by Brinda Berry
I pulled away. His assumption that Regulus had done something to me surprised me. I had been sitting with Dr. Bleeker. “Why do you think he’s the one who’s upset me?”
“Because I saw him watching you. He looks at you like he owns you. He’s bad news.”
I glanced around to see if we were alone. Of course, we were not. There were students walking around the campus now that the dinner hour had passed. Someone called out hello to Austin and he waved back.
I smiled at Austin. “Why don’t you come over and hang out? It will be too dark to ride four-wheelers when we get home, but I could use an hour or so of Quest.”
“Sure thing. I’ll follow you there,” he said without a bit of hesitation.
I felt a little guilty because I could tell he might be reading more into my invitation than I had intended. “I need a good friend tonight, Austin. I want it to be like old times.”
“Of course. Isn’t it always?” he asked as if I had requested something silly. He mussed my hair as my brother might have and turned to head toward his Jeep, parked in the middle of the lot.
Austin jumped into the driver’s seat and guided his vehicle to wait in the parking row for me to lead. I put the key into the ignition and nearly shot out of my seat at a rapping on my window.
Dr. Bleeker stood there, moving his finger in a circular motion to signal that I should roll down the glass. I started the car and pushed the electric window button, unwilling to exit the car.
“Since we’ve just visited, we can forget about the meeting tomorrow afternoon,” he said. “It would look odd for you to be on campus two days in a row. Looks like you’ll be needing a new mentor anyway. Right?”
Actually, I had already forgotten about it in light of the more pressing issues of trying to play secret agent girl. “Uh, OK, whatever you say, Dr. Bleeker,” I awkwardly mumbled. I looked in my mirror and could see Austin patiently waiting. He lifted his hands up in a questioning gesture.
Dr. Bleeker patted the car door in the same manner that you might send a horse off in the Wild West, and I backed up to start my trip home.
* * *
The lights were on in the house as I approached, and my dad sat on the front porch swing. I couldn’t get out of my car fast enough. Austin parked a little ways off the driveway and joined me.
“Dad, what are you doing back?” I said breathlessly as I looked to the right and left for any evidence of Regulus and Arizona.
“Came back early. I was worried when I got home and wondered where you might be. Is your cell phone on?”
I looked at my phone, which had been in silent ringer mode. “Nope, I was at the university. Oh, wow, sorry about that.”
“It’s OK. Hi there, Austin. You looking out for my girl while I’m gone?”
“You know it.” Austin looked a little antsy.
“Thanks, Austin, for seeing Mia home. It’s nice to know that I can trust you with her.” My dad turned to me. “Mia, I came home early because I have to go out of town again this weekend. I’ve felt somewhat guilty that I said you couldn’t go to the Gaming Wars conference with Emily and Austin. Is it too late for me to change my mind?”
“GameCon, Dad, not Gaming Wars.” I looked nervously at Austin. He already thought I had been given the go-ahead.
He was surprised, but he wasn’t going to give me away. “I got it covered, Mr. Taylor, no problem.”
“Thanks.” Dad guided me inside the house with a hand on my shoulder. “See you later, Austin. Call Mia if you can still go.”
As we walked up the steps of the porch, I marveled at the turn of events. Maybe I could avoid Regulus and Arizona while my dad was home and then I could leave for GameCon. I was sure that this would buy me some time to think about what I should do. In the meantime, I was anxious to log into Quest and see if I had any new messages. If that message had been from Pete, and I was sure that it was, I was about to get my brother back. Nothing else mattered.
No new messages were in the Quest system when I logged in, and I began to fear that I had dreamed the entire thing. I had checked it late so I could visit with my dad and wrongly assumed that I would fall into an exhausted sleep upon my head meeting the pillow. I spent the night switching sleeping positions from left side to right, to my back, and over again.
School was a test of my willpower as I walked from class to class in a zombie state. Em was excited to be going to GameCon, even though her mother was chaperoning us. The original plan had been to ride with Austin to Dallas. There would be two hotel rooms, one for me and Em and the other for Austin and maybe one of his friends.
That plan was now extinct. Em’s parents had declared that hell would freeze over before she would be going unchaperoned to Dallas. So, Em’s mom, Peggy Sue, came up with what she declared a brilliant plan. Peggy Sue would go with us and do some shopping while the “teenagers” went to GameCon. Em vacillated between being thrilled to get to GameCon and pouting over the fact that her mom was tagging along. I had convinced Em that I should ride with Austin so he wouldn’t be bored.
After school, I drove home past the waiting booth holding my breath. My paranoia had reached an all-time high as I wondered who and what might be waiting for me along the way. The creepiness factor had also risen. Regulus and Arizona popping into my life with information about alternate dimensions was mind-blowing enough, but the fact that Dr. Bleeker and my brother knew about the IIA had me thinking I might need psych counseling.
The night was fairly uneventful as Friday nights go. Em sent me half a dozen texts asking what I was going to wear, while I responded that I didn’t know and didn’t care. I could tell that she wasn’t pleased with my responses, so I ended up texting the contents of my suitcase as I haphazardly threw T-shirts and jeans into it. I spent the rest of the night compulsively checking the Quest message box to see if I had any new messages.
We planned to leave early the next morning, which suited me just fine. My dad left for the airport as I waited for Austin to pick me up. I checked the window every two seconds in anticipation. Once, I thought I saw movement in the woods. I was sure that I was being watched.
Austin didn’t even need to knock on the door as I was out on the porch before he could.
“I’m ready, let’s go.”
He glanced at me with a surprised look. I sprinted to his Jeep and threw my duffle bag into the back seat.
“Hold your horses, little lady,” Austin said with a drawl. “You know that Mrs. Peggy Sue and Em will keep us waiting if we get to their house too early.”
“Yes, that’s why I told them that we’d be there thirty minutes ago. Now, they’ll be ready on time.”
“Girl, you are too smart!”
Austin looked as happy as I had ever seen him. He was whistling a tune and turned up the radio. He bobbed his head to the beat as we departed my driveway and entered the highway. Basically, he was in his own little world, which explained why he didn’t see the figure standing in the shadows of the oak trees near my waiting booth.
I tried to ignore what I saw and to close my ears to the humming that came from the portal entrance.
Em’s mom drove a Suburban, and we tried to keep up while she broke every speed limit. We had traveled a hundred miles before Austin finally asked what I had dreaded. “How is it that your dad gave you the go-ahead after you told me that you could go?”
I was glad that he had fastened the top on the Jeep so we would be able to talk because I had been waiting for this moment. “I was going whether he said I could or not.”
“That doesn’t sound like you. What’s up with you?”
“I got a message the other day on Quest.”
“And?”
“I think the message was from Pete.”
“Somebody’s just messing with you. Why would he send you a note and not just call or text?”
“I don’t know. The note was like an encrypted message that no one would understand but me.”
“Why would he do that? He wouldn
’t be in that much trouble if he just came home.”
“That’s what scares me. So, here’s where I am gonna ask you to do something for me. It’s major important that I know I can count on you.”
Austin looked over at me somberly. “Anything. Pete was my friend, too.”
“Is your friend. He’s out there, and I think he’s going to meet me at GameCon.”
“Tell me what I need to do.”
“Make sure that I’m not seen meeting him. Help me get to a certain game booth without being followed.”
“Who’s following you? Is the stalker dude, Regulus?”
“It might be anyone. I’m not really sure.” I managed a smile.
Austin looked confused, but didn’t press me for more answers. He opened his cell, and I guessed it must have been vibrating.
“Sure, Mrs. Peggy Sue.” He looked at me while rolling his eyes.
“Gonna have to pull over for a bathroom,” he said as he plunked down his cell phone. “Does that make three stops so far?”
“Four, if you count the one before we left town.”
He shook his head in disgust. “Four.”
* * *
As soon as we got to Dallas, we checked into the hotel. The front desk check-in was somewhat embarrassing, because Em’s mom kept going on and on about how great the hotel was and how thankful she was that Austin hadn’t booked us at a roach motel. We stored the suitcases in the rooms and promised to keep our phones on if Mrs. Peggy Sue needed to check on us.
In the elevator, I nervously looked at Austin, who winked at me. We approached the registration table in the Grand Hall of the hotel to pick up our bags and badges. A young man sat marking an attendee roster. He looked up our names and enthusiastically began to tell us the layout of the conference rooms and vendor booths.
I checked my watch. The message had referred to suppertime. At my house that had always been 5:00 p.m. If Pete were going to be at the booth, he’d arrive at that time. I had a few hours, so I followed Austin and Em through the throngs of people. We left the vendor area to attend a demo on setting up a guild in a new RPG game. After the session, we had to stop by the restrooms for Em and I waited with Austin in the hallway.
“When are you going to need the distraction?” Austin asked.
“What?”
“You know, when you said you need help in getting to a booth without being followed.”
“Oh, at five. What are you going do?” I quickly asked, wanting to know before Em came out.
Austin held the phone up to his ear. “Tiny, it’s me, man. Five o’clock. Thanks.”
“Tiny?”
“I made a phone call while you guys went into that last quick stop. Called Tiny. He’s somewhat of a…gaming maven. You can count on me, remember?”
I nodded as Em came to join us in the hallway. She looked from Austin to me and asked, “Why the serious faces? Let’s go have some fun.”
We looked at the schedule and headed off for another meeting room. I studied the people walking though the wide hallways. There were mostly guys, but more females than I might have guessed. People were standing in lines leading into some of the sessions that were more popular, like the discussion panels and interactive demos. I found myself scanning for a familiar face. I was sure that Regulus had been watching me from the edge of the woods earlier today.
At 4:40 p.m., I feared that I might die of stress-related anxiety. I was simultaneously excited to see Pete but afraid to see him lest I was followed. I put in my ear buds and turned on my iPod. I concentrated on listening to the music instead of thinking.
It was almost time. Austin nudged me since I hadn’t heard him. “Let’s go check out the exhibit hall.”
I took out my ear buds and nodded.
We walked into the door and continued to skim the outside perimeter in a clockwise loop, stopping at the third booth to look at gaming T-shirts.
I examined my wrist. One minute.
“I’m going to the restroom. I’ll be back in a second,” I said to Austin and Em. Em made a movement as though she wanted to accompany me, so I held up my hand. “Be right back.” I hurried off.
I knew exactly where the booth was located since I had studied my exhibit map for hours. I tried to walk briskly without taking off in a full-fledged run. The exhibit hall attendance had tripled since earlier in the day. The sessions must have been boring at this time. I was amazed to see how thick the crowd had gotten.
I walked through the middle aisle and wished I were taller so I could see past the people in front of me. I had approximately five more booths to go before I would reach the one I’d been thinking about all day.
The Atlantis booth.
A tall guy knocked into me as though he wasn’t paying attention. He didn’t even say, “Excuse me, sorry.” I frowned at him, but he was looking at the aisle behind me with a big confused grin on his face. I took a second to follow his gaze.
Everywhere I looked, there were suddenly teenagers and adults holding cardboard swords. Not exactly swords…to be specific they were light sabers. Not everyone held one, but there was a throng in the middle aisle jousting with them. Others had stopped to watch the outbreak of swordplay and try to figure out what was going on. Even the vendors had stopped their sales pitches and networking to watch in amazement.
Simultaneously, the theme to Star Wars had roared from the loudspeakers and the jousting was in time with the music. I had to break my attention from the scene playing out and run for the Atlantis booth. I wedged my way between two guys dueling with their make-believe weapons. The end of the aisle was not as crowded as the middle, and I shoved a gawker aside to reach my destination.
The sales reps for Atlantis: Home at Last were as enthralled by the flash mob as the conference attendees. They were standing in front of their booth, shaking their heads and laughing at the pandemonium.
I looked around for any sign of my brother. The booth was empty. With the sales reps standing in the exhibit hall aisle, the booth was deserted. I turned from left to right, looking for Pete. I couldn’t stop the overwhelming stab in my chest at the emptiness I saw before me. I stared at the table, neatly covered with a white tablecloth and several promo items. The vendors had obviously gotten smart and displayed only a few so attendees could take just one.
That’s when I saw it. A typical onlooker would never have noticed it. The vendors would have thrown it away.
A business card lay on the table with a penny on top like a paperweight. I grabbed them and shoved both in my pocket.
I slunk through the crowd. The music stopped, and the flash mob participants stopped their swordplay. I was too deep in my own thoughts to hear Emily until she poked me in the ribs.
“Ow, that hurt.”
“Where did you go? You missed the whole thing.”
“What thing?”
“See, I told you. She missed it,” Em told Austin.
“Nah, she didn’t, did ya?”
“Oh, yeah, that was crazy. Why were people doing that?” I asked, trying to seem interested.
“A friend of mine told me that GameCon would love to help out with a flash mob if someone set it up,” Austin said with a wink. “That was rad. Much better than the kind where people freeze in place.”
“Yeah, cool,” I muttered.
“I’m starving,” Em said. “Let’s find some food.”
“Your wish is my command.” Austin led the way to the massive double doors.
As we followed Austin, I glanced over my shoulder in time to make eye contact with a middle-aged man sporting a crew cut. He seemed to be walking quickly to catch up with someone. I looked back again, sure that the stalker was a figment of my imagination.
Mr. Crew Cut made eye contact, and he smiled with dark gray menace. His face didn’t read the friendly, “Hi kid, we’re all having a good time, now aren’t we?” type of smile. His response was a creepy, acknowledging smile and showed just enough teeth to look dangerous. And he finished off the smi
le with a salute as he picked up the pace toward me.
Chapter 12
Friendships
I walked at a rapid pace, looking over my shoulder as nonchalantly as possible, if there is such a thing. It’s pretty evident that you think someone is after you when you spend every third step twisting your head to the left or right for a better view.
“Slow down, I’m not that hungry.” Em laughed.
The long corridor went on forever. I dizzied at the patterns in the red and gold carpet. My heart was racing, and I had to fight panic when I looked ahead to see Mr. Crew Cut coming toward me. That was just not possible. He had been behind me. I looked back and saw the original one still behind us.
Great, there were two of them. Were they part of the IIA? I heard Dr. Bleeker’s voice in my head: They took her in the middle of the night. I had pictured Regulus and Arizona when he had said that. Who were these guys?
My options were limited. My first option was to turn and run. I was a decent runner. But I was counting on being able to outrun them. And then what?
I took my second option.
I pivoted toward the red box mounted on the wall and jammed my fingers into the area labeled “pull down.” The lever handle went down with one yank.
The fire alarm pulsated in a high-pitched warning buzz. I caught a glimpse of Em’s shocked expression. Doors along the corridor immediately swung open and attendees poured out of each room. A lady wearing a navy hotel uniform ushered people in the direction of the exits.
The hallway filled with people in seconds, and I lost sight of Mr. Crew Cut One and Two. All I could see were bodies in front and back of me. I grabbed Em’s and Austin’s hands, hauling them through the crowd.
Everyone went outside. The noise level made it difficult to talk so I nodded my head in a direction away from the hotel. I took off the GameCon nametag and discreetly tucked it into my pocket. Em and Austin followed my lead in going incognito. An amazing number of people had flooded out due to the fire alarm. We easily got lost in the sea of bodies that flowed to the street corner, blending into other pedestrians in the crosswalk. I had chanced a look at Em to see that she was confused and horrified over me pulling the fire alarm, but Austin didn’t seem fazed in the least. Did he usually hang out with people who pulled those kinds of crazy stunts? It hadn’t registered in my mind yet that I had just done something that extreme. Could I go to jail if someone had seen me? I guess jail would be better than disappearing with the IIA.