Countdown

'I don't want any reward that starts with me getting naked in front of people holding guns.'

He cocked the gun. 'Strip now, bitch.'

The door opened again and Jonathan walked in. Despite the fact that I now considered him a total lying bastard, I was surprisingly happy to see him.

'Is everything well in here?' he asked blandly, barely even glancing at me.

'Is everything well?' I repeated. 'Are you fucking with me?'

He regarded me then with a neutral expression. 'I'm sorry this has been difficult for you, Kira. Congratulations on finishing the reward level. I'm sure you'll be very pleased to enjoy some privacy after four difficult levels.'

I narrowed my eyes. 'You lied to me. Didn't you? About Rogan?'

He didn't confirm or deny it. He nodded at another man in white who threw something at me, and I couldn't do anything except catch it. It was a robe, a bathrobe. White.

Big surprise on the color choice.

Jonathan nodded at the men. 'We'll give you some privacy. Leave your clothes in here.'

'Where have you taken Rogan?' I asked.

Instead of answering me, he turned and followed the men out of the room. The door closed solidly behind him.

I stood there, shaking, looking at the terry-cloth robe draping off my arm. Then I dropped it and ran to the door, pounding my fists against it.

'Where's Rogan?' I yelled. 'What have you done with him?'

I turned around and looked at the small white room, my chest heaving in and out. And I waited.

For a long time.

But nothing happened.

There was no sound. No movement. Nobody came in to force me to take my clothes off. I was alone with nothing to distract me except my racing thoughts.

I felt the back of my hair, now matted and stringy from being caught out in the rain. I touched the incision where the implant was. It wasn't giving off any warning signal.

He must be close.

Dammit. I wanted to talk to him. Why had I trusted Jonathan when I saw it was now obvious that he was the liar?

If only I'd done a true flex on Rogan, I wouldn't have doubted him at all-but I'd found it so difficult to concentrate around him. Especially in this crazy situation. No man had ever confused me as much as he did. As he does.

I felt sudden concern for him twist in my stomach.

Okay, I guess it was obvious that I believed him. I wouldn't be concerned for him if I thought it was all true.

I've never taken Kerometh a day in my life, he'd said.

Jonathan had lied to me so the level would be extra entertaining for the subscribers.

I hated being lied to.

And that look Rogan gave me out there on the platform when I accused him of killing my family … He hadn't looked guilty or shocked or dismayed by what I said.

He looked disappointed. Completely, devastatingly disappointed that I would think that of him after telling him I believed in his innocence.

I bit my bottom lip and drew my arms around myself and hugged while trying to breathe normally.

'Hello?' I said out loud. 'Announcer guy? What's going on now?'

There was no answer.

It was quite obvious, actually. They were waiting for me to change my clothes, and nothing would happen until I did.

Make them wait, I thought bitterly.

And so I waited-another ten minutes.

Then, as quickly as I could-using the robe to cover myself as I did so-I slipped out of my wet, dirty clothes and let them drop heavily to the shiny white floor. I kicked off my stolen red running shoes. I tied the sash of the white robe tight around my waist and stood there in bare feet.

'Now what?' I growled from between clenched teeth.

There was a whirring sound and the door to my right opened, moving from floor to ceiling. It was dark beyond. I approached it cautiously and looked inside.

It looked like a luxury hotel room. Large and grand, with rich fabrics and beautiful artwork. A large four- poster bed was to the right. To the left an archway led into a huge bathroom. A large window looked out to a red, orange, pink, and yellow sunset over a tranquil rippling lake. Trees waved gently in the breeze. I approached closer and touched the window. The image flickered. It wasn't a window at all, but a large display screen. I could see the slot on the right side where the disk containing the image files went. The moving picture it displayed looked just like I'd imagined Offworld would look-absolutely perfect.

Looks so real, I thought absently.

Next to the screen and spread across a table was a feast unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Fruit, breads, meat, lobster, shrimp, cheese. A large bottle of wine sat in a silver bucket surrounded by ice. I reached out, noticing that my hand was shaking, and plucked a green grape from the table and brought it to my mouth, crunching down through the skin. The sweetness burst in my mouth. I felt as if I hadn't eaten in days. And I hadn't. Not really. Not like this.

Level Four is a reward level, Jonathan had said.

This was my reward. Food and a bit of privacy. I hadn't even realized how hungry I was until I saw real food.

Where was Rogan? I wondered, and my stomach twisted again with concern. Was he in a room just like this one?

After another minute of worry, my hunger won out.

I started to shovel the food into my mouth. Cheese, crackers, more grapes. Ignoring the wineglasses I grabbed the bottle and tipped it back, chugging the wine down my throat.

After a few minutes at the feast filled me enough to concentrate on something else, I moved toward the bathroom and gasped. There was a large bathtub, more like a Jacuzzi, filled near to overflowing with bubbles. The scent that filled the warm air was sweet and floral, like roses dipped in honey.

I looked around, trying to see where the cameras were, but I couldn't see any.

Was Jonathan serious that part of my reward was some privacy? It seemed too good to be true. I wouldn't let myself believe it, and my suspicions only worked to make my now-full stomach more upset.

I paced for several more minutes, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for the cameras to burst out of the walls.

But there was nothing.

I listened carefully to the silence surrounding me and wondered for the eightieth time where Rogan was. My implant wasn't giving off any strange beeping signals. Wherever he was, he was less than ninety feet away.

I slowly became aware of an unpleasant smell and realized that it was me. I'd been running and sweating hard for two days now, and even after being drenched from the rainfall, I felt completely disgusting.

Finally I let the robe drop to the floor and I eased into the tub, letting out an audible sigh. It had been so long since I'd had a real bath. I'd gotten by on quick showers whenever and wherever I got the chance. This was pure ecstasy. Still paranoid, I waited for a silver camera to fly up and catch me naked in the bathtub, but there was only blissful silence.

I thought of Rogan then as I sank down deeper into the calming water. Was he receiving the same treatment?

There were two bottles, one of shampoo and one of conditioner, and I quickly made use of each one, slipping beneath the surface of the water to rinse my hair clean.

When I was finished I got out of the tub, toweling myself dry and putting the robe back on. I went back out to the main room and tried to organize my thoughts.