Jorge stormed through the darkness. He was tired of the games, he was tired of these gladiatorial-esque shows that he was more than likely putting on for Game Lord. He wanted this to be over and the only way that he was going to do that was by pressing on and heading each challenge that was thrown at him. He was going to make his way to Game Lord and he would put that little punk behind bars himself, with a shock collar permanently attached to his neck.

But to do that he needed to win this game. Though he was sure that Game Lord could just keep putting up constructs and throwing him into different games, Jorge believed that the longer and faster he kept punching through these constructs, the more scared and confused he would make that villain. After all, not even Game Lord could keep this up forever.

Jorge, on the other hand, had enough fire in his belly to keep going; and keep going he would. He would conquer every level until that one second where Game Lord slipped up.

With that in mind, Jorge stormed through the dark until finally his senses were met with the next scenario. Like before, it was dark, dank, but instead of the feel the cool night air, Jorge felt just a little claustrophobic. He tilted his head as the scent of blood flew across his nose and sounds of his own footsteps on metal rang out all around him. He already was not liking this.

But he pressed on until he stepped through an archway and found himself standing in a rather industrial and curious looking hallway…

The metal walls reminded him almost of something like a submarine or battleship, but the design was a little futuristic. Putting those thoughts in mind, Jorge sighed…this had to be a space ship or something then. He continued on but paused when he noticed several smears of red across the ground. It was not hard to put together what he was looking at…blood. Jorge had a feeling that whatever he was in now, the violence just escalated.

Jorge’s eyes narrowed as he looked down the hallway. So far there were no sounds of life; the whole hall was as quiet as a tomb. For the most part it was an eerie sensation because even though he heard nothing, he still had the feeling that he was being watched and he just couldn’t shake it. Slowly his hand reached into his belt where he pulled out the pixilated hammer he received from the first level and held it tightly in his hand. He did not know what this level was going to entail but he would be damned if he would allow himself to be caught off guard again.

Casually he twirled the hammer in hand and crept on. The smell of blood and death almost reminded him of the last level he was in but there was not of obvious, linear line for him to follow to the next level. Instead the hallways and doorways he passed all looked like they just led to other parts. He wondered if, for a second, Game Lord had finally created a level that would be too much of a challenge.

Despite the sobering thought, he did not stop. Instead he moved on, step by step, until a suddenly screech cut through the air.

Jorge spun…and saw nothing in the darkness of another empty hall. He could have sworn that sound, which reminded him of a blade scratching against metal, had come from there. Cautiously he raised his hammer and peered into the dark.

Thu-Thump! Thu-thump![/b]

His heard pounded in his ears as he strained his eyes, looking, searching the blackness for any source to that sound…

Scrrrrrrraaaaaaaatch![/b]

Thu-Thump! Thu-thump![/b]

His heart thudded faster, eyes straining to the point that he needed to blink but he refused to just in case he missed something. But, as the darkness reached around the edges of his eyes, Jorge found himself unable to stand it…and blinked.

“RRRAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRRR!!!!”[/b]

Jorge stiffened up as he raised his hammer, watching as a grotesque and terrifying creature ran straights towards him. It was almost as if Jorge had walked into Hell itself…

Jorge was caught off guard for a second. He really did not know what this thing was that charged after him and as his mind tried to wrap around it, he found himself in mortal danger. The creature looked like some twisted corpse, reanimated with extra-limbs and absolutely no personality of what it formerly was. The detective could only gasp as he stared at it, it’s wild eyes, the bloody, scythe-like arms, everything about it just screamed terror. Whatever this thing was, it came from a very twisted and sick imagination.

This was what games were like these days? Jorge just could not bring himself to understand that.

But he was soon jarred out of his thoughts when he noticed the beast, merely inches from him and raising up its appendages to go on the attack. Jorge barely caught the movement in time to twist away, but still gasped and shouted as he felt the blade slash across his chest.

“Arggh!” Jorge gasped as he stumbled off to the side. But he didn’t get a chance to catch his breath. Quickly the monster was on the attack again.

Blood seeping down his shirt, Jorge struck at the beast with his hammer but he barely met with any results other than a piercing, angry cry from the creature. It lashed out with hits scythes, narrowing missing Jorge, all the while the putrid smell of it struck Jorge’s nose. He tried to keep from gagging as he struck at the creature again and again but it simply was not going down! He then resorted to pulled the harpoon blade from his belt but even a combination of both weapons did little to harm it. Not matter how much punishment it took, it kept coming.

Finally, starting to get tired, Jorge suddenly lashed out at the monster’s scythes with his own blade and struck it in such a way that he actually dismembered the appendage from the creature. At that it hissed and wailed and screamed as crimson poured from the wound. Immediately it struck out and knocked Jorge back against the wall, leaving him lying there, exhausted, as it loomed above him.

“Hiiissssssssssss!!!”[/b] it growled.

Jorge narrowed his eyes and kept his hand tightly around the blade as he waited for his opportunity. But just as he the creature readied another attack there was a suddenly sound, almost like a laser or something that cut through the air. The creature howled again and leaned back, screeching as the second appendage fell harmlessly to the ground, followed by its legs. The beast withered momentarily before falling completely still.

The detective raised his eyes in shock and awe…how did…

“You infected?”

Jorge blinked and looked up to spy another oddly dressed man standing in the hall. Who comes up with these characters?

Jorge was still sitting there, slumped against the wall as he started at the fallen pieces of the creature in front of him. He barely registered that the armored looking man had said anything. He was too wrapped up with staring at the dead creature, trying to piece together what it was and what was going on. Nothing he did hurt that creature and it seemed so absolutely intent on killing him right then and there. It was running off a pure rage and anger, like nothing he had ever seen before. Whatever video game this was…it was rather disturbing.

“Sir? Were you infected? Are hallucinating anything?” the man asked again, keeping whatever that weapon was pointed at him. “Where did you come from?”

“I’m afraid, you wouldn’t understand,” Jorge said as he slowly moved onto his feet. He groaned as he rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen up the stiff muscles. He eyed the man who continued to look at him like he was a threat, the space-age gun pointed at him and unwavering. Carefully, to show that he was not going to be a threat to the man, he slid both the hammer and harpoon into his belt again. “Listen, um, thanks for the save, back there?”

The man seemed to regard him closely. Jorge was wondering if this was where the next fight was about to begin. After all, the last two levels have been nothing but fighting and killing whoever he came across. But for some reason this character was different. He was not other victim, he was a construct, but he was not automatically attacking him. Instead, it seemed more like whether or not he was deciding to continue helping him. Maybe Game Lord was in such a rush that he didn’t have time to create this construct with a mind for killing him. Maybe he was actually living out as he was written in the game…to save people…

“You should have better weapons,” the man said. “Those things don’t go down unless you remove the limbs. Here…” he reached behind his back and pulled out a similar weapon to the one that he already carried and handed it over. “ It’s a plasma cutter . Just make sure to aim for the joints.”

Jorge eyed the weapon, but nodded his thanks as he took it from him. Curiously he wondered exactly how this thing worked but, at the moment he didn’t care, so long as it did. He turned back to the man who eyed the shadowy hallways. It’s a shame the man was only a game construct. He definitely seemed like a good guy.

The man also turned to peer at Jorge through his elaborate helmet. Finally he turned back the halls. “You can come with me, or try to do this on your own. I need to find my wife and get off this ship.”

Jorge nodded. He might as well stick with an ally until he could find help. “Coincidence…I’m looking for a way out too.” Jorge said as he held the weapon like the man did and immediately was able to gather where the trigger was. “Name is Jorge.”

The man paused and glanced back to Jorge. After a second of regarding him, he nodeded. “Isaac.”

The two companions continued on, stalking the halls in search of whatever objective that Isaac had in mind. Jorge did not feel like informing them that they were both actually in just a game and that none of this was real. But that seemed to be a rather poor decision if he did so. He needed an ally, especially considering how tough that thing was to kill. The detective could only guess at his objective if the exit did not present itself after he had killed it. Obviously Game Lord had put tougher restrictions on it.

But, in order to at least learn a little about what was happening, Jorge decided to ask. Maybe that would at least give him an objective and lead to a possible exit from this level.

“What happened here?”

Isaac was quiet for a moment before he had decided to respond. “Been meaning to ask you the same thing. The crew I’m with came to investigate and all hell broke loose. I assumed you were one of the colony members.”

“I’ve…been asleep,” was all Jorge could come up with. That was probably the easiest way to explain why he did know what was going on and to at least sound like he still belonged in this game and earn the man’s trust.

Isaac said nothing at first and merely seemed to contemplate what the man had said. Whether or not he bought the story, Jorge couldn’t tell since he couldn’t see his face. But he at least hoped that the man realized that he was at here to help.

Finally the armored man spoke up.

“Probably in stasis sleep,” he muttered. “Would explain why you don’t remember anything. But you’re damn lucky. Could have died while you were sleeping.”

Jorge nodded but before he could say anything in response, he heard the guttural grunt from up ahead. Isaac heard it too and it sounded far too familiar. The pair of them immediately armed their plasma cutters and cautiously moved into the next hall…

The two men (one real and the other a video game construct) crept forward, their plasma cutter’s held high as they tried to steel themselves up for what they were about to face. It sounded like it was more than just one of those creatures, now, and considering just how hard it was to kill one, Jorge was not looking forward to a number of them. But he had to keep himself in the right mind set. He could not allow himself to give in to Game Lord of any of his mad constructs.

Besides, Jorge could tell that he was already getting to the man. After all one of his very own constructs was actually helping him right now. The mad game aficionado was beginning to get sloppy and the second he got sloppy, Jorge knew that he was almost out. All he had to do was keep that man on his toes by surviving.

A glance to Isaac and a silent agreement was confirmed with a nod. They were going to follow through and investigate what was down the hall. There was absolutely no turning back now.

“Remember,” Isaac whispered as they reached the corner that turned into the hallway. “Aim only for limbs and keep moving. You stand still for too long or don’t want your flank and they will sneak up. And if they get too close, a quick hit from this,” he held up the plasma cutter, “should disorient them enough for you get a clean shot. Got it?”

Jorge nodded. Really what else could be said? Limbs and joints were the weak spots. Jorge was a damn good crack shot to be able to nail that (or so he assumed). His mettle would be tested soon enough.

With a breath and a nod, both men raised their weapons and moved into the hall…

It was a number larger than Jorge had expected. The creatures, necromorphs is what Isaac called them, were all milling about a pile of what the detective could only assume were bodies. It was so disgusing a sight that the police officer could hardly describe. Suffice it to say, though, it was the stuff of nightmares. The sights, the scents, the sounds, they would be things that he would never forget and, worst of all, they came from the imagination of some game programmer. He shuddered at the very thought of it.

But he did not get too long a chance to observe. Just as they turned to retreat, one look from one of the aliens and they were instantly spotted. A primal cry rang out and soon all those beasts turned to face them. A collective hiss ran out as suddenly the entire swarm all turned and began to charge them in a wave of screams, gnashing, and the clinking of bone on metal. It was a sight that would have shaken the resolve of the strongest man.

Jorge, though, simply knelt as Isaac stood behind and above him. Both raised their plasma cutters and aimed their laser sights onto the first clear set of limbs and began to open fire.

The detective was not enough sure what he was firing but whatever it was, it was damn effective. When he hit joints, they were ripped apart and soon the first wave of the creatures had fall into bloodied heaps. But they were swarmed over by the next line, and the next, and the next, all of which showed absolutely no fear about what both Jorge and Isaac were doing. It was obvious that the consensus was that any living flesh that was not their own had to die.

Jorge squeezed the trigger a few more times and brought down another pair of the creatures when he was suddenly out of ammo.

“Reload!” he yelled as he Isaac brought down another of the necromorphs before he reached into his pack and tossed Jorge more ammo. Remembering how Isaac showed him to reload this device, he clicked the magazine into place before raising his gun again and squeezed the trigger.

If these things wanted to pick a fight then he was going to show them the exact ramifications of it!

They were winning but it was definitely getting close. The more of those things they dropped, it seemed, the quicker more took their place. At this rate they were going to run out of ammo and that was obvious not an option that they could abide by. No, they needed to find some way to get past them and to continue through the rest of the ship but it just seemed impossible. Impossible. Jorge blinked as he took down another one of those creatures.

Impossible, that is exactly what Game Lord would want me to believe. He would want me to want to turn back and waste my time exploring the rest of the ship. It was through that wave of monsters that his next exit lay, he was certain of it. After all, why else would there by so many monsters concentrated in one space? No, Game Lord was smart, and in his attempt to pile on the pain, in inadvertently showed his hand.

Isaac was already backing away but not to run, simply so that he could swing around better and dismember more of those creatures as they attempted to swarm him. Jorge hated asking the construct to stand and fight…but he knew that it was the only way. He eyed the length of the all, pass the mountain of death, and spied that there indeed was a door labeled exit. It could have been any door but what drew his attention to it was the fact that it was open and the in the blackness within, he saw the resemblance to every door that he had walked through.

That was it.

“HIIISSSSSSS!!!!”[/b]

Jorge jumped back as onto the creatures leapt in close and attempted and slash at his face. Jorge barely managed to dodge, but it was enough for him to raise his plasma cutter and squeeze two rounds, effectively slaying the creature before his eyes.

He yelled over the loud confusion of battle.

“Isaac! We have to get past them!” he yelled and pointed to the doorway beyond. “We can escape through there! I know it!”

Isaac eyed the man through his helmet, firing and reloading his plasma cutter whenever he had the chance. For a moment there Jorge feared that maybe he was not going to take him seriously. But after a second, Isaac nodded as he pointed.

“Go! I’ll cover you!” he raised his cutter again and brought down another alien.

With that, Jorge ran…

There was no more room for words…only running and fighting. Jorge heard the footsteps of Isaac following behind him but he did not turn back to look. Instead the detective kept his eyes on the doorway beyond the pile of bodies. He slipped around creatures, batted them off with his plasma cutter, and cut them down whenever he could. The few that he missed, he saw fall anyways thanks to Isaac; Jorge was glad he did not go through this part alone.

As he ran, though, Jorge breathed to calm himself and barely listened to the sounds that erupted from all around.


“Hiiiiissssssss!!!”

SLASH!

CLANK!!

STAB!!

“ARRGH!!”

“RUN! KEEP RUNNING!”

SLASH! SLASH!![/b]

Jorge scarcely saw the world around him but only kept moving, swiping, and shooting whenever he had the opportunity or need to. Necromorphs fells by the droves and Jorge could see the doorway looming ahead, darker and far more inviting than he ever thought it would be. He was not going to let anything stop him now.

Running forward, Jorge suddenly kicked out as he struck the head of one of the smaller aliens, sending it flying off to the side and smearing against a metallic wall. Jorge had just reached the doorway and sighed in relief when suddenly the entire hallway shook. He gasped and held onto the frame as suddenly a huge, tentacle like arm ripped through the walls as if they were tissue paper.

Jorge’s vision was filled with the sight. And he cursed…

He watched in a combination of horror and frustration as suddenly that large tentacle lashed out, aimed directly for him. He raised the plasma cutter and figured that if he couldn’t kill it, at least he could distract it long enough for both himself and Isaac to flee through the doorway and into safety. It would have been good to have at least some back up in whatever twisted level that Game Lord would throw at him next. But he never got the chance to fire a single round.

A hand gripped him by his shoulder and suddenly Jorge felt himself being shoved into the doorway, just out of the reach of that leviathan of an appendage. Jorge stumbled to the ground of the dark room and snapped his attention back around to face Isaac, standing where he once had been.

“Isaac! Come on!” Jorge tried to urge him into the room.

Isaac simply shook his head as he tossed aside his plasma cutter and pulled out another dangerous looking weapon, this one looking as if it had a buzzsaw attachment. The ripper buzzed to life as Isaac ducked down under a massive swing of the tentacle before he raised his arm and opened fire. Indeed, a buzzsaw blade sprang from the weapon and sliced with a most horrific sound against the tentacle. While it was distracted, Isaac turned.

But instead of walking in, he struck the panel to the door hard enough so that it began to swing closed and, more than likely, lock into place.

“Get out of here! Stop these things!”

“Isaac! You don’t understand!!” Jorge yelled out. But it was too late. The door slammed and the detective was plunged into darkness. All that followed were the sounds of fighting, slicing, and, inevitably, screaming.

Jorge bowed his head. Picking up the discarded plasma cutter, he sighed as he removed the ammo and saved it for his own weapon. He still had a game to play…

“How…how does he keep doing this! It is not fair! He is a cheater! He should have died or gone crazy by now! What is this man capable of? So far everything I have constructed, he found a way to plow through it as if it were tissue paper. This does not make any sense. Anyone would have surely given up by now! I’ve had mercenaries cringe and fall to their knees in crying fits and yet this man keeps getting back up again and again and again!!”

The voice echoed throughout the darkness. It was the voice of panic, of fear, of knowing that everything was going to become undone. Normally the voice of Game Lord held such power and madness behind him. A madness that had a love for games and for making people suffer. But now, that was voice was cracking, wavering as it tried to find some sense courage to keep going. But it was obvious that Game Lord was far too discouraged to really keep his focus.

After all, how could he have possibly missed turning Isaac against the detective?! It just seemed so amateur that the maniacal gaming mutant wanted to punch himself for it.

Damn that detective for being so distracting! Damn him for not stopping!

“Why won’t you just die! Die! DIE!!!?!” he thought fiercely.

“Because, I’m coming after you with everything I have.”[/i]

Game Lord gasped. “What?! How’re you…?!”

“Seems like you left the channel open.”[/i] Jorge’s mental voice was so assured that it almost sounded as if there was a sneer in on his face as he thought it. “You ready Simon? Because I think I just reached the last level…”[/i]

“No! NO!! Only I say when it is over!! ME!! ME!!! MEEE!!!!”

Jorge smirked as he continued to walk through the darkness. Though he was exhausted and wanted nothing more for this whole ordeal to be over, he knew that he was not going to rest until he had Game Lord instead of cell with a shock collar around his neck. Judging by everything he had gone through so far, it was obvious that the man was insane and he needed to be locked away for a long time with absolutely no use of his powers. But Jorge could not make that happen until he got to him.

Having gone through all these twisted worlds, he knew the level of depravity that Simon was capable of. Maybe these games were not entirely created by him, but the simply face was that he used some already questionable material out in the world and tortured and maimed people! That was something that the good detective simply could not let continue.

It was time to take this mutant down.

Cautiously the detective moved through the darkness, eyes peeled and searching for any and all signs of his next possible level. Game Lord was beginning to get flustered, obviously, which meant that his constructs were beginning to fail. In that last game, it was terrifying and scary, but it clearly the man did not get it to function as he wanted it to. Instead he messed up and Jorge found himself an ally. He could only wonder what Game Lord’s next unfinished job was going to give him.

He hoped…a way out…

Still pushing himself forward, Jorge paused when he peered up ahead and spied something alit in the darkness. It did not seem like a doorway that he had been using so far; as a matter of fact it looked like something that was unfinished and just floating in the middle of the air. The small, green series of blocks just floated there and Jorge had to tilt his head curiously. It looked far too familiar. Like something from his own youth.

“Tetris?” was all he said as he peered closely at the piece. Slowly he reached out to touch it, but just as his fingers were about to graze the flat surface, he heard a panicked voice in his head. Game Lord was still ranting.

“No, not that. He’ll figure that! He’s almost to the exit! I have to keep working, I have to make something else! I need to figure something that can kill him!!!”

“So far you still haven’t.” Jorge thought, harshly.

“What?! ARGH! NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!! I’M NOT READY!!!!!”

There was a suddenly flash of light and an odd music quickly filled the air. Jorge opened his eyes, squinting at the sight, looking up just in time to see a massive version of that block he just touched come barreling down at him.

Jorge was at a loss for conscious thoughts. All he knew was that he needed to run and he needed to run fast! The block dropped with such a thunderous crash that Jorge was nearly deafened. But he kept running. Once the dust had settled though, he looked up around his dark landscape and realized that, indeed, he was standing inside of a large 3D game of Tetris. Blocks were already stacked before him and, even as that one block rained down from the sky, soon others began to descend as well.

“Oh crap,” the detective grumbled as suddenly he made another flying leap to get out of the way of yet another block. This was crashed down far closer to the him and the shockwave sent the officer sailing across the fielding.

Momentarily dazed, he lay there, stunned, trying to will his legs to move again. But he was so tired, so weary. He just wanted to rest for a moment but sound of rushing air (and that annoying music!) spurred him to growl and launch back up onto his feet. He rolled away not a moment too soon when another block crashed down.

“This is detective! I can play this forever!!! You aren’t walking out of this one! I WIN!! I WIN!!!!!”

But Jorge did not give up. A glance upward at the sky, he wanted to see where the next block was falling from but a glance up and he saw something strong. Someone was there, dancing about in a fit of joy like a fool and not even paying attention to the game going on. His eyes narrowed as he instantly recognized the figure from so many mug shots…it was Game Lord.

He was getting sloppy. He didn’t not hide himself as he usually did during these games so far so Jorge figured that finally the man had slipped up enough for him to take advantage of. Standing in a clear window, it looked almost as if this game world was simply a virtual reality and that one window was the only place that Simon had forgotten to cover up. Stupid decision too since it was probably the way out as well. Jorge growled and spit off to the side. He was ending this now!

“OOooh! No witty comment!? You tired detective? You feel that finally you are going to lose!?”

Jorge didn’t dignify with a response as he spied a mountain of those tetris blocks, all leading up to the window that Game Lord had his back to. It was his opportunity and he was not going to let the man in on it.

He stood up, still and strong and waited as another block suddenly descended from the sky, aimed directly for him. In the back of his head he could hear Game Lord laughing maniacally but Jorge did not nothing and said nothing against it. Instead…he ran.

Blocks fell about him but he did not look back to see. Instead he continued to run and run hard, leaping over holes and dodging around blocks until finally he had reached the mountain. Quickly he started to climb, leaping from block to block and trying to steer clear of being crushed by the massive blocks. The whole time, he could hear Game Lord laughing but so far he seemed none the wiser about what Jorge was doing. That was at least a good thing. So Jorge climbed and moved across and over the multicolored blocks, rising higher and higher where it became harder to dodge. But he was relentless in his pursuit.

“You’re getting old, detective! You should just lie down and let me finish you off!! HEHEHEHEEH!!!! I WIN!! GAME OVER!!!”

“TURN AROUND!!”

Game Lord jumped at the sudden, very real voice that rang throughout his ears. He spun around, eyes wide with shock as he spied…a window. A window into his game that Jorge was standing on the other side of, a look of irritation, tiredness, and anger on his face.

“What?! NO! I…I covered it up! I…I…that shouldn’t be there…!”

Jorge raised his plasma cutter and pointed it directly at the window, the laser sights shining through and aiming directly at Simon’s chest.

“Game over!” he shouted as he squeezed the trigger. Glass shattered and suddenly it felt as it the entire world cracked and crumbled around the both of them.