“Glad we’re skipping the skates,” Peter said as the glass doors slid open for them. “Let’s make this quick. This place is filled with nothing but snobby rich kids. What kind of high school has field trips to go skating?”
Jackie released his arm with a frown. Based on the memory she’d seen in book club earlier, Peter’s room was huge. Chances were he was the rich one here.
“Don’t give me that look.” Peter gestured to the swirling skaters through the transparent fence. “In my defense, my family is pretty well-off, but we’re not rich. And we’re certainly not snobby.”
Jackie headed toward the entrance to the rink. I’d argue that you’re much snobbier than anyone here. The temperature by the ice was chillier than in the lobby, so she crossed her arms to keep the goosebumps at bay.
“What do you think we’re looking for?” Peter held a hand over his head as though shielding the sun from his vision, which was completely unnecessary considering how they were indoors, but she didn’t bother saying anything.
“Not sure.” Jackie stopped at the rink’s entrance and stared at her sneakers, which were only inches away from the blood-colored ice. She narrowed her eyes at the cluster of skaters in the center of the rink, jumping and holding their arms out in elegant forms. A girl in a velvety black dress practiced the same combination of twists and spins. Her body slipped back and forth through a shimmering aluminum object.
A capsule.
Jackie took a step back, stumbling away from the ice and leaning forward, the fake cherry smell in the air striking her with a massive headache. Not only could no one else see the capsule, but they couldn’t touch it either. The skater had gone through it as though it’d never existed in the first place.
When Jackie raised her throbbing head, Peter was still standing in front of the entrance to the ice rink. “Jeez, Jackie.” He pinched his arm and winced, rubbing the redness away as he looked over his shoulder. “What kind of nightmare have you dragged me into?”
Jackie gulped as the girl skated through the holographic capsule once again. “I wish I knew.”
Almost every ounce of color drained from the air, the saturation in the room concentrating into the red field of ice. The cheesy pop music that blared from the ceiling’s speakers left Jackie with chills running down her spine. No, don’t fall for it. Jackie’s lightheadedness faded as she took a solid step forward. It’s just a game. Not a nightmare. That’s all it is—a game.
Jackie passed Peter, her sneakers landing onto the ice. Although the rink was slippery, it certainly wasn’t as challenging as skating on a thin blade.
One step after the other, Jackie walked across the rink. She avoided the occasional incoming skater, taking a few side-steps out of their way. By the time she was halfway to the center, Peter had caught up to her.
“I really don’t think we should be doing this.” His pupils bounced around as though a demon had possessed him. For someone reckless enough to run a blog like Moral Moon, he didn’t handle breaking rules very well.
“Hey!”
Jackie spotted a young woman standing at the entrance to the rink. She wore the same black shirt and coat as the two girls wore at the skate handout booth, signifying that she was a Cherry Ice employee too.
“No shoes on the ice!” The woman set her right skate onto the rink, her red curls flowing behind her as she skated in their direction.
Jackie’s eyes widened. “Sorry, we—”
“Hurry up!” Now it was Peter’s turn to take the lead. He ran past Jackie, shoes tapping against the ice in bold strikes.
As Jackie followed him, the breezy air rushed along her skin, calming her in the same way her runs would calm her during a cool afternoon. The skaters in the center of the rink cleared the area, frowning at the unwelcome shoes from a distance, but Jackie didn’t care. They were background characters in a video game. A bunch of Koopa Troopas in a level of Super Mario Bros.
Only a few feet from the capsule, the silver ellipse lit her vision, blocking everything else from sight. She swam through a pool of black ink and red-tiled floors, the capsule her only object of focus. Her only choice. She leaned forward and stretched her arm out, the music around her shattering in dead silence.
But her fingers swiped nothing but air.
Stumbling to keep balance, the pop music faded back into her senses. She was in the real world again, the colors in the air blinding. The capsule was still in front of her, but an arm stood pressed against her ribs, blocking her path.
Peter stood to Jackie’s left, his arm outstretched in front of her. “Don’t get any closer.” He raised the phone in his left hand—its case perfectly matching the shade of ice beneath them—attempting to steal a photo of the capsule. Jackie’s breaths lengthened as the adrenaline faded away. The capsule remained invisible on Peter’s screen.
The air grew hot. Jackie wasn’t sure if was from her sprint or her rage. She pushed his arm away, eager to end Level Two. “We don’t have time for this.”
“Wait!” The fear in Peter’s voice froze her arm in the air. “Can I see the app again? I’ll be quick.”
Jackie couldn’t ignore the desperation in Peter’s eyes, a strange glimmer she’d never seen in him before. He was curious. Scared. Those were two feelings she’d grown far too comfortable with the past few days. Maybe Peter was right. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give him a chance to find answers. She reached for the phone in her back pocket.
“You can’t be here without—”
Jackie’s hands jumped at the piercing voice behind her. The phone slipped, landing onto the ice face-down and knocking the breath out of Jackie as though she’d been the one to fall. She stood frozen, breathless in the middle of the rink, staring at her violet phone case resting on the ice as though reaching for it might end the game, as though a broken phone meant Peter and Kat were done for. Before she could reach for it, the phone had already been swiped from her vision.
Jackie raised her chin to the freckled face of the red-haired woman. She held the violet phone up to her cheek. “Can you explain what you two are doing on the ice without your admission bracelets?” Her high-pitched voice sounded sweet, but the downturned curve of her lips proved otherwise.
Jackie nearly shouted at the sight of her phone in the woman’s hand. A few thin cracks spread across the screen, but considering the fact that the capsule was still floating to her left, the damage hadn’t interfered with the game. If the phone isn’t working properly, how can we know where the next locations are? Repairing the screen would be a huge time burn—at least a one-hour hour stop at the electronic repair shop in the downtown mall.
The woman headed toward the rink’s entrance. “Why don’t you come with me?”
Jackie clenched her fists as the woman calmly walked away. She assumed a teenage girl would do anything to avoid separation from her phone, but to Jackie that phone was far more than a source of addiction. This woman was unintentionally using Peter’s and Kat’s lives as leverage. Two futures were in that phone.
“Shit.” Peter tucked his own phone away. “How do we get it back?”
We don’t. Jackie turned to the capsule. Not yet. She took a step forward, but as soon as Peter caught on, he jumped to block her way.
Jackie’s face burned. He’d already tried to stop her once, and she wasn’t going to slip up and fall for his stupid ideas again.
“Move.” She spoke through gritted teeth.
“Just let me take a closer look before we—”
“Move!”
In pure instinct, like a few clicks on a controller during an intense battle, Jackie pressed her palms against Peter’s chest and shoved him to the side. Neither had time to react. Before Peter’s back slammed onto the ice, Jackie rushed forward and wrapped her hands around the capsule.
LEVEL TWO
KAT PACKED A few granola bars into the turquoise skate b
ag resting on the dining table in front of her. Her hair was wrapped into a bun—a hairstyle no one from Brookwood could imagine her with anymore. She wore contacts instead of her silver-rimmed glasses, leaving her emerald eyes less vibrant. Even her outfit—leggings, an oversized gray sweater, and a maroon scarf wrapped around her freckled neck—was surprisingly simple for someone with a style as radical as Kat Pike’s.
She was about to zip her bag compartments back up when her phone buzzed with a text from Whitney. my moms running late agaainnn…lets do 5:30 instead?
Of courseee :) Kat sat at the table. Dw about it. This was the fifth time Whitney had postponed their plan to hang outside of school for the first time, but Kat didn’t mind. She was honored Whitney had bothered reaching out to someone like her in the first place. Whitney had a million friends, impeccable style, and could even do a perfect cat eye—which Kat had always failed at—so it’d been a surprise when Whitney had sat next to bare-faced, bed-headed Kat in the cafeteria last week and asked, “Wanna hang out?”
Another text from Whitney. actually let’s do 6
Kat had been running her hands through the frizzy waves in her blond hair, trying to decide how to reply when the doorbell interrupted her train of thought. She looked over at the entryway and sighed. “Emmeline?”
A moment passed. Nothing.
“Emmeline?” Kat shouted. “Can you get that?”
The floorboards creaked, breaking the silence, but Kat knew it wasn’t a sign Emmeline was planning to come downstairs anytime soon. She scrolled through her past text conversations with Whitney, ignoring the door. Obviously Emmeline had heard her and chose to act as though she hadn’t. Surely that also meant Kat had the right to obviously hear the doorbell—and choose to act as though she hadn’t.
Her phone buzzed again. This time it was a message from her sister. You’re closer
Kat slammed her phone onto the table as she leapt from the chair. With heavy steps she approached the wooden door and swung it open to reveal an unfamiliar face.
The boy looked to be around the same age as Emmeline, possibly younger. He wore black jeans, converse, and a navy blue shirt with the illustration of a chess piece on it. A few droplets of sweat had accumulated on his forehead, his breathing was a bit too fast to call normal, and he still had a backpack dangling from his broad shoulders—all signs he’d walked here straight from school.
“Is Emmeline home?”
Kat nodded. Having strangers arrive at the Pike household wasn’t necessarily a strange occurrence. Emmeline always had people stopping by to hang out with her, but Kat—well—making friends had never been easy. She was about to run upstairs to get Emmeline when the boy raised his hand in a slight wave.
“I’m Jay.”
She gripped the edge of the door. “Kat.”
“You go to Brookwood too?”
“Brookwood Middle,” Kat said.
“Right.” He tilted his head as he ran a hand across the top of his gelled hair, revealing a glimpse of his black stud earring. “Eighth grade?”
Kat nodded. Her eyes wandered into the kitchen as she debated inviting the stranger inside or not. At first Kat had assumed he was another one of Emmeline’s boyfriends to add to the waiting list of her growing collection of exes, but the way he twirled with the corners of his black-and-white checkered flannel made him appear less confident than the other boys Emmeline had invited over. Emmeline’s exes usually followed the same formula—they dressed the same, smiled the same, and even spoke with the same voice—but Jay was an outlier.
Kat’s face grew hot. She remembered shouting for Emmeline after Jay had rung the doorbell. He didn’t hear me, did he?
“Looks like you’ve met my adorable little sister.”
Emmeline’s bright voice emerged from the stairway, and her hair tumbled gently with every step toward the door. She wore her normal go-to outfit—a dulled-yellow long-sleeve under her overalls, which she always denied was a reference to the Despicable Me movie, but Kat seriously questioned that. Judging by her glossy pink smile, Emmeline evidently knew who Jay was, but Kat couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t surprised by his arrival. Jay was all sweaty and nervous with tense wrinkles in his forehead while Emmeline was—completely comfortable.
Emmeline squeezed between her little sister and the door, forcing Kat to release her grip on the wood. Now standing next to the mystery boy on the patio, Emmeline reached for the handle of the front door and pulled it toward her. “Give us a minute?”
Kat flinched as the front door closed in her face.
As she took her seat at the dining table again, Kat tried to convince herself that she wasn’t curious, but it didn’t work. Emmeline had always been a mystery to her. Although they’d spend plenty of quality time together, they never seemed to grow any closer. A certain barrier loomed between them that Kat could never cross. A level impossible to beat.
Her phone buzzed on the table. Another message from Whitney. sorry, something came up…let’s do it next week
Kat sat in the dining room, listening to the muttering of Jay and Emmeline’s voices from outside the door. She tried to make out what they were saying—and she might have been able to, if she were actually focused—but Whitney’s sudden change of plans distracted her. What if Whitney never wanted to hang out with her in the first place?
What if I’m just a part of some joke?
The front door swung open, and Emmeline stepped inside alone. “Hey Sis.” She dangled her Baymax keychain in front of her, the Big Hero 6 character’s head clattering against her car and house keys. “You ready for a drive?”
Without a second thought, Kat joined Emmeline at the door.
No, she wasn’t in the mood for a drive, but what made her agree had nothing to do with her personal preferences. Emmeline would only go on drives when she needed to clear her mind. Sometimes she’d be gone for hours. No one knew where she went, but no one disrespected her privacy enough to question her.
Sitting in Emmeline’s car, Kat realized the real reason why she’d decided to join was because Emmeline had never invited her before.
Kat buckled her seat belt, and Emmeline twisted the key into its lock to get the engine running.
“Do you know where I’m taking you?” Emmeline asked as she pulled out of the driveway.
Kat pursed her lips and nodded. “On a drive.”
“Well yeah, smartass, but where?”
Kat shrugged.
“Drum roll please.” Emmeline made a turn out of the neighborhood, not bothering to wait for Kat to reciprocate the excitement before making the big reveal. “We are headed to Lothen Heights.” She pointed to a duffel bag in the back seat. “I brought some extra clothes, towels—everything we need.”
“Lothen Heights? I’m gonna guess that’s in Lothen.”
“You got it, Sherlock. It’s a campground by the ocean a few hours from here. One of my favorite spots.” Emmeline took one hand off the steering wheel, waving her fingers through the air as she described the scenery. “There’s a gorgeous cliff there overlooking the ocean. And you know what? It’d be a perfect weekend vacation spot. We should bring Dad there sometime.”
Normally Emmeline’s drives were impulsive, but this one was planned. Kat narrowed her eyes at the dashboard. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but Emmeline wasn’t herself today, and although Kat understood that she was the younger sister of four years—that she was supposed to be the one receiving advice, not giving it—she longed for Emmeline to open up to her. Even just once.
“Who was that guy earlier?” A little prying wouldn’t hurt.
“Hm?” Emmeline glanced at Kat and returned her focus to the road with a straight face. “Oh, Jay? He’s a friend of mine.”
A friend. Maybe she’d been overthinking this. Maybe there really wasn’t anything going on and Emmeline finally wanted to spend time with
her outside of the house.
“Is he from school?”
“Yep, we have trig together. A sophomore in trig, can you believe it? That guy makes me feel like a complete idiot. Fifteen years old? More like fifteen years smarter than me.” Emmeline’s jaw dropped while she sorted through her memories. “Actually, now that I think of it, you might know his little sister. I’m pretty sure you’re in the same grade. Gosh, what was her name again? Jamie?” She settled down, the prickly enthusiasm in her voice softening and the folds on her forehead spreading further apart. “I’m pretty sure it’s Jamie.”
“I don’t think I know her.” Kat searched Emmeline’s eyes for a clue as to what could possibly be running through her sister’s mind. “But why’d he stop by earlier?”
“Not sure. I think he was looking for answers.” Emmeline smiled and tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “Who isn’t?”
18:35:12
PETER’S BACK SLAMMED onto the ice. A sharp pain shot through his tailbone, the chilling strike leaving him breathless, eyes locked shut. He lay on the rink, grimacing in pain, but the piercing blow faded with nothing but a dull ache.
“You good?”
Peter opened his eyes to find Jackie leaning over him with an outstretched hand.
The memory of Kat, Jay, and Emmeline invaded his mind. He hadn’t known Kat in middle school, so the memory left him brimming with questions. Eighth-grade Kat was way too serious. Unnaturally calm.
“Hurry!” Jackie emphasized her outstretched arm. “My phone.”
Capsule Page 9
