Before morning had dawned, Indira woke. She slid free of the others, careful not to wake them, and shook Phoenix’s shoulder. He looked up and she held one finger to her lips for silence. Quietly, he slid free and joined her. Indira led him off to the opposite end of camp.
Gadget was there, still awake, analyzing her data. Indira knelt beside the girl and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Show me what you’ve found.”
“On the first page, I’ve mapped out Joey’s movement,” Gadget answered in a whisper. “He never stops. No sleeping at all. There’s another scent signature at his side almost ninety percent of the time. I’ve compared it against earlier data. The signature is from Ledge Woods.
“The rest of the town is kind of scattered. I’m pretty sure you three infiltrated at the end of one of his games. He finished off a few more groups before restarting everything. You can see here.” She pointed to the upper corner of the screen. “All citizens returned to life.”
There was a sudden spark of heat signatures. A flood of voices being recorded too. Gadget paused to play some of the snippets her bees had logged. They heard townspeople complaining about the game. Some asked why the Editors hadn’t come to save them.
It was also clear that Joey had run them through several games already. That fact was creating another problem. “When he transformed the town into a map from the game, it removed the food. All the townspeople are exhausted. Which means that every new game, they’re less active. Which leads me to the last important piece of data….”
Gadget spun another graphic onto the screen. It was a recording. A voice filled the air, and Indira shivered, hearing Joey. It was almost like he was sitting right next to them.
“I’m starting to get bored.”
Another voice answered. Ledge. “We could go somewhere else….”
“Yeah?” Joey again. “Where else is there to go?”
“There’s a bigger city. It’s called Fable.”
Gadget cut the audio, frowning. “The bee rotated position, so I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. But it sounds like the town is no longer presenting him with a fun challenge. It’s good news, I guess, that he’ll leave them alone. But it’s really bad news for Fable.”
Indira nodded. “Where he can do even more damage.”
“He’s already broken the Hero’s Journey,” Phoenix whispered. “We have to stop him.”
“Gadget,” Indira asked. “What’s the highest point in the town?”
The girl squinted a little, focusing on the statistics. Indira watched as she navigated several different screens. “Hmm. There’s a bell tower. It’s the highest location.”
“Thanks,” Indira replied. “How about you get some sleep? You deserve it.”
Gadget looked down at her feet for a moment, and Indira could only guess what the girl was thinking. Ever since Maxi had revealed how Joey had arrived in their world, Gadget had been working overtime to try to make up for her mistake. After watching Phoenix treat Squalls like a brother, Indira realized that maybe it was her turn to play the same role for Gadget. She reached out and set a firm hand on the girl’s shoulder.
“It’s not your fault. You heard Maxi. What happened was an accident. Less than a one percent chance. Last year…” Indira took a deep breath. “I messed up a lot last year. Mistakes happen. It’s what you do next that matters. All this research? It’s going to help us beat him, Gadget.”
That brought the briefest smile to the girl’s face. After a long and stretching moment, Gadget glanced at Indira’s hand on her shoulder. “Okay. Too much touching. Thanks.”
Indira smiled as the girl closed the device and quietly returned back to the others. Gadget had admitted earlier that she liked machines a little more than people, but Indira couldn’t help noticing that it was the fact that she’d endangered other people that was bringing out the hardest-working version of the girl she’d seen so far. Gadget nestled underneath a blanket and drifted off to sleep. Indira whispered a promise the others couldn’t hear.
“Don’t worry. We’re going to fix it.”
She turned back to Phoenix. He was watching her closely. An unspoken agreement was reached. Both of them turned and started walking to Ordinary.
It’s a rare moment, dear reader, when someone can be right and wrong at the same time. Indira and Phoenix were leaving behind their loyal friends, to protect their loyal friends. Both of them felt the weight of guilt and honor, right and wrong. In such moments, we can only do our best to make sense of our own hearts.
They made an effort to approach unseen, but realized halfway to the gates that no one was actually standing along the watchtowers. The eyes of the town—and all its residents—were turned inward. Indira could hear cannons firing on the other side of the looming barricade. Another game, another round of torture for Ordinary’s citizens.
It was time to save them.
The Hero’s Journey was broken. Plot was on the verge of destruction. Fable could be next. Indira took her place at the base of the town’s outer wall and locked eyes with Phoenix again. “So my plan…”
“…is to use my dragon form,” he guessed. “I saw you looking at me when Cavern asked how we might scare Joey. And you asked about the highest point because you want Joey to fall. Falling always wakes people up. The roof is exposed, so we can attack from above. We’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t see us until the very last second.”
Indira was staring at him. He’d pretty much read her mind. She couldn’t help grinning.
“Right. Yeah. That’s the plan.”
He grinned back at her. “Let’s get going.”
The walls were high, but not high enough to keep out someone with a magic hammer. After locking arms with Phoenix, Indira took aim and launched the silver weapon in a measured arc. It spun upward and the magic snatched them both. She caught the hammer, feeling Phoenix’s weight against her, before ducking down along the ramparts.
“I’m not sure I’ve said it before,” Phoenix whispered. “But I love when you do that.”
Indira grinned at him as they crouched over by the wall, careful not to be seen. Their raised position offered a solid view of the rest of Ordinary. Indira saw a few buildings that stood higher than the outer wall, but none as high as the distant bell tower.
“There it is.”
Indira nodded. “Come on. We need a view of the front doors.”
The two of them circled until they were directly across from the building’s entrance. It was a gray stone structure with glass windows that reflected back the morning light. The streets surrounding them were silent and empty. She guessed that Joey had already come through this area.
“Time to lure him in,” Indira said. “I was thinking fire might do the trick. How’s your aim?”
Phoenix grinned. A slash of heat filled the air as he summoned a fireball. It spun to life between his palms. He took careful aim before shoving the flames forward. They spiraled out over the water, shooting like a rocket, and collided with the uppermost section of the bell tower in a burst of bright sparks. The two of them ducked back down as the flames began to spread.
“No way he misses that,” Indira whispered.
Every second felt like a minute, every minute like an hour. But eventually they heard the faint hum of an engine. She held her breath as Joey’s boat nosed into the intersection.
He was armored the same way he had been the day before, still gripping his lacrosse stick tightly. Ledge Woods hovered at the back of the boat like a shadow. Indira watched Joey point up at the visible flames. Indira’s heart leaped. Joey directed the boat toward the front of the building. The trap had been set. And he was taking the bait.
She smacked Phoenix’s shoulder excitedly as both Ledge and Joey disembarked, climbing up water-slick steps. They shouldered through the engraved double doors at the front of the bell
tower. Indira knew they’d head straight for the roof.
Timing was important. She knew Joey could easily teleport, or summon an elevator out of thin air. She hoped, however, that he’d take his own game seriously enough to follow the rules. The building was five stories high. Indira knew it would take him at least a few minutes to reach the roof if he was taking the stairs.
“Ready?” she asked, backing away to give Phoenix space.
He summoned his fire again. “Let’s go over the plan one more time. I transform into a dragon. You climb on my back. We use the cloud cover to hide our attack, and then we both dive at him from above.”
Indira nodded. “Our attack forces him to the edge. He falls. It wakes him up. We save the world.”
“Don’t you mean we save the world again?”
He smiled at her before the flame in his hand began to spread, consuming his entire body. Indira backed up a step as the transformation burst to life. Great gasps of smoke poured into the air, and she could only hope there were no windows in the stairwell Joey was using.
She knew the element of surprise would be crucial.
In that sudden brightness, Phoenix had taken his new form: a great, sprawling dragon with twisting reptilian limbs. She stood there admiring the burnished scales until he lowered his front shoulder in invitation. Grinning, she said, “Don’t mind if I do.”
Indira climbed his foreleg easily and settled into a comfortable nook behind his neck. Her stomach turned a little as she remembered what Brainstorm Underglass had told her about there being two competing romantic interests for the role in her next story. It was hard for her to imagine anyone she could like more than a boy who transformed into a dragon.
“Let’s go scare this kid back into the Real World.”
Indira tightened the grip of her knees, settled in low, and still nearly tumbled off sideways as Phoenix swept into the sky. His wings stretched out like a pair of smoke-black blades. It took great effort not to shout wildly with the sheer thrill of the wind rushing past her. Instead, Indira hovered against his neck, doing her best to focus on the watery streets below her.
Phoenix pressed higher into the sky, fighting gravity with each beat of his wings. She saw that their flight was getting attention. The citizens who had survived the game so far all stopped to stare. She wondered if perhaps they thought the Editors had finally sent someone to save them.
And she hoped she could save them.
The citizens weren’t the only people who noticed. Indira’s tutor device suddenly spun to life. There was a little message on the center of her screen that had just been delivered:
What are you doing? What’s the plan?
Indira guessed that was Gadget, hacking into her device. She pushed away the guilt. Now wasn’t the time for hesitation. She needed to trust her instincts. Indira and Phoenix had made this decision to keep their friends out of harm’s way. She could only imagine how it looked from outside the city to see Phoenix rising up above the clouds. With a swipe, she dismissed the message. She needed to stay focused and calm.
She tucked herself against Phoenix’s neck as he leveled off. Below them, the bell tower looked like a giant fist raised to the sky. She saw that it was a narrow building with a roof that connected the doorway and the part they’d set aflame. Phoenix circled slowly, waiting for signs of movement, and Indira had to wipe away the tears that formed in those cold, sweeping winds.
Several seconds passed. She was nearly shivering, her hands growing colder.
And then movement.
Indira and Phoenix saw it at the same time. She tapped the side of his neck. The very second her hands resettled in their grips, the great dragon began a hurtling dive. Indira saw the two figures edging out onto the roof. Naturally, Joey was in the lead. Ledge followed. Neither of them saw the great beast approaching from above. She realized Joey would not look up. Why would someone with his powers ever look up?
Indira pressed into Phoenix’s neck and whispered the command. “Now!”
Phoenix’s wings swept wide. The sudden gust finally got Joey’s attention. He looked up at the exact moment Indira had hoped he would. Phoenix opened his terrifying dragon jaws and loosed an earth-shattering roar. The sound thundered. Indira’s heart leaped as she saw Joey’s reaction. It was going to work. The rogue Author stumbled back, eyes wide with fear. Indira knew he was only a few paces from the edge of the building. Just a small, hip-high barrier. It couldn’t have been more perfect.
“Fire!” Indira commanded.
Phoenix took in a breath; then fire raced out in bright streaks toward an already startled Joey. Indira knew they needed that first startled reaction to become fear, and they needed that fear to drive through Joey deep enough to wake him from his slumber in the Real World.
Ledge shouted something, but too late. The burst of flames forced Joey against the hip-high wall. His backpedal was fast enough and frightful enough to send him toppling over the edge. Indira roared her triumph at the final look on his face.
Eyes wide with fear, Joey tumbled out of sight.
Phoenix swept overhead.
Indira whipped her head around to get a look. There were strange ripples in the air and near the water. She didn’t see a splash, though. “It worked!” she shouted. “He woke up!”
If he hadn’t, she knew he would have hit the water for sure. Indira was still shouting triumphantly as Phoenix circled back around for another look. She couldn’t believe it had worked. She was about to shout a command for Phoenix to land when something heavy fell on her shoulder. The grip tightened.
“I’ve always wanted a dragon!”
She spun instinctively, but Joey was faster. He used her own momentum to give her a shove. The force of the blow sent her sprawling off Phoenix’s back. Her hands grasped desperately at scales and missed. She was falling.
The breathless, pit-in-the-stomach feeling was not new to her. She’d experienced a drop just like it during her auditions. And again when she’d fallen over the ledge with Brainstorm Ketty. Only this time it wasn’t part of the plan.
Indira screamed as the ground swallowed her whole.
A sequence of chaotic thoughts flashed through Indira’s brain.
Joey survived.
And now he has Phoenix.
Oh, and I’m about to drown.
The third thought pulsed loudest. Her limbs responded. She clawed upward, fighting toward the surface. Her lungs felt like they were on the verge of bursting.
She came gasping out, legs kicking to keep her afloat. Her eyes darted to the sky. Phoenix’s form was sweeping through the clouds. She saw him spiraling and lashing his neck and guessed he was doing his best to resist Joey. It wouldn’t last long. The Author had proven his ability to bend the rest of the world to his will. He’d overpower Phoenix soon enough.
There was a shout. Indira braced herself for a blow until she saw the source. Across the canal from her, one of the townspeople was calling to her. It was the baker who had handed Indira a pastry that first morning. “He’s coming back! Get moving! Take cover!”
His warning shocked her back to life. Indira looked up and saw that the baker was right. Phoenix was circling around. He let out a great roar, and Indira imagined the fury he must have felt at being forced to follow Joey’s commands.
Her mind raced. She had to escape somehow. “The boat!”
She’d landed in the canal on the backside of the building. There was an abandoned boat on the other side by the front steps. Kicking her legs in the water, she turned. Her eyes landed on a back corner of the building. There was a door there. She started swimming.
Another roar sounded in the sky. She looked up in time to see Phoenix pulling out of a dive. “Keep fighting!” she whispered. “Keep fighting him, Phoenix.”
Indira climbed up the slick steps and lowered her shoulder. The bell tower’s bo
ttom floor looked like a church. There were rows for seating. Great stained-glass windows brightened the path ahead of her. She wasted no time as she darted across the main room and out through a pair of double doors.
She was trying to get her bearings when a location pinged in her second vision. Did Gadget know what had happened? Was this her escape route? Indira didn’t have any other options. She leaped into the back of the waiting boat and grabbed the controller.
The location pinged again. Indira hoped her friend was smart enough to lead her on an escape route. She punched the same button she’d seen Phoenix use, and the boat jolted forward. At least the location wasn’t far. One more turn and then down a long straightaway.
Another shout caught her attention. Indira whipped around in time to see a body arching out over the water. Angling toward her. In all the chaos, she’d forgotten about Ledge.
His upper body collided forcefully with the back of the boat. The whole thing shook. Indira barely kept her footing, punching the accelerator again as he dug his claws into the ship’s hull. The boat kept picking up speed, but Ledge clung on desperately. The back half of his body dragged through the water. Indira reached for her hammer. Ledge shouted something as she turned and attempted an awkward one-handed swing.
He slid his hand to the right along the railing, dodging. Overhead, Phoenix had swept lower. She could tell Joey was winning that battle. Indira took another distracted swing with her hammer, but Ledge dodged again. This time the movement cost him. His right claw slipped a little and he nearly went under. She was about to swing a third time and finish him off when she looked up. Her boat was heading straight for a wall.
She shoved her hammer into her belt and dove for the controller. A quick pull on the joystick brought the boat into a hairpin turn. It still slammed into the side of the nearest building, shaking a little before darting forward again.
Indira glanced back. Ledge was barely hanging on now. She found herself on a final straightaway. Gadget’s pinged location was just a few hundred paces in the distance.
Escaping Ordinary Page 16
