by Scott McEwen
“It was a good job today, guys,” Eldon said. “I want to thank each of you for your contribution. I’ve been informed that, in spite of our great work, or perhaps because of it—our formal review is going to continue. In the meantime, we’re going to cease all military training and focus on survival and outdoor exercises. The same rules apply—you may quit at any time—the training and testing, however, will be purely physical and mental in nature.”
Instant groans spread through those in attendance.
“Okay,” Eldon said. “Before we’re dismissed, Ken here will be sticking around for the duration of the summer. I think he has a few things to say.” Eldon stepped aside, motioning the mustached man forward.
“Okay…” Ken consulted his yellow legal pad. “Some new rules are going to be implemented. No knives, no guns, no intense physical contact—wrestling, boxing—no swearing…” The list droned on, but no one was listening.
* * *
“Maybe I’ll blow the horn,” Samy said, taking his Buck knife and throwing it into the wall on the other side of the cabin.
“You wouldn’t,” Wyatt said from across the room. He sat on the bottom bunk, facing the window. In his clutched palm, the picture of Dolly. “We’ll get there,” he said, looking at her face. “We just have to be patient.”
“Samy may have a point for once,” Pierce chimed in. “It’s already almost midsummer. You know how these Washington things go—it could take weeks to get reinstated, and then what? How many promises does the U.S. government make that they renege on? If we’re going to be neutered this summer, might as well try to get out of it … I’ll go crazy if I have to sit here.”
“It’s just temporary,” Rory said, as ever trying to be the voice of reason. “Eldon is going to be on it, trying to fix this. Let’s just see what happens.” She looked out the cabin window as Ken Carl and the SecDef went whizzing by in the Gator, the large Samoan sitting on the back eating jerky. “Where they going now?”
“Avi’s lair. They’re going to take his toys, I’m sure,” Wyatt said, knowing what everyone was thinking.
“Oh my god,” Rory said. “Avi is going to lose his shit.”
“Okay, enough. It’s lights out,” Samy said. “See you in the morning.” Rory got up and left, headed for the girls cabins. Samy flipped the light switch.
* * *
Early the next morning Wyatt slipped from his bunk and walked down to the water. During the day, with the shifts in wind and weather, it was about the only time he could anticipate calm. Sometimes he would take a canoe out, his paddle cutting the mist that hung like breath above the surface. Other days he’d swim laps in the frigid water. But this morning, he couldn’t bring himself to do anything but stare across the placid gray lake and watch the sun heave itself into the sky.
“Good morning,” Avi said behind him.
“Avi.” Wyatt nodded. “Morning. Up early.”
“I couldn’t sleep. Maybe it was the lack of radiation.”
“How’s that?”
“They confiscated everything with a wireless signal. Even the drones … that was a joke, Wyatt.”
“Jeez. And I thought I wasn’t funny.” Wyatt sighed. “Avi, there’s something—”
“Here.” Avi forced a small, tightly coiled scroll in Wyatt’s palm. “This came for you after the last Encyte attack. I wasn’t sure if I should give it to you, but with the SecDef and that vile little man, and the islander the size of an elephant poking around, I thought it best you have it now.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a message.” Avi turned to go. “I didn’t read what it said, but it’s from you-know-who. I know you saw him. He told me … I’m in the circle now.”
Wyatt unwrapped the note. It was the same paper, dissolving almost as soon as it had been unscrolled.
Las Vegas. Two weeks. You’ll be playing her in the EVO gaming championship. The time to act is now. 3,000 people have died since we last met. Hope you don’t feel that blood on your hands.—J.D.
“Gaming?” Wyatt said out loud. “Darsie wants me at a gaming conference?” Wyatt knew immediately what he had to do. “Avi, can you send a message back?”
“Yes.”
“Tell Darsie I’ll need to bring someone with me. If that’s okay, I’m in.”
“I don’t even want to know what you’re thinking,” Avi said.
“No, you don’t.”
CHAPTER 27
It was close to 1 a.m., and the sun in the Far North had only been down for two hours. After a long day at Valor, all campers lay sleeping. Even those out on trips had rolled out their damp sleeping bags somewhere in the deep woods hugging Lake Tecmaga and fallen asleep. All campers but two.
Wyatt had been told by John Darsie: Yes, you can take someone with you. So he tied a knot and bit off the brown thread where he had carefully stitched a photo into the inside of his backpack. He slung the pack over his shoulder, slipped out of the rickety cabin, and hustled across the campus toward the Rovers cabin in the early-morning darkness.
Jalen was waiting on the porch, his backpack on as he nervously shifted from foot to foot.
“You ready to do this?” Wyatt asked softly.
“I guess.” Jalen nodded. “Let’s do what we have to.”
“Okay, just give me a minute,” Wyatt said as he slipped in the door. There they were: the half dozen boys breathing heavily. They’d already begun the transformation into strong young men, but now asleep, they looked like the children they were—slack jawed, dreaming, vulnerable. Wyatt tiptoed to Cody’s bunk and knelt down, stirring him.
“What?” Cody’s eyes popped open.
“Hey, it’s me. Come outside.”
“What are you doing?” Cody asked groggily.
“I want to talk to you.”
“About what?” Cody said.
“Just come outside.”
Bodies began to stir. Wyatt glanced around the cabin. Rayo had a pillow scrunched over his head.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry,” Wyatt whispered.
“Sorry for what?” Cody asked, trying to be tough.
“I know I’ve been hard on you, but it’s only because I need to be fair. I couldn’t show you special treatment.”
“But you have been showing me special treatment by pushing me down, singling me out. You’ve made it ten times harder for me. It’s like you don’t even want me here.”
“I do want you here. You need to be tough. You need to be able to stand on your own, okay? You can’t be coddled by Dad … or me.”
“So that’s why you’re treating me like shit … to make me feel weaker than you?”
“Be quiet.” Wyatt looked around, the campers again stirring.
“See?” Cody sat all the way up. “You’re doing it right now. Get out!”
“Yeah, dude,” a muffled voice called from the other side of the room. “We’re trying to sleep.” Clearly, it was Rayo’s voice, but he tried to hide, so as to not bring on Wyatt’s wrath.
A cacophony of voices joined Rayo’s, yelling for him to get out.
“All right. Enough,” Wyatt said, rising to his feet. “Have a good summer.” He walked to the door and strode out and down the porch stairs, Jalen falling in step behind him.
They said nothing in the darkness. Across the field, the older campers had been in bed for hours. In the guest quarters, Ken Carl, mustache combed, was tucked under the covers. Even Mum softly slept, a copy of Medicinal Herbs on her chest.
Eldon, however, was awake. Slumped in an armchair in the lodge, in front of the last orange embers, his bloodshot eyes focused on a letter he was writing to the SecDef, a plea to keep Valor alive. Outside the windows, he could hear the night breathe: the insects humming, the water gently slapping on shore, the bullfrogs croaking in the shallows around the cove. He thought for just a minute he might close his eyes and sleep, but then a sound cut the air so violently he jumped up to his feet.
The horn. Three long blares from th
e porch bled through the air, sending panic to his heart.
Someone had just dropped out.
Slipping into his coat, he pushed through the double doors and rounded the porch, but saw only Ken Carl, emerging in his bathrobe, a confused look on his face. Eldon turned and there was Jalen, shifting nervously. His face stonewalled, but his dark eyes were turbid and on the verge of tears.
“I’m sorry, Dad.” Wyatt stepped out from behind Jalen, the pale moonlight falling over him like a sash. Horn in hand, backpack slung over his shoulder.
Eldon dropped to his knees. “Wyatt … What … Why … What are you doing, son?” he stammered.
“We want out.”
“But why?”
The question hung in the air, as the other campers slowly climbed the porch stairs and gathered around them.
“Wyatt, what are you doing, man?” Samy stood in his boxer shorts, rubbing his eyes. “You just told me not to do this!”
“And you can’t. Guys”—Wyatt panned the crowd of campers, stopping on the members of Group-A, Team Z—“whatever you do, you have to stay. Do not follow me. The camp needs you more than it needs me.”
“Wyatt, you can’t leave. Please, this can’t be happening,” Rory bawled. “I would have never made it this far without you. Please stay.”
“I wish I could.”
“And what about you?” Rayo piped in, staring straight at Jalen. “I know we gave you a hard time and all, but damn. Have some respect. You can’t quit your team, bro.”
But somehow they all knew words didn’t matter at this point. It was over. Wyatt and Jalen had sounded the horn, and the consequences would be swift and permanent. “Why” didn’t matter; the two could never come back.
“But you won’t remember this,” Eldon said. “Valor—all of it—will be lost.” He stepped forward and lowered his voice. “Even if the camp one day is no more, how could you let the experience disappear?”
Wyatt couldn’t bear to look at him, but stared at his feet, wanting desperately to reveal his plan.
“That’s enough!” Ken forced his way between them. “No more talking. These two have made their decision. According to the manual, they should be led to the medical facility, where they will be treated, and then returned home.”
“I’ll take them…” Eldon said.
Avi stepped forward. “Let me.”
“No.” Ken pulled Wyatt’s arm.
“But I’m the senior staff on duty,” Avi said.
“Understood,” Ken said, “but given the circumstances, this should be done by an impartial party, lest there be any question about the finality of their choice. Don’t you agree?”
Eldon felt the stares, and he knew what he had to do. Valor must be supreme, more important that any person, even his son. He knew that any bending of the rules, particularly at this point, would be to ensure the complete siege of an already compromised city.
“Take them to the medical ward,” Eldon said.
Ken snatched up Wyatt’s and Jalen’s backpacks. “Arms behind your back,” he barked.
“What are you doing?” Eldon asked.
“Until these two are processed out, they’re a danger to themselves and to us, particularly your son,” Ken added. “I saw how he bloodied up that girl in the Caldera.”
“That’s absurd.” Eldon flushed.
“It’s all right, Dad,” Wyatt said calmly. “We’ll do what he says.” Wyatt looked at Jalen and the two put their arms behind their backs, crossing them at the wrists while Ken secured them with plastic zip ties.
“Let’s get this over with,” Jalen said as they started toward the medical ward.
Just as the three were out of sight, Mum appeared in the moonlight, in her nightgown.
“Where is he?” she panted, her voice a mix of confusion and panic. “I heard you say his name.”
Eldon shook his head. “He’s gone, Mum. And he took Jalen with him.”
“Why are you just standing here?” She grabbed Eldon’s thick shoulder, almost giving it a shove. “Go after them.”
“They blew the horn, Mum! Come on. You know what has to happen.”
Long seconds passed. “Back to bed, everyone,” Eldon finally said.
The campers dissipated, slowly drifting to their cabins, but Mum stayed there, in her nightgown, in the breezy air.
“Oh, Wyatt,” she whispered, staring at the rippling black lake. “What have you done?”
CHAPTER 28
“What are we going to do about this?” Cass followed Eldon into the director’s quarters, literally fuming. “You can’t just let him go back. Tell me your plan.”
“My plan is to stay here at Valor. Get the SecDef off my ass and get this program reinstated.”
“That’s it?” Cass asked, “What about Wyatt’s mother? What’s she going to make of her son coming home unexpected from camp with another camper?”
“We have a cover story. They got concussions, decided to come home. Jalen’s parents will come get him when they’re back from a tennis tournament. Besides,” Eldon added, “Wyatt’s mom is not there.”
“Where is she?”
“A retreat in Florida.”
“Retreat?”
“Yoga, meditation. Just trying to get her life together.”
“Valor for moms,” Cass joked.
“Yeah and trust me it’s better she’s not there. Better for me, anyway. I can handle Narcy.” Eldon looked out a window, shaking his head. “My wife … I can’t figure it out.”
“You sure you don’t want to leave for a few weeks?” Cass asked.
“You know how this works. We can’t break the rules, for my son. Or for me.”
Cass sat down. “I know we have to follow a code. But Dolly’s gone, and the only other person who gave a shit about that is getting his memory wiped as we speak.”
“Don’t know why the hell he would just up and leave. And take Jalen with him.” Eldon rubbed his eyes and scratched the stubble growing on his neck. “Maybe he wanted to go home … maybe I didn’t know him like I thought.”
“No, he wanted the mission. That’s all he wanted.”
“Well, we don’t get to ask him now.” Eldon stepped toward the door, put his hand on the knob, and then stopped. “The thing Wyatt doesn’t understand is that he’ll forget everything. He’ll go from superhero back to average kid. All of his talent, all of his training—gone.”
* * *
The discharge of Wyatt J. Brewer—the only Top Camper in Valor history to blow the horn, aside from the illustrious John Darsie—was surprisingly quick and perfunctory.
“Now, I know it’s here somewhere…” Ken’s voice echoed and the three wandered down a dark corridor of the Cave Complex looking for the processing-out medical ward.
“Over here.” Wyatt rolled his eyes and opened a hatch to a bunker ten feet underground.
“Right,” Ken Carl huffed. “I would’ve found it.”
“Not likely. We had to move it when a camper last year—Hudson Decker—escaped before his memory could be wiped.”
“That sounds like a confidentiality breach,” Ken said, stepping down into the creepy hatch.
“Would be if he wasn’t dead,” Wyatt said blandly.
Wyatt and Jalen entered a small room, similar to a doctor’s office.
“Boys, please.” Dr. Choy wasted no time in greeting them, pointing to the couple of medical beds lined with white paper. “Please”—she motioned to Ken Carl—“cut the ties.”
Ken got out a pocket knife and cut the zip ties and then assisted Dr. Choy in clamping each teenager to a bed.
“Okay.” Dr. Choy smiled. “You don’t seem agitated, but we offer campers a sedative, if they so choose.” She offered Wyatt a small white pill.
“I’m good.” Wyatt turned his head and fixed his eyes on the panels in the acoustic ceiling.
Dr. Choy turned to Jalen.
“If he’s good, I’m good.” Jalen pressed his head against the crinkly white pa
per. “Let’s do this.”
“Suit yourself,” she said and slid the white pills across a metal tray. She then uncapped a bottle and shook out two bright blue pills into her cupped palm.
She dropped the first blue pill into Wyatt’s mouth while Ken looked on. She moved over to Jalen and repeated the procedure. “Now the injections.” The doctor picked up a hypodermic needle loaded with dark purple fluid. She flicked the needle and felt in Wyatt’s arm for a vein. “Wyatt will require more, as it’s harder to erase more years,” she explained to Ken Carl.
The serum burned through his arm, but Wyatt didn’t flinch; instead he closed his eyes, embracing the instant effects.
“Man, I hate needles,” Jalen said, extending his arm to Dr. Choy.
“Nice veins.” She felt the boy’s muscles in his forearm, and lifted a second needle. And in moments, Jalen, too, was instantly fluttering to sleep.
Dr. Choy readied an ECT machine, a device from the 1970s used for electroshock therapy that looked like a clunky stereo tuner.
“Wyatt,” Jalen said. “Make sure Dar … make sure he can find me … on the train … I need to find insights … and Vegas … I’ve never been to Las Vegas,” he mumbled incoherently.
“What’s he saying?” Ken Carl asked frantically. “Something’s off.” He leaned over Wyatt. “Stop it for a minute, doctor. I need to ask him something.”
“I’m sorry.” Dr. Choy dropped the needle into the orange sharps bin. “It’s already taken effect…”
“You can’t reverse it?”
“No.”
Ken turned to Wyatt. “You’re up to something.” He leaned down and looked into the boy’s liquefying blue eyes. “Tell me … can you hear me?” He grabbed Wyatt’s limp shoulders and shook them.
“Sir, hands off the patient,” Dr. Choy said. “It’s too late.”
Just before Wyatt slipped into a deep sleep, his lips curled into an up-yours smile.
