by Wesley King
“Emily?”
She jerked into alertness, snatching her rifle off the floor and whirling to face the door.
Sam put his hands up. “Just me!”
“Oh, sorry,” she muttered. “Getting a little tired.”
“Well, I can take over. I can’t sleep anyway.”
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m not sure.” Sam sat down beside her. “Where’s Blue?”
“She went to bed. Couldn’t keep her eyes open.”
“Can you show me what I need to watch?”
Emily quickly ran over the console, explaining each alarm and how to activate the antiaircraft guns. When she finished, she looked at him.
“How was the outside world for you, Sam? Did it go back to normal?”
Sam was silent for a moment. “Not really,” he said at last. “I talked to my mom about the surveillance video that Sliver showed me. She cried when I asked her about how she moved on so quickly to do normal stuff again. She said she didn’t know what else she could have done, but that on the inside, she was heartbroken. It was just like Hayden told me.” He bit his lip. “So with her, it was okay. But my dad and brother, they treated me better at first, and I felt guilt in their minds. But after a few weeks, it was the same again, or worse maybe, because I could sense their dislike. I sensed that from lots of people actually. Even from some of my teachers, ones who I went out of my way to impress. Eventually, I shut it all out. But it hurt to know that so many people didn’t like me.”
Sam felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He blinked, trying to hold them back.
“I know what you mean,” Emily said quietly.
“Sometimes I thought about making them like me,” he said. “I could do that, you know. It’s tempting to have this power. Sliver told me he talked rich people into giving him houses and cars and boats, and I could do the same, but I know I shouldn’t.”
Emily nodded. “Of course you won’t. You’re too good of a person. I always said you’re going to be the best superhero out of all of us. You’re the only one who doesn’t have a dark side.”
“I don’t know about that,” Sam murmured.
“It’s true. And we’re your friends, Sam. We like you. We’re all going to join the League, and you won’t have to worry about those people anymore.” She patted his back. “But first, we have to figure out what’s going on. And before that, I need some sleep. Sound the alarm if you see anything, or just wake us up your usual way.”
She put her rifle on the floor but then seemed to think better of it and picked it back up. “It’s nice to have it back,” she said. “I feel like I can help again. Night, Sam.”
She walked out of the room, and Sam turned to the console, smiling. It was good to be back with friends.
* * *
“This was a grand idea,” Hayden said, gesturing at the lawn. “A little fresh air, food, a blue-haired woman—”
“I still think we should be watching the sensors,” Blue cut in. “We’ll be caught in the open out here.”
“I have the feed linked to my visor,” Emily said. “We’ll be fine. Plus, we thought you could use some fresh air after being cooped up in that mansion for so long.”
They were sitting around a circular wooden table that Hayden had found and floated onto the front lawn. The night had passed without incident, and so they had decided to have lunch outside. It was a clear, sunny day, but it was still cool, and they were all wrapped in thick blankets they had taken from the mansion.
Lana glanced at the forest along the outer edges of the property. Even though the perimeter sensors were on, she felt like the Flame and the others could emerge from the woods at any moment. It made for an unsettling meal.
“So, Blue,” Hayden said casually. “Are you seeing anybody?”
Blue rolled her eyes. “Yes, I have a lot of free time while I guard this mansion.”
“There aren’t many good-looking guys in the League,” Hayden mused. “Maybe Junkit, and I suppose the Flame. He’s kind of a jerk, though. Gali too, if you like muscles that big—”
“I dated the Flame,” Blue said, cutting him off. “But that was a long time ago.”
“Really?” Emily asked. “Ironic.”
“Yeah,” Blue murmured, and she seemed to grow somber.
James shifted uncomfortably. “So if Thunderbolt isn’t answering, and none of the League members are communicating on the network, what do we do? All we have are the base locations. Do we check them one by one?”
“That might be dangerous,” Sam pointed out.
“Well, we can’t sit here and wait until someone attacks,” James argued.
Hayden plunked his glass on the table. “Why not? We could capture them and get answers that way.”
“Wait,” Sam said, turning to Blue. “What did the League do with Sliver’s amplifier?”
She frowned. “I don’t know. Thunderbolt wouldn’t have left it here.”
His face fell. “Oh. I might have been able to use it to contact Deanna.”
“Well, we can try and—” James started.
Emily suddenly grabbed her rifle off the table. “Stop!”
Lana whirled around and saw someone darting toward the trees. Emily fired.
A burst of blue energy leapt across the lawn, but it sailed wide and hit a tree.
“Come on!” Emily shouted.
They scrambled out of their chairs and took off across the lawn. Lana was the fastest and she pulled ahead of the others, her legs pumping beneath her. The Wraith plunged into the woods and she crashed after it, swatting the branches aside.
“Split up!” James shouted to the others. “Cut it off!”
Lana jumped over a fallen log and heard a snap as James barreled through a tree.
She was closing in. She could tell it was a man now, with jet-black hair and a matching uniform. It really was like chasing a stray shadow. All of a sudden she saw his arm move and he cast something over his shoulder. Lana reacted instantly.
“Duck!” she screamed, and dove to her left.
An earsplitting wave of sound tore through the air, catching Lana in midair. It carried her even farther, and she landed flat on her stomach, her face smacking into the ground. Lana blinked and slowly pushed herself back to her feet. Behind her, all the trees in a twenty-foot radius had been snapped in half. She spotted James shakily standing up and she hurried over.
“What was that?” he asked, sounding dazed.
“I don’t know. A concussion grenade or something.”
James scowled. “Good thing it was only me and you up here. Some of the others could have been killed!”
“I know.” She glanced behind him. “Where are the others?”
A shriek split through the air and Lana and James exchanged a quick glance before hurrying toward the sound.
“Where did it come from?” James called over his shoulder.
“I don’t know! Keep going this way!”
They ran for a minute more, but all they could hear was the wind over the canopy of trees. They slowed down, looking around frantically.
Lana, a quiet voice said into Lana’s mind. It’s Sam. Stay there.
“Sam’s coming,” Lana said. “But who screamed?”
“It must have been Blue or Emily,” James replied, scanning the trees. “It was definitely a girl.”
She frowned. “I doubt Emily would scream like that.”
Lana heard something crashing through the foliage, and then Hayden and Sam appeared.
“What happened?” James asked quickly.
“We don’t know,” Hayden said. “Emily and Blue went left, and we went right. We heard the huge boom, though, and then the scream.”
“The boom was a grenade or something,” Lana explained. “It went off over here. But the scream wasn’t from us.”
“It was Blue,” Sam said. “I felt her panic.”
“Where are they now?” James asked.
“I can’t sense eithe
r of them,” he answered quietly.
“We need to search the property,” Hayden said. “Together this time.”
Two hours later, they gave up their search and started back to the mansion. The sun was just beginning to set, glowing orange on the horizon. No one spoke. Their eyes were all glued to the ground, faces grim. A cold weight had settled into Lana’s stomach somewhere along the way.
Emily and Blue were gone.
13
JAMES SAT IN THE CORNER, HIS FISTS CLENCHED HARD ENOUGH TO CRUSH IRON. I’m the one who said split up, he thought. Now Emily was gone because of him.
“I just don’t see how it could have been the Flame,” Lana said. “We saw a Wraith.”
“Maybe they’re working with the Wraiths,” Hayden countered. “And if it’s these guys who abducted the other two League members, we don’t even know where to start looking for them anyway.”
They were gathered in the monitoring room and had already been debating for twenty minutes. No one could decide what to do next.
“So we go to headquarters?” Sam asked. He had his arms wrapped around his legs and looked like he was on the verge of tears.
“It could be a trap,” Hayden said. “If Thunderbolt is gone, the Flame is in charge there.”
“But if it was the League traitors, then why did Blue scream?” Lana asked.
“She did say she was on Thunderbolt’s side,” Sam said. “And she seemed upset when you mentioned the Flame. The only way to know is to go to headquarters.”
Lana shook her head. “If it was the Flame and the others, they wouldn’t bring Emily to headquarters. They’d bring her to—”
“The Perch,” Hayden finished. “They’d bring her to the Perch.” He walked over to the computer console. “And we know where that is now. All the bases, including the Perch, are listed on the network. Emily gave me her pass code for emergencies.”
James glanced up. “And we have the Mediator.”
“I don’t think it will be that easy to break into the Perch,” Sam said nervously.
“That might be where Thunderbolt is anyway,” Hayden reasoned, logging in to the network. “It’s secluded, probably defensible, and he’d want to make sure no one got to the Vindico. If they were released into all this, it would be game over for the League.”
He found the coordinates for the Perch and typed them into a map. A glowing dot appeared on the screen, highlighting the prison’s location.
“And if Thunderbolt isn’t at the Perch?” Lana argued. “If the Flame’s in charge there too?”
“Than we smash down the walls and rescue Emily,” Hayden replied. “Right after we take out those traitors and throw them in a cell.”
James jumped to his feet. “Let’s get moving.”
“Yeah, let’s try and get there while it’s dark,” Hayden said. “We better find some jackets: this place is pretty much in the Arctic Circle.”
“How are we going to break in?” Sam asked.
Hayden turned to James. “That ship’s got missile launchers, right?”
Sam put his forehead on his knees. “Not again.”
* * *
The rolling green landscape passed beneath them, wrapped in darkness. In the distance, a massive body of water appeared, stretching as far as James could see.
He sat beside Lana in the cockpit, while Hayden and Sam waited in the hold. They were still at least two hours from the Perch. James glanced at Lana and then turned back to the instruments. Lana’s gaze was fixed on the view below.
“You know,” he mumbled, “I’ve been thinking about getting back to this world every day for four months now. But I don’t think I ever realized that we were actually in danger. That something could actually happen to us.”
“I know,” she said softly.
He looked at her. “What if she was killed, Lana?”
“Don’t even say that.”
“We just got away with it so easy last time and then right away now, bam, one of us is gone.”
“Easy?” Lana said. “I almost killed someone, James. I’ve had nightmares every single night since we were sent home. I didn’t think it was so easy.”
James flushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”
“I know. I know what you meant.” She leaned back in the seat. “Do you ever wish they left you alone—chose someone else?”
“No,” James replied simply. “Even now, I want to be a superhero.”
“Or villain?” she countered. “I mean, I don’t regret anything. Not really. I love the powers, and I wouldn’t have met any of you if they didn’t take me. But if Emily, if she was . . . then I don’t know. Maybe I’m not cut out for this.”
“We’ll find her,” James said.
Lana gazed out the window. “Let’s talk about something else. We can’t do anything about it now.” She smirked. “Whatever happened with Sara?”
James shrugged. “Nothing really. I thought I would come back and show off and get my revenge, but when I got there, I didn’t see the point. Wasn’t worth it, I guess.” He paused. “Well, it was kind of nice when the girls started showing a little more interest. She definitely noticed.”
“And what about those other girls . . .”
“I didn’t date anyone, no.”
She glanced at him. “Why not?”
“I don’t know. Just figured I’d be leaving soon, I guess. How are things with Hayden? You guys seem good together.”
“Yeah . . . we are,” she agreed. She laughed and shook her head. “We’re talking about relationships. I almost feel like a normal teenager.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Except it’s a Monday night and we’re about to attack the most heavily guarded prison in the world.”
Lana became somber. “I hope she’s there.”
“Me too.”
They didn’t speak again until the ground below had become a patchwork of scattered, snow-covered islands. The Arctic Ocean was roiling in the darkness.
James grimaced as the ship rolled in a strong gust of wind.
“All right, I’m gonna puke back here,” Hayden said, stumbling into the cockpit. “Sam’s already leaning over the toilet.”
“It’s not far now,” James said distractedly.
Another gust rocked the ship. They heard a yelp from the bathroom.
“Lovely place for a prison,” Hayden commented.
“No kidding,” James muttered. “It’s definitely effective. Nowhere to go even if you do escape.”
“I think we’re coming up on it,” Lana said, eyeing the sensors.
James gripped the throttle a little tighter. “Keep your eyes open.”
He steered the Mediator down and felt the weightlessness return as they descended toward the dark, turbulent ocean. Many tiny islands dotted the waters now, some no more than pointed outcroppings of wind-blasted rock.
“All right, it must be bigger than . . .” James said, but stopped when he noticed a red light on the control panel begin to flash. “What’s that?”
“Press the button next to it,” Hayden suggested, reaching for it.
James frowned. “Wait a second, maybe—”
Hayden pressed the button and a robotic voice filled the cockpit.
“Please transmit the proper clearance code. Failure to do so will result in your destruction. Please transmit the proper—”
Hayden pressed the button again and the voice shut off.
“Well that wasn’t a very friendly greeting,” he said.
“See if you can find a code, Lana,” James said quickly. “Is there a way to log on to the ship’s computer? Try that screen.”
“I don’t know what any of this means,” Lana muttered. She began typing into the keypad. “We need Emily.”
“Search ‘prison code,’” Hayden suggested.
“Yes, I’m sure there’s a search feature,” James replied sarcastically.
“Someone’s a bit tense. Maybe a massage would help. You’ve been flying for a while,” Hay
den said as he started to rub James’s shoulders. James swatted at him with one hand and the ship veered sharply to the left. Hayden toppled over as James jerked the controls straight again and another yelp sounded from the back.
“Can you two grow—” Lana started, but she was cut off as a red blast suddenly lanced out of one of the jagged islands and cut through the air toward them. James sent the ship diving toward the sea and there was a screech as the powerful blast skimmed over the roof. He heard Hayden fall over again.
“There!” Lana screamed, and James yanked the controls to the right just as another blast filled the space where they’d been.
Hayden slid across the floor and crashed into the far wall. “This is not fun!”
“There’s the Perch!” Lana said, pointing ahead.
A larger island appeared in the gloom—rocky and barren, and the waves crashing against its sheer cliff face with terrible force. Sitting in the middle of the island was a huge, gray building with a single tower rising up on one side. They could see two massive weapons emplacements on the ground in front of it. Before the teens even had time to process what they were seeing, both cannons fired directly at them.
James sent the ship diving downward again, skimming the water. Enormous waves swirled up around them, almost crashing against the hull. Two red blasts streaked overhead and Lana screamed as James just barely steered the ship over a towering wave. The cliff was rushing toward them.
“Get ready!” James yelled tightly. “We’re going in—”
“Flame?” a male voice suddenly came over the comm unit. “Did you forget the codes again? Sorry about that—I was asleep and just heard the alarms. You’re lucky you weren’t blown out of the sky! I deactivated the guns. You can set her down.”
James pulled back on the accelerator and glanced at Lana, relieved. “Looks like we just got an invitation.”
14
JAMES PULLED BACK ON THE THROTTLE TO CLEAR THE JAGGED CLIFF. THE ROCK was at least a hundred feet high and plunged straight down into the frozen ocean. There was definitely no escaping this island. Even if you could fly, the fierce wind would probably send you spinning out of the air.