His Woodland Maiden Read online

  A narrow street led between towering buildings. Firelight shone from streetlamps. A man climbed a ladder to light them, appearing as if his only reason for being generated was to give light. Men with tall black hats escorted ladies down sidewalks. The gowns were shaped as if the women had backsides that protruded much farther than those of most humans. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to lift the skirts and take a peek.

  “I need to strip out of this damned fluffy dress,” Not-Eloise grumbled.

  Rick instantly turned his attention to her and waited. Despite his better judgment, his body responded to the idea.

  “Are you…?” She glanced down at his waist and arched a brow. “Seriously?”

  Lacking any reason as to why he should be suddenly aroused while being chased through a VR tunnel by cyborgs, Rick winked at her to lighten the mood. “You’re the one talking about undressing. I’m not usually into crowded, smelly streets, but hey, I’m willing to try anything once. Or twice.”

  To be fair, being chased by thugs wasn’t exactly new territory for him. It happened often. Then again, judging by her annoyed expression, this wasn’t new territory for her either.

  Not-Eloise sighed heavily and pulled pins from her hair to uncoil the high locks even as she hurried down the streets.

  “Hey, aren’t you going to tell me what’s going on?” he called before running to chase her. “Who’s that Bucky guy and why is he sending men after us? Were those guys holding you hostage? Am I rescuing you from them right now?”

  She didn’t deign to answer as she searched the scene.

  Massive beasts pulling carts neighed and whinnied as she charged through them to find a sidewalk. A woman in rags brushed past him, and he felt the coarseness of the material scratch the back of his hand.

  The menu appeared again, this time reading, “London Street Program. Building expansion packs available. Fully interactive games. Solve a serial killer mystery. Interview witnesses. Extensive lexicon. Catch the suspect before the killer finds you first.”

  Great. Just great. He was horny, being chased by real world bio-jerks, and now running for his life from a programmed killer? Suddenly, being bored out of his mind on the ship was sounding better and better.

  A woman appeared in an above window, glancing from behind tattered lace. Rick cut toward the building. “Come on, we can hide in here.”

  As he opened the door, he hit the program boundary. The entryway blurred and faded into a metal wall. A yellow box flashed, denoting the preview limits.

  Not-Eloise appeared next to him and tugged his arm. “Keep moving.”

  “Easy, love, you act like five thugs are chasing us,” Rick said.

  “Five bionic thugs are chasing us,” she answered.

  “That was a joke,” he said. “I know they’re after us. I just don’t know why. I’m still waiting for you to clue me in.”

  “It’s not a joke if you have to explain you were joking,” she rebutted.

  “You’re beautiful when you’re scowling at me, Not-Eloise.” Rick tried to caress her cheek, and she slapped his hand away in annoyance. “You know it’s only a matter of time before you give in to the heat between us.”

  “Any heat you feel coming off me is anger,” she quipped. “Everything was fine until your space cadet ass got in the way. Why can’t you leave me alone?”

  “We have unfinished business,” Rick said.

  “And what business is that?”

  “Don’t act like you didn’t know there was something between us when we went to the mines.”

  “I could have killed you, but I didn’t. The least you could do to repay me is stop forcing me into situations where I have to save you. Blast, you are infuriating!”

  He followed her past the large animals pulling people in carriages. Someone screamed about having papers to sell. It was several moments before he could answer. “Wouldn’t be one of the first times a woman bedded me in anger.”

  Not-Eloise stopped and turned to him. “What is wrong with you?”

  Several of the generated characters paused and looked toward them at the sound of her irritation. Rick ignored them.

  “I’d imagine quite a lot, starbeam,” Rick answered.

  “Harper,” she said.

  “What?”

  “My name is Harper Virant,” she stated as if torn between being firm and completely exasperated.

  Screams sounded behind them. Rick turned, not startled at first since it was a VR program. People began running down the sidewalk toward them, weaving through those characters whose programs hadn’t triggered with fear. The animals became louder and bucked against their restraints.

  “They’re coming,” Harper said. She grabbed a walking stick out of the hand of a passing man and swung it at the backside of one of the cart animals. The creature kicked up its legs and began running through the crowd.

  “Excuse me, waif, what do you think you’re doing?” the character demanded. The man grabbed Harper by the arm and tried to haul her toward him. With the safety overrides off for the tour, there was no filter to keep the man from hurting her.

  Rick punched the man, causing him to stumble and let her go.

  “Why did you turn off the safety?” he demanded.

  She lifted the walking stick. “So I could find something to defend myself. I’m not about to face bionic mutants with my bare hands. The promoters won’t let us die in here… I don’t think.”

  They continued on, finally finding the triangle marking the exit on the side of a brick building. Harper pushed it, and they stepped through to the next display. The clank of metal floor grates marked their footsteps, and he hit Harper’s back when she unexpectantly stopped.

  “Blast it,” she swore, eyeing her empty hand. The walking stick had disappeared, not transferring between scenes.

  They were inside a passageway within a larger room. Glass cage walls lined both sides to keep them walking in a straight line. Each cage held a strange creature locked within a habitat with a button on the side that read, “Open.”

  Some of the creatures he recognized from Old Earth transmission waves he’d bootlegged, but others appeared as if caught from the darkest parts of the universe. The narrow space made the creatures feel too close for comfort, especially when they leaned against the glass.

  Nameplates appeared next to the enclosures.

  “Wolfman,” a humanoid monster covered with fur stared from within a wooded habitat. The faintest glow of fire lit the distance. Yellowed eyes glowed as they followed Rick’s movements. The man wore tattered clothing and howled a frighteningly hollow sound.

  “Swampy,” faced the wolfman from across the passageway. Draping vines over stagnant water surrounded him. It appeared as if this man had been made from the moss and pieces of organic debris floating around the murky water.

  “Clown Killer,” might have been the creepiest, with her painted face and ratty hair. The wide smile revealed sharp teeth stretching from ear to ear. The creature waved her hand slowly while holding brightly colored balloons that floated over her head. A knife laid on the trimmed grass near her feet as if it had been dropped in an effort to hide it.

  “There’s no weapon in here, at least none we can reach,” Rick said. “Keep moving.”

  Rick threaded his arm through Harper’s and led her away when she didn’t step forward on her own. He felt her tremble.

  “Do you smell that?” Harper asked.

  Rick breathed deeply, detecting a slight musky odor. Harper reached for a dark habitat labeled, “Vampire,” as if she would press the button to open it.

  “Pheromones?” he guessed, seeing how her eyes glassed over. The pale vampire’s red eyes focused in on Harper and he parted his lips. Rick grimaced. “Oh, hell no. Get your own lady.”

  He grabbed Harper’s arm and forcibly dragged her away, even as she stumbled and reached back.

  “Chimera. Fouke. Hydra. Vargr.” The words meant very little to Rick and he didn’t take the time t
o examine the creatures displayed.

  “By all that is—” Harper gasped and tripped on her own feet as she passed a cage. A headless creature stared at them from large eyes in his chest.

  “Don’t look at them,” Rick instructed, moving her past the “Blemmyae” enclosure.

  They reached the end of the passageway and he glanced back.

  He’d been wrong. There were plenty of weapons in here.

  “Wait for me,” he instructed, before hitting the triangle and shoving her through the doorway.

  Rick hurried back toward the beginning of the display. The monsters appeared to have grown curious as they came even closer to the glass. Foggy breath misted the cage from within a snow-filled enclosure. The creature was pure white, even his eyes, and blended with his surroundings. His skin appeared formed of powder, with tiny flakes sluffing each time he moved.

  “This might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done,” Rick whispered to a headless woman carrying her own severed head by the hair.

  His heart hammered in his chest and he tried to control the twitch of his muscles urging him to run. He lifted his hands toward Wolfman and Swampy’s cages and let them hover. He stared at the door, waiting for the flash of light that would indicate the others were coming through.

  Any second… Any second…

  3

  Harper’s heart raced as Rick pushed her out of the monstrous zoo. She hated to admit that if he’d not been with her, she might have tried to free the mesmerizing creature. Or at least stared at the vampire like an idiot until Bucky’s men found her. The sweet musk being pumped into the air had lured her, and it had felt very real. Of course, that was the point of Virtual Reality.

  As her toe caught, she stumbled on a brick street. “Easy, Rick, I can—”

  Her voice cut off when she turned and realized he wasn’t with her. Brightly colored motorized vehicles moved toward a central building as a soft mist of rain fell. The red-orange roads matched the building facades. Unlike the London VR, this display was clean. Tree limbs drooped with fat white blossoms. Tall columns lined the buildings, rising two floors, though they appeared more for aesthetics than function.

  Harper had trained in many VR environments and was well aware of the rules and limitations. The Nozando government wouldn’t let anyone die in the displays, but safety override meant they could be injured enough to be taken to a medical booth. Some aliens were into that kind of thing and paid a lot of money for it.

  She wasn’t afraid of taking a beating, but there was no way she’d survive being stuck in the infirmary afterward. Not after betraying Bucky. He’d use members of his security team for parts to fix his bionic arms. And then he would tear her asunder.

  “Rick?” She frowned. He hadn’t come through the door with her.

  Then it hit her what he’d mumbled when he pushed her. “Wait for me.”

  The characters in this VR scene wore strange clothes that didn’t cover their limbs as if they expected a sun to shine through at any moment. The land crafts parked along the roadway in a variety of shapes and sizes were each fitted with rubber wheels that indicated they did not fly.

  She lifted her hand and tried to find the doorway to the monster zoo. The VR had hidden the return route the second she’d come through, but if she could find the edge, she might be able to find her way back. When she stepped farther than she’d stumbled into the display, the VR world appeared to expand. She looked down. The ground didn’t feel like it moved, but it was modified to keep her in the display.

  “Dammit, Rick,” she swore. He couldn’t take on that many bionic guards.

  Saving Rick from Bucky had been an impulse, much like the time she’d hit him over the head to keep him from being shot by an intergalactic cartel. Had she done nothing, Prince Bucky would have killed him. And the bionic jerk would have gotten away with it too. No one would fault a prince for murdering a smartass piece of space trash.

  “Computer, where is the entry point?” Harper called into the crowd. Several of the characters looked at her and smiled.

  “Can I help you, honey?” asked an older woman wearing bright red.

  “How do I get out of here?” Harper asked.

  The woman blinked as if her coding wasn’t able to answer the question.

  “Entryway. Starting point. Start,” Harper said, listing the words in hopes of triggering the program. There were probably instructions somewhere at the beginning of the VR display hall, but she’d run past the opening without checking. “Beginning!”

  A light flashed, and a door appeared before her. She didn’t think as she went through it.

  “Ba-a-a-a-lls!” Rick yelled as he charged her. His arms were widespread, and she instantly lifted her hands in defense. Beeps sounded as he moved, and monsters were stepping into the passageway behind him. Their environments came with them, swamp and snow and forest, growing out of the enclosures to fill the hallway.

  The smack of skin and metal flooded the area beneath the shrieks and growls. Her eyes widened. Bucky’s guards were fighting the creatures.

  “Run!” Rick ordered.

  Killer Clown stepped from her cage holding a knife. Her eyes moved toward the brawl and then turned toward Rick’s retreating back. She released the balloons and took a menacing step after Rick before disappearing.

  The vampire’s hands wrapped the edge of his cage, and it looked as if he pulled his floating body from the enclosure. He too followed Rick, gliding more than running, his arms outstretched.

  “Rick, watch out,” Harper warned, waving her hand for him to hurry as if that would make him move faster.

  As Rick neared her, the clown appeared between them, grinning her evil teeth-filled smile at Harper as she held her knife.

  The vampire reached them, stretching his arm toward Harper across Rick and the clown as they collided in one big mass of bodies. He bared his fangs, eyes focused on her neck.

  The clown stabbed the knife downward. Rick yelled, a primal sound. He slammed into the clown’s back, grabbing her wrist to stop the blade from striking. He was almost too late as the tip of the knife sliced into Harper’s shoulder.

  It happened quickly. Harper let their weight push her back through the doorway. She fell toward the brick-laden ground of the clean town VR scene. The clown dissolved at the barrier. Rick’s body flew toward Harper. There was no stopping his descent.

  The vampire’s hand disintegrated, and a second later she saw the creature staring at the door in what could only be angry disappointment before his face was replaced by the edge of the current world.

  Rick tried to catch his weight, but the fall was awkward, and he ended up racking his manhood on her lifted knee. The force rammed her into the ground, and she cried out in pain.

  “My balls,” he groaned, rolling to the side as he cupped himself.

  Harper drew her knees forward, trying to ease the pain in her lower back. They lay on the ground, cradling their injuries. Light rainfall misted them. Blood seeped from the knife wound. Too bad physical injuries didn’t dissolve like the creatures had.

  “It would seem I’m always saving you,” Harper said as she pushed up from the ground.

  “Or am I saving you?” Rick frowned, still cradling his manhood. “Those monster freaks should slow the cyborgs down.

  “They prefer to be called bionics.” Harper pushed to her feet and reached to help him up.

  “My mistake. Wouldn’t want to offend the jerkoffs,” Rick quipped. He limped behind her as she moved down the sidewalk.

  Storefronts were crowded along the walkway. Through windows, furniture, clothing, pottery, and other goods were displayed. Occasionally, one would smell like an experiment from the food simulators, not necessarily unpleasant, but definitely bizarre.

  “If we get out of this alive, you need to stop following me whenever you see me,” she said. Sure, he was attractive, and there was something about him that made her want to kiss and punch him at the same time, but Rick was a complication
she couldn’t afford. He’d already proven that more than once.

  “We’ll get out of this alive,” he assured her. “And if you don’t want me following you, sunbeam, maybe you should stop running away from me and admit what’s between us.”

  “There is nothing between us.”

  “Are you denying the sexual tension that sparks each time you come near—”

  “You don’t know what you’re messing with.” She darted to the side as a dark green craft’s tires rolled through a puddle to send a wave of dirty water in their direction.

  “Why don’t you tell me? How is it a drug trader with a fondness for black leather is suddenly disguised as some demure puritan from—where did you say you were from?”

  “I didn’t.” It was bad enough she’d told him her real name. She wasn’t about to give him any more personal information. Some memories didn’t need to be resurrected.

  The sales menu appeared. “New Earth Settlement. Town Square. Western District. Choose from the following: Parade. 3471 Riot. Nightlife. Art Festival (Available Soon).”

  Rick started to lift his hand to select the nightlife option, and she slapped it down.

  “No distractions. We need to find the exit,” she said.

  “I’m guessing it’s straight ahead, behind that domed building with the road circling around it.”

  Another land craft rolled past as she lifted her hand to block the stream of water from hitting her. It might not be real, but she’d feel wet until they left this place.

  “Selection made,” a computerized voice said. “Enjoy.”

  “What did you do?” Harper demanded.

  “Not me, sweet cheeks.” Rick pointed toward her arm.

  She lowered her hand, only to realize she’d bumped the menu when she’d tried to block the water.

  Angry shouts sounded, and the sky darkened. The moisture disappeared. Fires lit the night, the orange glow casting over the forming crowd. The words “3471 Riot” blinked on the menu setting.