Double-Blind: A Modern LITRPG

Chapter 87

Kinsley led me into the crackhouse. Black graffiti covered the walls, and it stank of stale piss and cigarettes. Not exactly a sterile environment. There werent many healthy members of Rodericks lodge around, and those present were too busy tending to the injured to pay any real attention to either of us as we walked between the rows of cots. I wasnt certain why we were going into another groups territory to discuss this, but shed handled herself well enough outside that I was willing to temporarily give her the benefit of the doubt.

Kinsley held her hand out to a patch of wall and a doorframe appeared. It was the same height as her transportation spell, but this one was a much lighter shade of blue, closer to white.

Thought your powers were offline, I said.

The mobility option, yes. I think overfucker limited those specifically, so we couldnt use them to transport lux or evacuate civilians when the event is over.

Youre probably right. Smart.

Kinsley paused with her hand on the door knob. Youre being nice.

Oh, Im going to give you shit in a minuteand you know exactly whybut other than that, it seems like youve been handling yourself well, I said. So, what is this?

See for yourself. Kinsley stepped aside and prompted me. I pulled the door open and stepped inside.

The inside felt like the lair of a goatee twirling villain. Plush red carpet sank beneath my feet, quickly soiled by the questionable state of my boots. There were tall brown bookshelves surrounding the room itself, with no legible titles on the books themselves, their spines either blank or scrawled on in unrecognizable chicken scratch. At the far edge of the room was a long glass window the length of a semi-trucks trailer, giving a crystal clear view of the vibrant ocean beyond, with just a hint of sun on the surface far above.

Please tell me that this has some practical application? I noticed how annoyed I sounded a bit too late, but Kinsley paid me no mind. She moved around me and approached the center of the room, where two chairs sat opposite of each other around a low, polished table that reflected the sheen of the ocean from the window above.

This is A skill assigned to Merchants whove hit Level 10. It lasts a maximum of eighteen hours, restricts communication based on parameters I set. No one can hear or find us. It allows or rejects people I choose. Actively rejects. As in I can say, Fuck off, Bob, and Bob will go flying off towards the door, kicking and screaming, knocking over shelves until he finds his way to the exit. Kinsley sat in her chair, indicating her head towards the one across from it.

Thats a very specific example, I said.

Maybe it happened, maybe it didnt.

Any chance you can do the opposite? Use it to summon a person in particular?

No. First thing I tried. Her face turned crestfallen. Anyway, the real upside is the cooldown time. Twenty hours. If revealing myself as a merchant does bite me in the ass, I can basically hide here indefinitely, exit for a couple of hours, activate it again as soon as it comes off cooldown. Almost untouchable.

There was an uncomfortable pause in the conversation as Kinsley reached down beside her chair and opened a small white-top cooler, withdrawing a red soda. She offered me one, and frowned when I declined.

Ellison

Is he in immediate danger? I interrupted.

Hes physically fine, Kinsley said.

Does whatever youre about to tell me potentially put my family in harm's way?

Not really? She looked unsure. Not directly.

Then save him for last. I leaned against the top of the chair briefly, saw how my armor immediately sullied the surface, and decided to remain standing.

Kinsleys jaw worked. Thats a little cold, Matt. Even for you.

Why did you out yourself? I asked.

Because people werent organizing the region, and no one would listen to me until I showed them a reason to. Kinsley looked frustrated as she said it.

This puts me in a position where I have to protect you, and Im not sure if I can. Youve been organizing the region?

When youre giving discounts to people buying wood for barricades and traps, they tend to listen more. And you dont have to protect me twenty-four-seven. Ive got the Lodge people for that. Kinsley shot back.

Barely. I shook my head. That horseshit you spun to Roderick about other groups reaching out to you. All horseshit?

Kinsley rolled her eyes and huffed. No. Are you really going to keep up the constant Q to this A, so you dont have to tell me what happened with Region Six? Or how your friend lost their core before the event started?

Wasnt my friend.

Matt

Fine, you want some answers? Ill go down the list, I snapped, My friend was kidnapped because Ishocking as this soundswasnt paranoid enough, and his friendprobably two of them, died when the same suit-fucks that sent me diving head first into your door took him away. Region Six is a bio-nightmare with the potential to spread and we all know how well people handle Pandora's box at this point. Ive nearly shuffled off the coil several times, but thats not anything new, right? And to top it all off, the motherfucking Overseer decided to blast out to the entire city that

theres a winning lottery ticket out of this shit, if they can just end me.

My mind caught up with my mouth, saving me just before a grievous error, every civilian is a walking bag of five-hundred selve.

Kinsley studied me, her expression sympathetic. Sit down, Matt.

No. Realizing how immature my reaction was, I followed her direction and sat on the edge of the chair, my weight leaning forward.

Kinsley waited until I settled to continue. A few groups got wind of me quickly. It seemed a little too fast, but people are messaging and voice calling through the system a lot more now. Doesnt take much for word to spread. Kinsley listed the names of different groups I didnt know, with a few I didThe Adventurers Guild and LREat the bottom.

Swerve the LRE for now. Give the Adventurers Guild priority if you can. They seem decent enough, all things considered. Dealing with everyone else is your prerogative. A shadow covered the room as a whale passed overhead. I turned to look at it, my lips tight. If the Domain was customized to the User, I could see why this scene and setting would be calming to Kinsley. But being underwater put me on edge.

Even with a thick pane of glass between us and the ocean, I felt like I was drowning.

What else? I asked.

Can we talk about your brother yet? Kinsley asked, her fingers drumming on the chair nervously.

If theres nothing more pressing.

Kinsley stood to her feet suddenly and crossed the room to me, pressing a finger into my chest. Why do you keep putting him off? The way you care about your family is probably the one way youre not a jerk.

My voice was cold. This is me caring, Kinsley. After what I just saw out there? The Overseer would happily purge an entire region if they didnt fortify before the time ran out. Maybe the consequences arent that dire, but it wouldnt surprise me if they were. The timer ends before we fortify? Thats my Mother, Iris, and Ellison.

Okay, I kind of get it. Funny how that works, when you actually spend the time to explain yourself. Kinsley rolled her eyes. Nothing else comes to mind.

Then hit me, I said.

/////

Given the ticking clock, I couldnt take all the precautions Id normally want togetting back on the bike, visibly leaving the region, then doubling back and infiltrating as a civilian would have been the safest play. One of the advantages of Kinsleys Domain was its size, and the fact that there were multiple exits.

I changed into my hoodie and jeans and took a door that led to the alleyway behind my apartment building, waiting to remove the mask until I confirmed there was no one lurking nearby. Then I took the stairs to the third story and used the power conduit next to the gap in the overhang as a foothold to haul myself up to the roof.

Eventually, I found Ellison sitting on top of the apartment rooftop, legs dangling off towards the edge, staring out at the red stained skyline.

Hey El.

This sucks. His voice was angrier than I expected.

I sat down beside him. Down below, a group of civiliansmassive, burly menwere dragging barricades modified with outward facing stakes into the road. Greg was with them, doing his best to help despite his slim frame.

Yeah. Its a disaster. I said.

Theres nothing I can do. Ellison glowered downward.

This is bigger than us. I imagine countless people are in a similar headspace right now. The ones lucky enough to still be alive, at least. We have to stick together, kid. I was trying to gently remind him that it could be worse. The piercing glare signaled that I hadnt been subtle enough.

God, youre so full of shit.

I blinked. Kind of hostile, but sure, vent away.

You act like family matters. Ellison spat off the roof.

It does matter, El.

Then why were you going to leave? He stared at me accusatorially.

I blinked. You mean for college? Thats part of life, kid. At least, if you want a decent shot at a better one.

I saw the MIT acceptance letter.

Out of state doesnt mean gone forever.

Youre right. This shits bigger than me.

Ellison stood from the roof, gave me one last dismissive stare, then walked away. The tin roof clanged as he lowered himself down. My heart was still racing as I listened to his descending footsteps, waiting until I heard the sound of our front door close. Even then, I kept my voice down.

Hes gone, I murmured.

Do you see what I mean? Kinsley hissed. Id kept her on a voice call with me, so she could hear everything on my end without relaying it. I thought I was imagining it.

Not a single sentence with more than seven words. Like there was a hard limit. Could be a coincidence. Brevity. But it doesnt track with how he usually acts when he hits a wall. Gets longer-winded, not shorter. You said he kept that up every time you talked to him?

Yep, Kinsley replied.

I stared out at the city. The ball of the reunion tower was engulfed in flame, giving the odd appearance of a bleak torch held over chaos. Fear gripped at me. Projection, lashing out, bringing up history that doesnt matter to deflect attention and end the conversation quickly. All things Ellison would plausibly say or do. But never in a crisis.

I wasnt even sure whether to tell you. It just seemed so small in the face of everything else. What does it mean? Kinsleys voice tinged with anxiety.

I dont know.

My brother and I had been growing apart for a long time. Hed left the innocence of childhood behind earlier than I had, and had been chafing against my directions and advice for years. Id tried to mend the gap when I could, but our circumstances had limited my efforts. A disturbing series of connections began to form, some Id previously shoved away as it seemed too unlikely to be true.

When the civilian system framework came online, Ellison had been texting me. Only, Iris was the first one to mention the screens and inventory, and Ellison didnt jump on the bandwagon until after seeing Iriss message, with some piecemeal throwaway excuse about how he thought he was hallucinating.

There was only one explanation that fit.

My brother hadnt seen the screens when Iris or my mother had. Because he already had a different UI.

Ellison was a User.

was an Ordinator exclusive perk. Considering the sheer number of feats though, it stood to reason that wasnt the only feat that disguised a Users status. That would go a long way to explaining why he showed up on the guild screen as an NPC. If he was being incentivized to hide his status, similar to me, it explained why hed kept all this so close to the vest.

But the probability of two Users in the same household being randomly assigned a covert class had to be astronomical. It wasnt a coincidence. The Overseer had specifically said during the announcement that they wouldnt interfere to remove me directly. Directly, being the operative word.

Nickmy best friendhad a class opposed to the Allfather, my patron.

It wasnt a huge jump to assume that Ellisons objective was equally contentious.

They were finding ways to get at me where I lived.

Rodericks guys, a bunch of them are law-enforcement, right? Or ex-law enforcement. I asked.

Uh, yeah. What, did you sniff that out of the air? Kinsley sounded confused.

Their bootsit doesnt matter. Grab one of the still-injured guys that wont be able to fight, but looks like he has his shit together otherwise, I hesitated. Everything in me screamed that this was wrong, that family was supposed to be the one exception to my paranoia. That I was crossing a line I couldnt come back from. You want someone who doesnt look too stoic, but is relatively calm and still socializing with others.

To do what? Kinsley asked.

Have him watch Ellison. Hands off observation only, no interference if he tries to leave. And tell him to be careful. My brother is nowhere near as blas as he acts. Hes as much of a pain in the ass as I am, if not more-so.

You want me to put a tail on your brother? She sounded as shocked as I felt.

Yeah. Thats where were at.

Fuck. Fine. But I want that explanation sooner rather thando you hear something?

The sound of a screaming engine caught my ears. An olive-painted Hummer was hurtling towards the barricade, leaving a long line of smoke behind it. I withdrew my mask from my inventory, my body tensing. Then, I relaxed somewhat when someone manning the barricade called out and began to move the barricade aside as Roderick, as well as a few of his men, came pouring out of the crackhouse.

Incoming. Green Hummer in a bad-state. You know it? I murmured.

Just one? Kinsley asked, horrified.

Yes.

There were five when they left. Thats whats left of Rodericks Lodge.