Cytronica

Forty-nine

Priya edged forward with the baseball bat. She moved through the building silently, yet swiftly, passing from room to room, searching for her friends.

The evening was neverending, and there was still no clear finish in sight. The numbers read as 3 and 10—an immense decrease in the last hour.

Which means, she thought, that those Legion students in the library had been eliminated. Which subsequently meant the bots stationed outside the entrance had somehow found a way in.

Priya took a quick breath. At this rate, the centre would be overrun by those things in no time at all. She had to keep moving. She had to stay safe.

And more importantly, she had to win.

-----

Beck rested her head against Jiaying's shoulder, their fingers interlaced. They both knew the end was approaching. As soon as they watched the horde of corpses file into the building, they knew it would only be a matter of time before the game would end.

All they could do now was remain vigilant and alert. As long as at least one of the exits in the faculty room remained free, they could make their escape.

But even then, how much longer would they realistically last? They were outnumbered several hundred to one. Probably more.

"It's okay," Jiaying said, having felt her girlfriend's trembling hand. "If you want to log out now, you can. I won't mind."

"What?" Beck frowned, glaring at her partner. "No way. I'm not leaving you behind."

"It's intense. And it'll only get worse from here. There's no shame in logging out if you need."

Beck leaned in closer. "I said no. I'm not leaving. It's you and I, together, all the way." She smiled. "In this realm, and the real one."

Jiaying couldn't help but smile too. "Once we're done with this, I say we take a break from Cytro. I mean, I don't know what's going to happen on Monday anyway, but let's give it a rest for a while."

"Way ahead of you. We've been spending a lot of time logged in, but that's because you've had your admin duties."

Jiaying laughed softly. "Those were fun days. Well, not really; some of them were so boring. Seriously, nothing ever happened in the realm. But ... I guess I'd prefer nothing happening to running for my life." She stared at the wall, reflecting on the last week. "It'll be good to spend more time with you in real life. I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too," Beck said, leaning against her shoulder again. She looked down at her comm. "It's 8:19. The numbers are 3 and 9."

"Three?" Jiaying repeated. "We're down to three? That means there's only one more of us out there. Which also means either Priya or Diego didn't make it." She sank into the couch, making herself more comfortable. "Will this day never end?"