Escaping Ordinary

by Scott Reintgen

  There was a loud thump. Indira thought she heard a trace of excitement in the voice now.

  “I’m sorry, but did you say someone took over the starting town?”

  “Yes,” Minerva answered. “Our scenario does have a climactic scene involving the starting town, but this individual is from outside the scenario. I repeat: we require assistance.”

  The person on the other end of the line squealed. “That’s a Plot Twist violation! This is seriously the best thing that’s happened all day. What is your location?”

  Minerva frowned at the idea that this could be the best part of anyone’s day.

  “Sorry, but is there a supervisor we could talk to?”

  “I mean, sure, if you want some big shot to put your request on a stack of other files they might not get to right away,” the voice answered. “But if you want results, you’re talking to the right girl. Coordinates, please.”

  Minerva sighed. “We’re just to the east of Ordinary.”

  Their assisting Editor couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice now.

  “And that’s the town in question?”

  “Yes,” Minerva answered. “He’s taken it captive.”

  Indira couldn’t help thinking there was something familiar about the conversation. There was the slightest touch of déjà vu about it. “I’m scanning your area now,” the voice said. “And…”

  There was another loud squeal of delight. Indira startled. She knew that noise.

  “I’m seeing some serious fluctuations,” the voice said giddily. “The first spike was recorded two days ago, with steady growth since then. Definitely an imminent threat. This is so legit….”

  Indira couldn’t stay quiet. She knew the voice, the mannerisms, everything.

  “Maxi?”

  There was a brief pause. “Sorry? What was that? I don’t think I ever identified myself—”

  “Maxi? Is that you?!”

  There was another explosive squeal. “Indira? What in the worlds? Are you—oh! You got assigned to a tutorial. You were telling me about it before you left! Is Phoenix there too?”

  He sighed. “Hi, Maxi.”

  Maxi burst into laughter. “Best. Day. Ever!”

  “Um, excuse me,” Minerva cut back in. “You used the phrase imminent threat. As in we’re all in danger. Right now. Is that correct?”

  Indira could imagine Maxi with a headset on, one eyebrow raised.

  “Imminent threat,” she repeated. “Right. I’ll report this straight to the higher-ups. Could you do me a favor and describe what’s happened so far? I’ll need everything documented.”

  The group patiently filled Maxi in on the last few days. Minerva—who’d only seen a brief glimpse of Joey—was shocked as Indira recounted their own introduction. When she added her educated guess that Joey was a rogue Author, her pretend mother shook her head in disbelief.

  Maxi finished her notes before replying. “Got it,” she said. “Hmm. Now, we might have a teensy problem. Let me look something up right quick. It’ll be just a second.” Indira heard her rummaging through her desk space. “This department still hasn’t heard of databases, apparently. So I’ve gotta search through this massive law book with its dusty pages. The worst.”

  Phoenix and Indira exchanged a glance, half smiling. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed Maxi.

  “Okay,” Maxi said, thinking out loud. “So we want to look at intervention policies. Hmm. This falls under the category of in-world heroes. And here we go….” Maxi made a thoughtful noise, and Indira could almost see her tracing a finger down the length of the page. “Ah. I hate when I’m right. So here’s the sitch, Indira. You are known as an in-world hero. That means you’re not just a protagonist in a story. You’ve actually taken on heroic status here, in the world of Imagination.”

  Indira’s cheeks went bright red. She avoided the stares she was getting from the others.

  “Sure, so what?”

  “So that changes the rules,” Maxi replied. “Do you remember last year?”

  Indira almost laughed. “Do I remember last year? Maxi. We were involved in a dark plot that almost destroyed the entire city of Fable. Of course I remember last year!”

  “Sass!” Maxi exclaimed. “I love you with a little bit of attitude. Keep that going, girl! But that’s not what I meant. Last year, we called the Editors, right? Remember they gave us a full day to figure it out ourselves? That protocol is built into the way Imagination works. The whole goal is to give characters a chance to learn how to be heroes, blah blah blah….”

  Indira nodded. “Got it. So we just have to survive for one day. That shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll do what we can to contain Joey until you get here. Is that all?”

  “See, that’s the thing,” Maxi answered. “It’s a week now. You have to survive for a week.”

  Indira’s mouth opened, but no words formed. Her brain felt scrambled. An entire week? That didn’t make any sense. The others were looking nervously between her and the phone.

  “Hello?” Maxi asked. “You still there? These hotline phones are the worst….”

  Minerva jumped in. “Still here. Sorry. I think we’re all a little shocked. Why would it take the Editors a week to get here? I thought you just said the rule was one day.”

  “That’s the catch,” Maxi said. “It’s a one-day protocol for first-time heroes. Indira’s already done this before. That extends the policy to seven days. She’s proven herself, or whatever, so the world of Imagination trusts her enough to give her even more time to solve things this round.”

  Indira finally found her voice. “Seven days is forever, Maxi. This is a serious situation. We’ve got an Author wreaking havoc. He already destroyed a crucial part of the Hero’s Journey. Characters are literally being pulled out of their Story Houses. There has to be some way to get around the policy.”

  “Girl, I got you,” Maxi replied. “I’m going to fast-track all the paperwork. And we’ll keep an open line of communication. But for right now? That’s our policy. I’ve been with the Editors for a few months now. It’s all rules all the times, girl. Trust me. They’re not going to override their precious policies, but there are a few ways I can help.”

  Indira sagged until she was leaning fully against the desk to stay upright. This was unthinkable. Joey was out there ruining Plot. He’d already disrupted one of the most famous story styles in history. If he did more damage now, it would all be her fault.

  Seven full days.

  How bad could things get before the Editors showed up?

  “First, I’m going to run a comprehensive check,” Maxi was saying. “I’ll search the database for Authors named Joey, narrow it down with his general age, narrow that down with kids who play lacrosse, and then with kids who are number twenty-three. If you can get any more specifics, that’d be great. For now, I’ll work with that and get as much dirt on him as possible.”

  Maxi took a deep breath before forging on.

  “While I do that, you can do some reconnaissance. I’m going to need an exact location, a report of what he’s been doing, and a report on current damage levels. Oh, and Indira, I know you. You’re going to want to take this guy head-on, but it makes the most sense to combine what we all find out and then form a plan of attack. Got it?”

  Indira felt the slightest annoyance at how right Maxi was. She had definitely been planning on rushing into battle at the first chance. She took a deep breath. It was a good reminder of why Underglass had assigned her this tutorial in the first place. Learning to trust her team. She looked around at her crew before nodding.

  “Got it,” she replied. “We’ll start our investigation.”

  “This is so fun,” Maxi squealed. “I’ve been dealing with boring stuff all day.”

  Phoenix shook his head. “The world of Imagination is
in danger, Maxi.”

  “It is! And here we are to save it again. No big deal. Go, us.”

  He couldn’t help grinning at Indira. Clearly they’d both missed Maxi.

  Minerva—the only adult in the group—did her best to follow up on details and logistics. Maxi gave her the number for her direct line, assured their group that the case would be given a high-priority status, and even put in some requests for extra resources.

  “We can’t intervene,” Maxi was saying. “But I’ll see if some of the other organizations in Fable can send anything helpful your way. It might take me some time, though.”

  “Thanks, Maxi,” Indira said. “We’re going to get to work over here.”

  There was an excited hoot and then the phone went dead. Indira smiled. It was classic Maxi. Indira knew from experience that her friend would do everything in her power. But an uncomfortable feeling still sat in Indira’s gut. Even with Maxi’s help, seven days was a long time. It would be hard to contain someone as powerful as Joey for that long.

  If only there were some way to distract him….

  “Minerva.” Phoenix’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “What can you tell us about Ordinary? Are there any secret ways into the town?”

  Indira’s fake mother offered a smile. “I’ve been running this tutorial for years. I know every inch of Ordinary, including what’s beneath it. How do you think I got out?”

  The rest of the crew grinned back.

  It was time for some spying.

  “Well, that will make spying a little harder.”

  Allen Squalls was pointing out the obvious, but that didn’t make him wrong. They’d finally gotten a look at the town of Ordinary in the distance. It was standing right where they’d left it, but it was no longer standing how they’d left it. The outer wall had risen about thirty feet and Indira thought it looked larger somehow, with even more buildings than before.

  That wasn’t the only change. Two flags flew on opposite ends of the town. One was a classic skull and crossbones, a pirate flag. The second flag was harder to identify. Phoenix made a guess. “I’d bet it’s military,” he said. “There was a bunker back there. A barracks, too. Pretty sure that’s what the other flag means….”

  Indira felt a little twisting in her gut. It was hard to plan for someone with powers that felt as limitless as Joey’s. He could change things with a snap of his fingers, and those powers didn’t show any signs of slowing down. He’d transformed the entire town. Indira was scared of what they might find inside those walls. Luckily, their crew had a few tricks up their sleeves. As they circled around to discuss their plan to infiltrate the city, Gadget smacked herself on the forehead.

  “The bees! Of course! The bees!”

  Indira’s eyes widened. “You still have access to them? We could monitor the whole town….”

  Gadget rolled back one sleeve to reveal a little data pad looped around one wrist. “If I had all three of them? Definitely. I’ll have to reprogram the other two.”

  Indira winced. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s fine,” Gadget replied, focusing on her task. “Remember? I need some of your instinct. You need some of my research and planning. I’m going to establish a new route for them around the town with new objectives. I think we’ll be able to get some good data.”

  “But doesn’t the data feed back to your dad’s workshop?” Phoenix asked.

  Gadget nodded. “It’s synced with a device that analyzes all the information. It’s kind of like a computer. If you can smuggle it out of the town, we can monitor everything without having to face Joey directly. We can even listen in on his conversations.”

  Indira looked to Minerva now. “I can’t ask you to lead us into the town. Not in your condition. It’s dangerous. Can you map out the way through the underground you mentioned?”

  Minerva frowned. “It’s complicated. There’s a town beneath the town. It’d be best if I go with you. I’m really fine, I promise….”

  But Indira could see what a struggle it was for Minerva to remain standing. She was about to ask for a piece of paper for Minerva to sketch out a rough map when another voice interrupted. Their whole crew just about jumped out of their skin as a familiar young girl joined their circle. Beginning grinned like she’d been there the whole time.

  “Don’t worry, I know the way.”

  Half an hour later, Indira found herself crawling inside a huge pipe. Thankfully, the secret route wasn’t a sewage pipe, but it didn’t exactly smell like roses, either. Beginning crawled in front of them, leading her chosen crew down the route that Minerva could not.

  Indira had drafted Cavern and Phoenix to come with her. Gadget stayed behind to reprogram the bees. She was more important to them safe and sound in the forest. Even with his recent boost in confidence, it was easy to convince Squalls that he should remain behind as well. Indira thought it made sense to separate their wizarding powers, just in case. He promised to summon a little rain in an effort to cover their movement in the city.

  “Squalls seems to be doing a little better,” Indira whispered to Phoenix as they continued crawling. “More confident now. You’ve done a great job helping him.”

  Phoenix grunted. “Thanks. I’ve been running him through a few drills, too. His magic…it’s like he’s separated from his powers. That’s why he keeps nodding off. It’s almost this hidden part of him that has to wake up, while the scared part of him falls asleep.”

  “Is that normal?”

  “No,” Phoenix answered. “It’s not. I’m pretty sure it’s the result of what Brainstorm Ketty did. She broke him last year. Bullied him into thinking he’d never be a good character. It will take a little time to get him back to who he was. If he regains his confidence, he’ll regain his control over it….”

  “So it can be fixed?”

  Phoenix nodded again. “Of course. He’s going to be really powerful, too. You’ve seen some of his magic. Imagine how he must have been when he first came to Protagonist Prep with power like that. I doubt he was the kid we know, always so nervous about everything.”

  Indira tried to imagine that and couldn’t.

  “If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

  Phoenix’s eyes were like little rings of light in the otherwise dark passage.

  “Keep believing in him. The way you believed in me. He’ll come around.”

  Ahead of them, Beginning was lowering herself out of the pipe. Indira was not ready for the sight that greeted her at the tunnel’s end. She’d been expecting some kind of abandoned underground. Instead, it was buzzing with life. Lanterns glowed in every direction. Huge factories stretched as far as the eye could see. Indira saw Marks moving in and out of the buildings, their voices chorusing with the constant machine noises.

  Cavern and Phoenix leaped down, shaking the platform. Cavern’s eyes went wide.

  “What is this place?” he asked.

  Beginning favored him with a smile. “Wonderful, is it not? Fable and Fester train characters, but Plot gives birth to the actual stories and journeys those characters go on. What you saw on the surface? That’s more of a pretty costume than anything. Down here is where the real magic happens. In Plot, we like to say that it’s all about the details. Come on, I’ll show you what I can as we head to Minerva’s tunnel.”

  The grinning girl led them forward. Seeing all the workers, Indira couldn’t help asking the obvious question that came to mind. “Should we tell them there’s an emergency? Joey took over the town right above them! Maybe there should be a temporary evacuation?”

  Beginning shrugged. “The enemy is a relatively young Author. I suspect he’ll have a hard time making his way this deep into Plot. Don’t get me wrong. Any Author who enters the world of Imagination is powerful. But this particular area is less about power and more about experience. Joey is
likely to do his damage to the most basic elements of our world, which is no less frightening.

  “Besides, this place is very well hidden. And an evacuation would set back production. These crews are fueling every single story that’s currently being written in the Real World. Can you imagine all the Authors out there suddenly not knowing where their story should go?”

  She let that question linger in the air.

  “Ah! Here’s our World-Building building. Say that three times fast!”

  The crew sidestepped a few Marks who were taking a water break. The front entrance of the nearest building confirmed the name of the factory in bright letters. Beginning opened the door wide enough for all of them to get a glimpse inside. A huge conveyor belt was churning through the main section of the building. Indira squinted.

  “Are those…”

  “We’re currently making a batch of dystopian societies!” Beginning confirmed. “We ship them to the Authors in miniature form.”

  Sure enough, each of the little squares contained a perfectly scaled miniature world. Indira couldn’t believe what she was seeing. There were futuristic space stations, abandoned planets, ghostly small towns. Each one had been reduced to about the size of a microwave.

  Beginning explained, “This factory is responsible for every dystopia that’s ever existed. Societies run by massive spiders. Communities controlled by genetic code. There was even one society that forced teenagers to fight to the death because of food!”

  Cavern shook his head. “How barbaric.”

  Beginning ushered them out. Indira followed her down catwalks, ducking to avoid a sudden burst of steam from one building. A turn brought them around to the front of a smaller factory. Indira noticed that the building was strangely designed, its sides narrowing like an hourglass halfway up.

  “What’s that one?” Phoenix asked.

  “Plot Twist,” Beginning answered. “Always working overtime in there. The current crew are the ones who came up with He Was Dead the Whole Time. It was an instant classic.”

  As they approached the center of the massive underground city, the noise became deafening. Indira saw signs for the FLASHBACK FACTORY, the RED HERRING REDISTRIBUTION CENTER, and an entire building dedicated to POETIC JUSTICE. Hundreds of questions came to mind, but she left them unasked. As curious as she felt, she realized her job was waiting for her in Ordinary.