by Chanda Hahn
“Every night for two years,” Curly answered.
“For them, they never woke up. The girls still lived the nightmare. Now tell me that wouldn’t mess with your head.”
Curly’s face reddened. “Yeah, it would.”
Jade was the first to come back around the locker wall, wearing a gray uniform, and her wet hair was pulled back into a neat braid. By all appearances, she was ready to go. But she seemed twitchy, unable to stand still, and she kept looking at the ground and averting her eyes.
While her behavior was probably understandable, Peter began to feel a rising panic at the thought of what would happen if Jade and the others, who had only just been released from these cruel pods, were confronted with combat.
“Are you ready?” he asked Jade.
She looked up at him and nodded, then averted her eyes and shivered. Finally she said, “I don’t know.”
Peter bit his tongue and waited to hear her out.
“I don’t know if I can fight. I couldn’t, before. I didn’t want to be a weapon,” Jade began. “I refused to do what Hook asked of me. We all did, and because of that we were punished.”
“You should always have a choice. You will never be forced to do that again. But we may have to fight to get out of here. Can you do that?” Peter asked. “I’m not asking you to kill, but can you fight for your freedom?”
The girl with honey brown hair came forward and draped her arm over Jade’s shoulder. “I’m Ash. We may have not wanted to fight for Hook, but it doesn’t mean we aren’t up for revenge.” She squeezed Jade’s shoulder and her eyes lit up.
“Now, that I can do,” Jade said firmly.
The other girls streamed out from behind the lockers, each one with a determined face. Gone where the wide-eyed lambs they rescued. Standing in front of them was a pack of lionesses.
Peter nodded, his grin spreading across his face. He had an army.
He guided them toward the exit when suddenly an alarm broadcasted in the room. Everyone turned in surprise as the overhead lights turned red, and then they heard the very distinguishable sound of a heavy deadbolt sliding across the door, locking them inside. Peter scanned the room in alarm, prepared to fight, but it was empty other than a wall of lockers, the pods, and the lifts.
“Welcome back to Neverland,” Hook’s voice blared over the loudspeaker. The overhead lights continued to flash red and white, red and white. A TV, hung on the far wall, flickered on and Hook’s face appeared on the screen.
Onyx and Craft ran toward the closest exit.
“Candace?” Peter asked.
“It’s a live feed,” she answered, pointing to the speakers that hung from the ceiling.
Hook’s ugly mug grinned back at them. “Don’t try to escape. The room is sealed, and if you touch the door, you will be electrocuted.”
“Craft,” Peter warned just as the boy reached for the handle. Onyx’s reflexes were quicker, and he pulled the boy back just as his fingertip touched the metal. A spark of light flashed, the red pulsating lights flickered once, and Craft fell backwards onto the cold, hard cement.
Onyx checked his pulse.
“Is he okay?” Peter asked, running toward the boy.
Onyx leaned back on his heels. “He has a pulse. Just out cold.”
“What was that?” Peter asked Candace accusingly.
But Candace wasn’t paying attention, and neither were the other boys, as they all stared up in revulsion at Hook’s delighted expression.
“Oh, did one of you touch it? What happened? Did he die?” he asked eagerly.
“Can he see us?” Peter asked.
“And hear you,” Candace mouthed with a nod, then motioned her head to the corner, being careful to not move too much.
Peter eyed the corner where she’d gestured and spotted the small blinking red light of a camera that had been virtually invisible before, having blended into the dark ceiling while it was off.
Hook leaned back in his chair. “Well, never mind. Let this be a lesson to you that you can’t escape. It’s time to play the game.”
“Game? What game?” Peter stepped away from the boys and tried to draw all the attention onto him.
“You again? Why are you here and not with the other Dusters?” He slammed his fist onto the table.
“Obviously, I’m loyal to a fault, despite your attempts to reprogram me.”
Hook glowered menacingly at the camera. “Well, too late. I tried to put you on the winning team. But now it’s out of my hands.”
“What’s out of your hands?” Peter asked, but Hook had stepped away from the screen, and the man in the business suit from the beach appeared, taking his place. He was older, white-haired, but he had an air of quiet authority.
“That’s right. It’s in my hands. I’m President Helix of Wonderland Games.”
“Why are we here?” Peter asked him.
Helix laughed. “Why, Hook, you’re right, he is spunky. What is your name, young man?”
“Peter.”
Helix leaned back and spoke to Hook for confirmation. “This is the one . . . right?”
Hook mumbled something off-screen, but it must have been an affirmation, because Helix’s face beamed in delight.
“Well, Peter. You were identified, as our answer to the future of Virtual Reality Games. We’ve been developing the software for years, and more recently we’ve had a breakthrough as to how to make the reality even more real.”
Onyx leaned over and whispered to Curly, “Hey, isn’t that the multibillion-dollar online game designer?”
“That would be a question for Ditto and Slightly. But I think you’re right.” Curly observed the room cautiously. “They haven’t been able to stop playing the online co-op game for months.”
“The problem with video games is that they become predictable. The avatars are programmed with a limited set of moves, and if you play them long enough, you can see the pattern. Even if you are able to randomly generate an infinite number of moves, they always have a weakness. I have found a way to rid the world of the humdrum monotony of video games. I’ve made it personal and more live-action based than ever before.”
“Better graphics?” Onyx snorted.
“You won’t get more 4-D than this. The newest expansion and world update is being beta tested live in one hour, and I can’t wait to hear what you think.” Helix sounded pleased, but he was the only one. He didn’t seem to care about the grim faces looking back at him.
“If you survive that is,” Helix laughed sinisterly.
The screen went blank and everyone spoke at once.
“What is he talking about?” Jade asked.
“I don’t understand why we’re here,” Ash said.
“A video game unveiling doesn’t sound so bad,” Nibs added.
Peter walked over to Candace, and grabbing the back of her wheelchair, he leaned down and said, “Explain fast. I don’t care how nonchalant he is being. There’s always a catch.”
Candace swallowed nervously, playing with the watch on her wrist.
“There is. You’re the game.”
Chapter 34
“I can’t do it,” John mumbled in defeat. He leaned his head back to look at the crew of hopefuls that had gathered in the yachts galley. “It looks like I need a password to get past the next stage to the instructions. I never received an invite, so I don’t have the user-generated code.”
Tink had given up long ago and laid her head on the table, and now began banging her forehead on it in frustration.
Michael was sitting in the corner, his hands white-knuckled around his knees. “Can I try?” he whispered.
Tink’s head snapped up and she looked at the young boy. “Why didn’t I think of that? Let the kid with the computer brain go at it.”
“I did,” John said and moved to sit next to Michael. “I didn’t want to put him through it, if I could do it myself.” He ruffled the young boy’s hair. “Do you really think you want to do this? I mean, it’
s syncing up with Neverland’s computers again. What if they get inside your head again?”
Michael blinked through the goggles at them. “Let them try. I’ve always focused on keeping them out of my head, but now it’s my turn to break in.” A mischievous smirk crossed his face, and John swept out his hand toward the computer.
“Be my guest.”
The young boy gave a shy smile to Tink, then hopped over to the bench and sat in front of the computer, leaning forward. At first he didn’t seem to be doing anything.
Tink nudged John. “Look at the screen,” she whispered.
Michael didn’t even need to touch the keys. His brain started opening pages on the computer as he searched without using a mouse. He found whatever backdoor he was looking for, and they watched in awe as code began to scroll across the screen.
“Look at him go!” John clenched his fists and Tink put her arm around John’s waist as they leaned close to watch him.
“He’s amazing!” Tink cheered.
Michael’s grin grew bigger, but then his tongue stuck out as he encountered a slight hitch. His brows furrowed and he closed his eyes. His hands went to his temples and he grunted in pain.
“Hit a firewall,” he mumbled. “Trying to get through.” Sweat beaded across his forehead. He sucked in his breath and gasped in pain, his small hands pressing to his temples as if to alleviate the pressure building.
“Look at his eyes,” Tink murmured. John stepped back when he saw it—the computer screen showed one thing, but reflected out of Michael’s eyes and amplified by the goggles was computer code—all ones and zeros.
“That’s how he’s communicating. It’s so fascinating.” Tink pressed closer, but John pulled her back and shook his head, giving the young boy space.
“We’re in,” Michael crowed before collapsing on the table, his head cocked to the side, his mouth slightly opened.
“Is he okay?” John asked, but Tink had already rushed to check on him.
“He’s breathing, and I think . . .” She leaned forward and smiled. “He’s asleep. Must have tuckered him out. Let’s call the others and give him a few minutes to recover.”
It didn’t take long for the news to spread, and everyone gathered in the galley for news. Thankfully, Michael was back in tip-top shape after a five-minute nap.
“We got in,” John told the group. “Thanks to Michael.”
Michael grinned as he dug his spoon into a package of freeze-dried ice cream.
“And you won’t believe what he found,” Tink added, spinning the laptop so Dr. Barrie and Jax could see.
Jax leaned over the table, and John clicked on the link. A black screen with the words Warfare 8 appeared, but then the 8 shifted and turned sideways.
The countdown clock listed sixty-five minutes left.
“Warfare Infinity, that sounds awesome!” Ditto said a little too enthusiastically. He read the byline of the game.
A Division of the Unnatural and Supernatural Teams have infiltrated Hollow Dome. Your mission is to defend the city from the ever-increasing shades.
“Okay, now shades sound lame,” Ditto added. “Who came up with that name?”
John began to read aloud. “Real time, real video, real explosions. It’s all real and so are the stakes. High-end gamers log on and pay money to link to a specially designed D.U.S.T. avatar for the combat. Upgrades and special abilities are extra.”
“I don’t get how they could make money off of this?” Jax asked.
Dr. Mee shook her head. “I have no idea.”
John was biting his thumb and kept clicking through the screen. “Guys, this is bad.”
“What?” Slightly asked.
“It’s Peter.” John pointed out a 3-D rendering of Peter. “Look at this. Stats, weaknesses, and special abilities: flight and regeneration.”
Tink leaned over John’s shoulder and gasped. “Not only that, but Onyx, Nibs, Craft, and the others. Who are they? I don’t recognize them at all.”
“They’re what’s left of the Primes and the new generation of Dusters. I’d be more worried about the upgrades.”
Tink’s and John’s heads bonked each other as they tried to read more of the screen.
“So to go to the beta test live, the buy-in is one million. Who has this kind of money?”
“Celebrities, millionaires with nothing to spend their money on,” Jax said. “Video games are the future, and when you have the best setup, you can spend your money on it.”
“Today’s the trial run,” John sighed, reading the fine print. “Think of it as preseason in football. It’s the game launch for future investors and game owners. The site says a buy-in of a million gets one of us in the viewing room, to watch the first battle royal. We’d get the first-round draft pick, and before it goes live to the public next month.”
“One of us needs to get in there,” Tink said, tapping the screen.
“Oh, Tink, I think you’re too big to fit in the computer,” Ditto joked.
“Don’t be a dork! You know what I mean. We’re in my dad’s yacht. We have a hacked invitation. One of us can get inside the friggin’ building.”
Dr. Barrie looked around at the group with a hopeless expression. “Well, it’s not going to be me. I know nothing about virtual reality or video games.”
“They know me.” Jax held up his hands.
“I can go,” Tink answered.
Slightly chuckled and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Tink, I don’t think they’d buy it. You may be a hacker, but your mouth will get you in trouble.”
“It can’t be Isabelle. They know who she is as well. They’ve bugged Dr. Barrie’s bookstore; I suspect they’ve watched it as well. It has to be someone they don’t know.”
All eyes turned to John. His face was pensive as he studied the screen, and then when he realized the scrutiny he was under, he jumped up from the seat. “Hey, guys, I’m flattered. Really. But I’m the wrong person.”
“He’s perfect,” Tink said. “They don’t know him. Does he match any of the profiles of the investors that Hook contacted?” She glanced at Michael.
“There’s a few in their twenties. With the right attitude he could pull it off. I just need to go in there and change a few things, send the wrong coordinates to one of the other investors, and get John in—we’d be golden,” Michael said.
“Dr. Mee?” Dr. Barrie called out.
“Yes?”
“Take young John into my room, and see what is in the closets. We need to make him look like a million bucks.” Dr. Barrie clasped his hands together.
Tink snorted. “Might as well make that three million.”
“Now, you two, make him believable on this thing,” he said, gesturing to the computer, and Michael grinned.
“You mean on the internet?”
“Yes, you know what I mean, you rascal.” Dr. Barrie motioned for Jax to come over to him. “Now, son.”
“I’m not your son,” Jax snapped.
“I know that, but do you remember what happened when we left the island last time?”
“How could I forget?” Jax growled out, his arms crossed over his chest.
“I want to say I’m sorry,” Dr. Barrie sighed, then pulled out a chair and sat down. “I shouldn’t have asked you to use your powers like that all those years ago.”
“No, you shouldn’t have. I was a boy.”
“Yes, I made you a murderer, and for that I am deeply sorry. But we are about to walk into a situation again, and I want to know if—”
“I’ll kill for you again?” Jax said, his face guarded.
“No, I . . .” He sighed sadly. “I regret what happened that day, but I want you to know that I’m not asking you to fight for us. It’s your choice only.”
“What you don’t understand”—Jax pounded his fist to his chest—“is that it’s always been my fight. You asked me, and I agreed. I swore never to use my powers like that again. When the guilt weighed too heavily on me, I ended up join
ing them freely. But then I had to use them again to save my friends, and I realized I can’t run from my gifts and what was done to me. This is my fight, today, tomorrow, and the next day, and I will only ever fight for what I believe, and I choose to be here.” He slammed his fist onto the table.
Both Tink and Michael stared at Jax’s red flaming hand, and when he lifted it, a burned knuckle pattern remained on the table.
Dr. Barrie didn’t flinch, didn’t back down, but in a calm voice, stated, “From what I hear, there are a lot of young misguided youths that are under Neverland’s control. Do what you can, but show mercy.”
“And there are a lot of misguided Red Skulls,” Jax countered.
“You can’t right the past, but we can always change our future.”
“Whatever, old man,” Jax called out and stormed up the stairs to the deck.
John came out of the bedroom; his normally slicked-back hair was stylistically messed up. He wore a gray slim jacket over his own white T-shirt. His jeans were cuffed over white boat shoes, and on his wrist was a Rolex.
“Nice,” Tink whistled. “You look young, reckless, and loaded.”
John pulled his pockets inside out. “But I don’t. Broke, unless they take personal checks.”
Dr. Barrie went into the back room and came back with a briefcase. “Here you go.”
“What is it?” John asked.
“The buy-in,” Dr. Barrie said. “I keep money in a hidden safe, enough to start over again if we have to.”
“Is there more?” Tootles piped up and teleported into the back bedroom. Seconds later, he was back with the group, and then he teleported back in search of the hidden safe.
“That will keep him busy for a while,” Tink chuckled.
“What about the rest of us?” Slightly asked. “They’re going to search the ship, right? Then how do we get off?”
“I have a hidden room, though it will be a tight fit for most of you. Dr. Mee will be John’s personal chef. I will be the valet, and after John is safe inside Neverland, Tootles can teleport you inside.”
“I can’t teleport where I haven’t been or seen,” Tootles spoke up nervously. “I can get stuck in a wall.”