This is the last time I can die.
The
lingering brine parches my tongue and when I lick my snout the sensation of
swallowing sand seeps down my throat. I collapse into the sand on all fours after
crossing that cursed sea and I suppress a howl, mourning the loss of the
remaining balance of my lives.
If
this path were simple, there would be more criminals to live to tell the tale.
I
whimper, a muffled sound lost into the night sky, absorbed by the slow whirl of
the churning windmill, the final marker.
I
creep along with my gaze on the castle and a growl percolates in the pit of my
throat, an aspect of my wolf-sense I haven’t mastered, warning me of the danger
lurking inside. Though I radiate power in this form, I preferred when the
Game-Master provided me with the form of eagle. Flying, though only for a few
levels, reminded me of my true calling. Piloting a Burner SA-13 scout ship near
uncharted black holes and dead star systems, collecting data samples for the
Documation Agency. A bittersweet memory.
The
growl deepens and surfaces as a bark. Stupid! But, I can’t help myself, I
shouldn’t have allowed myself to think about those spineless cowards, the
Agency who tried and convicted me of the digital theft I was accused of.
I
could have chosen an alternate route. I had the choice to confess to a modified
version of the truth, which would have frozen my existence for a thousand
years, fast-forwarding my mind into the future, and restarting my life again at
forty-five in an alien environment without friends or credentials.
But,
I would never see my daughter again. Unacceptable.
The
creaking door punctures my pointing ears, the castle awakened by my bark. The
thirteenth and final labyrinth.
I
stride toward the panel to the right. My final options. Remain as a dog and
recharge my strength, return to my human form with only modest strength
modifications, or choose any past form: eagle, bear, or bull.
I
choose my well-worn, human self. I want my final existence to be familiar.
I
press my snout against the panel. The transformation is instantaneous and
painless. I flex my digitally enhanced fingers and form fists; I rub my small human
nose.
As
I step through the threshold, an unfamiliar electric charge burns through my
veins. This place is familiar. Too familiar. It’s a reconstruction of my apartment-flat
from Stenllos Seven, the home where I raised my daughter.
I
don’t expect this. My pattern seeking mind assumed it would be another labyrinth
filled with puzzles.
They’re
using my daughter against me! Have they unlocked the truth? I punch the wall in
the entryway, my uncontrollable canine instinct still lingering. Would I die,
whimpering like a baby about how I failed my daughter in so many aspects of
life, my final goodbye to her?
Almost
drowning in the sea has derailed my determination to destroy this world, gain
my freedom, and be reunited with my daughter again. I shake the past off my
body and snap my eyebrows together.
I
lift my left foot with great care and step into the living quarters, approaching
a couch facing away. I move around the corner and approach my daughter. She’s
eleven years old and taking a nap.
My
gasp awakens her.
She
blinks and sits up, her golden hair flowing across her shoulders, an image
straight from a memory burned into my brain. A tiny angel, a reflection of her
deceased mother, the only link I have to my short-lived, but perfect past. I
spoiled her rotten, an obvious mistake, though I failed to stop myself…
“Daddy!”
Her teary-eyed face and cracking voice shatters my spell. “Where are we?”
Did
they make a digital copy of my flesh and blood daughter? Is there nothing they
won’t do to break me and uncover the truth? Yet, her being here with me, in the
end, warms my blood.
“Daddy’s
being tested, Easta. Don’t be frightened. You love adventures. Remember your
favorite story? What’s your favorite story?”
She’s
not easily distracted. She has the inspector mind. “Why are you being tested?”
She’s
so real; the words catch in my throat and I blink back my tears. “I was accused
of a crime I didn’t commit. Now, I must convince them I’m telling the truth and
not hiding anything. This fabricated world is a lie detector; they’re sifting
through my thoughts, challenging my beliefs, channeling to the core of my soul,
and exposing my motives. They’re using you to break me. Choose your words carefully.”
Her
eyes darken, a crimson glow silhouetting her irises. “You’re a criminal,
Daddy!” She folds her arms.
“Does
it matter so much, my daughter?”
“What
did you do? Tell me!”
“Why?
The world believes their version of truth. The only one who matters is you. Do
you judge me by one moment, Easta? Or do you judge me by the thousands of times
I’ve read to you, worked to feed you, brought you to school, taught you life
lessons, cried with you and for you, helped you stay strong when you missed
Mommy…”
Easta
leaps from the couch, transforming into the young woman I left to fend for
herself at twenty-two and hugs me tight, tears pouring down her cheeks. “I’m
sorry, Daddy! I’m so sorry! I’m sorry for lying to them! I was so angry with
you for leaving on that job for five years, I don’t know why I lied and told
them you stole…”
I
hold her head as I smile through my wet face. “And now you know why I couldn’t
tell them the entire truth. This was the only way. The final gamble. Freedom
for the both of us. Live or die. Now, watch your words, they are listening…”
She
wipes her wet hair out of her eyes. “But, if you die, I will never forgive
myself…”
I
reach for her hand. “That’s why you must help me win. For both of us.”
She
smiles. “I will, Daddy. We’ll beat them together.”
And I
choose to believe her.
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