by Tim Kaiver
"Do you think you're ready?" a low female voice said.
He turned in his seat, but there was no one there. Ehli rested her head against the cushion of her neuronet station, eyes closed. Ehli? he thought back.
The voice laughed. It didn't sound like Ehli's.
Dr. Sara sat next to her, reading her tablet. She had looked up at Cullen's sudden turn. "You okay?"
"Yeah." He went back to his screen map. "Thought I heard something."
"You did."
Again, the strange voice.
Who is this?
"You can call me Willo."
Was this part of the Cipher? It hadn't produced sound so far, only visuals, but that wasn't to say it couldn't. He glanced around again. How are you doing this? Cullen didn't know if this was how insanity started. Sudden, and completely convincing.
"I'm the girl with answers, if you want them."
Cullen thought of the rejects Huls had mentioned. Are you a reject?
"I don't appreciate the term, but yes, we are what your new friends call rejects. We may have been cast off, but we're far from worthless. You'll see soon enough."
How're you speaking in my mind?
"That's the part of the experiment Schaefer's so proud of. We're the failed part he wishes he could bury."
What does that mean? What experiment?
"Telepathy."
Cullen laughed. It came out more like a squawk.
"Something funny?" Torek asked.
Cullen shook him off. He looked at Ehli and Emmit. Could they do the same?
"Maybe. Be careful... there's a price for our ability. We're kind of unpredictable."
Why is she telling me this? Then he realized she'd probably heard that, and that terrified him—the invasion of his natural mental barriers, removing protection of even his thoughts. What else could someone with that ability do? He picked at the skin by his fingernails and scanned the thick jungle outside his window.
"I'm telling you because it's the truth; and because I believe I'm the only one to tell you."
"Something wrong?" Torek asked.
Cullen sat up and let go of his hands. Torek knew his nervous habit and had caught him.
Dr. Sara was watching too.
Cullen studied his friend. Why would she say that? Did Torek lie to me? Is he lying still?
"He is."
About what?
"They need you, but he knows far more about Ocia and Schaefer's plans than he's told you."
"What's going on, Cul?" Torek asked.
"They already know. Telling him won't stop your mission. I have to g-g-go. S-s-s-see…you soon."
Wow. What was that?
"Captain." Torek stood as the train slowed.
"Nothing." Cullen scratched a sudden itch on his cheek. "Just scoping out our terrain." He turned his wrist to see their map. The train had entered the eighty-kilometer-diameter deadzone of jungle and mountains.
You have entered the Reject Jungle Dungeon.
*Mission to escape the Reject Jungle Dungeon – Activated.*
10
Willo.
Emmit looked up from the math problem on his holo, thinking someone had spoken from the doorway to the rear car. No one stood there.
"What?" Adi asked, sitting on the other side of the booth they'd taken after Ocia had shown them where to get snacks and drinks.
Willo.... The word entered Emmit's mind as clearly as Adi's, but without invite or a trace of where it'd come from. It reminded him of the thoughts he’d heard in the cafeteria not long before he'd passed out.
"Something wrong?" Adi asked.
Emmit shook his head. "No. I just thought of something."
Behind Adi, fat green branches smacked the windows like wet clothes splatting on the ground. Ocia had warned them that their progress into Jehu Jungle would be slow as the train cut its path through the newly grown vegetation. He returned to his math, hoping it would calm his mind and push away the fear the word the spoken “Willo” had evoked.
"Hey, Em." Ocia appeared in the doorway from the middle car.
"Yeah?"
"Just came back to see how you're doing. Working on Coda?" Ocia asked, glancing down at the hologram.
"Yeah," Emmit said. "The new level you made is harder, but I'm figuring it out."
"Will I get to work on that stuff too?" Adi asked, and looked bashful when Ocia turned to him.
"We'll see."
Ocia crossed the room to sit at one of the chairs at Emmit's table. He checked the holo and the upward-pointing vertex shown on the chart. Above it was a question about the parabola of the functions f(x) and g(x). Below were multiple choice answers.
"What'dya think?" Ocia asked.
"Well," Emmit said, focusing back on the algebra problem, "the slope...."
"I mean, all this," Ocia said, raising his hands at the world around them. "And that," he said, pointing at the hologram. "We're finally able to progress with your training without having to hide in my lab. I expect an opening of the floodgates beyond what I've already seen from you."
Adi watched them with a jealousy that strained their friendship.
Emmit looked back to Ocia, holding thoughts of Willo and how not to lose his best friend in this opening-of-the-floodgates opportunity. For now, he'd play along. "Yes, I'm very excited." He waited, smile firmly in place as Ocia studied him, perhaps waiting for him to dissemble. Emmit decided a little truth might help hide the truth he needed to keep secret. "Why couldn't you tell us about this?"
He included Adi with a look, inviting him into the conversation no amount of whispering could hide.
"It wasn't safe," Ocia addressed both boys. "I didn't know until a week ago that we had to get you out. That we could get you out. Would you have really liked to know, for years, that there was a distant, but uncertain, chance I could set you free? What if you'd slipped and one of the other guards found out? We were operating under a thin disguise, sneaking you and your mother in for the appointments. The Osuna have interrogation tactics that—not to frighten you unnecessarily—would have broken any amount of will you'd have had to not reveal our secrets." To Adi, he added, "I would have loved to have included you in everything I've done for Emmit, but the truth is, he and his mother are different, and the surgery to implant a neuronet chip would have been too risky, not only to do by myself, but also in the recovery. The chance that a guard would have noticed was too great."
Adi nodded, and Emmit did too when Ocia’s gaze returned on him. It made sense. Except.... "What makes me and Mom so special?"
Ocia smiled. His gaze held a world of information that he seemed glad to keep within. He slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Em. That secret isn't for me to ruin."
"Then who?" Emmit asked.
"Neither is that." Ocia set his hands on his lap and pushed up to stand. "We're almost at the end of the rail. Time to get dressed and boots strapped. Don't worry. When you get your answers, it will all make sense—including the timing."
After Ocia had returned to the middle car, Adi and Emmit shared a look of hope and wonder. "Who do you think we're going to meet?" Adi asked.
Emmit's mind went to the jerk in the milk line who'd thought, "He has the same eyes." The possibilities behind that thought broke apart under logic and scrutiny. Same eyes as who? couldn't find its home where Emmit wanted in his dream of dreams—of his father being alive. "I don't know." He reached for the h-stick and set his thumb into the groove to turn it off. Instead of the screen shrinking back into the tiny hole, it flashed, and a series of Veltuk letters appeared.
"Welcome, Son."
Emmit's head filled with the weight of an introduction he couldn't bear. Son? "What?" he asked out loud.
Adi pushed out from the table to come over. "What are you looking at?"
Adi couldn't read Veltuk, so Emmit wasn't too concerned about him seeing the words on the screen. He only knew how because his dad had taught him. The language of the Ancients was also the language of their hom
e and schooling. Could it be him?
He didn't want Adi to see, so he pushed the h-stick button again and this time the screen disappeared.
"Hey," Adi said. "Why'd you do that?"
Emmit sat back and shrugged. "I didn't."
"Yes you did. I saw your thumb move."
"I mean, I...." Emmit couldn't think of a lie.
"You two ready back there?" Ocia called from the middle car.
When Emmit didn't reply, Adi let out a steaming breath and moved for his pack in the other booth. He dropped the heavy pack on the table and ripped open the zipper.
Emmit reached down for his pack and peeled it open to find compacted, air-sealed plastic bags inside. Two, labeled "Jacket" and "Pants" respectively, lay near the top. When he depressed the button on top, the trapped air escaped in a hiss. The muddy green material expanded out through the new holes in the top, and he pulled them out like tissues.
Adi zipped up his jacket and stole a glance at Emmit, then shook his pants out and stepped inside. "I wish you would talk to me."
Emmit paused with one arm inside his jacket, then fitted his other arm through the other side and zipped up. The thin plastic was the same as the guards on Setuk wore. It could be programed to be warm or cool manually—or be set to the wearer's body temperature—while also being both breathable and waterproof. As it ran over his sleeveless arms it felt cool to the touch, which was nice considering it was a little warm in the train. Adi's comment nagged to be answered, but he didn't know if it was safe or allowable to discuss what his dad had written... if it was Dad. The violent memory of the explosion that had killed him sent a cruel feeling of waste under his skin.
Adi sat and strapped his boots tight. "Whatever Ocia's done to you, I hate it. You're acting like a jerk."
Emmit shook out his pants and pulled them up one leg at a time.
"I thought you two were done fighting," his mom said as she stepped into their car. "Why's he calling you a jerk, Em?"
Adi looked at Emmit, as though offering Emmit two seconds to come clean before he spat his thoughts.
His mom looked at Adi. "What's going on? What'd he do?"
Ocia walked in. "Are they ready? Emmit, come on. Get your boots on. Our approach will attract attention we don't want, so as soon as we stop, we're out and running for cover. This is not a drill. Jolnes and Nassib will go with you." He picked up Emmit's pack and zipped it shut while Emmit slipped on a boot. "And whatever's going on between you two, resolve it right now. Once we're outside, we work together or we die."
His mom gasped. "What are you—?"
"Ehli. Darling. I can't shelter you or the kids any longer. We're going to fight for you, but we can't stop the fight from coming. Part of the reason it took this long was preparing you for it."
"But what if he's not ready?"
"He will be." He turned to Emmit. "We're getting off this train in twenty seconds and you need to get your wolverine." To Emmit’s mom, he said, "He's got a wolverine. He'll be fine. Unless he doesn't follow my every command." He smiled at Emmit. "But he's a smart boy, so he'll be fine."
My wolverine. His heart beat quicker at the thought of riding his wolverine into the jungle. He strapped his second boot tight and stood. "Ready," he said, fighting to calm the windstorm of nervousness coursing through him.
"Good." Ocia handed Emmit his pack, then brushed past Ehli. "Let's go."
Emmit palmed the h-stick and put it in his pocket.
His mom stopped Adi from leaving with Ocia. "I'm not happy with these circumstances, but he's not kidding, so whatever's cross between you two will be uncrossed right now. Five...."
"If I could, I would," Emmit said. "When I can, I will." If you love me as friend, you'll need to trust me to come clean when I can.
Adi chewed on that for a second. "If you don't, I won't." And he meant it. Adi's frame wasn't as thick as Emmit's, but he had a fire that in that moment dared not be tested.
Emmit stuck out his fist.
Adi thumped it with his own.
"Okay..." his mom said. "That was weird, but whatever. You two stick together and stick with me."
"You're at my side, Ehli," Ocia said from the middle car.
Nassib stepped into the doorway, a levitor rifle clipped to his battle vest. Jolnes clicked something near the trigger of his rifle and examined the barrel sight.
"Nassib and Jolnes, not to mention the wolverine, will be good cover for the kids," Ocia added. "We're spreading out, and will meet up not far from here."
Jolnes motioned for Emmit and Adi to follow him to the door of the rear car.
"You be careful," his mom said before pecking his head with a kiss and exiting to the middle car.
Be careful, Emmit thought, fearing the irony of her words as he walked toward his caged wolverine.
You have entered the Reject Jungle Dungeon.
*Mission to escape the Reject Jungle Dungeon – Activated.*
The notification appeared with a weight on his soul he imagined would come with the news of a deceased friend. Dungeon? He hoped his wolverine, and whatever it meant to be an ultra, would protect him. How am I supposed to escape?
The message faded, and in its place were the following words:
Mission objectives: Survive and protect your party, priority on your mother and Captain Re.
Who said "Welcome?"
This time, it gave no response. Emmit was scared enough to turn into a stone statue.
11
Ehli kissed her son's head, brought Adi in for the same, then left them to Jolnes, Nassib, and Sprinkles's protection. She walked into the middle car, shaking her head at where her life had gone since the Osuna killed her husband and whisked her and her son into captivity. Emmit should be excelling at school and learning to glide with his father. Instead, they were on some mad mission through a god-forsaken jungle.
God-forsaken, she thought. But Shephka hasn't. We are ultras. She shrugged. She didn't understand what that meant, and hoped she'd figure it out soon—before they met the life or death situation Ocia had alluded to.
You have entered the Reject Jungle Dungeon.
*Mission to escape the Reject Jungle Dungeon – Activated.*
Mission objectives: protect son and Captain Re through to the other side.
Cipher stats, she thought.
Ehli Orson, Level 1 Ultra. XP 40/130.
That was it. Aside from a pack of hiking supplies and the new clothes she wore, all she knew was: XP 40, and 90 to the next level. Shephka, please show me what this is and how to use it.
The floor shook and there was a faint squeal as the magnets locked pad to rail to slow the train. Through the front car windshield, she saw the cluster of massive fallen trees and thick-rooted vines. No speed she could imagine would send their train through that without a massive crash. The train stopped close enough for her to watch a small family of bright green lizards scamper over one of the fallen trees and disappear on the other side. The spectrum and vibrancy of colors in the native flora stole seconds in observation—so different from Setuk.
And, as she'd seen on Setuk, the wonders and powers of nature could steal life just as easily.
Ocia led the way to the door and paused to face the group. "Huls will chart our course, but Cullen and Torek have maps too if we get separated. Do your best not to. Follow right behind him as close as you can. I'll bring up the rear," he said to Ehli, and let Huls take up a position at the door.
"How's your leg?" Sara asked.
It felt as normal as the other. She curled her foot up to stretch her hamstring. "Good."
"You ready back there?" Ocia called out toward the back car.
"Yep," Nassib responded.
Ocia nodded at Huls, who punched the button beside the door frame. The door slid open, exposing a jungle close enough to jump into, with fanned-out leaves and trees so tightly packed Ehli didn't see any way in without force. Ultimately, they were blind to whatever lay on the other side of that green barrier.
/> "Go." Huls leapt off the landing and threw an arm up at one of the branches, snapping it at its base and opening a path into the darkness of the jungle. Sara jumped out next. Then Torek, with Cullen and herself close behind. Ehli landed on the soft earth and charged in before a branch could snap back from Cullen's outstretched hand. Her feet moved more quickly than she felt able, but with no other choice, she cut between exposed tree roots and over small bushes and fallen branches. The air smelled sweet, wet, and unlike the dungeon she'd known the last six years.
Something whooshed past her. The wolverine, with Emmit and Adi clinging on. Into the leaves they disappeared. A branch caught her in the throat. She stopped to duck under it. Where'd they go?
Someone placed a hand on her back. She jumped. Cullen raised his hand, lowered it to put a finger to his lips. He cleared a small path with the end of his rifle, stretching a web full of large black spiders.
She used a stick to wedge it to leaves above, then ducked through behind him. He took her hand and pulled her up to a quicker pace. Already she'd lost everyone else in the dense jungle. As they went deeper, they were surrounded by a strange chorus of bird and insect calls. Branches broke and footsteps pounded beyond their tightly knit path. She spotted Ocia behind them through a narrow space between trees. The gradient sloped away from the train, causing her to build speed over dexterity. Her foot landed in a slick patch of grass and she nearly slid into a bush. Cullen's grip tightened as he yanked her back.
An angry growl ripped from the trees close by. Ehli shifted to defend. A mix of black and white collided like the meeting of metal teeth spinning in from opposite directions right before the screech of impact. The black overtook the white and wrapped both into the foliage from where the white had risen.
Sprinkles?
