Devin looked at each of them, sweat trickling down his forehead, his eyes taking on a look of panic. Then he turned his attention to the remote in his hands and, without a word of explanation, he pressed his thumb down on the button.
DEVIN STARED AT the button. He heard it click beneath his thumb and he waited for something to happen. The lights would come on and that weird Ganglion thing would shut down and stop chanting overhead. The ride needed to end. That much he knew, though he had no idea why.
“What are you doing?” Trevor exclaimed, reaching back and trying to swat the remote out of Devin’s hands.
Devin held on, refusing to drop it. “It’s not working,” he said desperately.
Cameron looked terrified as he spun around to face Devin. “I don’t think you should be tampering with the equipment. The ramifications could be severe.”
Above them, the Ganglion continued its droning mantra. “Computing, computing, computing.”
Devin’s eyes lit up. “Maybe we all have to push it to stop the ride.”
“But we’re not done yet.” Trevor waved his hand behind him, gesturing to the black, open space. “Is this because you lost your dad’s phone?”
“No!” Devin snapped. “This has nothing to do with it.” At least, he didn’t think it did. His premonitions didn’t always have specific reasons. True, his dad was going to throw a fit when he discovered that Devin had lost his phone, but there was something else causing the tingling sensation in Devin’s chest. A warning of something bad that was about to happen. But unlike in other instances, he couldn’t see exactly what it was. Just that he knew they needed to be off the Adventure Machine.
“So stop messing around and push the button.” Devin nodded to the others, instructing them to follow his lead.
Trevor laughed. “No one else wants to stop the ride. Just you.”
From the front seat arose another click, and Trevor spun around as Cameron depressed his button with both thumbs.
“Wait!” Trevor shouted.
“If he thinks we should stop, there’s probably a great reason for it,” Cameron said, cowering away.
Devin stared directly at Trevor. “I have a really bad feeling right now.”
Cameron shivered. “A bad feeling? Like the kind you…you know, normally get?”
“Shut up, goob!” Devin hissed, and Cameron immediately clamped his mouth closed.
“What are you talking about?” Trevor demanded. “What’s he talking about?”
“Nothing.” Devin flashed Cameron a warning glance. No one was supposed to know about his ability, and yet, somehow, the little brainiac had discovered Devin’s secret. If Cameron clued the others in on it, they would never let Devin live it down. Just like everyone else in Devin’s school once they found out. He could already hear their name-calling. Psycho Devin Drobbs and his mystic crystal ball.
Nika looked apologetically at Trevor and then bent over to pick up her remote. “We could restart after we get back to the station, right?” she asked, just before pressing her finger on the button.
Trevor dug his hands against the sides of his helmet. “They’re all watching us right now. Think about that,” Trevor said. “Doug and Terry, our parents. The whole world! I don’t think they’ll be super excited about us backing out, and we won’t get paid.”
From overhead, the Ganglion suddenly released a loud, echoing chime, and the blue beams of light flashing upon the four helmets vanished.
“Scanning complete.” The sphere began to ascend into the darkness.
In front of the cart, less than twenty yards down the track, a large circle appeared. Disklike and composed of more of the bluish light, the circle began to spin. Devin was about to ask the others what they thought was the point of the giant glowing Frisbee, when he noticed a dramatic change occurring to the circle. Instead of spinning, swirling lights, it was suddenly a window showing lush green trees and a hazy purple sky behind it. The disk expanded until it was large enough for them to move through.
As the cart continued approaching the hole, the jungle landscape formed more fully into view. Devin could not only see the canopy of trees and vines, but also the distinct cone shape of an erupting volcano towering in the midst of it. Black smoke billowed from the top, blotting out the sky. A burst of intense humidity wafted over the group, and Devin could smell the horrendous stench of something rotten, like raw sewage, permeating his nostrils. It smelled as if an animal had died somewhere just beyond the hole.
“I’m pretty sure this place is prehistoric, don’t you think?” Trevor asked, glancing over his shoulder.
“Yeah, maybe,” Nika said.
“We still have time to abort the ride,” Devin insisted, his brow furrowed.
Trevor grinned. “We’re not stopping until I see what’s making that awful smell. Five bucks says it’s the rotting carcass of a brontosaurus.”
As the nose of the cart passed through the circle, dipping as it entered, Devin leaned forward, craning his neck, until he could see the track descending through a wall of green-and-brown foliage. In front of him, Cameron, as if in a trance, repeatedly pressed his abort button.
Down they swooped into the thick vegetation, leaves and branches scratching against Devin’s suit. The hill wasn’t as steep as he’d initially thought, and soon the cart leveled off, the trees thinning into a clearing where a roaring river flowed just off to the side of the track. He could smell the clear, fresh scent of water as condensation formed on the outside of his visor. The sky overhead had changed from purple into a dark black from the roiling volcanic fumes.
“How’s this even possible?” Nika’s voice rang out, muted by the river.
“It’s awesome!” Trevor shouted. “This is what I signed up for. A real adventure. Something we’ll never forget.”
“What is that?” Cameron urgently pointed to the other side of the river. A large catlike creature crouched within a patch of taller grass, watching the cart, its long tail whipping behind it. Devin could see tusks jutting out from its gaping mouth.
Cameron gulped. “I do believe that’s a saber-toothed tiger.”
“It’s not real,” Nika said. “It can’t be.”
“Looks pretty real to me,” said Devin. “And I bet it spears things with those tusks. Like kids on roller coasters.” His voice turned high-pitched, as the saber-toothed cat leapt over the river and landed a few yards from the track. The creature cocked its head to one side in curiosity as the train began to roll once more.
“It’s going to chase us,” Trevor said. “I guarantee it’s going to chase us.” He leaned over the edge, smacking the side of the cart to get the animal’s attention. “Come and get us!”
“Are you out of your mind?” Devin screamed. Why was Trevor acting that way? In the beginning, Devin just assumed Trevor was constantly trying to impress the others. But now he wasn’t so sure. It seemed as though Trevor genuinely wanted the creature to chase them.
Two more cats, with equally enormous tusks, emerged from the jungle, dashing toward them. The train started moving faster, picking up speed, but the snarling creatures kept pace for several hundred yards, their clawed feet whipping mud in their wake. Nika leaned farther into the cart, trying to put extra distance between her and the animals as one of them raked its claws along the metal cart. Despite their determination and their powerful legs propelling them forward, the cats were no match for the intense speed of the Adventure Machine. Within a few moments, Devin watched the creatures shrink in the distance until they were two reddish specks on the horizon.
“Bummer,” Trevor said. “We didn’t even get a chance to see one up close.”
“That was close enough,” Nika said. “Where did they find such creatures?”
Something heavy thudded against the cart. Devin snapped his head back just in time to see a rock, easily the size of a laundry basket, bounce off the hood. Another rock followed, barely missing the cart. Devin could feel the rushing wind as it passed.
“It’s a meteor shower!” Cameron pointed to the sky. “We’re going to get crushed!”
The Adventure Machine continued racing through an expansive green meadow brimming with squat, leafy bushes. The jungle was nothing more than a blurry outline behind them, and overhead the sky continued to bombard the earth with debris. Doug Castleton had said they were using advanced technology, but the kids had never expected this. When their seats suddenly began to vibrate and the cart wobbled uneasily on the track, they braced themselves for what they thought would be an earthquake. But then there was the sound of the engine winding down beneath the hood, as the four safety harnesses securing the kids in their seats unlatched.
“Please exit the cart in an orderly fashion,” VIC’s voice announced through their helmets.
“What do you mean, ‘exit the cart’?” Devin demanded. “Weren’t you the one who told us earlier to stay in the cart at all times?” And now the disembodied voice had flip-flopped. They were headed for disaster. It was only a matter of time. No. They needed to stay right where they were and wait for this part of the ride to end.
Cameron tried cramming the metal hook of his seat belt back into its buckle, but it refused to latch. Two more meteors, twice as big as the first ones, rammed the earth, sending out a powerful shockwave. Devin could feel his chest vibrate from the immense force and the heat radiating from the sizzling boulder just a few yards from where they sat.
“Front riders should exit first,” VIC continued, “from left to right, followed by the rear riders. Please, do so now.”
“We’ll be flattened,” Nika said, gripping her safety harness. “Why are you making us leave?”
They waited for a response, but VIC gave none.
Trevor slipped the harness straps from his shoulders and stood up. “I guess we get out.” He looked at the others. “Let’s get going.”
Cameron eyeballed Trevor as though he were covered in ants. “I can’t see how hiking through this wilderness makes any feasible sense. And let us not forget about the meteors.”
Trevor searched the sky for more of the falling rocks. “That’s the last of them, I think.”
Fffffooom!
Another huge meteor, the size of a truck, thudded several yards away, shaking the ground beneath them. Cameron leapt down from his seat and clung to Trevor’s arm.
“I actually did see that one, but I didn’t think it would land that close. My mistake,” Trevor said.
Cameron tested his weight on each foot. “It’s solid ground. This bush”—he plucked an elephant-ear-like leaf from a nearby plant—“it must be plastic, or made of some sort of synthetic material.” Cameron ripped the leaf into two pieces, and bright yellow ooze dripped from the tear. “That smells awful. And it feels real!”
“Where are we supposed to go?” Devin asked, still rooted to his seat. “It’s just a wide-open space.”
“You will now proceed on foot,” VIC answered. “I will continue to assist you for the remainder of your ride.”
Nika slowly rose, but when Trevor offered his hand to help, she shook her head. “No, thank you. I’ll do this myself,” she said as she climbed over the edge of the cart.
“This is just plain stupid.” But Devin reluctantly got out. “What kind of ride makes you walk?”
“Excellent,” VIC said once the four of them had exited the vehicle. “Please, watch your toes.”
“Watch our what?” Devin glanced down at his feet just as the Adventure Machine suddenly roared back to life. Before any of them could try to climb back into their seats, the cart erupted down the track, pelting them with clumps of grass and mud, and abandoning them in the middle of the meadow.
IT MADE NO sense to Cameron to go chasing after the accelerating Adventure Machine. He had never been particularly fast. Running really wasn’t his thing. And if the two jungle cats couldn’t catch the cart, the kids didn’t stand a chance.
“Now what do we do, genius?” Devin asked, glaring at Trevor.
Trevor blinked. “Are you calling me a genius?”
“You’re the one who told us to get out of the cart.”
“Technically, VIC instructed us to leave the safety of the vehicle,” Cameron corrected. “Trevor was just following orders. Also, technically, I’m the genius.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Devin said. “A lot of good it did us. Now we’re stranded.”
“You’re just mad because you lost your dad’s phone,” Trevor said. “Accidents happen, dude. Let it go.”
“Let’s not argue,” Nika said. “It’s called the Adventure Machine, and this is an adventure, right?”
“Please head due south toward the waterfall,” VIC’s voice chimed in.
Trevor glanced at Cameron. “Which way’s south?”
Cameron’s head perked up. It’s not like he had a compass, and his helmet’s GPS function, if it had one, which Cameron assumed it did, wasn’t functioning at the moment. Pinpointing their precise location would present a unique challenge.
“Well, it’s not clear,” Cameron said. “If we could use standard star constellations, we’d have a much easier time in determining a point of reference. These stars look unfamiliar to me. I wonder if our visors could solve this quandary. VIC, could you display our coordinates on my screen?”
“Or you could just look with your eyes.” Nika pointed to a spot behind them where a solitary mountain rose up, no more than half a mile away. An enormous waterfall gushed from an opening midway up the mountain’s peak, cascading down like a sparkling ribbon.
“Okay, there’s no way I didn’t see that before,” Devin said.
Cameron folded his arms and shifted his weight to one side. Odd. Where had that mountain come from? The Adventure Machine must be using mirrors. Or was it possible that the Castletons managed to drape something over the landscape? He suddenly snapped his fingers.
“Of course! It’s simply an impressive three-dimensional display,” Cameron said. “Which explains how they can so readily manipulate the environment. I’m actually embarrassed it took me this long to understand.”
Trevor reached over and squeezed Cameron’s shoulder. “You’re not making sense.”
Cameron swallowed. “It’s just an elaborate projection. It’s like we’re in a movie, only instead of it being flashed in front of us on a screen, we’re actually in a screen that’s all around us, and therefore makes it appear as though we’ve gone somewhere else.”
“Like space or ten trillion BC to prehistoric times,” Devin said.
Cameron’s head bobbled. “Yes, but ten trillion BC is a bit much for prehistoric. And if we’re going to be technical, judging by those saber-toothed cats, that was most likely the Eocene period.”
“I was trying to agree with you,” Devin said.
“Oh, well, thank you.” Cameron smiled. “But if you’re going to agree with me, it doesn’t hurt to be accurate.”
Nika shook her head. “But the heat and the smells. How are they making it so real?”
“Olfactory emissions,” Cameron answered, his head flitting back and forth between Nika, Devin, and Trevor. Judging by their baffled expressions, Cameron had to assume they had never heard the term before. He sighed. Was he supposed to dumb everything down to their level? “There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of scent dispensers throughout the Globe. And do you really think increasing the temperature is that difficult? It’s just a flip of a switch. Don’t you see? Logic solves all. Honestly, I’m embarrassed I fell for such an obvious ruse. It just feels so real.”
Nika bent over and caressed the long, flappy leaf of one of the nearby plants. “Does your logic explain this?”
Cameron flipped his hand dismissively. “True, that does look and feel like an actual plant. Maybe the Castletons are just good gardeners.”
The ride was nothing more than a trick. An optical illusion. A way to fool one’s brain into believing you had done the impossible and crossed into another world. Cameron couldn’t help but feel impressed by t
he Castletons’ brilliance. With that sort of liberty, they could conjure up any number of scenarios to project within the Globe. All they needed were willing participants and control of the thermostat.
Devin stared at the mountain towering a short distance away. “So what are we supposed to do once we reach that waterfall?”
“We just need to listen to VIC,” Nika said. “He will instruct us on where we should go.”
Cameron cringed when, instead of VIC’s voice, loud static filled his helmet. The distortion lasted for a few seconds and then fell silent.
“Quit playing around, VIC,” Devin growled. “Tell us what to do.”
Only silence followed, not even the crackle of static. And then Cameron noticed something unusual appear in the upper left-hand corner of his visor.
OFF-LINE
“Are all your visors off-line?” Cameron asked.
Each of the others nodded.
Nika lightly tapped the side of her helmet. “Do you think we broke something?”
“Maybe you guys did when you all pressed your abort buttons,” Trevor said, a slight smile cracking across his lips.
Nika looked at Cameron, her eyes widening. “Could that be true?”
Cameron puffed his cheeks. “How could I possibly know that? I say we head for the waterfall, and maybe VIC will come back online to tell us where to go next.”
Trevor patted Cameron on the back. “Of all the things you’ve said today, that one makes the most sense.”
FROM A LOGICAL standpoint, Cameron had yet to determine if the Adventure Machine was indeed providing a fun-filled experience. He had never been one to enjoy a whooshing plunge or the sensation of being flipped upside down over and over until his toes throbbed. On the other hand, the science of the Adventure Machine fascinated him. The simulated journey into space and the subsequent landing in a primitive destination with flourishing wildlife and actual strong-smelling vegetation was indeed a marvel.
The World's Greatest Adventure Machine Page 8
