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  Once inside you could only hear the members of your team, except for a quick five seconds when someone died allowing you to hear their pain.

  MarieAntwerp was the first to speak, “So Killazilla, how many invites did he send you before you gave in and joined?”

  Robert laughed before responding, “I lost count! I was ignoring them until he joined a lobby I was in and I saw how good he was.” RobemBlind agreed with Robert: “Same here. That is pretty much why I accepted his invite too. I want to see all his tricks. He had seventy-three kills in a single game!”

  Robert wondered if that number was right; that was more kills than most good teams get combined, not just a single player.

  “Seventy-three? Are you serious?”

  “Yep, seventy-three. I haven’t seen him with less than forty kills in any game yet--I swear!”

  MarieAntwerp concurred, “He killed me at least twenty times in the same game once. I thought he was cheating at first, but then I figured out he knew the maps better than I know my own room.”

  Robert wondered if he could learn something from this guy. He considered himself a good player, but this guy was on a different level. If he could pick up any tips, it would be great. Right now, though, his focus was avoiding his line of sight and becoming another victim as he racked up the kills.

  MarieAntwerp started a casual conversation. “So KillaZilla, what side of San Diego are you in?”

  “Just outside in La Jolla. How did you know?”

  “We are all from the same area. Christopher looks at someone’s profile before inviting anyone. This lobby is all local people.”

  Robert checked the list of players in the game. That was the first time Robert has heard what sounds like a real name online in months, but there was no one using that name in the game. So, he asked, “Christopher?”

  “Oh sorry,” MarieAntwerp replied. “UDiedPlaying is Christopher. He organized our group together. I am Mary.”

  “Hi, Mary, I am Robert.”

  RobemBlind interjected, “My name is Doug, and if you guys are done blabbing, can you see if you can locate where that bastard is. He has shot me four times in a row and I never saw him!”

  BOB reported, “I have no idea where he is, I am not moving until someone finds him. And yes, I am Bob. I know, original name.”

  OICU ran to the other side of the road from Bob and provided intel to the team. “Hey Bob, he is close to us. I am over here across from you and I can hear his shots. I am Kevin, nice to meet you Robert.”

  “He is over here by the subway entrance. He shot me, but I saw him first.” SkirtsnDirt reported. “Since we are doing introductions, I am Michelle, his latest victim.”

  Robert was close to the subway. He moved back against the wall and swiveled his control stick back and forth to look to either side to see if he can see where he is. It looked like he may have found a sniper perch and was camping there; that was a new tactic for him. Robert had played with Christopher a few times before and he never saw him camp in one spot before. Looking at both high and low spots, Robert thought he saw him sitting on top of a building overhang. The spot was partially protected by a large truck. He took aim and tried to find an open shot when he heard the crack of a gun going off through his headset; the game notified him of a detail he already knew. He was dead.

  “I found him. He is up on the theatre sign across from the subway entrance. I don’t think we can get a clean shot at him.”

  Michelle said she would try, but that was a short-lived attack as seconds later Robert heard a gunshot and he saw the report that UDiedPlaying killed SkirtsnDirt, again.

  Robert taunted her, “I see that worked Michelle.”

  The ten-minute game clock expired, and the torture was complete. Robert’s team lost, the outcome was never in question. Final tally: Christopher racked up fifty-four kills and Robert’s entire team had nine. Everyone returned to the lobby after a few moments of admiring the horrible statistics from that poor effort.

  Something Robert heard during the game has him curious: everyone was from the same area. He asked, “So, everyone here is from the San Diego area?”

  Christopher said, “Yep, that is at least the location they have on their profiles. I thought it would be fun to play with locals.”

  “That is cool. I am in La Jolla, just outside. Anyone else from La Jolla?”

  StrangerEyez had been rather quiet the whole time, but finally broke their silence. “I am. Or I might as well be. I am in Pacific Beach, by the Kate Session Park.”

  They were near Robert; just south of him.

  “You guys are south from me. I live in a warehouse by the I-5 local bypass on the northern side of things.”

  Shocked, Robert asked, “Christopher, you live in a warehouse?”

  “Yeah.” He chuckled before continuing. “It is not what it sounds like. I guess I need to stop saying I live in a warehouse; everyone reacts oddly when hearing that. My father owned this warehouse as part of his business, but he no longer needed it so, he gave it to me. I renovated the whole thing. It looks like a typical rusty metal warehouse on the outside, but on the inside, complete luxury. I have a twelve-foot video wall for TV and games; a high-end bathroom; a bedroom you would find in a mansion, and more space in the back. Tons and tons of space. I used to have my own paintball and laser tag thing setup in here for some friends to come over and use, but I recently tore that all down to start a new project.”

  “Wait, you have your own laser tag setup? Inside where you live?” Doug sounded jealous with that inquiry.

  “I did, but like I said, I’m starting something else in that area now. I have about ten thousand square feet of area to work in.”

  “Wow, Christopher, if I had something like that setup, I would never leave home!” Robert agreed with Doug on that point. If he had that setup, why would he ever want to go anywhere else. Hell, you can build your own amusement park inside that space. He would setup an indoor race track. Maybe save space for something Amy wanted, or maybe not. With that much space free you could build anything you want and do like what Christopher does and tear it down when you grow tired of it and build something else.

  Robert had enough of the talking and only had an hour left before Amy would be home. He wanted a couple more shots at Christopher before he had to call it quits for the day. “Let’s go again. This time Chris, I will get you at least once.”

  “NEVER!” He screamed as the screen went dark to start the round.

  4

  Over the next several weeks, Robert joined the local lobby to practice his craft during any free moments. Through the hours of playing he learned many things. He became a master of almost every map, learning every advantage he could gather from observing Christopher, but it did not stop there. He learned more about his new friends.

  Michelle was a thirty-two-year-old single mother of two, who played the game while her kids were at school or their father’s. She worked part time with her best friend from college as a wedding planner and was an avid obstacle course racer and cross-fitter. If she was not online playing during the day, then she was out running on the beach conditioning herself for the next race.

  Doug was a retired Military Veteran of sixteen years from Kentucky. He passed the time by volunteering with the local Veterans Administration facility and taking his jeep off-roading. He moved to San Diego just over four years ago to be closer to his son who was stationed at the local Naval base. That was the excuse he told everyone, but when you heard him talk it was obvious, he really moved to be closer to his five-year-old grandson; his off-roading co-pilot.

  The second youngest in the group was Mary, a nineteen-year-old psychology student. Her love of video games came from growing up as the only girl in a family of five brothers who played. If she wanted to do anything with her brothers, it had to be that.

  Bob’s story was similar, his interest in the game developed after playing against his two pre-teen sons who lived with their mom in Philadelphia. When not bat
tling them online, he was a commercial electrician.

  Jill’s background of a schoolteacher was surprising; she was the ‘foul’ mouth of the group. Michelle once joked, “Of course she uses that language, she is trapped in a room all day long with thirty brats!”

  Jill said the language came from her sorority days. Everyone was “bitch this” and “whore that”. She joined as the peppy former high-school cheerleader and was the instant target for the other girls. During pledge week they gave her the name Barbie doll because of her blonde hair and less than one-hundred-pound petite stature. Once she became a sister, she had to develop a backbone and dish it back, when she did, they immediately accepted her.

  Kevin was a twenty-seven-year-old out of work actor from Illinois. He spent five years in Los Angeles trying to get a part in anything from a commercial to a big spot in a movie. After more rejections than he could remember, he gave up and moved in with his roommate from college. It started out as only staying for a few weeks while he looked for work, but a year later, he was still looking.

  It shocked the entire lobby when Christopher told them about his life. Some were even skeptical since it is common for someone to lie about who they are online, but after all this time most felt they knew him and gave him the benefit of the doubt. He was a thirty-seven-year-old single white male, who lived in a converted warehouse that his dad used to use as part of his business. After his ninth broken bone by the age of five, they diagnosed him with brittle bone disease. His condition was so severe he could not walk. Instead, he used a wheelchair to get around. Because of his condition, his parents isolated and protected him from anything that resembled a regular childhood. He was home schooled and not allowed outside to play with the other children in the neighborhood, out of a fear that something would happen. This caused severe depression and behavior issues during his teenage years. His parents wanted to get him help but were afraid the doctors would tell them it was their fault for raising him so isolated. So, instead of getting him help they provided him an activity that would exercise his mind and provide him a social outlet while also keeping him safe: video games. The age of the online multi-player game was just beginning, and they believed this interaction would fill in for what he needed.

  Over the years Christopher had not only played every multi-player game released, he mastered them. Spending hours upon hours playing, with nothing else to do, he learned every cheat and nuance of them all. For a while they were a challenge for him, but over time he learned the pattern of the game developers and they became predictable; though he still played as he enjoyed the interaction.

  When he turned twenty-one, he begged his parents to allow him to start his own life. Uncomfortable with him moving out into a more traditional setting, his father offered a warehouse he was about to have torn down. A work crew renovated it up to modern code. Then the best sub-contractor in the area created a living space that was beyond comfortable and border lined with excessive. The entire setup was created to meet his every need while also being completely tailored to his condition. Built into the structure was a huge room with the best surround sound setup money could buy: a twelve-foot video wall, and a dedicated T-3 internet connection; dedicated for his games.

  A few people doubted all this, as it sounded too good to be true, but Christopher sent pictures the other day through social media of the entire setup including the laser tag room he had built in an open area. He said a few years ago he developed a real close group of friends that lived local. They talked about wanting to go play laser tag. Christopher knew he could never join them but thought he could set something up and bring them to him. He worked with the same contractor that built his living space and had a laser tag course built and then invited everyone over for his twenty-fifth birthday party. It was a great time. Christopher said it was as close to playing a video game in real life as he had ever experienced. After that, he had a crew tear it down to clear room for other types of games in the space. This time doing much of the design work himself.

  Several members of the group asked him if he ever left this home. He said he always wanted to but was too scared to take that risk. Even hitting a bump in his wheelchair too hard or at the wrong angle could cause his hips or back to fracture. His father put in a soft, cork-based flooring to create a stable floor. The elevator he used to go back and forth between floors was specially designed to avoid any sudden movements. It took him a minute to go one floor. There were spring-cushioned bumpers on every edge to provide a buffer in case he rolled his chair into one. They also cushioned the walls with pillow-type coverings to protect against any accidental impacts. A cleaning crew came by three times a week to clean every inch and repair any exposed dangers. A nurse called or stopped by once a day to check on his wellbeing. Christopher said the nurse got on his nerves at times thought. She wants to talk when she stops by and that interrupted his games, but this was a concession he had to give his parents to be allowed to live alone. It always worried them that something would happen, and he might lay there for hours with no one around to help. Luckily for him, his last broken bone was two years ago. He reached for an item on the second shelf in the refrigerator; he must have bumped it with his chair when reaching and an orange from the shelf above rolled off. It struck his forearm, breaking both the radius and ulna bones while leaving a severe bruise on his arm and legs where the orange came to rest. He was able to call for help within minutes that time.

  They had become a tight-knit group, now spending several minutes catching up and chatting before starting the first game. Even during game play, most of the chat was more casual about life with a few interruptions of the more tactical nature. Robert considered each of them a close friend, just as he would someone he met at work or school.

  Now this close group was officially a clan, a recognized group that played together against others in the game. They were not just any clan. They were a formidable clan that most avoided, while others sought them out to test their abilities against. The lore of their conquests littered the social media boards. The game was becoming too easy for them. They invented ways to make it more challenging. Using types of weapons that are only single shots, knives only, grenades only; anything to add complexity to the game. Their combined skills matched against the over-aggressive and lack of skill of the average player that runs around looking for targets, which takes a good amount of challenge out of it. Occasionally they ran into someone of similar talent, and those games they cherished; but those were far and few between.

  5

  The SanSquad (that is what they called themselves) had been together for several weeks now. Whether or not they played the game daily, they were part of each other’s daily lives. They celebrated birthdays and offered a shoulder to lean on when real life stresses got to them. Doug was even helping Michelle with her oldest child’s math homework. Mary and Jill went shopping a few times and Doug took Kevin off-roading out in the desert; Kevin said he barely survived Doug’s wild driving just getting to the desert. As a group, they discussed getting together, but scheduling or other problems interfered. Now they were talking about it again and Mary would not take no for an answer.

  She had it all planned out and set a date two weeks in the future, more than enough time to allow everyone to make arrangements. They would meet in Mission Park, the midpoint between where everyone lived, which made it the most convenient. She tried to come up with every solution so Christopher could join them, but failed. He brushed it off with his dry humor, “Why would I want to meet players who suck as bad as you?” or “If I met you, I would feel bad when I shoot you during a game.”

  The day arrived. Robert showed up first, but Doug arrived a few minutes later in a raised-up four-by-four that screamed Doug. Ten minutes later Michelle and Mary walked up, they decided to carpool since they were coming from the same area. Then Bob and Kevin staggered in over the next 20 minutes. The only no-show was Jill. She messaged everyone earlier saying she didn’t think she could make it, her grandmother had
become ill and she needed to check on her. Michelle and Mary stopped by to pick her up, but they said she was not there. They understood. Jill’s parents died when she was nine in a tragic accident and her grandmother had raised her since. When Jill graduated college, her grandmother started showing early signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. For the first few months everything was fine, but it progressed faster than any other patient her doctor had seen. It was a heart-breaking decision for her when the care became more than Jill could handle while working too, and it forced her to put her in a nursing facility. The costs and guilt of the decision created a tremendous amount of stress for Jill. We all told her over and over she made the best decision for her grandmother, but she still felt guilty. So, hearing that her grandmother was sick, and Jill was there instead of here was not a surprise. It was what Jill needed to do.

  Once together, there was no need for introductions, they had talked for weeks and thanks to the shared pictures and video chats, all recognized each other. They walked from the park to a nearby coffee house to enjoy coffee, the ocean air, and casual and entertaining conversation. The game that brought them together barely came up. Instead, they talked as friends about anything and everything. They shared pictures of kids and spouses, talked of trips they planned to go on, Doug talked about all the spots in the world he has been deployed to, and work. What each of them did for work was a major topic, which was common when adults got together. Robert was surprised at how different each person’s personality was compared to what he thought based on their online interactions. Doug was uptight and intense in the game but a relaxed jokester full of one-liners in real life. Mary was a complete flirt who checked out every guy in the group and every guy in the coffee shop. Michelle was more reserved compared to the online persona that often yells, “Take that, and come back if you want more,” after every kill. He was curious if the others made any similar realizations about him. He believed he was the same online as out in the real world; maybe they all felt the same; it was how people see you that was different.