Game Alive: A Science Fiction Adventure Novel (19 page)

Apparently satisfied, the dragon snuffled again – emitting twin plumes of faint smoke from her nostrils – and turned to wander down toward the beach. Jake and Des watched, bemused, as she waded into the gentle surf. The dragon rolled over at the water’s edge, letting the waves crash over her hide with obvious pleasure.

“There’s something you’ll only see in Xaloria,” Jake told Des, still proud of his program. Now he just had to make sure it stayed his.

The two boys got back to work, quickly scouting the spot. The immediate area was a wide, flat pad of thin dune grass which Des pointed out was the size of a football field. The beach was behind them, on the other side of a bunch of large, dark-colored boulders that shouldered together to form a natural wall separating the wind-blown beach from the greener interior of the island. Gaps in the wall appeared at random intervals, allowing access to the shore. Scattered tropical trees hung their branches overhead, heavy with juicy looking fruits. Creeping vines climbed their trunks or snaked over the ground in an overlapping weave that made for treacherous footing. The foliage provided plenty of shelter for a variety of brightly colored birds and small mammals which chattered excitedly and peered at the strange intruders curiously from the shadows.

“Where do you think the symbol will appear?” asked Des, scanning the lush vegetation.

“The two we’ve seen so far have both been on rocks,” Jake said, turning back toward the beach and the wall of enormous stones. Each one must weigh twenty tons, easily. Many were decorated with piles of smaller stones and other objects arranged on top of the larger boulders. “Probably over there.”

“I guess we wait,” said Des. He pulled out his bow and shot down a red piece of fruit from a nearby tree. He retrieved his prey and returned to Jake. “Want a bite?” he asked. Des flopped himself down in the grass and tore into the juicy fruit. Jake took a piece and his taste buds danced at the sweetness. How long had it been since he had eaten?

Jake remained standing as the two finished their meal, studying the wall of boulders. A plan formed in his mind and he shook his head at Des, starting out across the field. “I have an idea,” he called over his shoulder. “We’re going to set a trap for Alys.”

Des perked up. “I like the sound of that,” he said.

“Find some sticks,” Jake instructed. “And pick some more of those fruits. Bring everything over to that wall. And hurry, there’s not much time.”

“You got it, Coach,” said Des.

While Des went to work, Jake approached the rocks. A quick survey revealed that one wedge-shaped boulder formed a ramp on the back for easy access to the top. Jake mounted the wall and gathered up the loose stones and pebbles, sparing a brief moment to wonder who had decorated the boulders and whether there was any significance in the piles.

When he figured he had gathered enough of the stones, Jake found one of the boulders with a smooth, vertical surface facing the field. Sitting down on top of the boulder with his legs dangling over the smooth side, Jake started to sort through his collection of smaller stones until he found one that suited him. The rock was flat and oval shaped, about the size of a dinner plate.

By now, Des had finished gathering sticks and fruit. He scrambled up the slope to sit down near Jake, depositing his own collection beside the knight’s. “How are these?” he asked.

Jake scrounged through the sticks and fruit, nodding. “These will do,” he said, and chose a few medium-sized branches. “Do you have an extra bowstring?”

Des took a length of twine from his pocket and handed it over. Jake tied the bowstring to one end of each stick, then laid the sticks on top of the boulder with the untied ends hanging down over the flat side. Holding them steady with both hands, he turned to Des and indicated the oval rock with a head nod.

“Grab that rock, and put it on top of these sticks. Put it far enough out that it will fall if we pull out the sticks.”

Des placed the rock as Jake described. As soon as he let it go, the whole thing teetered and began to tip over the edge. Des grabbed the rock quickly before it fell and repositioned it. This time he kept his hand on the rock, looking at Jake.

“That’s fine,” Jake said. “We’ll put a couple other rocks on top of it to hold it still.” Letting go of the sticks, Jake grabbed up some smaller stones and stacked them on the oval rock. “That should do it,” he said, and Des let go of the oval rock. It didn’t fall.

“I’ll get down and see how it looks,” offered Des.

“Good idea. I’ll test it while you’re there.”

“Okay.” Des hurried down and stood below, staying well back from the flat rock face and the dead-fall trap. He eyed the construction skeptically. “Hey Jake? It’s kind of obvious.”

“Maybe if we get some of those vines…?”

Des looked down the wall. “Yeah, some of the other rocks have stuff growing on top. We could probably do something like that. Okay, go ahead and test it.”

Jake tugged at the twine. The sticks slid back toward him – but so did the pile of stones on top.

“It’s not going to work!” he said, frustrated. “The whole thing just moves.”

“Turn the sticks around so the string faces out,” said Des, moving closer to the wall so he didn’t have to shout. “Then pull to the side so they spin instead of sliding.”

Jake reset the trap in the new position. Des scrambled out of the way. This time when Jake pulled the cord, the two sticks rotated instead of sliding. The back ends slipped over the edge and the oval stone plummeted to the ground with a loud thud.

“Perfect!” shouted Des. “That ought to knock her out long enough for all of us to get away.”

Working together, they quickly rebuilt the trap and piled several of the largest stones on top of the oval plate for good measure. Des collected some of the vines and a few clumps of long, frizzy brown moss. The boys draped the vines and moss along the edge of the boulder and over their falling rock trap. When they were finished, it looked like a natural outcropping.

“That’ll do for the mousetrap,” said Jake, dusting his hands in satisfaction. “Now for the cheese.”

Gathering up the fruit, Jake climbed down and came around to the vertical rock face beneath the trap. Dropping all but one of the fruits on the ground, he drew out his sword and carefully sliced the fruit into two pieces, handing half to Des.

“Help me draw the ankh on this rock with the juice,” he said.

“How’s that going to work? Even if it doesn’t dry, Alys still won’t see it.”

“Sand,” said Jake, smirking.

Des blinked once, then grinned. The two quickly smeared the sticky fruit juice in the shape of a large ankh on the stone, reaching as high as they could to be sure it was visible. Once the juice was in place, Jake removed his helmet and ran through a gap in the stone wall to the beach. After he filled the helmet with sand, he came back and set it on the ground. The boys scooped their hands in and rubbed the sand carefully into their improvised glue, reapplying the sticky juice and adding more sand until the five foot symbol stood out in sharp contrast to the flat stone wall beneath. Standing back, they inspected their handiwork.

“Think she’ll go for it?” asked Des.

“All we need is for Alys to walk over and check it out,” answered Jake, unconcerned. “We just have to make sure Kari isn’t caught in the trap with her.”

Des nodded, then looked for the nearest break in the wall of boulders. “I’ll hide down between the stones so I can keep an eye on Alys…just in case it doesn’t work.”

“Sounds good,” agreed Jake. “I’ll be up top, pulling the strings.”

“How long?” asked Des.

“Display System Time,” Jake commanded, looking up at the sky. The digital readout faded into brief existence, displaying the time. “Twenty-eight minutes until the real one shows up. They should get here any minute now.”

Des turned away, but Jake grabbed at his arm. “Be careful, okay?” he said quietly.

“You too, Coach,” answered Des. They both nodded awkwardly, unable – or unwilling – to express the fear they each felt. Then they parted. Des took his place between two boulders while Jake climbed up to lay on his belly above. He winced at the pain from his earlier encounter with Alys’s fireball but shrugged it off. There would be time to worry about his wounds after they rescued Kari. He kept his head low, but peered around the sides of the trap to watch for any sign. The boys had been in place for barely a minute when Jake spotted the first sparkling flickers of the magic arrival.

Near the center of the grassy field, the air shimmered like heat waves rising off the ground. Tiny sparks danced at the edges of the distortion, which rapidly formed into Alys, who clutched Kari’s elbow with her left hand and held one silvery dagger in the right. They had arrived with their backs to the stone wall, facing the center of the island.

Jake ducked his head lower, trying to keep out of sight. The NPC sorceress turned slowly in place, studying the field. Her gaze fell over the fake symbol, and she froze. A puzzled expression spread over her face as she sheathed her dagger and reached into her robe to draw out a piece of parchment. Glancing from the paper to the sand symbol and back again, she deliberated.

Come on,
Jake thought from his hidden spot atop the rocks.
Just come over and take a look.

Alys started for the rocks, dragging Kari along a step behind. Jake bit down on his lip to stifle a laugh as the sorceress took the bait. As she and Kari approached, he could hear the NPC talking worriedly.

“Something’s not right,” said Alys, shaking her head and narrowing her eyes. “It seems to have appeared early. But the formula doesn’t allow variation. This can’t be the correct result.”

“Maybe this one isn’t part of your formula,” said Kari, sneering at Alys from behind.

Shut up, Kari!
thought Jake.

“Be quiet,” snapped Alys in the same moment. “I must think.” Arriving at the foot of the massive stone, she released Kari’s shackled arm with a warning glance. Kari crossed her bound arms sullenly but stood obediently at Alys’s side. Jake knew if he sprung the trap now, Kari would be crushed along with the sorceress. He tried frantically to think of some way of warning Kari.

Below, Alys absently drew her daggers and turned back to the wall. She leaned in close to study the sand symbol. Jake held his breath above as the sorceress paused, eyebrows drawing together. She leaned forward even further and sniffed the sand cautiously. Abruptly, Alys reared back and pointed both knives at the wall, lips moving silently.

Jake knew it was now or never. Mentally crossing his fingers, he yanked the string. He opened his mouth to shout a warning, but Des beat him to it.

“Kari, look out!”

After all the time the three had spent adventuring together in Xaloria, Kari didn’t think twice. She threw herself backward as the heavy stones fell down the side of the boulder.

Alys had heard Des as well. She hesitated for a moment, managing to arch her body away from the boulder before the debris tumbled down over her. Rocks struck both her hands, knocking the silver daggers from her grasp. By the time the cascade of rocks ceased, the daggers were buried beneath a pile of rubble.

Alys dove to her hands and knees, flinging rocks and pebbles aside as she tried to retrieve her magic weapons. Des stepped out from between the rocks, drawing back his bowstring and aiming his arrow straight at Alys’s chest. Seeing him, the sorceress froze in place.

“Don’t move!” shouted Des.

Jake slipped down the rock slope and hurried around. As soon as she saw him, Kari ran forward and flung her shackled arms around his neck enthusiastically.

“You found me! I knew you would!” She turned a vicious glare on Alys. “Told you they’d rescue me.”

Alys sighed, bowing her head in defeat. To both boys’surprise, now that she was disarmed she seemed to give up immediately. She rose from her kneeling position and stood serenely before them, head still slightly lowered. No longer threatening in any way, neither did she seem afraid. Instead, her lowered eyes flickered briefly toward the sandy ankh.

“You created this,” she said.

“Sure did,” said Jake, still elated at their success. “Not bad, huh?”

Alys looked again, lifting her head. She frowned. “It fits many of the characteristics. It is a reasonable forgery.” Still frowning, Alys turned her eyes to the sky. “Display System Time,” she commanded.

Jake’s mouth fell open as the familiar digital clock appeared in the air. But Alys was an NPC! His mind reeled.

“The true symbol shall appear in seventy-six seconds,” reported Alys calmly, ignoring Jake’s spluttering shock. “We should move to a better position to spot it when it is rendered.” She turned and walked toward the center of the field, ignoring Des and his bow just as she’d ignored Jake a moment earlier.

Des slowly dropped his bow, turning toward Jake. The knight stood unmoving, still stunned by what had happened. “Uh, Jake? What’s up, sport?”

“She’s an NPC,” said Jake slowly. “She can’t do that. She can’t call up system functions. She just can’t.” Kari had started to follow Alys, but she stopped and looked back at Jake in concern. Des stared at him, confused. Jake’s hands rose involuntarily to clutch at his own hair. “She’s not real. It’s impossible.”

“Look,” Kari interrupted, pointing down at the ground beneath their feet. The familiar shimmer danced over the grass all around them. Slender, yellow-green stalks burst from the earth and rose up over the blades of dune grass before bursting into a million tiny, white blossoms. The bright sunlight fell over the mass of white flowers as they danced in the gentle breeze, making the giant symbol waver at their feet.

“It’s beautiful,” Kari gasped. Des followed the lines of white blossoms with his eyes, and even Jake lost himself in wonder at the incredible display. A dozen paces away, Alys was unimpressed. Jake hurried over to her. Seeing him approach, the sorceress shrugged one shoulder.

“This variation has not been previously encountered,” she mused as he drew near, “but the overall method of definition remains consistent.”

“So this is the first time with the flowers?” Jake asked, unsure what Alys was talking about. He realized she had been using words like “variation,” “formula,” and “rendered.” It was not that the words didn’t exist in Xaloria, but she had used them as if she knew she was in a computer program. That shouldn’t be possible either.