I choked and sputtered, I kicked and clawed, I tried to scream but nothing came out. I must’ve looked crazier than my wildman pursuer if that were possible. Victory had always been a slim possibility in this galactic contest, but I’d be damned if I got knocked out round one.

Sure I’d never been to war or had genetic enhancements that turned me into a lethal killing machine, but I had spirit. I guess I’d have nothing but my spirit in a few moments here. The headache I’m getting from this is pretty intense.

A look of consternation formed on the demi-god’s face. I felt the pressure around my neck lighten and I dropped haphazardly to the ground, gasping for air. I was confused. Relieved, believe me, but confused.

The blond giant turned his attention to the brush further down the ridge. He twisted his palm in an arc to deflect a hailstorm of bullets right as they ripped from the foliage below. Most missed their mark and scattered about the rugged terrain, shattering fragments of the rock on impact. A few shots hit the superhuman center mass, staggering him but not even piercing his skin. Was this guy made of fucking metal?

The good-natured look he had worn while snuffing my lights out promptly disappeared. All notions of a quick finish to “his bid” seemingly vanished. Hercules was about to tear this poor guy to pieces.

As soon as the fire subsided, Blondie tore off towards the woodline like a Karelian Hound. He cleared boulder and crevice with ease, bounding over the rugged landscape of the mountain to hunt down his attacker. He dove into the bushes and I swear I felt the whole earth rumble.

He didn’t even say goodbye.

As soon as I caught my breath, I tore up the side of the mountain and dove into the tunnel’s safety. Blondie definitely would’ve flattened anyone that had been lurking within it, so the idea of running into someone now wasn’t a huge concern. I was more intent on placing as much distance between myself and that abomination as possible.

When I confirmed there was nobody in the immediate vicinity, I stopped to check my pulse. Still there, miraculously. A persistent headache and a scratchy throat seemed to be the extent of my wounds. For all the fanfare of the event, it hadn’t left much of a mark. I didn’t want to imagine the kind of damage he did to the sniper outside. The thought alone sent a shudder down my spine.

Well, now the only way out is forward. I leaned against the smooth rock wall and pushed further into the mountain’s underbelly. Sight stopped being a valuable sense about 20 meters into the cave. As blind as I was in here I relied on the bumpy surface of the stone to guide me.

The thought of running into a skulking Dralid crept into my mind. Though diminutive, their species had the asset of low-light vision granted from generations of living underground on their home planet. My size advantage wouldn’t mean much with a shrouded blade plunged into my kidney.

A faint humming noise brought my worst fears to bear. I dove down to take cover. When nothing happened, I peeked my head up. Blackness. Right, forgot about that.

I followed the sound down the length of the tunnel. It grew in magnitude as I approached, but did not seem to have a threatening cadence. If anything, it seemed to be inviting me closer. Taking a deep breath, I plunged myself around the bend in the wall and whipped to face the source of the sound.

A light blue glow emanated from a pod rooted in the floor of the tunnel. Its light spilled in a faint pool to give a sliver of luminescence in the underground. My hesitation abated and I approached it for closer examination. The pod was about a meter tall, and half as long in diameter. A button on the top of the cylindrical device pulsed with regular beats of light.

“Hell yeah, finally!” I exclaimed softly. I slammed down on the button and watched in awe as the pod slid open to reveal a handgun nestled in the center of the silver foam lining the interior. When I bent down to grab it, an item notice popped up on my HUD.

Item Equipped:

[Common Laser Pistol]

Thurma U34

25% Charge

I’ve never heard of a Thurma U34, but having a weapon in my hand that wasn’t made of stone was a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, when I snagged the pistol the light from the pod faded away. Darkness filled the tunnel once again.

I decided to keep following the direction I had been traveling. It had proven lucky so far. If there were unopened pods down here the odds of running into another person were fairly slim. With that logic in mind and a pistol in hand, I made my way more confidently down the subterranean tunnels.

Still, the creeping darkness of the mountain’s underbelly got under my skin. The walls grew so narrow in certain sections that I had to squeeze through sideways. I’d hit my head on the low-hanging ceiling so many times I thought I’d concussed myself.

In the distance, I could hear the rapid skittering of a many-legged thing. Or maybe it was many little-legged things. Was it rats? Insects? Some terrifying beast of the depths that this virtual simulation had generated to eat wayward contestants?

I rubbed the coin in my pocket. May Lady Luck show her favor.

When I spotted a light in the distance I almost didn’t register it. Figured it was one of those sensory deprivation-induced mirages that cave-in victims talk about. I blinked my eyes, and when I opened them the orange glow persisted. Score two.

The source was a rusty lamp hanging from the corner of a wooden beam. Several more wooden beams formed rectangular frames at regularly spaced intervals along the dimly lit tunnel. I guess I stumbled on some kind of old-fashioned mineshaft intersecting the natural channel I’d been following for what felt like an hour. Turning right led up a gentle slope while heading left led down, presumably deeper into the mines.

I weighed my options. Heading back up to the surface with carnage unfolding left and right, and crazy telekinetic superhumans, knife-wielding maniacs, and snipers roaming about didn’t sound very appetizing. I would probably find an escape node hidden somewhere down in the mine too if I had to wager. Granted, someone would have to fall by my hand before I could make it out of this simulation. I pushed that thought to the back of my head.

Descending into the mineshaft wasn’t as bad as the natural cave system I had been following. The occasional lamp provided enough light to perceive the outline of my surroundings. Sounds of dripping water, creaking metal, and the groans of the mountain itself filled the air, but the skittering of living things had ceased with the light.

And then there was life.

The clamor of a gunfight rang from deeper within the mines. I had an urge to avoid it; just turn back and head to the surface away from what awaited me below. I knew the odds, though. Two people going at it I was bound to get the drop on someone, or at least have a fighting chance in these narrow tunnels. On the surface, I was one drop of rain in a raging tempest.

I forged on towards the noise.

80% chance of survival

He was probably around thirty years old. A shadow obscured most of his face, but I could see hints of youth behind the stubble. He was clutching his thigh and looking over the crumpled figure lying next to him. The gunfight had already been resolved.

The wounded victor didn’t even see me raise my pistol. Hell, my heart was pounding so hard I could barely see it either. My vision blurred as I tried to hone in on the square of his forehead. I couldn’t do it. There’s no way I could do it.

My labored breathing must have betrayed me. He reached for his rifle with a gasp and I squeezed. The beam of light that ripped from my pistol illuminated the tunnel before boring its way through my target’s head. His skull bounced off the side of the rock and slumped to the side.

Contestant #34,219 eliminated

1 Elimination

Escape nodes activated

I vomited.

“Fuck. Shit. God damnit.” I wiped the spit from my lips and sat heavily on my heels.

“Why the hell did you do that! Why did you make me do that!” I yelled, not caring who heard me.

“I wasn’t going to shoot you, you dumb bastard.”

The first man I’d ever killed and I only knew him by a number. It was probably better that way.

I walked over to the two corpses. They might have something better than a pistol, as much as I wanted to flee the gruesome scene.

[Common Marksman Rifle]

Saker Model 55

Short-Barrel, 5 Round Clip

[Common Ballistic Pistol]

Bornatt Mk. 3

12 Round Magazine

The pistol didn’t look much better than my own and only had a couple of rounds left. I picked up the short-barrel rifle and slung it around my back, counting eight shells for the archaic weapon. I’d seen ‘em in videos but never owned one. It was the kind of weapon old rural homesteaders used to hunt Arvad for meat, nothing for an urbanite like me. Either way, it was a longer range alternative to my pistol. Not particularly useful in the cramped underground, but it would do me well if I found myself roaming the surface again.

Item Equipped:

[Common Marksman Rifle]

Saker Model 55

Short-Barrel, 5 Round Clip

I shouldered my new weapon and continued my descent. The shadowed face of the young man I had just killed wouldn’t leave my mind. It morphed into the faces of people I had known in my youth. Kenny - the local butcher, Dodger - one of the kids from the block, Frasier - one of my mother’s nicer “boyfriends.” With his features so obscured it could’ve been any of them.

-----

I’ll spare you the boring details about the next hour or so. It was dark, I stumbled around a lot and bumped into more than a few jagged shelves; I thought I got lost half a dozen times. Cave stuff.

The glowing yellow orb in the center of a four-way shaft intersection. Now that was a lot more interesting. At first, I thought it was a higher rarity loot pod, but as I neared the glow I saw its spherical outline. My HUD popped an identifier:

Escape Node

30m

I couldn’t believe my luck. Everything had fallen into my lap so smoothly after the encounter with blondie. It was as if I died on the mountainside and reincarnated as a version of me that could pick a winning lottery ticket.

The sound of thudding footsteps drew me from my reverie. A cloaked figure burst through the tunnel entrance to my left. He hadn’t seen me yet; he was focused solely on reaching the escape node before its golden safety could slip from his grasp.

My pistol hand twitched, but my mind refused to bring it to aim. I did something I would normally never do. Maybe my lucky streak had made me a bit arrogant, but I figured I could take him down.

I completely t-boned him. Like flat out, lowered shoulder, lay him the fuck out kind of tackle. I just meant to stun him while I went for the node but I think I cracked the bastard’s rib.

He let out a whoosh of air like the sound of a popping tire and slammed into the edge of a wooden beam. I scrambled to my feet and gave him a few swift kicks to the dome just for good measure.

Was I being a bit overzealous? Sure. At least I hadn’t popped him, he could thank me for that later if he found another way out of this digitized hell. I wasn’t leaving anything more to chance. Lady Luck had put out more than usual today and didn’t need any more opportunities to screw me.

Without waiting for another delay, I rushed for the orb and grabbed it. Nothing happened. I waved it in the air. Nothing.

“What the hell do I do with this thing?” I muttered angrily.

I peered over at my compatriot to make sure he wasn’t trying to pull a fast one. He was still conscious but hardly mobile. He groaned and rolled around, clutching at his head. From this angle, I could see that he had a decent amount of pudge on his face, but he carried it menacingly. Like if you took the last slice of pie at a cookout he’d break a chair over your back.

“You know how this thing works?”

No response. I couldn’t blame him but it was worth a try.

I looked it over, even bringing it up to my eyes for a better look at its contents. Just an orb of light swirling around inside a glass ball.

“What if I just…”

“No, wait!”

Smash.

A thousand glass fragments dispersed in a cloud as I struck it against the wall. The golden aura within flew up to the cavern top and vanished.

“You...fucking idiot.” The man wheezed.

I thought releasing whatever was inside of the orb would take me to the Hub. Did I just waste my best chance at getting out of this nightmare?

“Well, you weren’t offering any better suggestions.”