“Crap,” he said, recovering and falling in behind me again, too late to help out.

  I glanced at the map again, and then watched the two girls shoot over the top of me and fly slightly ahead. Spotting the other Red fighters, my heart pounded as I realized I had successfully gotten a good angle of attack against them.

  “Now!” I said, giving the high-schoolers their cue.

  PrattLord broke up as expected. Bloodstain dove downward, right into my line of fire.

  “I said up!” I shouted, unable to fire without hitting him. It was so damned tempting, but I refused to start the civil war.

  “Too bad,” he replied smugly.

  My shot ruined, I watched as the three Red fighters changed course to follow PrattLord while the girls turned and shot past us, headed for Daisy and Bowser.

  “Frigging idiot,” I muttered under my breath. “Luke, you need to try to intercept the lead fighters. Daisy, Bowser, they’re coming your way.”

  “Okay, Hondo,” Bowser said.

  “I’m using the Force,” Luke added, moving away from me.

  Bloodstain shot past close enough I could see him flip me the bird on the way by. I could hardly believe the guy’s antics. Why did he have to ruin people’s fun? I doubted he was even having any fun himself. Maybe he was like Matt, and didn’t really want to play? I didn’t think so. He was too good for that to be the case. After all, Matt had only just reached the asteroid field, proving how incompetent he really was at playing the game. Bloodstain didn’t have that problem at all.

  I didn’t have any more time to worry about him. PrattLord had three bogeys slowly creeping up on his six as they worked together to take him out. I hit the throttle, changing vectors so quickly I thought the simulator might break as it bucked me to the left. Yanked in my restraints, I managed to swerve past an incoming asteroid and accelerate through a lucky opening in the field. The strip of clear space allowed me to gain on the Red fighters, closing the gap between me and PrattLord.

  A glance at the map showed Bloodstain had decided to try to help his friend, falling in behind the Red fighters chasing us. He was too far back to do much of anything, and I might have told him so if I didn’t already know how he would respond. Meanwhile, Luke and his family were about to mix it up with the two more experienced players, a skirmish that would likely only end one way. Once they had cleared that part of our squadron, they would be back to finish us off. The only chance we had to even the odds was to take out PrattLord’s tail.

  “PrattLord, dive on my signal,” I said.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Bloodstain remarked.

  I ignored him, eyeballing the three Red fighters as they each veered around a larger asteroid to get into a clearing with PrattLord. A few more seconds, and he would be toast. “Now!” I snapped, cutting my throttle and curving toward him. I couldn’t be sure he would follow my command until his starfighter dropped away only an instant before red beams flashed through space where he had just been. Holding steady, I could sense my eyes narrowing as the first Red fighter headed directly toward my reticle.

  I squeezed the trigger and held, sending a green beam arcing out into space. The Red fighter couldn’t change course in time to avoid it, and it split him in half like a hot knife through butter, leaving the two pieces of the fighter to drift before they exploded.

  “Yes,” I hissed under my breath, not wasting too much time celebrating. I changed vectors again, moving into position to fall in behind the Red players while they continued after PrattLord.

  “Lucky shot,” Bloodstain said, ever the asshole.

  “Nice move, Hondo,” PrattLord said. “What’s next?”

  “Bank hard right and circle back toward me,” I replied. “Lead them in, and I’ll try to hit them head on.”

  “Sounds like a plan, man. How’d you get so good at this?”

  “I don’t know. I play a lot of video games at home.”

  “So do I. I’m still a little lost out here.”

  “Bank now, pull toward me.”

  PrattLord did as I said, nearly clipping an asteroid during his turn. “Yahooooooo!!!” he shouted, his voice audible beyond the VR setup as he scraped past the rock and turned directly toward me. I smiled in response, both to his shout and how well the setup was playing out. Better than even I expected.

  “Hondo, we need help,” Luke said, drawing my glance at the map. The girls had already taken out Bowser, and were tight on Daisy’s tail. He had managed to angle in toward them, but they managed to avoid him.

  “Be there soon,” I replied as the two Red fighters came around the asteroid. I squeezed the trigger, my green beam lancing the one closer to the obstacle. Like the first, it exploded.

  The second fighter returned fire, red beam shooting out surprisingly close as I peeled away. At first, I thought he had just missed me. Then I noticed PrattLord vanish from the map.

  “Shit, I’m out,” he cursed.

  “Damn it,” I replied. “Sorry, man.”

  “Just get that bastard for me.”

  “Don’t bother,” Bloodstain said, sweeping in from above and blasting the remaining Red fighter. “I’ve got him. If you hadn’t listened to Hodor you’d still be in the game.”

  “With three fighters on his tail, assuming they hadn’t shot him yet,” I snapped back.

  “I would have caught up before then. His digital blood is on your hands.”

  “Hondo,” Luke repeated.

  Looking at the map, I saw he was alone against the two Red fighters, and they were coming in fast. “We need to help Luke,” I said.

  “Screw that,” Bloodstain replied. “I’ve got a juicier target. Easy pickings. Let me tie up the game, then I’ll take them out.”

  “Leave that one alone,” I said. “Luke is in trouble.”

  “I don’t answer to you, Hodor.” He swung his fighter toward Matt and hit the thrusters, shooting away.

  My jaw clenched, stomach tensing in response to the choice presented. I could let Bloodstain go destroy Matt and try to help Luke against the other two Red players, or I could leave Luke to fend for himself so I could help my friend, who just happened to be on the other team.

  A look at the map showed Matt trying to navigate the asteroids, bouncing back and forth as they collided with his ship. He was clearly no threat to anyone, and the team would be better served by focusing on the two girls. But Bloodstain didn’t care. He wanted the easy kill.

  Game be damned, I couldn’t let him do it.

  Chapter Eight

  “Luke, I’m sorry,” I said as I flipped my starfighter over and maxed out the throttle. In a real starfighter, the force of the maneuver probably would have left me unconscious. But the simulator had explained away the mechanical limits of the platform as inertial dampeners that in reality translated to a little extra pressure from the tightening restraints. My fighter slowed to a stop before gradually gaining speed, already at a huge disadvantage because I had to completely change course. Bloodstain was already out of visual range, halfway to Matt while I was still regaining velocity.

  “It’s okay,” Luke replied. “The game is still fun.”

  Somehow, he was managing to stay out of the enemy line of fire, smartly using the asteroids as cover while he hopped between them, leaving himself vulnerable for only a second or two at a time. The Red players had nearly come to a standstill as they tried to figure out a safe path to reach him.

  I would have preferred to agree with the kid that the game remained fun. But Bloodstain had managed to ruin that, turning the entertaining experience into a real battle. I wished I had comms to the Red team so I could warn Matt about the idiot headed his way. There was no chance for me to catch Bloodstain before he reached my friend. He was already at speed, leaving me trailing by dozens of kilometers despite my adeptness at avoiding the asteroids. He would get at least one shot at Matt before I arrived, and judging by Matt’s skill behind the stick, one was all he would need.

  Desperate for a solution, I tapped on the thumb trigger, wondering if it had a purpose beyond skipping ahead in the introduction since the main trigger was for the lasers. My heart jumped when a second targeting reticle appeared on the HUD, an image of a missile painted in the lower right hand corner. The ship’s skin didn’t present any outward indication of missiles, but there they were.

  My excitement didn’t last. I was still too far away to use them. I would still get there too late. I couldn’t make my ship go any faster, and I couldn’t slow Bloodstain down.

  Or could I?

  Scanning the asteroid field ahead, I spotted the blue glow of Bloodstain’s thrusters, rocketing on a relatively direct path toward Matt’s position on the map. Eying the field from his position revealed a handful of asteroids covering the space between him and me, one or two blocking my view of him as I had to maneuver around another. Clearing the rock, my eyes flicked to each of the obstacles, noting their movement as I found an asteroid further ahead of my quarry. If I could hit that one with one of the missiles, maybe I could push it off course and into Bloodstain?

  I liked the idea, but not the odds. Sneaking a projectile through the swirling asteroids would be a once-in-a-lifetime shot, like hitting a three-pointer from the other end of the court. But I had seen people do it on YouTube. I had seen people do stuff that seemed a lot more impossible than that.

  And really, I had nothing to lose.

  I swooped around another asteroid, sparing one more look at the map. The other two Red fighters had Luke nearly outflanked, and would drop in on him at any second. Matt was still meandering in my general direction, gaining speed as he became more comfortable with the controls. Had the other Red players given him shit for his inaction in the fight? I smiled. Not if they had seen how he was flying.

  Bloodstain remained in a line as straight as he could follow, slipping around obstacles but maintaining his vector. I didn’t know if he knew I was behind him. It seemed to me he would have something stupid to say if he noticed me on the map. The element of surprise would improve my chance to catch him completely unaware.

  Coming around one final asteroid, I traced the other rocks between me and the asteroid ahead of Bloodstain that I had singled out. I couldn’t target lock it or anything like that, and when I tapped the thumb trigger the first time a warning popped up on my HUD that I had nothing targeted. A second tap confirmed that I really did want to fire, sending the missile zipping away.

  I locked my gaze on its green thruster as it darted ahead, already moving much faster than me or Bloodstain. Happy to see it would at least make it to the target ahead of the moron, I leaned forward in my seat, tilting my head as if that would help steer it past the asteroids.

  One of the rocks tumbled in front of it, and for a moment I thought they would hit. But it passed aside just ahead of the missile, close enough I could imagine the fuselage scraping the edge of the asteroid’s surface. It cleared most of the other asteroids more cleanly, gaining on the other Green ship.

  “Go, go, go,” I said softly, lips curling in a primal grin.

  Another asteroid moved in front of the missile, catching it before it reached the target.

  “No!” I shouted, slamming my throttle hand down on the seat’s armrest. I had missed.

  My state of mind swung around again as the impact and detonation blew the asteroid apart, sending huge chunks sideways, one of them hitting Bloodstain. The blow knocked the fighter off-course. It rolled, bouncing off a second, smaller rock and spinning until it came to a stop perpendicular to its original path.

  “What the hell?” Bloodstain said, his confusion bringing me great joy. He was silent as he regained control of his ship, finally noticing me coming up on him. “You?” he growled. “Whose side are you on?”

  “I told you to leave him alone,” I replied.

  Bloodstain laughed. “What are you two, a couple of queers? Can’t stand to have me shoot down your girlfriend?”

  Anger raced through me, and I pushed the throttle open again, turning toward him. “Actions speak louder than words, asshole.”

  “Yeah, they do,” he replied, swinging his fighter until we were directly in line with one another.

  Adrenaline rushed through me, ready to put Bloodstain in his place as we prepared to charge one another like a couple of medieval jousters.

  We didn’t get the chance. A red beam sliced through space from off Bloodstain’s left flank, cutting his ship in half and taking him out of the fight.

  “What the…?” he said again.

  Matt’s fighter came out from behind an asteroid as I started laughing.

  “You’re dead, Bloodstain,” I replied.

  “You’re dead, you bastard,” he hissed back.

  “You’re a ghost. You can’t do anything to me now.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  Matt turned to face me as I raced toward him. I quickly tipped my wing a few times, hoping he understood what it meant. He replicated the move, acknowledging he knew it was me and holding his fire.

  I checked the map again. The two girls had finished Luke off, and were coming my direction. Two against one? I cut the throttle, planning to sit and wait for them.

  Matt moved in beside me and came to a full stop.

  Two against two.

  I tipped my wing. He tipped his. We waited. At the other Red player’s speed, we wouldn’t wait long.

  The Red ships slowed as they approached, confused by the fact that I wasn’t moving, and neither was the other remaining Red fighter. I could imagine them communicating with Matt, trying to figure out what was going on. A few seconds later, they regained some of their velocity.

  I opened the throttle, pushing toward them. Matt did the same, a half-second behind. We raced headlong toward each other, my eyes on the asteroid between us, missile locked and loaded. It had worked once, why not do it again?

  I watched the Red ships on the map, ready to fire into the asteroid and send fragments around it that would hopefully collide with the targets, knocking them out of position and making them easy kills. They drew closer to the rock, my finger tensing on the thumb trigger.

  Then someone grabbed me.

  Chapter Nine

  One second, I was about to take the shot I hoped would end the match. The next, hands dragged my body out of my seat, the wires connecting my helmet to the simulator pulling on my head until they suddenly released and my tailbone slammed into the floor. Unable to see what was happening past the helmet’s opaque visor, I heard other people reacting to the commotion and the familiar voice of the guy who stood over me.

  “I told you you’re dead, asshole,” Jeff growled, his foot slamming down on my chest and knocking the air out of me.

  I coughed as I lifted the visor in time to see his foot coming in again, kicking me hard in the ribs. From further away, I heard running footsteps coming toward me. It turned out to be the ride’s operator rushing toward us, radio in hand calling for help.

  “What the hell?” I wheezed, bringing my arms up to try to defend myself. There wasn’t much more I could do. “It’s just a game.”

  “Screw you and your game,” Jeff exploded. “Nobody makes a fool out of me.”

  “You’re doing a great job of that all by yourself,” Matt said, coming up behind him. He grabbed Jeff’s shoulder, spinning the guy around.

  Jeff threw an awkward right hook that Matt easily dodged, returning the favor by planting his fist in Bloodstain’s jaw. I winced at the sound of the impact, and watched in surprise as the guy collapsed like an imploding skyscraper. He hit the floor behind me and laid there, groaning.

  “Asshole,” Matt hissed, turning to look down at me. “Are you okay?”

  “My neck hurts. Ribs too.” I pointed when I noticed the other guy, PrattLord, rushing up behind Matt. “Behind you!”

  Matt whirled on PrattLord, who skidded to a stop and put up his hands.

  “Wait! I don’t want to fight.”

  “What the hell is going on here?” the operator said, finally reaching us. “This is a family entertainment venue. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

  “We didn’t do anything,” Matt said, pointing at Jeff. “He decided if he couldn’t outgun me in the game, he would do some damage outside of it.”

  Jeff stayed down, stunned by Matt’s punch. The operator looked at me. “Are you okay, son?”

  “I’m fine,” I replied, raising my hand. “Matt?” He took it and pulled me to my feet.

  Two more male operators reached the scene, moving in beside our guy. “Everyone just stay put,” one of them said. “We’re calling the police.”

  “No,” I replied, shaking my head. “You don’t need to do that. I’m fine. It’s over.”

  “He attacked you,” Matt said. “That’s not right.”

  “I said it’s over,” I replied, looking at the arcade employees. “Can we just go?”

  They glanced at one another, uncertain what to say. The older one finally looked at me. “You’re sure you don’t want to press charges?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. He didn’t knife me or shoot me or anything. Just a little fistfight. No big deal. And he got worse than he gave.”

  Our operator laughed. “He sure did. In game and out.”

  Jeff turned his head at the comment, embarrassed by the outcome. He still didn’t get up.

  “I think it’s best if all four of you leave,” one of the other employees said. “We don’t need this kind of trouble here. We’re a new business, and we can’t afford to have people think this place is dangerous.”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry,” I replied. “I think this place is great. I don’t want to hurt your business.”

  “Me neither,” Matt said.

  “I’m sorry too,” PrattLord added. “For me and on Jeff’s behalf.” He looked at me. “He’s been having a rough time lately. He just lost his mom a few weeks ago. It’s really hitting him hard.”

  The statement hit me hard too. Holding the throbbing in my ribs, I turned to Jeff and extended my other hand. “Man, I’m sorry about your mother. I know how rough that is. I lost my Dad when I was little. No hard feelings?”