Virtual Reality: Dark Days

One Shot

Tabitha was not quite sure who she could trust at this point to find Shamar and Alex. All of those that she trusted would likely consider her a suspect as well. She wanted to avoid her name being tarnished this early in her career.

Her connections with Shamar hadn't been known by everyone within the precinct, but it didn't exclude the fact that there are eyes everywhere. Since they had met, Tabitha had spent a lot of time with Shamar. She wasn't always observant whenever they met. It was possible that somewhere in between all of this, someone had seen them and kept it to themselves. With herself being part of the manhunt to find the two suspects, she decided to take her own vehicle to find them. As bad as things looked, she trusted Shamar more than the people within her own precinct. While she needed this job very much and couldn't afford to be rebellious, Shamar was a friend. He was a friend that was in need of her help and she couldn't abandon him during his time of need, no matter the cost.

Alex is different in this scenario. She knew the kid was very much out of control. He could be considered a ticking time bomb that could kill anyone he wanted at anytime. But that didn't mean he should be killed. He's a young man that has been put through hell because he got involved with the wrong people. Tabitha believed in reforming him. She wanted Alex to learn from the mistakes he'd made recently. The young man had committed so many crimes. Crimes like this could very well put him six feet under the ground. Which is why she needed to find him first. People such as Tobias would probably do anything to kill Alex. She still wasn't sure if Tobias was connected to Virtual Reality, but she remembered his name coming up previously in a situation with the company. The thought of knowing that a federal agent could so easily kill someone because of money sent chills down her spine.

Whenever she could, Tabitha would refresh Shamar's location. She'd been tracking them for some time now and the fact that they got farther from her by the minute worried her. Was it possible that they could have already been caught or seen? It was too hard to tell. The stress of it all nearly caused her to run a red light. Getting pulled over by an officer would likely jeopardize the mission she was currently on. She shook off any stresses she carried and set her mind on a clear goal. But that didn't stop her from driving faster than she normally would.

On one of the chances that Tabitha had to check Shamar's location, she found that he had stopped. The stop he made wasn't what worried her. Shamar had made plenty of them during the manhunt. This time, however, something was different. He hadn't moved for minutes now. As relieved as she was to know that she could finally catch up to them, she was still in a state of worry. If Shamar had stopped moving, it could mean that he was possibly caught or killed. Tabitha looked harder now. She couldn't shake this dreadful feeling within her. She prayed that she was the one that found them first. There was the other possibility that he mistakenly dropped his phone, but that idea didn't comfort her any better. Shamar needed his cell phone on him at all times. There could be no way of finding him if he lost his phone.

The closer she got to him, the more she could feel her anxiety rising. There was no telling what she would find when she found him. But all she could do now at this point was hope that he was okay. Hope that no one she couldn't trust found him. She had to be first. She wanted to be first. She feared who might've been the ones to find them, if not her. All of this would have been over. Shamar would be imprisoned and Alex would likely be killed.

She had finally arrived near Shamar's cell phone. While there was no sign of him or Alex, she couldn't remain in her car and find him. Tabitha parked her car in order to find Shamar by foot. She quickly removed herself from her vehicle with her phone still in hand. The first thing she did was call his number. If picked up, everything was okay. If he didn't, something had definitely gone wrong. She also considered the fact that maybe his phone was on silent mode. But as she waited, there was no sound of a cell phone ringing. The rain and constant motion made it hard for her to hear a thing. No amount of drowning out these noises worked as it dominated her hearing. The only thing left was just follow the path that led her to him. But what she found at the end of the search stunned her.

Tobias was waving his gun at Shamar and Alex. He got them. But neither of them were dead, which told her she had time to fix this. Tabitha took out her gun and pointed it at Tobias's back. The tension had grown within her. If she made any wrong move, she could fail in saving their lives. Tobias would get away with three murders. For now, she had the edge on him. Tobias had no clue that Tabitha was sneaking up from behind him. The only ones that could see this were Alex and Shamar. They noticed her the moment she entered the alleyway. But that was their mistake. For Tobias had caught onto the fact that someone else now caught their attention. Someone that would get in the way of their deaths. Tobias took a few seconds to consider what he should do with the person behind him. Killing them would only make matters worse. Wounding them, however, would become his best course of action. He could easily force them to lie about everything they'd witnessed. A simple threat would go a long way. He chose to wound the person behind him with a single bullet. He shot Tabitha in her stomach and sent her to the ground.

Tabitha couldn't believe how fast Tobias was. She didn't even have a chance to pull the trigger before he got her. She shouldn't have underestimated this guy. Because now, she was dying. She could feel herself losing blood. The puddle she laid in went from cold to warm in a few seconds. She worried about how much time she had before death finally came for her. There was no stopping it. She failed in protecting her friend.

“No!” Shamar used this time to attack Tobias before he could turn back around.

Tobias wasn't an easy opponent to face and Shamar remembered that. Fear struck his heart, but he wasn't willing to back down from this attack. He would face his former partner. Every sense Tobias was born with was utilized in the best way possible. He made sure it was used to the fullest during his battles. He used the rain to hear Shamar's movements. The rain droplets and the puddles helped him to sense fast or nearby movements. Shamar ran at Tobias through the rain. Making lots of noise with every step he took. This was the only reason Tobias was able to counter any attack Shamar threw at him.

He quickly turned the gun that had been pointed at Tabitha onto Shamar. Killing him was what he wanted more than anything. Unfortunately for Tobias, killing them would go against orders. He didn't want to find out what consequences he'd face from his strict employer. Alex had to die first. Tobias wounded Shamar in such a way that he could be easily pushed over. From there, he made his way towards his important target. Shamar's death would have to come after.

This ended Shamar's ability to even attack Tobias head on. The former federal agent was on the ground, weakened by the attack. Tabitha and Shamar were both defeated. The only person he could rely on now was himself. The only two people that could even come close to taking Tobias down. Now there was only one.

It was up to Alex to fight Tobias. He had failed at this before. Every time he had met the agent in the past, all Alex could do was run or get wounded. The odds were against him this time. Alex had to face Tobias alone and that thought frightened him. Unable to move, he stood there staring at his possible killer. Tobias went in for the kill. He waited long enough for Alex to defend himself. He simply pointed the gun at him. Tobias was going to end this.

“You’re still going to do this?” Alex pleaded with Tobias. “After all of this?”

“They’re not going to survive long enough to tell this story.” Tobias admitted. “And neither are you.”

There was nothing else left to be said. Tobias was going to shoot Alex in the head and kill whoever else remained alive. But Shamar wasn't going to let that happen! He gathered as much energy as he could to get on his two legs and bring Tobias down to the ground! This had caused an emotion the agent rarely felt; anger. Too many people were getting in his way today.

“You again?” Tobias said. “When will you give up?”

“When you’re dead!” Shamar began to avenge Kaylen. “You took everything from me! My future wife! And my best friend!”

It was a race to get the gun away from Tobias. Shamar reached for the gun on the ground but was immediately weakened by Tobias. The federal agent did everything he could to stop the gun from going into the wrong hands. Shamar screamed out loud before his mouth was covered by Tobias. Tobias had pressed his hand down on the wound he had given his former partner. Shamar's body became too weak to do anything now. The pain was far too great for him to push through.

But it wasn't over! Shamar wasn't going to stop and Tobias saw this even after his grip had loosened. This was beginning to drag on for too long. Tobias had to make this end quickly. The small pocket knife he possessed was used to wound Shamar to an even greater effect. The former agent was helpless to stop Tobias from doing a thing. He slammed the blade into Shamar's waist and quickly ripped it out with ease. It hurt Shamar, but still wasn't enough to end the fight! Tobias stabbed him in a completely different spot this time. He slammed the blade into Shamar's rib. Now it was over. Shamar couldn't deal with the pain anymore. His three wounds were enough to completely drain him of energy and Tobias realized it. He shoved Shamar's weakened body off him. It was over for the former agent. Tobias was going to slam the knife into his old partner one last time to end his ability to live.

He had won. Tobias had the weapon necessary to kill his old friend. The life they had together ended today. The memories of them being good friends would soon fade away. Never to haunt the mind of Tobias ever again. As the end came near, Alex used this moment to strike Tobias across the head with a kick. The strike came to the agent so fast that he lost his hold on the blade. With both the agent and the gamer seeing where the weapon landed, they jumped for it at the same time! Alex had no upper body strength. It became easy for Tobias to overcome Alex. He had more strength in the areas Alex lacked in. Stealing the weapon from the gamer was easier than he thought. With the shot now clearly visible to Tobias, he nearly pulled the trigger. A bullet stopped Alex's death. Someone had shot Tobias in the back.

Shamar laid on the ground, holding the weapon he used to kill Tobias. Using Tobias' own weapon to end his life. Tobias looked over to see the man that he once betrayed, now becoming the man that took his ability to live. While he didn't intend to die today, this was also something he didn't mind. Tobias had done some pretty bad things over the years. Things that made him wish he was dead. Kaylen's death was one of them. He wished every day that he could undo that one act. To have Shamar kill him like this was the perfect way to go in his eyes. A killer being killed. What a terrible way to end a life.

Tobias Dunn was dead. Alex no longer feared his death at the hands of this man. After all the countless times he came into contact with him, it was finally over. The man's death certainly brought levity to the situation they were still in. The fact that he survived at all was all thanks to Shamar. For without him, this journey may have ended long ago. The fight wore them all out but it wasn't over. While someone as powerful as Tobias was dead, he couldn't celebrate just yet. The final obstacle was still standing. Jason Callahan needed to be stopped.

With more strength than anyone else around, Alex helped Shamar stand on his feet. The former federal agent had received a lot of wounds, the fact that he could stand at this moment surprised the young gamer. But unfortunately, Shamar wouldn't be able to get very far. Tobias had made it impossible for the man to run let alone walk. For the two of them to go on any further would hinder Alex's mission to kill Jason.

“Hey.” Alex checked Shamar’s wounds. "Can you stand?”

That was a definite no from Shamar. His face said it all. He couldn't move like he used to. Shamar's part in all of this was over. He hadn't done what he set out to do, but some part of him felt like he finished his own mission. Avenging Kaylen was his top priority for a while. Now, he had finally done it. Tobias' face could no longer remind him of Kaylen. What else could he possibly do now? Kill Jason? That was something he had had to entrust with Alex.

“No.” Shamar answered Alex. “Now go away.”

“I know we barely know each other,” Alex admitted. “But I know you’re strong enough to walk.”

Alex tried giving Shamar as much conviction as he possibly could. With one hand out, Shamar allowed himself to get helped back onto his feet by Alex. The pain from the wounds grew more excruciating as he stood up.

Tabitha was in a rough stop currently. Her body wasn't having a good reaction to the wound she received from Tobias. Luckily for her, the chances of Tobias coming in to finish her off was no longer there. She could finally call the paramedics to pick her up and take her to a hospital. Explaining all of this was going to be weird, but she was smart enough to make it sound concrete.

“You guys better go.” Tabitha warned the two suspects who had now just killed a federal agent. “I’m going to get some people here to help me out.”

“What?” Shamar didn’t want to leave. “We’ve got to stay here and make sure you’re taken care of.”

“I’ll be fine.” Tabitha tried calming Shamar down. “Now go. Find Callahan and make sure he pays for this.”

Tabitha knew that there was no one else that could do this other than Alex. She didn't want him to kill Callahan, but the fact that he was able to do this without making a move scared her. Someone like him, with so much power, needed to be brought down no matter what. But for Alex, he struggled to even comprehend how much things had changed. Before, Tabitha had tried her best to stop Alex from getting to Jason. Now, it was something she was requesting of him. To hear someone like her say word like this gave him a great surge of energy!

Alex was ready. Shamar on the other hand wasn't. At this point, all the man saw ahead of him was to go to the hospital and heal up his wounds with Tabitha right beside him. But that wouldn't be possible.

“Come find me when this is all over.” Tabitha gave Shamar the best smile she could. “Okay?”

Shamar had certain fears of whether Tabitha would make it to the hospital. He believed in her strength. The only thing he could do now was give her a warm smile that gave them both some type of hope that they'd meet again.

“Okay.” Shamar walked out of the alleyway with Alex.

As soon as the two suspects disappeared with each other, the paramedics showed up at the scene. Finally, the wounds she received from Tobias would be tended to.

“Way to go, kid.” Shamar congratulated Alex. “What are you going to do now?”

Police cars drove all over the city looking for them and Alex knew it was only a matter of time before this was all over. Things didn't seem to have changed since taking down Tobias. Jason was still in control. There was no way he could come close to feeling safe. Ending Jason was the only way. It was easy to believe all of this. Unfortunately, the simple fact was that the young gamer had no idea how to find Jason. Well, he had no idea soon after Tobias' death. Before they even left the scene of the crime, Alex had stolen the cell phone of the federal agent. While the face identification lock was a problem, the young gamer was quick to Tobias' face to unlock it. Now, they finally had access to finding the creator. There were so many ways he could do this. But for now, all he could think about was facing Jason one last time.

“Finding Jason,” Alex said. “And finishing what I set out to do from the very beginning.”