Age of Order

by Julian North

  “I’ll make the arrangements, Daniela,” Nythan said. “After we’ve saved Alissa. You’ve got my word.”

  He still looked like a boy at a gaming console. But I didn’t think he was lying. “Right, then, let’s go get Alissa out of this mess.”

  I stepped out onto the track looking for Drake, but my eyes found Alexander first. I got a stony statue stare from him. I winced and bowed my head. The bigger problem was that Drake wasn’t there.

  I paced around the edge of the team. Definitely not there. I looked at the clock. Five minutes past four. If Drake was waiting in the locker room when Nythan walked in, the game was up. If he had gone out one of the school side exits, it was even worse. Another minute passed. I watched the locker room door, willing it to spring open. It didn’t. My feet were antsy. Should I run out and stop Nythan from going in?

  I slid up next to Alexander. He was talking to Anise about ideal hurdle speeds. He knew I was beside him, but kept his attention on his conversation.

  “Sorry to interrupt. Can I borrow Alexander for a minute?”

  Anise flashed an annoyed look. Mona Lisa craned her long neck towards me.

  “What’s going on?” Alexander asked.

  “Sorry, in private?” I felt the heat on my face. Another minute lost.

  Anise had both eyebrows up, looking more than merely annoyed. But Alexander walked away with me.

  “You want to play hide-and-go-seek again?”

  “I’ll explain that. You can hate me later. But please, this is important: Have you seen Drake?”

  “Drake? Yes, he was in the locker room.” Alexander did a scan of the team. His lips pressed together. “Why isn’t he here?”

  “You said to stay away from him. You were right.” I glanced at the clock again. “Listen, please. I need your help again. I know I don’t have a right to ask for it, and there’s no reason for you to keep helping me, but…it’s for my brother. He—”

  Alexander held up a hand. “Tell me. But do it slow enough that I can understand what you are saying.”

  “Just go into the locker room and get Drake out here. Now. Please.”

  Questions flashed in Alexander’s eyes. He studied my face. He must’ve seen something he approved of, because he nodded. “Coach will want to see him out here. I’m the captain. I’ll tell him.”

  “Please, hurry.” Two minutes left.

  Alexander trotted off in the direction of the outer door. My gaze lingered on him until he disappeared inside the locker room. Mona Lisa was watching me now, her long neck peeking above the crowd. I concentrated on keeping my breathing normal—in and out, in and out. Another minute ticked away. Then two. It was ten minutes after four. Nythan would be going in. Be a little late, Nythan. Listen to the door.

  Anise came up beside me. She looked where I was looking. “What are you up to, Daniela?”

  “It’s for a friend.”

  “A noble cause. But integrity often makes sensible people into fools. So be careful who you involve in your messes, please.” She walked away.

  Coach Nessmier strode onto the track, a mesh bag containing what looked like half a dozen smooth silver balls slung over his shoulder. I looked back towards the locker room just as the door opened. Drake stepped through, Alexander at his back. Air flooded out of my lungs.

  “Can I see some hustle, gentlemen?” the coach called over at them. Alexander broke into a jog. Drake hesitated, then did the same.

  “Well, since our vaunted computer network is acting like a sprinter with a twisted ankle, we’re going to try something different today.” Coach pulled out one of the silver balls. “These are propelled by compressed air, random internal settings, no network. Fast and elusive.” He rolled one of the spheres onto the track. It went about five feet, then jerked into the air. After several seconds, it jumped to eye-level, switching lanes as it did so. Then it fell to the ground, propelling itself at race-car speed, before skipping back into the air. “Everyone see what they can do?”

  There was a murmur of acknowledgment. I had my eyes on Drake. He was looking at the locker room. Hurry, Nythan.

  “Then let’s get going. Same groups as yesterday.”

  Almost there. Just a bit more time.

  Drake kept his gaze fixed on the locker room door as everyone sorted themselves into groups. I felt my heart beating in my chest. He started running back to the door. No! Alexander looked at me. The ground between Drake and the door disappeared rapidly. My heart was pounding. Had Nythan had enough time to wipe the viser? Unlikely. It had only been a few minutes.

  “How about we see if Drake can manage against me?” I called out.

  Drake stopped dead, mid-step. The locker room door was no more than ten feet away from him. His head came around, dark eyes locking on me like the scope of a force rifle.

  “He might do better chasing a ball than he could in the conditioned fifteen hundred,” I added, sealing my own fate.

  Silence engulfed the gym. Every eye bored into me. I looked at Alexander, begging forgiveness.

  Coach took a single metal sphere from his bag, dropping the rest. The thud echoed in the silence of the giant room. He held up the ball in his hand, high above his head, as if proposing a wedding toast.

  “Runners on the line,” he ordered.

  I jogged to the starting line. Drake snarled as he ran over to me, taking the inside.

  “You’re going to be sorry, nope. I promise,” he hissed more than spoke.

  “I like some healthy competition,” Coach said. “But I don’t care for arrogance. And if you can’t back up your arrogance, you’re a fool. No space for fools on this team. So if Drake gets the ball first, Ms. Machado, you’re off the team. If you win, you’re merely arrogant. In that case, you can spend the rest of practice running laps.”

  I hadn’t expected any mercy. Not from Coach Nessmier, not from Drake, not from Alexander. So be it.

  Nessmier hurled the sphere down the track directly ahead of us. Drake and I took off, chasing the flashing ball like a couple of stupid, desperate mutts. Drake shoved me two strides off the starting line, before I could get ahead of him. I stumbled as the force of his blow knocked me across my lane into the next one over, but I stayed on my feet. Barely. My shoulder ached. Coach didn’t say a word. This wasn’t a race. It was a street brawl.

  I clenched my teeth and dashed after him. I fixed my gaze on the center of his back. The dancing silver ball was a quarter track length ahead of him. I needed to make up about thirty meters to catch Drake. I reached for the cold inside me. It was right there. I sucked at the raw power like a pig at the trough. I took more than I needed. I wanted the extra juice, just in case.

  I came at him from the outside, running flat out with all I had. I stayed just behind him as we took a turn, the elusive sphere taunting us. It flew level with my head, then dropped to the ground. Drake put on a burst to try to snatch it. He thought he could close the gap before I reached him, but the ball skipped towards my lane just as he reached his hand towards it. I made a dash for the shiny thing as it passed in front of me. Drake turned his shoulder towards me again. I knew he would. I stutter-stepped at the last moment, falling a stride behind him just as he moved. He had expected me to be there, and I wasn’t. He lost his balance, crossing much faster than he intended. I swept his feet from behind, the hard tip of my running sneaker smacking into his ankles as he switched lanes.

  I overtook him as his legs flared and he fought to keep his balance. I heard him call out as I sped past.

  “You little bitch.”

  I ran for the ball soaring above me. I poured on the speed, cold coursing through my veins. I almost had it. Winning the privilege of running laps wasn’t a glorious prize, but it was better than getting kicked off the team—which was probably what I deserved. I reached for the sphere. A powerful pulse of air shot out from behind it as my fingers grazed its metal surface. The little thing whipped to the left, rising too high for me to catch even if I jumped. I followed it, waiting
for my next opportunity. But by matching the sphere’s pace, I was giving Drake a chance to catch up. His heavy steps echoed behind me. There were only seconds left before he reached me. The ball began to drop. I jumped. My hands clawed for it. Its shining surface was half a finger out of reach. Almost there. My spider-sense went crazy. I yanked my hands back and tried to spin. Too late. I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, then another. A crushing weight loaded itself onto my back. I was like a bird trying to haul a brick. Drake yanked me to the ground. I folded both arms underneath my chest to protect myself as best I could. I smashed into the ground, and Drake smashed into me. A searing pain coursed through my back then spread into my limbs. Tears of pain escaped as I tried to roll him off me, but Drake didn’t budge.

  I heard the coach’s whistle. The pain surged again. Drake was digging an elbow into my back. I tried to jab backwards, but I had no leverage. He was heavy, and strong, and on top of me. More whistles, but the agony kept coming.

  “Enough,” Alexander yelled.

  Drake’s elbow stopped gutting me; his weight lifted. I still hurt like hell. I rolled onto my back, my eyes clamped shut as I struggled to get control of the misery racking my body. I called on the cold, needing it this time. I looked down at my body from above, the ice sphere surrounding me, whispering that I should stop feeling pain, that it was just a nerve impulse—an illusion created by my brain as an evolutionary warning system. Just turn it off. The burning cries from inside me faded. I opened my eyes to see Alexander kneeling next to me. Drake was on his feet looming over us both, his teeth bared like a wolf. Anise stood between him and Alexander’s unprotected back. The whole team was watching us now. He wouldn’t dare do anything more. This was still Tuck, I assured myself.

  “Mr. Pillis-Smith, laps now. Along the stands, hugging the edge. Marathon pace. Don’t even think about stopping until I tell you,” Nessmier ordered.

  Drake didn’t move. I’m not sure if he heard. He was staring down at me. Raw, animalistic anger radiated off him. If Nythan hadn’t wiped the data, Alissa was going down. And that would just be the start.

  “The wall or you can find a new team,” Coach shouted.

  That brought Drake out of it. He turned with the reluctance of a lion abandoning its supper.

  “Nurse or the track, Ms. Machado?” Coach asked.

  “Track,” I told him through gritted teeth. “Just need a minute.”

  Coach nodded, approving of me for once. “Take five, then get moving. Outer lane of the track, marathon pace, until I say stop.”

  “Got it, Coach. Be there in five.”

  That meant I was still on the team. I had gotten Nythan the time he needed, and I was still on the team. Not bad at all.

  “Get up, slowly,” Alexander urged, his arm wrapped around my waist as I began to lift myself off the ground.

  “I’m fine.”

  “You say you are. You might even feel okay, but we both know you’re hurt. You’re doing what you do in races.”

  I looked at him again. How much did he know about me? I wanted to ask him. Yet I didn’t dare. Not here, not yet.

  “Sit on the bench for a bit. You have still got four minutes. Use them.”

  He walked to the stands surrounding the track with me. We climbed halfway to the top to keep ourselves clear of Drake’s route as he looped around the perimeter. Alexander sat down next to me.

  “Thank you, again,” I told him. “For everything. And I’m sorry I flaked out on you at lunch. I know this is sounding ridiculous, but I had another emergency.”

  He was quiet for a few seconds. “Family can be difficult. I understand that. Your life doesn’t sound easy.”

  “It’s not. I owe you.”

  He shook his head. “Debt is a transaction. A thing for business, for people like my father or my sister. Or for strangers. Between friends, there are no debts.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said nothing.

  “We’ve got less than two minutes before you run off again. Will you answer one question before that, on your honor?”

  I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by honor. It wasn’t a word we used in the barrio. But I knew how to keep my word. For a friend, or whatever we were.

  “Ask.”

  “There is an…event, at my father’s house on Saturday. An annual event. Kris organizes it. It is quite something to see, and I must be there.” My heart was running faster than my feet ever had. “Would you like to come with me?”

  I tried to open my mouth to speak, but it didn’t seem to be working. I heard the team running around. Dozens of feet, pounding into the floor. Shout and groans echoed around me as people dove for the silver spheres.

  “Let’s go, Machado. Break is over. On the track,” Coach yelled.

  I didn’t move. I looked at Alexander.

  “Yes.”

  I made sure he had a smile on his face, then I got up to run my laps.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  My back felt like I’d been stabbed, my shoes might as well have been made of concrete and my head throbbed. But somehow none of it mattered. I showered in peace, luxuriating in warm Manhattan water. I hadn’t forgotten Nythan’s promise. I felt ready for whatever would be revealed. Wrong.

  Nythan was waiting for me outside the locker room. He leaned against the wall, examining his fingernails. The pose was too cocky to be genuine. It was either something from one of his old movies, or he was trying too hard. I didn’t care which.

  I followed him to the stairs. Once we were alone I asked, “You get it?”

  He winked at me. “Done and done. Drake will never know.”

  “He knows, trust me.”

  Nythan shrugged. “He’s got no evidence now. He won’t go to the honor council. He wouldn’t be able to explain how he saw her. Only an anonymous video drop would’ve worked. Alissa’s in the clear on this one.”

  “What about your promise?”

  Nythan grinned. “I’m here to deliver on that as well. We need to take a short walk. Now.”

  “What?”

  “In light of recent events, Headmaster Havelock has been so kind as to invite us all to his home for a talk. It will afford us a bit more privacy than school property.”

  “Why there?”

  “For the same reason you dragged me onto the roof today. Just follow me down the rabbit hole.”

  Nythan took off down the stairs, moving with far more spring in his step than I could manage. I limped along behind him. He was tapping his foot anxiously as he waited for me outside the main entrance.

  “You have to pee or something?” I asked him.

  He frowned. “I thought you’d be more fire and brimstone. All your questions are soon to be answered.”

  “I’ve had a long day.”

  “It hasn’t started yet,” Nythan assured me as we started to walk.

  The sun hadn’t set, but clouds as thick as smog clogged the sky. We made our way by street light. Cool blasts of wind whipsawed around buildings, blowing the city’s dust into our eyes at random intervals. Nythan’s familiar trailed us as we walked. He was humming.

  “Is this a game to you?” I asked him. “My brother almost died. He still might. Alissa almost got expelled.”

  We walked several blocks without speaking after that, the wind gusting around us. I thought I might have offended him. It was hard to tell with Nythan. But as we came to an empty corner, he said, “I know it’s not a game. But we’ve been looking for someone for a while. Time is running out. I think it’s you we need. I want to get on with it. You deserve some answers. And I do like to win.”

  “Then tell me what the hell is going on.”

  “That’s coming. Two more blocks.”

  We moved faster. Nythan led me onto a street of stately townhomes, their exteriors made of varying types of pristine stone, all a century or more old. Great windows, each taller than me, lined the upper floors, looming out over the street. Wrought iron gates surrounded each re
sidence. The houses ranged in height from three to six stories, mere dwarfs surrounded by the towering modern condominiums further to the east. Several had dark-suited attendants standing out front.

  Nythan stopped near the end of the street, in front of a black metal gate. The bars were forged of interconnected tigers. Beyond the gate, steps led up to the arched doorway of a four-story house, its facade made of a whitewashed brick that managed to look both modern and aged at the same time. There was an intercom on the street, but no human security. At least none that I could see.

  “This house belongs to Tuck. It’s the residence of the headmaster. Perk of the job. Of course, you lose your job, you lose your home.”

  “So Havelock has been here for what, fifteen years?”

  “Thirteen, actually. But that’s still quite a while, isn’t it?”

  Plenty of time to recruit the people he wanted…for whatever it was he was doing.

  “What are we waiting for?”

  Nythan held out his hands, each balled into a fist. “There’s a red pill in my left hand, and a blue pill in my right. Choose the blue pill, and I’ll take you inside to learn the secrets of the universe from a man named Morpheus. Red, you go home.”

  “You eat them.”

  “Crap, Daniela. It’s from The Matrix. I’ve always wanted to do the red pill, blue pill thing.” Nythan shook his head and pressed the intercom. “We’re here.”

  The gate buzzed open. Nythan walked through and held it open for me.

  “You’re the strangest person I know,” I told him.

  Havelock greeted us at the door. Despite the evening hour and the fact that we were at his home, he still wore the same old fashionable suit and bow tie. He held the door open till we came inside, then shut it behind us. His long, gaunt arms made me feel a bit like I was walking into a spider’s den. The click of the door lock echoed louder than it should have.

  “Welcome, welcome, my friends. Please leave your shoes and drones at the door,” he said. “Then follow me into the study.”

  Nythan and I walked through the house behind him. Where Alissa’s home was sharp angles and stark colors, Havelock’s residence reeked of history. The wood-paneled walls could have been lifted from Tuck. The furniture echoed nineteenth-century England. Stiff-backed sofas and chairs, upholstered in red, gray, and black patterns, adorned the living room. The floors were covered with thick rugs that smothered the sound of our footsteps. Antique crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. It wasn’t a place I cared to sit in, much less live in.