by Ramy Vance
Alex and Gill were given brake and accelerator duty. They were both down at the bottom of the ATV, shoved together tighter than Alex liked. As they worked the two pedals, their hands occasionally brushed.
Gill didn’t seem to notice. Alex tried not to notice Gill not noticing.
Jim sat on a milk crate in front of the passenger seat, working the clutch. For some reason, yeti ATVs required two yetis to operate them, possibly because they were so large and demanding.
Whenever Brath shouted, “Shifting,” Jim would kick down on the clutch so that Jollies, who was zipping around in the ATV, could slam against the gear shifter and move it to the appropriate gear.
Brath was taking care of the steering. He was the oldest of the team members. Alex found this extremely surprising because Brath seemed like the least mature of the group. But as the oldest, he had been the only one who knew how to drive.
The ATV bumped up and down as Brath steered over a large rock. “How did you ever get a chance to drive?” Alex asked from the bottom of the ATV. “Do gnomes even have cars?”
Brath struggled with the wheel as he tried to rein in the beastly ATV. “I mean, they’re close enough to human cars,” Brath explained. “They’re kinda slower and clunkier, kinda like your human’s steampunk nonsense. Except ours actually work well. Mostly dwarfish style. You know, similar heights.”
“You probably should have taken more driving lessons.”
Brath pulled hard to the right, swinging the ATV around the canyon’s corner. “I don’t see anyone else with anything close to driving experience!” Brath shouted as his face went red. “Anyone who has that is more than welcome to get up here and start steering.”
Alex and Gill snickered from the bottom of the ATV as Brath continued to mutter under his breath about how underappreciated he was. “So, why are we doing all of this, Gill?” Brath shouted.
The ATV shuddered as Brath tried to guide it toward the canyon’s walls, where the slope was low enough for him to start climbing. “We are doing this as part of a diversion,” Gill explained. “We need to get the soldiers out of the facility so we can access the dragons.”
Jim, who was staring out the window, jumped as Brath shouted, “Shift! Then speed up!”
Once the team had changed gears, Jim asked, “How does becoming an A/V team help us to get everyone out of the facility?”
The ATV started to climb the canyon. It instantly began losing speed, its wheels churning through the gravel as Alex panicked and hit her pedal, causing the ATV to speed up. Brath shouted, “Clutch,” and Jim slammed down on the clutch while Jollies screeched, “Shift!”
They continued on in this way, the ATV a collection of shouting voices: Brath trying to direct what action needed to be fulfilled, Alex trying to stifle her nervous giggles, and Jollies cursing under her breath in Pixie.
As they climbed the mountain, Gill went further into the plan. They were going to draw out the soldiers with a ploy. Over in the canyon, where they had battled the trolls, there was plenty of material to work with.
A second attack by the trolls would light a fire under the asses of the soldiers at the facility. They wouldn’t be able to ignore it. It wasn’t as if the soldiers were going to help Roy and Toppinir since the facilities’ resources were already low.
Alex thought the idea sounded far-fetched and hard to believe. Why not just start a fire in the facility? When Alex pressed Gill on the details, he merely shrugged and said, “Outside the facility is better. We have more control and a longer window of time to work in.”
So, Alex accepted that it was going to be out of her control. The more she thought about it, though, the more she was all right with it. She’d been calling most of the shots since they left on their mission, but she knew her team was capable.
Why not find out their strengths?
After another twenty minutes of fighting with the ATV (and each other), Team Boundless arrived at the bloodstained battlefield. There hadn’t been enough time for the trolls and vrosks to start rotting. Still, Alex was taken aback by the scene. When they were fighting, she had been in the frenzy of battle, and she hadn’t really thought much about what she had done. There hadn’t been time, but now there was.
The canyon was quiet, the only sound a breeze rustling through. This felt like a solemn moment, and Alex tried to take it all in. It was different than in Middang3ard; after the battles in VR, players had cracked jokes, and there had been an air of levity. Nothing like this.
They weren’t standing in the middle of a virtual battleground. This was a field of death. Vultures were already starting to descend on their oddly winged brethren, lying dead on the floor of the canyon.
Jim whistled. “Man, those dragons can really tear things up.”
Alex started heading toward the field to get a better look at the carnage the dragonriders had left in their wake. “Yeah, that’s an understatement,” she replied. “Seriously, those beasts are powerful. Extremely powerful.”
A thought crossed Alex’s mind, and she turned back to face the other dragonriders. “Hey, if dragons are this powerful, what the hell does the Dark One have up his sleeve that’s causing so much trouble for the rest of the dragonriders?”
Jollies was flying back and forth, looking at all the bodies. “That’s a good question,” she answered. “As far as I know, dragons are the be-all and end-all of creatures. The wisest, the strongest…you know, pretty much the top of the line.”
“Yeah, back in VR, dragons were mostly end-game. Nothing you took lightly,” Alex agreed. “But if you could take down a dragon, you could take down anything. What is this guy using that could take down dragons?”
Gill was already farther down the canyon, walking among the bodies. Jim was with him and they were talking quietly, Gill pointing to places where he wanted Jim to set up a camera.
Brath came up behind Alex and stood next to her. He didn’t say anything, but Alex could see that he was watching Gill and Jim closely. She thought it might be jealousy since she’d noticed that Jim and Gill seemed to get along very well. Brath probably felt threatened. Alex leaned over to Brath and nudged him.
Brath looked up at Alex, annoyed. “What?” he growled.
“Jealous much?”
“What? Of what?”
Alex tilted her head in the direction of Gill and Jim. “You know you can go over there and help them.”
Brath scoffed loudly and folded his arms. “If Gill wanted my help, he would have asked for it instead of asking Jim.”
“Or maybe he just assumed you knew he’d like your help. You two already know each other. He’s probably just trying to help Jim feel like he’s part of the team. He hasn’t known us as long as we’ve known each other.”
Brath threw his hands in the air as he walked off. “I don’t need any advice,” he shouted.
Alex noticed that Brath was heading in Gill and Jim’s direction. The gnome had gotten the point. Now she was free to wonder about the vast complexities of the universe, especially the part where she was unlucky enough to have a crush on two guys who were becoming fast friends.
The three boys worked on setting up the cameras as Jollies and Alex stayed farther back in the canyon, keeping watch for any troll patrols or other dragonriders. Jollies sat on Alex’s shoulder as usual, chattering nearly too fast for Alex to understand.
Sometimes Jollies got like that. It meant she was either excited or nervous, and at the moment, it seemed like too much excitement. She was curious to know how the plan was going to work out. Alex, on the other hand, was trying to keep her pessimism to herself.
Finally, the boys finished placing the cameras. Alex and Jollies came over to check out their work. Altogether, there were ten cameras placed around the circumference of the battlefield. In addition, there were also ten cameras on the ground, facing up at the sky.
Alex pointed at one of the cameras looking skyward. “Okay, so you’re going to have to explain exactly what you’re doing,” she said. “B
ecause it looks like a really weird photography project.”
Gill slid up his visor and sat down on a rock as he scrolled through menus, occasionally looking at his dragon anchor. “I’m creating a digital construction,” Gill explained. “Basically, a virtual reality simulation, or more like a computer-generated image—the kind that humans use for their movies. The sky acts as the green screen. The bodies are assets.”
“You’re making a movie?”
“A movie of our trolls’ reinforcements. Then I’m going to hack into the security systems at the facility and replace their feed with the one that I made.”
Gill pointed to the canyon, and Alex noticed that there were cameras sporadically placed that were used for the facility’s security. “Wait,” Alex asked. “Why didn’t the facility send reinforcements when we were being attacked?”
“Because they’re understaffed. Also, the cameras have a delay, which we can use to our advantage. We’ll head back after I upload the video. By the time we get back, they should be sending out their reinforcements.”
Jim gave Gill a high five and said, “Dude, that’s sick. Using their own tech against them.”
Brath chimed in, speaking a little too loudly and eagerly. “Yeah, that’s amazing, Gill.”
All of the riders turned and looked at Brath, surprised by something other than smugness or carefully cultivated disinterest. Brath blushed under their gaze. “I mean, it is,” he muttered. “You’re always coming up with cool stuff. Just thought you should know.”
Gill smiled as if he had known all along about Brath’s jealousy over his new friendship with Jim. “Thanks, Brath,” he said. “I always appreciate your support.”
Brath huffed and puffed loudly as he folded his arms and turned. “You don’t have to go making it all weird,” he mumbled.
Team Boundless waited while Gill worked on constructing the computer-generated troll horde, which took nearly twenty minutes. The team made conversation during that time, Alex occasionally paying attention when anyone other than Jim spoke. But mostly she zoned out.
Finally, Gill flipped his visor down and stood. “All right. Just sent it through. Let’s get out of here and head back.”
Chapter Two
Team Boundless made their way back to the military facility. They were still having a hard time working together to operate the ATV, but after some readjusting, they found a better system. Alex was still at the bottom of the ATV, but Gill and Jim had switched places.
Jollies wasn’t working the shift anymore; that was Brath’s job. Instead, she was a lookout, watching to make sure they didn’t come across any of the riders from the facility. Being spotted would be the end of their plan. That was what Gill said, anyway, when Jollies pouted about having her position snagged.
Alex was glad Gill had stepped in and said something before she did. She’d noticed that Jollies could go from excited to sullen in a split second. The pixie’s temperament was not something to take lightly.
As they made their way through the canyon, focusing on staying at the top so they could keep an eye on what was going on beneath them, Alex concentrated on ignoring Jim. She had only just got out of this same situation with Gill. There wasn’t anything more uncomfortable than being shoved as close as possible to a boy she liked.
Jim being Jim made it a thousand times worse. He wasn’t as kind or brooding as Gill (which, Alex admitted, was a very interesting combination). Jim was normal and human.
The ATV bounced upward and Brath shouted, “Brakes!”
Jim leaned forward and pressed down on the brakes as Alex took her hand off the accelerator. The ATV jerked forward as it slowed down, and Brath shifted the gears. “I don’t ever want to drive like this again,” Jim said, laughing.
The ATV was slowing too much, so Alex lightly pressed down on her pedal. “Yeah, seriously, this is the most stressed out I’ve ever been in a car,” she agreed. “Never would have thought yetis being so huge would annoy me so much.”
The ATV jiggled and jerked again, and Brath started shouting out commands again. Alex was only half-listening when she felt Brath’s foot kick her shoulder for not pressing the pedal hard enough. “Hey, watch it!” Alex shouted at Brath before turning back to Jim.
Jim laughed as he moved around, trying to get comfortable, which caused him to practically lean against Alex, who held her breath as her heart raced.
Jim reached up and tugged on Brath’s pantleg. “Hey, Brath! How long did you live with your parents?” he asked.
Brath warily looked down at Jim for a second. “That’s kinda a personal question. Why are you trying to get to know me all of a sudden?” he asked.
“It’s just a question. I’m not trying to build a profile on you or anything. Just getting to know the team.”
Brath sighed as he turned his attention back to the road. “I moved out when I was six,” he said. “And I was a late one. My mom and dad said that Brorn, my sister, moved out when she was three. Psh. I would have too, if I could. Mom and Dad are so annoying.”
Alex could hardly wrap her head around what Brath had just said. She couldn’t imagine leaving home as a baby. Even now, it wasn’t like she had put a lot of thought into moving out. She wasn’t planning on living with her folks forever, but there just didn’t seem to be a rush to be gone.
That was probably why Alex was so surprised at becoming a dragonrider. In some ways, she had always assumed she was going to be at home. The outside world hadn’t seemed to be an adventure she was going to have. Turned out, though, she was dead wrong.
Brath’s voice broke over the grinding of gears. “Gill, you gotta pop the clutch!” he shouted. “Pop the damn thing!”
Gill took a moment to respond. “Popping the clutch is the opposite of how you are supposed to change gears. That’s why the ATV keeps surging. You have to be restrained, Brath.”
Alex wondered if Jim knew how she felt about Gill. Brath obviously did. And so did Jollies. In all honesty, Gill probably knew as well. It was an uncomfortable feeling, as if Alex’s emotions were on display for the entire team to see.
It didn’t really matter, though, not in the long run. All Alex had to do was keep it from getting in the way of the mission. Even if internally, she felt like she was in a very bad nineties sitcom, that didn’t mean she had to act like it. Sure, she was a teenager, but she knew she could behave maturely.
That was when Alex decided she wasn’t going to worry about choosing anyone. Nothing was ever that simple. In every book she’d ever read, the hero would work themselves into a frenzy, trying to choose the love of their life.
Things were always messy in love triangles, at least in stories. Alex had never been in a real one before. She’d never had a crush on anyone, even. But she felt like she could manage the situation without it devolving into meme-level stupidity. Whatever happened, happened. It was that simple.
Alex felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her chest, and she breathed easily for the first time since she’d been at the bottom of the ATV with one of the boys she liked. This was doable. Besides, there was the whole Dark One and end-of-the-world thing to focus on.
Jollies squealed and broke into Alex’s train of thought. The pixie was zooming back and forth in the ATV’s cockpit. “There they are, there they are!” she chirped, pointing toward the canyon’s edge. “We gotta check it out.”
Barth gave Jollies a confused look. “How do you know they’re down there?” he asked. “They’d be down over the ridge.”
Jollies flashed bright red for a second before mellowing out. “It’s kinda like a sixth sense,” she explained. “I can pick up on people’s emotions, especially strong ones. When a lot of people are feeling similar things, it’s like a light bulb going on in my head.”
Jollies pointed toward the canyon and said, “There’s a lot of anxiety making its way through the canyon. They’re heading for the battlefield.”
Gill stared out his window, trying to get a glance at what might be happe
ning down in the canyon. When he couldn’t see anything, he pulled up his HUD visor and looked through the cameras he had placed there. “They’ve still got a ways to go.”
Alex shouted from the bottom of the ATV, “How long, do you think?”
“Another twenty minutes to get there. Ten to figure out what’s going on. Then another twenty for them to get back.”
“Sweet, so we’ve got like an hour?”
“Not sweet. It’s going to take us some time to get the dragons ready. An hour is pushing it. You’ve never done maintenance before, have you? It’s time-consuming.”
Alex pushed down hard on the accelerator. “Then we’re going to need as much time as we can get!”
The ATV sped along the canyon, the team finally starting to get a good flow among themselves of switching gears and maintaining speed. Everyone was silent, worrying about their time constraints.
Alex wasn’t worried, though. She was trying to figure out ways they could reduce wasted time. “Hey, Gill!” she shouted. “Can you hack into their equipment system?”
Gill pulled up his visor again and started scrolling. “Of course. What do you need to know?”
“Start prepping their dragon stables. Link everyone up so they can start going through their options. That way, we won’t be sitting around trying to figure out what equipment we want to use. We can just take care of the dragons and get the hell out.”
Gill flashed Alex a thumbs-up and got to work. It wasn’t long before he had patched everyone into the stable’s system. Now the team was quiet because they were going over their options, which was a better use of their time than worrying.
Alex kept a constant speed so the rest of the team didn’t have to stress about their roles. Brath was the only one who had to focus, but as he had said, he didn’t need to look at the equipment options. Furi hated just about everything and only used fire anyway.
Alex still wasn’t sure how far Chine’s telepathy stretched, but she figured it wouldn’t hurt to try. She reached out to Chine, thinking, Hey, if you can hear me, could you meet us outside? We kinda did something stupid and need to get going as soon as possible.
