Free Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1) by Cosimo Yap Page A

of magazines also sitting behind the counter was highlighted.
    Alan grabbed the magazine, opening it up. Halfway through it there was a folded post it note with a code on it.
    It can’t be that easy, can it?
    It was.
    The safe opened revealing a stack of cash, now probably useless, and a handgun with a box of ammunition. Alan took it all. Some files and permits were in there too, but Alan ignored them. After putting everything else in his backpack, he began examining the gun, making sure not to point it at himself or in Kitana’s direction.
    Kitana looked over at Alan, seemingly unsurprised he’d randomly found a gun in a safe. “Have you ever fired a gun before?” she asked.
    “Um, no, but how hard could it be?” Alan said. Kitana rolled her eyes.
    “Don’t point it anywhere near me, alright? Even if the gun is unloaded, or you fired all the bullets, or there’s a giant kaiju about to bite my head off, do NOT point the gun anywhere within five feet of me.”
    “Um, okay,” Alan said. This was the first time he'd heard Kitana raise her voice.
    Hey, Eve, you could show me where to shoot as well, right? Like give me an outline where I should aim the gun, including my reaction time, then highlight the enemy green when I should shoot.
    Very well. It may take a few shots before calibrations are able to be set.
    Um, okay.
    Alan glanced at the countdown, there were two minutes remaining. He started getting a bit nervous. The countdown disappeared.
    What—
    Four enemies approaching, they appear to have split off from the main pack.
    Alan looked at the minimap and sure enough there were four dots rapidly advancing, somehow traversing entire city blocks in seconds. He began hearing noises of crashing cars as the hounds tore through whatever was in their way. Kitana appeared calm, confident, poised. She was smiling. Alan felt like he might wet his pants.
    Then, suddenly, a dead silence. The four dots began positioning themselves around the building.
    “Watch out, from the—”
    A gigantic beast smashed through the wall opposite Alan, pouncing onto the spot where Kitana had been standing a split second earlier.
    Kitana stepped to the side, and as soon as the hound smashed through the wall, she cut upwards, slicing its jugular. Her sword gave off a white light the moment before it slew the beast. Simultaneously, Kitana leapt backwards, further into the store as two other enormous masses of teeth and fur smashed in through the entrance. The “hounds” barely fit in the small store. One looked like a black bear, the other a massive silver-grey wolf.
    A blue outline appeared before Alan, and he followed it unconsciously, firing his gun repeatedly when his vision flashed green. The black bear’s HP bar immediately decreased to 0 after the first shot, but additional bullets flew, striking the body. Alan, who wasn't ready for the recoil, was jerked backwards off-balance.
    Please only fire once when I highlight an enemy, and try to keep your hands steady.
    I’M A BIT BUSY,  Alan replied to Eve as the wolf-like creature leapt at him. The blue outline showed him turning sideways, leaping over the counter, going deeper into the store away from the entrance.
    Alan attempted the jump, but his foot caught on the edge of the counter. He fell face first, but turned it into a sort of roll forwards with Eve’s guidance. He managed to level the gun up at the wolf as it leapt at him again, aiming and firing immediately as Eve highlighted his vision green.
    The wolf’s body crashed down onto him, shot in the head repeatedly. As Alan glanced over at Kitana he saw that she had also finished off the fourth hound, a black haired… mole?
    What kind of hounds are these? Alan asked.
    The hounds of the Predecessors are genetically modified beasts, often used as disposable scouts or in death match tournaments .
    Huh, that might piss off some animal activists. Oh, wait, they’re digital creatures. Wonder if it's still animal cruelty.
    The