Dream Park

and ended with the crea­ture cornering him in the first floor lounge. A spear materialized in his hand, and Alex threw it into the monster's head. It screamed thunderously and collapsed to the floor, melting into the form of Albert Rice, trussed and gagged and sitting dead by the drink dispenser.

'I'm sorry...' Griffin found himself saying automatically. A small crowd of people materialized, tsking the still form of the guard. A little gray-haired lady waved a disapproving finger at Alex. 'He may not have been well balanced at the end, but he was a fine, upright boy,' she said.

Someone in a snowy-white doctor's smock spoke with Bob­bick's voice. 'I knew the lad well, and he wouldn't take this sitting down...'

And just before the morning mists dissolved into the sounds and smells of breakfast, a third voice whispered, 'Believe me. He was for real until he got his back up against it. Believe me . .

'Hey there, sleepy-head!' Acacia grinned at him, squatting to look into his face. Griffin parted gummy eyelids and groaned aloud. 'What's the matter, tough guy?'

'That's simple, Cas. This sleeping bag doesn't go over too well with my water-bed body.'

'Well, how would some bacon and eggs go?'

'Fresh eggs?'

'Absolutely. Kibugonai showed up this morning toting a cache of fresh eggs, bread, and orange juice.'

'Me for cargo.' The last niggling speculations about his dream were swept away by the sudden hollow in his belly. 'What time is it? How long till Game time?'

'About an hour. Come on and eat. Kasan says that there'll be a place to bathe up ahead.' She sniffed under her arms, dubiously. 'Frankly, I need it.' She bounded up and made for the next bed­roll, where S.J. lay curled into a compact lump.

Griffin yawned. He split the velcro seal and rolled out of the bag. His legs felt a little sore, and he massaged life into them with the practiced edges of his thumbs. Breathing deeply and slowly, he stretched out to touch his toes and twisted to each side, feeling the circulation return to the muscles in his back. He finished the warm-up with a few slow push-ups, then got to his feet.

The mood of the group was highly charged again. A night's sleep had refueled their fantasy engines. Alex remembered the nuzzling going on yesterday evening, and wondered whether sleep had much to do with it.

Henderson was holding court against the bole of a tree, munch­ing a sweet roll while balancing a plate piled high with eggs and fresh bread. Kagoiano served Alex his breakfast, and the security man ambled over toward Chester to eavesdrop.

'What did you think of last night's opposition?' Bowan asked between bites of egg.

'The natives?'

'Typical orcs,' was Chester's answer. 'It's really a shame no­body has figured a more realistic way to conduct personal combat. Dream Park is too worried about injuries and lawsuits. So no rough stuff-'

'Orcs?' Griffin asked.

Henderson was brusk. 'Generic term. The old role-playing games were overrun with these little beasties out of Lord of the Rings. They were ridiculously easy to kill. Now it's a nickname for swordfodder in general. Okay?' Griffin nodded mutely. 'Now, Lady Janet is going to lead us as far as she can. She was blind­folded much of the time, but believes she was kept on the water somewhere. Is that right?'

'Certainly.' Lady Janet's head was pillowed contentedly on Leigh's shoulder, but her voice was brisk. She was into her part. 'I'll tell you everything I know. I have an excellent sense of direc­tion.'

'Fm sure you do. We have another clue.' Chester pulled a black-bladed dagger out of his belt. 'Considering that it was the focus of last night's ceremony, we can count on its being impor­tant. Does anyone recognise the material?'

'Obsidian,' S.J. piped up. 'Volcanic glass with a composition similar to rhyolite.'

'Right,' Chester said, smiling approval for once. 'And the significance?'

'No opinion. What good is a glass dagger?'

'It tells us that the people we're looking for probably live near a volcano. So what we're looking for is a body of water not too far from a volcanic region. Kasan can help us there. We should have our two replacements pretty quick, and then we'll be back up to full strength. I have an almost perfect group now, and when the fun really begins we should be working together well. Yes, Tegner?'

'Who will the replacements be, and when exactly will they join us?' Griffin asked.

Henderson's gaze was inquisitive. ‘Have you ever been a cop? Or maybe a reporter?' Alex shook his head negative, cursing silently. 'Well, they're the Braddons, Owen and Margie. I don't know exactly when they'll show up, but it will probably be within the first hour or so of play. Yes, McWhirter?'

'Do you know what our points are like? I mean, how are we doing?'

Chester didn't look totally happy with the question. 'We've lost three people and taken some wounds. We've made a lot of kills, recovered a load of cargo, and rescued Lady Janet. There are other factors involved, but for right now we're ahead. I don't want to discuss how much ahead we are-things can change too fast in a

Game like this one, so I don't want you to feel either cocky or dis­couraged. Any more questions?'

There were none. Henderson gestured expansively. 'Then go and prepare, children. The fun begins in... thirty-five minutes.'

Tall, slender palms outlined a patch of lower growth. The cres­cent-moon-shaped border trailed off from the campground like the tail on a Q. Inside was more tropical jungle, making the 'good luck sign' anything but obtrusive. Alex bad bad to get S.J. to point it out.

As Alex pushed through the palms, the vegetation within the border became ghostly, revealing a tiny rectangular structure. No Garners were waiting their turns, praise the Lord, and he'd be in­visible to anyone outside the border of trees.

It was very basic inside. Toilet, washstand, towel dispenser.

'Marty?'

'Yeah, Grill. I can barely hear you.'

'I'm in the restroom, and there's no window. I'd rather not be overheard, so I'm keeping my voice down. Let's make this fast.'

'Okay. What's new?'

'Some new Garners corning in. Husband and wife, named Braddon.'

'I'll check them out. Gruff, the Altern tes spend all their time watching the Game and looking for detaIL; and taking notes and discussing strategy. That waiting area is pretty crowded. I don't think anyone could count on a chance to get into Gaming A with­out being noticed.'

'Good. Have you talked to Lopez?'

'Yeah. He doesn't pressure worth a damn. I managed to get him to look at our map. He pointed out two paths around the mountain to the exit, G. A. 18. Lopez says both paths would take the thief past a piece of a big airplane.'

'Which piece? Wing, cabin, tail? How big?'

'Piece of a big airplane.' When I tried to get more he told me to get drowned.'

Hell. 'All right, so if we get to a big airplane I'll watch every­body's faces. Thanks. Anything else?'

'Nope.'

'The Griffin, signing out.'

Griffin was paired with S.J. as the group waited for the Game to begin. All bedrolls were stowed, all backpacks shouldered and

balanced. The sun shone faintly through the dome that covered Gaming Area A, but the morning was already warm, and the rich aroma of moist jungle greenery was heavy in the air.

At precisely eight o'clock a new sun peeked over the mountain range to the east, sending bands of soft red tone through the scat­tered clouds dancing above the crest. The old sun faded out. The air filled with the sounds of birds and rustling life. To Griffin's eye even the trees seemed to stand a little straighter.

'All right, people, let's move out!' Chester called, and in pairs the column headed toward the sun.

S.J. kept stride with Griffin by picking up his step until he was almost skipping. The pathway was broad