Cottage on Gooseberry Bay: Charmed Summer by Kathi Daley (big screen ebook reader txt) 📗

twenties to early thirties asked after Jemma and I entered Underground Comics through the front door.

“My name is Ainsley Holloway.” I offered the man a business card. “I’m a private investigator who’s been hired to find out what happened to Zane Maddox. I wondered if you might be willing to answer a few questions.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know nothing about those missing kids, but if you want to ask me some questions, go ahead. I’ll answer those I can.”

“Zane Maddox, Kalen West, and Trevor Wilson are all currently missing. I understand that all three frequented this store.”

“Yeah. So, what? Half the kids who attend the high school, including a fair number of girls, come here. What does frequenting my store have to do with anything?”

“I’m not saying that frequenting your store is in any way connected to whatever happened to the boys,” I said. “I just hoped that since all three missing kids came in here, you might know a bit about them. We’re talking to everyone who knew any of the boys.”

The man seemed to relax a bit. I supposed it was natural for one to feel defensive when being interviewed about missing persons.

“I guess I did know all three missing boys. What do you want to know?”

I leaned an elbow on the counter and turned my body just a bit so I could look at the man directly. “I understand that Zane, Kalen, and Trevor all enjoyed playing multiplayer games online.”

“Sure. Most of the kids who hang out here are into the role-playing stuff to a degree.”

“I assume that some of the kids who come in here take the game a lot more seriously than others.”

“Yeah. I guess that’s true. A lot of players jump in the game when they have some free time, but a few of my more dedicated customers seem to make a lifestyle of it.”

“And the three boys who are missing? Which type were they?” I asked.

He stroked his shaggy beard before answering. “Zane stopped in most days, and I know he was online most nights and often on weekends. Actually, he’s been online a lot more regularly lately. I think the End Days mission he got involved in really drew him in.”

“And the others?”

He scratched a cheek. “Kalen didn’t come into the store as often as Zane, who stopped in almost every day, at least for a few months, but he has been online more often since joining the same End Days mission that Zane is involved in. Trevor too, for that matter.”

“And the game?” I asked. “What exactly is the objective?”

He shrugged. “It’s really all about surviving in the world that you’ve been forced into. Sort of a post-apocalypse thing.”

“And Zane, Kalen, and Trevor all have roles in this game?” I verified.

“Yep. And all three were doing really well and climbing up in the ranking until they went missing.”

“And have they played since they went missing?” I asked.

He frowned. “I’m not sure. I guess if knowing that is important, I can take a look at the activity logs for each of the boys.”

“You can track their play?” Jemma asked.

“For this specific game, I can. The creator provided a program that all those who play can sign up for. Once you’re signed up for the program and playing the game, stats are made available to both the user and everyone else with an account. The program allows all the players to track play and ranking for themselves and their competitors. Most gamers are competitive, and they want to see their name, or at least their username, up on the leader board, so they sign up and allow access to their user logs.”

“And how exactly does one get listed on the leader board?” I asked.

“You can make it to the board by logging a lot of hours or leveling up.”

“Leveling up?” I asked.

“Winning one level and making it to the next.”

“And how do you win End Days?” Jemma asked. “What is the overall objective?”

“The objective is ascendance, and the way to be invited to ascend is to make it to the final level. I’m not sure what level that might be since no one I know has ever achieved it, but supposedly once you reach the final level, you leave the challenging world you’ve been fighting to survive in behind and enter some sort of nirvana. I heard that there are only a few who have gotten that far in the game. Like I said, I’ve never spoken to anyone who has actually ascended, but I heard there was a team in New Mexico who managed to ascend around the first of March and another team in California who conquered the game just a month or so after that. I guess you can ask them about it if you can track down anyone from those two teams, but as far as I know, they aren’t sharing their experience, so the whole thing is really mysterious.”

“You were going to check the activity log to tell me when the three missing boys from Gooseberry Bay played last,” I reminded him.

“Oh, sure.” He pulled up a log on his computer. “The log only shows usernames, which might not help others, but since the boys are in here so often and we chat, I know the usernames of all three.”

“And what are their usernames?” I asked.

“Zane is Trident, Kalen is Raith, and Trevor is Hadron.” He typed in a few commands, pulling up the sheet he was looking for. “It looks as if all three boys logged a serious number of hours Friday afternoon into early Saturday morning, but none have played since.”

“Did anything odd happen in the game Friday or Saturday?” Jemma asked. “Something unique or significant that might explain why the three boys played so long Friday afternoon into early Saturday morning