They’d found the flume.
Veelox was back in play.
I took a few numb steps toward the tunnel. I wanted it to be a mistake. I wanted it to be some random, natural tunnel that just happened to exist beneath Rubic City. Yeah, right.
“You made it sooner than I expected, Pendragon,” came a voice from behind me.
I turned quickly to see someone step up behind me. It was Telleo. No, it was Nevva Winter in Telleo’s form. I guess it was a strange thing to think at that moment, but as we stood there facing each other, I found myself wishing I had met the real Telleo. I bet we would have been friends. But that would never be. Telleo was dead. Nevva Winter wasn’t. She had followed me down into that tunnel to say the two words I least wanted to hear. Two simple words that made me want to scream.
“He’s gone.”
JOURNAL #34
(CONTINUED)
IBARA
I clutched the wooden pole and ran at Nevva. I was ready to kill her. I swear I was. Call it frustration. Call it rage. Call it the horror that comes from realizing I was less than worthless. Call it whatever you want, but in that moment I wanted to kill her. Nevva didn’t move. She stood there calmly, just as she did when dealing with the leaders of Blok on Quillan. Nothing bothered her, not even an enraged Traveler who had just been told that he was an imbecile. I wound up, ready to crush her.
I don’t know why I stopped. It was like an unseen hand was holding back the pole, preventing me from lashing out. There wasn’t any unseen hand, of course. I may have been out of control, but I’m not a killer. Still, I needed to vent my fury. I turned and flung the pole into the flume. It disappeared into the dark tunnel. I heard it clatter harmlessly on the rock floor.
“I’m sorry, Pendragon,” Nevva said. “You deserve better than this.”
“What the heck does that mean?” I snarled.
“You mean well. You’re just…naive. I’m sorry for using your innocence against you.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You wanted what’s best for Ibara, and for all the territories. I know that. Saint Dane knows that. You just have no idea how wrong your way of thinking is.”
“Let me understand,” I said through gritted teeth. “You and your monster boss think I’m wrong for wanting the people of the territories to decide how they live their lives, and you prove it by twisting their worlds into nightmares and then saying it was their own fault for being weak? Is that how it works?”
“I prefer to say that we have proven beyond any doubt that when given the choice, the people of the territories will always take the easy, selfish road. They can be so much more, Pendragon. The heights they can reach are limitless, so long as they aren’t held back by the weak and foolish.”
“So what’s Saint Dane doing? Weeding out the weak, so the worthy can shine?”
Nevva smiled. “Something like that. Which are you, Pendragon? Weak or worthy?”
I was tired of the riddles. “You make this sound like it’s all been a contest between Saint Dane and me to prove who’s right.”
“That’s exactly what it was.”
I shot Nevva a look. What did that mean?
“And now it’s over,” she continued. “You ended it.”
“Did I? Looks to me like the flume is back open for business.”
Nevva strolled past me toward the flume. “That’s not what I meant. You didn’t end this by burying the flume. You ended it when you quit.”
“What?”
Nevva spun to me with fire in her eyes. “It was the last test, Pendragon. You failed. You gave up the fight. I know what’s in your heart. You buried the flume because you were done. You wanted to live a peaceful life on an island paradise, building huts and staring at the stars with Telleo. You…gave…up.”
My anger was building. Not because she was wrong. Because she was right.
“It was only a convenience that Saint Dane was here,” she continued. “It pushed away the guilt. You could justify your actions by telling yourself that Saint Dane was trapped along with you. Did you really believe that? Did you honestly think Saint Dane would roll over and die?”
I couldn’t answer. I didn’t want to admit the truth.
“Of course not, but you pretended, didn’t you? This was the ultimate test for you. The lead Traveler. All you did was prove how weak you are. I’ll answer my own question. You aren’t worthy, Pendragon. When the Convergence is complete, you will get what you deserve. Nothing.”
I was trembling with anger. With guilt. “What is the Convergence?” I asked lamely.
Nevva’s answer was to toss something at me. I caught it without thinking. I didn’t have to look to know what it was.
It was my Traveler ring.
“Yes, I took it,” she admitted. “Back when I thought you were still a threat.”
I clutched the ring, wishing that getting it back might actually mean something. Nevva dashed that hope.
“It doesn’t matter now,” she said with arrogance. “Go on. Talk to your friends. They’ll tell you the truth. The Convergence began the instant you gave up. The first domino has fallen, Pendragon. Exactly the way Saint Dane said it would. You’re right about one thing though. The battle is over. You’re just a bit confused as to who the victor is. Keep the ring as a memento of your failed mission.”
Behind Nevva the flume came to life. As I watched the light grow from the depths of the tunnel, I was grabbed from behind by several strong hands. Flighters. We weren’t alone. They must have been creeping up the tunnel from behind me. I struggled to pull free, but there were too many of them. My Traveler ring fell to the ground and rolled away. Gone again. The Flighters wrestled me to the dirt and held me tight. I had to strain and twist my neck to see what was happening.
The rock walls of the flume dissolved into crystal. The bright light turned Nevva into a silhouette. The Flighters didn’t let me go, but they hid their eyes. They must have been petrified by what they were seeing, not that I cared. I expected to see Saint Dane step out of the light. I wanted Saint Dane to step out of the light. This wasn’t about Nevva. She was only the messenger. She stayed on Ibara to keep me occupied, while he was free to roam Halla. That was now painfully clear. How long had the flume been open? How long had he been gone? It probably didn’t matter. It could have been open for months or minutes. Saint Dane could go wherever and whenever he wanted to. For the first time in my life, I desperately wanted him to appear.
He didn’t. The shadow that was deposited at the mouth of the flume looked nothing like him. The image was slighter, and much shorter. Whoever it was stood ramrod straight as they walked out of the tunnel. When the light receded, I saw something that made my head nearly spin. It made no sense, but there was no mistake.
It was Veego, the game master from Quillan. The woman looked exactly as I remembered her. She had short dark hair that was slicked straight back from her sharp features. She wore a single-piece dark pants suit that was immaculate. In her hands was the pole I had thrown into the flume.
“Hello, Nevva,” she said formally. “Did you misplace this?”
Nevva took the pole and threw it aside.
“Welcome back,” Nevva said. “I think you’ll be pleased.”
This was Veego’s original home. Or should I say it was her home three hundred years in the future of her own time. She and her nutbag brother, LaBerge, were brought to Quillan by Saint Dane to run the sadistic Quillan games. What the heck would she be doing back, three hundred years later than when she had lived on Veelox?
Nevva pointed to me and said, “Of course you remember Pendragon.”
Veego looked down her nose at me. With a disapproving sneer she said, “I see you’re still playing games, Challenger Red.”
“She’s not a Traveler,” I hissed at Nevva. “How can she travel?”
“I told you, the Convergence has begun,” Nevva said matter-of-factly, as if she were telling me the time. “Halla is changing. When it is complete, the territo
ries will become one.”
Veego ignored me and looked straight at Nevva, saying, “Is everything ready?”
“For quite some time.”
“Ready for what?” I screamed, struggling against the Flighters’ grasps.
Veego looked at me with a cold stare. “Blok has finally seen its way clear to reward me appropriately for my successful game services. I have to say, it’s long overdue.”
Nevva added, “Veego and LaBerge have done such a phenomenal job with the Quillan games that the Blok corporation has decided to present them with their very own island.” She looked to Veego and added, “It’s a beautiful location. I trust it will be up to your standards.”
My heart sank. “What island?” I screamed. I didn’t want to know the answer.
Nevva gave me a fake smile and answered, “Why, Ibara of course.”
I was so angry I nearly broke loose from the Flighters. They forced me back down, pushing my face into the dirt, and sat on me.
“It’s not just an island,” I shouted. “It’s a civilization. You know as well as I do, Nevva, the tribunal won’t allow this.”
Nevva and Veego exchanged knowing looks. I didn’t like that. Knowing looks were never good.
“They won’t have a choice,” Nevva said.
The flume came back to life. Veego and Nevva stepped out and faced it. I felt as if I were inside of a dream. Who could be coming in now? LaBerge? How could he affect anything? He was an idiot. Saint Dane? I hoped so. Beyond that, I had no other guesses. I figured I would be wrong anyway.
I was. When light from the flume filled the cavern, I saw two men walking out of the flume, shoulder to shoulder. Followed by two more men, followed by two more. And on and on. I stopped fighting. There was no use. I was watching the future of Ibara, and nothing I could do would change it. The men wore the crisp, green uniforms and gold helmets of the Blok security force from Quillan. They were dados. Veego spun on her heel and led the line of robots past me.
“Good-bye, Challenger Red,” she spat at me with false warmth. “Pay a visit sometime. You’re always welcome.”
She strolled out of the cavern, her posture perfect, as if she were leading a military parade. She turned the corner that led to the tunnel out, and was gone. The dados kept marching out of the flume. Twenty, thirty, forty, I gave up counting. They marched in a straight line, two by two, like, well, like robots. They were identical. No expressions. No emotions. No morals other than to carry out their orders. I couldn’t stop them. No way. What I needed to do was warn Genj. There was another war coming. Ibara would soon be under attack. In those few frantic seconds I made my plans. These Flighters couldn’t hold me forever. Once I got loose I’d make my way out of there and back to the harbor. There were a few skimmers left under the dock. I’d take one to Ibara. It was night. I’d follow the stars. I had no idea how the dados would get there, and I didn’t care. I couldn’t let them reach Ibara before me. I had to warn the people of my new home that they were in danger. On the voyage I’d have time to figure out a way to defend the island again. Yes, that was my plan.
As the last dados rounded the corner into the tunnel, Nevva walked over and looked down at me.
“This is only one small example, Pendragon. Throughout Halla the strong will thrive and be rewarded. The weak will perish. That’s the way it was meant to be.”
That was it. I couldn’t take it anymore. I kicked out, sending one Flighter reeling back across the cavern. With my legs free, I jackknifed up and grabbed another Flighter around the neck and twisted. He squealed in pain and let go. The third Flighter didn’t want any part of that action and let me go too. All three of them took off running after the dados.
“It’s not over,” I called to Nevva, breathless. “I’m not done.”
“But you are, Pendragon” was all she said.
I didn’t care about her anymore. My place was on Ibara. I had to get out of there. I had to get back. I ran for the tunnel that led out. I turned the corner and sprinted along the narrow shaft. In the distance I heard something that sounded like pounding. Like metal on metal. Something was being hammered. I was only a few yards from the larger section of tunnel where the subway car dangled overhead. I was about to enter that wider area when I pulled to a stop. I saw what was making the hammering sound. Several dados were using their powerful arms to hammer at the supporting beams that held up the subway car. Were they crazy? Could robots be crazy?
“Stop!” I shouted.
They didn’t. Several supports were knocked out quickly. I saw the hanging train shift and groan. Dirt rained down. It was going to fall. Two dados scrambled for the far side, leaving two more to continue smashing out supports. I made a quick calculation and decided to risk it. The train was going to come down. I sprinted for the far side. It was a gamble I had to take. A huge creeek sound told me I had made the wrong decision. I was directly under the big chassis. Dirt and rocks fell down on me. The subway train was ready to follow. I was about to be crushed. I had no choice. I put on the brakes and scrambled back the way I had come, just as the train, and all hell, broke loose. With the screeching sound of wrenching metal, the giant car fell through the air. I got thumped by a couple of larger rocks, but it didn’t stop me. I dove back into the narrow tunnel, my body parallel to the ground as the whole world collapsed behind me.
The train car plummeted down, crashing onto the cavern floor and bringing tons of rock and dirt and pieces of Rubic City along with it. I scrambled on my hands and knees to escape from the avalanche. The tunnel had become unstable. I was afraid the whole thing would come crashing down on top of me. I rolled to the side and wrapped my arms around my head, in case any more rocks were on their way. I was pelted by a bunch of gravel, but nothing worse than that. After a minute, the sound stopped. All was still. I looked up to see the air was filled with dirt and dust. It took a while for it to settle enough for me to survey the damage.
Behind me, the cavern that had held the train was no more. The train car had fallen straight down, sealing the way out. I was trapped on the wrong side. The dados weren’t. Next stop for them, Ibara. I sat there in the dusty darkness, staring at the wrecked train, trying to understand all that had happened. There was too much to get my head around.
There would be more.
A moment later the tunnel filled with light. I didn’t register what was happening until I heard the music. The jumble of notes.
The flume had been activated.
“Nevva,” I gasped.
I scrambled to my feet and ran for the flume. When I rounded the corner into the cavern, I saw the light receding into the tunnel. The music ended. The cavern was empty.
Nevva was gone.
My heart was beating faster than humanly possible. What was I supposed to do?
Everything was wrong.
Saint Dane had escaped.
Ibara was in danger. Again.
The Convergence had begun.
I still didn’t know what that meant.
I was trapped.
Yet in front of me stood the doorway to everywhere.
I couldn’t catch my breath. What was I supposed to do?
Nothing. I was through. I wasn’t a Traveler anymore.
Did it matter? All that was happening was brought about because I had failed. I had given up. I had chosen not to fulfill my destiny.
Saint Dane’s prophecy was coming true.
What was I supposed to do?
I was weak. I was naive.
But I used to be the lead Traveler.
What was the Convergence?
Were the other territories in the same danger as Ibara?
I didn’t care. I only cared about Ibara. About Genj and Rayne and the Jakills. About fulfilling Aja Killian’s dream. I only wanted to save one territory. Wasn’t that enough?
But I used to be the lead Traveler.
It had been my battle to fight. I faced Saint Dane and I lost.
I wanted to see my family again.
/> I stood in that cavern alone. There was nobody to help me make a decision. Nobody to counsel me. Nobody to watch my back. My mind was in a thousand places and going nowhere.
Something on the dirt floor caught my eye. It was near where the Flighters had held me down. It was a flash of light. A sparkle. I walked the few steps toward it and bent down on one knee for a closer look. Lying in the dirt was my Traveler ring. As always, its stone sparkled because it was so near the flume. I gazed into the glittering gem, as if it might offer an answer. Any answer.
Close by I saw the wooden rod I had taken from the dock, lying where Nevva had tossed it. I reached out and grabbed it. It was a simple nautical tool. Six feet long. Solid. I stood up, holding it firmly with both hands. I held it out, testing its weight. I ran my hands across its smooth surface. It felt familiar. It felt good. I quickly flipped it into my right hand and spun it twice. This time I didn’t miss. I snapped it out in front of me sharply. Point forward.
It was a weapon.
I knew how to use it.
I bent down and picked up my Traveler ring. The stone was alive.
So was I.
I put the ring back on my finger.
Things were happening exactly as Saint Dane had predicted. That’s what Nevva said. The first domino had fallen. It was something I had heard about years before.
I turned to look into the flume.
The dark tunnel looked back. Waiting. I walked toward it and stood in the wide mouth, staring into the darkness. Staring into the future. Staring into my destiny.
I clutched the weapon tighter. It felt right.
The first domino had fallen. I knew what that meant. I knew where I needed to be. I knew what I had to do.
I was the lead Traveler.