Page 45 of Tapeworld Induction

“I really don’t think I helped that m—”

“No, honestly,” he insisted. “The way you were running, and that kick… I’m impressed.”

Despite everything, his smile made her heart flutter, her knees going weak. She flushed. “Well, it was nothing compared to seeing your captain’s instincts kick in. And that flip looked badass, straight out of a Lazarus game.” Oh, crap.

Now it was his turn to blush. “Wait, what do you mean my captain’s instincts? You knew about my Lazarus days? Have you been looking me up online?”

Oops. Oh well, time to confess, she guessed.

“Actually, I didn’t need to. I knew who you were from the beginning. I used to be a fan.”

He stared at her, colour drained from his face.

He took a sip of his drink, taking in what she’d said. Taking a moment to process it.

“What gave it away, besides me wearing that damn t-shirt? I didn’t even realise I had it on till you mentioned it. I thought the beard would help disguise me.”

“Using your real name made it a bit obvious.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “When I pointed out your t-shirt, I was expecting you to own up to it. Why didn’t you?”

He took the straw to his lips and drank. But after all his nervous sipping, there was nothing left, so he just slurped in air as he avoided looking her in the eyes.

“I don’t miss those days.” He couldn’t have been more obviously lying if he tried. Lying to himself too, maybe. But he shouldn’t need to.

She pulled a rebellious strand of hair out of her face. “It’s fine if you do.”

Isaak shook his head, pushing his back against the soft sofa, the red fake leather gently creaking as creases formed where his shoulders touched it.

“Why did you leave?” she asked. This wasn’t exactly the interrogation she had planned, but she would get to the Tapeworld again later. It felt like he was beginning to open up a bit, and she wanted to know as much as he was willing to tell her.

He swallowed. “I didn’t. I was kicked out. Fired because I fucked my knee up.”

Shit. That must have been hard.

“Some people thought” – she meant I thought but couldn’t admit it – “that you were taking a leave of absence to heal up, but then you never came back. Your team sucks to have done that to you.”

Isaak shook his head. “The team’s not to blame. My knee isn’t going to get any better. There is no going back.”

“What about surgery? There are implants, augments you can get…”

He tsked. “Surgery is just delaying the inevitable. And I don’t make enough money for augmentations. Install costs a fortune, plus the maintenance subscription they force you to get. I’m not sure I trust the idea of filling my body with metal like that.”

She nodded. “No, you’re right, it’s pretty shit. I’m sorry. Is that why you spend so much time in the Tapeworld? I noticed that in there you don’t have a…” Don’t say it. Don’t say it, Dylan.

“You can say it. A limp.” He had an amused smile on his face.

“Shit.” Her heart sank. “I don’t want you to think that I see you any differently because of it… I—” She felt stupid for bringing it up, and stumbled over her words as she tried to figure out what she meant to say.

He placed his hand on hers. “I know. Dylan, I know what you mean. It’s okay, you’re not a bad person.” He smiled, and this time it comforted her. His hand on hers felt nice. But he quickly moved it away again.

Isaak fixed his gaze out of the window of the coffee shop, locked into a thousand-mile stare. “The pain fucking sucks, sure. But the pressure of leading the Lazarus for that long, everyone wanting answers and wins out of you… I don’t know how much longer I would have been able to do it anyway.” He looked her in the eyes. “Now that you know my secret, I have to ask… Where did you train to run and fight like that?”

“Because I was faster than you when those wolves were chasing us?” She let her smugness show. “That surprised me, actually. I thought the greatest ReSports player of all time would be a master inside the Tapeworld.”

His cheeks went red. “I’m not… I wasn’t…” He shook his head. “During my first strides, I realised your physical ability IRL translates into your prowess in the Tapeworld. It’s magnified, so don’t look too smug, but the scale is still limited by how much you can do out here. I don’t know how or why.”

It made sense. “And if I were to try using a gun in there?”

“It would be just as difficult as out here, unless these people also trained you as a crack shot? I think you were about to tell me, in excruciating detail, about your training.”