Grid Seekers (Grid Seekers Book One)

by Logan Byrne

  “I don’t think the same group has both halves,” I said, planting the seed in their heads.

  “Yeah, I don’t think so either now,” James said.

  That was the only quip I needed to hear to know our half was still safe, James none the wiser as they all shrugged it off, going about their business, not bringing it up again. I guessed we were safe…for now.

  •••

  I woke up the next morning, my back aching a little from the hard wooden floor. Liam and I were sleeping beside one another. I looked around the room, the little bits of coal from our fire completely cold, seeing nobody else in the shack.

  I sat up, rubbing my eyes as I looked around, trying to figure out where the four older people went; there was nowhere for them to hide in here. Were they just wanting to stay for the night, leaving before we woke so they wouldn’t bother us? I thought for sure they’d still be here, since they all looked positively exhausted last night.

  “Liam,” I said, nudging him.

  “Huh?” he mumbled.

  “They’re gone,” I said.

  He sat up, slowly opening his eyes, yawning and stretching.

  “Where’d they go?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I just woke up. They’re just gone,” I said.

  “What about the talisman?” he asked in a softer tone.

  I perked up, having forgotten all about it in the corner, before I quickly got up to check. James saw it yesterday, I knew it, and instead of just pointing it out to everyone last night and causing a panic, he probably snuck it away so that he could get out of here. Who wouldn’t want to get out if they could, no matter their age or how good they thought they were at all of this? It was the perfect plan.

  I moved the wooden crate, the black freckled talisman looking up at me, still safe and secure where I had left it. I felt the stress ooze off of my body, my heart rate starting to go back down, and I took a deep breath, Liam looking at me like I was crazy.

  “Did you think they took it or something?” Liam asked.

  “Yeah, I could’ve sworn that I saw James eyeing it last night when he was messing around over here. It would’ve been easy for him to take it, especially this morning when we were dead asleep,” I said.

  “Yeah, but there were four of them, and only one half of the talisman. That’s just too risky if you ask me. I think you’re just paranoid because you have it,” Liam said.

  I looked out the gap between the boards, seeing nobody around, though never really knowing if someone, or something, was lying in wait. The four of them snuck up on us last night, after all. The rainforest was thick with flora, the trees scaling almost as high as some buildings back home, vines connecting them as monkeys and insects traveled them like roads. After that attack in the lagoon, I wasn’t too keen on taking things lightly, especially in this ecosystem.

  “I have to go to the bathroom,” I said, the talisman tucked back safely.

  “Then go,” he said.

  “I’m scared. What if someone is out there?” I asked.

  “Here,” he said, unclasping his pouch.

  He handed me two cards, the radar card and the camouflage card. I looked at him, confused, rubbing the cards together in my hand, the metal slightly warm from being pressed against his body.

  “Use the radar card now to see if anyone else is around, and use the camouflage card when you’re outside so you aren’t seen,” he said, closing his eyes again.

  I put the camouflage card in the hand my skimmer was in, keeping it on the ready, before putting the radar card on the edge of the skimmer strip.

  “Modify,” I said, swiping the card.

  The alert went off overhead, notifying everyone in the competition a card was used, before a digital map showed up in front of me, a hologram coming out of my skimmer itself. The radar didn’t provide a large map, only five hundred feet or so, though it did show that nobody was around. I figured I was safe, nobody in the immediate area, so I clicked to turn off the map, and it was sucked back into my skimmer.

  I handed it back to Liam and he put it back in his pouch, keeping the camouflage one in my hand to use when I actually got outside. Since it had only a five-minute limit, I knew I had to save it for when I really needed it.

  I opened the shack door, it scraping against the wooden planks below, a small groove starting to form. I closed it behind me and ventured off into the rainforest alone, something I never thought I’d have to do.

  There were no places I found suitable in the area, all of it vastly overgrown and in need of a trimming, though it seemed to get a little better as I kept going further in. I didn’t see another competitor or even an animal, which was odd, but it kept me from needing to use the camouflage card, which I thought we might need later. A six-hour cool down on these things made you only want to use them when absolutely necessary.

  I went behind a tree, paranoia setting in, as I was convinced this was a bad idea. I quickly finished, standing up, nothing bad happening. It was fairly quiet, a little rustling in the distance, but nothing too out of the ordinary. As I looked around, scoping the immediate area, I saw some berries growing on a bush not too far away. It was weird, seeing them in this ecosystem, but this was the grid, after all, and it wasn’t exactly like the real rainforest.

  I walked over to them, their vibrant red hue looking like the ones we had in Petram’s class that were healthy and good to eat. I picked some off, squishing them between my fingers, the blood red juice coming out a sign that they weren’t poisonous. I popped some in my mouth, about to collect some for Liam, before my attention was piqued.

  “You just shut up!” a man yelled at the top of his lungs.

  He sounded far away, though obviously close enough for me to hear. He kept talking, yelling really, as a female voice cackled, the laugh sending shivers up and down my spine, and I instantly knew who it was. Bridgette made that same sound yesterday; it was very unique. As I heard them yelling, I wondered who they were yelling at.

  “Modify,” I whispered, the alert going off overhead, my body disappearing.

  I walked closer, making sure to stay away from anything that could move or give away my presence. The voices got louder the closer I moved, crouched, before I got to the edge of a line of tall weeds, gently pushing them aside to see who was there.

  It was Jason and Bridgette, and on the ground, tied up to one another with vines, were Julia, Cassandra, James, and David. They looked beat up, James with a black eye, David a busted lip, as they begged for mercy. Jason and Bridgette looked over them, laughing, holding four cards in their hands, likely the four that the group earned between them. I was furious, livid, and I wanted to run in there, take them down and rescue my new friends. I couldn’t, though, not because Liam wasn’t here or I wasn’t fully capable, but because I wasn’t sure it would end greatly for us. We might’ve just gotten lucky yesterday.

  “Tell me where both it and she is,” Jason said, looking down at James.

  “I’m not going to tell you anything!” James retorted.

  “If you tell me where that other half is, I’ll spare you your life,” Jason said.

  “If you get the other half, my life is going to end, so it doesn’t even matter at this point! Let me be eliminated!” James said defiantly.

  “You’re a fool of an old man protecting that girl and her little boyfriend. Now you’re going to suffer because of your loyalty. I knew I should’ve taken them out when we had the chance,” Jason said, looking at Bridgette.

  Wait, did James actually see the talisman and not say or do anything? Why would he do that? He could’ve benefited tremendously from it, and instead he left it there for Liam and I to keep. It didn’t make sense.

  “It’s no problem, babe. Our locator card is ready in ten more minutes, give or take,” Bridgette said.

  “What do you mean?” James asked.

  “We have a locator card, old man. It allows us to find anyone on the map we want. It’s pretty great, actually. We used it t
o kill off someone last night after they ran from us, thinking they had gotten away. Soon we’ll be able to go get the other half of the talisman, Bridgette here will get to use it, and she and I will exit the grid, our wishes will be granted, and our lives will be nothing short of amazing,” Jason said, smiling sadistically.

  “You’ll never live an amazing life, Jason. You’re a horrible person, and you deserve to lose all you get,” Cassandra said.

  “And to think, the only thing you old coots had to do was give us their location. Hell, if James here wasn’t stupid enough to be talking openly about it with all of you, we wouldn’t have overheard that and you would’ve been on your merry way. We never considered any of you a threat and now, well, now you’re all goners,” Jason said.

  “We have seven minutes left, babe,” Bridgette said.

  I was in horror. Both Jason and Bridgette would be coming after us soon, and I was so far away from the shack. I needed to get to Liam and let him know everything, so we could grab our talisman and get out of here. I couldn’t let them get the other half of the talisman and win. It wasn’t an option.

  I turned around, starting to run, my legs moving faster than they ever had before, as I jumped over fallen trees and exposed roots, the berries and camouflage card bouncing in my pocket. My lungs burning, I made it to the shack, ripping open the door. Liam jerked up with a shocked look on his face, like he was expecting someone there to kill him.

  “We have to go,” I said, running over to the corner.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, standing up.

  “It’s Jason and Bridgette. They’re coming after us,” I said.

  “They won’t find us here, Alexia. Relax,” Liam said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

  “No, you don’t understand. I saw them, I heard them, and they have a locator card. They’re using it on us. They know we have the talisman,” I said frantically.

  “Wait, what?! How do they know?” Liam asked.

  “It was James and the others. They overheard them talking about it, James specifically, and they tied them up to get our location out of them. He refused, they all refused, and they would rather lose their lives in here than give us up. He said he was going to eliminate them. I told you James saw it. I knew it,” I said, holding the talisman with both hands.

  “How soon are they going to be here?” Liam asked.

  Two chimes went off overhead, two cards were used, one of them surely the locator card. Saliva started pooling in my mouth, though it felt like I had cotton stuffed in there to the brim, and it became increasingly harder for me to get a sentence out.

  “Seattle group two has been eliminated,” Gordana said.

  “Denver group two has been eliminated,” Gordana said two seconds later.

  “They got them, Liam. They got them. We’re next,” I said, panicking.

  “No, we’re not next. We’re getting out of here. Let’s just hope that card only tells them our location right now, and not if we leave. Let’s get out of here,” he said, grabbing my hand.

  We ran out of the shack, the door cutting into the dead wood porch below as Liam held onto me, the talisman safe in my hands. I was convinced that Jason and Bridgette were going to pop out at any second and take it away from us. The only good bit was that we got out in time before being surprised. I guessed my small bladder was good for something.

  I looked behind me as I ran, the talisman bouncing in my right hand, Liam holding my left, the birds quickly flying out of the trees like something was coming after them. The brush was too thick to see anything. There was no trace of Jason or Bridgette anywhere, though I feared they were close by.

  “Peter, we need some help,” Liam said.

  “Sorry guys, I’m just getting in. What’s up?” Peter asked casually.

  “They’re chasing us, they’re coming after us,” I said.

  “Wait, who’s doing what?” Peter asked, the sound of typing in the background.

  “It’s them. It’s Jason and Bridgette. They know we have a half of the talisman,” I said.

  “Wait, you guys found one of the halves? Man, I really need to stay longer, it looks like,” Peter said.

  “Yeah, and they have the other half,” I said.

  “Wait, they have the other half? You never told me that! I though they just wanted ours!” Liam said.

  “They’re going to use it for themselves. Jason has the half now. He said they were getting ours for Bridgette and they were going to profit from the wishes. We can’t let them get this,” I said.

  “Uh, I’m seeing a waterfall nearby. Keep going straight, you can’t miss it,” Peter said.

  Liam and I ran for another almost two minutes, the trees opening up, a wide-mouthed opening appearing out of nowhere as the thick fog drifted through the air like a cloud of white smoke. I could hear the waterfall, the white water crashing down below; it almost sounded like a thunderstorm bearing down with mighty wrath.

  I looked to my left. The opening down below was massive, a giant basin of water collecting the roaring waters that echoed throughout the vicinity. The ledge, while not narrow, wasn’t very large, and a rock face to the right of us twenty feet away boxed us in. The mist, while not terribly thick, hopefully hid our location from anyone who might be following us.

  Liam didn’t stop us from running. I looked back periodically, before we stopped suddenly, seeing something in our path.

  “Peter,” Liam said, panting.

  “Yeah? Get across?” Peter asked.

  “There’s a cliff face here. It’s got to be ten feet tall, just next to the top of the waterfall,” Liam said.

  “What’s the problem?” Peter asked.

  “How do you expect us to get up? It’s completely smooth,” Liam asked, looking around for another path.

  “You’re going to have to hoist Alexia up, or she hoists you up, and that person pulls the other up,” Peter said, like it was so easy.

  “I can’t pull him up,” I said.

  “And she definitely can’t hold me up long enough. I’m too big,” Liam said.

  “You’re not that big,” Peter quipped.

  “Peter!” I said.

  “Okay, okay, let me look for alternate directions. I didn’t think this would be a problem,” Peter said, the clanking of his keyboard in the background.

  The roar of the waterfall was deafening, like a thousand angry lions right next to our ears. Liam touched the rock, his hands canvassing it, like he was trying to find some secret passageway, though I knew nothing was there. I looked down, looking at the mist coating the talisman with little droplets, the water getting caught in the chipped black freckle marks that were scattered along the silver exterior. I ran my fingers over them, feeling the divots, wondering if these were from past competitors, the same talismans being used all these decades.

  “Okay, I have something on the other side, but you’ll have to cross over,” Peter said.

  “We have to go all the way back?” Liam asked

  “I’m sorry. If you won’t hoist each other up, then this is the only option,” Peter said.

  Liam and I decided to go back, turning around and walking ten feet, when two figures walked forward, the mist parting around their bodies, and my stomach dropped. It was Jason and Bridgette, Bridgette’s skimmer producing a hologram, showing them where we were on the map. It followed us the entire way here; our running far away hadn’t even mattered in the end, as we could’ve just stayed in the shack and fought them there.

  “My, my, my,” Jason said, holding their half of the talisman in his hands.

  “We aren’t giving you anything,” Liam said, waving his hand.

  “Oh, come now, you know it’s for the best. Why have some big thing, both of us going back and forth, when we all know that Bridgette and I are going to win? It’s just not worth it,” Jason said.

  “Don’t be a hero,” Bridgette said.

  “Exactly, don’t be a hero. I’ll admit that you two are amazing competitors, the
only two here who actually gave us a run for our money. The lovely people at home watching this right now are probably thinking the same thing, knowing that you guys are awesome and in any other competition could’ve won. You’ll definitely go down in the history books, and three years really isn’t that long of a time in the labor camps. Some people get life sentences!” Jason said.

  “You guys are going to be the ones doing labor sentences, so I’m glad you don’t think three years is too long,” Liam said.

  Jason smiled, looking down, as he fondled the talisman, not saying a word. Bridgette put her hand on his back, leaning in, whispering something to him, her hand blocking and obscuring her lips. He chuckled a little before putting his hand to his forehead and wiping something away.

  I clutched my talisman tightly, pressing it into my stomach and likely leaving a red mark, though I didn’t care if it burned a hole in me at this point. I wasn’t giving it up for anything. He would have to eliminate both Liam and I to get this from us. I’d rather die.

  “We really don’t want to do this, guys. We really just want to get your talisman peacefully, connect them, and go with our lives. It’s the easiest thing for everybody, but you both don’t seem like you want that to happen. You want to deny us our destiny, and I just can’t allow that,” Jason said.

  He handed his talisman to Bridgette, her smirking, before he unclasped his card pouch, pulling one out and holding it between his fingers for us to see. He shook his head, looking at us both with an almost sorrowful look on his face.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “It’s a plasma cannon card. It will instantly incinerate you both, knocking you out of the competition, though luckily it can’t hurt the talisman at all. I really don’t want to use this, I don’t, but I feel as if you’re forcing my hand,” Jason said.

  Liam whispered to me, asking for my talisman, and I obliged, before he backed up a few inches.

  “What are you doing?” Jason asked.

  Liam, holding the talisman with his right hand, dangled it over the edge of the cliff, his feet inching closer to the edge. I couldn’t believe what he was doing, risking our talisman, though I knew he wouldn’t do something like this unless he had a solid plan in place. God, I hoped he had a plan.