Player is Waiting... (Ultimate Clan Wars)

by Wells, JB

  Alfie was lying on the floor, holding his chest.

  “He’s having an asthma attack,” Kieran shouted.

  Owen and Dexter ran to Alfie’s bed and started pulling apart his drawers and units until they found his inhaler. Isabelle and Kaitlyn had run to help Alfie. Between them they picked him up off the floor and laid him on Kieran’s bed.

  Dexter threw the inhaler to Kieran and he helped Alfie take it, “Thomas, go and get Somerville or Frost and tell them we need Dr Satchell.”

  “I’ll go with him,” Dexter shouted and they ran out of the room.

  Alfie took his inhaler and his breathing started to ease. He was clammy and his skin was pale.

  “Don’t worry mate,” Kieran said and sat by his side. “He’ll be okay, don’t worry.” He could see Isabelle and Kaitlyn worrying, they were visibly shaking. “Dr Satchell sorted him out last week, he was okay within the hour.”

  “I felt fine,” Alfie whispered between laboured breaths. “I was in Plantranet all day, practicing.”

  “Why were you on there so long?” Owen asked him, he was knelt down at his side.

  “I feel great when I’m in there, but…”

  “Don’t talk Alf’s, the doctor will be here soon…” Isabelle said, poking her head around the door. Suddenly she jumped back out of the door way as both the Lieutenants rushed into the room. Without saying a word, they lifted Alfie off the bed and led him out of the room.

  “Thank you cadets, we will get him to the doctor now.” Lieutenant Frost called out.

  Kieran, Isabelle, Kaitlyn and Owen ran to the door and watched as they left. Dexter and Thomas were in the hallway, they waved to Alfie and all went back into the room.

  “What happened to him, I mean I know he had an asthma attack but I thought he was okay?”

  “He’s been on there a lot, Ziggy.” Thomas looked at Kieran, “He’s been racking up more hours than any other first year here.”

  “He told me the other day, that when he leaves Plantranet he feels awful. Then I overheard him telling Jaycee Hudson and some of the others that he’d prefer to stay in there if he could.” Dexter raised his eyebrows and gave a knowing nod, “He wants to stay in there.”

  “He is not The Protocol!” Isabelle laughed, “Alfie Best is sweet and all that, but he has struggled with the training. That’s why he’s been in there so much. If he had those powers then surely he’d be able to, I don’t know…take out the Snozbots with a snap of his fingers. He’s still struggling with the points too. He’s like fifty behind Dexter!”

  “I never said he was,” Dexter shrugged and sat back with Owen, “it’s just a little strange, don’t you think?”

  “Will he be okay?” Kaitlyn asked looking at the closed door.

  Kieran was in the middle of the room, Dexter’s words bouncing around his head. Could Alfie be The Protocol?

  “Kieran, will he..?” She asked again.

  “Yeah…he’ll be fine.” He stared at the back of the door with the feeling of the room closing in on him. His fingers flexed as the tingling returned and along with it came the noise that haunted him day and night. The noise of Adam.

  22

  The cadets of Churchill barracks were rushing around their bed spaces. Dexter was sliding all about the place as he hurried to put away his clothes that he found all over the floor, and Owen and Thomas were neatly making their beds. Kieran was giving his antistatic boots one last polish and checking that his greys were neatly ironed. The girls could be heard giggling from their room, as the boys added the finishing touches to their uniforms. Dexter was still dashing around trying to do more than one thing at a time. He ran around his bed, one hand was tucking his blanket corners under, and the other was polishing his boots.

  “I wonder how Alfie is doing.” Thomas asked.

  “I’m sure he’s okay, could we go and visit him before maths?” Kieran said polishing his holobadge one last time. He looked at the empty space, Alfie hadn’t returned from Dr Satchell’s room.

  “Cool,” Dexter called from the tangle of sheets he had gotten himself into.

  “Yeah, that sounds good.” Owen called from inside his wardrobe, as he sorted it one last time.

  Thomas’s alarm sounded out and the cadets jumped to attention at the foot of their beds, all except Dexter. The alarm made its final chime and Dexter tripped to the foot of his bed, at the same time he threw his last pair of dirty socks at the washing bin. Owen was ready and waiting as Dexter finally got into his position, his chest heaving from his workout.

  “Curly, did you set your clock ten minutes early?” Owen asked from the edge of his pursed lips.

  “No.”

  “Who is it today?” Kieran whispered.

  The girls’ door opened and Isabelle poked her head around the wall. “Are we early?”

  “No,” Thomas answered with a snap.

  “Was it Summerville?” Kieran asked again.

  “I think it was Gregson,” Owen replied.

  “Sergeant Gregson is never late!” Isabelle gasped. “He’s always outside the door early for inspection. I’ve heard him out there.”

  “Let’s wait another five minutes.” Thomas suggested.

  The group agreed, silently, and they stood with their backs straight, their legs spaced evenly and their hands held behind their backs.

  “No, this is stupid,” Dexter sighed and flopped onto his near perfect bed. “He’s late, so if he can’t be bothered, then neither can I.”

  Kieran walked to the main door and thought about opening it.

  “What if it’s a trap?” Dexter said.

  “A trap?” Isabelle questioned with a puzzled look.

  “Yeah, he could be waiting out there to see if we are disobeying command.” Dexter sat bolt upright, his brain working overtime. “And then, when Kiwi opens the door…Bang! Instant removal of LP and a disciplinary.” He gazed at Kieran and shook his head, “Don’t do it, it’s definitely a trap.”

  Isabelle huffed and Kaitlyn, who was behind her giggled. “If it was a trap, don’t you think he would have lured us outside? A sound, a knock on the door…coughing.”

  “Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Izzy.” Conspiracy filled his mind as he walked through the room scanning for signs of cameras. “The fact he’s late, that’s luring us out.”

  Isabelle huffed, “How did he even get picked to be here?” She grabbed the door handle and yanked open the door. She jumped behind it so she was hidden just in case it was a trap, but Kieran was facing into the hallway.

  “He’s not out here.” He looked back in at the others, “There’s no one out there.”

  Owen relaxed his shoulders, “Thank goodness, did we get the wrong day?”

  “Hardly, it’s always every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.” Thomas relaxed his shoulders and sat down.

  “Well, where are they all?” Dexter asked, conspiracy still the first thing on his mind.

  “I’ll go and knock on Winston Barracks,” Kaitlyn offered as she slipped between Isabelle and Kieran.

  They watched as she walked down the hallway and stopped outside of the room. She knocked on the door and the noise of people scrambling could be heard all down the hallway. Slowly the door opened, Kieran and Isabelle could see Kaitlyn talking to someone but they couldn’t hear what was being said. A couple of seconds passed and Kaitlyn headed back to the room.

  “What did they say?”

  “They were waiting for Private Officer Lenning, he hasn’t arrived either.” Kaitlyn said with a shrug.

  “I could’ve had an extra half hour in bed!” Dexter sat with Owen and he got the deck of cards out again.

  Suddenly the phone that had sat dormant for nearly three weeks, started to ring. Everyone in the room jumped and looked at each other. The red phone flashed and continued to ring.

  “Go on Kiwi, you get it.”

  “Why me?” He asked Dexter.

  “You’re the leader.”

  “Not really,” Kieran
sighed and headed towards it. He picked it up and the shrill ringing stopped. “Hello?”

  “Kieran, its Megan.”

  “Oh, hi.” Kieran turned his back to the group and waited nervously for her to talk.

  “I have to be quick. The lines are jammed because there’s an issue.”

  “Right” Kieran turned to his friends with a confused look.

  “You all need to get down to the Commons room.”

  “We can’t, we’re waiting for Corporal Gregson to come. He’s really late and no one’s had their inspection yet.”

  “Kieran, they won’t be coming. That’s why you all need to get down to the Commons room. Can you inform the other first years?”

  “Sure.”

  The phone went dead and Kieran replaced the phone on the set. He turned to his friends, “It was Megan. She said we need to get down to the commons room.”

  “But what about Gregson and the inspection?” Thomas mumbled with worry, his head scratching starting again.

  “She said they’re not coming.”

  “Right then, let’s go,” Owen jumped up, and his hair shifted showing his eyes. He was starting to look like an Old English sheep dog with his eyes always buried behind his curtain of auburn hair.

  “Yeah, beats waiting around here.” Dexter rolled off his bed leaving it messier than before.

  “Should we knock for Amberlea, Molly, and the others?” Kaitlyn asked Isabelle.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Yes.” Kieran turned to Thomas, “Curly?”

  “I dunno. What about the inspection?” he said nervously.

  Isabelle placed her hands on her hips, “I say we go.”

  Kieran went to the door and wrapped his fingers around the handle. Looking back he said, “If inspections have been cancelled then it’s got to be bad. We have to go, now.”

  ###

  Nunie Ganeena talked away, a panicked look across her face as she fought between the autocue and the people talking in her ear. Her long black hair had been beautifully styled and it hung over her orange shirt perfectly, but the more panicked she became in trying to relay the news, the more her perfect look slipped.

  Along the bottom of the screen ran the words: ‘Banks crashed – Payments suspended – money missing and…’ A short newsreel played. There were different people being interviewed, some moaned about declined payments, others complained about things like mortgage payments that hadn’t gone out and wages not gone in.

  The camera closed in on her face as her perfect white teeth bit her bright red lips. She tried her hardest to carry on. “With money missing there is panic on the streets and the banks are…” She placed her hand to her ear and listened carefully. Her matching red nail polish held her ear closed and relief washed over her face. “We go live now to London where our finance correspondent Dee Tamzar is awaiting a statement from Sir Gerald Grunt.”

  “Thank you Nunie,” Dee smiled against the battering winds, her hair whipping around her face as she professionally carried on. “I’m here outside the Head Office where we are waiting on the press release from Sir Gerald Grunt, Finance Minister. Oh, here he comes.”

  A short tubby man with a very bad toupee emerged from the building with a consort of people behind him. Other reporters started calling his name and cameras flashed as he approached the microphone. He pulled a pair of glasses out of his top pocket and perched them on the tip of his nose. Then with a large intake of breath he cleared his throat and began to read a very rehearsed statement from a large piece of paper.

  “At 7 o’clock yesterday morning, we were alerted to a situation with our banking system. An emergency board meeting was called where the board members of all the banks discussed the best approach.” His rosy cheeks turned a deeper shade as he continued. “With the agreement of the Prime minister and the Queen, we put into effect the Banking Emergency Protocol. This means that all forms of electronic payment, fund exchange and purchase will no longer be accessible. Cash transactions will be the only form of payment until the situation has been rectified.”

  “Sir Grunt, Sir Grunt?” A man in a green Barber jacket leapt up, his arm outstretched and his phone as close to Sir Gerald as possible. “Michael Revues, Daily Informer. What about mortgage payments, loan repayments and the necessities like food?”

  Sir Grunt held down the piece of paper and scratched his chin. “People will be able to go to their bank, withdraw cash and deposit it into the recipient’s account.”

  “Angela Schuch, The P Magazine. What is the problem with the banking system? Was this caused by someone in your company?”

  Poor Gerald’s cheeks turned an even darker colour, which didn’t seem possible. “We are treating this a…” He stopped and leant towards the tall, skinny, official looking man to his side. There was some brief whispering between the two, then Gerald returned. “The incident is being treated as an attempt by an unknown group.”

  “Sylvia Houghton, The Old Hags Digest. Are you saying terrorists? Are we under threat?”

  Gerald seemed off colour, he looked towards the official looking man again, panic on his face.

  The man stepped forward, undoing his suit jacket. “I am Agent One with the MI5. We are working with every law enforcement team available to repair the damage done. To confirm, an attack happened on the banking sector, not just in the UK but across the world. No money has been moved, but the attack left an irreversible virus within the sector. As Sir Grunt explained, BEP was put into place until we can recover our systems.”

  “Cris Krosse, Financial Advisor monthly. So we have been attacked by terrorists?”

  Kieran turned away from the TV and saw that everyone in the room was catching flies, their jaws resting on the floor.

  All except Ex, who was in the doorway. He held up his comms device and spoke into it, “Central Command, do we have go ahead for the call?”

  “Confirmed sir,” his device called back. Sirens bellowed around the whole Institute, in every room in every sector the clan boxes flashed rapidly.

  “You are all being called up. Now.” His voice shook the room and his brow was furrowed, he looked stressed.

  “It’s him,” Isabelle muttered to Dexter, her eyes wide with fear.

  “You all need to get down to the Arena. Adam has forged an attack of epic proportions, on Sector B. The whole of the area has been infected and needs clearing. He is trying to attack the banking sector and we need to get in there, catch him and repair what we can.”

  Some of the third year cadets had lined the wall behind Ex. Each of them stood to attention, their backs iron straight and their arms firmly behind them.

  “Go with your clan elders and get to the Arena now. Everybody is being called in.”

  The cadets all looked at each other, the severity of the situation dawning on them.

  “But we’re not ready,” Owen croaked.

  “No, we’re not.” Isabelle grabbed onto Dexter’s arm and clung tightly.

  “I agree that you’re not finished in your training, but I know you’re all perfectly ready.” There was a hint of hidden pride in Ex’s voice, but his face stayed stern. “Understood?”

  “Yes, Sir!” The chorus of voices called once again.

  “I should not have to tell you all this many times. The boxes are flashing and you should already be in there!”

  The cadets all filtered out of the commons room and down to the arena. Kieran was grasped by Ex as he past him. “You upload with the others and then speak to Cyberus.”

  “Where will he be?” Kieran looked up at him.

  “You’ll know.” He ordered back.

  23

  The arena was a buzzing hive of activity. Sirens wailed from every wall and the calling boxes flashed in every corner. The calls and orders of cadets could be heard over the speakers, and the large screen showed hundreds of different Avatars running around. Guiders were shouting instructions to their cadets and Alpha One was pacing back and forth on the bridge above, his
comms to his ear as he moved.

  “What’s going on?” Kieran asked catching up with his friends.

  “They are being infected at a fast rate.” Isabelle’s eyes were fixated on the latest victim who was being dragged out of their Invirtuwear chair. The scientists started shouting code words to each other when some soldiers appeared to hoist the cadet out. She watched the screen, and the board which showed cadet numbers and where they were. Green, blue and grey cadet numbers turned red and then those cadets were pulled from their chairs.

  Dexter was also staring at the same commotion. He leant into Kieran, “So what did the jolly giant have to say?”

  “Punishment still stands. I upload with you and then I report to Cyberus.”

  “That sucks!” Owen shouted.

  Kieran shrugged and looked around. Two cadets and a scientific officer were tending to the last cadet to be pulled out. They moved him to a row of chairs under the screen. They didn’t look like the Invirtuwear chairs, they were smaller with the mats at the head, feet and hands. The unconscious zombiefied cadet was strapped into one, along with around ten others. One after the other they attempted to scream the same noise the other infected made, but something stopped them, something in the chair.

  Vinnie Wildfire, one of the fourth year medics was standing in front of Isabelle. “Vinnie?” Kieran called.

  “What’s up?”

  “What are those?”

  Vinnie moved beside Kieran. “They are the Respawn chairs. If you get infected whilst inside, your body out here is placed in the chair until the Recov takes effect. Then once you are healed you are put back in. But that’s only if you’re lucky enough to have one of us nearby.”

  “And what happens if none of you are around?” Isabelle squeaked. She started to twist her ponytail around as her eyes watched more cadets being pulled from their chairs.

  “You are put in The Repository.” Vinnie looked scared when he said it.

  “What’s the Repository?” Owen asked from the back of the group.

  Vinnie was a tall boy, he towered over them and squinted his eyes as he told them in a very hushed voice, “The Repository is a place where no gamer wants to go. It’s like a graveyard for incomplete data. You’re put in there and left until they can repair you or…they forget about you.”