Ambulance? Suddenly I divert my attention from the game, letting the bat roll out of my palms. As soon as it leaves my hands, the game pauses. I surface to reality, trying to focus completely on the two people standing in front of me.
“No ambulance, I’m fine.” I force a smile.
“Are you sure?” the older woman asks.
Her husband is taller than me and I realize that he’s holding on to my arm. He sees my distaste but doesn’t loosen his grip. “You were acting really strange. Flailing your arms and ducking like you were being attacked. Did someone hurt you?” he asks. His voice is kind as his eyes scan the dark street behind me.
“No, no, really I’m fine. I was playing a game,” I explain, trying to keep my irritation under control. I was just starting to get the hang of Crash Dome.
The man furrows his brow. “A game? Have you been drinking?”
I exhale and bite the inside of my bottom lip. “No, I’ve just come from work. I’m on my way home. I just wanted a few minutes to cool down, relax, you know? See?” I turn my head to the right and lift up my long curtain of hair. A cool breeze tickles the skin on the back of my neck as I expose the copper Vertix to the overly concerned citizens.
The woman’s eyes widen and her eyebrows arch in surprise. “Greg, she’s got one of those tick things,” she whispers, stretching on her tiptoes to reach her husband’s ear.
“What?” His eyes go to the device clinging to my neck and he drops my arm. “Oh, a game…have a good evening. Come on, Laura.” He tugs his wife gently in the opposite direction.
I let my hair fall back into place. The woman shoots me a strange look over her shoulder, whispering to her husband as they walk away. I resume my game, activating the paused orange blur hurtling toward me. I chuckle, my hands wrapped around my invisible bat once more. This time, I’m ready.
The orange blur fires directly at me, and I swing the bat with all my strength and shoot it upward into the top-left corner. Dozens of magenta bricks crumble unevenly, covering the cartoon grass again like fallen Jenga blocks.
Four hundred and twelve points! New Record! the cheesy announcer cries, yet I feel accomplished all the same. Let’s bring on the next level!
“All right, yes!” I shout, loving the way the endorphins pump through my veins. Colorful blurs fire faster, now coming at me two at a time. I hack at the spheres, spinning and dodging the giant cannon blasts of air as they surround me. My bags continue to bang against my ribs as I block with the bat.
Yellow, blue, red, green, and violet balls attack when suddenly two bright white ones race toward me, followed by a screeching blare of a horn. That’s new, I think, but then my left eye catches the dark silhouette of a Jeep Patriot X4 and my stomach drops. Amidst my playing, I had wandered into the road.
Reacting before a thought can even begin to form, I leap out of the way, unsure what lies to the right but positive what’s coming from the left. I squeeze my eyes tightly shut as I throw myself out of the speeding car’s trajectory. A loud, hollow bang erupts in my mind as the right side of my face smashes against the side of something large and metal.
My hands instinctively flash out to catch myself before I collapse onto the rough sidewalk, but my palms and knees drag across the surface, ripping and scraping the skin open angrily.
“Get out of the freakin’ road, asshole!” the driver screams, laying on the horn once more.
I tuck my legs and arms in, trying to imitate one of those roly-poly bugs Andy and I used to poke over and over again when we were little. I cling to the edge of the curb, opening my eyes after I hear the driver gun the engine and speed off down the street. He didn’t even hit the brakes.
I lay there for a moment, hugging the sidewalk like a drunken college kid trying to make it home from the bar. Slowly, I take inventory of my body, testing my moving parts like a puppet come to life for the first time. My head is pounding. I press my fingertips to the tender flesh and gasp in pain. Glancing up, I see a white charging station looming over me, a small dent in the side from where I dove into it. I wiggle my toes and realize with a sigh that my left shoe is missing. My disappointment quickly turns to disgust as water begins seeping into my clothes and running down my legs. I’m lying in a clogged sewer drain.
“Gosh this is rancid,” I cry, pushing myself up by extending my elbows. A large clump of moldy leaves floats toward me, bumping my pinky finger. A strange mass sits balled up inside. I think I see the tip of a wing. Nausea makes my stomach flip and the musty smell of wet leaves overwhelms my senses. Anxiety grabs hold tightly and I scramble to my feet. Cold water drizzles down the inside of my blouse. I try not to think what makes up the dirty gray liquid.
Come on, killer! Keep going! You’re almost to the next level! the sports announcer cries.
I move onto the sidewalk, gritting my teeth as a fresh rivulet of water rushes down my collar. “No way. No amount of fake applause or chanting excitement can make up for this,” I say, furious at myself. I don’t know why I even put this stupid thing in in the first place. All I wanted to do was relax, but instead I miss my stop, have to walk eight blocks home in heels, and now almost get creamed by a jeep and land in the sewer. “Forget this,” I growl, desperately wishing there was something to kick or punch nearby.
Instead, I reach back and swipe my finger upward. Maggie, are you sure you want to disconnect? the velvet voice asks.
The bright colors of the game seem to grow more vibrant, calling me back. At the same moment, another car zooms by and I flinch. “No, get this thing off me,” I say aloud, yanking it from the back of my neck. “Ow!” I forgot how deep the sensors were. A warm bubble of blood begins to trickle from the four little incisions. “Great, sewer water…now blood. I’ll just have to trash this shirt when I get home.” I shove the Vertix into my soaked purse.
I slap my palm to my neck, feeling a small round burn mark below the spot where the Vertix rests. My shoe rests several feet away on the concrete. I can’t believe it flew that far. I take a step forward and scoop up the heel, balancing like a flamingo to put it back on. Two girls walk past me, both sporting looks of disgust on their full red lips. I roll my eyes and ignore their stares. I can’t even begin to imagine what a mess I am. “All I want to do is go home and take a hot bath,” I say with a pout, wanting nothing more than to burst into tears. I’m even more upset because it’s my own stupid fault. “I’m never putting that thing on again,” I vow.
I continue the last few blocks to my apartment, doing my best to untangle the mess I have made of myself. Never before has the metal scaffolding stairs of death to my home looked so good. I reach out and grab the cool metal handle, tromping up the grate-like stairs.
Hopefully Andy and Sarah have given up and gone out so I don’t have to explain my sorry state. “Time,” I say as I round the corner, heading up to the second floor. Nothing happens and I realize I forgot to tap the iJewel screen. “Ah, this is ridiculous,” I grumble, slapping the black screen with a flick of my wrist. This time it blinks to life. “Time,” I say again through gritted teeth. Eight twenty-one. “Awesome,” I say, seething as I trudge up the last flight to the third-floor landing.
At last I make it to my door and pause, twisting to the side to fish my keys out of my purse. A small puddle of water has collected in the bottom of my bag and more grimy water drips down my wrist as I fit the key into the lock and push it open. I wipe my hand on my damp skirt and hang my head. I’m home.
I cross the threshold into the brightly lit kitchen. Rapid footsteps pound down the hallway and Sarah’s worried face peeks around the corner.
“Where the hell have you been?” Sarah gasps, taking in my filthy appearance. “Jesus Christ, Maggie, what happened to you! You were supposed to be home hours ago.” She races around the small circular table pressed up against the far wall and wraps me in a tight hug. “Oh, you’re soaking wet, Mags.”
“I know, I fell off the curb into a flooded drain,” I say listlessly. I drop my purse and messenger bag onto
the floor, then shuffle over to the counter. I need a cup of tea like an addict needs a hit.
“Maggie, thank God,” Andy’s deep voice sounds to my left as he enters the kitchen a minute later. “We were checking everywhere for you, but you never checked into any social sites. I checked the subway on Willow but you didn’t get off. I found you through Pin Me. What were you doing all the way on Cedar Street?”
I frown as Andy’s words rush from his mouth like a powerful waterfall. I feel like a teenager caught sneaking in after curfew. I do like that they were worried about me though. Maybe I’m not a complete third wheel.
I sigh and rub my eye with my hand while I fill the teapot with water. “I missed my stop.” I sigh. “So I got off at Cedar and was going to walk back…but I tried using the Vertix and kind of fell into the road.”
“What do you mean? You don’t have to actually move in the apps,” Sarah says, arching her eyebrow. “The Vertix has a dual screen so you can still walk and connect.”
I shrug as I press the button, illuminating the little blue light on the brewer. “Yeah, well apparently I’m too uncoordinated to do both at the same time.” I laugh weakly, turning around to rest my elbows on the counter.
Andy shakes his head and pulls me in for a hug. “My klutzy little sister. Well, I’m sorry you had a long night and I’m glad you’re safe,” he says, rubbing the top of my hair.
“And don’t worry, Mags, you’ll get the hang of the Vertix,” Sarah says, also trying to make me feel better.
I scoff and cross my arms over my chest. “I don’t think so. I never want to use that thing again,” I say, but feel my mind wander back to the delicious rush I felt when I first connected, when the sensors flooded my mind. My words are an empty threat. I shake my head, tossing the strange longing to connect again away. “Whatever, I’m going to take a bath. Thanks for checking on me.” I wink at them and grab my bags.
“Of course. Hurry up though, okay? We’re going to watch a movie—we’ll wait for you.”
“I’ll be fast,” I promise.
In the bathroom I shut the door firmly behind me and exhale. I can’t wait to sit in the warm water and let my mind go blank for a while. I toss my purse and messenger bag onto the floor. I have no idea why I brought them in. I walked right past my room.
“No more thoughts,” I decide. “Just relax.” I raise my left arm and awaken the sleeping iJewel to launch my favorite music app, Serenade. “Me time, perfect.” I sigh happily, tapping on the laid-back emoji. My selection syncs with the built-in speakers we installed last month around the shower, filling the small bathroom with a soft beat and the singer’s smooth words.
I pull back the pale green shower curtain dotted with cream and brown leaves and crank the rusty metal handle counterclockwise. The water sputters, then pours out of the spigot in an ice-cold waterfall. I have at least five minutes until the water warms from the temperature of the Artic Sea. Vibrating my lips like I’m preparing for a drum roll, I reach around to the top of my skirt and slide the zipper downward. It isn’t easy to take off. The damp fabric clings to my thighs. I eye the small nail kit. Maybe it’d be easier to just cut it off.
I shimmy a little faster and with a final yank, the skirt comes loose, throwing me off balance. “Oof,” I say with a groan as I catch myself on the corner of the vanity. The bathroom begins to fill with warm steam as the water temperature rises. Moving faster now, I strip off my panties and unbutton my blouse. My bright red bra hits the floor beside the rest of my soiled clothes. Slipping my hair tie off my right wrist, I gather my long hair and throw it into a messy bun. Vaguely, my fingertips brush the small incision marks where the Vertix sensors attached and a tiny quiver of excitement blossoms. “No thoughts, no nothing,” I repeat like a mantra. “It’s time to disconnect from all of that.”
Unclipping my iJewel, I place it on the granite counter and step into the burning water. The water is either ice cold or lava tube status. I haven’t found a happy medium since we moved in. Usually I let the hot water cool down, but tonight I don’t want to. I lower myself slowly into the steamy water, catching my breath as I submerge my body below the surface. The water is super-hot and my skin is already turning bright red, but it feels so good. I exhale deeper into the water, loving the way my skin tingles as the dirt and grime wash away.
I look into your eyes and I see I’m killing you. I don’t know how to stop and I know I’m losing you, Ben Sheen sings, his voice desperate and detached at the same time.
I should put on a happier song, but I don’t want to move. I slide down further into the water until my mouth is below the surface. Slowly I exhale once more and tiny bubbles escape from between my lips. I feel like a mermaid.
Your bags are packed and tears paint your face. But I let you go. I’m lost in the white noise and all I want is for it to swallow me whole, the song continues, uninterrupted from the underwater speaker.
I close my eyes, drifting with the melancholy melody. I breathe through my nose and the vision of me sitting underwater on the smooth sand jumps to the forefront of my mind. I was completely alone, completely untouchable.
My first experience with Acceleration was amazing. The garden from earlier was nice, but I want to go back to the sea. Suddenly consumed by an intense need to lose myself in the virtual reality, I push myself up and lean over the side of the tub. A river of water races down my arm as I search for my purse. I know I put it right here. I growl low in my throat, trying to keep a lid on my frustration.
At last my fingers graze the long strap and I jerk it closer. Numerous tubes of lipstick spill out onto the floor as the purse tips over, scattering like disturbed cockroaches. The object I seek is too heavy to roll out. I shake the few drops of water clinging to my fingertips and stretch a little farther until I bump against the Vertix. I don’t let another thought enter my mind, don’t try to tell myself no. More than anything, I need for the Vertix to take me away.
I don’t care that I vowed never to touch it ten minutes ago. Ten minutes ago I was dirty and wet, not thinking straight. The promise to sit once more on that calm ocean floor is too much to ignore.
Settling back into a comfortable position, I drop my head and place the copper device onto the back of my neck. Immediately the sensors respond, scuttling and scurrying across my skin. Much faster this time, the Vertix begins. The sensors burrow into the same cuts, fitting like a glove.
The familiar rush as the sensors link up to my brain stem makes my jaw go slack and my eyes blur. It feels even better than last time. Welcome, Maggie. Where can I take you?
“Acceleration,” I instruct. In response to my request, the Vertix shoots me along a powerful rollercoaster, navigating my brain like a vibrating popcorn kernel. A moment later, the sensors infiltrate the occipital lobe and the kernel pops, creating a wondrous shower of colors and ecstasy within my mind and body. My heart rate accelerates and I imagine the ocean.
Azure water floods the room, sloshing up the walls as a large blue wave crashes over my head. Then, just like that, I’m sitting on the bottom of the shallow sand bar. Euphoria races through my veins while I give over control of my limbs to the rocking sea. My arms lift up slightly and my once messy hair now floats around me in a gently waving halo as the current pulls me to the left.
This is magic. This is heaven.
I extend my legs from their bent position and bury my toes in the sand. A pale brown sand cloud billows up, distorting the clear blue water. A moment later it settles, but in the distance there is a dark shadow that I don’t remember seeing before. I cock my head to the side, trying to make out the object through the translucent water. The object is a flat gray color. I’m surprised I didn’t notice the big rock before.
The rock flinches, switching direction. Rather than the typical rounded pyramid shape, the rock has now stretched, elongating its body with numerous sharp points randomly placed at each side. I look harder. Somehow the rock has not only changed shape, but also closed the distance betwe
en us in a matter of seconds.
My fingers float through the water, but the movement feels heavy, as if the water has suddenly become thick. The long rock flinches again, growing ever closer. This time, when the rock changes direction, I see that the sharp points decorating the body aren’t part of the rock…they’re fins.
Panic explodes in my chest as the small gray tiger shark cuts through the water expertly, only a dozen yards away, swimming in a pattern that can only be described as predatory. I have a pretty good idea what he’s hunting.
Waving my hands, I try to stand up, ready to push off from the sea floor, but the soft sand holds my legs firmly. I try to push off once more, but rather than rising to the surface, the sand pulls me deeper, burying my legs up to my knees. I glance down, my hair swirling in my face. I try to push the hair away, but the waves push it right back into place, distorting my vision. My heart hammers in my chest. I can’t escape, can’t break away from the beautiful ocean. My eyes flash forward, checking to see how close the shark has advanced. With a sharp intake of breath, I realize it’s gone.
Hastily I scan the sparkling ocean for any sign of the tiger shark. Nothing but crystal-clear water surrounds me. Did I imagine it?
A smooth, slippery object bumps my thigh, forcing me to the right. A sharp, jagged tail fin flickers out of the corner of my eye as the shark circles, only inches away now. My mouth drops open, inviting salty water to flood between my lips and fill up behind my teeth. I begin to choke as the water slides down my throat and I gag.
I can’t breathe. Whatever magic spell that allowed me to sit comfortably below the waves has broken. I’m choking now, and I can’t escape. The sea floor still grips my legs tightly. The coarse grains of sand chafe against my skin as I try to wiggle free and when I try yanking my legs out once more, a sharp pain slices into my ankle.
I cry out in pain but the sound is muffled, garbled by the thick water prying my mouth open. Using my hands, I push against the water, forcing my body toward the sand. Maybe if I can get close enough, I can dig my legs out.
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