The Blake Equation- Discovery

by David Savieri

  Hayden felt a little silly for having not realised it himself.

  ‘Maddy, you still haven’t answered me, by the way.’

  ‘Yeah, sure, Hayd. I’ll try to beat your record. You’re up to corridor four. I just hope your hand isn’t so sore you can’t put up a decent fight before I beat your score?’

  ‘My hand is fine. We’ll just have to see who the best is.’ Hayden smirked as Monty laughed slyly.

  ‘And what’s so funny, Mont?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Monty quipped, rearranging his smile.

  ‘You don’t think that I can beat him do you?’ Maddy asked, crossing her arms defiantly as she did often.

  ‘He’s playing really well. He passed the sixth corridor!’

  Hayden made a shushing gesture that Maddy plainly saw.

  ‘I’m impressed, Hayd,’ she commended. ‘You didn’t tell me you passed the sixth corridor!’

  ‘Well, Madds,’ he grinned cheekily. ‘What can I say? The competition’s got to stay in the dark.’

  Madeline’s lips formed a lopsided smile.

  The locker room was now just about empty as all the students had either made for the bus or were waiting out the front of the school for their parents to pick them up.

  Hayden reached his locker first, manipulated the little lock, opened the door then dumped his books inside.

  Taking out his black leather wallet, he checked to see if he had enough change. He did but hoped he’d only need to spend once.

  Looking across the hall to their main classroom, he thought about the incredible knowledge of the solar system he’d displayed that morning and again wondered how?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The rain fell heavily in windblown sheets as they rushed to the bus stop at the front of school. The car park and long driveway were glassy black and the grass and gardens looked exceptionally green against the brooding dark sky, the morning’s snow washed away completely.

  Perfect weather for the arcade, Hayden thought. Cold and rainy.

  At the shelter they sat on the empty bench and dried off as best they could while Maddy grumbled about her hair and the wet.

  It wouldn’t take them long to get into town and they could play in the arcade for an hour or so before she had to leave for her lesson.

  Mr. Hull, the arcade owner, had always been nice to Hayden and his friends, as like most people in town, they’d known him since always.

  A Scott Worcester free zone, the bully didn’t like arcade games at all. He thought they were stupid, childish and a complete waste of time and money.

  Hayden wondered, as did Maddy at the time, just what it was Scott did find worthwhile?

  ‘Tormenting us,’ Monty said, not having even having to think.

  *

  After some friendly joking around, Maddy was first to notice that the bus was coming. It was the second of the evening and Barry was running a little late. ‘It’s four o’clock, Hayd,’ Monty announced, glancing at his digital calculator watch. ‘You think we’ll have enough time to play?’

  ‘We’ll be fine.’

  ‘So you think there’s plenty of time for Madds to try and beat your record?’ Monty added.

  ‘Sooo much confidence,’ Maddy laughed.

  The bus had arrived at the stop and the doors flung open.

  ‘Hurry up you three!’ Barry urged as the rain pelted down even harder, rattling on the thin roof. ‘Just you three tonight?’ he asked quite happily. Thankfully it was just them.

  They showed their passes and Barry kindly waved them on giving Hayden his usual nod. They seated themselves in the first two rows behind the driver’s seat.

  ‘Off home we go,’ Barry decreed as the bus swung from the stop and the tires swished out onto the wet road.

  ‘Actually we’ll be stopping in town. Going to the arcade tonight for a bit and then we’ll go home,’ Monty explained. ‘Hope that’s okay with you?’

  ‘Actually it’ll work out perfectly,’ Barry replied, happy at the suggestion and he smiled while checking his rear view mirror.

  ‘As you lot are my only passengers tonight, I can get what I need in town done sooner. It also means I can take you straight home.’

  ‘Sounds like a plan,’ Hayden answered.

  ‘All part of the service,’ Barry grinned.

  Hayden turned and watched the school disappear behind them through the foggy window and was surprised to see Mr. Rankin and Mr. Dusting standing in the rain and they seemed to be watching after them.

  *

  The old bus’s crappy heater was on full blast and loudly rattling away as the vehicle traversed the slippery road into town.

  ‘Nearly there,’ Barry announced, sensing that his passengers were feeling a little nervous when he saw Monty watching the small windshield wipers trying to cope. They weren’t, though, as they had complete faith in the skills of their bus driver.

  Hayden looked at the stop up ahead then at his watch. Due to the rain, it was taking them a little longer than the usual ten minutes from school to town and unfortunately that meant that they’d have less time to play.

  Barry kindly parked the bus on the near empty main street directly in front of the arcade. ‘Kids, I’ll come get you when I’m finished. I need to speak to Mr. Hull anyway.’

  ‘I’m going to my piano lesson this evening so I really, really have to be down at Mrs. Carter’s on Herriot Street by six.’

  ‘I can manage that, Madeline. Its four-thirty now, so I’ll be in to get you around quarter-to.’

  Barry waited until they were all safely out of the bus and under the shopping strip awning before he pulled the lever for the door to fold closed firmly behind them. He steered away back into the downpour.

  Hayden was first into the unsurprisingly empty arcade. ‘We might have it all to ourselves,’ he stated excitedly as he strode confidently toward the capsule to the sound of the rain pelting the tin roof.

  Mr. Hull, otherwise known as “The gamekeeper” appeared from a small back room behind the counter and welcomed his customers.

  ‘A bit quiet in here this evening, eh? Tell you what - thank you three for coming out in this fierce weather, how ‘bout I flick the switch and you can play to your heart’s content?’

  ‘That’d be really great!’Monty enthused, his smile as wide as those on his friends. ‘We won’t be playing for too long, Mr. Hull.’

  ‘Play a while, Hayden, I doubt anyone else’ll be in? I’ll be closing earlier than usual tonight. I’ve some business to talk over with that bus driver of yours.’

  ‘He told us,’ Monty blurted, and Mr. Hull looked very surprised indeed. ‘I mean, not what your business is about but the fact that he’s coming in here to talk to you so we know about him coming in and we’ve got to be ready to go when he does come in because Maddy has to get to Herriot Street for her piano lesson at Mrs. Carter’s by six so Barry’s going to drop by earlier than six to talk to you about whatever it is he needs to talk to you about then he’s going to drop her off for her lesson before he takes Hayden and me home.’

  ‘Try catching a breath in there somewhere, young Montague.’ Mr. Hull laughed and shook his head and Monty was a bit embarrassed. He was used to reactions like that. Miss Dearing the librarian would always tell him off for reading a story as if there was no punctuation. The problem was that he wrote like it too, and he knew that was no help in improving his grades.

  Mr. Hull approached the Laser Light capsule and extended a huge ring of keys on an elastic lanyard from his belt. ‘Like I said, you kids get in as much play as you can fit in - on the house.’

  The Gamekeeper then proceeded to open a hatch on the rear and flicked a switch so they could. ‘I’ll shout out when I’m ready to close up.’ He walked off and they all thanked him as he disappeared into his office, his jangling keys echoing in the empty arcade.

  ‘Free play!’ Maddy squeaked excitedly.

  ‘Do you mind if I go first?’ Hayden asked politely, tapping the side of the capsule.


  Of course they didn’t mind as he was the record holder, he had first dibs. Hayden sat in the middle of the molded black fiberglass bench seat and Monty bulged in awkwardly beside him.

  Stretching his fingers but ensuring not to let on, especially to Maddy, that his right hand was indeed still very sore, he made himself as comfortable as he could.

  ‘Not fumbling around for coins up here could really help your game?’ Maddy pointed out, tapping the dashboard.

  Hayden nodded. He needed to concentrate.

  The screen was displaying the highest scores scrolling up from the bottom and he made sure that he didn’t press start until he knew Maddy had seen his rise into view.

  There it was-

  H.Blake: 600,000

  ‘Hayden Blake: Six hundred thousand points,’ Monty proudly enunciated indiscreetly. ‘That’s one hundred thousand points per corridor. Six corridors times one hundred thousand points equals six hundred thousand points!’

  ‘Wow, Hayden! That’s really impressive,’ Maddy acknowledged, knowing full well that they both were trying to intimidate her.

  ‘I must say your mathematics are absolutely amazing, Mont, and you enunciate with such authority.’

  Monty had to think about what she meant by enunciate.

  ‘Pressure’s on Madds, Hayd is the champ,’ he answered.

  ‘You really don’t mind if I have first go, Madds?’ Hayden asked, his fingers strumming the control stick eagerly.

  ‘Not at all - champ,’ she ribbed.

  Hayden pressed the yellow start button on the dashboard. The opening screen showed a large battleship flying through space then zoomed in to a hanger bay inside it and then into a space-fighter.

  The capsule they sat in was only meant for two people and even though it was a bit squishy inside, Hayden made sure he had a good feel for the controls.

  The joystick with finger grips directly before him, an orange rapid fire laser cannon control trigger on the front of it and a small round red missile fire button on the left hand side.

  With a deep breath he pressed the front fire button which was also the enter button for the menu.

  The little fighter’s outline flashed as its propulsion engines ignited and the capsule rumbled from a built-in subwoofer under their seat. Hayden steered his little ship onscreen and the capsule followed his moves.

  ‘Are you ready for this, Hayd?’ Monty quipped but Hayden didn’t answer. He’d already “shifted into the zone” as he did in such moments of concentration, trying his best to block out all external distractions and feel the game before him.

  Maddy noticed this extreme concentration and couldn’t resist prodding him in the lower side to try and snap him out of it.

  It didn’t work.

  The hanger bay was gone now and he was virtually flying briefly through a tunnel of cloud then out into a dark star field with lots of similar fighter ships to his own shifting position about his wings.

  The view was of looking out of the fighter’s cockpit with a simple Heads-Up Display. There were little buttons flashing on both sides and a blunted nose cone jutting slightly out ahead. If he pressed forward on the joystick the speed of his ship would increase, digits on the HUD rapidly ascending then decreasing as he eased off by pulling back.

  In the distance he saw a black object approach.

  An enemy ship.

  It looked like a dark metallic tuning fork with the two shortened prongs slightly curved outward in the middle as forward swept wings. It fired long streaks of red-yellow lasers at him but thankfully it missed. Hayden fired one yellow burst and it exploded. The same went on for the next few minutes as he blew up ship after ship until a cloudy vortex opened ahead and he steered into it.

  1st CORRIDOR

  Flashed on the screen as a relaxed-sounding female voice read it. Hayden adjusted his grip and wiggled a little in his seat to let his friends know he needed some more room. He continued destroying wave after wave of the approaching enemy fighters until he had reached the third corridor then the fourth.

  It was the fourth corridor where the enemy came at him not only more strongly but with a higher degree of artificial intelligence. The swarms of ships reacted to his movements more defensively and as such became much harder to kill.

  ‘Why don’t the wingmen ever do anything to help?’ Maddy thought aloud.

  ‘I know! It’s so annoying,’ Monty agreed while not for a moment taking his eyes off of the action. He looked at Maddy behind Hayden’s head. ‘I wouldn’t worry though,’ he whispered. ‘He hasn’t lost a single life yet.’

  Hayden’s eyes didn’t move off screen despite hearing his friend. They watched him flawlessly blaze through the game.

  It was a thing to behold and he appeared unstoppable, like he knew the enemies movements before they’d made them.

  5th CORRIDOR

  It was almost 5:10pm and he’d just flown into the vortex.

  Level six looked different from the others in that the space was rendered with cloudy green and red nebulae.

  It looked serene for a moment, but not for long as wave after wave of fighters attacked, interspersed with larger craft that threw out great flaming orbs of white light that he had a little trouble dodging.

  As in the previous levels, he mowed the enemy fighters down almost robotically and soon the sixth corridor would open and he’d fly into the seventh level.

  Monty suddenly jumped up out of his seat as he thought his foot was about to cramp.

  The sudden movement made Hayden disengage from the action momentarily and his fighter was hit by enemy fire tracking across him, but even with the steering made a little harder due to his ship’s port wing damage, he still managed to fight off the remaining enemy and make it into the opening corridor to heroically arrive, to the whooping of his friends, into the seventh level.

  ‘You’re in the seventh level, Hayden!’ Maddy marveled.

  Hayden didn’t answer. His eyes glued to the screen, he whipped his hands away one at a time to quickly wipe his sweaty palms on his trousers then clasped back onto the control before anything began shooting at him.

  Space again was different in this level as there were no nebulae and not even a single star dotted the sky. There was not anything but nothing in an eerie inky blackness.

  Flying for nearly a minute nothing happened and for a moment they all thought he’d finished the game but as there were no credits that scrolled up on screen Maddy and Monty agreed that he mustn’t have. Hayden stayed silent, his eyes still glued to the screen.

  He almost broke his concentration to look at his friends when from the top right corner of the screen a glimmer of bright reddish blue flashed then a dark grey cloud massed against its waning light.

  ‘What is that?!’ Monty blurted, his face nearing the screen with Maddy pulling him back by the collar.

  It was a swarm of enemy fighters greater than any he’d seen in the game before and his little fighter was going in lame.

  ‘You’re not going to get through that!’ Maddy uncharacteristically heard herself state and Monty glared back at her. Hayden, completely immersed in the universe of Laser light, confidently pushed forward on the joystick and his ship narrowed the gap against the rapidly approaching killer polygons.

  ‘That light’s the eighth corridor, Hayd!’ Maddy again squeaked excitedly, seeing a vortex appear just beyond the massing enemy cloud. Hayden nodded. The virtual space battle was fierce and Hayden, to the pleasure of all, decimated the oncoming hordes. They watched his lightning fast reactions with awe. One enemy after the other disappeared off screen in little orange and white flashes that quickly dissipated in the vacuum of virtual space.

  He’d just blown apart the final enemy ship when the corridor opened wide before him and with the usual triumphant game music and pats on the back, he pressed forward on the stick and flew onward into the eighth vortex and toward the ninth level then -

  Nothing. Laser light stopped. Dead off. The screen turned b
lack and they saw their bewildered faces reflected back at them.

  They looked urgently at Hayden who just stared at the blankness.

  ‘That can’t be it?’ Maddy complained, looking about to see if there’d been a power failure but saw that the small globes dotting the capsule were on.

  ‘That’s ridiculous! Where’s the gamekeeper?’ Monty asked.

  Just then, Barry walked in through the arcade’s front door and called out for Mr. Hull. Spotting the three friends in the capsule he strode over to them.

  ‘Seen Mr. Hull?’

  ‘No,’ Maddy answered clearly annoyed as she squeezed out of the capsule.

  ‘Listen, I’ll have to take you all where you need to go a little earlier than I said as something’s come up.’

  Hayden stepped out also looking annoyed but not as much as his friends had expected.

  ‘Nothing serious?’ Monty asked.

  ‘Nothing bad.’ Barry twirled his keys diplomatically in a way of suggesting that they hurry up.

  He drove carefully through the still very heavy rain, first dropping Madeline at her lesson then driving both Hayden and Monty home. He’d drop Hayden off last as he had to get back into town.

  Hayden didn’t say much on the way back. He felt robbed as whether he made it to the end or not, he didn’t even get to put his name on the record screen this time.

  As Barry pulled the bus up alongside Monty’s house, Monty’s mother opened the front door and kept it open so that her son could dash inside. Barry waved and she smiled and waved back.

  Hayden spoke as his friend was standing to depart.

  ‘You know, the game stopping was annoying,’ he sighed. ‘I could’ve completed that ninth level. Surely that wasn’t the end of the game?’ He paused. ‘Well, I’ll see you tomorrow?’

  ‘Got to study remember?’

  ‘Oh yeah,’ he recalled disappointedly as through the rain he saw Monty’s father come to the door to greet his son.

  ‘See you Monday then.’ Monty nodded.

  He watched as his good friend bolted inside with his parents closing the front door behind him.

  On the ride home with Barry, Hayden said nothing. Thoughts of the game had left his mind as he stared blankly out into the dark, wet night. He looked past Barry and out at the rapidly moving wipers barely fighting off the sheets of rain.