britainkalai Presents a Sneak Peek at "Shards of Reality: A Cinderella Story"

"Ella, do we have eyes on them yet?" The words came through my headset in a whisper, preventing the game's audio sensors from picking up the sound and broadcasting it to the other team. I glanced at the left-hand corner of my heads-up display; it projected the images my scout hawk was sending back from its flight through the trees. I twitched my pinkie, and the hawk's course adjusted to avoid a tree.

It was a delicate balance, directing the hawk and covering the back of my group as we moved through the dense forest. If I paid too much attention to the camera feed, I could miss seeing the enemy sneaking up on us; if I neglected to adjust the hawk's course, it could collide with a tree and give away its position.

"I just cleared the northwest. No sign of movement. I'm guessing they chose to go east, near the river. Stand by." Another twitch, and the hawk veered off at a dizzying angle. To avoid vertigo, I focused on the view directly in front of me. I could see Tess and Stacie stepping gingerly through the undergrowth, heads turning to take in as much of the surrounding forest as possible.

On my HUD, the river swept into view of the hawk cam. Meg, our rogue, had chosen to go this way to take advantage of the sound cover the river provided, and I hoped the other team had had the same idea. Turning around, I walked backward to scan the forest behind me. My hand curled around the bow I carried. An arrow was already nocked, waiting to be drawn back at a moment's notice. Well, it wasn't really there; the stiff fingers of my suit's gloves held my hands in position where a bow and arrow would have been. My brain knew they were simulations, but the visuals in my glasses and the suit's motion sensors tricked me into believing otherwise.

A flash swept across the hawk cam feed, calling my attention back to the HUD. I rotated my pinkie, sending the hawk into a dive toward an approaching tree. The simulated bird landed on the branch, swinging its head in time to my commands, searching for the thing that had moved. There! The other hawk! It was circling lower than mine, trying to avoid getting caught in the upper branches of the trees. I held my breath, tracking the enemy hawk's pattern for a few heartbeats, then flicked my pinkie outward, giving the "kill" command. On my HUD, the hawk sprang forward in a dive, heading straight for the enemy bird. The two collided in a whirling mass of feathers.

"Enemy hawk engaged," I whispered, trying to keep my voice calm. I pulled the fingers of my right hand apart, away from the simulated arrow string, and quickly made a fist over my thumb. The movement calibrated the sensors in my fingers to give me more direct control over the hawk. Now I could manipulate its beak, claws, and wings.

It was over in moments, my finger play outdoing the enemy scout's with ease. Over my headset, I caught a faint sound as the enemy hawk faded from the simulation; the other scout cursing under her breath.

"Did you catch that?" I breathed as quietly as I could, stepping closer to the nearest tree and pressing my back against it. My suit adjusted to mimic the pinch of rough bark between my shoulder blades. Another fist motion set my hand back to normal mode. I gripped the arrow and string hard between my fingers.

"Must be close... off to the right near that group of boulders," Tess whispered back. She and Stacie had also found cover behind trees. I could just see Tess, hand clamped tightly around her sword and shield, simulated plate armor giving her slight frame more bulk than it had in real life.

"Meg, do you copy?" I asked. "Do you want us to engage, or should we wait?"

"I'm closing in on their tower now," Meg's whispered reply came back. "Could you scout the area? I can't tell if they left someone here or if they all went for our tower."

"Hawk incoming."

"Stacie, give us a perimeter. We don't need any surprises while we plan," Tess said. She was our team captain, and called most of the strategic shots in-game. Stacie didn't bother with a response. Peeking around the edge of my tree, I saw a faint white smoke creep along the ground, frosting the edges of the grass and dead leaves in a ring around our position before fading away. If anyone on the enemy team stepped into the ring, they would be temporarily stuck to the ground.

I glanced at my HUD and saw the hawk had arrived at the enemy tower. "Area clear," I whispered to Meg. "Enemy Scout is active, but the hawk is down."

"Meg, prepare to take the tower. Whoever gets the first kill will transfer it to you." Tess said.

"Ready and waiting," came Meg's reply.

"Ella, scout for the enemy rogue back at our tower and cover the charge. On my mark...now!"

On the signal, Stacie and Tess sprang into action, running for the grouping of boulders. The other team had heard Tess shout; their tank jumped from behind the center rock and ran forward, likely hoping to overpower us quickly. She was by far their team's best player, and she preferred a direct attack.

Stacie stopped at the last tree before the clearing and waved a hand. The spell shield spread with cracking energy over Tess as she continued her charge. She dashed with almost inhuman speed. In the fantasy simulation, tanks like Tess could boost their speed in short bursts. The gap between her and the enemy tank closed quickly, and she brought her sword up just in time to block her opponent's overhand blow. Both blades burst with magical fire. The enemy tank swung again, smoke from her blade leaving black streaks along Tess's armor as she blocked the hit with a plated forearm.

I stayed where I was, bow trained toward the boulders where the enemy mage still hid. I caught glimpses of the mage's red robe through the gaps each time she stepped out to aim a spell. A ball of fire shot toward Stacie. She brought her arm up, and a round shield of ice formed around it. The fireball burst against it, spraying ice chips and water droplets.

Stacie threw her arm back against a tree, shattering the ice shield into two dripping pieces. She grabbed one with each hand and tossed them into the air. They hovered there, elongating into two sharp spears of ice before shooting forward in a rush of icy wind. The enemy tank raised her shield, and the ice shattered against it. The mage ducked behind her rock again.

Tess swung her blade in a sharp chopping motion toward the tank's now unprotected left side, but the girl whipped her shield back down, then shoved hard and pushed Tess's sword arm away. Tess let the momentum carry her blade around for a strike at the tank's head, but the tank already had her blade up. Sparks flew as the blades ground together.

I need to get a better angle on that mage. Running forward, I took cover behind another tree. I stepped out and drew back my bowstring, waiting for my moment. Ahead of me, Stacie had changed her spell pattern, hands weaving, laying down a frost trap a few steps right of the mage's position. The girl darted out, another fireball aimed directly at Tess. I took aim just to the left of the girl's ear, between her and the boulder she was using for cover. My arrow whistled through the air. The mage saw it and moved right, head ducking away from the shaft, and stepped directly into the trap.

Momentum suddenly halted, she stumbled, arms wheeling. Stacie swept her hands around in a circular motion, and an orb of crackling energy formed between them. She shoved it forward and it burst against the enemy mage, engulfing her in a wave of electricity. The mage jerked and fell to the ground; her real-world suit would be locked up and vibrating with simulated electric pulses.

"Mage down! Head for the tower, Meg!" Stacie yelled.

I ran forward again and fired three arrows at the enemy tank, one after the other. She raised her shield to block them, dodging backward and avoiding one of Stacie's traps by an inch. I jumped behind another tree before she could lower the shield and figure out where I was hiding.

I waited for three heartbeats before peeking around the tree trunk. My eyes scanned the boulders, looking for the other scout; she hadn't shown herself yet. "Come on, where are you?" I said under my breath, pulling another arrow from my quiver and setting it against the string. Then it hit me. She's behind you, idiot!

It was instinct more that sight, really; that creeping feeling along the back of my neck that told me to duck just before the virtual shaft zipped through the air where my head had been. I dropped and hit the ground with a thump. A sharp pain spread through my shoulder as the suit simulated my weight coming down hard on a rock hidden in the undergrowth. I rolled behind a tree as an arrow struck the ground near my head. Another second and I was on my feet.

Moving slowly, I risked a glance around the tree. As I'd hoped, a third arrow flew through the air. Got you! I pulled back quickly. The arrow tore a chunk of bark away, missing me by a hair.

There was a large patch of ferns growing at my feet, and I dropped down among them, lying on my stomach. I flipped my bow over, horizontal with the ground, and took aim. The enemy scout was moving now, dodging behind trees. She nocked another arrow and aimed right for Stacie, who was tossing balls of energy at the enemy tank.

Breathe in... out... and release. My arrow shot through the air and caught the scout right in the head. A kill shot. She fell sideways into a tangle of bushes and didn't move.

"Scout down," I said, getting up and turning toward the others. Stacie and Tess were fighting hard; incredibly, the enemy tank's spell shield was still intact. I watched as she dodged left to avoid Stacie's ice darts, spinning around to catch Tess in the shoulder with her blade. She is extremely good. "Meg, how are we doing on that tower?"

"I'm in. Working on the third lock. How is our tower doing?"

"Checking now," I replied, nocking another arrow and firing it at the tank. In the corner of my vision, the hawk was circling the woods around our tower. "No activity. She must be—," I stopped as Meg's voice came back over the comm with a curse. "Backstab!" I yelled the code word over the noise of the battle.

"Get to Meg! I'll finish this!" Tess grunted, dropping her shield and making a fist over her thumb. In a blink, her shield dropped and her sword extended into the thick, heavy blade of a full broadsword. She gripped the weapon in two hands and swung hard.

I dashed past them, not waiting to see if Stacie followed. The hawk swept overhead and into the distance; I had already sent it back to the enemy tower. In between leaping over fallen branches and dodging trees, I watched its progress on my HUD. The hawk swept toward the stone tower wall, and landed on the ledge of a window.

Meg came into view, locked in combat with the enemy rogue. The girl held a pair of wicked-looking knives in either hand, angled downward. As I watched, she lunged forward, forcing Meg to back up several steps. Meg was breathing hard and moving slower than normal. I couldn't see it on the cam, but she was clearly injured.

Finally the trees in front of me parted to reveal the clearing around the enemy tower. It rose four stories in the air, with ivy climbing along its outer face. I sprinted through the open door and jumped for the first two steps of the narrow spiral staircase at the back of the room. My feet met wood with a hollow thump.

"Stacie, can you heal—," I started to say, then glanced over my shoulder. There was no Stacie. "Tess! Is Stacie with you?"

"Tess is down. I'm tending to her now," Stacie said over the comm. "The tank got away. She's heading for you."

"Stacie, I told you to go with Ella!" Tess said, sounding as though she was speaking through clenched teeth.

Too late now. Still climbing, I slung my bow across my back. Two fingers wrapped over my thumb changed the weapon setting on my glove, and I reached down. The glove stiffened to simulate the hilt of a dagger. I slid the new weapon from my boot sheath as I stepped onto the landing and burst through the open doorway of the third floor.

"Meg, go!" I shouted, barreling forward. The rogue saw me and collapsed into a roll to avoid me. She rose quickly to a crouch, assessing the situation. Meg took advantage of the pause to make a break for the stairs, limping slightly. The enemy's lip curled angrily as she leapt toward Meg. I lunged and grabbed her by the shoulder. My blade slashed across her back, and she cried out at the electric charge that simulated the cut.

The rogue threw her elbow back and connected hard with my face. My helmet simulated the blow, the pulse searing through the uppermost layer of skin from the point of impact. It hurt like crazy. I let go of her and touched my nose, wiping away a trickle of blood that didn't really exist. The rogue sprang for the stairs again. This time I only just managed to catch her by the hood of her cloak. I hauled her back as she fumbled to undo the strings and release the fabric.

"Status?" Tess asked. She sounded out of breath.

"Almost... there...," Meg grunted. The last lock was always the hardest.

The cloak dropped to the ground, and the rogue ran up the stairs. I bolted after her, taking the steps two at a time. She was almost at the landing. Flipping the knife in my hand, I threw it as hard as I could. It caught the rogue in the back, and she jerked to a halt, toppling awkwardly against the tower wall with a grunt. I jumped past her, yanking my knife from her back as I went.

"Got it!" Meg's voice was triumphant. The lock clicked, and she pushed the door open and ran into the final room. I stopped on the threshold, nose still throbbing painfully, and watched as Meg stepped back from a plinth in the center of the room. In her hands she held a glowing ruby the size of her face. Then the light died completely, throwing us all into a pitch-black void. The fingers of my glove loosened, no longer grasping the virtual dagger.

An emotionless female voice cut through the darkness.

Crystal Obtained. Blue Team Wins.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of "Shards of Reality," my next fairytale retelling project. This is an ambitious undertaking for me because most of what I write is historical fiction. Stepping into the world of modern technology has already presented some challenges, especially since some of the tech I want to use hasn't been invented yet. Hopefully the final result is both believable and entertaining.

If you want to check out my other works, head over to my Wattpad profile. My most popular work, "Glass Roses: A Victorian Fairytale," is available on Amazon in ebook and print, and through the Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owner's Lending Library programs.

Also, massive hugs and thanks to KellyAnneBlount for inviting me to be part of the #WattpadBlockParty. She puts tons of work into this event, and I am grateful to her for generously including me in this fabulous lineup. If you want to show your thanks and support to her, read, comment, and vote for the posts here at the Party, and don't forget to check out her latest collaborative release, "Sirens and Scales," a compilation of urban fantasy stories.

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