by Logan Byrne
We walked into one of the open rooms, where there were tables set out, which was a different change of pace. The hackers were scattered one per table, Peter waving and smiling at us as we walked inside.
“Please join your hackers so we can get started. We’ll be going around with the cards for you to select from. Both you and your partner will each choose five cards randomly. I know that not all of you will earn five, but you’ll use five for this purpose. Good luck,” Christian said, before leaving the room.
Liam and I walked over to Peter and sat in the two chairs across from him. He had an air of excitement and thrill that I hadn’t seen since, well, the first time I met him.
“Hey guys, how have you been?” Peter asked.
“We’ve been doing well. Just trying to get through it all with a positive outlook, I guess,” I said.
“That’s how you should always get through life. I know we’re going to do great today. I’ll definitely make sure your strategy is perfect so that you both pass your test later,” Peter said.
“Are you going to be part of it?” Liam asked.
“Oh, no, they don’t let us be a part of the actual phase test later. I think they said it wouldn’t be fair and that the contestants have to do it themselves. Besides, you won’t need my help. I’ll make sure you guys get through it before you even have to get there,” Peter said.
“Please choose five cards each,” two guards said, as they stood in front of Liam and I.
Each guard had twenty cards for us to choose from, spanned out like a fan, the tops of the metallic cards shimmering in the light. I grasped the first card with my right thumb and index finger, feeling how cool it was to the touch, before I pulled it out, keeping it in my hand instead of looking to see what it was.
I was nervous picking the cards, knowing that what I got could determine if I passed later or not. What if all of my cards were horrible? What if that was just a precursor to what my choices in the competition would be like? I couldn’t afford that.
I picked out four more cards, picking them from random, or what I thought were random, spots. There was no rhyme or reason to my choices, but I tried to stay confident. Liam finished just seconds before me. The guards moved on, going to some people at the front of the room to get their stacks replenished before moving on to the next competitors.
“Well, what’d you guys get?” Peter asked.
I set my cards on the table, flipping them all over, Liam doing the same. I wasn’t sure what to make of them, my nerves and excitement getting the better of me, before I realized that I had no idea what good cards even looked like. I had never had hands-on experience with the cards before, and I didn’t have some kind of list of them to study.
I had a life card, an invisibility card, a carbine rifle card, a terraform card, and last, but not least, a feast card, which had a picture of food and water on it. Liam had a health card, a duplication card, a blaster pistol card, a tracker card, and a faze card.
“You guys actually got some decent cards. I don’t think I’m going to have too much of a problem helping you with a strategy,” Peter said.
“What do they do?” I asked, looking at some that weren’t fully self-explanatory.
“Well, your life card will bring you back to life, if you use it before you’re about to die. It’s pretty overpowered, if you ask me. Your feast card will present you with, as you guessed, a feast. You two can share it, which is nice. I’d make good use of that. As for Liam, the health card will patch you up, topping up your health meter. Your duplication card will make a dozen copies of you, which is great for confusing your opponents. The tracker card will let you see the locations of everyone on the map, and the faze card lets you faze through walls or buildings. You can basically go through any solid object like a ghost,” Peter said.
“Wow, we really did make out pretty well, huh?” Liam asked.
“But how do we use these strategically? They all seem kind of random, don’t they?” I asked.
“It might look that way, but there are a lot of things you could do. You could stack the invisibility and duplication cards together, making a group of invisible copies of yourself that could wreak havoc on everyone else. That or they could scout the area for you, keeping you both safe,” Peter said.
“We can use each other’s cards? I thought we could only use our own,” I said.
“Nope, you can use any cards. If you wanted to, you could even use a different team’s cards, provided you actually stole the cards from them. Plus, you get to find cards that I’ll try to scan for and guide you to. They’re scattered around the map,” Peter said.
“I knew about that last part, but I had no clue we could borrow each other’s cards. That will really be a game-changer,” I said, looking at Liam.
“What else would be a good stack, as you called it?” Liam asked.
“Well, the duplication and terraform cards would be rather useful. All of your copies will have whatever other powers you have, be it invisibility, terraform, or anything else you may find. Having thirteen bodies flinging rocks at people would definitely be an advantage,” Peter said.
“Man, we really do have a good shot, huh?” Liam asked, looking at me.
“Yeah, but we still need to get through the strategy phase. It isn’t over until that’s done. Other teams might have good cards as well,” I said.
“Now that you’ve had some time to go over your cards,” Quinn said, from the front of the room, “I want to show you all what you’re fighting for, or rather what you’re searching for. These, my dear competitors, are what the talismans look like.”
Quinn held up two halves of a shimmering silver statue-like thing, the split between the two pieces jagged, though they fit perfectly together. Each side looked like an intricate, ornate snail shell, the curls and curves of the talismans more beautiful than anything I had seen before. I wanted it, and not only because of the competition.
“They’re fairly unassuming on their own, each half does nothing special, or anything at all, actually. It won’t glow or give you help, and it won’t miss you if someone else steals it. Its power only comes when it’s reunited with its other half, the seal cemented, and the person whose hand is on each piece is declared a winner, whether or not the person on the other end is your partner or not. The talismans don’t discriminate,” Quinn said.
“What happens exactly when the two halves are joined?” Greg asked.
“Everything freezes. Time itself inside of WorldNet ceases to even exist as a concept, at least for the shortest moment. A wave of energy will blow through, destroying the entire arena space, before it spits you all out, the grid disconnecting as you’re awoken from your WorldNet slumber. You will then be taken to the labor camp unless you’ve won, in which case you’ll be grouped with the other person, hopefully for you your partner, before being taken to Chet so that he can interview you, allowing you to announce your wish to the world,” Quinn said.
“We have to pick it right then?” Angelica asked.
“Yes, so you better think about what you want ahead of time. Once you’ve chosen your wish, and after doing some more media with Chet, you’ll be reunited with your families backstage, and you’ll get to go home,” Quinn said.
I imagined my mother and Saraia standing backstage, running into my arms as we all cried, so happy and filled with joy that I had made it, that we’d get a better life and that the competition was behind us. This experience would seem like a distant nightmare in the future, and I’d never have to worry about it again.
I looked back down at my cards, our cards, as Quinn kept talking, fielding questions from curious competitors. I reached down, touching my own cards, feeling the brushed metal exteriors before my fingers glided along the dark strip on the side of the cards. It was weird to think that my entire competition might be dependent on these simple metal cards.
•••
“I want you all to remember what you did with your hackers earlier. I hope and trust tha
t you took your time and used it wisely, coming up with combinations for the strategy phase that will ensure you earn yourself and your partner a card. Now, I’m sure most of you are wondering how this will all go down. You’ll sit in front of these computers, and a skimmer will be affixed to the table in front of you. You’ll face another team, and they’ll have their own computer as well, so you can use your strategies against one another. Even if you lose your bout, you won’t necessarily miss out on earning a card. The points you earn during your duel will determine your card-earning ability. Now, if you’d go pick an area, we’ll get started,” Quinn said.
Liam and I walked to a computer on the end before taking out our cards, spreading them along the table as we started to put some that we might use together. I knew our strategy would depend on what our opponents did, and I didn’t exactly want to go first. You were always better off on the defensive.
“Now, on your computer screens you’ll see three squares. One of the squares has an x behind it. If you get the x, you get to choose whether you’d like to attack or defend. Choose wisely, as you’ll be stuck with that the entire time. You will only get your ten cards to use, no more, and each card can be used once. They won’t recharge here like they will in the competition. You’ll take turns, getting a chance to go back and forth. You’ll get three minutes for each turn. If you fail to swipe your cards and lock in your selection or combination before time runs out, you’ll lose that turn. Good luck, everyone,” Quinn said.
The three squares showed up on our screen, saying that the other team got to choose first. I nervously waited for it to refresh, wondering if we were going to be out before it even started, before the square they picked turned around.
“Yes, they didn’t get it,” I whispered.
“Which one do you like?” Liam asked.
The other team had picked the middle square, leaving one each to the right and left of theirs. Something kept calling me to the left square, even though my eyes looked to the right. I didn’t know why, but I tapped left, without even consulting Liam.
“You got it!” Liam exclaimed, as the x showed up.
A choice came up on screen asking if we’d like to attack or defend. I knew I wanted to defend, but had no idea what Liam was thinking. Did he have a strategy already laid out?
“I think we should defend,” Liam said.
“Me too! I’m so glad you said that,” I said, and he clicked on defend.
The timer started for the other team, counting down for us, as we patiently awaited their move. Time seemed to move slower as the seconds ticked away, hitting two minutes, before finally reaching one. It wasn’t until there were twenty seconds left that they locked in their decision, and it showed up on our screen.
“They did two blaster cards,” Liam said.
Our health went down, though not by a massive amount, as the blasters weren’t too powerful to begin with. We had no idea who we were facing, though I was fairly sure it must’ve been one of the groups who really stood no chance of winning. Either that or they were playing it a little safe.
“What do you want to do?” I asked, as our timer started counting down.
“Well, we could go all out and do a massive combo, like the duplication and terraform. It’s risky, but if they don’t have any good countermeasures, we could win this before it’s even truly started,” Liam said.
I was unsure, knowing what he said had a point, but also that using arguably our two strongest cards together in the first round could prove disastrous for us if they had a good counter and were just baiting us with the blasters. As he looked at me, though, waiting for my reply, I looked into his eyes, knowing that I trusted him and his instinct, even if it was a risk.
“I trust you. If you think that’s best, then we’ll do that,” I said, as the two-minute mark passed.
“Well, here goes nothing,” Liam said.
He picked up the duplication card, swiping it, and the icon showed up on the screen. He picked up the terraform card and swiped it too, and that icon appeared to the right of the duplication card, the green confirm button blinking as our timer ran down.
“Ready?” Liam asked.
“Yes,” I said, nodding.
He tapped the confirm button, and the timer starting anew, saying it was our opponent’s turn. I kept my fingers crossed in my lap, staring at the screen, unable to look away, blinking rarely so that I wouldn’t miss anything if it popped up.
Their response came through: a health card and a death symbol, showing that one of the team members had perished from our attack.
“One down, one to go,” Liam said.
We were on the cusp of winning, but we still had to drive through a final attack that would be enough to break through our opponent’s revamped health that had been saved with the card. We looked at our selection, trying to find the best ones to use.
“I have a carbine rifle card and you have a blaster pistol card. Those combined should be enough to take him down. He doesn’t even have full health,” I said, pointing to his health on the screen.
“If it doesn’t work, though, I don’t think we have anything else to attack with. It will be all defensive,” Liam said.
“Yeah, but either way, these are our only attack cards. We might as well use them now instead of messing around and risking another attack,” I said.
“True. Okay, we’ll do it,” Liam said.
He picked up our cards, swiping them one at a time, the icons coming up on the screen. With a minute left on our timer he pressed confirm, our choice was sent out, and a message popped up on our screen.
“We won,” Liam said, smiling, as he grabbed my hand and squeezed it as it laid on the table.
I looked down at his hand holding mine, before looking up at him. He pulled his hand quickly away, looking the slightest bit embarrassed. I wasn’t mad at him for doing that, quite the opposite, actually, but before I could say anything, we were interrupted.
“Congratulations, you two. You’re the first to finish your match. As you’ve won your bout, you’ll each earn a card for the competition. Now, if you’d follow the guard here, we’ll take you over to the waiting area. The rest of the teams will be coming as they finish,” Quinn said, smiling.
•••
“We have a special treat for all of you,” Christian said, later in the evening before dinner. “As all of you know, when you first got here we said that if you all did well and behaved yourselves that we might be able to set it up so you can talk to your families. Well, we came through on that, and tonight, right now, actually, you’ll each get a few minutes to talk to your families.”
I smiled from ear to ear; butterflies filled my empty stomach, I was so happy I almost wanted to cry. I was going to talk to my mother and Saraia, hear their voices, see their faces, maybe for the last time in a while. I had honestly forgotten all about our opportunity to see them, and now that I knew I was going to see them, it couldn’t come soon enough.
“We have six booths available in our conference room, which is where we do our telecommunications. You will go in and receive five minutes, at which point you will have to leave and allow the next person to go in and receive their five minutes. Please don’t try to be greedy. Your families were notified of this, and are waiting for you to call, so don’t worry that nobody will be there to pick up. Now, if you all are ready, we would like to begin,” Christian said.
We all hopped up faster than we ever had before to be taken somewhere in this building. What was I going to ask them? Would we just talk like normal? I had so much to tell them, but I only had five minutes, and I couldn’t do all of the talking. I had to give them a chance. I was sure Saraia had something happen at school that she was just dying to tell me. That usually happened every couple of days.
Those of us not in the front of the line had to wait outside the door, making a line down the hallway, as the first six people went in. There were no clocks nearby, so the five-minute wait seemed unbearable, as I didn’t even
know when I’d get to go in. There were seven people ahead of me anyway, making the wait all the more frustrating.
I patiently waited, my arms crossed, before some of the original people came out, though not all at once, and a new person was sent in as someone came out. Our line inched forward, me getting one spot closer to the door, a smile on my face each time it opened and someone came out to go wait with the others who’d already finished before we went to dinner.
After what seemed like an eternity, I was next in line, the man in front of me being sent in as Jamie came out, a smile on her face, and happily joined the rest of the finished competitors.
“Come on,” I mumbled softly, tapping my foot on the floor, my back against the wall.
Just as I looked down, the door opened, and a sad-looking girl walked out. I hopped off of the wall and went inside, squeezing by her as I saw the empty booth waiting for me.
I closed the door behind me, the booth just big enough for me to comfortably stand in, though I couldn’t extend my arms outwards. I liked the privacy they gave us, not having to hear other people or share anything I might want to say, especially if it was about the other people there.
“Please scan your band for access,” the computer screen said.
I scanned my purple band, and my name popped up on screen, before it started dialing, ringing three times, each time making me a little more nervous. Then my mother and sister popped up on screen, their faces lighting up as they saw me, butterflies filling my stomach and causing my eyes to well up just a little.
“Alexia!” Saraia yelled.
“I miss you guys so much,” I said, smiling from ear to ear.
“Oh baby, it’s so good to see your face and hear your voice. How are you? Are you okay there?” my mother asked.
“I’m doing well. It’s a lot different than I expected,” I said.
“Are there any cute boys?” Saraia asked.
“Saraia, now what did we talk about earlier?” my mother asked, looking down at her.
“It’s okay, mom,” I said, laughing.
