Trapped Evil

By Désirée Nordlund

After his execution, Rinc wakes up inside a computer game.
He is a full-time villain in a multiplayer online game. His body is in a zero-gravity water tank in a haptic suit with a virtual reality helmet. His mind is in the post-apocalyptic world the game offers its players. The players fight to survive. Rinc fights with his life at stake.

Sumiko on the other hand is a player who bought the game to leave the boring reality.
For her, the game means freedom.

The game is Burnt, and their owners will do anything to keep the players playing.
And they sure don't want them to know that a real human being dies when a player kills a villain.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Désirée Nordlund
• Release date: Dec 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005013806

Désirée Nordlund

I wrote my first novel when I was thirteen. It was more of a short story. Thirty-six pages. But I sent it to a novel contest nevertheless without a clue about its zero chances. Since then, I have learned a lot. I have even won a contest and have several short films based on my script produced. I'm not that best-selling world-famous writer I thought I would be when I was a teenager, but it is the writing that gives me joy.

Book preview

TRAPPED EVIL

by Désirée Nordlund

Copyright and Licence

Published by Désirée Nordlund at Smashwords.

Copyright © 2023 by Désirée Nordlund

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Third Edition, 2023

ISBN: 9781005013806

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Chapter One

Two days from now, he would no longer exist. The state still practiced capital punishment. Some called it a relic from the Middle Ages. Some said it was necessary to keep a civilized society because, without proper penalties, everyone would do as they pleased. As far as Rinc knew, there were plenty of countries who did alright without executing their killers. Besides, he had done what he had done, knowing what would happen if he got caught. The problem was that he did not think he would get caught. All the other killers he knew had made it without the police having a clue.

As it were, Rinc had fallen into the arms of the law, and he had been found guilty of not only one murder but three. There had been little to say to his defense. He was just glad that they had not figured out the remaining two. Not that it mattered much. They could only kill him once.

Even if he hated to admit it, the world would go on pretty much the same without him. The gang had been his family since he was sixteen. They rarely mourned anyone.

Not even Shannon would miss him much, he figured. They had been drawn to each other for purely erotic reasons. He had found her company pleasant outside the bed too, though. Enough for him to wonder if he loved her. He did not have any references to know for sure.

It did not matter now.

Tomorrow would be his last day alive.

He looked up as he heard someone approaching. So close to death, you were moved to another cell, away from the others. If someone came, it was concerning him.

The Warden stopped outside the bars.

What brings me the honor, Warden? he asked. He smiled. If they were about to try forcing a priest upon him again, he would show them that he was docile and relaxed.

We have some practical issues to discuss, Rinc. May I come in?

Rinc nodded.

I’m afraid I can’t be a good host and open the door for you.

The guard opened the door and let the Warden inside and locked it behind him. He had brought his own stool and sat down right inside the door. The Warden was at least twenty years older than Rinc. He might even be past fifty. A life where the man had had this talk about practical issues quite a few times by now.

You must have heard that joke quite a few times over the years, Rinc said.

What joke?

About the door. Me being a good host.

The Warden did not get it.

Sorry. I must have missed it. Rinc stared at the Warden’s face, wanting to hit the man’s clean-shaven jaw. Practical issues, his visitor pressed on. What do you want as your last meal?

Don’t know. What did it matter, Rinc thought. The Warden waited for an answer. Mac’n’cheese. Bacon.

Want to see a sunrise? Sunset?

Rinc shrugged. It must be something he was supposed to want to see. Had he ever watched one? He was not sure. Why look at one now a find one more thing he would never do again?

Come back in ten years and ask me then.

Funeral?

I’ll be there without much saying on the issue. He saw on the Warden’s face that he was not amused. Guess I have a sister somewhere. If she wants to arrange something, let her.

Alright. Anything else we can do?

Can you get me a video game or a computer game? With some games from my childhood. Like Smuggler’s run? Zelda, maybe?

I’ll see what I can do.

You have to try it at least, her friend said. Sumiko sighed and watched Haruko sending the bowling ball down the lane. They have a free trial period.

I know. You’ve told me. Several times.

She rose and put her fingers down the holes of her own ball.

But why don’t you want to try it? Haruko asked.

Because no game can be worth that amount of money. She focused on the pegs.

That’s why they have a trial period, so you can see for yourself that it is.

That was Sumiko’s real reason for not wanting to try it. If she, by any chance, should like the game, she would probably consider buying it. It was an expense she could live without. Better not to know what she could not afford. It was difficult enough to have a friend that did not understand the concept of what ‘out of work’ meant. She had told her she had a shortage of money; still, her friend asked if they could go bowling. This time she had obliged her. It was that or not to meet at all. Sumiko did not want to hear what a bore she was.

She sent the ball down the lane, missing.

After a walk back home in the rain, she was back in her small apartment. At the short end, the whole wall was a window to give the room a sense of space, but the weather outside made the whole room gloomy.

Apartments in Japan were not built for more than eating and sleeping. Especially not for singles like her. She was supposed to be working, to have a job. Be successful. Or at least be someone.

She glanced at the computer. The game Haruko had been talking about was Burnt, the widely popular first-person MMO game. It was something comforting with socializing with strangers over the Internet. It was something you could do from your home, but it was also something you could leave at any time. She liked Haruko, but even if she was a woman who preferred to listen, Haruko’s constant chatter was tiresome. It was as if Sumiko’s lack of talk left a space that needed to be filled. As if silence between two friends were something wrong.

Sumiko sat down by the computer and turned it on. She found Burnt’s website and downloaded the game. After the usual install process, it was time to set up her account and her avatar. It was amazing how many settings there were. But on the other hand, she thought, if they had over five hundred million registered players, they wanted to minimize the risk of meeting a twin.

Though she had heard that plenty of women chose male avatars, Sumiko preferred to be a woman. She got the option to select the size of her bosom. She hoped that the male counterpart could change the size of their chest. To the game creator’s credit she could select a size from almost none to a reasonably large pair, but still within what was realistic. It was not from large to watermelons. Sumiko picked small but not invisible.

When it came to the features of the face, she was baffled. The computer’s camera was used to build a face looking like her own. It was almost a bit spooky to look at her avatar self. She gave the face a broken nose and made the shape of her head a bit more oval than her natural round, and another hair color than black.

Then she was told to read a phrase stated to sync for the voice commands. When she read, she saw her avatar move its mouth too. And when she turned her head, the avatar did the same. She opened her mouth without a sound, and the face on the screen followed suit. So that was how they conveyed the feeling of really communicate with other players. If the other players showed faces with emotions and moved their lips as they talked, it turned it all to a completely different level of social life on the Internet.

Chapter Two

Rinc played Tetris. Rotating falling blocks fitting them in gaps was not precisely what he had had in mind, but it would have to do. In the six hours that remained of his life, he wanted to set an unbeatable score.

He heard approaching footsteps but did not care. No one could be more important than his chance to leave a small but lasting imprint on game history.

In the corner of his eye, he saw someone watching him. He was doing way too well in the game to be polite. Besides, they were about to kill him. So he felt no need to be courteous.

The box and the screen stood outside the bars, out of his reach. All Rinc had was the game-pad.

The person waiting for his attention did not say a word. She just moved her finger towards the button and turned the game off.

Hey! What the fuck!? he yelled at her. He was about to bang the control into the bars but took command of the impulse.

Open the door, please, she called down to the guard. Her dialect revealed her Indian origin. He was on his feet.

You don’t want to get in here, lady. I’ll kill you. And I mean it.

He watched her up and down. An Indian woman, in a sari of all things.

That would be a mistake.

Do you know where you are? How can it possibly be a mistake to kill you too? They can't execute me twice.

The door opened, and they stood face to face without anything between them. Though she was a head shorter than him her hazel brown eyes studied him without fear.

Because you don’t want to die in great pains.

He blinked. Had she just threatened him? Lethal injection was supposed to be painless.

Think about it, she continued, you strapped to the table, unable to move, or scream, while you feel your body is burning up from the inside.

By her expression, Rinc figured she enjoyed that idea.

What do you want?

To sit down and interact with you.

He backed away from the door. The woman stepped inside and sat down on his bed. The cell door closed, and he felt trapped with this strange woman.

I am Shakti Arya. Have you ever heard of a game called Burnt? Rinc nodded. A game that prominent was hard not to know the name of. Ever played it? He shook his head.

The woman leaned back against the wall, watching him. It made Rinc uneasy. Every other visitor he had had during his time in