Carly gestured to Gabriel to head out and hurried for the door.
Gabriel didn’t follow. He drifted back to the control board as if drawn by a magnetic force. He focused on the controls of the touch screen, his eyes narrowing.
“What are you doing?” Carly whispered nervously as she rejoined him.
“The base is totally shut down,” Gabriel said, thinking out loud. “What are they using this power for?”
The door on the far side of the room began to open again.
Carly grabbed Gabriel and pulled him toward the exit.
The two retraced their steps without a word and hurried back to the dorm. Once inside, they finally relaxed. Both were breathing hard from the run.
“Why would they say there’s a blackout when they have plenty of power?” Carly asked.
“I don’t know,” Gabriel replied. “But it means they’re not being totally honest with us. I don’t like that. We should tell the others.”
Carly thought hard, then said, “Are you sure about that? We might be making a big deal out of nothing. I’d wait until we know more.”
Gabriel took a deep breath to calm down. He looked square into Carly’s eyes as if trying to read her.
“All right, I won’t tell anybody,” Gabriel said. “But I don’t like secrets and I don’t like feeling like I’m on my own here.”
“You’re not on your own—you’ve got me,” Carly said. “I owe you for telling me about Ravi’s plan. Good night.”
She spun on her heel and walked toward the girls’ dorm. She stopped and turned back to Gabriel with a smile.
“Thanks, that was fun,” she said. Then she disappeared down the hall.
Gabriel watched her for a moment, then said to himself, “Fun?” He thought about it and smiled. “Yeah, I guess it was.”
He ran up the stairs taking two at a time.
“I hope you all had a good night’s rest,” Commander Phillips said as he strode into the hangar where the kids had first met him.
Carly threw Gabriel a sly smile.
STEAM had brought all eight candidates to the hangar, where they found three car-sized clear plastic spheres suspended inside large metal frames. Inside each sphere was a high-tech cockpit. One side of each sphere was open, allowing access.
“These are flight simulators,” Phillips explained. “The controls match those that you’ll use on your journey.”
Phillips reached inside one of the simulators and retrieved a sleek pair of sunglasses.
“Your ship will be programmed to get you to your destination, but there may come a time that it will need to be flown manually.”
“Whoa, is anybody here a pilot?” Niko asked.
“Not yet,” Phillips said as he put on the glasses. “The controls are intuitive. They read your eye movement and thought patterns. Basically, you think about what you want to do and the ship will respond accordingly.”
“That seems impossible,” Siena said skeptically.
“It does, but it isn’t,” Phillips said. “Our goal here is to see which of you is most capable of flying. Who wants to try first?”
Anna jumped to the front. Ravi’s hand shot up as did Gabriel’s.
“Okay, then,” Phillips said. “Let’s go for a ride.”
All three strapped into the cushioned flight seats and put on the glasses.
Phillips said, “Now place your hand on the glass pad to your right. The controls respond to hand pressure. It’s the third input source that determines your course.”
When they put their hands on their pads, a monitor in front of each came to life that showed a star field.
“Now fly,” Phillips instructed. “Maneuver the ship through the markers.”
Scattered across the star field were dozens of colorful orbs that created a virtual obstacle course.
“This is awesome!” Gabriel exclaimed as his “ship” traveled the course.
As they moved, the cockpit moved with them, giving them the sensation of flight. It even shuddered when an orb was hit. In minutes, they all got the hang of it and were speeding through the maze. Dash, Siena, and Carly went next, followed by Niko and Piper.
“It’s simple,” Ravi boasted. “Like flying an Xbox.”
After an hour of practice, Phillips gathered them together.
“Who feels confident?” he asked.
Everyone raised their hand.
“All right, then. Let’s find out who the real pilots are.”
The kids tensed up. This was it. Their next competition.
“We’ll start with Carly, Niko, and Siena. This is an individual challenge. You’re all going to fly through the exact same simulated asteroid field as if you were traveling side by side. The winner will be the one who makes it through the fastest with the least amount of damage.”
“Let’s do it!” Niko exclaimed.
The three strapped into the simulators.
“C’mon, Niko!” Ravi exclaimed. “Show the girls how it’s done!”
Carly looked at Gabriel, who shrugged.
“Really?” Anna said, staring at Ravi. “That’s how it’s gonna be?”
“You’ll get two practice runs,” Phillips said. “The third one is the race. Ready?”
All three placed their hands on the pads and stared straight ahead at the simulator screens. In front of them was a virtual asteroid field loaded with jagged rocks of all sizes.
“Go!” STEAM exclaimed.
All three pilots shot forward…and all three crashed into a massive asteroid.
“Whoa,” Niko said. “That’s a lot harder than the orbs.”
“Exactly,” Phillips said. “You have to fly quickly, but with caution. Let’s go again.”
The screens were reset to the beginning of the course and STEAM again called out, “Go!”
This time the three pilots flew tentatively.
“The asteroids are moving!” Carly exclaimed.
“That is because asteroids move,” STEAM said.
The race lasted a few seconds longer, but all three ended up crashing again.
“Extremely difficult,” Siena said.
“Okay, this is it,” Phillips announced. “This one counts. Ready?”
STEAM called out, “Three, two, one, GO!”
The three simulated ships shot forward, dipping and dodging, barely missing the asteroids.
“Too slow,” Anna said. “You guys are flying like grannies.”
Siena crashed first. Carly was right behind but Niko managed to make it all the way through to the floating red stripe that was the finish line.
“Yes!” he exclaimed.
“Don’t be all proud,” Anna said. “That took you like two days.”
The next three to go were Dash, Gabriel, and Ravi. The results were almost exactly the same. There were quick crashes at first, followed by a very tentative final race. Ravi flew fast but crashed near the end while Gabriel and Dash made it all the way through with times better than Niko’s.
Anna and Piper went last, racing head-to-head. On the first practice run, Piper crashed halfway through.
“Ouch” was all she said.
Anna, on the other hand, made it all the way through without crashing.
“That’s how it’s done!” she exclaimed. “I don’t need any more practice, let’s race!”
“I’d like to practice again,” Piper said meekly.
“Knock yourself out,” Anna said. She sat back and folded her arms to watch.
Piper didn’t do much better on the second run. She crashed within twenty seconds.
“Maybe I’m not destined to be a pilot,” she said.
“All right, let’s do this!” Anna exclaimed.
“Here we go,” STEAM announced. “Three, two, one…go!”
Anna’s race was breathtaking. She flew recklessly, barely skimming past the asteroids. She cut right in front of Piper, forcing her to dodge out of the way and slam square into a speeding meteor.
“Hey!” Pip
er yelled.
“Ha!” Anna replied, loving it. She was a hair away from disaster with every turn but managed to make it through to the finish line with the best time of all. She threw her hands up in triumph and exclaimed, “That makes me the pilot!”
“Not exactly,” Phillips said. “We’ll take the best three times and you’ll race each other on a much longer course.”
It had come down to Anna, Dash, and Gabriel. The three strapped in and focused their attention on the screens.
“C’mon, guys!” Ravi called out. “Put her away!”
“Good luck,” Dash said to his competition.
“Just fly,” Anna shot back.
“This is the final race,” STEAM announced. “Ready? Three, two, one, go!”
The three ships flashed forward.
Anna got off to a fast start. She was gaining experience with every passing second and managed to skirt the asteroids while often cutting it very close.
Gabriel was close behind her. He was totally focused, using his thoughts, his eyes, and his hand to finesse his ship through the danger.
Dash was a distant third. He flew with caution. His goal was to make it through without crashing.
“Woooo!” Anna screamed, loving the ride.
Gabriel fell farther behind. His chances of catching Anna grew dimmer.
“Kiss you guys good-bye!” Anna exclaimed.
Carly knelt down next to Gabriel and said, “Take your hand off the pad.”
“What?” Gabriel asked while keeping his eyes focused on the screen.
“This is just a machine,” she said. “You can figure this out. Use your brain.”
Gabriel hesitated, gave a quick glance to Anna’s screen, and saw he was hopelessly behind.
“Why not?” he said.
He took his hand off the pad.
His simulator instantly kicked into another gear. His eyes narrowed as he slipped into the zone…which launched him even faster. The asteroids looked like blurs as he flew by. He didn’t fear hitting one because he could see which turns to make long before he got there. His analytical mind had kicked into hyperdrive.
“Wow!” Piper screamed.
Within seconds, Gabriel flashed by Anna as if she were floating still.
“No!” Anna yelled.
Gabriel shot by the finish line, the winner.
“Yeah!” he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.
“Told you!” Carly said as the two bumped knuckles.
“Yes, you did,” Gabriel said, trying to catch his breath. “That was awesome.”
Anna threw off her glasses angrily, jumped out of the sphere, and ran straight to Phillips.
“That’s not fair!” she screamed, livid. “She helped him.”
“Yeah,” Ravi said.
“You said this was an individual test,” Anna complained. “He had help.”
“It was just a suggestion,” Carly said defensively.
“Yeah, well, you didn’t give me any suggestions!” Anna shot back.
“You want to run the race again?” Phillips asked Anna.
“No!” Anna exclaimed. “I want you to disqualify him.”
Phillips looked at Gabriel, who sat on the edge of his simulator with his glasses off, waiting for his response.
“I’m sorry, Gabriel,” Phillips said. “Anna’s right. You were all supposed to race on your own. Carly’s advice gave you an unfair advantage. I’m going to have to disqualify you and declare Anna the winner.”
“Oh man,” Gabriel said, slamming his hand against the frame.
“But Anna didn’t win,” Piper said.
“I sure did,” Anna said, gloating.
“But you didn’t finish the course,” Piper said. “Somebody else did.”
All eyes went to Dash’s simulator monitor to see his vehicle cross the red finish line.
“Yes!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “I never thought I’d get through that!”
He pulled off his glasses and looked at the others.
“Which one of you guys won?” he asked, oblivious to what had just happened.
Piper laughed.
Gabriel did too. So did Carly.
“What?” Dash asked, confused.
Anna looked ready to explode. She marched right up to Phillips and pointed a finger in his face. “We both know who the best racer was.”
She stormed off, too angry to say another word.
“Well,” Phillips said. “She certainly has passion.”
The rest of the day was spent taking tests that weren’t anywhere near as dramatic or exciting as the virtual race. The candidates were timed doing math problems and given eye tests to measure their peripheral vision and depth perception. They were hooked up to monitors that measured heart rate, oxygen intake, reaction time, and reflexes.
Dinner was once again served in the cafeteria, though it was much less elaborate than the night before. Everyone was too exhausted to talk. All they wanted was to get to their dorms and drop into bed.
“One last event for tonight,” STEAM announced in the cafeteria.
The news was greeted with groans. STEAM led them back to the dorm, but rather than going to their rooms, they were brought to a corridor lined with doors. Each door had one of their names on it.
“I’m too tired for any more tests,” Niko complained.
“Enter your room, please,” STEAM commanded.
They all gave resigned shrugs and opened the doors, fearful of what they might encounter. Would they be poked and measured some more? Or would there be another impossible arena challenge?
Dash entered to find a simple, small room. There was a desk and chair on the far side. Sitting on the desk was a laptop. On the screen were Dash’s mother and sister.
“Dash!” his sister, Abby, called out.
Dash’s heart leapt. He ran for the desk and jumped into the chair, trying to get as close to the screen as possible.
“Shabby Abby!” Dash said with a laugh.
“We miss you, Dasher,” Abby said. “Are you having fun at camp?”
“Fun? Uh, yeah. Sort of. Hi, Mom.”
“You look tired,” his mom said with worry.
“Tired? Nah. I’m exhausted! But it really is kind of fun. I won a big race today, though I don’t think it meant anything. It was only because somebody messed up.”
“Isn’t that part of it?” Mrs. Conroy asked. “They want kids who won’t mess up.”
“Hadn’t thought of it that way, but I’ll go with that. How’s everything at home?”
“We miss you,” she said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Dash said seriously. “The tests and challenges make sense, but we also have to deal with a lot of drama.”
“Do you want to come home?” Mrs. Conroy asked. “They said you can leave anytime.”
“No way!” Dash exclaimed. “But I’ll tell you, Mom, these kids are smart. I’m not so sure I belong here.”
“You belong there,” his mom said with confidence. “I have no doubt about that.”
“Yeah, well, you’re supposed to think that. It’s your job.”
“It’s not my job,” Abby said. “And I think you’re going to do great.”
“Thanks. The only bad thing about it is being away from home. I really miss you guys.”
Mrs. Conroy had to hold back tears.
“It’s okay, Mom,” Dash said. “I’m not on my own. Some of the other candidates are cool.”
“Glad to hear that,” Mrs. Conroy said. “I want to hear all about what’s—”
The computer screen went blank. The light in the cubicle went dark.
Nine o’clock.
Blackout.
The rest of the week played out a lot like the first few days. The competitors were given daily tests and presented with challenges that pushed their physical and mental abilities to the max. Whether it was classroom math or running sprints in the hot desert, the pressure to perform was constant.
&nbs
p; Anna was the most focused and the most competitive. She always arrived early for classroom sessions, made sure she was at the front of every line, and never offered help to anybody else.
“It’s a contest,” she would say. “Why would I help the competition?”
The other seven treated the competition more as if they were on the same team. They each did their best, but they weren’t above offering help or advice to the others. (Except for Ravi and Niko, who didn’t help the girls much.)
A highlight of the week was when they received their Mobile Tech Band computers. “Wearable technology” was what Commander Phillips called it.
The MTB was a lightweight six-inch elastic black sleeve that slipped onto their forearms. It was like having a supercomputer wrapped snugly onto their arms. With a quick touch or a verbal command, they could tap into the massive Project Alpha database. They could also use it to communicate with each other, monitor their own vital signs, and view video on its small screen.
They were awesome.
“I’m guessing you can’t pick one of these babies up at Walmart,” Gabriel said.
It was this computer that gave Dash and Anna the information they needed to defeat the Raptogon in the challenge they faced together. That contest happened at the end of the first week of camp.
After triumphing against the holographic monster, Anna started talking as if she had the overall contest locked up.
“I think I know who they’re going to pick,” she said at dinner after the Raptogon Event.
“You mean besides you?” Ravi asked, snickering.
Everyone laughed, but it was nervous laughter because his words rang true. She was the most successful competitor. The alpha dog.
“Who?” Niko asked nervously.
Anna looked the group over, meeting their awkward gazes, enjoying the fact that they all knew she was the front-runner.
“If I was choosing the team,” she finally said after holding them all in suspense, “I’d take Gabriel, Niko, and Siena.”
Those three let out a collective breath.
“You don’t think the rest of us are any good?” Carly asked.
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