The Key to Fear - Kristin Cast Page 0,90

to get into our locked VR space.”

Elodie stood. “A hack? But who—?”

The building behind them shivered before breaking apart into perfect pixilated squares and collapsing in a heap of flashing cubes.

Astrid stumbled away from the disintegrating landscape. “El, I’m exiting. Get someplace safe. I’ll find you.”

Shadows stretched against the sand as the sun waned and a deep unsettling black poured into the sky like spilled ink.

In the real, Elodie was someplace safe, tucked into one of the many hidden rooms of the Eos warehouse she’d discovered after running to Aiden at dawn. She needed to get back to him now. Back to her body. Like she’d done a hundred times before, Elodie focused on exiting the program and bringing her hands, her real hands, to the headset resting against her ears.

There was nothing. Nothing but gusts of wind blowing sand through wild strands of hair.

Elodie tried again to exit. Her fingers scraped down her cheeks.

“Aiden!” Her voice quaked as the gentle blue sky succumbed to the black and the ground went soft beneath her feet. “Get me out!” Again and again Elodie tried to focus her panicked thoughts on escaping, on her body, on being anywhere but the haunting black, the sand stinging her face. But nothing changed. Her fingers dug against her cheeks, tangled in her hair.

This was real. The pain and the panic. The wind and the dark. Too real.

“Elodie! I can’t get out!” Astrid was still next to her, right next to her. Arms and hands against hers. Skin searching for skin, for safety.

White light burned through the dark. Elodie winced, squeezing her eyes shut against the blinding spotlight glaring down at them.

Astrid let out a gasp as a line of gun-wielding Key Corp soldiers emerged from the dark. “Run!” she shouted.

Elodie took off after her. Her feet no longer sank into the sand as the dark enveloped them and they sprinted further into nothingness.

From under his visor, the lead soldier’s voice boomed, “We have orders from the Council. Come willingly and we will not use force.”

The soldier was just a few feet away, as if Elodie and Astrid had been standing still instead of running for their lives. He pulled a scanner from his vest and waved a red beam over Elodie’s right side. “Sending Benavidez’s last known coordinates now.”

Astrid charged between Elodie and the soldier. “Your overlords let loose some code that has us stuck in here until what?” she asked. “We tell you where we really are? Then we’ll each come out to find guards waiting for us? The whole thing is a little dramatic, don’t you think?” Astrid nudged the tip of the soldier’s drawn rifle. “I mean, what’s the point in this? You want to prove you’re a big man? Break the rules and bring in a weapon? We’re in VR. Hello? This will hurt me about as much as falling off a twenty-story building—which I’ve done. Didn’t make a lasting impact.” She held up her hands and did a quick spin. “So tell whoever the fuck is in charge that they need to let us out of this freak show.” She pressed her palm against the gun barrel and pushed.

Elodie’s chin quivered. “Astrid, don’t.”

“It’s okay, El.” Astrid tossed a wink over her shoulder. “They can’t do anything to us in here except turn off the lights. Right, boyo?”

The soldier’s gear creaked as he stiffened. “You should listen to your friend.”

Astrid crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you know who my father is?”

A smirk licked the corners of his lips. “Who do you think designed the hack?” He tilted his head and tapped the black visor that shielded his eyes. “And don’t forget to smile big when I bring you in. I’m recording it all, and I’m sure Mr. Fujimoto would love to see those pearly whites.”

Astrid hid her trembling hands behind her back, and with a dramatic flourish she stepped closer to the soldier. “Guess I should put on a show. Wouldn’t want to disappoint dear old dad.” Astrid reached for one of the silver boxes attached to her toolbelt. “See you on the other side, El.”

With the swipe of her thumb, Astrid triggered the silver box’s code. It morphed into a grappling gun. The hook gleamed as Astrid aimed it toward the soldier.

“Astrid—” Elodie’s words were swallowed by the bang of gunfire. Warm liquid sprayed her face and copper flashed against her tongue as hands grabbed her biceps and pulled her back toward the shadows.

Astrid lay on the ground.