Write 2 Rank 2023: Knightmare Games

Mountaintop (Round 6 Extended)

"Two large Mountain Dews and three bottles of water for Anne?" shouted the friendly man behind the counter.

She barely heard him over the thundering music and the excited crowd. Ralph's Gaming Arcade was a buzzing hive of excited activity. Knightmare Games championship preliminaries, a Smash Bros. Melee tournament, and Killer Instinct exhibition all on the same weekend. The place was jam packed with people. Normally she would have been excited for the action and competition. She might have even gotten in a few matches in the exhibition, but Anne Diaz-Davids had lost a bit of her edge. Magpie ruining her chance at the championships had cut her deep.

"Anne!" called Ryan, waving her over.

Pulled out of her intrusive thoughts, Anne walked over and accepted the tray with all of the drinks.

"I credited your tab for the drinks, Anne. You know refreshments are on the house for championship teams." Ryan shook her head. "Don't make that face. As team coach you are definitely a part of the championship team... so stop acting like this."

"You're right. Sorry."

Ryan pulled a bottle of over the counter painkillers out of her vest and shoved it in Anne's pants pocket.

"Make sure Shannon takes a few of these before the team goes back in for the second challenge. She really scared me when she had that episode."

For a moment, Anne was able to think of something other than her own quashed dreams. Shannon had scared her too. She'd never seen someone have such a severe reaction to the scramble. She'd never really acknowledged that her best friend could die from playing a game.

She and Ryan went back to where the rest of the Rude Harpies stretched in preparation for their next dive into the Knightmare Games VR digital environment. Kennedy rushed over and grabbed one of the giant cups of Mountain Dew, taking a deep drink and then wiping their mouth with the back of their hand. They made a loud sigh and sat down on the bench beside Shannon. If Anne wasn't preoccupied, she might have shown a bit of concern over Kennedy's problem with sugary drinks.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"

Shannon glanced up at Anne. "I'm sure, Calico. We've got a championship to win."

"The game can wait, Bad Fish," Anne said, using Shannon's gamertag since she started it. She handed Shannon a bottle of water and the pills.

"Drink up and let's do this then."

The trio stepped out of the game load domain and into a forest of thirty-foot tall evergreens. Snow crunched beneath their cold weather boots as they shuffled about, getting their bearings. A cold wind swept over them, a not so gentle reminder of the mission parameters. The first stage of the preliminaries required they infiltrate an enemy stronghold and raise their flag. This second stage wanted them to survive a blizzard and reach the bottom of the mountain in one piece.

Combat was the Bad Harpies' specialty. Survival and exploration wasn't.

Bad Fish did a quick inventory check. No armor. Cold weather camo, a pistol, a knife, and only one of her swords. From the low swearing spewing out of Killshot's mouth, they likely had a similar minimalist kit. Fish looked down and at their feet was a spectral creature that looked like a mix between fennec fox and margay with a blue flame at the tip of its tail. Kneeling, she tried to scratch the adorable creature under the chin. Her hand passed through it and the critter hissed.

"Stop, Fish," it said with Calico's voice. It swatted and Bad Fish felt a bitter cold scratch rake the skin beneath her camos.

"But you look so cute!"