by Chad Morris
“Don’t try to get too close to the ground on your first go,” Nia said. “If you don’t pull up in time, you’re going to destroy the falcon avatar and be in serious trouble with Rafa’s mom.” Rafa’s mother not only invented the avatars, but was in charge of the avatar department at Cragbridge Hall and had to fix them when they were damaged.
The wind ripped across his face, but with a beak and an aerodynamic head, it didn’t feel the same; he sliced through it. He was made for this, or more accurately, the robot falcon was. He tucked his feet in and felt himself careening toward the ground. Derick tried to let out an excited scream, but he lost most of the air from his lungs a few feet into the dive.
“Yeah! He’s doing it!” Malcolm screamed. “You’re invincible. In-vinc-i-ble!”
Derick fell faster.
“Okay, now!” Rafa called out. “Open up your wings and plane out, but be ready, because it’s going to be fast.”
Derick could do this. He kept his dive.
“Derick,” Rafa said.
“Now, Derick,” Piper commanded.
The ground grew closer, larger. It was only seconds away.
Just a little more . . .
Now!
Derick opened his wings and felt the wind catch them. It jolted him more than he had expected. He’d thought it would be like brakes, slowing him down; instead, it just redirected him, still traveling at full speed. He veered left and then right, trying at speed to figure out how to dodge the Hall, the main building on campus. Right, right was the right direction. He wheeled and began to climb, skimming an exterior wall and feeling his speed taper off just enough to regain control. It’s one thing to dive at great speed; it’s another thing entirely to try to navigate. He turned in a large curve, still gliding, gradually slowing down, then rose toward the others who were perched on top of the building. Of course, when Derick tried to land, he toppled over, frantically catching the beam below him with one talon and scrambling to remain upright.
“The kid can stoop,” Maria said. “But the flying after was a little crazy—and he can’t land.”
Derick was glad robot falcons couldn’t show a red face.
“Hey, I remember that you couldn’t turn right for a while, only left,” Malcom said, pointing at another falcon with one of his wings.
“That’s not true,” Maria countered.
“I know,” Malcolm said. “But I thought it would be funny.” He let out a rumbling chuckle, his deep voice laughing at his own joke. “And it was.”
“All right,” Nia said, her dark-tipped beak pointing at Derick, “You impressed me enough. What did you want to ask?”
“Let’s talk face to face,” Derick said.
The group flew their birds into an opening in the roof of the avatar lab building, turned them in to be logged and stored with the other avatars, and then they unhooked their harnesses and gathered in an avatar lab classroom. It was designed for instruction, surrounded with harness stalls and large screens at the front where those in the room could watch what the animal avatars were doing.
Derick looked at his friends. Malcolm was the largest of the bunch, standing at least four inches taller than Rafa. He was also sixteen and had black skin, broad shoulders, and short dreadlocks hanging down onto his forehead. He had played a lot of football in Oklahoma and looked it.
Maria was shorter, seventeen, with long black hair she wore almost to her waist. Her face was round and she had big brown eyes. She wore a dress, which seemed a bit formal, but it was her usual attire.
Piper and Nia both were about average height, but Piper had red hair and wore a bright blue T-shirt. Nia had blonde hair and wore a black warm-up suit that had flames on the sleeves and legs. Piper was sixteen and Nia fifteen.
“Okay,” Derick said. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to tell you much, but you need to understand that Rafa and I know something that—” he chose his words carefully, “is powerful, but potentially dangerous. And it can only be shared with those that can be trusted.”
“Um,” Nia said, “I think the fact that we saved your life tells you that we can be trusted.”
“Yes,” Derick said, “I trust you.”
“Eu tambem. So do I,” Rafa added. “But we need you to be patient.”
“Yeah, that’s easy for you to say,” Maria piped in, pointing at Rafa. “You know just as much as Derick.” She shifted, cocking one hip.
“Finding out a secret,” Rafa said, “can be quite a burden.”
“And like I’ve told you over and over,” Derick said, “it’s my grandfather’s secret, so under normal circumstances, he should decide who knows and when.”
“And your point is?” Piper asked.
“We think someone else may have found out the secret,” Rafa explained.
“And that’s bad?” Malcolm guessed.
“Real bad,” Derick confirmed. “We think it may be what they’re offering as the grand prize to the Race winners.”
“Interesting,” Maria said, stroking her chin. “The key has something to do with it.” She paced in the avatar lab, pointing her toes with each step. “Well, one of us is bound to find out what it is. We’ve all been recruited by some of the best teams. Chances are that one of our teams will win and we’ll find out the secret.”
“That’s the thing,” Derick said, rubbing his chin. “If it were up to me, I’d be fine with you guys finding out, but not necessarily members of other teams. This really is a big deal, and we have to know that we can trust those who find out the secret.”
“So, what are y’all asking us to do?” Malcolm asked.
Derick looked at Rafa.
“What if we formed our own team?” Rafa proposed. “All of the Crash together. Then, if we win, you could learn the secret and we could prevent anyone else from finding out about it.”
The members of the Crash exchanged looks. “It’s not a bad idea,” Piper said, shaking her head, her red hair bouncing. “But we’d need more than just us to win the Race. I mean, obviously, we’d have avatars covered, but there’s a lot more we would need.”
“We’d all probably be pretty good at physical events,” Malcolm said. He lifted his arms and flexed. “Maybe you’re not as good as me, but I think we could hold our own.”
“Oh, yeah?” Nia said, and flexed in the exact same position. “I’m pretty sure our muscles are about the same size.”
Piper snickered. Then it spread to the whole group.
“That’s right,” Nia said, confidently hanging on to her joke.
“Oh, yeah?” Malcolm said. “Can you do this?” He walked over and lifted a large wooden desk off the ground, then past his waist, and finally over his head. He slowly put it back in front of Nia.
“Maybe,” Nia said. “Maybe not. But can you do this?” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure nothing was in the way, then did three back handsprings in a row. Her warm-up suit swished as she moved. Obviously, she had trained as a gymnast.
“You can always try this, Malcolm,” Maria said. She took three graceful steps and then began spinning on one foot, over and over, like a ballerina on stage.
“Show-offs,” Piper said. “I don’t have an ice rink to join the ‘look at me’ party.” She had been a figure skater back home.
“Anyway,” Malcolm said, “even if you’re not as buff and good-looking as I am, everyone here is pretty good with the physical stuff. So that would be in our favor. I’m also one of the top in my class at geography. It’s one of the reasons I got into this place. I’ve traveled a lot, climbed mountains, rappelled down slot canyons, camped in deserts . . . My parents really like that stuff. I’m also decent in math, but nothing too impressive.”
“I’ve got math down,” Nia said. “Plus I’m buff and better looking than Malcolm.” She flexed again and stuck out her tongue at Malcolm. “And I’m good at physics and astronomy.”
“I can dance,” Maria said, which was rather obvious after her demonstration. “I’m fluent in Spanish,
and I’m good at both Spanish and English literature. And I’m not bad at biology.”
“Wow, look at all you people good at other stuff,” Piper said. “Are we listing all our strengths now? Is this some sort of contest?”
“No,” Rafa said. “But I think it’s a good idea to see what we’re good at. It will give us an idea if we could win.”
“Well, then,” Piper said, “I’ve played the guitar for the last six years, but I really doubt they are going to have a classical guitar showdown, so chalk that up as useless.”
“You never know,” Rafa said.
“What I’m probably best at outside of avatars is robotics,” Piper said. “I mean, that’s obviously related to the avatars, but I can help build and program robots to do simple tasks.” She looked at Rafa and then Derick. “But I’m not good enough to be our expert. We need someone really good if we want to win. Robotics are really popular for challenges. I think we need Jess Maughn.”
“I’ve heard that Jess is the best,” Malcolm said.
“Hey, that rhymed,” Piper said. “Malcolm, are you and Nia going to have a poetry showdown now?”
“Very funny,” Malcolm said.
“I’d do it for money,” Nia rhymed, a smile crossing her face. “And buy a bunny and live where it’s sunny.”
Maria gave Nia a friendly slap on the arm to get her to be quiet.
“Don’t try to stop me, honey,” Nia continued.
“If we decide to do this,” Piper said, “I could invite Jess. Because I’m showing some promise, she’s helped me out on a few projects.”
Everyone looked at Derick. “First off,” Derick answered, “before we worry about anyone else—are you guys in? Will you be part of a team with me?”
“That may depend on whether or not we get the other important people we need,” Malcolm said.
“And do we really need Jess before we can win?” Derick asked.
“Definitely,” Piper said.
“Plus, we still need someone who is good at using the Bridge,” Nia pointed out.
“Actually,” Rafa said, “I think we may have that covered.”
Derick cleared his throat. “Um. Well. There are two more people that already know the secret,” he said. “My twin sister, Abby, and her friend Carol.”
“No offense,” Malcolm said, “but they’re seventh graders. I doubt they know enough to really help us.”
“I know,” Derick said, “but they are really good with the Bridge. They’ve practiced more than most.” He looked over at Rafa and they shared a knowing look. There was no way he was going to tell them all that Abby and Carol had done. “But what may be their better asset is that they’re good at challenges, at figuring out clues and puzzles. I think they’re a natural fit for the team.” Maybe he was overselling them, but he was hoping the Crash would go for it.
“Maybe,” Maria said, “but we would also need a virtuality expert.”
“I’m not bad,” Derick said.
“It’s true,” Rafa said. “He made a virtual samurai world that’s impressive.” He mocked a few sword swipes.
“And Abby and Carol aren’t bad either,” he said.
“I’m sure that’s true,” Piper said. “But if we really want to win, we need the very best. And the very best is Anjum. If we don’t have him on our team, I’m not sure we can beat him.”
Malcolm nodded. He obviously knew who Piper was talking about. “He won last year, didn’t he?”
“Yep,” said Piper. “I was on his team. He’s the best at virtuality, but he’s also a team leader. Really intense, but a good leader. He’ll bring out the best in all of us if we’ll listen to him.”
Again, Derick checked with Rafa, who nodded. “Okay,” Derick said, “if we can get Jess and Anjum on our team, will you join up?”
They all looked at each other, then Malcolm nodded. “If you can get those two, I’m in.”
“Me too,” Maria said.
The others also agreed.
“Great,” Derick said. “Any ideas how we can persuade Anjum and Jess?”
Better than Brilliance
Abby tried to stay far back enough from Landon Beane that he wouldn’t know she was following him, but close enough that she wouldn’t lose him. She had investigated teachers she suspected of wrongdoing before, but to be following someone a few years older than her felt weird.
He moved down the hall saying hello to many of the students on the way, giving high fives and even hugs. He was definitely a people person. But two halls down, he stepped into a teacher’s office and closed the door behind him.
Why was a student body officer visiting a teacher after hours? For homework troubles? Or for something more devious?
Abby casually walked by and read the plaque outside the office: Mr. Silverton, Computer Science.
“Sure, you get to follow the handsome student body officer while I get the bald computer science teacher. No fair.”
Abby turned to see Carol leaning against a wall.
“So Mr. Silverton is on our list too?” Abby asked.
“Yep,” Carol said. “He’s on the Race committee. The question is, ‘Is this official Race business? Or are they up to something evil?’” Carol said, changing her voice to sound like a conspiratorial narrator on a webseries.
“I wish there was a way we could tell,” Abby said.
“We could just knock and ask,” Carol suggested.
They waited for several more minutes. Finally, Landon exited. The lines in his brow were deep. What had he and Mr. Silverton talked about?
“Hey, Jessica!” Landon called out, his expression quickly brightening. It was as though all his worry vanished. He walked a few more steps, then looked directly at Abby and Carol. “Hey, girls,” he said, and continued on down the hall.
“Did he know we were following him?” Abby whispered.
“Um, I didn’t get to follow him,” Carol corrected. “I was stuck with baldy, remember?”
Abby gestured for Carol to lower her voice. Landon was probably well out of earshot, but they should still be careful. “Yeah,” Abby said, “but we can’t follow him now. He’ll either know we’re spying on him or he’ll think we’re silly stalker girls.”
“Though I’m still game for following him around, I think you’ve got a point,” Carol said. Realizing their cover may have been blown, Abby and Carol returned to Grandpa Cragbridge’s lab.
Abby walked around the edge of the large room and paused to look at a visor charger. “Hopefully, we’ll be better at figuring this out than we were with Landon and Mr. Silverton.”
“Landon might not have really even known we were following him,” Carol said. “Maybe he just saw two very attractive thirteen-year-old girls and wanted to say hi.”
“First off,” Abby said, “that’s kind of gross. He’s got to be at least seventeen. We are way too young for him. Secondly, I don’t think he’s just naturally going to pay attention to us.”
“Whatever,” Carol said, waving Abby off. How was she so confident? Abby didn’t think there was any way Landon was just being friendly. He knew.
“So, back to finding out about the Bridge and the future,” Abby said, looking back toward the large desk in the center of the lab. “The last thing Grandpa said was something about making the most of our choices.”
“Maybe he just wants us to not bother him anymore and go have awesome lives,” Carol suggested.
“We can’t do that,” Abby said, blinking several times. “Unless that crazy message from the future is wrong, my brother is going to . . .” Tears welled up in Abby’s eyes. “Derick’s going to die in a week. I have to figure out how to stop this.”
“Don’t cry, because then I’ll cry,” Carol said, waving her hands in front of her eyes, trying to dry the forming tears.
The two sniffled for a few moments and took deep breaths. It was better if they didn’t think about it and focused on what they could do.
“Okay.” Abby wiped her eyes. “Le
t’s keep going.” She looked around the office at bits of her grandfather’s inventions. “Maybe we should think about why he wants us in his lab. That might be important.”
“Good point,” Carol said.
The two girls began to wander the room, looking at the inventions and parts and charts for any clue as to what they should do next. Abby looked at a virtual booth. Her grandpa hadn’t invented that, but had added the connection between the visors, the mind, and the booth so it was possible to be immersed in a virtual world. She thought of Derick’s samurai world. No. No thinking about Derick right now. Abby moved on to the metalworking machine in the corner. She didn’t think her grandpa had invented it either, but he used it to make the lockets, and boxes, and even some of the secret compartments. He truly knew how to do many things.
She walked to another booth, a booth she knew was connected to the real Bridge in the basement. “It’s interesting that my grandpa made so many great inventions, but they’ve gotten us into all this trouble.”
“Yeah,” Carol agreed. She was looking at a large chart on the wall covered with equations.
Something about standing in her grandfather’s office made Abby feel wrong about what she had said. That may not be how he would look at it at all. “Or maybe they haven’t,” she said. “Maybe this is all going to turn out for the best. Maybe our trial is going to make us stronger.”
“You totally sound like your grandpa right now,” Carol said.
Abby laughed. “I do sound like him, don’t I?” She walked back toward the large desk in the center of the room. As she did, the cane she carried in her pack flashed a few numbers and the desk once again revealed the metal objects. Abby looked at her friend, then back down at the objects. Her eyes fell on the star and the bowl and then the other metal items. She didn’t want to touch any of them without a pair of gloves. “Wait. So these were the choices my grandpa gave us, right?”
“Yeah.”
Abby looked back at the invention that made lockets and other metal items. “We are supposed to ‘make the most’ of them. Maybe that’s not metaphorical. Maybe we’re really supposed to make something good out of them.”