AS THE SPINNING STOPPED, Joel saw what the shapes were. Huge lizards surrounded them. They stretched their wide, jagged jaws and banged them shut. Joel felt the air ripple as a set of razor like teeth snapped shut, fractions of an inch from his hand.

He barely registered the intricate and fearsome samurai gear that all the others wore. He assumed he was armored the same way, but he hadn’t time to check. Jabbing upward fast with the knife in that hand, he felt tough resistance. The animal roared. Then the scaly skin gave way.

Hot blood gushed over his hand. He buried the knife, the shorter of his two daggers all the way up. Shoved until the hilt was against the reptile’s throat. He pushed, hard. He tried to stab it to reach the creature’s brain. The blade was too short.

He dragged the dagger toward him and pressed it away. The creature’s head rose and shook. Blood sprayed and splashed on him. The lizard’s jaws bit the air. Teeth cracked and snapped at him. It was still fast, even though the flesh of its throat flapped and gaped.

Joel drew back the knife and lunged. He pointed his arm and the knife where he guessed the monster’s heart must be. He ducked under the twisting jaw. The blade slipped off tough scales. He twisted up and pushed the point in.

As he jabbed and turned the dagger, he saw Molson, Ben and Carter, struggling with more lizards. He hadn’t time to count, but it looked as though there were more lizards than there were of them. One or two more, at least.

Hacker, fighting next to him, turned and jabbed Joel’s lizard in the eye. Its feet stamped and it roared. Joel jammed his other blade next to his first, aiming again for the heart.

A clawed foot lifted in front of his face. Then, as Hacker pulled his dagger from the beast’s skull, Joel twisted both knives in its chest. The pale green belly rose and quaked. Then it trembled. Then the lizard turned and fell.

Joel pulled his knives back. Hacker had injured his lizard, stabbing it in both armpits. It thrashed and roared. Its head waved between Hacker and Joel. With both blades, Joel aimed to stab it in its two red eyes.

One blade went straight in. The other only cut a nostril. Giving the knives a twist, he pulled them out. Then drove them up. Under the scales, he stabbed deep in both sides of the throat.

The roaring began to gurgle. Blood and other fluids gushed and oozed as the lizard rolled over onto its back. It stopped moving.

Carter had a dagger in each hand and a lizard pinned on each dagger. Both of them were still moving, but he’d done them serious damage. Ben was on the back of one reptile with his knives in its neck. But another jumped at his back.

Joel grabbed the end of its tail. Hacker jammed his shorter dagger into the tail. That was all they could reach. But the animal snapped around. Hacker slammed his longer knife straight into the gaping mouth.

His arm was all the way in. If the reptile could close its jaws, it would bite his arm off at the shoulder. The lizard’s eye widened and reddened. It convulsed as the point of Hacker’s blade popped out through the back of its head. And it froze.

Carter had both of his monsters beaten, but he needed help finishing them off.

Molson stood with a lizard impaled and his foot on the neck of another. Both dead.

Joel’s visor display told him,

Skills Acquired: Strategy skills + 5

They looked around at the large, deserted village square. The fast-flowing stream divided the square down the middle, and it swelled to a large pond at the center. All of the buildings around the square were simple, made from bamboo with woven walls and roofs.

Joel paused to take in the wide, ornate Japanese leather and fighting coats, hats and boots of the other four players. Joel looked down to check his own.

He figured this would be an introductory scene. There could be important information but he raised his visor. The audio in his earphones stopped at the same time as the immersive video display shut off. He wanted to be sure that Carter was fitted in his harness and had all his equipment properly connected.

Coming back to the sight of five guys in suits and exoframes in a big, dark room was disorienting. There was a movement at the far end of the room, but Joel couldn’t make out whether this was a person or what it was.

Joel moved toward Carter who jumped back and waved his arms, like he was under attack by a giant moth.

“Carter, relax. I just want to make sure your gloves are hooked up.” But Carter swatted at him. Joel scowled, but he gave up and pulled his visor back down.

Pulling his visor back, he was back in the scene. The four samurai figures searched around the village square, looking at the spaces below the village hall and the houses around the square.

Furtive scratching, rustling sounds came from the crawl spaces under the buildings all around. They looked all about them. Joel ducked down, fast. Below the large hall he saw a movement in the shadows.

He heard the others draw swords and knives. He held up a hand behind him. He saw a small silhouette. It looked like the crouched figure of a small child who had been scurrying in the darkness. It froze and peered back at him. He saw the eyes blink.

The figure held on to one end of a long pole with something bushy on the far end. Joel dived in and made a quick grab at the pole. For a moment, the child didn’t let go. Joel dragged them toward him. Then they turned and scurried away, out under the far side of the hall.

Joel smiled. Hacker was there waiting. The child’s feet left the ground.

Joel and the others found Hacker grinning and dangling the squirming, kicking child aloft. He held them up by one arm. Joel had the long pole. On one end were sprigs of dry bamboo rushes.

“So,” Joel grinned as he crouched down, level with the angry child’s face, “You made noises, rustling under the buildings. You tried to make us think that we were surrounded by an army of fierce warriors.”

The young child’s scowling face was that age where they could be a boy or a girl. Somewhere between a mature eight and a young-looking eleven maybe. Dressed in boy’s clothes and with sharp white teeth bared. Joel shoved his face nearer.

The child’s lips closed and the face screwed up tight. Joel smiled.

“It’s clever.” He patted the child’s head. “And it was brave of you to come out, all alone.” He watched the child’s eyes. “To come out with nothing but a broom.” He smiled again, “Was that your own idea?” The child’s eyes narrowed. Then, quickly, the little head nodded.

“Was it? Really? Nobody helped you think of it?”

Another pause. Then a quick shake of the head. Joel saw the child’s eyes slip to the left. He ruffled the mop of black hair. “Brave. And very clever.” He crouched down lower to be right in the line of the child’s eyes. “You did well. You saved everyone in your village.” He stood back, “But now we’re going to find them all.”

The big round eyes shot to the left. To a building set back from the square. Then they grew round and moist as they came back to Joel’s.

Joel lifted the kid’s small frame from Hacker. He was sure it was a girl. He perched her on his hip. “I’m called Joel.” He smiled. “What’s your name?”

The child hesitated, but he took her hand to shake it.

At last she said, “Kiko,” still scowling.

He took her on his hip and walked to stand in front of the building. Hacker, Molson, Ben and Carter followed and stood behind him. He called out, “Your great warrior did all in their power. And they were heroic.” He smiled at Kiko again.

There was no sound from inside the gray bamboo building.

“But we are not your enemy.” He said. “You have nothing to fear from us. We are here to help you.”

He looked down at the child. “Tell them, Kiko.”

The door to the building opened. The pale and drawn face of a man peered around the door.

Joel said, “Is Kiko your daughter?”

The man was close to tears. He nodded.

Joel smiled down at Kiko and his voice was gentle as he held her out to the man. “You should be very proud. She is a fearless warrior.”

The man’s hands shook as he took the girl. Her big eyes went from Joel to her father as he handed her back.

“Now.” Joel said, “Are you all hiding from the lizards?”

The man’s head hung as it shook.

Gently, Joel asked him, “Tell us who it is that your village is so afraid of.”

Kiko’s face darkened and her head shook.