Trevor saw his chance and took it.
Lunging forward, he plowed his lowered shoulder into One’s stomach and the creature instantly collapsed to his knees. One lashed out, slicing grooves in the back of Trevor’s uniform and snagging the neotanium fabric with his claws. But Trevor’s momentum carried him forward, and the force snapped One’s hand back with a loud crack. The creature crumpled backward, and Trevor easily yanked open the door. He turned back to help the others, but they were already racing for the exit. Devin held the door for Nika and Cameron, then hopped out after, pulling the door to the secret room shut behind him.
TREVOR DIDN’T KNOW how much time there was before something terrible happened to his mom, but he had to think of a way to save her and the others. The facility wasn’t exactly small, and there were plenty of rooms throughout the building. And with the robotic voice continuing to squawk an “out of order” announcement from behind the closed elevator doors, there appeared to be no way off the main level.
Instead, the four of them followed the flickering lights embedded in the floor straight back to the Gallery. Racing up the tongue, they passed through the opening resembling a gigantic mouth, and from there Trevor pointed to the Terrorarium as a suitable hiding spot.
“We can’t stay here long,” Trevor said, leaning against the side of one of the numerous video game consoles dotting the room. “One knows our next move too, remember?” He tapped his temple. “He’s inside our heads.”
The sound of cackling suddenly erupted from outside the Terrorarium. Trevor poked his head out from behind the arcade game just as Shrill Parker sauntered into view of the glass doors, coming from the direction of the food court. Her hair stood on end as if electrified, and she sliced the air with her meat cleaver. Trevor watched Shrill walk past, then disappear to the other side, her voice continuing to fill the air with her deafening laughter.
Trevor faced the others. “She’s headed toward the lobby.”
“Why is this happening to us?” Nika asked, almost on the verge of tears. “It was supposed to be just a thrilling adventure, one we would all enjoy. And now the absolute worst has happened. I’m seriously injured, and I don’t want to think what will happen to my grandfather.”
Trevor glanced over at Nika as another round of Shrill’s laughter arose from outside the Terrorarium. But he wasn’t thinking about Shrill, or One, for that matter. His brain raced as he tried to fit together the pieces of a new puzzle.
Cameron was still covering his ears with his hands, trying to drown out the sound of Shrill’s voice. “This is my worst nightmare come true.”
And then it finally clicked in Trevor’s mind, the reality hitting him square in the chest like a medicine ball. The peculiar chain of events leading up to that moment, punctuated by Harold’s words: You’re already on the inside. You’re already connected with the central mainframe.
“Oh man. This is crazy!” Trevor fell back into the console, his jaw dropping. “I think I’ve figured it out.”
Nika looked hopeful. “Figured out how to get to my grandfather?”
Trevor shook his head. “I don’t think we need to.”
“Of course we need to.” Cameron dropped one of his hands from his ears for long enough to scratch his nose. “I need my mom and my pills and two cans of Kraken Spit.”
“No, you don’t.” Trevor got to his feet, a series of ideas swarming his brain like a whirlwind of gnats.
“What’s wrong with you?” Devin stuck out his chin, his lips puckered to one side. “Why are you acting like a spaz?”
A knowing smile had worked its way across Trevor’s mouth as he looked down, his eyes passing between them. “Don’t you get it?” he asked. “Don’t you see what’s really going on here?”
“No!” the three of them answered.
“We don’t need to save our parents because”—Trevor took a deep breath—“we’re still on the ride!”
“THE ADVENTURE MACHINE did exactly what it was supposed to do, and we all played along not knowing that the adventure never stopped.” Trevor’s eyes gleamed. “The Ganglion malfunctioning. The monster attack. Shrill turning into a real psychopath. It’s all just part of the show.”
Devin rubbed the corner of his eye. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. The Adventure Machine broke down. There was smoke, and Cameron had to yank out a bunch of wires.”
“Yes, what you’re suggesting is simply impossible,” Cameron added. “There are too many unexplained variables.”
“Remember what you said right after the meteor shower?” Trevor asked. “You told us that they were projecting that whole jungle scene with high-tech equipment and they used some kind of factory or factor…”
“Olfactory emissions,” Cameron offered.
“Yeah, whatever. Couldn’t this”—Trevor waved his hand around his head—“all be just a projection?”
Devin rolled his eyes. “You’re crazy. That’s just not…” He stopped when he noticed Cameron thoughtfully tapping his upper lip with his fingernail.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” Trevor asked.
Cameron nodded halfheartedly. “You’re right in the sense that the Adventure Machine could feasibly fabricate an environment such as our current surroundings.”
“I knew it!”
“But”—Cameron held up a finger—“that doesn’t explain all the other elements. The physical ones. Terry Castleton, for starters. He certainly wasn’t some random projection.”
“Why not?” Trevor laughed at Cameron’s baffled expression. “All I’m saying is, how do we know Terry was actually there?”
“He touched me,” Nika said. “He examined me for injuries. I could feel him.”
Cameron sighed. “I’m sorry, Trevor, but there are more holes in your theory than an eroding asteroid.”
Trevor licked his lips and thought for a moment. “What happened when that giant moose sniffed you?”
Cameron recoiled in disgust and looked away. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
“It knocked you back, right? You could feel it.”
“Yes, obviously.”
“So was it a robot, then? It couldn’t have been a real moose. They don’t grow that big.” Trevor folded his arms and reclined against the back of the video game console, everything starting to make perfect sense to him now. “You thought it was just a projection and it surprised you when you were proven wrong.”
“What are you getting at?” Devin asked.
Trevor tugged on the neotanium material at his chest, flicked it with his fingers, and waggled his eyebrows.
Cameron frowned at first, but then his mouth dropped open at an odd angle. “The suit,” he whispered. He stared down at his own uniform, running his hand down his sleeve. “It simulates feeling?”
Trevor nodded.
Cameron’s eyes widened. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Ha!” Trevor cheered, clapping. “I can’t believe I figured this out before you. Look who’s the genius now!”
“I’m not sure I understand.” Nika’s eyes flitted between Trevor and Cameron. “Are you saying that we can feel things that aren’t actually there, because of what we’re wearing?”
Trevor stood up. “When the moose knocked Cameron back, he felt it through his helmet. When you fell into the hole, Nika, the impact was absorbed by your suit. This neotanium isn’t just some way to protect us against the elements; it’s what makes the elements feel real to us!”
Nika slumped on the ground, her hands pressed against her mouth. “But we saw our parents tied up.”
“We believed we saw our parents, but in truth, they’re not even there,” Trevor said. “It’s all part of the adventure.”
“What if you’re wrong?” Devin asked. “What if our parents are truly in jeopardy?”
“I’m not wrong,” Trevor said.
“Then what Harold told us, and that lizard, was that all part of the adventure as well?” Nika asked.
&n
bsp; Trevor hesitated before answering. Was that real or, like everything else that had happened the past few hours, was that all just a fabrication? He gnawed on his cheek and looked at Cameron.
“I think we were never meant to know those things,” Cameron said. “Harold found a way to communicate with us through the Adventure Machine, no doubt violating numerous confidentiality clauses in the process, but it has to be the truth. Something sinister is happening within the walls of this facility. Something that, if not taken care of, could result in horrible consequences.”
“It’s up to us to put a stop to it,” Trevor said.
Devin momentarily peeked above the video game unit, before ducking back down. “So Shrill Parker isn’t outside right now, planning a way to kill us.”
The psychotic sound of Shrill’s cackling drifted through the arcade. Cameron shuddered, his hands jerking up to cover his ears. Shrill sounded gleefully insane.
Devin held a finger to his ear. “You hear that, right? If she barged in here right now, swinging her cleaver, you’d just let her lop your head off?”
“Actually, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” Trevor yanked sharply on the neotanium around his neck. The fabric resisted his pulling at first, but soon he felt it give under the pressure. The collar expanded, stretching wide, and a sizeable tear broke through, splitting his suit straight down the center. Trevor wrestled the rest of the way free from the clinging material, sighing with relief as he tossed it into a pile at his feet.
Devin cracked a smile. “Nice knowing you, dude. I’m guessing this junk isn’t cheap, and you just destroyed it.”
Trevor brushed his hands together. “Do I look worried? If Doug didn’t want me to rip up his stuff, he shouldn’t have lied to us.”
Nika set her jaw in determination. “Will you help me remove mine?”
Cameron scrambled up off the floor, ripping at his collar as though his clothes were on fire. Trevor gaped at the small boy in amazement as he succeeded in removing the neotanium suit in record time.
Cameron breathed excitedly. “I can’t tell you how desperately I’ve been wanting to do that since they first covered me in that hideous sheath!”
“Yeah, but just make sure you keep the rest of your clothes on,” Trevor said.
Cameron looked down, regarding his turtleneck and jeans with disdain. “We’ll just have to see about that.”
Devin joined the others and removed his uniform, and the four of them stood facing the entrance to the Terrorarium. “All right,” he said. “What’s our next move?”
Just like everything else that had happened over the course of the past few minutes, the solution to their problem flickered on in Trevor’s mind like a lightbulb buzzing to life. “We need to officially stop the ride, and I can think of only one way to do that.”
Cameron gawked at Trevor in amazement. “How are you the one solving all the riddles? That’s my job!”
“I guess I was born to ride the Adventure Machine.”
“Don’t keep us waiting,” Nika said. “Tell us what to do.”
Trevor grinned. “It’s what we would’ve done in the first place, had we listened to Devin.”
All they had to do was press their abort buttons, and those were lying on the floor of the Adventure Machine cart, deep within the Globe.
CAMERON WATCHED AS Trevor casually strolled up to the entrance until the motion sensor detected his movement and the doors slid open. As Trevor started stepping through, Cameron hissed at him from behind.
“Don’t just walk out there,” Cameron whispered. “You’ve got to stick to the plan!”
“I was going to.” Trevor leaned forward and peered around the corner.
“Well?” Cameron asked, looking hopeful once Trevor returned.
Trevor nodded. “She’s there, right outside. Go take a look.”
“Go take a look?” Cameron gasped. His shoulders drooped as he locked his fingers and breathed into his hands.
“If you’re going to be able to do this, you’re going to have to face your fears eventually,” Trevor said.
“Easy for you to say.” Trevor didn’t have any fears to face. Cameron couldn’t begin to count all of his.
Holding his breath, Cameron crept up next to Trevor and poked his head out past the door. Shrill sat facing the Terrorarium, her legs swinging back and forth over the side of a credenza displaying a few vases of flowers. The noise from the opening doors should have alerted her, but for the moment, Shrill seemed preoccupied with the sharpened end of her meat cleaver, skinning the edges of her fingernails against its blade.
“She can’t hurt us,” Trevor said as soon as Cameron leapt back into the room. “Remember that.”
“I understand that you feel this way, but I’m struggling with accepting this as our reality,” Cameron said. “Our helmets are off, and I can still see her. Maybe without our suits, she can still hurt us.” How could Cameron, a Whiz Kid Weekly all-star, resort to following someone as impulsive and irrational as Trevor? There was no logic in it. And yet, Cameron could not think of any other option.
“All we have to do is make it to the stairs, down a few flights, and we’re back where we started,” Trevor said reassuringly.
“You’re forgetting about the hole I fell down,” Nika said. “And the collapsed ceiling.”
“Does anyone have a better plan?” Trevor looked at Cameron and waited for a response.
Cameron removed his glasses and wiped the smudges from the lenses. There had to be something hidden in his mind. An alternate plan. One that didn’t require squaring off with a complete lunatic wielding a sharpened blade better suited for shaving burlap! He swallowed. His throat felt lumpy and sore. No doubt the result of already having screamed in dozens of instances on the Adventure Machine.
“Okay,” Cameron said. “He’s right. We can’t stay here forever. She’s going to realize there’s no way out except this way and face off with us eventually.”
“Yeah,” Devin said, nodding. “Might as well get it over with.”
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Trevor approached the motion sensor, and the doors slid open once more. “Follow my lead. And if you see Shrill, don’t panic. Just…”
“Hello, children,” Shrill hissed. She stood beyond the opening, holding her meat cleaver at her side. Cameron whimpered, hiding behind Trevor.
“Back up!” Devin said. “We can take a different way.”
Cameron tried retreating, but kept bumping into Nika, who seemed unable to move.
“Don’t run,” Trevor said. “She’s not going to do anything.”
Shrill smiled. “I’m not, am I? Why do you say that?”
“Because you’re a figment of our imagination.” Trevor folded his arms, engaging Shrill in a stare-down.
“I’m not so sure anymore,” Cameron squeaked. “Perhaps we need to rethink this.” Shrill seemed real enough. There was substance in her movements. The matted hair, clumped with red goop. The streaky makeup staining her collar from all her tears. If she was indeed a fake, she was the most realistic projection of all time. Cameron had watched all sorts of documentaries on CGI. The greatest special-effects artists in the world couldn’t have created something as lifelike as Shrill. Maybe they could try to reason with her. Promise her some of their prize money. Cameron didn’t think the only solution was to square off with her in a battle to the death!
Shrill looked at Trevor, and licked her lips. “You’re the brave one, aren’t you?” she asked. “The one born without fear. Tell me, Trevor, will your fearlessness be able to save you against my chopper?” She twirled the cleaver in her hand, the gleaming blade sparkling beneath the fluorescent glow of the overhead lights.
“Take your best shot,” Trevor said.
Shrill snarled, tossed the cleaver into the air, caught it with her other hand, and then swung out at Trevor’s throat. The blade whistled, Nika and Devin screamed, and Cameron yelped. He wanted to look away but couldn’t. He just hoped Trevor
had been right about his theory.
Trevor never closed his eyes as the cleaver passed harmlessly through him like vapor. And then Shrill vanished.
“Told you!” Trevor shouted.
“Holy cow!” Devin leapt forward, scanning the hallway for signs of Shrill. “She’s really not here anymore.”
Nika looked at Cameron, and they both burst out laughing.
“Were you worried at all?” Nika asked Trevor.
“Worried? Kind of,” Trevor said. “There was a moment right before she swung when I thought I might have made a mistake.”
Cameron gulped. “But you didn’t duck? You just stood there! What if you had been wrong?”
Trevor shrugged. “Well, I guess you guys still would’ve had a chance to escape while Shrill was busy chopping up—”
“Stop!” Nika chimed in. “Let’s not talk about it.”
Cameron felt faint. Clearly, he had no clue about the inner workings of someone with a mind as complicated as Trevor’s. Logic didn’t play a role in his decision making. He was careless and wild. And dangerous. Cameron nodded emphatically. And yet, without Trevor, where would they be? Would Cameron have eventually figured out the puzzle of the Adventure Machine? Would any of them? Cameron glanced up at Trevor, a strange sense of awe coming over him. They all needed each other. That much was certain. Whatever the reason they’d been brought together on the ride, Cameron wondered if anyone expected them to make it this far.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” Trevor asked, eyeing Cameron warily.
Cameron looked away. “I just thought of something,” he said. “I’ve never had friends like you before.” He glanced up, straightening. “We are friends, correct?”
Trevor looked around at the others before nodding. “Yeah.”
“Of course,” Nika said, smiling. “Are you all right?”
“I’m just glad,” Cameron said. “Even though this has been stressful. Even tragic at times. I’m glad we met on the Adventure Machine.”
Devin brushed past Cameron and peered in both directions. “It’s not over yet,” he said. “Why don’t we save this for later?” He stepped into the hallway and motioned for them to follow.
The World's Greatest Adventure Machine Page 17
