The Immortality Game

The air car slowed and descended into the dim light of a landing garage halfway up the side of the pyramid. The steady light seemed to make Zoya’s mind clear. She’d never been anywhere close to The Pyramid before. Looking down she noticed that there was no way to access the casino from ground level. They wouldn’t want low-life Muckers dirtying up their paradise.

“Park in your regular spot,” she told the car, hoping the car actually had such a parking space. It began to settle into an open space not far from a neon-lit arched doorway leading into a casino. Two guards in dark suits stood on either side of the arch, while a small group of gaudily-clad patrons sauntered from their long, sleek air car into the noise and bright lights of the casino hall.

When the car settled, Zoya told it to open the doors. She looked over at Ira and tried to smile, but from the look on Ira’s face she wasn’t sure she succeeded.

“Don’t go,” Ira said. “You don’t need to do this. Please, let’s get out of here. Go someplace nice where you can rest.”

Zoya held the gun in front of her face, ejected the clip, and checked the number of remaining rounds. She slammed the clip back in place and patted her pocket to ensure the two spare clips were still there. “Take Marcus to his apartment,” she said. “Ditch this car somewhere and go to your family at the dacha.”

Ira seemed to be all cried out. She stared at Zoya with reddened eyes but said nothing more.

Zoya got out of the car, glanced at the two guards, then ducked back in to look at the sleeping Marcus. She looked longingly at his smooth, dark skin, his expressive lips, his tousled black hair, and wished that life had been allowed to go a different direction. The young man was completely out of place here, and she marveled at the sheer unlikelihood that he had wandered into her life. Why did it have to be the worst day?

She drew herself up and adjusted her solar coat while glancing casually at the guards again. Drawing in a calming breath, she thumbed the safety on the gun and began walking toward the casino’s entrance. Despite her attempts to remain calm, her heart began to pound and the guards took on a red glow. They glanced up at her approach but otherwise showed little interest. When she was within a meter of them, one of the guards grinned at her. Zoya raised the gun and blew the grin off his face. The universe had turned to slow-motion again, and the other guard had no time to react before she put a bullet through his ear.

Screams erupted from the casino and blurry forms began to run or drop to the floor. Zoya brought the hand with the gun down to shield it behind her thigh, ducked low, and skittered through the doorway to shelter near a bank of slot machines. The combat card drew her attention to a man running toward her holding a shotgun. She let the panic show on her face and shouted, “Through there!” while pointing at the arched doorway. The man didn’t hesitate but headed straight for the doorway. As he drew level with Zoya, she whipped the gun up and shot the man in his side. He stumbled against one arch, a shocked look on his face. Zoya erased the look with a carefully-placed second shot.

The screams in the casino became louder than ever. Zoya scanned the room, looking for any new dangers. The card identified several probable guards, but they were all taking cover where they could find it. Zoya realized she was smiling. Ira was right; I’m not myself anymore. I think I’m actually going to enjoy this.

The first shots woke Marcus from a deep sleep. The world was blurry. Somewhere nearby a woman wailed and repeated the word ‘no’ again and again along with a name he recognized—Zoya! He snapped fully awake and sat up from the leather seat. Everything came back to him in a rush. The air car. Irina. But where was Zoya? Irina looked back at him from the front seat with a tear-streaked face. Marcus was about to ask her where Zoya went when he heard two more shots. He scrambled out the open door of the air car, crouched down, and peered around the bumper of the car toward the source of the shots. He saw bodies and pools of blood. The bodies were too large to be Zoya. He breathed a sigh of relief and crept toward the doorway.

“What are you doing? Don’t follow her!” Irina said, leaning out the door of the air car.

Marcus waved at her to get back inside the car. “Go on! Get out of here while you still can.”

“Everyone is crazy!” she cried, before telling the car to shut the doors.