The Immortality Game

«You left me little choice. I keep trying to extricate you from this mess and you seem intent on getting yourself killed for this girl. Don’t you know I’d kill everyone on this planet for you if I had to?»

«You’re not helping your case. And…‌and this was the second time you’ve done this! You made it sound reasonable at the time, but you betrayed us to these guys earlier as well. I don’t…‌I don’t even know who you are!»

«All that matters is getting you home safe,» Javier replied. «Then we can talk and you’ll see this was for the best. If it’s girls you’re interested in now, well we can find one for you—»

Marcus slammed a fist into the car seat. «Are you this callous? Zoya is a human being. You act as if you care so much about life that you want a body back? Well Zoya is real. You aren’t seeming very human to me right now.»

«Idealism is an indulgence of the young. You’ll find out once you mature just how ridiculous it is. Family is what matters. You and I are family, and despite what your hormones may be telling you, she isn’t.»

«You’re a soulless bastard.» Marcus severed the link.

“This has been one fucked up day, hasn’t it, Bunny?” The injured man had found a small toilet behind a wooden door off the main room and was dabbing blood off his face with a wet paper towel.

Tyoma still couldn’t trust his mouth to work, so he whispered a small prayer in his mind and dropped the dead cat in the trash beneath the sink. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and shuddered. Frankenstein’s monster looked kind next to me. I can’t believe I got stuck in this body.

“I thought you were gonna keep it as a pet,” the man said, tossing the bloody wad of paper in after the cat. “Look, I’ve called for my car and it should be here soon. There’s no need for you to stick around. The bitch got me good and I don’t imagine she’s stupid enough to let me catch her again. Why don’t you go on home?”

Tyoma was glad the man wasn’t forcing him to speak. He shrugged his massive shoulders and turned to lumber off toward the exit door.

The man’s voice trailed after him. “Yeah, uh, I guess I’ll just see you tomorrow, eh?”

Tyoma shoved the door open. He was finally finding it easier to move in this shambling mountain of a body, though he imagined it would be a long time before anything became easy for him. Outside he found a dark parking lot with a silver sky cycle. The sun had recently set and downtown Moscow glittered with thousands of lights. Off to his left he recognized the gleaming claw-shape of The Pyramid’s hotel towers, and he suddenly knew where he was. He looked across the river at the city center again, trying to pick out his apartment building. If only I could get into it.

He checked the time and date on his slot and was surprised. His last memory was from Friday evening, and that was only two days ago. For some reason he had assumed it was much further in the future.

He sighed. Time to call Kostya. He accessed his contact list, found Kostya, and sent out a link request. It was answered immediately.

«Tyoma! You’re okay! We’ve been worried sick about you.»

«I don’t know what has happened to me.»

«Did he get you out of The Pyramid?»

Tyoma looked over at the brilliantly lit towers of The Pyramid again. «Did who get me out? What are you talking about? Do you know what’s happened to me?»

«Dr. Saenz. He’s been helping you, hasn’t he?»

Tyoma’s head was beginning to hurt again. «I don’t know anything about a Dr. Saenz. Look, I’m in trouble here. Can you come pick me up, please?»

«Sure, of course. Find a good place to hide out and send me your coordinates. I’ll be there as soon as I can. You sound odd, though. Dr. Saenz told us he was helping you.»

“What you doing standing out here, Bunny?”

Tyoma turned to see that the injured man had joined him. «Kostya? Here’s my coordinates. I’m in a parking lot outside some building. Please get here soon, all right?»

«Of course, buddy. Maybe thirty minutes, okay?»

«Yeah.» Tyoma cut the connection. A long air car whooshed in overhead and began settling down toward the parking lot.

“There’s my ride,” the man said. “That what you waiting for? It wasn’t what I had in mind, but what the hell. I’ll drop you off at The Pyramid, but I’m not in the mood to see Viktor right now. Tell him I’ll see him tomorrow.” He waved a hand at his face. “Tell him what happened to me…‌only don’t tell him a girl did it. Make something up that sounds decent, all right? What you waiting for? Get in.”

Tyoma shook his head slightly and stood his ground. He wasn’t sure what his relationship was with this man, though it sounded like they were colleagues. If they worked together in The Pyramid then they were probably bad news.

“Christ! I don’t got all night. You coming or you just gonna stand there?”