"Sounds good." How Ben will feel about it I'm unsure, but he doesn't protest after I tell him learning more about how our abilities work together is a sound theory.
In the lab, Gabrielle hooks Ben and me up to wires stringing from us to the computer system. I shift on the cold metal seat, trying to block out the fact we'll probably be here all afternoon, but I'm excited to try immersing into a system with Ben.
I touch the wires attached to my head. "Ben and I don't need these to get into the system."
"I know. Hold still." Gabrielle attaches another wire with a sticky substance. "They'll help me monitor you, and I don't have that fancy tech from the city. This does the same job, but it's a little sloppier."
Gabrielle ducks under the wire and heads from the room, leaving Ben and me alone. He gives me a half smile. "You sure we can't run away right now?"
I lift several of the wires hanging between the two of us. "How could we with this stuff all over us?"
"All right." Gabrielle rounds into the doorway with Meyer and Aron in tow. "Everything is ready to go. Meyer, you handle the vitals. Aron, you're with me, guiding the scenario."
She walks around Ben and me, avoiding the wires. "To start, the sequence I'm running you through is self-contained. Avlyn, it's very similar to the VR training exercises you should have received with Affinity. Ben, I'm certain you experienced military training with VR in Philly. You mentioned you controlled the environment with your thoughts, so I want you to work on that first. When you're ready to begin my sequence, cue me to begin. After today, I'll make additional modifications depending on the findings." Gabrielle pats me on the shoulder and has a seat next to Aron in front of one of the viewing screens.
"Will you be able to see the sim?" I ask.
"The program taps into your EP and should relay what you see. Get your bearings in there, and when you're ready for me to start, let me know."
I reach for Ben's hand.
"You two ready?"
Before I have the chance to answer, Ben and I immerse and Gabrielle's lab filled with viewing screens disappears.
The space surrounding us sparkles, and when I stare intently at its makeup, the construct of tiny code becomes clear. The pattern begins to vibrate and whooshes around us as if picked up by a high wind. I grip Ben's hand tighter to make sure the storm of code doesn't take us away, too.
"Ready?" Ben asks. "How about you go first?"
"What should we do?"
"How about take me to your favorite place? It will help us get to know each other better and set up the program."
I haven't been anywhere but Elore, and that's not my favorite place, but Meyer did show me a beach scene during training in VR. I have no idea if Ben has ever gone to a real or fake beach before, but let's find out.
"Close your eyes."
After he does, I close my own and embrace the memories of the ocean waves lapping up on the shore, the dampness of the sand beneath my now-bare feet, the pink and orange of the sunset falling over the horizon.
My eyes open to the exact picture in my head. "Don't look yet," I say. "Where are we?"
Ben tips his head slightly, as if listening. "There's water … a lot of it." He shuffles his feet over the sand. "There's dirt under our feet."
"Go ahead and look."
He looks and gasps, dropping my hand. "It's beautiful," he breathes. "What is this place?"
"The beach. I went here with Meyer a couple times on breaks from training. It's so unique from anything I've known. I found it calming."
"I see why." He takes in a breath of the salty air. "I'd love to stay, but Gabrielle is asking us to work. My turn."
"Okay." I shut my eyes and Ben takes my hand again.
I relax and let my mind blank as he guides us to our next location. The white swirls in my head with a buzzing intensity. The sound reverberates through my temples and then stops.
"We're here."
Ben's creation is stunning; similar to the landscape we passed over in the pod on the way to Gabrielle's. Tall trees stretch as far as I can see, covered in orange and yellow foliage. I focus to engage the EP to identify them.
Aspen trees
Ben's landscape is complete with a tall, snow-capped mountain. A bird soars and squawks above us, then swoops from view.
"This is a beautiful place, too," I say.
A sad wistfulness washes over Ben's face. "It's a lot like where Dad and I settled after we escaped Elore. We kind of existed as hermits."
"Why?"
"He was doing his best to protect me. At four, I wasn't old enough to grasp how I needed to hide my ability. In the few years before he died, he spent all his time training me."
The urge to ask Ben more about how Devan died wells inside me. It's not as if I knew the man much, but he was my bio father, too. I deserve to know.
"How did Devan die?"
Ben throws a pained expression my way and shakes his head.
I take the hint and back off. "Devan did a lot to protect you."
"Well, he can't do that anymore." Ben crosses his arms. "Gabrielle, we're ready," he shouts, his voice echoing through the forest.
The scene dissolves and replaces with a very unrealistic one, dark and angular with a streak of light shooting out in front of us. My heart pounds at the thought of not knowing what might happen next.
"Get ready," I say. I have a feeling this will be interesting.
Gabrielle's voice comes from nowhere. "Can you hear me?"
"Yes," Ben and I say in unison.
"Some interesting data came in from your manipulations. This exercise is standard VR. I kept it simple so you wouldn't be distracted from the task. Meyer, Aron, and I are tracking your reactions and how you manipulate your situations. It's set up as a series of levels. Let's see how far we get today."
"Okay," I say.
Ben plants his feet and glances at his empty hands. "Do we have any weapons?"
"That's for you to decide." Gabrielle laughs. "But it would be a good concept."
Ben shrugs at me and I copy the gesture.
"You'll figure it out. Just adhere to the path ahead of you," Gabrielle's voice instructs.
We pause for a beat for any additional instructions, but none come.
"Doesn't tell us much," I murmur.
"Pretty sure that's the point. She wants us to think on our feet. It's what we'll need to do in real life."
My legs itch to go, despite the nervous, sinking feeling in my core. Standing here won't get rid of either of them.
"Race you," I whisper, and without warning I bolt down the darkened path outlined by the thin illumination.
"That's cheating!" Ben yells behind me.
"There aren't any rules in here!" I call in return.
The urge for a weapon floods me as I zip along the path. I fixate on the idea of a stunner in my hand and cold metal fills my palm. I grip the weapon and continue. From ahead, a glint of light sparks in the darkness. The glint multiplies and then repeats a second time. A soft whirring fills my ears. I slow to a halt and Ben comes up beside me, a stunner in hand, too.
"I have a feeling that's the first level," he says.
"Rush it or hold?"
"Rush it."
With a broad smile, he leaves me in the dust, darting off toward the still-multiplying lights. I sprint to catch him despite the buzzing swarm approaching us. 110 micro drones, according to my EP. Targets overlay several of them in my vision.
"You ready?" Ben yells, slowing to a stop.
"More than you." I smirk, raise the stunner, and fire, following the pattern my EP instructs. The drones meant for me illuminate in red in my EP, the ones for Ben in green. I depress the trigger on my stunner and the beam slams into my targets. They explode, shimmering against the black "sky" before evaporating. Immediately after, another speeds forward to replace it and my EP locks on. I press the trigger and shoot, shoot, shoot. One after another, the devices bursts out of existence.
56 drones
This is easy. Simple target practice.
"They're moving faster, coming for us," Ben shouts over the nearly deafening buzz.
The identical fact shows in my EP. We continue blasting.
24 drones
One of the drones zips our way. The targeting system marks it for me. I swallow as I mentally attempt to steady my now-shaking hands. Several of the devices break formation and speed our way. I push the trigger, and the first explodes into a ball of light, then disperses. Three more approach—two for me, one for Ben. I depress the trigger again and obliterate the next one. The remaining two charge with incredible speed. Ben aims for his and misses. My drone flies to my side before I can lift the stunner.
An electric pulse rips through my back, knocking me flat on my stomach, weapon still firmly clasped in hand. Despite the pain, I roll onto my hip and lock on the relentless device swooping toward me. Before I press the trigger, the tech explodes in the air.
"Ben!" I scream as the green one dives to catch him.
I raise my stunner and shoot at it and then the red one, but I miss both. The two drones take the same course directly for Ben, emitting a white, electric pulse into his body. Ben is slammed onto his back. I scramble to him while shooting at the two devices. The rest of the swarm rushes us. I throw myself over Ben and aim.
21 drones. Odds of defeat: 36%.
I stuff my fear and raise my weapon. The scenario vanishes.
"You let yourselves get distracted," Gabrielle's scratchy voice echoes.
Ben groans underneath me. I roll off to let him sit up. "He was trying to help me."
"I realize, but in the real world, it would have gotten you both killed," Gabrielle says. "You have to be able to think fast enough to deal with your immediate issues and then aid the other person."
Ben clutches at his side. "Is it necessary to experience this much pain in here?"
"It is," Gabrielle says. "If it were easy, you wouldn't take it so seriously."
"What should I have done? Let that thing get Avlyn?"
"You should have trusted she'd be able to handle it herself. Learn to listen to your instincts; and if she truly needs the assistance or not," Gabrielle says. "Instead, you left yourself open to attack, which did neither of you any good. But I did get some solid data."
I pull myself to my feet and reach to help Ben up.
"Play it again," I growl.
Chapter
Twelve
The vibration on my wrist shocks me from a hard sleep.
Training results ready. Tap here.
I ignore it for now, rolling out of bed and making my way to the shower. I let the hot water steam the lingering exhaustion from my bones. Once I'm fully alive and passably dressed, I return to my room, flop back onto the bed, and study the training data. Breakfast can wait. Nothing but food bars anyway.
There's a rap at the door.
"Come in."
The door slides back and Meyer steps in, looking freshly bathed too, dark hair still damp. My heart skips when I see him.
"Morning," he says. "What are you doing?"
"Reviewing the training results." I lean my back against the wall behind my cot. "How's it going?"
"Good." Meyer sits on the edge of the bed. "As much as I hate to admit it, Aron did an excellent job getting Gabrielle's micro drones functioning. She put him to work on the project a couple of hours into your testing yesterday. He made upgrades to help us with training outside today."
The door slides away and one of the mentioned drones flies into the room. The device circles Meyer. His jaw tightens as he swivels his head to follow it, then it stops and hovers in front of me.
"Ready for a big day?" emits a digital-sounding voice. "We begin in thirty minutes."
Meyer rolls his eyes and shakes his head.
I smirk at him and address the drone. "Yes, thank you. I'll be down soon."
The drone whirs around Meyer's head again. This time he swats at it, but misses. I'm quite certain on purpose, although, gauging by the expression on his face, he'd rather have hit it. He knows he'd be in trouble if he did, though. From me.
Meyer eyes me as the drone exits the room and I burst into a snicker.
"He's just trying to impress you," Meyer says.
"He already does. Aron's a genius," I reply with a smirk.
Meyer eyes me, playfully lifting one eyebrow.
"But it doesn't mean I'm planning to make a contract with him, or whatever you call it out here."
"Out here, they generally call it marriage. But most people don't get married ... paired right away … so, dating. Taking the time to find out if you like someone is dating."
"Are we dating?"
"Maybe. Do you want to be?" Meyer asks.
"Taking the time to get to know you better sounds amazing. So, if that's called ‘dating', then yes." I set the handheld beside me on the cot and swing my legs to the floor, scooting in next to his warm body.
"Dating is not always exclusive," he says, not looking me.
"Are you hoping to date someone else around here?"
Meyer turns his head toward me, lips pinched together. I lock onto his stare and struggle to hold the laugh building inside me.
His lips curve to form the slightest smile, and I break into a wide grin.
"No," he chuckles, shrugging his shoulders.
"And I'm not, either."
I slip my arm around his waist and he wraps his around me. I rest my head into his chest, inhaling the same scent of the clean bar of soap I used this morning.
He pulls away slightly and leans his face to mine. My breath hitches as his lips softly touch mine. I move my arm from his waist and up to his neck, leading him in closer. In Elore, I never thought much about kissing. I knew it existed, but not like this. Now, I pretty much feel as if I'd enjoy doing this all day.
Meyer's hands press on my back, and the heat bleeds through my shirt, stretching the length of my spine, strangely sending a chill with it.
The feeling quickly passes when I remember about today's testing and realize that dating Meyer could likely be short-lived. I'd assume living on the run will probably get considerably more dangerous. Gently, I inch from his embrace and fix on his dark eyes.
"Thank you for this," I say.
"For the kiss?"
"No. Well, yes." A smile overtakes my lips again. "But for everything. Thank you for believing me. I know you didn't only come because Ben forced you. As of now, you've given up everything for me."
"I understand what this means to you. You came with me when I tried to rescue Jayson. I'll be there to help you and Ben."
"But you're risking so much."
"Life is a risk. I might as well take it with someone I care about."
I wrap my arms around him and squeeze. The door skates open and the micro drone from before zips in and circles us. Meyer takes a deep breath, holds it, and exhales. He releases me and waves away the drone.
"We're coming," I say.
"Be glad I don't have my stunner," Meyer mumbles under his breath.
I smack him on the arm and he pretends to wince. "Aron's simply performing his job."
"No, he likes you." Meyer chuckles, gesturing to the door.
~ ~ ~
In the kitchen, Ben and Aron meet us with more food bars. The micro drone from my room zips past us and hovers alongside Aron.
"No time for a leisurely meal." Ben tosses me a bar. "Gabrielle wants to get going."
"What took you so long?" Aron asks. "We're going to be late."
Instead of answering, I rip the package and stuff the overly sweet, chewy bar down in three bites, following Ben and Aron into the testing room. Meyer sticks close to my side, munching on his breakfast, smirking the whole way.
Gabrielle stands in the lab, working at a table of twenty-four micro drones. The one tailing Aron floats off and lands on the table beside the rest. A glowing blue light on the top fades and goes dark. I activate my EP and an overload of information floods
over my vision.
"All right, kids. Now that everyone's here, let's talk about the plan for today. I'd like to take a break from VR and send you all through some practice training up top."
"Up top?" I echo. "Won't that increase our odds of being spotted?"
"I've been out here for years without trouble, but, even so, I'm cautious. Set up a scrambling system on my property ages ago. Anyway, it will be a short operation. There's not adequate room underground for it, and you have no clue what you'll be up against once you all get further into the Outerbounds." She looks at Aron. "And some of you lack real-life defense skills."
Meyer leans his back to the lab wall. "I don't need practice. I have other stuff to do."
Gabrielle scowls. "Now you listen to me. You came out here for my help. I am aware you have extensive training, so that just means you are excellent leader material. Suck it up and start acting like one."
Meyer opens his mouth to speak, then immediately closes it, probably having realized what a poor decision it would have been to argue.
"What good is one training session?" Ben asks.
"It's better than nothing." Gabrielle nods to Aron and he walks toward the table of drones. He takes a handheld from his wrist and unfolds it into a tablet, swiping a finger across the screen. The blue lights on the top of each drone blink three times, then holds solid. Each lifts from the surface and hovers a few inches above it.
"The drones will serve as the enemy," she continues. "Two reasons. First, to ready you all, and second, to test out Aron's handiwork. I also have camo suits for each of you." She points to four folded, tan articles of clothing on a desk next to one of the viewers. "They have a chameleon tech to either blend in with your surroundings, or program them to be whatever color you require. The function will help you avoid detection by human eyes. Great in the field."
Meyer grabs the top garment and holds it to his shoulders. The legs of the suit end at his calves. We all burst into laughter, which feels good and makes everything seem as if it's going to be okay.
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