“Your boyfriend took it pretty bad back there.”
Liz sniffed between tears and made quote marks with her fingers. “Jeremy and I dated for what? Eight months? And for the record, that is not Jeremy.” She pointed vaguely out the window. “That is Hal’s version of Jeremy. An editorialized memory. Yeah, Jeremy could be a jerk. But he could be sweet, too. He wasn’t some two-dimensional tyrant.”
“Is he still alive?”
“Yes. Still in Bickleton. I don’t know how he managed to stay out of Hal’s little project. I guess Hal’s probably still too scared of him.”
“And what about Hal? What do you remember about him?”
Liz sighed and wiped her tears.
“To be honest, not much. I remember he—you were smart. You were earnest. Especially about computers and video games.”
Jay blushed. “Yeah. A nerd.”
“Nothing to be ashamed of. Where I come from, geeks have inherited the earth. I mean, just look at Hal.”
“Yeah. Look at him.”
She tilted her head. “Why’d you stand up for me?”
Jay sighed. “I don’t know. Just stupid, I guess. Hal offers me the world on a silver platter, and I kick him in the shins. I used to think things couldn’t get any worse than high school. Shows how little imagination I had.”
“I didn’t get a chance to say this earlier. Whatever happens, I want you to know I’m really, truly sorry for high school. I tried to tell Hal that. I don’t think he can hear me anymore. But you can. So just know . . . I should’ve been nicer.”
Jay looked out the window.
“It’s okay. In the grand scheme of things, I guess high school’s pretty insignificant, right?”
Liz laughed. “Unless you’re stuck in a high school simulation.”
She reached over and took his hand. Her grip was soft and warm.
“Hey, if I got to do prom over again—I mean, under normal circumstances—I’d take you.”
She leaned over and he felt her lips on his cheek. His body suddenly felt warm.
“For reals this time.”
Boom! The car windows shook. A shock wave rattled the car and shook the C-Court glass behind them. Liz scooted across the car seat and pressed her face to her window.
“Was that . . . thunder?”
Jay shook his head. The rain was only a few scattered drops now. The clouds were gone, revealing the full moon. They could see over the baseball field and beyond that, a small ridge with farmhouses. The few remaining kids in the lot were all staring down that horizon. The noise seemed to have come from there. Then, beyond the ridge, a flash of white flickered against the remaining clouds. Liz pointed.
“Look. Lightning.”
Jay squinted. It seemed somehow familiar. He shook his head.
“That’s not lightning.”
Gloom Bears
The car began to shake. Jay wrapped his hands around the seat in front of him, and the car swung back and forth. Liz screamed and grabbed Jay’s shoulders. In the parking lot, kids yelled as their cars wobbled on their wheels. Falling branches cracked as they hit the parking lot asphalt. A roar grew and grew until it seemed the world would come apart. Then, suddenly, it stopped.
A few kids moaned in the parking lot. Out the window, the lights in C-Court were shut off. The hills were bathed in darkness: the power was out.
Liz hissed over his shoulder, “What was that?”
Before Jay had time to answer, Elmer waddled up to the car and swung the front door open. The car creaked as his massive weight settled onto the frame. Jay saw his left eye twitching so hard, he could barely see.
“Great. First a tornado, now a goddamned earthquake. This is all we need.”
He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. Jay saw the road was cracked into plates. Moonlight bathed the surrounding farmlands in blue, and cows were galloping around the field, lowing in panic. Elmer turned onto Main Street.
“We’re heading to the Scallow Park. Listen, you kids know what’s going on? ’Cause I got a list that keeps getting longer.” He shot Liz and Jay a glance in the rearview mirror.
“And you two seem to be at the center of it all.”
Jay and Liz didn’t say anything. Elmer snorted in his seat.
“Goddamn. As if there wasn’t enough to wrap your brain around.”
They passed the United Methodist Church, and for a moment, its spire blotted out the moonlight. In the darkness of the car, Jay saw a glimpse of something white dart through the alley behind the church. He nudged Liz.
“What?” she whispered.
The thing was gone.
“Sheriff . . . there’s something out there.”
“Good Lord, what now? Aliens?”
Jay bolted up in his seat and pointed. “Sheriff!”
“Hey, Goddamn—”
But he, too, saw it. Something pale and white darted across the street. Elmer swerved, running the squad car onto the sidewalk, then overcorrected left, into the oncoming lane. Finally, he screeched to a halt outside Scallow Park. The car sat, idling, its occupants breathing hard. Jay turned to look through the rear window.
“Hell was that?” Elmer muttered from the front seat. “Some kinda . . . animal?”
He pulled out his gun, flung open his car door, and swung a leg out into the night.
“Are you crazy? Do not go out there,” Jay called.
“S’all right. Wait here.”
Elmer clicked on a flashlight. There was no traffic in the road, and all the surrounding houses were dark. He moved into the shadow of United Methodist, exploring the church’s windows with his light.
“God, people here are stupid. Do you not watch horror movies?” Liz whispered.
“Get in the car!” Jay begged Elmer.
Elmer ignored him, pressing on. Then he stopped, staring. Jay heard it too. A noise emerged from the shadows, quietly at first, but growing louder with each moment. It sounded as if a hundred voices were talking over one another. The noise rose, and as the voices grew louder, Jay seemed to think they sounded angry. From the gloom behind the church, a mass of white shapes seemed to split off. Elmer shouted.
“Get back,” Jay urged. Elmer stumbled backward, but the things flashed forward, grabbing him. As they stepped into the flashlight’s beam, Jay saw them for what they were. They looked like living mannequins. Black clothing, like suits, but so dark that they looked like nothing, covered bright white bodies. Where faces should have been, there was only smooth whiteness, and a sound like murmuring. Jay watched as Elmer’s body disappeared into the horde. There came the sound of tearing flesh, and screams. Jay shrank back into the car and heard Liz’s voice.
“What is that?”
“A riot. One of the disasters.”
She looked at him questioningly. Jay peeked out of the window and saw the white things move back behind the church. Their murmuring receded, and now Jay heard the distant sounds of broken glass and wood shattering. The still form of Elmer lay on the ground, and Jay saw the faint glint of blood in the moonlight.
Jay quietly tried his door, but it was still locked. He checked the seats for anything that might help. There was nothing.
Liz squatted down in the well next to the seat. Her legs were drawn up, so that the sequins on her dress sparkled in the moonlight.
“What do you mean, a riot?”
Jay moved over to try her door. No good: it was also locked.
“Hal’s punishing us by sending The Build’s preprogrammed disasters. First, the earthquake. Now, a riot.”
Liz peered out the window. “How many more are there?”
Generator
The blackout plunged the entire campus into darkness. Colin stood outside of Tutorial, silhouetted against the dim outline of the door; he could see the faint clouds of his breath.
Aside from a few books on the floor, the small single-room building hadn’t taken any damage from the earthquake. He hesitated, unable to see whether Stevie was still inside.
“Stevie? You there? I found one,” he whispered.
“Great. Leave it outside so it doesn’t get all smoky in here.”
Stevie emerged in the twilight of the Tutorial ramp. Thick pines crowded out what little moonlight fell from the sky. In the darkness, she could barely make out a small black box at Colin’s feet.
“How many kilowatts is it?”
“Um . . . one, I think.”
Stevie’s brow furrowed as she calculated. “I think that’ll work.”
John S had left a set of keys in the Tutorial door. Colin was pretty certain they belonged to Ari Strauss, the janitor, and he’d been trying to figure out how the Johns got ahold of them. When the power went out, it was Stevie who had the bright idea to take the keys down to woodshop and unlock one of the generators. Colin handed Stevie a bright orange extension cord. She took it and searched the darkness with her hands until she found the outlet on the side of the generator. She plugged in the cord and led it back into the darkness of Tutorial.
“Okay, try it.”
Colin held the box by its metal lip and yanked the pulls. The engine caught with an angry whir, and Colin saw a faint outline of smoke.
“Great!” came Stevie’s voice. “Now shut it off.”
“I thought you wanted to boot the computer up?”
Stevie reappeared in the doorframe. It was too dark to make out her face, but Colin could see her small silhouette approaching. “Um, we can’t do that till Hal’s inside the game, right?”
Colin heard her teeth chatter, her arms wrapping around her exposed shoulders. The air was still wet from the rain. He hurriedly took off his jacket and moved to drape it over her.
“N-no, really—”
“It’s okay.” Colin blushed. “I’ve got enough blubber to keep me warm.”
“I thought it was just big bones?”
“No, just big.” He chuckled, wrapping the jacket around her. Her teeth continued chattering.
“Sorry, it’s a little damp.”
She nodded. Crickets chirped.
“You know what?” Colin broke away, pulling the generator string. “It’s freezing. We gotta get those space heaters on.”
The generator rumbled and spat out smoke. Stevie nodded between her jitters. “Th-th-thanks.”
Colin heard, rather than saw, Stevie’s appreciative smile return to her face, and just then, he was grateful for the darkness as he blushed again.
Wriggle
The moon cast a binary glow of light and shadow over the deserted street. Sheriff Jenkins’s body lay where it had fallen. There was no trace of the strange bodies that had attacked. From the back of the squad car where they were trapped, Jay squinted at the body, willing Sheriff Jenkins to get up.
“Do you think he’s . . . ?”
Liz was staring at Jay.
“Jay, what do you mean, disasters?”
Jay was searching the perimeter for a sign that those strange figures might return. “It’s a feature in The Build. Disasters show up randomly to make the game harder. Or you can use them to destroy your own game. You know, like in SimCity?”
“What’s SimCity?”
“C’mon. Did you really not play any games?”
“I played Oregon Trail. How many disasters are there?”
“Eight.”
Jay saw Liz glance at the small dashboard clock on the sheriff’s car. It read 11:14.
“He’s gonna stall us out until the upload’s complete. Oh God.”
Liz beat her fists against the car door in frustration. Jay shut his eyes. He was certain he was missing something. He thought back to the adventure games he’d played. Monkey Island, Space Quest, Police Quest, King’s Quest. If he were King Graham in King’s Quest, what could he use to solve the problem? He didn’t have an inventory, aside from a soaking-wet prom tuxedo, so no good thinking about it that way. If this were Super Mario Bros. 2, and he had to pick a character, why would he choose Jay? What was his special ability? Colin had strength. Stevie had brains. Now that Hal had taken away his stats, he didn’t have anything. He was small, he was—
Eureka.
He sat up and stuck his head through the narrow space between the driver’s side headrest and door. It was tight, painful even, but if he shimmied his body, he could inch his way up to his shoulders. He felt a button on his jacket catch the pleather, and it rammed into his side.
He wriggled back out, feeling claustrophobic. His suit jacket was sticky with sweat and rainwater. He began to take it off.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting naked.”
Liz stared incredulously. “Again?!”
“I think I can fit through.”
Liz looked at the tiny space. “That’s really small.”
“Yeah, but so am I.”
Jay held out his arms, which were knotted in the wrapped fabric of his jacket. Liz tugged it over his fists, freeing his hands.
“Come on, you have to try too.”
“There’s no way I’m fitting through there.”
“Do you want to get out? The clock is ticking.”
“Oh my God.” Liz reached behind her back and pulled at her zipper. “I can’t believe I’m in the back seat of a car, taking off my dress with Jay Banksman. Can you give me a hand? I’m stuck.”
Jay got up on his knees and pulled at Liz’s zipper.
“Ow!”
“Sorry. First time doing this.”
He watched the dress separate from her skin, peeling down to her waist. He realized with shock that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
“Hey, I know this is only my avatar or whatever, but could you try not to stare?”
“Sorry, sorry.” He diverted his gaze.
“Thanks.” She peeled her dress down her legs. He cast a sidelong glance at her body. Thin white underwear glowed in the darkness. She placed her hand over her breasts, and the two of them turned to face each other in the back seat.
“This is unbelievably stupid.”
“We don’t have a ton of options.”
Liz eyed the tiny space between her headrest doubtfully. “How is being naked going to help me fit through there?”
Jay gave a slight smile. “I didn’t actually say you had to take off your clothes. You kind of did that on your own.”
Through the window, Jay caught a glimpse of something white spilling from the alley between houses.
“Uh-oh. They’re back.”
Indeed, the sound of angry rabble rose all around them as white faceless bodies spilled into the street. Jay again pushed his face into the seat back in front of him. He remembered watching that horrendous video in biology class of a woman giving birth. What had the narrator said? That the baby’s head was the biggest part of its body. He imagined himself as a baby, pushing his way through the birth canal. He smashed his face between the headrest and the car frame, wriggling until his head popped through.
He looked at Liz. She had her head and both arms through, but she was wedged so tightly, she couldn’t move. Jay sucked in his chest, compressing it against the seat. He thrashed and struggled for several heavy minutes, then stopped, panting.
“Okay . . . I need a push.”
Liz cursed as she unwound her body, giving up. She scooted over, and he felt her hands on his feet.
“How’s the view?”
“I didn’t know they made silk Batman boxers.”
“Just be glad I wore these. Will you push?”
She pushed.
“Ow!”
“Well, it’s the only way you’ll go.”
Jay felt a sharp pain in his ribs.
�
��Owwww! Stop!”
But Liz just pushed harder. Jay felt as if his insides were going to burst. Something sliced his leg, and then he was slithering through the hole and falling into a pile in the driver’s seat.
“Jay,” she whispered. “You did it.”
Jay heaved, catching his breath. “Can I have my pants, please?”
His pants fell beside him on the seat. “Nice work.”
He met her gaze in the rearview mirror. The sight of her bare shoulders sent a thrill through his body.
“You should see me with my full stats.” He grinned.
Jay slid into his pants and peeked out the driver’s window. The white riot bodies filled the sidewalk, working their way down Main Street. Jay watched them swarm houses, methodically punching out windows, ripping off siding. Demolishing each house by hand. A few bodies spilled out aimlessly from the rest of the group, and one bumped into their squad car. Jay ducked back down. Very slowly, he pulled his walkie-talkie from his suit jacket pocket and switched it on.
“Hello?” he whispered.
There was no answer. Outside, the angry rabble grew louder.
“Hello? Is there anyone there?”
Then, Colin’s voice. “Jay?”
“Colin! Where are you?”
“We’re up in Tutorial. Where are you?”
Footsteps were surrounding their car. Jay hunkered down farther, lowering his voice.
“We’re outside Scallow Park. There’s a riot happening.” He paused. “It got Elmer. He’s dead.”
There was a moment of silence, then: “What?”
“Hal’s sending disasters—”
A hand slapped the side of the squad car, and a white shape appeared in the window above him. There was a squeal of metal, and Jay grabbed the steering wheel as the driver’s side of the squad car was raised up. Jay tumbled down into the passenger side. Liz screamed in the back seat as the car dropped down. Its side windows shattered, sprinkling glass over Jay’s head. The angry muttering was everywhere. The car began to rock back and forth. Metal bent as fists slammed into its roof.
“Hello?” the walkie-talkie squawked. “Can you hear me?”
In Beta Page 21
