Alexander Plansky - Arcadia

He glanced behind him. The creature was gaining on him, crawling after him like some hideous spider. His eyes swept around the cockpit for any sign of a weapon, but there was none.

Shit.

The buggy approached a large crater, and as it flew over the outer edge and plunged down, Lewis actually felt for a moment as if he’d floated out of his seat. How the hell did they do that? The vehicle crashed back down and vibrations jolted through his suit. His heart pounded violently in his chest. What the hell was Zhao playing at? He’d said this wasn’t a violent game. Had the douchebag put him in a psychological horror simulator instead?

As the rover shot over the edge at the opposite side of the massive crater, Lewis realized he’d made a horrible mistake in not looking at the GPS. His vehicle flew down into the mouth of a giant cavern and shuddered violently on impact as the wheels touched down again. Lewis winced, then opened his eyes and saw that the rover’s headlights had come on, illuminating a dark tunnel that stretched off deep underground. The rover was currently speeding through it. He remembered reading about lunar lava tubes as a kid and how they’d created various cave systems across the Moon.

Lewis looked behind him again. The thing had followed him down into the tunnel, its blue light swinging chaotically through the dark as it scurried after him up the side and then onto the ceiling of the cave. Christ, this has to be a nightmare .

Up ahead, the cave forked off into two different directions. He swerved the rover to the left and held the steering wheel in a turn as he swerved out into a large cavern full of stalagmites and stalactites. The ceiling was open at the top of the cave, the sun casting a glow down into the center of the space. Evidently, the developers had gone for what looked coolest over accuracy since there was no way those spikes could have formed on the moon.

Lewis jerked the wheel to dodge a formation, while the creature jumped of off another rock behind him and scampered after the vehicle. He slalomed between two massive stalagmites, leaning into each turn, then threw his head over his shoulder. The spider-astronaut-thing leaped from one structure to the next, then back down to the ground, running about ten feet behind him.

He looked forward again–

As the front end of the buggy smashed into a large rock. Lewis tumbled sideways out of the car and fell to the ground. He didn’t know how they’d created the effect, but it actually felt like he’d been in a minor car crash.

Grabbing a stalagmite beside him, he hauled himself back up. The creature was nowhere in sight. He looked back at the buggy. Its front was wrapped around the base of a thick rocky pillar; definitely out of commission. There was nothing left to do but run. He dashed for the center of the cavern, the area where the sunlight touched the ground.

He heard it above him, leaping from stalactite to stalactite to get the drop on its prey. Thinking quickly, Lewis slid behind the nearest rock formation and pressed his back against the structure. The haptic suit vibrated up and down his spine. He stayed for what felt like ages, just breathing in and out.

He didn’t hear it climbing around anymore.

Cautiously, Lewis peered out and looked up and around. It was as if the thing had suddenly vanished. He spotted another tunnel about 200 feet to his left, which appeared to be his only option.

He walked across the cavern at a steady pace, guardedly glancing all around him to make sure the damn thing didn’t jump scare him. Now the redirected motion got on his nerves; he knew he was running around a room and not taking a direct path. Nothing around him was real.

Then why are you letting it get to you so much?

Lewis stopped in his tracks and turned around. Zhao had promised him the game wouldn’t be violent. Maybe this was all just a trick. Maybe the thing wasn’t actually programmed to hurt him.

The creature suddenly jumped down in front of him and stood up, all six additional limbs reaching out in his direction. Two had sprouted from the chest, the other four out of its back. Lewis stood his ground and remained absolutely still, not even daring to breathe.

The astronaut tilted its head to one side, as if curious. Lewis didn’t flinch. Then, slowly, using its two human arms, it grabbed its helmet and pulled it off. A blindingly bright blue light shot outward in all directions. Lewis raised a hand to shield his eyes and squinted, trying to get a glimpse of what lay within.

Then his blood ran cold.

Jake Miller’s head stood there atop the creature’s shoulders. His skin radiated cerulean bioluminescence although his eyes were entirely black orbs. His mouth hung open like a mouthbreather’s, a dark substance trailing out of the corner of his lips. Then those lips curled into a cruel smile.

“You should have listened to me,” he said, but it didn’t sound like the normal Miller. It sounded like two voices in one as if he were possessed by an electronic demon. “I warned you… not to come here…”

The Miller-astronaut then flung itself at him, mouth snarling, arms and spider-like legs poised for attack. Lewis swiftly reached under his chin, unclipped the strap, and pulled the VR headset off in one fell swoop. The clunky piece of technology thudded to the ground.

Lewis fell to the floor breathing heavily, his arms shaking, his heart pumping like a locomotive. Three faces appeared above him: Jenna, Zhao, and the security guard. Jenna looked concerned, Zhao looked confused, and the guard bent down and asked in a voice that sounded very distant: “Are you okay?”

But he didn’t answer. Instead, his eyes looked past them up at the ceiling, at the LED strip shining directly down on him, only registering the sound of his own breathing.

Jenna handed him a cup of water and rubbed his back, sitting on the edge of his chair. They were in the front lobby’s lounge area with Zhao and Katelyn. Lewis brought the drink up to his lips with both hands and sipped it very carefully as if it were a lifeline.

“…really don’t know what happened,” Zhao was telling Jenna. “ Lunar Latitudes is just a fun little exploration sim. I don’t know what he saw that spooked him so much.”

“It looked like he was fleeing from something,” she said. “Are you sure there’s nothing in the game, no sounds that follow you around or anything?”

“None at all,” Zhao replied. “I mean, you watched the same footage from his feed that we did. There was nothing there.”

“He’s had a rough week. One of his friends died on Monday and then he got… attacked by a mugger the following day. It’s why he didn’t want to play anything violent here, he’s normally fine with gory games.”

“I’m terribly sorry to hear that, I really am.”

“You son of a bitch.”

Everyone looked at Lewis, whose eyes stared straight ahead.

“You know what you did. Maybe nobody else saw that thing, but I did,” he continued.

“What thing?” Zhao asked. “The game was just an exploration simul–”

“The astronaut. The one with the glowing blue faceplate. From the video game you made, Rogue Horizon .” Lewis finally looked up at him, just to gauge his reaction.

Zhao froze there, staring straight at him. Then he said, very calmly, “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“How much did they pay you?” Lewis said, smirking. “To create something like that? Or did you do it for the thrill, after your little serial killer simulator got canned all those years ago?”

The CEO of Andromeda Virtual Systems clenched his fists into tight balls at his sides, but his face betrayed no change in emotion. “Mr. Lewis, I think you should take some time off and see about getting a psychiatric evaluation given the recent tragic occurrences you’ve experienced.”