[THE HAVEN]

Danny took a puff of his inhaler, blowing smoke in Jay’s face.

“Can’t believe I’m seeing you again,” said Danny. “You must have some sort of crush on me, eh?”

The bandaged man loomed at Danny’s side.

“My friend here says you’re crushing on Esara, eh?” said Danny. “Bad move. That girl only looks out for herself. She’ll sell you out first chance she gets.”

Danny blew angry smoke into the air.

“I hear you don’t have the exotic either,” said Danny. “You’re full of bad moves, eh?”

Dangerous eyes watched Jay from the surrounding room. There was a group of men draped in strange furs. Several women carried glass riot shields. And a few children chipped at the wall with small hook-like weapons.

“Hey, easy on the wall, eh?”

The children refrained.

A man in his underwear sat on a couch, grinning at Jay. He was covered from head to toe in tattoos of bizarre and horrible things, including a tree made from black worms, vomiting spiders with stilt-like legs, and a lizard composed of human tongues. Jay couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about this man looked familiar.

“This place is a sanctuary,” said Danny. “But only for those I sanction. If you don’t have what I want, you don’t want to be here, eh?”

“I’ve got something better,” said Jay.

“Zayder’s balls, I asked for something very specific,” said Danny. “What could you possibly have?”

“Me,” said Jay.

Laughter erupted around Jay, most of it from Danny.

“You?” asked Danny. “If you mean your life, I was going to take that anyway. That’s far less valuable than an exotic, eh?”

“I’ll work for you,” said Jay.

Danny cackled, taking a puff of his inhaler.

“Zayder’s balls, look at the size of you,” said Danny. “What could you possibly offer me? I’ve got other people for that, eh?”

Jay whipped out his purple pistols.

“You’ve got new guns?” asked Danny. “Who’d you strike a deal with this time, eh? No, nevermind, I don’t want to know --”

“RICOCHET SHOT!”

-- Off a woman’s riot shield.

-- Off a child’s pick-like weapon.

-- Exploding through Danny’s inhaler.

The room went silent. Danny stood pale-faced, still clutching a handful of bloody glass and plastic.

“So you’re one of those, eh?”

Danny pulled a shard of glass from his eyepatch.

“Maybe there is something you can do for me after all.”

Jay watched the room for any sudden movements.

“I made a deal with some poor sap named Blue,” said Danny. “Blue’s got something of mine. But he got himself into trouble with it, so I’m gonna need it back.”

“Just tell me what it is,” said Jay.

“The less you know the better,” said Danny. “He keeps it in a green duffel bag. Thing looks like a megaphone. Try not to break it.”

Danny rattled through the contents of a thin cabinet, pulling out a key.

“Unit 2411,” said Danny. “I gave that unit to Blue. Shame when people take advantage of your kindness, eh?”

Danny threw the key to Jay.

“Get that duffel bag by end of day,” said Danny. “If not, we’ll pay your girlfriend a little visit, eh?”

***

Floor two - this was a new low for Jay.

He stalked through the halls, sloshing through crusty carpet goo. Large chunks of walls were missing, exposing cramped bedrooms piled with trash. Jay was half-convinced he saw at least one dead body; the smell added to that suspicion. There was no AC to speak of - everything wafted down here in a concentrated humid heat.

Sparkling smoke filled the hallways, and subsequently, Jay’s lungs. His Captain Lair mask did little to filter it out. All the chemicals made him dizzy. If this was floor two, Jay didn’t want to see floor one.

The door to Unit 2411 hung from its hinges. A large gap in the wall granted easy passage inside. Flumes of sparkling smoke billowed out of it, spilling pollutants into the hall. Jay regretted not bartering for a gasmask, though he dreaded what Danny might want in return.

He ignored the door, stepping in through the hole in the wall. His foot immediately touched down on a deserter’s face. The man didn’t seem to notice Jay’s foot, or anything else for that matter. His eyes were wide open - AFK in real life.

A few steps in revealed more people in similar positions. They sprawled out across a bristled carpet, gazing into the smokey abyss. Some lie isolated. Others lay on top of each other. More than a few were face down, puddles of vomit streaming from their lips.

Jay stepped on as few faces as possible, hustling towards a nearby doorway. For a fleeting moment, Jay thought he saw Anton leaning against a wall, obscured by roving fog. It was clearly a hallucination. This was bad. Jay had to get what he came for and then get out.

He passed through the doorway, nudging an open green duffel bag with his foot. It was empty. That didn’t bode well.

Crutches leaned against a wheelchair in the corner. A feeding tube dangled by a king-sized bed. This appeared to be a medical ward, designed for a single person.

*Cough Cough*

It came from the corner, obscured by especially thick smoke. Jay fanned away fog, struggling to get a peek.

The mist parted just slightly, revealing a man’s blue face. This face was dried and suffocated like strangled beef jerky. His eyes were indented into his sockets. Tight wrinkles outlined rotting teeth between choked curled lips. It was a person, but just barely.

*Cough Cough*

The man was somehow alive. His black eyes met Jay’s. From the man’s torso, a low hum escalated into a siren’s wail.

Jay didn’t trust that sound. He dove sideways as a red tentacle of plasma cleaved through smoke, slicing the wheelchair in two.

“I knew you’d come for me,” said Blue. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

The fog revealed a red megaphone in Blue’s hands. Jay was certain this was an enforcer weapon. He had never seen an enforcer weapon fire before, and he had no desire to see it again.

“I’ll kill you enforcer,” said Blue. “I’ll kill you all for what you did to me.”

“I’m not an enforcer,” shouted Jay. “Danny sent me. I need that weapon.”

“Here it is:” said Blue.

Another siren. Jay slid behind a couch as red energy licked the floor, carving out a long smooth crater.

“You enforcers trap us down here,” said Blue. “Call us deserters, just because we won’t play your stupid game. Haven’t we suffered enough?”

“I’m not an enforcer!” Jay repeated.

Jay peeked out - Blue was hidden by smoke. But now SizeMatters1420 stood in front of Jay, staring at him with cold dead triangloid eyes. No - another hallucination. Jay smacked the illusion from his mind.

“I’d rather die than play Zero Space,” said Blue. “I’m not giving you my soul!”

Jay took aim in the direction of Blue’s voice.

“PIERCING SHOT!”

Jay used a Level 1 for this. It cut through the mist, passing right in front of Blue’s eyes.

A miss - that was bad. Blue’s weapon turned --

Jay rolled sideways as a thrashing red laser splintered the couch.

“My soul is all I have left,” said Blue. “And you want that too!”

Jay crawled across the floor, seeking a new hiding place.

“I’m not crazy,” said Blue. “People who play Zero Space are crazy!”

Blue’s voice seemed to come from all directions. Jay grew dizzy from the fumes. Any minute now, he’d be just like those people on the floor.

“You call us deserters,” said Blue. “But you’re the ones deserting your own world. Deserting your humanity!”

Syadd, the Raid Captain of the Deadly Skulls, stood in front of Jay, fanning away smoke with her spinning flail.

“Time for a rematch Jay,” Syadd said.

Great - now the hallucinations were talking.

Syadd’s pteranoid companion Bowman knelt at her side, taking aim at Jay with his longbow.

“This is for humiliating us in Trader Town,” said Bowman.

Jay smacked his head. Several times. But the illusions were still there. This was bad, and getting worse.

He pondered what would happen if he lost his mind. Would he die and respawn? Or would he be stuck on floor two forever? Either scenario would be the end of Esara.

Jay had to purge the toxins from his bloodstream. If only he had a vial of green juice. Or a Zero Space healing ability - healing abilities dispelled all ailments. Anything that cured one poison, cured them all.

Wait --

Jay had an idea.

It was a risky and maybe stupid idea, but it was his last resort. Zero Space didn’t always work like real life, but he hoped it did this time.

“Poison Shot,” Jay whispered.

Jay injected himself with his own Poison Shot. He fell to the ground whimpering as stinging pain seeped through his veins. He convulsed, watching two bare blue feet step past him.

“I’m going to kill you enforcer,” said Blue. “Just like I killed the enforcer who did this to me!”

Jay watched Blue’s feet rattle by, too weak to move. This Poison Shot wouldn’t kill him, but it would get him damn close. Jay couldn’t imagine being inflicted by a Level 2 version of this.

After a moment, he lifted his Captain Lair mask and vomited, expelling the toxins from his body. The pain was gone, but more importantly, so were the hallucinations. The Poison Shot had flushed it all out! But it was a temporary fix. A few more minutes would take him right back to the edge; he wouldn’t survive a second Poison Shot.

Blue’s bones crackled somewhere in the fog. Jay knelt by Blue’s bed. Negotiations were over.

If only Jay could distract Blue - toss something small and hard to throw him off his trail. There was nothing near the bed that fit the bill. And Jay didn’t dare discard one of his pistols.

Blue seemed unaffected by the smoke, which meant Poison Shot might not work. And a Piercing Shot was too loud. That left Jay with only one option. He scanned the walls, attempting to form a mental path. Smoke clouded his field of view, throwing off his depth perception.

Jay aimed his pistols at a calculated angle; he would have to do this blind.

“Ricochet Shot,” Jay whispered again.

-- Off a wall.

-- Off another wall.

-- The bullet landed somewhere far away.

A low hum - then a siren’s wail. Crimson plasma lashed out towards the Ricochet Shot’s final destination. For just a moment, Blue’s body was revealed.

Jay took aim, waiting on his recharge timer. Smoke began enveloping Blue once more.

Jay bit his lip. Just a few more seconds - Blue was nearly invisible now.

A pillow fell off the bed. Two black beady eyes turned towards Jay.

Blue’s weapon hummed --

“PIERCING SHOT!!”

A level 2 bullet pierced the fog. Blue’s legs, torso, and one of his arms exploded into flakes of bloodless jerky. The bullet continued through several walls, pouring smoke out into the hall. Jay hoped he hadn’t committed more than one murder.

He cautiously approached the remains of Blue. The enforcer weapon was still in mint condition. It looked like a red traffic cone, with a slot-machine handle. Jay couldn’t figure out how to fire it, or even hold it comfortably.

Jay grabbed the weapon --

*Cough Cough*

Blue was still alive somehow - nothing more than half a torso, an arm, and a head.

“Great, now look at me,” said Blue. “Thanks a lot asshole.”

Jay winced.

“First, you enforcers take my health,” said Blue. “Now you take my weapon and my body?”

“Not an enforcer,” said Jay.

“Just kill me,” said Blue. “End it already.”

“No,” said Jay. “I just need the weapon. We’re done here.”

Blue released a dry cackle.

“Yes, you’re right,” said Blue. “I can’t die. No, that would give you too much satisfaction.”

Blue’s cackle escalated into a laugh.

“You left me down here to die,” said Blue. “But I’ll keep on living. I’ll outlive you all!”

Jay took a big step back.

“I lived on a good floor,” said Blue. “I had good friends. A good life. But then that enforcer came and took it from me.”

Blue made a chortled gagging noise which Jay assumed was crying.

“He wasn’t trying to kill me,” said Blue. “He was trying to kill the monster. But I got caught in the crossfire.”

Blue crawled towards Jay with one hand.

“He threw me down here,” said Blue. “Hid his mistake on floor two.”

Jay backed away.

“I did what the enforcer could not,” said Blue. “I found and killed the monster. And then I stole its soul.”

Blue’s rotten teeth grinned at Jay.

“Then I killed that enforcer.”

Blue inched closer.

“I’m not crazy,” said Blue. “You enforcers can’t protect us from the monsters. You can’t even protect us from yourselves!”

Jay looked up to see Bander grinning at him. Bander never grinned, especially with a grin that big. It was definitely time to leave.

“Zero Space won’t save us,” said Blue. “Enforcers won’t save us. When the monsters make their move, you’ll all be lucky if you end up like me!”

***

Jay chucked the green duffel at Danny’s feet. It landed with a loud clang. Danny stumbled back, nearly tripping over his own feet.

“Zayder’s balls, be careful with that,” said Danny. “You don’t know how dangerous that thing is.”

“I do now,” said Jay. “You should have told me what it was. You were trying to get me killed.”

“I didn’t want you to die,” said Danny. “I just expected you to. There’s a difference, eh?”

“You were going to kill Esara,” said Jay.

“I wasn’t,” said Danny. “He was.”

Danny pointed to the bandaged man. He stared at Jay with bloodshot eyes.

“You gotta let your pets off the leash every once and a while, eh?” said Danny.

“Maybe I should kill your stupid pet,” said Jay. “And then kill its stupid master.”

Several people rose from their seats, drawing blades, bats, and other makeshift weapons.

“You think I’m afraid of any of you?” yelled Jay. “I could kill all of you!”

The room fell silent.

Danny let out a wheezing laugh.

“You think you’re stronger than us, eh?” asked Danny. “Didn’t Zero Space teach you anything? You shouldn’t underestimate anyone.”

Jay trembled, squeezing his pistols in a vice grip.

“Okay okay,” said Danny. “I asked a lot of you. That was my bad”

Danny’s bandaged hand brought a fresh inhaler to his lips.

“You gotta understand, I’m under a lot of pressure,” said Danny, “I’ve got quotas to fill. The people I work for are way more dangerous than me. If I don’t deliver, bad things happen.”

“Not my problem,” said Jay.

“It will be if you don’t play it cool,” said Danny. “But let’s not go there, eh? Your debts are paid off. Call it even?”

“No,” said Jay. “I want one more thing. And you’re going to give it to me. For free.”

“Zayder’s balls,” said Danny. “What more could you possibly want?”

Jay studied the room’s other denizens.

“Lots of people pass through here,” said Jay. “You probably know every criminal in the Haven.”

“We don’t use labels like that here,” said Danny. “If you lose your empathy, you’re no different than the people who call the shots up there, eh? But sure, I know some people. Who are you looking for?”

Jay holstered his pistols.

“I’m looking for a group in silver spandex,” said Jay. “Tell me everything you know.”