Game Breaker by Cheree Alsop

Author:Cheree Alsop [Alsop, Cheree]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-07-08T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“What did that boy mean when he said I was hanging out with a shell most of the time?” Breccan asked as they walked home.

Minx and Jonny shared a look, but it was Murphy who replied in a know-it-all-tone, “A shell is an avatar without someone plugged into it.”

Breccan’s steps slowed. “Wait. How is that possible?”

“It’s the Edge,” Murphy replied. “Anything is possible.”

Breccan looked at Jonny. “So you’re saying the girl….” He was unable to finish the sentence and let the words die away.

“I’m afraid so,” Jonny replied.

“Someone had to be plugged into her,” Breccan argued. “She was too real. She was funny, and smart, and…and….” His voice failed him at the expressions on their faces. “It’s impossible,” he concluded quietly. “You’re wrong.”

Silence hung awkwardly in the air between them as the four made their way home. Minx broke it just as the Catlan apartment came into view.

“There are a few ways to tell if she was a shell.”

Breccan grabbed onto her words as if they were a lifeline. “Tell me, please.” He hated how desperate his voice sounded, but the thought that Jorie wasn’t real ate away at him. His experience with her was the most real he had felt since Garrick died. To tell himself it was all just some act within the Edge was too hard to accept.

“Well, you said she was funny. It’s pretty hard for shells to pull off real humor,” Minx began.

“That’s true,” Jonny seconded. “Shells are usually monotone and don’t attempt to hold conversations very often.”

“Okay, good,” Breccan said, encouraged. “She definitely held full conversations, and I’m not the only one who felt like she was real. Everyone with us treated her like she was normal.”

A warning note sounded in the back of his mind at his last words. Had the other avatars held conversations with her, or were they only talking to him with her there? But they had helped her find a dress and shoes, they had done her hair, and made her feel special. But was it because she was an avatar or because of Breccan’s ECs? He shoved the thought away and held onto the thread of hope Minx was trying to give. “What else?”

“Shells typically just hang out in the background,” Minx continued. “They’re usually avatars that have been forgotten or abandoned. The Edge reanimates them as a way to people the levels and help them stay interesting and new. But they keep to themselves and generally repeat the same activities over and over like they’re following a script. Did you notice anything like that?”

Breccan shook his head quickly. “No, she approached me.”

“What were you doing?” Murphy asked.

Breccan thought of how he had broken down when he couldn’t find Garrick. Embarrassment filled him at the thought of Jorie finding him sobbing against the impenetrable wall. He cleared his throat and said, “It doesn’t matter. But she was engaging and funny. She showed me around the Edge and taught me about the different levels.”

“That’s definitely not a shell thing to do,” Minx said.

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