The Dystopia Game: Episode Three: Dystopia Game, #3

By Adam Wodyk

A real improvisation time has just begun. If he wants to find a way out, Max has to go deep into the gloomy void of the Wasteland. But this is not easy. All he has is a mysterious crystal—a tiny thing he has no idea how to activate. Claudia and Lara are still deep in a nightmarish trance. What is worse, something dreadful lurking deep in the Wasteland is inevitably approaching, awoken by the revengeful Emperialians and much more dangerous than bloodthirsty mutants.

Striving towards the most terrifying step of his journey, Max will understand that the real truth is hidden in his mind… just within his reach. But as one said, it is extremely cruel. Facing it will demand utmost courage and unwavering determination, and there is no promise this will mean the end of all struggles…

 

Previously published as Seven Players: Episode Three.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Adam Wodyk
• Release date: Sep 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9798223115885

Adam Wodyk

I’m a huge fan of the fantasy genre. I love worldbuilding and storytelling. I’ve spent years working on the first draft of Ainavel – my fantasy novel about the world of Erydan. I also love sci-fi, dystopian and post-apocalyptic survival stories. I can be found at https://adamwodyk.com

Book preview

1

I spread my arms out frantically, like a blind man, and touch the floor, looking for the crystal. It’s been two minutes since I lost it. How far could it roll?

From the corner of my eye, I see the human-shaped beasts standing around us, roaring deafeningly. Bloody mutants. It seems they won’t pause even for a moment. My temples throb—a terrible feeling; it’s as if someone is hitting my head with a hammer. I don’t take my eyes off these monsters even for a moment. Who knows what they are really up to? Their earsplitting howling might be the perfect cover for their murderous plans. They are sly and intelligent, as Claudia mentioned not so long ago, before she fainted.

Suddenly I cringe at a strange prickle, as if I’ve just scraped my hands against a wire sparkling with electricity. When the sensation subsides, I feel the cool smoothness of a tiny thing vibrating under my fingers.

The crystal! Finally, I got you! I squeeze it tightly, breathing heavily with relief. All the tension eases out of me in an instant. I can’t let it fall again. It’s my ... weapon now. Though I have no bloody idea how to use it against the mutants or any other bloodsucking creatures lurking in the wasteland.

I whip around desperately. The hopelessness of our current situation hits me like a whip. What should I do now? We’re still enclosed in the demonic mutants’ mental circle. It’s been two or three hours since Claudia and Lara were lured into a nightmarish trance. I clutch the crystal in my hand—a relic of some advanced technology, but it doesn’t change the fact that I have no idea how to activate it. On top of that, some nameless inhabitants of the wasteland have just been awoken by the low-frequency sounds that that Emperialians sent into this dark void. And I can’t predict how much time I have left before these monsters assail us. In a nutshell, our horror-drama has become even more spooky.

Instinctively, I glance up at the field of energy floating in the cave right above our heads—the only thing here powerful enough to rescue us. The echo of the mysterious voice that reached my thoughts when I was locked in the mutants’ circle sounds in my mind again: All the space that surrounds you is just Earth matter. And the energy moves beyond the matter. Beyond time. Energy, like a thought, can reach anywhere, Max.

That thought surely came from above, from the cave. After hearing these words again, I hang my head, totally confused, because it’s still hard for me to accept that truth, especially when I think of my previous failures and our current horrific situation. Thought can be strong, and it can get even through the ceiling above me—that’s right. I could connect telepathically with the energy from the cave. Theoretically it sounds good—convincing and quite promising—but ... I can’t imagine how I could call out that unfathomable Intelligence from the cave in practice. Establishing a telepathic connection with something ethereal or invisible, something that operates only on a mental level and is not embodied in any physical form, seems to me like an attempt to catch the signal of somebody’s thoughts from another room. I’ve never done such things. I’m not a telepath!

Is this all so unbelievable and complicated to me because I’m blocked mentally? I mean ... doubts creep into my mind almost all the time. Every time I’m ready to believe or accept the thought that I might be able to connect with the Intelligence, the dark fumes of hesitation engulf my thoughts like poisonous gas, undercutting their energy and pushing them down into the lower frequencies. Doubt ... what the hell was that? Some kind of mental blockage? Some kind of negative information still being transmitted into my mind by hidden creatures that are much stronger mentally than me? By mutants, perhaps? Am I still too vulnerable and too susceptible to others’ suggestions to wave this information off with little effort?

No answer comes. I sigh in exasperation. Thinking won’t help me; all I can do now is check whether the radiation emanating from the crystal can help me wake the girls from their trance. And I think this is the best time for such a move, because the mutants keep howling like bloodsucking fiends, and even more sinister creatures will approach soon.

You want to rouse Claudia and Lara, my bold vigilante. But what then? Suddenly an inner voice pops into my head. Even if you manage to wake them up—what then? The mutants trapped you in their mental circle, you silly boy. You’re blocked mentally, do you get it? Your thoughts can’t move anywhere.

Maybe their mental ring has weakened or disappeared completely now, I bark back, though I have no idea what kind of jerk I am replying to. My coordinator? Impossible. My nanochip has been off all this time, because the Emperialians can’t control us in this devastated area. Noah admitted it himself during our negotiations. And Cronus later mentioned that the reason lies in the nature of this unexplored metropolis. It’s not the coordinator. So who? One of the mutants? That’s very likely ... their poisonous suggestions can sneak through my mental defenses right into my vulnerable thoughts, even when I’m not aware of it.

Whatever, I scoff under my breath. Does it really matter? I have no time for such distractions, such as arguing with my inner voices. Piss off, jerks. The girls. They can’t remain in a trance any longer. It must be stopped as soon as possible. I drop to my knees clumsily and lean forward. Deeply perplexed, I stare into Claudia’s frozen, pale face, wondering what I should do to finally bring her back.

Before the mutants started roaring again and the filmmakers emitted those low-frequency beats into the wasteland, I sensed some current vibrating inside the crystal, and I thought there might be a battery or a charger inside—maybe a source of constantly renewing energy powerful enough to affect humans’ thoughts. Then I pressed the crystal against Claudia’s forehead, hoping its hidden vibrations would make her conscious again. But it didn’t work. Then, I felt as if that device, that relic, really could work—if properly activated.

But how the hell can I activate it?

Before I have even attempted to puzzle it out, another memory revives, and I recall what I said to myself when Director Noah, possessed by Cronus—or maybe something else—ordered me to thrust the crystal through the hatch. I decide to create my own algorithm—my own story. I don’t know what will happen next. And I don’t have to. I’ll act intuitively.

A thrilling shiver of excitement rushes through me. That’s it! Follow my intuition! Maybe that’s the key to puzzling it out! In a sudden surge of euphoria, I cut myself off from all the inner jerks who might try to distract me.

Okay. Let’s get to work. I begin to rack my brain, trying to figure out what my intuition is telling me, but after a few seconds I realize it’s unnecessary. An impulse comes much quicker than I anticipated. As my gaze drifts toward Lara, I discover something important. When we came here through the portal, Lara dropped unconscious, petrified by the sudden outburst of the mutants’ rage—their infernal howling. But she hasn’t fallen into a coma as deep as Claudia’s. So maybe it’s better to try to revive Lara first.

That’s an interesting idea. I press the crystal to her forehead, still clutching it in my hand, and wait with half-squinted eyes. I do it with one clear intention—to wake her up. We’ll see what happens. Maybe the energy locked in the crystal needs time to activate itself and after a few minutes the little device will work on its own. Expecting such a miracle seems stupid, but I don’t care. I