Hard Wired Trilogy by DeAnna Pearce (smart books to read .TXT) 📕

infest the city, usually druggies or prostitutes. VR eliminated most of that. She’s probably a runaway and just needs to go home.”

Ari wondered if Tessa ever saw a rundown VR center full of desperate people looking to escape and willing to do anything to do so. Granted, druggies and prostitutes were less frequent since the upstart of VRs—the government helped with that—but Ari wasn’t sure VR centers were much better.

Once they arrived at the club, Tessa paid with a swipe of her electronic bracelet.

Guilt gnawed on the corners of Ari’s mind. She hated feeling like a freeloader. “Can I help?” she asked even though this weekend would wipe out the rest of her savings.

“I put it on my family account. Don’t worry. Good old Dad is paying for this weekend.” Tessa climbed out of the cab.

For a moment, the assaulting smells and noise of the busy street gave Ari déjà vu of her time in the VR. It took a minute for her to orient herself amongst the chaos. Large buildings crammed together on the street. Hotels, clubs, and restaurants all vied for attention, with each sign bigger and brighter than the last.

They approached a dark club tucked into the corner. Instead of flashing pictures and neon lights, the black four-story building only had patterned green lights running along its name: Hooked. On closer inspection, there were numbers—binary code actually—running through the words. Old school for sure, but cool.

With a wave of Tessa’s electronic bracelet, they entered. A sheet of binary code hung in the air, and the girls walked through a cascade of code and dense fog. There was no dance floor or tables for conversation. This was for gamers. Colors of code raced in lines along the ceiling, casting eerie lights on the throngs of people inside. On one wall, an enormous bar ran the entire length and a 3D screen floated behind it. It displayed statistics of the ongoing games and upcoming tournaments. Electronic music blared overhead, not giving her a chance to talk to Tessa, so Ari followed her to the bar.

Tessa approached a couple of guys and talked to them with a familiarity that told Ari she was probably a regular here.

Looking around, Ari controlled the fear in the pit of her stomach. This was how she’d always imagined it would be like getting trapped in a virtual, like getting caught in a huge computer, yet the rational side of her brain knew she was wrong. That very moment her father was probably enjoying a cruise in his mind for the hundredth time.

“She is our fourth,” Tessa told the guys by way of introduction.

Ari pulled her attention to the others and gave a weak smile.

“Is this girl any good? We don’t need eye candy.” The boy with dark blue hair and tats on both arms looked her over. His nose was sharpened to an unnatural point.

She leaned forward slightly. “I’m Ari.”

“You better be as good as Tessa says. I’m planning on winning this thing.”

“Hey, I already told you I’m good enough for two, so don’t worry about it,” Tessa turned to Ari. “The stress case here is Aron.”

“And I’m Logan.” The guy with curly brown hair gave a friendly smile. “Don’t worry about Aron. Tessa will tear it up in there. I’ve never seen someone take on so many wizards at a time. Epic.” He raised his hand to high five Tessa.

While the two guys continued to discuss strategy, Ari leaned to her friend. “What in the world did you sign me up for?”

“It’s the latest version of Shadow Lands. Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. This was my summer vacation last year.”

“I think I’m going to pass on this one. I don’t have extra money right now.” The excuse was true even if it wasn’t the main one.

“Don’t worry about the money. Trust me, you won’t regret it,” Tessa said.

Ari wasn’t sure how she felt about being Tessa’s charity case. At least by the sounds of the game, Ari wouldn’t confuse the VR with reality. But VR gaming was low on the list of things she wanted to do.

A shoulder brushed against hers. She turned to find Garrett, his hair a blue-black. On his side was some girl. Ari recognized her as a second year in the IT program.

“Don’t waste your time on this one,” Garrett told Tessa.

Tessa looked as if she found something disgusting on the bottom of her shoe.

Ari ignored the insult. “Hi, Garrett.”

“Oh, is that the problem we had?” He tapped his finger on his temple in a mock sense of enlightenment. “Maybe you swing the other way?”

Ari grabbed a drink on the bar and threw it at him, not at all confused about her feelings now. “You really are a jerk. You know that?”

Garrett’s girl sent some choice words in Ari’s direction before they stormed off.

“Am I supposed to take offense to you saying you wouldn’t want to be with me?” Tessa’s sarcasm lightened the mood.

“I’d pick you over Garrett any day,” Ari said.

“Let’s go to the Shadow Lands, and maybe you can really kick someone’s ass.”

Anger burned through Ari’s veins, and it pushed her to be more daring than normal. “Let’s do this.”

When they signed in for the game, Tessa had Ari use her stepmother’s ID. “Don’t worry my dad will pay for it. Plus, it will drive him crazy to see she’s doing virtuals here. You could make out with a few guys, then if he pays to have the history checked, he’ll really go nuts.”

“I’m not going to make out with a ‘few’ guys. Hit them, maybe.”

Tessa laughed. “I hope so. I set up your user profile as Oya the Undergoddess. Try not to die ‘cause it’ll take twenty minutes to get you back in.”

“I’ll try.” A thin dark-haired woman assisted Ari into the leather recliner and hooked her into the VR port. Ari closed her eyes and let herself fall into the other world.

Chapter Fifteen

When Ari first awoke inside the game, blue filled her vision. Make