by Vic Connor
“Don’t ya?” Jeny, as always, met his anger with her own. “Ain’t that important to figure before unplugging every student at Ravenscroft? This place is their life, Niko. It’s my life.”
“It’s not,” Niko said.
“Stop.” Jeny looked like a frustrated parent, tired of a child harping about their imaginary friend. “The only thing I’m sure of anymore is that two of my best mates are missing. You turned my world upside down since you showed up, and now you want me t’believe my world ain’t even real? I can’t, Niko. I won’t.”
A loud peal of thunder startled them both. Niko only now noticed it had gotten very dark, very fast. Drops of rain were starting to paint the ground darker, seeping in through the feathery branches of the ghost pines. The wind picked up, a storm rushing in to meet them.
“Let’s get inside,” Niko said, pulling up the collar of his jacket.
“Yeah,” Jeny sighed, pushing herself to her feet. “All right.” She tugged her coat tighter around herself, walking beside him. “Whae about the finals?”
“With Cal and Hunk gone, we don’t have many options anyway, but…” Niko pulled in a breath. “I can’t bring myself to care anymore, I’m sorry.”
“I suppose…that’s fair. Well, we’ll just spend the rest of the year trying to find—”
With a deafening roar, lighting struck one of the ghost pines just ahead of them, splitting it down the middle in a shower of sparks and splinters. It wasn’t until Jeny was in his arms that Niko realized he’d grabbed her, turning himself bodily in the way of the crash.
She shifted awkwardly, looking at her feet, but she didn’t shove him off right away. “Aye, I’m sure the laws of thermodynamics will recognize yer gallantry, ya great numpty.” It came out softer than her usual insults, and she only shrugged away from him, instead of shoving him off. Niko tried to catch her eye, but she looked up ahead toward the destroyed tree. “Niko… What is that?”
The ghost pine was somehow still being cleaved in two by an everlasting, ever-shifting bolt of purple lightning, crackling and warping in place like a tesla coil. It garbled with static, and then a voice crackled out, like the wind through leaves. “…must… six…”
Jeny grabbed his arm and shook him. “Did you hear that?”
Niko took a few cautious steps forward, Jeny clinging to his arm more to keep his attention than out of fear, or so he assumed from her tight grip.
“…8:58 p.m…. grotto… Niko, you must…”
“It said yer name!” Jeny shook his arm with both hands for emphasis.
The voice, garbled as it was by static, sounded eerily familiar. Without thinking, he reached up, fingers brushing the cross at his neck.
When he did, it became like a conduit. For an electrified moment, the message came through with perfect clarity. “Before you escape, you must reach six, Niko. Otherwise, all we did to you will be for nothing. In a week’s time, come to the grotto to find the last memory.”
As fast as it had come, the lightning disappeared in another blinding flash. Niko blinked away the stars in his eyes. The split pine remained as the only evidence of the strange occurrence.
“What in both worlds just happened?” Jeny smacked his arm like it was all his fault which, technically, he supposed it was.
“It’s a glitch,” Niko said. “But…it’s not by accident. I think… I think someone is hacking the game, trying to talk to me.”
“Talk to ya? And say what?”
Niko thumbed his cross. “It told me the next memory will be at the grotto in a week. I think it must be the one down the path from here.”
“Memory?”
“Yeah… I’ve been finding these glowing orbs. They show me this stuff from when I was a kid that I had forgotten, y’know. I think it’s trying to tell me why I’m the only one in the game who can log out. And…something else.”
“What?”
“I need to hit level six before I can leave for good.”
“Six? D’you think that means you need to get yer Ultimate?”
“I don’t know what else it could mean.”
Jeny flattened her mouth, making an odd, upside-down smirk. “Well, t’do that, you need to play in more Hunts. And to do that…we’re going to need some new team members.”
26
Team Coach
“How is she?”
The lunchroom was abuzz with mealtime activity, students vying for tables, slotting into usual spots.
The food was good. Niko imagined some geek at Territoria HQ typing out the code for a teaspoon of saffron, an ocean-fresh filet of fish, the taste and temperature of a char-grill. He picked at his food as Jeny led the conversation. Sulky. It was the word Jamyllah had assigned to him all those months ago, when he was a small fraction of her appointments; one of a dozen tragedies a day. What’s it like back there? Jeny had asked him.
Bad.
They were seated across from the long-haired, three-eyed Fob, one of the remaining members of Kiele’s squad. He looked sulky, too. “Touch and go,” he said grimly. “They don’t update us much. I can’t believe that Alonso guy. Expelling him wasn’t enough.”
Niko hummed in agreement, having no words for the depth of his hatred for Alonso. He’d thought he’d hated the guy the moment they met, with his stinging, smug superiority. It was nothing compared to his feelings now that he’d hurt—perhaps killed—Kiele.
“So they don’t know when she’ll be back?”
Fob shook his head. “No clue. Luis has been doing the shoutcasting on his own, but it’s not the same. There’s always a few casualties every year, but you never think it’ll be someone you know.” Niko barely had time to reel over this dark information, when Fob went on. “But what am I saying? You know better than I do.”
News of Cal and Hunk’s disappearance had spread across the campus like wildfire. A few had offered their team condolences; Niko wasn’t sure if it was because they thought Hunk and Cal were dead, or if it was because they wouldn’t be able to compete in the finals. It made this whole situation sting with triviality.
As if on cue, Fob asked, “What will you do for the Ravenscroft Championship?”
Niko and Jeny shared a look. “Well, now that ya mention it,” Jeny said, “that’s why we asked you to lunch.”
With the abrupt opening of his mouth, Fob showed that he understood. “I see, I see. That’s a kind offer, but myself and the rest of the team all agreed to hold out for Kiele to improve and return. You’re welcome to ask my teammates individually, of course, but I imagine they’ll give you the same answer.”
“Aye, that makes sense.” Jeny sulked a little herself now, as much as she did anything a little.
“You know who should ask,” Fob drawled, tapping his pointed chin with a clawed finger, “Tim. He’s been sniffing around for fill-ins.”
That woke Niko from his sulky stupor. “No way,” he said, almost in unison with Jeny.
“My,” Fob said, blinking in surprise. “I knew you were rivals, but I didn’t realize you hated Black Fire that much.”
“Don’t you?” Niko asked. “A guy from their team put Kiele in the hospital, and all Tim was angry about was being disqualified from the Championship.”
Fob cocked his head to the side like a bird. “Seriously? Where did you hear that?”
“Ah… I… uh, when he went into Headmaster’s office, he was pissed, y’know, like yelling his head off and stuff.” Niko realized he hadn’t actually heard what Tim was yelling about, only taken Clark’s word on it. Clark, the megalomaniacal liar.
“Well, yes, because he wanted Alonso gone. He’s been going on all week about how there’s no place for players like that in the games. Tim was a big reason Alonso got expelled instead of just suspended—his own shotcaller saying he’s too unhinged to be in the Hunt or at the school.”
“Tim was?” Jeny leaned forward on the table.
“Yes. Certainly it helps that he’s been annoyed with him all year. Didn’t work with
the team,” Fob said. “In any case, if you want to head to the Ravenscroft finals, I think you should talk to him.”
Jeny and Niko exchanged a look. “We’ll think about it,” Niko said. “Thanks, Fob.”
Maybe word got around; maybe Fob talked to him; or maybe it was just coincidence. Whatever the reason, when Niko and Jeny returned from their jog the next morning, Tim was waiting for them in front of the dormitory.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” Niko mirrored, wary.
“What do ya want?” Jeny folded her arms, managing to have an attitude despite being out of breath.
Tim spread his hands. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry about Cal and Hunk.”
“Oh, that so?” Jeny tilted further into an unimpressed attitude. “You just want t’snipe Niko and leave me to rot.”
Niko puffed out his chest. “You can forget—”
“This isn’t what I’m offering,” Tim interrupted. “I want to pass Erica and Jacob to the Sevens. I’ll come in as a coach.”
Niko looked to Jeny, leaning in to whisper to her. “You have team coaches here?”
“Eugh…” Jeny looked over at Tim, then back at Niko. “Usually only senior teams have them.” She settled back into their cocky pose. “Why would ya want to do that?” she demanded.
“I’m looking to the future,” Tim said. “The Alonso pick taught me that I need slow down and make thoughtful decisions, like Cal does… did.” Tim looked at the ground, coughed, shook it off. “Shotcalling—making reactionary choices on a time-crunch—isn’t my strength. So instead, I want to position myself to coach for a major team one day. If I start before senior year, it’ll give me an edge during apprenticeship applications.” Tim managed a sheepish smile. “If we win, it’ll look even better.”
“But then, who’s goan’ to shotcall for us?” Jeny asked.
“It’s up to the team to decide, but if you’re asking for my suggestion…” Tim looked to Niko.
“Me?” Niko put up his hands. “I’m a level five. I barely know how the Hunt works.”
“I know,” Tim said. “Without a coach you’d be screwed, but I can work on base knowledge and mechanics with you. I was on your team during scrims. You did well. Played smart. Made good decisions fast. That’s harder to learn.”
Not knowing what to say, Niko looked to Jeny, not trusting the assessment without her approval.
She hemmed and hawed, then said, “I suppose that’s true. You almost beat Alonso’s team, after all. He was a wee radge, I’ll grant, but he had Cal.” She looked to Niko, smiling begrudgingly. “I suppose congratulations are in order, captain.”
27
The Grotto
“You’re not going,” Niko said firmly as he marched out of the dorms.
“One week in the grotto. That’s what that weird lightning-bolt…thang… said; 8:58 p.m., I remember. I been oot here since eight o’clock, freezin’ my bum off, to make sure ya don’t go without me.”
“Well, then you’d better go inside and warm up,” Niko said, brushing past her. Those memories were tough, emotional. He didn’t want Jeny to see how they affected him.
She grabbed him by the arm, hard, forcing him to turn and look at her. “Listen, ya great maggot. You keep goan’ on about ‘everything’s a game’ and ‘we have to save the students’ and all, but now that you might have some evidence of it to show me—” Jeny prodded him in the chest with her finger, “—you’re all ‘Oh, Jeny, you’ve got to stay home, your girlish constitution cannae handle it!’ Fah! Don’t give me that mince.”
It was hard to keep his mouth from smiling. “Girlish constitution?”
Jeny kicked him in the shins. “Go fart a hedgehog, ya jobby-faced bawbag!”
“O-o-ow.” Niko laughed. He could tell he wasn’t going to win this fight, and time was ticking down. Besides, Jeny was right—he wanted her on his side. He’d just have to suck it up after coming out of the memory. “Okay, okay. Let’s go, you, er…maggot.” He laughed again. “Y’know.”
It felt odd following the wooded running path at a walking pace. Jeny tugged her jacket around herself, shivering. Niko thought a long while about putting an arm around her, tucking her into his side—for warmth, and definitely not any other reason. He didn’t do it.
As they moved deeper into the trees, even the white ghost pines grew dark. Jeny dug in the pocket of her jacket, then produced what looked like an old-fashioned wood torch. She lifted a muddy boot, then smacked the top of the torch against her heel until it cracked, and the tip lit up a glowing, toxic shade of orange-red. She held it out to illuminate their way.
“Were you planning on going to a rave later?” Niko joked.
“Dunno, were ya plannin’ to stumble about in the dark until you ran into a tree later?” she shot back.
“I’m trying to imagine you in, y’know, like, blacklight bodypaint.”
Jeny elbowed him. “And I’m not tryin’ to imagine you with a broken nose. Seriously, if you didn’t bring me along, you’d have walked right off a bloody cliff.” She whistled like a bomb dropping, then blew the sound of a crash between her cheeks, dropping on the pathway like she’d tipped off the edge. Laying on her back, Jeny laughed, loud and high.
She was a dark figure on the ground, reposed in the pool of light left by her torch. It drew red, crescent lines along the shape of her, her jacket fallen back, revealing the curves usually hidden. He leaned over her, thinking how open she looked, laid back like that, hair fallen from her face, mouth wide with laughter. He’d never thought of her as closed off until he saw this contrast to her usual, huddled posture.
“You gonna lay around all night, you lazy sack of horse manure?” he teased, offering her his hand. She gave him this knowing sickle of a smile that made her eyes glint in the low light. His blood raced. She took his hand, and he pulled her up, tugging her a little closer than was necessary. She stayed there a moment longer than necessary, too.
“Well,” she huffed, kneeling to retrieve her torch, then turning from him, “the grotto’s just around this bend, eh? What does this memory o’ yours look like?”
Niko hummed and glanced around, much as he could in the dim light. “I’m not sure. Usually it…glows.” Niko trailed off as his eyes fixed on something sparkling through the gaps in a nearby clutch of bushes. He wandered toward the twinkling pinpricks of that light. Jeny followed him.
They rounded the corner. It wasn’t a memory orb; it was, in fact, the same rocky grotto they had passed on their run every day, overgrown with mushrooms and steaming with warm spring water. However, the nighttime transformed it. The water’s surface was abuzz with glowflies, dancing lazily in the steam, flicking their four thin, bioluminescent wings. Expansive terraces of honey mushrooms spread around the pool like a glowing-green laurel. They turned a rich yellow under the light from Jeny’s torch.
“Wow,” she hummed, pressing up behind him, trying to peer over his shoulder. It made him sweat despite the cold. “How many times did we run right by here? Looks bonnie at night.” Jeny shook him, then jogged to the water like a kid at the beach.
Niko held back a chuckle at her childlike giddiness, imagining what a terror she must have been in her schoolyard days, kicking her foot with impatience at her desk or coming home with bruised knuckles and scuffed knees after defending another student from bullies twice her size. Or maybe after bullying someone herself. He saw himself in that scrappy, impatient girl. She’s a good person, and so are you, Hunk had said. You both try so hard to hide it.
Jeny knelt beside the spring, dipping her knuckles into it. “Not too hot at all,” she announced, shaking the water from her hands. “Thought from the steam it might ha’e been boiling.”
A soft fog was, indeed, hissing up from the surface, and the torchlight revealed the water was very clear, save for a carpet of green algae on the bottom. Jeny was already taking off her boots. “I hope yer spooky, glowy memory theng is here, because I’m staying.” She set the torch down, then
dangled her legs over the grotto’s edge, submerging her feet. Niko checked the time—they were early, not late. He walked over to sit down beside her.
For a time, there was only the clanking of Niko loosening the excess of buckles on his boots. Once he at last managed to tug them off his feet, he rolled his jeans up to the knees, then dipped his feet in. It was a perfect temperature—warm enough to be a shock on his cold toes, but soon soothing, radiating up through his body. Jeny poked his knee with her own. “Chicken-legs,” she teased. “You’re so pale, ya look like a vampire.”
“You have vampires here?”
“Aye, it’s a Mythic. That Enders DPS Erica likes so well, she’s a Phaeton evolution of one.”
“Phaeton evolution?”
“Aye. Planetary magic affects yer Mythic. On Phaeton, you’d have a different level and all different abilities too. They tend to be more powerful there as well.”
“Ah.” It was all Niko could say. He was certainly never going to Phaeton.
“Still cannae believe we’re teaming up with Erica.” Jeny sighed. “I hate her guts, you know that?”
Niko laughed. “That was the first thing I ever knew about you. But why? Did she try to seduce you too?”
Jeny looked out to the middle distance, toward the glowflies careening above the warm water. “Not me. Hunk.”
“Well, yeah, I saw that—”
“No, I mean, when we came to Ravenscroft, she…” Jeny frowned hard. “None of us knew whae she was like back then. Erica came at him wi’ that saccharin charm, and he thought she had real feelings for him. He’s too good to think someone is messing him about. He bought her flowers, the absolute bampot, and she laughed him off, dragged him out to the quad in front of everyone to make a right spectacle of it. It’s where his nickname came from—Hunk.”
“But you call him that,” Niko said.
“Aye, everyone did after that. I took it up because I didn’t want it to be a…a joke. And, I suppose…”
