by Brinda Berry
“Loyalty and teamwork is part of our training. If you don’t make it out alive, we all don’t,” said Arizona.
“Don’t you think you’re being a little melodramatic?” I ran my fingers through my hair, imagining the helmet hairdo.
“This is our bonding. You prove to us that you are part of this team, and we are loyal to you,” Regulus said.
I walked away before I could argue that I didn't want to be part of their team. Biscuit, my dad, Pete, Austin, and Em were my homies. Strangers from another dimension, no matter how good-looking, were not. I chanted this to myself as I walked up the steps of my porch with the memory of Regulus’s intense blue eyes burning in my brain.
* * *
I logged onto Quest for Zion, tucking my feet underneath my bottom in the swivel desk chair. My soft cotton pajamas felt much better than the uncomfortable dress I had stupidly worn earlier. I broke off bite-size pieces of strawberry Pop-Tart to nibble on. My dad had written me an e-mail earlier in the day, and I clicked back and forth between his e-mail and the Quest screen.
Why had Dad changed his mind about GameCon? That was so like a parent.
Now when I didn’t want to go, Dad said he might change his mind about letting me. Austin would probably say that registration had closed anyway. Gamers from all over the country would be attending, and there would not be a hotel room in a twenty mile radius of the convention center.
My dad wasn’t usually wishy-washy, but he must have felt guilty for giving me so much responsibility and treating me like an adult on the one hand but refusing to let me go out of town with Em and Austin.
I toggled back to the screen and could see Austin and Em were both online. Em was peeved because I wouldn’t give her any information other than saying that we had eaten in town, which of course was a lie. Austin hadn’t mentioned the dinner. He wasn’t even chatting with me online. I knew that he didn’t want to hear any of the details.
So, my two best friends in the whole world were giving me the silent treatment, even after my tentative “hi” in the chat box to both. An animated pigeon went flying across the screen with a scrolled letter attached to its foot and landed on a stone wall image in the top right of my screen. I clicked on it and broke off another piece of pastry.
“Don’t trust them. Meet me at the ocean at suppertime.”
I froze as I read the message. I looked at the line above the message to see the sender, and my stomach clenched into a hard knot. I dropped the piece of Pop-Tart poised at my mouth. The sender line said the message was from [email protected]. There was only one person in the universe that I knew as the Closet Monster Slayer.
My palms were sweaty as I hurriedly typed a reply message, “What ocean? When?” I hit the send button within seconds.
I held my breath waiting for a reply. A second later it came: “Invalid user address.”
“What do you mean, invalid address!” I screamed at the monitor. I opened up the message again from Closet Monster Slayer. I typed the message slowly and hit the send button again. Take a deep breath, I told myself. The server just hit a glitch. Of course, the address had to be valid. You can’t receive an e-mail from an invalid one.
I stared at the computer screen, the words glaring at me. Another message saying “Invalid user address.”
I sat back in my swivel desk chair and covered my eyes with my hands. Was Pete out there online sending me a message on Quest of Zion? And what did it mean? Who was I not supposed to trust?
Actually that wasn’t a hard one to figure out. It had to be referencing the IIA—Regulus and Arizona. But telling me to meet him at the ocean… That was crazy. Like I would know which ocean and place. I would do it, of course, if I knew where and when. My dad would obviously ground me for life, but it would be worth it.
I looked at my monitor, hoping for a new message before letting my head fall to the desk on my hands. I swallowed hard to stop myself from crying. I thought of Pete and how glad I was just to know that he was alive.
And then I remembered him shouting at the video game he was playing. “C’mon man, just meet me at the ocean,” he would yell at the other computer-generated player. I would fall into giggles at his frustration and join him, saying, “Yeah, you dodo, just meet him at the ocean.”
I jerked my head up in glee. He didn’t mean that I should meet him at the real ocean. He was talking about a video game. And I knew just where I would have a chance to meet him.
I picked up my cell phone and hit the quick dial key for Austin.
“Hi, Mia, what’s up?”
“I can go to GameCon after all. Do you think it’s too late to get a couple of rooms at the convention hotel? And I know we’ll have to pay late registration and all—” I squirmed in my chair and hoped that my voice didn’t give me away. I’d have to lie to my dad and to Austin to pull this one off.
“No problemo, my friend.” He sounded excited.
“Really? I mean, I still have to see if Em’s parents will let her go. And that’s if she is speaking to me. She got mad at me for not sharing enough info with her.”
“I said, no problem. I reserved the two rooms back when we first talked about going. I haven’t cancelled yet since I have a twenty-four hour window for doing it.”
“You’re the best, Austin,” I said, and I meant it.
“I know, babe. Just make up with Em and be ready for a blast of a weekend.”
“Cool, I will.”
I hung up and immediately called Em. Making up with her was easier that I thought it might be, since we so rarely argued about anything. After she went to beg her parents to let her go, I wrote my dad an e-mail to tell him that I wanted to spend the weekend at Em’s house, and then I wrote some extra lines telling him about my classes and my science project. I found it hard to concentrate since my mind was skipping from the excitement of the message from Pete and the problem of being mixed up with Regulus and Arizona.
I had already said that I would help them with the capture of the person harboring Slips. What would they do to me if I backed out?
Chapter 10
Regulus
Regulus watched Mia walking along the worn brick sidewalk boldly ignoring the dark shadows and hidden alcoves of the older building. Arizona stood beside him as still as one of the columns flanking the sidewalk. They had both hidden in the shadows, dark, militant clothing blending into the landscape of oak trees and artfully planted hedges. His stomach knotted in trepidation as he watched the young girl, almost woman, study the dull metal door plates in search of the correct numbers. She never faltered in her stride that took her forward, only slowing down at each door. Her tennis shoes made no sound, and she was graceful in her purposeful hunt. Regulus knew that she had no idea of the true danger that could present itself tonight in this place.
Arizona leaned back against a tree, relaxed while watching the girl.
“She’s going to the door. Why is she moving so fast?” Regulus muttered.
“Because she is a woman on a mission,” Arizona answered in a singsong voice and smiled.
“She doesn’t have a clue. She thinks that this will all be over soon,” Regulus said through gritted teeth. “She’s too trusting. How does she know that we will protect her and not cause her harm?”
“She’s loyal to her friends,” Arizona said smugly. “She is especially fond of me,” he added with a twinkle in his eye.
Regulus desperately wanted to slam his knuckles into Arizona’s white teeth. Instead he turned back to realize that Mia had disappeared in that second of distraction. Muttering an oath and tapping Arizona hard on the chest, he pointed to the building. The shadows had deepened as the sun was setting, and Regulus shoved off from the trunk of the tree that had shielded him from view. Since he hadn’t seen Mia actually enter, he scanned the area to be certain that she had stepped through the door instead of hesitating at the side.
Regulus strode over to stand at the right of the doorway. Prior observation told him that
the campus would be virtually deserted at this time of day. Arizona withdrew to stand ten feet away, pretending to read a bulletin he picked up from the ground. Regulus stuck his hand in his pocket, palming the small weapon while he blanked his mind of thoughts of Mia. His target was near, and he had better get his priorities in order.
He took the doorknob, preparing to enter when the heavy wood door opened inward. He slid away a few feet and held his weapon against his leg. Mia exited first, and he braced himself. She was transparent in the way she shook her head in a “no” gesture without making eye contact to indicate that she didn’t want him to approach them. Instinct said to move toward her and take her out of the throng of people who had walked out of the building. He held back.
Something was off. Why would the Slip give an incorrect meeting place or time? This group leaving the assigned rendezvous was all wrong. He watched as Mia stood to the side and waited. He urged her with his eyes to continue. She ignored him. She approached a large man wearing small glasses and holding a bulging leather briefcase. Regulus watched her face become animated as she talked with him, gesturing and smiling. The man returned her smile and nodded toward a building opposite of the one they had left.
Mia walked with the man, and Regulus looked at Arizona quizzically. The cell phone in his pocket vibrated. He took it out to see a text from Mia, who had apparently kept his number. When had she texted him? Then he noticed her hand shoved into her jean pocket, and he marveled at her talent of texting by touch alone.
The message read, “Know him. It’s OK.”
Regulus nodded toward them and followed at a distance as they entered a building with a large sign reading “Whispering Woods U Eatery.” The big cafeteria was filled with students perusing stations with different types of food. This explained the lack of students outside during this time of day. His nerves were strained to capacity as he tried to follow Mia and the big man. They wove in and out of the crowd of students talking at tables and selecting food.
They stopped in front of a coffee counter to order and the man pulled bills of out of his wallet to pay. The pair carried their drinks to an empty table.
Regulus felt someone staring at him. Arizona, beside him, waited for the next move. He looked up to see the boy, Austin, walking toward them.
Arizona stuck out his hand in greeting. “Hey man, nice to see ya.”
“What's up, guys? I haven’t seen you around the campus since I met you at Mia’s,” Austin said in a suspicious tone as he slowly shook Arizona’s hand.
“Yeah, this is our first time in here,” Arizona said with displeasure. “Thought we might need to live on more than fast food and macaroni and cheese. We’re both freshmen.”
Austin was listening to Arizona but looking at Regulus.
“Hello there, Austin.” Regulus tried to sound friendly, but he could tell it came out stilted. He didn’t care for this one, and he could tell the hostility was mutual.
“I saw you looking at Mia over there,” Austin said. “Does she know you’re here?”
“Ah, no,” he answered. “I just noticed her. We don’t want to interrupt her. She seems to be engaged in an important conversation.”
“Nah, that’s just her mentor for her science project,” Austin said. “You know she’s too young to go here. She’s just a senior in high school."
“Yes, I knew that,” Regulus said to him deliberately. He stepped a little closer into Austin’s personal space.
Austin took a step back. “Sure you did,” he stated coolly. “Just thought you might want to know you’re messing with jail bait. And she’s my girl.”
Regulus gave his rival a narrow and knowledgeable smile. “If she’s yours, you have nothing to worry about.” He wondered if Mia’s visit with the man would end soon. He was ready to be away from this place with so many people.
Mia stood, and he sensed she was saying good-bye.
“We have an appointment, Arizona. We should be going,” Regulus said.
“Places to go, people to see,” Arizona answered while looking at Austin. “Hopefully, we’ll meet again soon.”
As Regulus walked through the tables, he looked at the young people talking animatedly about unimportant topics. He heard laughter, sensed that the conversations were lighthearted and free. He tried to imagine a life such as theirs. He passed a table with a couple kissing and caressing each other in this public place. He bumped their table abruptly and startled them as he went by it. Arizona chortled.
Chapter 11
Plea for Help
Dr. Bleeker held the cup to his mouth and sipped coffee. I stared at him, not knowing what to say. He put down the cup and took out a shiny black cell phone, holding the small screen so the display would face me.
“See this little boy. This is my youngest, Michael.” The blond kid looked happy sitting on the carousel horse. “He watched his mother being taken from our home. They took her in the middle of the night.”
I could feel Dr. Bleeker’s eyes searching my tiniest reaction. He pressed a button on his screen and held up another picture. “Ethan, he’s thirteen now.”
“They, who?” I answered, still refusing to concede that he might be part of this drama. I concentrated on removing the plastic lid of my coffee cup and blew over the top. The chattering around us almost drowned out my response.
“The IIA, Mia. Why are you part of this?” Dr. Bleeker furrowed his brow in disappointment. “Why are you helping them?”
“Because I don’t know what else to do. I’m freaked out. I thought I was handling it.”
“You’re handling yourself fine.” His voice soothed me. “You also have a family to protect, right? A father, grandparents…”
I felt a chill at the mention of my dad. “Leave my dad out of this. This is something I am supposed to be dealing with, not him, or anyone else.”
“Careful, or your friends will know that something is not right.” The words edged in on me in a dark green menacing swirl, at odds with the laugh lines around his eyes. He smiled sympathetically, and the creases deepened.
I nodded and I tried to give him a smile. I hoped it didn’t look as fake as it felt.
“I’m trying to protect your father as I would have protected my wife…if I could have.”
“Why did they take her? I mean, they had to have a reason.”
“She had a genetic disease,” he said softly as he examined his paper cup. I saw an unmistakable sadness in his face. “Their intolerance is unimaginable. I am at your mercy. My children are at your mercy.”
I remained quiet.
He continued, “I am begging you to reconsider what you’re doing.”
“And what is it, Dr. Bleeker? I really don’t know what I’m doing. I was just supposed to meet someone here today. I think I was supposed to be the bait,” I said while watching him take another drink of the scalding hot liquid. “What can I do?”
“Give me until Monday to leave with my children. Pretend that you don’t know why I left. Don’t give me away to them. Don’t pronounce a death sentence on Michael and Ethan.”
“I’ll think about it. I mean I don’t want anything to happen to your kids. Why can’t you leave now? Pack and leave.” I attempted to keep my face unreadable.
“There are some loose ends that I must tie up. There are others depending on me. Just give me a few days. I’ll take my family and leave by Monday.”
I saw Regulus and Arizona out of the corner of my eye talking with Austin. They were walking toward the exit.
I rose to leave. “I’ll do my best to stall them. They’re not stupid. What will I tell them about talking to you?”
“You’ll tell them the truth. I’m your mentor. We are working together on your senior project.” Dr. Bleeker’s voice was calm and matter-of-fact.
I nodded as I stood and turned to walk toward the doors leading outside. Austin was already coming toward me, weaving quickly in and out between tables.
“Hi,” Austin said as he came to an abru
pt stop inches away from me, nodding to acknowledge us. “Dr. Bleeker…”
Dr. Bleeker returned the nod with a carefree smile as I said to Austin, “I was just leaving.” I met Dr. Bleeker’s eyes and murmured, “Good-bye, Dr. Bleeker.”
Austin accompanied me, draping his left arm casually over my shoulders. The physical movement was a tentative one and he withdrew his arm when he looked into my eyes.
“What’s wrong, Mia?”
“I can’t talk about it, Austin. Can you just be my friend right now?”
“Sure,” he answered seriously. “Whatever it is, you know I’m here for you. Dr. Bleeker say something about your project to upset you?”
I wanted to cry at the sincerity in his voice. Good ol’ Austin had always been there for me.
He grabbed my hand and held it. “Let’s get outta here. We can go ride four-wheelers or hang at your house or mine.”
I didn’t say anything. I had decisions to make and couldn’t think about going to do the fun stuff that normal teenagers do.
Austin must have misread my hesitation and said, “Unless you have plans with Tweedledee and Tweedledum… I saw they were hanging out in here. Strange dudes.” I didn’t respond. “I mean, do they always show up together? They got a real bromance going on—”
“Stop it, Austin. I know you don’t like them, but I don’t want to talk about them right now.”
We walked through the doors, and I half expected to see Regulus and Arizona waiting to cuff me or something equally dramatic. Did they know that I was talking with the enemy? Did they even have a clue? My throat constricted in panic at the thought of my dad being in any danger. I walked with Austin to the parking lot nearest the cafeteria and unlocked my car while he waited.
He leaned against the car door. That stopped me from getting into my car and fleeing. He took my forearms and pulled me close to his chest. “I don’t know what Regulus did to you, but I’ll make sure that he stays away from you.” He rubbed my back.