“No!” Cameron spat. “Not exactly.” That was such a ridiculous statement. Second thoughts. It implied Cameron lacked the confidence in his own ability to rationally think things through the first time.
Cameron weaved his way to the end of the first row and sat down in the seat next to Trevor. The cushion felt spongy and soft, like a memory-foam pillow. A screen above the door displayed the words Awaiting Decompression in bright red lights.
Four platinum-colored tubes rose up from the floor in front of the seats. Nika and Devin quickly sat down in line beside Cameron as the tubes, now looking more like metal vines, continued sprouting from the ground. When the tubes reached their maximum length, the screen above the door changed colors. Instead of bright red, the lights glowed yellow, and the words changed to read Now Decompressing.
White fog poured out from the nozzle ends of each of the tubes, completely dousing the four children in a blinding cloud as all the lights in the room went out.
“Hey…” Cameron heard Devin starting to protest, but then his voice grew muffled and distant. Cameron strained his eyes to see in the darkness as the gushing of the fog drowned out all other sounds in the room. It lasted for no more than a few seconds. Then the door screen illuminated once more, with the words Decompression Complete now glowing in green.
The rest of the overhead fluorescent lights flickered as they turned back on and the door to the Adventure Machine opened.
“Right this way, please.” A woman now stood in the opening, wearing a similar suit and helmet. She held her hand at her side, directing the four kids into the next room.
Behind the woman, Cameron saw the Adventure Machine.
It was just like in the video. The cart was sleek and slender, but not incredibly long. It had just four seats, two in the front, and two directly behind. Cameron frowned. Why on earth did they build it so small? It wasn’t the most optimal riding contraption, he thought. If the Castletons intended to make any money, it seemed obvious they needed to create a bigger vessel. One that could fit dozens of riders at one time.
The train rested on a single tubular track that hummed with bluish bolts of electricity sparking beneath it. The track headed straight into a massive tunnel in the wall, and from where they stood, Cameron couldn’t see to the end of it. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a large window near the ceiling, filled with people staring down. In the middle of the group, he could see his mom watching him.
“Candy, that’s your name, right?” Trevor asked the lady walking in front of them. “Why do you have to wear a suit and helmet?”
“For safety of course,” Candy said. “We are live and hot, as you can probably tell.” She pointed to the snakes of electricity licking at the bottom of the train.
“What will happen if we touch those?” Cameron asked, falling a step behind from the rest of the group.
“Just don’t touch them, and we won’t have to find out.” Candy kept a straight face and gestured to the cart.
“You’re joking?” Cameron asked. “Please tell me she’s joking.” Did Cameron need to list the safety measures the Adventure Machine was violating to them? Because he would.
Nika immediately volunteered for the back, and the woman assisted her into the cart. Nika was careful not to come in contact with any electricity as she stepped up and then lowered herself into her seat. Devin hurried after, before anyone else could volunteer, and sat next to Nika.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe,” Devin told her, grinning up at Trevor.
“Who’s next?” Candy asked.
Trevor waved off Candy’s assistance and leapt into the vehicle. He landed in his seat with a loud thud, causing the cart to shudder from his weight.
Nika braced her hands against the side, glaring at Trevor from behind. “Would you please be careful?”
“Come on, Cameron!” Trevor urged, waving him over excitedly as Candy lowered a loose nylon safety strap over his shoulders and instructed him to buckle it into the seat. “What are you waiting for?”
Cameron curiously eyed the visible currents of electricity as he approached the train. One of the bolts coiled and hissed. “Oh, I don’t think so.” He squeezed his hands, wringing them together like they were wet dish towels. “I just need to think this thing through, scientifically.”
Trevor sighed. “Didn’t you do that already?”
Cameron shifted his weight to one side. His heart pounded in his chest. What sort of ride required electrical currents coursing through the track? Cameron looked down once more at his uniform. Why was that even necessary? Cameron had memorized every element from the periodic table as well as every mineral and chemical in existence. How did the Castletons come up with something brand-new like neotanium? It just didn’t add up.
“I agreed to participate,” Cameron said, his voice squeaking. “But I wasn’t fully aware of the conditions until I was able to perceive our traveling device.”
Up in the observatory room, Doug cleared his throat through a microphone. “What’s the holdup?” His voice cascaded down from the speakers in the ceiling.
“I can’t see how a live electrical current is safe, and those safety harnesses are too thin. I don’t think I want to do this anymore!” Cameron shouted.
Doug covered the microphone with his hand and spoke for a moment with the rest of the group of adults. “It’s fine, Cameron,” he said, uncovering the microphone. “If you don’t feel comfortable riding, no one’s going to force you. However, I feel it is necessary to tell you that this will end the contract, and you will not receive your monetary winnings.”
Cameron’s mom perked up upon hearing this. Cameron watched as she pushed her way to the front of the group and began arguing with Doug. After a minute of tense discussion, she snatched the microphone from him.
“Let’s go, dear. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Ms. Kiffing spoke tersely into the microphone.
Cameron stared at her, his fingers twitching at his side. No monetary winnings? That meant he’d never have enough money to refurbish his laboratory. The microscope he had his eye on had a price tag of well over fifty thousand dollars all by itself. Cameron glanced over his shoulder at the train and then rapidly snapped his head back to the window.
“Oh fine!” he growled, stomping over to the cart and climbing aboard. “Make sure you strap me in good and tight!”
Candy took up her position at a control station, right next to the cart. “Brace yourselves,” she said as she pulled a lever on the console. “Your adventure begins now.”
The Adventure Machine shot through the tunnel like a rocket, and they were off.
THE SURGING TRAIN roared down the track. Beyond the tunnel, the walls disappeared, opening into a vast room of blackness. As they started to pick up more speed, Nika felt her skin beginning to pinch and tighten, coercing her mouth to open in a strained grimace. The force grew, with each revolution gaining momentum, as a tremendous weight pressed against her chest. She erupted with quick gasping chirps. Devin was making a low groan. Cameron let out the loudest, most annoying sound of all: a high-pitched whistle that seemed to be coming from his nose. Trevor seemed unfazed by the ride’s velocity. He leaned forward against his restraints, both hands high above his head as he cheered.
The cart catapulted straight up, screaming as it climbed. Within seconds, Nika felt they should’ve burst through the ceiling of the Globe, but still nothing stopped them. She sank into her seat, her back pressing an indentation into the spongy cushion. This was already too much pressure on her body. Even with the protection of the neotanium suit, she knew she couldn’t endure much more before terrible things would happen.
“Up to this point, the ride has simply calculated your collected responses to extreme speeds,” VIC’s voice explained in Nika’s helmet. From the looks on everyone else’s faces, they were all hearing the same announcement. The pressure on her body released and she felt able to breathe normally.
“Please tell me that�
�s the worst of it.” Nika ran her trembling fingers along her collarbone, gasping. If her grandfather had had even an inkling of what was happening on the ride, he would have never agreed to take her to California.
“Keep your arms and legs inside the cart at all times as you encounter your next experience,” VIC said.
Lights began to appear overhead, but not ones connected to any sort of fixture. They seemed to be floating fiery balls burning above. Nika realized they were stars, flashing a myriad of colors. Some of the stars twinkled in the distance, the size of small cars, while others passing by were so immense, they blotted out the black blanket of space behind them. She couldn’t grasp how anything could be so big, or how the Castletons had managed to contain such objects within the Globe. Next, they passed planets with rings like Saturn’s and orbiting moons. The Adventure Machine increased in speed as they approached an enormous sphere streaking through the sky.
“It’s a comet!” Cameron shouted enthusiastically, trying to lean forward in his seat.
As they pulled up right next to the comet, Nika could hear the deafening sizzle and pop of the orb as it pulsated like a sizzling heart. The white-hot flames hissed, licking the side of the cart. Then, to Nika’s astonishment, she watched as Trevor reached out and tried to run his hand across the comet’s tail.
“Are you mad?” Nika shouted. “It will burn you!” She could feel the sweltering heat emanating from the comet. Any closer, and the ball would disintegrate Trevor’s hand.
“Will it?” Trevor asked, pulling back his fingers. “It’s not really a comet, you know? It’s just a realistic special effect.”
Maybe Trevor was right. It couldn’t be real, but still, he had no business trying to grab it. “VIC said to keep our arms and legs inside the cart at all times,” Nika said.
“They always say that on roller coasters,” Trevor said. “That’s like the standard rule.”
“Well, then why would you not listen to it?” Cameron asked. “Seems like sound advice to me.”
“Because he’s just trying to show off for Nika,” Devin said.
Trevor looked back at Devin and grinned. “I’m not the one who had to sit by her.”
“Stop talking. Both of you!” Nika shook her head in disbelief. They were acting like infants. “And don’t touch anything!” She jabbed her finger at Trevor.
Suddenly, the comet winked out of existence, and Trevor groaned in disappointment. A powerful suction took hold of the cone of the Adventure Machine, pulling them forward, the safety restraints seeming as though they would snap from the pressure. Nika tried in vain to push back against her seat, but the vacuum kept her body pressed against the restraints, the nylon material digging into her chest.
Nika held her breath, stiffening her arms and legs, and praying that the weight on her body would subside. She couldn’t feel pain and therefore had no way of knowing the damage the pressure was causing. “This is crushing me!” she gasped. “It needs to stop!”
“Is that a black hole?” Devin pointed to a swirling mass growing in the distance.
“Oh dear,” Cameron gulped. “It would appear so.”
“But not a real black hole,” Trevor said. “None of this is real.”
Lightning bolts zigzagged across the black hole as it hungrily gobbled stars and planets and mountain-sized asteroids into its gaping mouth.
“That is awesome!” Trevor threw his hands above his head as the train continued its approach toward the monstrous hole. Then, with a powerful jolt, his body slammed forward against his safety harness. The Adventure Machine screeched to a complete stop, and the black hole immediately disappeared, along with all evidence of space travel. There were no more stars or planets. A misty, paintlike blackness possessing a damp, sulfuric smell gathered around the cart. It wasn’t long before Cameron started gagging.
“Eww!” Devin said. “It smells like rotten eggs.”
“No, it smells like Yellowstone,” Cameron wheezed. “I went there once….”
“Yeah, we know,” Trevor said. “You made paste out of mustard and junk.”
“That’s right. I shared that story already.”
The blackness fizzled and dispersed, and Nika’s eyes slowly adjusted, and she could see that they were still on the track, the cart balancing on the single tubular line. There was no way to be certain, but it looked as though they had come to a stop somewhere at the center of the massive Globe. Skeletal walls towered above them on every side, and peering over the edge, Nika couldn’t see to the bottom.
“Oh no!” Devin shouted from the backseat. “Where is it?”
Nika looked over and saw Devin frantically searching his seat and the floor by his feet.
“Are you sitting on it?” Devin asked Nika. “Will you please move?”
Nika reared back as Devin patted the cushion next to her. “Sitting on what?”
Devin yanked at his safety harness, trying to wiggle free, but the belt remained latched. “This can’t be happening!”
“Did you lose your phone?” Trevor asked.
Devin’s head shot up and he glared at Trevor, holding out his hand. “How did you know that? You took it didn’t you? Give it back or else!”
“I didn’t take your dumb phone, Devin,” Trevor said. “It probably just fell out when we were shooting through, you know, space and stuff.”
“Kind of a risky move, bringing an electronic device onto a ride powered by high-voltage electricity,” Cameron said. “The charge alone no doubt destroyed your phone’s internal components.”
“Shut up, all right?” Devin hissed. “My dad’s going to kill me!”
“It was just an accident,” Nika said. “He’ll understand. He seems very nice.”
“You don’t know my dad,” Devin barked. “I just hope he was able to load some of his video footage to the cloud before he gave it to me. If not, I’m dead.”
“How has your adventure been so far?” VIC’s voice piped in through their helmets, and Devin slumped back in his seat, his face red and sweaty.
“We’re loving every second of it!” Trevor answered.
Devin folded his arms and huffed. “Speak for yourself.”
“I’m a little concerned,” Nika said softly. “I didn’t know we would be experiencing all that pressure. What if we sustained injuries? VIC, could you scan us to see if we’re okay?”
“Certainly,” VIC agreed. “Nika, your heart rate is one hundred and sixty beats per minute. Your blood pressure is one thirty-nine over ninety. Your vitals are elevated, to be certain, but nothing to be alarmed about. All initial scans indicate you are in proper health.”
Nika caught her breath. It didn’t seem possible. She had spent months and months at different hospitals, with doctors and specialists. All of them trying to find ways for her to live a somewhat normal life. Nothing worked. She always had to be so cautious. Nika stared down at the protective layer of neotanium covering her arms.
“What about mine?” Trevor asked.
“Trevor, you have a heart rate of sixty-five beats per minute and a blood pressure of one-twenty over eighty,” VIC said.
“Is that bad?” Trevor asked.
“That’s normal,” Cameron scoffed. “Your vitals aren’t elevated at all.”
“How are you so relaxed?” Nika asked.
Trevor shrugged. “I feel fine.”
Cameron smacked the side of his helmet with his neotanium-gloved hand. “What are my vitals?”
“I’m sorry, Cameron,” VIC said. “But I am unable to calculate your heart rate or blood pressure at this time. I’ll check back later.”
Devin snickered. “It’s like you’re dead.”
Cameron whirled on Devin, his eyes widening. “Don’t say that!”
From somewhere above the track arose the mechanized clatter of grinding gears and the soft, muted sound of bells. Nika looked up and saw a circular sphere descending. The sphere resembled a robotic eye, with a bright blue lens connected to a long metal tube that
extended down from some unseen location.
“Please hold perfectly still while the Ganglion determines your destiny.” This voice came from outside of Nika’s helmet. It sounded inhuman and robotic, as though the grinding gears had suddenly discovered how to form words.
“Ganglion?” Trevor asked. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I think it means command center.” Cameron’s voice shook noticeably. “A ganglion is like the nervous system. It controls everything within the body.”
Nika braced herself for the worst. Would they dive into a landscape overflowing with lava or cruise in blizzard-like conditions? Would a wall of water wash over them, soaking them from head to toe?
Four beams of bluish light shot out from the Ganglion’s eye and fell upon each of their helmets. “Computing, computing, computing,” the voice repeated over and over for several seconds, echoing throughout the Globe. Nika couldn’t be certain, but she thought she noticed a slight tremor travel through the Ganglion’s eye and up the long tube.
“Guys?” Devin’s voice rose above the annoying “Computing” drone of the Ganglion.
“It has to be finishing soon, don’t you think?” Nika asked. The scan had gone on for more than a minute, and now she was positive she could see the tube above the eye beginning to shake.
“Guys?” Devin forcibly repeated. “We need to stop this.”
Nika glanced over at him.
In his hands, he held a small black device, with his thumb hovering above a white button.
Trevor pressed against his seat restraints to more fully face Devin. “What are you holding?”
“It says abort,” Devin said, showing the others the word above the button. “It’s under each of our seats.”
Nika looked at her feet and noticed the corner of a similar device resting on the floor of the cart. “It’s probably just for emergencies, right?”
“Right,” Cameron agreed. “Most likely a way to stop the ride if things should go awry. It would make sense to include such a method.”
“Why do you look so pale?” Nika asked, staring at Devin suspiciously. “Are you not feeling well?”
The World's Greatest Adventure Machine Page 7
