credits: 1800

Status: Active.....

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Security

Iaso

Level: 18

Missions Complete:
21

Kills: 64

Experience: 140/500

Credits: 3050

Status: Active.....

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Air Hostess

Alisha Jones

Level: 16

Missions Complete: 5

Kills: 8

Experience: 80/500

Credits: 3100

Status: Active.....

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Earth Force Special
Forces

Clay Evans

Level: 24

Missions Complete:
30

Kills: 53

Experience: 70/500

Credits: 2650

Status: Active...

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Student

Robbie Jameson

Level: 1

Missions Complete: 3

Kills: 4

Experience: 340/500

Credits: 0

Status: Active...

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Cargo Lifter

Rose Wells

Level: 3

Missions Complete:
10

Kills: 12

Experience: 320/500

Credits: 650

Status: Active...

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Convicted Murderer

Fiona Knowles
(Prisoner 2-91)

Level: 17

Missions Complete:
16

Kills: 36

Experience: 420/500

Credits: 11,000

Status: Active...

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Convicted Murderer

Prisoner 3-57

Level: 6

Missions Complete: 5

Kills: 11

Experience: 110/500

Credits: 2120

Status: Active...

Mission Two: Lock
down

Chapter One: Final
Stand

‘
Keep
moving, Brother!’ Rose screamed the words at the top of her
lungs, but I could only just about hear her over the constant
explosions and gunfire. My little sister ran a few feet in front of
me, paused for a moment, and squeezed off a controlled burst with her
semi-automatic machine gun. The sickening creature in front of her
dropped backwards onto the charred earth, but it wasn’t dead.
That would be too easy. These things didn’t die. You could
remove the head and still it would keep coming. You could cut out the
heart and still these things attacked with ruthless blood-lust The
creature looked humanoid in shape, but it was completely skinless.
Blood, bones and tendons made up its outer body. Its blood was like
some kind of acid, as it burnt every single thing it touched. The
creature’s limbs looked backwards and disjointed, which allowed
them to move in unthinkable ways. Long claws replaced the fingers.
Brutal fangs replaced teeth. The eyes dangled down from empty
sockets. These creatures were created by Prisoner X. The man I had
been sent to kill. This world was a construction by the government.
It was a virtual reality world designed for a prisoner’s own
subconscious to create their own personal living hell and the
ultimate punishment. Players subscribed to join this virtual game and
take part in the most realistic online multi-player computer game
that has ever been created. The pain they felt was real, but to
escape the game all you have to do is die and you awake up in the
real world. The problem is that Prisoner X has taken over the game.
He has removed the safety protocols. If you die in the game, your
body will die in the real world too. He controls this world now. He
has the lives of four million players within his hands. I have been
sent here to stop him, but I would be surprised if I lived through
the next two minutes.

A
creature leapt from the battling crowds all around us.

I
reacted fast and fired off a single round.

My
bolt rifle kicked back hard, as the bolt struck the demon straight in
the centre of the chest. I could see the bolt ripping through the
core of its body, carving away the majority of the torso as it
spiralled through, the bolt continued on into the crowd beyond. I
didn’t know if it had hit more creatures, or possible team
mates, but then again I didn’t really care. All I cared about
was keeping my sister alive long enough to get some answers. The
creature, with the missing chest, continued to come straight for me.

Two
more bolts removed both its knees.

It
continued to come after us, but we sprinted by.

Earth
Force fighter jets flew by overhead. They dropped napalm down onto
the demonic hordes. We were trapped in a canyon. Thousands of players
were fighting for their survival, but there were simply too many of
the creatures. It was like fighting wave after endless waves. They
were like ants climbing over each other, as they scrambled towards us
lusting after fresh meat. In the sky were large drop ships. Hundreds
of large metal crates were being pushed out the back of the cargo
bays. They floated down on white parachutes. I guess the game
programmers were doing every little thing they could to aid the
players in their battle for survival.

‘
Where
should we go?’ asked Rose, shaky hands fumbled with a new
magazine.

I
scanned the area.

Where
could we go?

We
were surrounded on all sides.

I
released a magazine from the bolt rifle and slapped in a fresh one.

‘
We
have to keep pushing forward,’ I told her.

Suddenly,
the roar of a loud engine filled the air. I spun one hundred and
eighty degrees to see a green, brown and black camouflaged armoured
car tear through a horde of the demons. They were trapped beneath the
six thick wheels. The thing was like a box on wheels. I could see
Clay through the windscreen, as worried eyes looked for the woman he
was in love with, my sister. A machine gun turret was on top of the
vehicle. Robbie was sat in the hatch, as the guns high rate of fire
tore down on the creatures. He was cutting them clean in two, but
still they kept coming. It was sickening, as even the severed limbs
were slivering across the floor like snakes. A side door of the
vehicle popped open. Fiona’s white mask met us.

‘
Get
in,’ she said with her soft elegant voice.

We
were happy to oblige.

Chapter Two: The
Green Zone

Heavy
thuds clanged off the body of the vehicle. We were being thrown left
and right, as we bounced over rough terrain and ran down hordes of
the creatures. I brought up the map on my x-com. The little computer,
built into my left forearm, showed a detailed map of this unknown
terrain. The x-com was our link to the alliance and the game. It
allowed us to upgrade weapons, vehicles, or buy supplies. We could
also use it to learn new skills, or get a detailed overview of our
current mission. The map on the screen was just a mass of red dots,
which symbolised enemy targets. I zoomed out several times. There had
to be at least ten thousand of those monsters for miles around. I
could see several landing sites on the map, but each one was being
overrun by the creatures created by Prisoner X. It was then that
something caught my eye. Yellow squares were being highlighted on the
map. I clicked on the touch screen menu for more information. A small
message box read, “Green Zone. This is a safe house for in game
players.”

‘
Are
you guys seeing this?’ I asked.

‘
There
is a green zone,’ said Fiona.

‘
I
don’t really have time to admire my x-com right now,’
countered Clay, as a blood creature bounced off the windscreen.

‘
There
is a safe house half a mile from this location,’ said Rose.

She
climbed into the front passenger seat.

‘
Give
me directions,’ said Clay.

‘
Um,
guys?’ asked Robbie, ‘you might want to see this.’

Fiona
and I looked out the back window. We were driving across a dead
landscape. It was like the remains of a county side after a wild fire
had scorched every single last thing in its path. I swallowed hard. A
sense of dread ran down the full length of my spine, as a hollow
sensation filled my stomach. There was something behind us. It was a
blood creature, but this one was different to anything I had seen
before. It was big. It was bigger than bigger. The thing had to be
the size of a double-decker hover bus. It ran on all fours. The legs
were the kind you would expect to see on an elephant, but the face
was that of a skinned great white shark. Seven dangerous looking
horns protruded out of its long skull. The alien beast was closing
down on us fast. It had already gained a fair distance on us.

‘
You
might want to put your foot down,’ said Fiona.