by Wells, JB
Kieran was still watching the movie. The players were stealthily walking through the near black corridors. They were peering around corners and flashing torches to light up darkened areas, all to find survivors. Then all of a sudden the picture started to shake. Two of the cadets were signalling to take cover. Nearly all of them had, apart from one cadet who was too far into the tunnel to see the directions he was being given.
“612 take cover, I repeat take cover.” A Guiders voice was calling.
“Sam, what are you doing, get down!” Another cadet yelled out.
But it was too late, the tremors around them grew and a massive creature crashed into the stranded cadet, sending him flying. The hidden cadets all jumped out and surrounded the beast, lights were flashing as guns were firing. Electrical currents were streaming across the room, but the creature carried on fighting against them. Kieran stared in shock as the Zwerm crashed around, trying to find its prey. The picture froze and the screen turned to static.
“So, that was Mr Sales from Shropshire. The cadets were all okay, rescued by more of the Hunter squadron. Cadet 612 had been infected but after treatment and a few days with Dr Satchell, he made a full recovery. Yes?”
“But if he was just playing a football game, how did Mr Sales get taken?” Alfie asked.
“As long as there is a connection to your gaming console, there is always a way in. Adam can get in easier than others, but you don’t need to be playing on-line for the Trojan to be transmitted.”
An alarm rang around the room, they were second nature now and none of the cadets jumped anymore when they started wailing.
Alpha One lifted his head, craning his neck across the room. “Update?”
“Sir,” A voice called.
Kieran knew that voice, he spun around and looked to where Megan had been sitting. She was now standing and addressing Alpha One.
“Pied-Piper is in Pathway Pets.” Megan sat down.
“On screen, please.” Alpha one bellowed and turned to watch. He strode slowly with his hands behind his back and his long leather coat dragging behind him.
“Adam has made an appearance in a game, one that anyone can play on any handheld console and meet up with friends if they want.” Ex took a step back.
The screen sprung to life again, a little cartoon character was moving around its little house. There were animals moving in the garden, flowers growing and birds singing in the bright blue sky.
“This is a girl’s game,” Dexter groaned and pulled a face, Kieran tried not to laugh.
“Target is Katie Trent, twelve years old, Sir.”
Alpha One nodded his response to Megan without turning around.
The little girl character walked over to a patch of soil in the ground and she potted some more plants. An instruction appeared above the character: “Your friend’s strawberries are ready for harvest, earn coins by helping them.” The little girl walked across her garden and towards a pathway, at the end of the pathway she had multiple choices:
1.Go to friends garden, 2. Go to shop, 3. Go on-line.
Katie chose to go to a friend’s garden and the scenery changed. As she made her way across the field, a big character appeared in the background, she just looked at him. Pied-Piper was in the little girls game and he was about to take her. The little character turned around and headed back towards her home, but Adam was there and it was too late. Pied-Piper charged at her and her little character disappeared. There was silence throughout the room.
“Where has she been taken?” Alpha One yelled. “Damn it, someone tell me where she’s gone!”
“Erm…Err…She was last seen in Sector L and then we lose her signal.” Megan called back in a fluster.
Alpha One slammed his fist against the wall and walked out.
“Wow, epic rage quit,” Owen whispered and Kieran nodded.
“Oh the poor little thing, will she be scared?” Isabelle asked worried.
“No, she won’t know anything.” Ex walked towards the class again. “But, Katie has been watched by us and Adam for quite a while. When he watches someone he leaves a data trail and we have a team who trace this. Where we can, we get to his targets before he does.”
“What will she become?” Isabelle asked still concerned.
“Well Katie’s skills were patience, and organisation. She will probably become a converter Skab overseeing the newly taken, making sure they are fully brainwashed and programmed to undertake their duties.”
“Why don’t they ever play on their consoles again?” Dexter asked. He leant over to Kieran and with a whisper he gloated, “See, I do ask questions.”
“Because,” Ex huffed and spoke angrily, “if they are on-line, there is a chance they can be returned without us having to physically go into to Plantranet. The process would be quick and easy, but Adam has been smart. He wants to keep his army safe and well-guarded.”
Dexter nodded. A self-satisfied smile crept across his face as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Isabelle looked at him and shook her head, “Have you read all the manuals from Battle Implementation yet?”
Dexter nodded.
“Well obviously you haven’t, that was one of the pages in the Plantranet players’ guide!”
“Oh…I didn’t get to that one,” Dexter’s smile vanished in a flash and he looked worried.
“Neither did I!” Kieran whispered.
“Well, we can’t be expected to remember everything…Can we?” Owen questioned, he too hadn’t read very much.
“But you will all know that already, as that is one of the sections in your homework that is due in tomorrow.” Ex looked less than impressed.
“Tomorrow?” Kieran sunk down on his little spot of cold, hard floor. He realised he hadn’t even started the homework yet.
“Class dismissed.” Ex wafted his hand at them, gesturing them to leave. He had a distinct look of anger and dismay on his face though. He turned his back and called to the group, “The GEST exams are in two weeks, I hope that you have all started revising. Any late homework will incur the removal of points and extra tuition with corporal Chumly!”
The class hurried out of the door, the group of friends still together although missing Thomas.
“I don’t want to have to spend any more time with Chumly than I have to!” Dexter looked like he had just sucked a lemon.
“I think I’d rather stay in the room and get the homework done. We can go to the commons room anytime.
“Look, I will help you all if you need me to?” Isabelle offered in between the grunts that each of the boys made.
“Thanks, Izzy,” Owen sniffed and curled his lips into a wry smile
18
Kieran was wearing the team uniform which was a bright blue lycra all-in-one suit, with special shoes attached. The suit hugged him tightly, causing a wedgy whenever he moved. Dexter and Owen were in the far corner of the room watching the team conference. Every now and then they gave a silly smile and made gestures about the outfit. Kieran ignored them and listened.
“Kealey, this is Melissa Dawson, Ellis Reynalds, Cara Gray and Lee Liamson”. Kieran nodded to each of them.
“When we play tournament Intracell, we play in six man teams.” Sebastian had finished the introductions, and was nervously fidgeting. He looked scared, and that’s not how he normally looked when he was uploading. Kieran was more than nervous now. All of the cadets playing were third years and above, he looked small and puny in comparison. He smiled and greeted each of them. Lee and Ellis both looked him up and down, he shared their thoughts, why had a first year replaced a fourth year.
“Do us a favour Kealey, if you can create the Tetracell in the first five minutes that would be great. I don’t know if I can cope in…What map are we playing today, Seb?” Ellis called.
Sebastian tapped the screen on the wall and studied it, “We’re against TakeDown, and…”
“They play dirty,” Ellis mumbled through pursed lips, Kieran nodded and made th
e mental note.
“We are playing…Great!” Sebastian growled and slammed his fist on the screen.
“Please, Seb,” Melissa whined, “don’t say it.”
Sebastian looked at his team with dismay, “We are in The Underground today guys.”
Melissa growled and threw her sensory gloves to the floor. Sebastian shook his head, he had faith in his team but this was the qualifiers for the Intracell League. A new player and the hardest map was not a good mix. He looked at Kieran who was sporting the blue Intracell Skin but his Sensory kit was missing.
“Where’s your kit?”
“It was being checked over by the Scientist. They put in a failsafe, so if anything happens I can get out. They were still tweaking them, and I didn’t want to be late so I…my friends are picking them up.” Kieran looked back at the faces of his new team mates and each of them still looked angry. “Sorry, but what’s The Underground?”
“The worst map to play TakeDown at,” Lee scowled and leant against the door.
“Think London Underground, trains and passengers everywhere. We stand on opposite platforms, trains arrive and people appear from every angle. You cannot hit civilians, that is an automatic five point loss.” Seb was deadly serious.
“Boxes will appear that release zombies, we’re talking the undead kind and they attack the opposition but they mingle with the civvies, so it’s a case of careful aiming. The trick is to get the boxes before the other team. Anything that the boxes release will take out your energy, they drain it so you can’t make cells and you become a sitting duck.”
“Okay…” Kieran looked at a cool and calm Lee and continued writing note after note in his mind.
“The runners are the worst. They’re the zombies that run at you at lightning speed. They drain your energy faster and they can take you out of the game.” Lee looked slightly pleased that he could wind the newbie player up.
“Don’t forget the Hushers,” Ellis grinned
“Oh yes, the Hushers.” Lee continued, a wink passing between the friends. “The Hushers are silent. You will only know that they are draining you when you hear a hush…hush…hush noise.”
“Just aim for the boxes before they get them.” Sebastian added.
“Sure, I can do that, I think.” Kieran swallowed hard. He could feel a film of sweat forming on his brow and the electricity started to pulsate through his fingers as he stared at the room where it all begun. It would be his first time back in there and he was nervous.
“When they are distracted we knock them off the posts.” Seb nodded his head as if clarifying the plan in his own mind.
The commons room had become busier, every cadet and officer who wasn’t on shift filtered into the room. TV screens had moving signs on them saying ‘Intracell Qualifiers’. Some cadets held banners and special holoplaques lit up the room with the team symbols. A commotion started as TakeDown made their way through the crowds.
“Typical.” Lee rolled his eyes and sighed, “Trust them to always make an entrance.”
“So this is a big thing?” Kieran asked in a joking manner.
“This is huge amongst all the Institutes from around the world. Like I said, this is just the qualifiers for the tournament later in the year.”
“Do other Institutes come here to play?”
Sebastian looked to be working things out by moving his hands in the air. Almost as if he was moving the players around in his mind. “There is a secure section in Plantranet and all league matches are played there. Sometimes the other Institutes come here for a few weeks for conventions and the end of year a game-a-thon. It depends on the winner of the league, they host the end of year party.”
The crowd was buzzing, there were cheers and even banners being held up to welcome them.
Richard, Emily and four other TakeDown members approached through the crowd. As usual Richard looked smug. He walked towards Kieran with the look of over confidence.
“We just got these from the store,” Isabelle panted and interrupted the stare off. She handed over Kieran’s helmet, gloves and chest plate.
“Thank you,” Kieran puffed his cheeks out, his heart was racing and his nerves were starting to peak.
“Good luck mate, just create that Torturecell thing again.” Dexter patted him on the back.
“I think you mean Tetracell?” Owen teased.
“That’s what I said.”
“No…you said…”
“You can do it, Kiwi,” Dexter gave Owen a sideways glance.
“Okay Hunters, huddle up.”
The blue team gathered and listened intently whilst Sebastian ran through the tactics. “Okay guys, this is going to be a tough one. Kieran, I’m sorry that you really are being thrown in at the deep end. Due to security issues we just couldn’t train, so you are going to have to wing it. On that note I want Kealey as Centre Block. Liamson and Gray you will be left and right Gunners. Reynalds and Dawson, I need you as rear attack in your normal positions. Right, we need left and right attack providing cover, Kealey; you will help them take out the zombies. Left and right Gunners and myself in Centre Point will take out the team. If any of you see a box, call it and get it, understood?”
“Sir!” They all called.
“Team in,” Sebastian placed his hand out and the others placed theirs on top. Kieran placed his right on the top of the pile. “We’re Hunters, let’s make these wings fly!” The huddle broke and Kieran placed on his helmet. Sebastian stopped by the door and grinned, “Looks like you have your fan club already.”
Kieran turned to see Isabelle, Kaitlyn, Megan, Owen and Dexter all with banners held up. They had even worn their Hunters caps to match their enthusiastic smiles. Kieran lifted his hand and waved one last time before he was shipped into the room.
“Good luck ladies,” Emily scowled walking in. Her team marched in behind her, each with a devilish scowl.
“Just ignore them,” Sebastian muttered and positioned himself on his mark. As centre point he was in the middle at the front.
“If I can get her right between the eyes, that’ll make my day.” Cara was stretching out and testing the grip on her shoes.
“Play nicely.” Seb called.
Kieran watched as Melissa Dawson and Ellis Reynalds stood on the rear marks, the only free one was the rear central post. “I guess that’s mine, central block.” Kieran bit his lip and took a deep breath.
“Concentrate guys. A lot is riding on this.”
“No pressure then,” Kieran laughed and clumsily fumbled to get his gloves on. His hands were so sweaty it was a struggle but he did it and then used his teeth to tighten the straps.
The door shut and the white padded cell grew slightly darker. “Visors down.” Sebastian was already crouched down with one hand on the floor, the other prepped and ready to shoot. The game hadn’t even launched yet. “Cover positions.”
Kieran watched through his visor as the others copied Sebastian, he followed suit.
“Qualifiers!” The computer voice was back again, Kieran shuddered with the memory of what it had previously shouted at him.
“Good luck,” Melissa’s voice breathlessly called into their ears.
“You too,” Kieran replied and the green lines appeared.
“Here we go guys.”
The darkness became a scene of almost heavenly white, there was no end to it. The podiums did their familiar rumble and they began to rise out of the ground, Kieran wobbled slightly, but found his balance.
“Rumble Underground!” The generated voice was crazy, a little too enthusiastic.
“This is a little different from messing around.” Kieran muttered.
“Concentrate!” Sebastian ordered and Kieran felt completely chastised.
The ground slowly formed into a platform with a train line running directly in front of Seb and the others. Train lines then appeared at the sides of them and behind. Kieran looked over and saw the other platform where TakeDown were standing, three train lines and
another platform separated the two groups. A crackling started and he watched as brickwork slowly etched its way into the celestial white walls, then a grubby ceiling dropped down from above. Kieran jumped, he thought they were going to be crushed by it, but it stopped. It really looked like they were on the underground, just with a few more train tracks.
“Players Ready?” The hyped up computer shouted and echoed around the room that continued to shrink in height but not depth or width.
“Hunters ready.” Sebastian had turned from a nervous wreck to a strong leader.
“TakeDown, always ready.” Emily was snide, she always had to go one better.
Something whipped past Kieran’s head, he jumped again. “I have got to calm down!” He saw the object flying around and it was a Rewdy filming it all for the spectators to see. Rewdy stopped over TakeDown and Kieran watched as Richard waved directly at it. Someone huffed loudly and Kieran sniggered.
“Go!” The computer bellowed.
A dark grey almost charcoal cell flew past Kieran’s head. It landed on the wall behind with a smash.
“Gunners get ready!” Seb called. “Attackers and Post, eyes open!” A burning bright blue cell sat in his hands, he shot it out and it landed on the platform in front of TakeDown. Cells were flying around everywhere, though no one seemed to be making a concentrated effort to knock anyone off. It was almost like they were sending out warning shots.
Kieran’s ears were ringing as explosions rang out closely all around him. His hands were tingling as he created cells ready to use, but as they weren’t needed he stayed crouched and absorbed the cell.
A loud screech rang out. Seb called out more orders, “Incoming.”
A train pulled up in front of them, hundreds of normal everyday people poured out of the carriages. There were shoppers, business men and women all over the place. Some disappeared and others walked between the team mates, it was like they knew they were there. A Grey sparkling Cell appeared and it weaved its way through the hordes of people. It lost speed with its zigzag motion, but it was aimed to land at the feet of Sebastian. Seb jumped as it crashed into the platform, it missed him. In its wake it left a hole in the concrete platform. Sebastian retaliated, with his gunners by his side.