The beast roared as its flesh bubbled up and burned. Sarah scrambled away and got to her feet next to Michael. Bellowing, the injured bear rolled onto all fours, lumbered to the wall, and stood up. Michael spun in a circle—the demons were closing in from all directions.
He knew that somehow the altar had a weak spot in the code and was just a few feet away. A glance over his shoulder showed that a small demon stood on top of it—the squirrel, or maybe the ferret-rat-weasel that had perched on Gunner Skale’s shoulder. It hissed at them, baring its tiny fangs.
Michael and Sarah stood shoulder to shoulder, hands clasped, slowly backing their way toward the kneeling pad. The noose of demons was tightening.
“You work on the code,” Michael whispered. “Find the sweet spot. I’ll fight them off with more Fire Disks.” He said it even though he had no idea how long he could last.
“Okay,” Sarah replied. “Guide me.” She closed her eyes and squeezed his hand even tighter. Michael moved back another step. Then he conjured up another array of the disks and threw them randomly in all directions.
Demons roared in pain, and Michael threw away all caution. Yanking on Sarah, he turned and dove toward the base of the altar. They hit the floor and slid two feet, coming up just short of the pad. Sarah had somehow kept her eyes closed, staying focused on her task, searching the code that surrounded them. Michael held tightly to her hand, guiding her forward. Then the little demon on the altar shrieked and dove at Sarah—its feet tangling in her hair as it clawed at her face and tried to bite her ear. She didn’t respond. Michael reached for the creature, grabbed it, and threw the thing as hard as he could.
“I’ve got it!” Sarah yelled, her eyes flying open. “I know what to do!”
But the demons were everywhere. One grabbed Michael’s arm, another his leg. One had Sarah by the hair—he could hear her scream as the creature yanked her head back. Michael fought to get loose, losing his tenuous grasp on the Fire Disk coding. The creatures were all around. Grabbing and clawing and biting. There was a terrifying moment where he almost gave up, almost decided to let them kill him and end it all. Go back to the Wake and accept the consequences.
But something inside him exploded. A roar tore through his throat and adrenaline detonated inside his muscles. Screaming in fury, Michael beat away the creatures. For the briefest moment he saw fear in all those yellow eyes surrounding him, and it gave him even more courage.
He knocked a huge beast off of Sarah. She was bruised, and blood smeared her face. He lifted her up and carried her past the kneeling pad and the altar to the dais with the statues of ancestors.
No words were needed. Michael closed his eyes and linked with the code, sensed Sarah’s presence already there. She’d set it all up, laid it out before him. In a swarming sea of numbers and letters and symbols, he saw it—the tiniest sliver of an escape. Both of them went for it at the same time.
The demons came at them, their digital forms as terrifying as their visual manifestations. A claw scratched Michael down his back. A monster on four legs—the dog or the fox—jumped onto the altar, snarling. Michael felt himself being yanked from his position, but he flexed all his digital muscles and forced his body to stay put. For one more second, just one more. He input a final piece of code and there was a popping sound.
Then it all disappeared.
CHAPTER 19
HEAT
1
The world vanished around them, and when it came back again, Michael and Sarah were inside a dimly lit cave. The walls were made of black stone.
“Oh man,” Michael said with a groan. He sat up and crawled to the closest wall of the cave, leaning back against it. “I’ll be one happy dude if I never see another animal in my life. Especially the ones that turn into demons.”
“Amen to that.” Sarah was sitting on the opposite side of the rocky space, and it was hard for him to look at her—she was pale and bloody. “Or a forest. Or a hallway. Or a stone disk.”
“I’d love to see a cheeseburger right about now, though.” His stomach rumbled with hunger.
“Don’t torture me.”
He looked deeper into the cave, down a long corridor. There was an orange glow coming from within that felt warm and cozy. Michael pictured little dwarves living back there, sipping tea and eating some hearty stew.
“How in the world did we survive that?” Sarah asked.
“Because of you” was Michael’s answer. “Because you didn’t panic, and you found a way out.”
Sarah was quiet a moment, as if she was thinking. “It wasn’t that hard, you know. It’s almost like in some spots they left us a way to hack free, in others they didn’t.”
“Don’t be so humble. You’re just really good.”
She didn’t respond, seemingly lost in thought again.
Michael gave her an expression of exaggerated wonder. “Seriously, when did you become a superhero? You’re like Batman meets the Hulk.”
“You have a gift for making a compliment sound like an insult.”
“I do my best.”
Sarah smiled. “Come on. Let’s start exploring—we know we’re going to hit a bunch of crap, and I want to get it over with.”
Michael sighed. Even though they’d gotten a meal and a few hours of sleep before the demon attack, he was exhausted. And the hunger pangs made even the rocks scattered across the ground look slightly appetizing.
“No thinking, though,” Sarah warned. “Let’s just keep moving.”
“Okay.” Michael knew she was right. Getting busy was definitely the answer.
But he didn’t move right away. Something she’d said—about the Path leaving almost obvious weak spots here and there—had triggered some thoughts. It seemed related to the creepy voice he’d heard so many times—the voice saying his name and telling him he was doing well. What could be the purpose of that? What did it mean? It seemed to fly in the face of everything they were doing. The whole point of the VNS sending them into the Sleep to find the Path and the Hallowed Ravine was so they could lead the VNS to Kaine. The VNS wouldn’t know if he was doing well until he found Kaine—who was supposed to be hiding.
Didn’t that make the Path a firewall, put in place by Kaine to keep people out?
Yet …
“Cat got your tongue?” Sarah finally said.
Michael wiped at his tired eyes. “What’s that?”
“Cat got your tongue?”
“What does that mean?”
“Huh? You’ve never heard that before?”
Michael stretched his arms, trying to psyche himself to get up. “Yes, I’ve heard it. But I’m pretty sure it’s something old people say.”
“Whatever. Why so quiet?”
“Just thinking about things. About the Path. Kaine. Everything.”
“Didn’t I just say no thinking?” Sarah said. “Not that I really meant it.”
Michael smiled and nodded, but he was even more unsettled now. The Path didn’t add up. Again, if it was supposed to keep them out, then why did it have places in the coding that seemed meant to guide them? Even the concept of a trail in the first place. Michael had been so busy trying to stay alive, he hadn’t thought about it like that before.
And the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. “The Path” was an odd name for programming that was meant to keep you out. Maybe it wasn’t a firewall after all. Maybe it was something else entirely.
2
With another groan from the aches and pains, Michael forced himself to stand up. Then he pointed toward a long corridor at the rear of the cave, seemingly the only way out. “What do you think is back there?”
“Lava.”
She said it so quickly Michael was surprised. “Really?”
“Yeah. I think this is a volcano—the black rock is cooled magma.”
“So a big river of molten fire could come bursting through this tunnel at any second?”
“That sounds about right.”
It just ke
pt getting better and better, Michael thought. “Ha. Well, we’ll show them. We won’t wait—we’ll walk right into it like a couple of bumbling idiots.”
Sarah gave him a weary grin.
“You look terrible, by the way,” Michael added.
She glared at him, though it didn’t last long before turning into a smile. “I can’t possibly look any worse than you do.”
“Don’t worry. You still look pretty, just in a terrible sort of way.” It sounded dumb, but he really meant it.
“Thanks, Michael.”
After all they’d been through, there was a bond between them that he couldn’t imagine feeling with anyone else. “When this is all over,” he finally said, “I really want to meet out in the Wake. I promise I’m even better-looking in person.”
“And I’m probably worse.” She laughed, a sound they both needed to hear.
“I wouldn’t care. I swear I wouldn’t. That’s what’s so great about the Sleep. I know who you are inside, and that’s all that matters.” He’d never said something so cheesy in his entire life.
“That’s actually really sweet, Michael.”
He blushed. “Plus, I bet you are hot.”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes but kept her gaze trained on Michael. “It’s a deal—as soon as we finish saving the VirtNet—a day out in real sunshine.”
“Deal.”
She shifted, then pushed herself up to her feet, groaning. Michael understood all too well—parts of his body that he hadn’t known existed the day before were screaming in pain.
“Shall we go cave exploring?” he asked in a ridiculous British accent.
“Let’s,” she replied. Her smile reached her eyes and made him feel better.
As they started walking into the mountain, limping like two old people with arthritis, Sarah reached out and took his hand.
“Let’s,” she repeated.
3
Michael thought the walls of the tunnel looked man-made. They were black and shiny and appeared as if they’d been chiseled. The soft light coming from deeper within the cave reflected in a way that made everything look as if it might melt at any second.
Michael and Sarah had barely rounded the first bend of the corridor when he saw a bright orange glow. As if triggered by the sight, a gust of warm air blew past them, stirring Michael’s hair and clothes. It felt good—almost made him want to lie back down and try sleeping.
Neither of them spoke as they continued on. Michael stared at the warm light as they approached it. It was inviting, like a campfire on a cool night. What scared him was thinking about its source. If they really were inside a volcano, it was sure to be unpleasant.
Abruptly the tunnel widened and the space opened up. The ceiling stretched until it was at least thirty feet high. Farther ahead, Michael could tell that the space got even bigger—a cavern was waiting for them, and the fiery orange light grew stronger. The temperature had risen, and the air was heavy with humidity.
Soon they came to a tiny pool of bubbling molten rock. Michael was mesmerized by its glowing beauty until he recalled what he’d learned in geology class—it meant they were standing on a layer of cooled lava that had to be on top of a vast amount of uncooled lava. Michael suddenly had visions of the floor cracking open, spouts of liquid fire shooting up to incinerate them, and he shivered.
“Wanna go for a swim?” he asked awkwardly.
Sarah let go of his hand and patted his shoulder. “No thanks. You go right ahead.” Her face was glistening with sweat.
“It’s hot,” he said.
“Yeah, and it’s gonna get worse. Come on—we’re not going to find any food, and the longer this takes, the weaker we’ll be.”
“This is gonna suck, huh?”
She nodded. “Yeah, it’s gonna suck. But there’s no other way to go. The code is pretty straightforward about that.”
They started walking again, moving ever deeper into the volcano.
4
When Michael and Sarah reached the end of the tunnel, they stopped and stared. It opened into a massive cavern filled with pools of bubbling lava.
The expanse before them reminded Michael of the coat of a tiger. Rivers of the steaming magma churned, cut through with ribbons of cooled black rock. An even more amazing sight was the waterfall-like flows of lava spilling through cracks in the walls, spitting and hissing as they poured into pools of bubbling rock. Flames burst from the streams that ran the length of the cavern—and Michael and Sarah had to cross it all.
Blasts of hot air blew over them in waves as they stared.
“Worse than I thought,” Michael muttered.
Sarah closed her eyes for a moment, then pointed to the far side. “There’s another tunnel over there, and the Path seems to point in that direction. I don’t sense any other way. Do you?”
He scanned the code himself and sighed. “Nope. Guess that’s where we’re going.”
“We better hurry or we’ll die from dehydration. I doubt there’s a drinking fountain anywhere nearby.”
“Come on,” Michael urged. Standing there was starting to freak him out, and he wanted to get moving.
There was a short slope from the tunnel down to the cavern floor, and they took advantage of their lookout point to figure out the best path across, using both what lay before them and quick glimpses of the programming itself. It all combined to form a maze of cooled rock, columns of fire, and cascading lava, encompassed by the now-familiar hints in the complicated code of where they needed to go. Taking the lead, Michael picked his way carefully down the slope among the scattered rocks and dirt. The ground leveled off, and the heat pounded him, making him catch his breath. It was loud. A low roar buzzed in his ears.
“You ready?” he shouted to Sarah. Sweat poured down her face now, and her clothes were soaked through. Michael knew he was just as drenched.
She nodded, looking too weary to talk. He hoped so badly in that moment that they were close to the end of the stupid Path. He hated Kaine and Agent Weber and the VNS.
Michael nodded back to Sarah.
Then he began to cross the cavern, Sarah right behind him.
5
He felt like his body was being slowly roasted in a giant oven.
They moved across a three-foot-wide swath of rock that cut through the lava, and made it to the center of the cavern floor. That part was easy enough, though the heat coming off the lava and the fear of being burned by the boiling rock made Michael’s heart thump rapidly. He tried to hurry and be smart at the same time, but the panic was beginning to swell inside him, making him claustrophobic even though the cave was so huge.
Step by step, they made their way across the natural bridge, Michael’s eyes burning from the heat. When they reached the other side he decided to go to the right, zigzagging through a labyrinth of connected rocky islands among the brightly glowing pools of magma. They could always double back if necessary, but he relied on his instincts and quick scans of the surrounding code.
They moved along a narrow line of black stone. Michael could feel the heat through his shoes—it was so hot, he worried that the soles would melt. When they reached the end, they stepped onto a round island that was totally surrounded by a ring of bright orange magma.
He moved to go to the left, but Sarah grabbed his arm and leaned in.
“Seems like we should go that way!” she shouted, pointing straight ahead at a row of black boulders. They looked like stepping-stones in a garden. “Look—on the other side there’s another bridge that goes all the way to the wall. Then we can shoot along the edge, climb up to that hole, and get out of here.”
Michael studied the area for a bit, and it seemed like she was right. The direction in which he had almost gone ended up ahead at a huge gap that they would’ve had to get a running start to leap over.
“Sounds like a plan. You wanna lead this time?”
He grinned to show he was joking, but she took it seriously and jumped onto the first small island
. Her arms windmilled until she caught her balance, almost making his heart explode out of his chest.
“Be careful!” he yelled at her.
“Just trying to give you a scare,” she called back.
“Not funny! At all!”
Sarah jumped to the next island, and as soon as she was safe and settled, Michael followed, hopping onto the first rock.
“Take your time!” he shouted.
“Relax,” she replied.
She hurdled the next gap, and then the next, not waiting for him anymore. Michael followed her quickly, terrified by the possibility of her slipping into the magma. Rock by rock, he bounded across the lava after her, and soon they’d made it safely to the long spit of black rock on the other side.
Sarah pulled him into a fierce hug, surprising him.
“That was scary,” she whispered into his ear. “Oh man, that was scary.”
He wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders. “Yeah, you were a little reckless, don’t ya think?” Despite being in the middle of a volcano, he was enjoying the hug far too much and didn’t want it to end.
“Better to just do it than worry over every single step.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
She pulled back, looked at him. A tear had leaked out of her eye, cutting its way through the grime down her cheek until it formed into a drop at her chin. Then it fell and landed on her shirt.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded, then hugged him again. “Come on, let’s get up to that next tunnel and cool off.”
“Let’s hope.”
They ran across the bridge, which seemed safe compared to the stepping-stones. On the other side there was a slope of dirt and rocks that stretched to the wall of the cavern. They scrambled up to get as far away from the lava as possible, then ran along the edge toward the mouth of the next tunnel, Sarah right in front of Michael.