Trevor watched them leave, noticing how Nika’s grandfather moved out in front of her as they walked, guiding her away from the walls and any other obstacles that arose in their path. Nika glanced back at the group longingly, before turning and tossing her empty milk shake cup into one of the garbage receptacles.
Cameron looked pleadingly at his mother. “Can I go?”
Ms. Kiffing cupped her hand over her mouth. “Did you take your pill?”
“Shhh, Mom! Of course I did!” he hissed. “Who wants to go with me to the museum?” he asked in a louder voice.
Ms. Isaacs folded her arms and looked at Trevor. “I don’t know. I don’t like the idea of separating from you in such a strange place.”
“Come on, Mom,” Trevor begged. “I’m starving.” There may have been a meal offered on the flight, but it was soggy, steamed vegetables and something that might have been gelatinized pork. “I promise I’ll stay right in there.”
Trevor’s mom’s looked skeptical. “You don’t expect me to believe that, do you?”
“There’s plenty to keep him occupied,” Doug chimed in. “The rest of the building is just a hotel, some offices, a few maintenance closets, a medical clinic. All basically shut down until we’re operational. Wouldn’t be much fun for him to go wander around, while there’s a whole world of weird just past the tonsils.” He flicked his chin at Trevor and winked. “Go on, Trev. You have an all-access pass this weekend. Have fun, explore, and grab one of Bortho’s signature cheeseburgers while you’re at it. It will knock your socks off!”
Oh yeah. Trevor’s eyes widened. A sock-knocking cheeseburger was definitely called for.
Trevor’s mom stacked the contract in a neat pile. “I suppose you could go.”
Before she could throw out another stipulation, Trevor bolted for the Gallery. He could faintly hear his mom shouting not to run, but the sound of his sprinting feet drowned out her voice. Then he was racing up the tongue, and the mouth swallowed him whole.
TWO THICK PATTIES of beef topped with three strips of crispy bacon and melted American cheese oozed on one half of a buttered bun. Trevor slathered mayonnaise on the other half before squishing it on top. The juices dripped over his plate of French fries. If this burger tasted even half as good as it looked or smelled, Bortho’s Burgers would become Trevor’s new favorite restaurant.
Aside from a few employees at Bortho’s, Samurai Sal’s, and Beets & Weeds, the vegan restaurant, Trevor had the whole food court to himself. Gripping the burger with both hands, he raised it to his lips, then hesitated.
Cameron Kiffing had somehow magically appeared at one of the circular tables next to a fountain, and he was intently watching Trevor eat.
“Where did you come from?” Trevor asked.
“Pennsylvania. Ardmore City,” Cameron said, picking up a chopstick and fumbling as he thumb wrestled a piece of sushi. He pushed his glasses farther up his nose with the knuckle of his index finger, before finally giving up on the sushi and surrendering a rapid blink. “You have what scientists call a misfiring amygdala, which makes you devoid of feeling any fear.”
Trevor lowered his burger from his mouth, and a glob of hot cheese dripped onto his plate. “How do you know that?”
“I read it.” The sound of a carbonated can opening rang out in the food court, and Cameron pulled a tall energy drink from his lap and placed it on the table.
“You read it?” How was he able to read about Trevor’s condition? Did that mean they all could? It was supposed to be confidential. “Look, I don’t want anyone to know about that.”
“Your secret’s safe with me!” Cameron hopped up from his seat and scurried over to where Trevor was sitting. The boy’s short legs dangled from the chair. “I have a secret too. I’ve been diagnosed with a rare case of hyperactive ingenuity, which means that I’m really smart and sometimes out of control.”
“I don’t know if that’s necessarily a secret,” Trevor said, grinning.
Cameron offered Trevor his drink. “Kraken Spit?”
“No thanks.” Trevor noticed the snarling octopus-like monster on the side of the dark blue can.
“I like the taste of Kraken Spit,” Cameron said, examining the drink thoughtfully. “It’s more agreeable with my palate than other enhanced stimulant-inducing beverages, and it fails to cause any of the typical side effects, such as the jitters. My parents don’t approve of me consuming these drinks, as they tend to elevate my hyperactivity, and then I end up mostly naked.”
“Naked?” Trevor scrunched his nose.
“Mostly naked,” Cameron said. “When my mind needs to be free to solve, so does the rest of me, I suppose.”
Trevor was having a hard time keeping up with Cameron. He had never met a boy so willing to share things of a personal nature with complete strangers. Plus, the kid talked as fast as an auctioneer. “So are you just going to sit there and watch me eat?”
“I can, if you want. And then afterward, we could go to the Museum of Freaks together.”
“Look, no offense, but I don’t think I want to go to some museum.” Trevor stole a piece of bacon from beneath the bun and slipped it into his mouth. It was crispy, greasy, and perfect. But the burger was definitely getting cold.
“Why?” Cameron asked. “You don’t appreciate knowledge?”
“It’s not that.” Well, maybe it was a little. “I’m not here to learn stuff. I’m here to ride the Adventure Machine. That’s the whole point, right? Now, if you could tell me where to find—”
“I think it’s downstairs.” Cameron slurped, muffled a belch, and cleared his throat.
“What’s downstairs?”
“Something important. I downloaded the floor plans of this place, and there’s something definitely big on the bottom floor. I doubt it’s the entrance to the Globe, mind you. That will most likely be heavily monitored, and one would only have access through a specific entrance. But I noticed a few interesting notes signaling some sort of factory or warehouse on the lowest level. My guess is that’s where they built the machine.”
“Okay, slow down,” Trevor said. “Are you saying there may be a way to check out the Adventure Machine through the elevators?”
Cameron nodded.
“Do you want to go down there with me?” Trevor asked.
Cameron’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “I’d rather go to the Museum of Freaks. There’s supposed to be a whole horde of strange-looking taxidermied creatures on display. Two-headed lizards, winged goats, apes. Most likely all fake, but interesting nonetheless.”
“Sounds fun,” Trevor said, getting up.
“You’re not really going downstairs, are you?” Cameron asked. “Because there are probably strict rules about venturing into those parts of the facility.”
“I was just curious.” Trevor sat back down.
“You could breach your contract. Get arrested!”
“Settle down. I’m not going anywhere.” At least not while everyone’s awake and wandering around.
Trevor smiled and took a gigantic bite of his burger. The juices from the beef and melted cheese exploded down his chin and dripped onto the collar of his shirt. He wiped his mouth with the back of his arm and moaned in satisfaction. For a moment, he imagined he could feel his socks preparing to launch from his feet.
THERE WAS NO doubt in Devin’s mind that sneaking out of his bedroom that night was a bad idea. His actions would land him in a world of trouble, and it didn’t take his acute sense of anticipation to know that. It wasn’t a matter of if he would get caught; it was a matter of when.
Devin knew this, but he didn’t care. At that very moment, he had a tingly feeling that one of the other participants was out of bed as well. Across the room, Devin’s dad stirred. He grumbled something incoherent, smacked his lips, and then resumed disrupting the silence with his thunderous snoring, a black Batman blindfold covering his eyes.
Devin slipped his phone into his pocket, quietly opened the door, and crep
t out into the dimly lit hallway. He hurriedly walked by the Pushkins’ room, and then paused as he approached the Isaacses’. Devin felt a vibration in his chest, and he closed his eyes, trying to concentrate.
“What a punk,” he whispered. No way was he going to let Trevor explore the facility all by himself. Devin didn’t know much about him, but Trevor definitely gave off a curiosity vibe like no other.
When he arrived at the end of the hall, in front of the door leading into the Kiffings’ room, Devin quieted his footsteps. Waking up Cameron Kiffing would be a disaster. That annoying kid had already cornered Devin once, forcing him into a conversation he didn’t want to have. How could Cameron have known about his intuitions, his feelings?
Devin stepped into the elevator and studied the assortment of buttons. It was at that point that he noticed the blinking security camera nestled in the upper corner of the elevator.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Of course there would be a camera. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Devin wondered who might be watching him at that hour, but his tingling had gone soft.
Oh well, he thought. No point in going back now. The damage had been done. Devin smiled at the camera and then pretended to pick his nose, just for fun. When the doors opened at the bottom floor, he plowed face-first into Trevor.
Trevor backed up in surprise. “It’s Devin, right? What are you doing down here?”
“Maybe I should be asking you the same question.” Devin pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed record on the camera. Devin’s dad had lectured him about wasting hours of footage on the mundane details of his daily routine. Bumping into Trevor, however, was definitely worth filming.
“So, here I was, minding my own business…,” Devin said into his phone, before turning the camera on Trevor. “…when I discovered this guy wandering around in the restricted area of the facility.”
Trevor blinked innocently. “Restricted? Who said anything about it being restricted?”
“I wonder what Doug would think of this information?” Devin continued, zooming in on Trevor’s obnoxious grin. “Would he be upset? Would Trevor land himself in hot water?”
“Are you taping me right now?”
Devin nodded, a smile etching itself across his face. “This is going to be featured on my new YouTube channel under the heading ‘Devin catches the sneak and sends him packing home without his prize money.’ ”
Trevor rolled his eyes. “That sounds like a really exciting video. Remind me to check it out when I get home after I ride the Adventure Machine.”
“My YouTube channel is going to blow up after our big ride tomorrow. I’ll probably have like a million subscribers by the end of next week.” So far, Devin had only managed to add two hundred subscribers to his measly fifty, piggybacking off Rainy Riddle’s latest arcade video. But Devin was bound for greatness. At least, that was what his dad told him.
“I’m going to be famous, dude. And maybe you’ll be famous too,” Devin said. “Famous for getting caught on tape robbing the Adventure Machine facility.”
“Have fun with that.” Trevor tried to shoulder past, but Devin held up his hand.
“Relax. I’m only kidding,” he said. “I’m not going to tell anyone about this. And if I do post the footage, I’ll blur your face out so no one knows who you are.”
“Really don’t care if you do,” Trevor said, but he stopped trying to force his way into the elevator. “So, when did you talk to your best pal, Cameron?”
Devin hit the pause button on his camera. “Talk to him about what?” If that Cameron said anything to Trevor…
“About me sneaking down here,” Trevor said. “I knew it was a bad move, inviting him to tag along. He freaked out about it earlier.”
Devin felt relief swimming in his chest. He studied Trevor’s eyes for a moment and then rolled his shoulders. “I didn’t talk to that goob, and he’s not my best pal.”
“Then how did you know I was coming?”
“You just looked like someone who would.”
Trevor shrugged. “What’s your problem with Cameron anyway?”
“He’s a little know-it-all who won’t last a minute on the Adventure Machine.” The first part of that was absolutely true. Devin had met many know-it-alls in his day—psychiatrists, doctors, and scientists—but Cameron took first prize in that contest. Devin didn’t know exactly how long Cameron would last on the ride; his gift didn’t work that way. But judging by Cameron’s timid demeanor, that kid was destined to freak out the moment the cart took off down the track.
“What about Nika?” Trevor asked. “She seems pretty cool.”
Devin snickered. “You just said she was pretty.”
“No, I said she was pretty cool.”
“Forget about it, dude. She’s totally got the hots for me. You heard her when she practically begged to follow me into the arcade.”
Trevor groaned, but Devin playfully slugged him in the shoulder. “Just kidding, dude. So how long have you been down here?”
Trevor glanced over his shoulder and nodded toward the end of the hallway. “Long enough to see some weird stuff. There’s a kind of warehouse, and there’s a guy working in his office right next to it, but he’s not paying attention.”
Devin swallowed, a slight tremor quivering in his chest. “Are you sure he’s not paying attention?” Suddenly, he felt a completely different vibe from what Trevor had just described. Devin sensed that the man in the office knew full well what was up.
Trevor’s eyes widened. “Come on. You’ve got to see it for yourself. It’s pretty awesome.”
—
Devin gawked at the oddly shaped machines as he stepped into the expansive warehouse-like room and eased the door closed behind him.
“Have you ever seen anything like them?” Trevor asked.
Devin shook his head and approached the first metal container, an almost pyramid-shaped machine, but with rounded edges, like a beehive. A gigantic beehive with glowing gold lights at the top. He placed his hand against the side of one of the machines and listened. “It’s warm,” he said. “And it’s buzzing.”
Trevor tapped a twelve-inch section of glass at eye level. “I think this is some sort of window.”
Devin thought it looked more like a small television monitor than a window. The black glass revealed nothing beyond it, even when Devin pressed his face against it, cupping his hands around his eyes. At his feet, a mass of wires, like multicolored arteries, zigzagged away from each of the machines and connected to the back of a computer. Devin stepped over the wires and bumped the table. The monitor crackled as the dark screen began to brighten, and a series of numbers and words appeared.
Pod #1: Hibernating
Pod #2: Hibernating
Pod #3: Hibernating
It was the same for each of the six lines.
“Hibernating? What do you think that means?” Devin asked.
“Don’t know, but I tried a whole bunch of password attempts to turn them on,” Trevor said.
Devin smirked. “Wait, you’re serious. How long were you in here before?”
Trevor gnawed on his lip. “Maybe half an hour. There’s no way to open those things either.” He pointed to one of the hives. “They’re like locked or something.”
Something flashed on the monitor, causing the boys to stare once more at the screen. The first line of text was now highlighted, and the wording had changed.
Pod #1: Activating
Devin backed away from the computer. “What did you touch?”
“Nothing,” Trevor said, moving the cursor with the mouse. “It just did it by itself. I wonder which one’s pod number one?”
The screen flashed once more, and the wording changed again.
Pod #1: Online
The gold light above the pod closest to the door turned bright green, and the glass window began to glow.
“Sweet!” Trevor exclaimed.
Devin eyed the door. “You’re
going to break something. Let’s get out of here.”
“You don’t want to see what’s inside?”
From his peripheral vision, Devin noticed a flicker of movement as a dark shadow filled the opening behind the glass. “I think I’ll stay back here.”
Trevor stepped toward the pod.
“What if it’s radioactive? Hey! Are you listening to me?”
“Chill out, dude,” Trevor said. “Let’s just take a look.”
“I don’t want to take a look. I want to go back to my room.” This had gone far enough. This was just supposed to be about some cool video footage. But Trevor was as stubborn as a mule. “What if you’re not supposed to look directly…” His voice trailed off. Everything behind him in the room, the humming sounds of the other machines, the crackling whir of the computer, had all blurred together.
At that moment, Devin could only see the hideous face staring directly out from behind the glass.
DEVIN’S FIRST THOUGHT was Aliens. Like the ones from a movie he had seen a few years ago. In fact, it felt as though he were watching a movie on a miniature screen, and witnessing the arrival of some intelligent being from another world. But there was no theater. Whatever this thing was, it had grown interested in Devin. It was blinking its bulbous yellow eyes at him.
Trevor pressed his face against the screen, completely blocking the creature from seeing out anymore. Devin felt a wave of relief. But how could Trevor be acting so reckless?
“Hey, man, have you ever seen Morlock of Mars?” Trevor asked, not pulling back from the glass.
“Yeah,” Devin answered warily. “Why?”
“This thing kinda looks like Morlock. Only taller and uglier.” He pounded on the pod with his fist, creating a dull, hollow thump.
The World's Greatest Adventure Machine Page 4
