Hell's Glitch (initial draft)

2:34 Enforcement

Alex looked down the aisle at Milner and Stephen. Milner was engaged in a fervent discussion with Maya, whose lead tester, IMMORtAL_Kalika, was blazing through the game and helping other testers with their challenges. She'd gotten the feeling that Milner didn't like Kalika's charitable attitude. He'd pretty much admitted it to Alex when he'd told her earlier that Sam's similar actions in the Assassin's Forest were harming the other player's chances of survival and now Kalika has helped even more people. Alex thought Milner's logic was flawed. For those unskilled players who fought bosses on their own, death was assured. At least Sam and Kalika had done something to offset those player deaths. And while Sam was forced to stop to focus on his own survival, Kalika used the repeated boss fights to hone her skills. Alex wished that Sam had continued down this path, but ever since killing Malen and encountering the Glitch Fiends he'd become obsessed with making tangible progress in his own game.

Nothing had been out of place since she made her call and that greatly unsettled her.

What could they be talking about, she wondered.

"Sir!" She turned towards the entrance to see who was yelling and was surprised to see Alphonse. He looked shaken. "Mr. Milner!"

Milner looked up from his conversation and focused his measured stare on Alphonse, looking none too pleased. He and Stephen walked towards the young blond. They all met a little ways away from Alex's desk.

"Sir, we have a problem," Alphonse whispered.

"That I can see. What is it?"

"There are local officers out front that are trying to get in the building. They seem really adamant about it."

Milner just stared at him for silent moment. Alex suddenly grew cold. The time had finally arrived.

"Go and greet them. Bring them into the lobby if you must and call if there's need of me."

"What if they want to see more of the building?"

"Just do what I asked of you, Alphonse."

"Yessir."

Alphonse hurried out of the room, leaving Milner and Stephen to stare at one another.

"The police?" Stephen asked.

"It's probably just some random neighborhood incidence."

"You sure? Doesn't this building appear to be deserted on the outside?"

"Yes."

"Then what could've brought them here?"

Milner shrugged.

"I don't know and right now I'm far more interested in Maya's data."

As Milner strolled back down towards Maya's desk, Stephen turned and focused those hard eyes of his on Alex, scowling. Her own eyes were on her screens so she couldn't see him, but she heard his footsteps approaching her desk. She looked up when she felt him hovering and they had a stare off. His face was impassive and she knew her own was set in a venomous glare.

"Once I find out that you've done this, I'm going to kill you in front of all of them. I hope you didn't think it would end any differently than that."

"Shouldn't you be at your boss' side instead of blaming me for absurd things? You never know when he might need your protection."

She let out the breath she was holding as soon as he left and watched Sam get crushed by Tiemos.

"Dammit!"

Sam was in the worst possible situation. If he wasn't careful, he could possibly lose his Death Mark and any chance of returning to human form. With his supply of solid quintessence already so low, each death by Tiemos brought him closer to losing his overall chance for survival. Once he lost the loose quintessence present in his Death Mark, it was over, he was dead.