Unleashed

by Amy McCulloch

  It’s disconcerting.

  But still not as disconcerting as the actual dome. Once we pass through the barrier, we’re face to face with a giant opaque wall, so tall you can’t see the curve from the ground. The only place someone could build something so huge is out here in the wilderness.

  I put my hands up against the wall. Are you inside, Monica?

  >>We’ll find her. And if we don’t, we’ll keep searching. We’ll help your mom . . . and stop Eric in his tracks.

  His voice sounds so fierce, it gives me courage.

  ‘So, how do we get in?’ Kai asks, ever the practical one. He bangs his fist against the wall where we had seen the crack in the photograph and I cringe – what if it was electrified or sets off an alarm or something?

  Tobias obviously feels the same way, as he barks out, ‘Dude. Stop.’

  Kai shrugs, giving us his best ‘And?’ expression.

  >>Follow me, says Jinx, using his speaker so everyone can hear.

  We watch as Jinx darts along the edge of the wall, staying close to the perimeter. Every now and then, his tail reaches out and touches the wall, sending electric sparks flying up the surface.

  ‘This doesn’t make sense,’ mutters Tobias from behind me.

  I reach out and grab his hand. Something was off with him last night, but I’ve put it down to nerves about what might happen today. I know the feeling. My stomach is tight and even though the journey on the hovercraft-snowmobiles was so much faster and easier than the skis yesterday, I’m fuelled by fear of what might happen if we don’t do this on time. We even had to skip out on an incredible breakfast that Tobias’s mom was laying out for us.

  Jinx stops, which breaks me out of my thoughts. Now that he’s done with sending electric shocks up the wall, the outline of the door is much more visible. There’s even the dark outline of a security panel. Finally, a breakthrough.

  >>The security on this wall is shockingly lax. I bet even your beetle could break in.

  ‘Why is that?’ I ask him. It seems surprising to me that Moncha would have gone through all the trouble of building this secret place, and then not bother with topnotch security.

  >>Well, I guess it wasn’t supposed to be anything nefarious originally – just a testing facility. They didn’t expect anyone to find it. Why do you need to lock something that nobody can find?

  ‘Wait, so it’s not locked?’ asks Kai.

  >>No, it is locked. Still, that shouldn’t be a problem for us. Like I said, even the beetle could do it. In fact . . .

  He flicks his tail, sending a directive to the little baku on my shoulder. Slick crawls down my arm, then takes a flying leap on to the door. The sticky suction pads on his appendages immediately grip on to the door, where he scrambles over to the lock mechanism. He works his magic, sticking one of his pin-like antennas into the lock and whirring it around with expertly programmed efficiency. Zora programmed this lock-picking capability to help me get into my locker when the padlock stuck. She is far too clever for her own good.

  A minute later, and the door pings open.

  >>As far as I can tell, this is a completely closed system. The easiest way to make sure that no one can find out about it is to make it as discreet as possible. It would take huge amounts of electricity to sustain this dome. I assume anyone suspicious about it would think the houses around Lake Washington were using the power.

  Tobias frowns. ‘But we have solar energy at the cottage.’

  >>Exactly, says Jinx.

  ‘What do you mean by huge amounts of electricity?’ I ask.

  >>Just look.

  He head-butts the door, which swings open.

  There are no words.

  I stumble as I step through, barely catching myself on the edge of the dome.

  By stepping in, I’ve gone from winter wonderland outside to an eerie permanent summer, a fake sun in a clear blue sky and not a breath of wind chill to stir the pleasantly warm temperatures.

  What is this place? I’m in awe. ‘Oh my god,’ I say out loud.

  ‘Lacey? Lacey, what is it?’ asks Zora, in my ear.

  I take a few more steps forward, moving away from the door so that the others can enter in beside me. There’s a succession of gasps and a couple of curse words as they follow me through, as the rest of my friends struggle to process what we’re seeing.

  Ashley reaches out and grabs my hand, Jupiter wagging his tail beside her.

  ‘This place is unreal,’ she says. ‘Look over there!’

  I follow her gaze. We’re standing at the top of a grassy hill, giving us a fantastic view of the interior of the dome. Everything under the bubble is green and fresh, the trees full with leaves that whisper gently in the light, warm breeze. There’s grass underfoot, and bursts of colour from spring flowers growing nearby. My brain is struggling to take in what I’m seeing, having some sort of understanding-disconnect after coming from a world of frost and snow and bare branches. The forest continues all the way down to the shores of a beautiful lake, so still that the water shimmers like diamonds in the sun. I don’t even know how to swim but I want to dive in – it looks so inviting. There’s a wooden plank dock anchored in the middle of it, and I have an image of us all diving and jumping off into the water, spreading our towels out on the dock and watching the fish swim underneath us. It would be idyllic.

  ‘Can we stay here for ever?’ jokes Kai. Even Oka looks happy, rolling around in the grass. ‘If we could have a winter without a winter, that’d make Canada practically the perfect place to live.’

  ‘But Kai – aren’t you on the ice hockey team?’

  ‘Yeah, so? Doesn’t mean I don’t prefer to sunbathe!’ He stretches out his arms, basking in the weird fake light.

  ‘Can you even get a tan from a sun that isn’t real?’

  ‘Even better – warmth without the cancer danger!’ He fist pumps the air and I roll my eyes. Still, I can’t help but smile as we shed our jackets. There is something oddly satisfying about this place. It makes me feel . . .

  It makes me feel happy.

  Instantly the thought sends a shiver down my spine.

  IT’S CHRISTMAS EVE, NOT THE middle of the summer, I remind myself. This is just . . . a movie set. An illusion. None of it is real.

  I wonder if this too is part of Team Happiness. It’s unbelievable what Eric Smith has been able to achieve.

  I grit my teeth and concentrate on the mission. Find Monica Chan. Stop the update from happening. Fix Mom.

  And Dad? says a little voice in the back of my mind. I grit my teeth, trying to hold back all my swirling emotions.

  ‘No one is going to believe this,’ says Kai. We haven’t dared to move yet beyond our viewpoint on the hill. There’s just too much to take in.

  Past the tree line, there are facilities to test every type of baku. There’s a vast turf arena, ringed by a racetrack, for testing the speed of the bigger bakus. There’s a section that’s completely covered in sand, with rolling dunes like in the Sahara. Even in the sky, there are suspended hoops – like an aerial assault course to test the bird bakus.

  We’d need months to explore it all. But what we’re most interested in is at the far end of the lake, where we can see the roofs of little cabins, half-hidden by the trees, clustered together almost like a village. A single-track path runs down the middle of them. ‘That must be where they’d keep Monica,’ says Tobias. He reaches out and grabs my hand. My pulse starts to race, and I don’t know whether it’s from his touch or from the adrenaline of finally being in Lake Baku, with the possibility of finding Monica.

  Tobias’s eagle lands in front of us and spreads his wings out wide. He projects a 3D topographical map of the area that he’s created by doing a brief fly around the dome. What a beautiful, useful baku he is. And he was probably tested right here.

  That gives me pause for thought, too. As far as we can tell, there are no other bakus in the vicinity. If this were still being used for its primary purpose – as a test cent
re – there would be hundreds of different baku variations here, running around under the fake sunshine. But it’s deserted.

  So why is it still up and running? My suspicion rises, and I hope that means we’re on track to find Monica.

  ‘We’re here.’ Tobias points to a small rise at the edge of the dome. I dare to turn around. Behind us, through the open door, the ground is totally white with snow. Here, we’re standing on grass. I tilt my head up, but I can’t see evidence of the dome – even though I know it’s there.

  ‘This is the biggest building.’ He points to a house at the very far edge of the lake, a cabin made of pretty mahogany logs, tipped in bright red at their edges. It could have been plucked from a catalogue of picturesque country cottages. With a pinch of his fingers, Tobias zooms in. He’s every inch the leader in this situation, taking control of us just as he did in the Baku Battles. ‘That’s where I think Monica will be.’

  >>I agree.

  Jinx continues to use his speaker, so the whole group can hear.

  >>Also, according to my analysis, it’s the cabin that’s had the most activity, which would fit in with the timeline of Monica having been moved there recently.

  Tobias continues. ‘We’ll have to skirt around the outside of the village to stay out of sight, but I don’t think that will be too much of an issue if we stick to the tree line.’

  ‘Should’ve brought some different shoes,’ says Kai, gesturing down to his unwieldy winter boots.

  ‘At least they’re not as heavy as ski boots,’ Ashley replies.

  ‘Yes, but hardly sneaking around material.’

  ‘Do you think anyone else lives here?’ Ashley whispers. ‘What if there are guards in the other buildings?’

  My fingertips tingle with fear and anticipation. I remember what Paul said, about employees who were sent to work here and then never returned, but I can’t afford to get distracted. Monica is the goal.

  Getting her back would fix everything.

  Jinx swirls in between my feet, with as much nervous energy as I have. Jinx, what’s wrong?

  >>I don’t know.

  He speaks just to me this time.

  >> I think Kai might be right, things do feel too quiet. I expected there to be much more security than this.

  Maybe it’s not a priority for Eric? I muse. I mean, he’s about to do his first big solo announcement at the convention and then he’s only a step away from taking control of the company. Once that happens, he won’t need Monica. It will be much harder for her to regain her position if she resurfaces. So maybe he’s powering down the security at Lake Baku, concentrating on moving logistics over to Lake Washington?

  Jinx nods. >>That might be correct. I’ve checked and a lot of energy has been directed towards the Washington cottage.

  I grit my teeth. We have to stop him.

  ‘We’ve had a lot of luck so far, so let’s run with it,’ says Tobias. ‘But I think our best bet to cover as much ground as possible is to divide and conquer.’

  ‘Ash and I will go around the lake to the right,’ says Kai.

  ‘Good,’ says Tobias. ‘Lacey and I will stay left, and keep to the tree line for as long as possible. Remember, document everything that you see. Take pictures with your baku. Oh, wait! We can’t send messages to anyone outside of the dome. One of us should stay at the entrance and keep Zora and River up-to-date back at the cottage.’

  ‘I’ll stay,’ says Ashley. ‘I can serve as a lookout too.’

  ‘Perfect. We can run this exactly like one of our team plays. We’re good at this, remember? According to Aero’s inbuilt GPS guidance system, it will take us about thirty minutes to reach the furthest cabin. Remember, in and out is the key. Meet back here in two hours maximum. Any danger, any issues – or if you’ve been at the lake for longer than an hour and a half – you get back here immediately and get outside the dome. We just have to check in as often as possible – understand?’

  ‘Got it, boss,’ says Kai.

  ‘Ready,’ says Ashley.

  ‘Remember the objectives: get to the log house, find Monica Chan, get out of the dome. Quick and easy.’

  Kai disappears off, crouched down low, Oka by his side. Ashley takes up position by the door, and Jupiter leaps out into the snow to send a message back to River and Zora that we’ve made it inside.

  Tobias grabs my hand, interlacing his fingers with mine. He’s putting on a brave face, but he must be as thrown by all this as I am.

  >>Let’s go, you two. This way.

  Jinx flicks his tail, scampering down the woods. With a quick wave goodbye to Ashley, Tobias and I follow him down towards the lake.

  WE LEAVE OUR BULKY JACKETS bundled by the exit to the dome, freeing us to move around more easily. We scramble down the hill towards the buildings, staying in the shelter of the trees. Sweat trickles down my back – I’m regretting the choice of thermal leggings and top, but then I never would have guessed we’d be travelling into the middle of summer.

  We pause a few metres away from the closest house, crouching down low, hiding ourselves in the foliage. ‘I didn’t think it was going to be like this,’ Tobias says.

  ‘Me neither.’

  ‘Do you think . . . if they’re capable of building such an advanced testing centre . . .’

  ‘Who knows what else they can do?’ I finish.

  He frowns, and a shudder runs through his whole body. I don’t know if I should feel grateful that he’s so comfortable showing off this kind of vulnerability, when I’m so scared too. Surely one of us should be strong? Then it’s my turn to shake myself. Of course it’s okay that he’s scared. I’m glad that he can show me that.

  Together, we can be each other’s strength.

  ‘Okay, according to Aero, there’s no sign of movement inside this building. I think we can continue to the next one.

  But let’s stick to the trees.’

  I nod. We crouch down low, scuttling underneath branches and using leaves for cover.

  Jinx darts to one side.

  >>Lacey, stop!

  But his warning comes a moment too late. I step forward and cry out in pain, jumping back as I’m stung by an electric shock.

  ‘Lacey, what’s wrong! Are you okay?’ Tobias catches me as I stumble.

  He moves past me.

  ‘No, don’t!’ I say. He snaps back too as he receives the same shock.

  ‘What the hell?’ he cries out.

  ‘Jinx?’ I ask.

  He steps up and places his tail through the air in the vicinity of where we got zapped. >>It’s a vast electric fence. Looks like it blocks access from the backs of the houses into the trees.

  I wonder – is that meant to keep people like us out, or to keep the inhabitants in?

  ‘So this means . . .’

  >>We can’t sneak around the back.

  ‘You mean we have to walk through the town?’

  >>Looks like it.

  ‘Yo!’

  The voice makes us both jump out of our skin, and even Jinx springs up on all fours, his hackles raised. We spin around, and to our relief – it’s Kai.

  I drop my hands down to my knees, trying to return my breathing to normal.

  ‘Oh, thank god it’s you,’ says Tobias.

  ‘I see you two have discovered the electric fence too. Damn thing nearly shocked me to hell. Three times.’

  >>He had to be shocked three times before he realized it wasn’t a fluke?

  ‘He’s not the brightest . . .’

  ‘Hey!’ says Kai, but he gives me a big grin. I’m glad he’s here. And I’m glad Oka is here too.

  ‘So, we’re going to have to go through the centre of the village,’ says Tobias. He frowns. ‘We move quickly, keep to cover as much as possible. Got it?’

  Kai and I nod.

  ‘If there’s any sort of alarm system then it would have been triggered by now. But to be on the safe side, let’s assume that we’re going to get caught at any moment. Therefore, the plan still
needs to be to find Monica as quickly as possible.’

  We scamper towards the first house, Jinx leading from the front so he can guide us around the electric fence. Once there, we hide in the shadows of the roof overhang, our backs to the clapboard wall. It’s eerily quiet. There are cottages on either side of the road, porches with swings facing each other. ‘Oh my god,’ I whisper to Tobias and Kai, even though there doesn’t seem to be anyone around here except for us. ‘There are shops here. Look at that. That one is a convenience store.’

  The sign above the store reads POPPA JOE’S, like we’ve walked on to the set of some old-time movie.

  ‘Come on,’ says Tobias, swallowing hard. ‘This place is giving me the creeps.’ We move from the shelter of one porch to the next, checking for movement, but there’s no sign of life from any of the houses and streets – no twitch of the curtains or light bulbs turning on.

  Kai is bolder. He peers in one of the windows of the cottages. ‘Looks to me like no one is home.’

  ‘What if it’s just guards waiting for us in the house at the end? What if Monica’s not there? What if we’re too late and they’ve moved her already?’ I ask, not really speaking to anyone in particular – just voicing all the fears that are running through my mind.

  ‘No,’ says Tobias, yet he is wringing his hands together, still so jittery. ‘She’s gotta be here.’

  ‘What’s got your panties in a twist?’ asks Kai, his face screwed up into a ball.

  ‘Shut it, Kai!’ snaps back Tobias.

  ‘Hey, hey, guys, let’s cool it,’ I say, standing in between them as they square up to each other.

  ‘You’ve been a jerk since we got here, T. It’s like whenever Nathan is nearby you get a giant stick up your butt. I thought having a year without him had loosened you up but you’re just as kiss-ass as you’ve always been. You’re terrified of him!’

  ‘I am not! Leave Nathan out of this.’

  ‘Look!’ I say, grabbing them both by the hand. ‘This is a tense situation. But let’s do what we came here to do and then get out of here. You two can sort out whatever this is then.’

  There’s a beat as they square off against each other, but then Tobias nods and Kai backs down. I breathe a sigh of relief. But I also exchange a worried look with Kai. So, I’m not the only one to notice a difference in Tobias’s behaviour since we’ve been at the cottage.