It wasn’t. I had made a critical mistake. When I pulled the wand out of the arm of the other dado, I had freed him. Oops. I sensed him before I saw him. I spun around to see he had gotten the gun from the holster of the first dado I had killed. The weapon was raised and ready to fire . . . at me. I was about to dive out of the way in a desperate attempt to ruin his aim, when the robot made an odd shudder. I heard the electrical zap sound again too. The dado’s gun hand dropped to his side. What had happened? The robot lurched forward and fell flat on his face. Dead. Sticking out of his back was another wand. Behind him was Nevva Winter.
“That’s all of them, I believe,” she said matter-of-factly, as if making another efficient report to her bosses.
I heard a single person clapping from somewhere overhead. Looking up I saw the other four revivers looking down on me from the level above. The person clapping was Tylee Magna.
“There’s another guy in that store,” I said. “I don’t think he’s hurt, but he was shot.”
“He’ll be fine,” Tylee said. “We saw how you tried to save him.”
“Tried,” I said. “That’s about as far as I got.”
Tylee looked to Nevva and said, “Maybe this Pendragon person can help us after all.”
I looked to Nevva. She gave me a smile of satisfaction and said, “I never had a doubt.”
I had impressed them. Like Nevva, the revivers now believed I could help them. It would have been nice to know what exactly it was they wanted me to do.
I was about to find out.
JOURNAL #26
(CONTINUED)
QUILLAN
We had to get out of that mall. It was explained to me that this was one of the many secret locations the revivers used as a meeting place. Now that the dados had discovered it, it was no longer safe. I feared it was no coincidence that the place had been a total secret, until I showed up. Tylee agreed that my being there probably had something to do with the discovery, but she didn’t blame me. I was an escaped challenger, after all. I was being hunted. They figured that someone, somewhere, must have recognized me and alerted the security dados. Luckily, the only causualty of the dado attack was the reviver who had been shot with the stun gun, and he was going to be fine. The other revivers had been able to pick off the rest of the dados, one by one, using those amazing dado-killing wands. Each of the other revivers had been chased by only one dado. Three of them had come after me. There was no question. The raid had been about me. The trustees of Blok wanted me back. Veego and LaBerge wanted me back. Saint Dane wanted me back. I was a popular guy.
We took turns carrying the unconscious reviver through the deserted mall. I didn’t ask where we were going. I figured it had to be someplace safe. We came upon two small vehicles that reminded me of golf carts. I got in one with Nevva, Tylee, and the older guy. The rest took the unconscious reviver in the other car. What followed was a fast trip through an incredible underground mall system. The cars gave off a low hum as we sped along. We were quiet and quick. I discovered that the abandoned mall was only one of many malls that were connected by tunnels under the city of Rune. I kept thinking we would reach the end of the line, but with each turn we came upon yet another wide-open mall full of empty stores. I couldn’t begin to tell you how many empty storefronts we passed. It was definitely well into the thousands.
Nevva must have read my mind, because she said, “It’s sad, isn’t it?”
“It’s unbelievable,” I replied. “How long have these stores been empty?”
Nevva answered, “No one can say for sure; there isn’t a person alive with firsthand knowledge of what it was like. But there are stories. The winters are harsh here in Rune. As I’ve heard it told, these underground shops were built so that people could stay out of the cold and still have access to everything they might need. There are amazing stories of shops that had a variety of different foods, and repair centers for every item in your home. I’ve heard it said that you could visit your doctor, buy a pair of shoes, eat a meal at a place where they actually cooked it and served it to you, and then see a dramatic theatrical performance, all within walking distance. It all seems so impossible.”
Impossible? It sounded pretty much like Second Earth to me.
“Why is it all so empty?” I asked. “I saw the overcrowding in the buildings up top. People could come down here just to get a little breathing room.”
“At first it was forbidden,” Tylee answered. “But so much time has passed that most don’t even know these places exist. There are no entryways. Everything has been sealed and forgotten—by everyone but the revivers.”
We traveled for at least half an hour. As we sped into one large mall area, I started seeing signs of life. There were people dressed in the black clothing of the revivers. Several appeared from out of doorways, holding golden guns. Some held the familiar black wands, ready to deal with unwanted visitors.
“Guards,” Nevva said, reading my mind.
Question was, what were they guarding? I wondered if we would have to give some kind of password, but once the guards saw Tylee, they gave a quick salute, which meant they grabbed their left biceps. We sped past without incident. These guys looked pretty dangerous, but it didn’t seem like there were enough of them to repel an army of dados.
Farther along I saw that in spite of what Tylee had explained, there actually were people living down here in the mall. We passed several families huddled together in storefronts. Some were eating, some sleeping. To be honest, they reminded me of homeless people back on Second Earth.
Tylee said, “We discourage people from living down here. This is where we base our operations, and the more people who come and go, the more chance there is for us to be discovered.”
The old guy added, “Some people simply can’t be refused. Many of these poor people would be sent to the tarz if we didn’t give them sanctuary. Others are unable to provide for their families. It’s tough deciding on who can stay and who can’t, but we do what we can.”
“Guards are stationed throughout,” Tylee said. “If a security dado, or even a stranger, should approach, we can disappear into a different section immediately.”
“There have been inspections,” the older man said. “Security dados have made sweeps. But we have been able to erase any trace of our existence quickly and move on. When the threat is gone, we return. The system has worked for generations.”
These people were like guerrilla fighters living in the jungle in the hopes that one day they could free their repressed people. From what they told me, that’s exactly what they were planning to do, and soon. The question was, what part did they expect me to play?
Our journey finally ended at the far end of one of the malls. The store we were facing was big. At one time it was probably a department store. The doors were guarded by several armed revivers. They greeted us with the familiar salute, then several took charge of the reviver who had been stunned by the dado. I was happy to see that he was already waking up.
“I’ll take care of him,” the older guy said. “Welcome, Pendragon.”
I nodded, then turned to Nevva and asked, “What now?”
“Come with me,” Tylee answered.
She got out of the vehicle and walked quickly into the big store. I shot a look at Nevva and said, “You’re coming too, right?”
“Of course. This is my show,” she said. Then added, “The way you handled those dados was very impressive. That cemented it.”
“Cemented what?” I asked. This was getting frustrating. I had been manipulated from the moment I landed on Quillan. First by the dados, then by Veego and LaBerge, then by Saint Dane, and now by Nevva and the revivers. I felt like I had fallen into a rushing river and had no control over where it swept me. All I could do was keep my head above water and hope that things would slow down.
I was about to find out that things were only going to get faster.
Unlike the thousands of other stores in the malls, this one wasn’t empty. It w
as packed, but not with merchandise for sale. I found myself standing in the center of a huge supply of weapons. There were racks and racks of stun guns. There were rifles as well as pistols. I saw a stand that was loaded with hundreds of the long, black dado-killing wands. It was pretty impressive. There was no doubt, these guys were preparing for action.
“How did you get all this?” I asked Nevva.
“Slowly” was her answer. “Shipments were hijacked. Robberies. Some manufacturers who are sympathetic to the revival passed things along. Getting the weapons wasn’t the problem. Getting them slowly, so that Blok security wouldn’t realize what was happening, was the bigger challenge. I’ve seen more than one memo to the trustees warning of random weapon theft. Those reports conveniently found their way into the shredder.”
“I guess the revivers are lucky to have somebody on the inside,” I said.
“So are the Travelers,” Nevva said softly, so that Tylee couldn’t hear. She then added, “But luck had nothing to do with it. I’ve worked very hard to get where I am.”
We walked through aisle after aisle of weaponry to the far side of this large room and through a set of double doors. We entered into another large room with a high ceiling that looked like it once had been a theater. There were a few hundred seats all facing a stage. On the stage were a few beaten-up couches, and desks that were stacked with papers. There were maps set up on easels, along with a chalkboard that had a list of names and data that meant nothing to me. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought this was a theater set up for a play about people planning a big operation of some sort. But I knew better. The maps and data on the stage weren’t for show. This was real. I was in the war room of the revival.
Tylee went right up onto the stage and quickly looked through some papers. She was like a business person returning to her office. Nevva and I stood by the theater seats below her.
I whispered to her, “Why am I here?”
Nevva gave me a “shhh” sign. Finally Tylee sat on the edge of her desk and looked down on me.
“I was impressed, Pendragon,” she said. “I’ve never seen anyone fight like you. You’re strong, you’re quick, you’re agile. It’s almost like you’ve been trained.”
“I was,” I said, before realizing I had no idea how to explain that. I could feel Nevva tighten next to me, as if I had said the wrong thing.
“Oh?” Tylee said. “How is that?”
“He comes from a military family,” Nevva answered before I had the chance to say anything else stupid. “The tradition of combat was passed down from fathers to sons and daughters for generations.”
Tylee gave me a suspicious look and said, “There hasn’t been a military presence on Quillan since the dados were put into operation.”
“Traditions live on,” Nevva answered with authority. “Both sons and daughters are taught to fight, in anticipation of the time their services will once again be needed.”
Nevva thought fast and was a very good liar. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, seeing as she was leading a triple life.
Tylee nodded. She really didn’t care about how I got to be such a good fighter.
“Do you believe in a better future for Quillan?” she asked me.
“Absolutely,” I said confidently. Finally there was a question I could answer honestly and with conviction.
“Then will you help the revival?” she asked.
I had to choose my words carefully. Of course I wanted to help the revival. From what I’d seen, Blok had destroyed this territory. Whether Saint Dane had a hand in it or not didn’t matter. He liked what Quillan had become. I didn’t. There needed to be change. Nevva might have been right. This revolution definitely felt like it could be a turning point on the territory, which explained why Saint Dane was here. Maybe there was hope for Quillan yet. Of course, the demon would want the revival to fail. Tylee was offering me the chance to help it succeed. It all seemed so perfect, except for one minor detail.
“I believe in the revival,” I said. “I believe that Blok must be put out of business and their grip on the territory broken. But I’m still waiting to hear what you want me to do.”
Tylee looked to Nevva. “This is your concept, Nevva,” she said. “You should explain it.”
“It started with me,” Nevva said modestly. “But it has become a group effort. Please, you continue.”
Tylee nodded, and paced the stage. It felt a little like a performance, but it was all too real.
“We are on the threshold of a new Quillan,” she began. “There are tens of thousands of people who are prepared to rise up and take a stand against Blok and the oppressive society it has forced on us. But tens of thousands aren’t enough. We need the hearts and minds of most everyone on Quillan, if we are to succeed. Bringing that many people into the revival has been difficult. The harsh truth is that when the revival begins, life will undoubtedly get worse before it gets better. Right now the water runs, the lights are on, and there is food on the store shelves. If Blok is destroyed, it will take time to pick up the pieces. For a time, people’s lives will become more miserable than they are now. There’s no avoiding that. We have to re-create an entire society. An entire world. But to do that will mean giving up what little we have now. It’s difficult convincing people that they have to fall to the bottom before they can build a better future.”
Nevva added, “Blok not only controls every aspect of our physical lives, it has taken away our spirit.”
“We believe the first step is to give people hope,” Tylee said. “We want to stage a display that shows how the individual can triumph against the odds. We want a symbol. A spark. It doesn’t have to be huge, but it must be stirring.”
“I get it,” I said. “People have been brainwashed into accepting things the way they are, and you’re trying to show them they have a choice. Makes sense. What I don’t get is how I can help you do that.”
“The people need someone they can believe in,” Nevva said. “Someone who is just like them, but can demonstrate how it’s possible to rise above their inconsequential lives and do something spectacular. Something exciting. Something impossible.”
“Something like . . . ?” I asked.
Nevva dropped the bombshell. “Like winning the Grand X.”
I stood there, staring at her in disbelief. I never saw that coming. She was asking me to do the exact same thing Saint Dane wanted me to do. My ears rang. All I could squeak out was a soft, “You’re kidding, right?”
“Absolutely not!” Nevva shot back. “The Grand X is shown all over Quillan. Everyone watches it, and when I say everyone, I mean everyone. There is no bigger stage on Quillan.”
Tylee said, “We plan to use the revivers all over Quillan to position you as the champion of the people. The fact that you’ve won two games has already gotten you noticed. The revivers will build on that. The contest will be built up as the challenge of a lifetime. Challenger Green is hated. The people see him as the champion of Blok. But they wager on him because they know he will win.”
I said numbly, “And you want everybody to bet on me?”
“No!” Tylee said. “We don’t want people to wager at all. We want them to turn their backs on Challenger Green and the Grand X in a show of defiance. Your winning will then provide an emotional uplift like we could never hope to get any other way. We live in secrecy, Pendragon. We speak in whispers and meet in small groups. We speak of what can be and what needs to be done, but our ability to rally the people is limited. With this one bold stroke we can proclaim to the people of Quillan that the common man can rise up and triumph. We fully believe it will drive people to the revival, and when they come, we’ll be waiting for them. Once our numbers swell, we can begin the attacks that will bring Quillan back to life. That’s what we want you to do, Pendragon. Provide the spark. The rallying point. The event that will move the people to action.”
The two of them stared at me, waiting for an answer. There was only one thing I cou
ld think of saying. “What if I lose?”
Nevva said quickly, “You won’t. You know that in your heart. You are superior to Challenger Green in every way. You’ve said it yourself.”
“But—”
“I know,” she said. “There are no guarantees. Things happen. But the sad truth is that if you should lose, nothing will change. There will be disappointment, yes. Our cause will suffer a huge setback, but in the long run it would only mean that we will have to find some other way to win the minds of the people.” She smiled and said, “But if you win, we can start the chain of events that will save Quillan.”
I said, “Let’s not forget one small detail. If I lose, I die.”
“Not necessarily,” Nevva said. “The Grand X is not always a match to the death.”
“Does Challenger Green know that?” I said quickly. “You told me with that guy, it’s all about winning no matter how it happens, right?”
Nevva fell silent. She knew I was right.
Tylee jumped down from the stage and said, “Wait here a moment. I have an idea that might help you decide.” She quickly hurried out of the theater, leaving Nevva and me alone. Once I saw that she was out of earshot, I turned on Nevva quickly.
“Are you crazy?” I shouted. “Didn’t you hear me before? This is exactly what Saint Dane wants! That’s why he’s on Quillan. He wants me to enter the Grand X and be humiliated!”
“I don’t know why he would want that,” Nevva said.
“Because this isn’t just about Quillan,” I said, getting worked up. “It’s about all of Halla. If you’ve learned as much as you say, then you know Saint Dane lures me into these situations. It’s like he’s testing me. He could probably kill me as easily as he changes personalities, but he doesn’t. He keeps me around because I think he can’t control Halla until he beats me. Why? I have no idea. But I do know that here on Quillan, he wants me to enter the Grand X and get my ass kicked!”
“But you won’t lose, Pendragon,” Nevva pleaded. “You know you can beat Challenger Green.”