Kayla watched, fascinated as Jaden’s long, elegant fingers hummed over a manual keyboard. “Where did you learn to do that?”
“Here and there.” His mind was on whatever it was he was doing to gain access to the next proprietary site.
The holoscreen on the wall blinked. “Access granted.”
Jaden voiced the search string parameters. “Medallion or coin. Antique. Inlaid with ink pot and quill.”
But there were still no results.
“Last one,” Jaden grimly informed Kayla as he began typing again.
Kayla paced. Everything is wrong with this picture! It’s not feasible that we aren’t finding answers. The enhanced investigative capacity of the proprietary search engines should’ve at least given us something. Kayla held her breath while Jaden gave the search command one last time.
“No results.”
When the final site spat out the same disappointing conclusion, Jaden threw his hands up. “This is ridiculous!”
Kayla concurred. But her frustrated mind had been scheming while Jaden was running the searches. “Jaden, what if we’re looking at this all wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“We think the medallion is the connection between us, and we’re trying to find information on it, right?” At his nod, she continued. “What if we searched for information on that monster instead? Think about it. If we can’t find information on the medallion, perhaps we’ll find something on the thing we think it’s connected to. Why don’t you try a search for ‘bird’ and ‘scorpion tail’ instead? Perhaps we’ll stumble onto information about the medallion that way.”
“That just might work.”
Kayla fidgeted while Jaden simultaneously searched all the sites he’d accessed, still waiting for his commands on the screens lined up along the wall. Even though it took less than a nanosecond for the command to execute, time seemed to pass interminably. Then there it was. A single result: a reference to their local library.
“Our library?” Kayla asked, sure her assumption was wrong.
Jaden ordered the site link open. “Yes, our library. Who would have thought?” He studied the screen, now in the forefront and obscuring the rest. “There’s no additional information here, just the coordinates to the library. Is that weird or what?”
“Yup, creepier and creepier the more we investigate. They don’t say what part of the library or provide a call number or some other reference?”
“Nope. Just the coordinates. What do you think?”
“We’ve at least found something, or rather, one thing. It would be folly not to see where it leads. Information, even a little, would be wonderful. This whole situation’s driving me nuts.”
Jaden grimaced. “Yeah, I know the feeling. Why can’t we just get some straight answers? It’s like a riddle. Figure something else out to get a clue that might give you the answer to what you’re after.”
Kayla giggled. “Yup, nothing like having to solve a puzzle to invent a solution. So are we going to check it out?”
“The sooner the better. Are you available tomorrow?”
“Yup. Better confirm whether they’re open on a Sunday, though.”
Jaden complied and then grunted. “They are, but only in the afternoon from three to six.”
“We have to wait until three? I don’t think I can wait that long! Shall we say two forty-five at my place, and we can travel to the library together?”
“No, let’s meet here. It’s closer to the library, and we can waste some time and energy walking.”
“That works.”
Jaden hesitated. “Kayla, thanks for coming over. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help in getting some insight into this.”
“You and me both.” Kayla smiled, reaching out and touching his arm as a tangible means of acknowledging their mutual distress over the situation they found themselves in.
The action had an unexpected side effect. Suddenly, Kayla was intensely aware of his arm, muscled and warm under her touch. Fighting the urge to yank her hand back like he had burned her, Kayla pulled away as unobtrusively as possible.
Why did I react like that? It’s not like me to be irrational. Does it have something to do with both of us having medallions? Irritable, Kayla shrugged the questions away. “I should go. My folks will wonder where I am.”
As she rose to leave, Jaden followed her lead. Kayla was thankful he hadn’t noticed her inner turmoil. They descended to the living room, where Kayla bade Jaden’s parents goodnight before climbing the stairs again to the rooftop deck where her ’pod waited.
Kayla smiled. “See you tomorrow. Perhaps we’ll get some answers.”
“Perhaps,” Jaden agreed.
But as her ‘pod lifted off, Kayla acknowledged her own reservations. Mystery’s shrouded everything about the medallion and the monster up to now. Why will tomorrow be any different?
Chapter Fourteen
The morning dragged. By ten, Jaden had blazed through several games and was wishing they had released the long awaited, much anticipated sequel to Rebel Combatant: Stratagem. Although the old games were fun, the only effective distraction today would be a new game to conquer. Without that, waiting for two forty-five to roll around would be torture. Time to hunt down some food.
Entering the kitchen, Jaden scowled at his mother’s absence. Did she leave something yummy in the cookie jar? Lifting the lid, he peeked inside. Ugh, how are there no cookies? Jaden stomped to the pantry in search of potato chips. But he was out of luck there too. Growling, he turned to the empty fruit bowl. Then he remembered.
On her way out, his mother had apologized for only authorizing their grocery order on the automated system this morning. Jaden glanced at the clock again. Five after ten. Another hour before the delivery droid arrived. Snatching open the refrigerator door, he remembered the second thing his mother had said—about leaving something special for him in a place she knew he would find it. The decadent chocolate banana nut fridge cake, with its cream and maraschino cherry topping, dominated the lower shelf.
“Heaven bless mothers.” Jaden’s mouth watered as he removed the bowl and placed it on the counter.
Helping himself to a generous portion, Jaden mulled today’s absentmindedness. He hadn’t even remembered his mother’s hint about the treat until it stared him in the face, begging him to partake of its goodness. Forgetting something as important as food, let alone his favorite dessert, was unlike him. He grimaced. His mind was only focused on the library outing he and Kayla would embark on this afternoon. Waiting was exhausting. A yawn escaped.
He had had little sleep last night. After Kayla’s departure, Jaden had watched a movie with his parents until his apprehension eased enough for him to feel his weariness. But as soon as he’d climbed into bed, his mind came alive again, fantasizing about what they might uncover at the library. He had spent hours tossing and turning before drifting into a fitful sleep.
Adding insult to injury, he’d woken at six this morning, his mind in overdrive before his eyes even opened. He’d given up on sleep, but he regretted that decision now. Even all the sugar in the dessert was doing little to wake him up. Yawning again, Jaden reached for the coffee, still warm in its thermal carafe.
The street doorbell buzzed through the quiet house. Jaden fumbled the carafe. Who would be at our street door? Mystified, he plunked the carafe back on its perch and loped to the door.
Looking sheepish, Kayla waited on their porch, her arrowball under one arm. “Hey, I know I’m early and it’s still cold, but do you want a game? I’m going stir crazy waiting around.”
Jaden grinned. She was a welcome sight. “Give me a few minutes to change. Come in. My mom and dad are out, but there’s fridge cake in the kitchen if you’re interested.”
“Before I come in, should I move my ’pod? The hook-ons weren’t elevated, so I berthed on your driveway.”
“Yeah, better move that. I’ll lift the pads. See you topside,” Jaden said, leaving
for the roof.
After Kayla moved her ’pod, Jaden ushered her to the kitchen where he gave her a spoon and bowl for the dessert. Then he raced up to his room. Yanking on workout clothes, he grabbed his arrowball and bounded back.
“This is delicious,” Kayla said around a mouthful of cake.
“Glad you like it. My mom will be ecstatic when she hears you got a taste before I flattened it.”
Kayla laughed, making Jaden grin. He turned and recorded a message letting his parents know he would be at the park with Kayla. Message saved, Jaden faced her, noting that her bowl was empty. “Ready?”
“Yup, let’s go!”
For the first weekend of summer vacation, the weather was dismal. Clouds puffed out their fat gray cheeks, threatening to spit rain. The wind gusted, its arctic edge biting them as it blew from the snowcapped Shadow Mountains, cooling the air twenty-five degrees from the balmy weather three days before. They hadn’t even walked one grid when the downpour began.
“Carry on or go home?” Jaden shouted over the wailing wind.
“Go home!” Kayla scowled as the icy rain pelted them, stinging where it hit exposed skin.
They sprinted back but were still soaked and chilled to the bone when they arrived.
“Seems even the weather has it in for us,” Jaden grumbled, opening the street door.
Kayla shivered. “You think? On the bright side, we didn’t have to endure that mutant bird again.”
Jaden smiled, acknowledging the truth of her statement.
Pulling on her wet hair, Kayla said, “I brought a change of clothes for the library. They’re in my ’pod. Can I borrow a towel and use a bathroom to change in?”
“Sure. The bathroom’s down that hall, and there are clean towels in the closet behind the door.” Jaden pointed out the bathroom, then left Kayla to collect her clothes from her ’pod and change while he did the same.
Fifteen minutes later, they were back at the kitchen table, helping themselves to a second round of dessert and warming their fingers around fresh coffee.
“I have some multiplayer games I could set up in the living room,” Jaden said. “Do you want to stay and play while we wait?”
“Anything would be better than sitting around waiting for the time to pass! What games do you have?”
Jaden ran through the list, and they agreed on an aerial strategy game neither had played for some time. Between them, they carted games and equipment from Jaden’s room to the living room, where they set up the gaming area.
“Hey, did I tell you about my plan to convert our basement into a gaming room?” Jaden asked as they plugged in the last of the consoles.
“No, but it sounds awesome. Are you thinking of setting it up like Markov’s?”
“Well, I thought I’d do something more ambitious. Come and see,” Jaden said, leading her downstairs.
Jaden outlined his plan, pleased when she appeared fascinated. “It won’t happen overnight, but I think it could work,” he concluded.
“Remarkable! And you think you can create the technology to enhance the 3D effects to that extent?”
“That’s the plan. I’ve been working on it for a while already. The project started as part of my graduation requirement and then just mushroomed. I’ve experimented with the tech, and I know I’m close. If I can iron out the last few programming kinks this summer, it’ll be ready for beta testing in the fall.”
“No flies on you!”
“Yeah, it’s ambitious. But if it works, it could be the next big thing in 3D gaming.” Jaden grinned, pleased Kayla was so revved about his ideas. She was the first girl who seemed to get him. Who wasn’t afraid of the tech talk. Who wanted to hear all the details. Who shared his interests. His grin widened. He was very glad they had met at the park.
Still chatting a mile a minute, they ambled back to the living room, where Jaden set their chosen game in motion. Within minutes, the game sucked him in. Trying to outmaneuver Kayla in aerial combat, Jaden so relished a live opponent to play against that he didn’t notice the hours passing. Only when his mother arrived home did Jaden crash back to reality. Greeting her, he was shocked to find it was way past lunchtime.
“I assume you two haven’t eaten yet?” Clara Jameson asked. Their guilty faces had her chuckling. “Did the delivery droid drop off our food?”
Jaden shook his head, shamefaced. “Sorry, Mom, we were so absorbed. I forgot about that. I’ll check. Want to come and help?” he asked Kayla.
She nodded, and they raced upstairs, finding that the droid had dropped off the groceries as promised. Stacking the packages, they staggered back to the kitchen, where they helped Mrs. Jameson unpack.
“So Kayla, how long have you been in Daxsos?” Mrs. Jameson asked.
Chapter Fifteen
Kayla answered Mrs. Jameson’s questions and asked a few of her own. But it wasn’t the Spanish Inquisition. Rather, it was an extremely agreeable information exchange that left Kayla partial to Jaden’s mother.
When Mrs. Jameson insisted Kayla stay for lunch, Kayla accepted without hesitation. Enjoying roast beef subs and steaming mugs of tea, they laughed and talked. Once replete, Mrs. Jameson shooed them off to the library, declining their offers to clear the table.
Outside, Kayla discovered the sun had made a late, shaky appearance. It was such a lovely change, Kayla almost looped her arm through Jaden’s. Her arm was already moving towards his when her brain registered the action. She hurriedly dropped it. What am I thinking? This isn’t like me at all! Only then did she notice the thick clouds still crowding the sky, threatening to engulf the fragile sunshine at any moment.
“Think the weather will hold, or should we take my ’pod?” Kayla asked, as much to hide her embarrassment at her own imprudent behavior as to be practical.
“No, I think it’ll hold. In case it doesn’t, can you remote command your ’pod?”
“Yes, it has the upgrade,” Kayla replied, relieved Jaden hadn’t noticed her gaffe.
“Great. Then let’s walk. I could do with the fresh air.”
Ditto that, Kayla thought. Her own head was in dire need of some clearing.
Thankfully, the wind had backed off, allowing the air to warm a little. They strolled down the tree-lined street, wending their way down the middle of the empty lanes. People seldom used roads nowadays, but they still existed for the few holdouts, adamant in their beliefs that gas-run vehicles were safer than air transports.
Mostly, though, roads served as playgrounds for those who remembered how to play baseball or street hockey. But it was cold out today, and they passed no street games on their way to the library, which was fortunate. No one overheard them conversing about some bizarre creature.
As objectionable as thoughts of that monster were, Kayla was grateful for the diversion. She was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on the world around her with Jaden at her side. Kayla couldn’t say why she was so distracted by him; just that she was. Not for the first time, she wondered whether it had something to do with their medallions. It was the only explanation that made sense. But how could inanimate objects have such an effect? Shutting out further errant thoughts, she honed in on the problem at hand—how they would conduct their search once they reached the library.
As they walked, they debated their options. They agreed the librarian would question their sanity should they ask to see books on some mutant bird. Instead, they would start by searching the catalog on their own. Hopefully, this would yield a reference and bypass the problem of describing the beast.
With their plan in place, Jaden commented on the areas they were passing through. He described the neighbors he knew in depth before they left the comfort of his community and drifted into an extended green space, its population limited to them and the occasional curious rabbit daring enough to pop a head out and inspect them warily.
This peaceful region was followed, almost rudely, by a derelict string of stores, whose profit margins must’ve seen better day
s. The sad and sagging store signs sighed on the soft breeze, whispering their wares to passersby, but not expecting success in enticing customers into their dreary depths.
It didn’t surprise Kayla that most of the stores were closed. Business in this part of town appeared non-existent on Sundays, with shop owners opting to spend time anywhere other than in their deadbeat stores. But Jaden delighted in pointing out the one exception: his favorite game store, occupying a small, murky space in the middle of the strip and enjoying frequent visits from Jaden and his friends.
“I know it looks like a dump, but it has the best selection of games. And you can’t beat them for the best download prices on new releases. The owner’s become somewhat of a friend, so I support him when I can. You should visit sometime and check it out for yourself.”
Kayla smiled. “Thanks, I will. What’s your commission on referrals?”
Jaden acknowledge her teasing with a grin, and they sauntered on. The stores receded, and an overgrown pathway dumped them into an enormous open square, its unkempt grass bordered by cracked, uneven paving. Rising from the center of the scraggly grass was a disheveled statue, commemorating some forgotten community hero now forlorn on his pedestal in the middle of a somewhat-functioning fountain. The whole area was an eyesore, in dire need of renovation.
Jaden pointed at the rundown exterior of a large building on the far side of the square. “That’s the library.”
“Race you!” Kayla tossed the challenge over her shoulder as she dashed away.
Jaden had time to growl, “Cheater!” before taking off after her.
Laughing, they stormed the front door of the library, frightening the poor woman who had just reached to unlock it.
“Sorry,” Jaden said, taking in her wide eyes. “We didn’t mean to scare you.”
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