Grid Seekers (Grid Seekers Book One) (22 page)

“So nobody else can do that?” I asked.

“Nope, at least not that I’m aware of. I hacked into your skimmers to steal the magnetic strip information. Since each one is unique, even the cards in play that do the same things, it makes it very useful,” Peter said.

“You’re the man,” Liam said, and I caught him flash a small smile.

“I did tell you I was the best hacker available, didn’t I?” Peter asked.

“Yes, you did, and now I see you were telling the truth,” Liam replied.

“Okay, you guys are coming up on it,” Peter said.

“It’s a little sandy, but I don’t see anything,” I said.

“Oh, my bad, I thought I told you. It’s about a hundred feet in on land, not exactly on the shore,” Peter said.

“That’s the rainforest there,” I said, looking to my left.

“Yup, it’s in there. It’s not too far, though, so don’t worry,” Peter said.

Liam and I looked at each other, him shrugging, before we walked into the forest, the thick flora making it hard to walk, as low-hanging vines acted as highways for the legions of insects that called this place home. It might have been just as green, but this place was
vastly
different than the temperate forest was.

“There!” I said, pointing to a small outcrop, the brushed metal top of the card twinkling in the thin rays of sunlight that broke through the canopy.

I walked over to it, picking it up and flipping it over, the entire face covered in dirt and mud. I wiped it off with my finger, seeing the beautiful picture of the carbine rifle showing up again, before I unclasped my pouch and tucked it safely in, making sure I would keep it in my possession at all times. Losing this card again might prove catastrophic for me.

“What’s that?” Liam asked, pointing, before I looked over.

“What?” Peter asked.

“It’s like…a shack or something,” Liam said.

Liam walked towards it, me following behind. The old wooden shack looked eerie, dangerous, and overall creepy.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go in,” I said.

“I’m not seeing anything on my map, guys. Are you sure you’re correct?” Peter asked.

“There’s a giant shack in front of me. I might be a little banged up, but I’m not crazy,” Liam said.

“That’s weird. Why wouldn’t they show that on our maps? I’m not even picking up a signal on it,” Peter said.

There was a “keep out” sign on the front door. It was very weathered, and thick ropes hung around the building, like it was once used for boating. The place smelled, and we weren’t even inside, the musty odor of mold and rotted wood pungent enough to singe my nose hairs on contact.

Liam walked up to the door, grabbing the curved wooden handle, and pulled on it. The door barely budged. He continued to pull, even putting his left foot on the exterior of the building, the door barely inching every time, like it didn’t want to be opened.

“Maybe it’s a sign, Liam. We should get out of here,” I said.

“No, I’m not leaving until I see what’s inside. Besides, this could be shelter for us, and after last night out in the cold I definitely want it,” Liam said.

He placed both hands on the handle, took a few deep breaths, and used all of his might, the door popping wide open, and he fell back, stumbling, before landing on his butt.

“There,” he said, hopping up.

We walked inside, my hands on his back, like I was using him as a human shield. I was sure something had died in here, praying we wouldn’t find some carcass lying there, but thankfully nothing came into view. The shack was fairly empty, and not too much bigger than our rooms, the area littered with a few large wooden boxes, some nets, and more rope than we could ever use.

“There’s a lot of stuff in here. Maybe we could use some of it,” Liam said.

“For what?” I asked, looking around at the junk in the room.

“I don’t know. That’s the great part about it. We could use it to climb, catch fish, or even to hide stuff in trees if need be. We can’t just leave all of this great stuff behind, Alexia. Go ahead and look through that stuff there. I’m going to look through this stuff,” Liam said.

I walked over hesitantly to a pile of junk. It was mostly thick, crusty rope and a partially ripped net, before I noticed some stuff further down underneath it. I pulled the ropes and nets off, the ropes far heavier than I would’ve imagined, before something refracted the slim rays of sunlight that came in through a partially busted board above me.

“There’s something here,” I said.

Liam walked over, standing over me, and I reached down, picking it up.

“Wow,” Liam said.

“One half of the talisman has been found,” Gordana announced overhead.

“Liam,” I said, looking back up at him, my mouth open.

“I told you we had a chance at this thing,” he replied, smiling.

•••

Liam and I stayed put in the shack, realizing that if Peter had no idea that it was here, then no other hacker would either. It was a safe house, which was something we very much needed, especially after I found this talisman half.

Even though I had found it, it wasn’t technically mine; anybody else in the competition would be able to steal it and use it for their own gain, even Liam. That was what made this competition a little scarier for me, though pretty great for anyone else. Gordana had announced that one half was found, though she luckily didn’t say who had found it. What if someone else saw us and took it away from me when I was sleeping? Anything could happen.

Liam gathered some sticks from outside, most of the wood slightly damp, though the dead and broken boards inside the shack were completely dry, albeit a tad crumbly. With the fire starter, he quickly pressed the button on top, a few sparks firing out, before it caught, creating a small blaze, the smoke drifting out of the top of the shack, as a few boards on the roof were broken.

We soon dried off, the small heat of the fire providing us with some much-needed comfort as the day wore on, the daylight fading, the only illumination now coming from this small fire, the talisman sitting next to it, the orange light bouncing off of its speckled surface.

“Chicago group one, player one, has been eliminated,” Gordana announced overhead, startling me.

“Looks like Chicago only has one player left,” Liam said.

“Looks like Jason and Bridgette survived the fall, then. They’re the only ones crazy enough to do something like that,” I said.

Liam didn’t reply. I fed the fire and gave it a few miniscule sticks he had gathered, before I peered over and looked at him, his gaze fixated on the talisman like it had some type of hypnotic curse over him. I didn’t know what he was thinking about, but for some reason, I didn’t want to and didn’t plan on asking him.

Chapter Nineteen

“We can hide in
here,” a voice said from outside.

Liam and I perked up, looking at each other, our small fire illuminating the talisman, which was fully exposed to anyone coming inside. I grabbed it, rushing to the corner, before putting it behind one of the wooden boxes to hide it from view.

The front door opened, and an older man came through, with three others behind him. They looked startled to see us in here, even though the smell of smoke filled our shack and could likely be smelled, if not seen, outside. They stopped in the doorway, unsure what to do next, as both groups watched one another like we were both waiting to see if the other group was friendly or not.

“Please don’t harm us. We’re just trying to find a place to stay dry,” an older woman said from behind.

“We won’t harm you, but I think it’s best that you find another place. It’s too risky to let you in,” Liam said.

“Liam,” I said, looking at him.

“Alexia, we can’t take the risk. I’m sorry, but what if they steal our cards or something?” he said, secretly alluding to the talisman.

“We’re not like that. We only have one card each, anyway. We know we aren’t going to win this thing, not a chance, but we don’t want to be eliminated, either. Please, I’m begging you,” another woman said.

I looked closer, the light of our modest fire not fully illuminating their faces, before noticing that I knew them, well, sort of. They were the group that Jason had wanted to eliminate early on, the ones who I’d warned that day during self-defense training, which led to the ultimate escalation between us and Jason and Bridgette. We were already in so deep with them because of me helping them, so what would this hurt? I trusted they weren’t bad people, just unfortunate souls, and besides, we had enough space for them.

“Come on. They’re tired and cold and we have enough space. Just for tonight,” I said, looking at him.

“Do you remember what happened the last time you said just for tonight?” Liam asked.

“True, that was bad, but this is different. Just trust me on this. Please,” I said, looking at him with puppy dog eyes.

“Ugh, fine, but I don’t want to have to say I told you so,” Liam said, pointing his finger at me, a stern look on his face.

I smiled and the older group came in, securing the door behind them. They were hobbling a little. The grid was an unforgiving place, especially when you couldn’t navigate it well. I couldn’t imagine what they had gone through, with only four cards between them, as Liam and I now
each
had five, and we were only two people compared to their four.

“So, where are you guys from?” Liam asked, as the group sat down.

“Me and him are from Seattle,” said one of the men, the oldest looking one.

“We’re from Denver,” a woman said.

I looked closer, the wisps of gray hair on the quieter woman looking familiar, before I realized it was Cassandra, the woman I’d wiped the floor with in duels. She had cost me my prize, though in hindsight it wasn’t really a prize at all. She didn’t look at me much, possibly remembering me and being a bit frightened, which she really had no reason to be.

“We’re from New York,” Liam said.

“Oh, we know who you two are. You two really blazed through training and made the rest of us look bad. I wish I were younger, though, and not just because I wouldn’t be so sore. I would’ve whooped your behind,” the older man said.

“Yeah, you think?” Liam asked, smiling.

“I know, son. I know,” the man replied.

“I’m Alexia, by the way. I remember talking to you guys in the self-defense phase once, but we never actually
talked
,” I said.

“We totally forgot to introduce ourselves,” Cassandra’s partner said, her hands up in the air.

“I’m Julia, and this is Cassandra. This gentleman is James, and this old coot is David,” Julia said, pointing at the end towards the older man Liam jabbed with.

“Nice to meet you all. Has it been hard out there for you?” I asked.

“Oh, honey, you have no idea. We’ve been fearing for our lives,” Julia said, and I noticed she often used her hands to talk.

“My feet feel like they’re going to fall off,” James said.

“Yeah, we haven’t had a picnic out there, either,” Liam replied.

“At least you aren’t old and falling apart,” David said.

“We might not be old, but we’ve already had to eliminate two people,” Liam said.

All four of them perked up, looking like they were ready to back away and bolt, Liam’s words not really the best choice to use around four squirrely older people who were already a little on edge.

“We didn’t want to!” I said quickly, my hands out. “They were the two people from our city. They betrayed us and tried to hand us over to that Jason and Bridgette from Los Angeles so that they could keep their lives in the competition. Trust me, we’d never just take someone out.”

“Oh, I hate those two. They were so smug in training and wanted to take us all out right away for no other reason than our age,” Cassandra quipped, finally speaking up.

“Yeah, I knew those two were trouble from the get-go. They aren’t to be trusted,” James said.

“We had a pact with Jamie and Matthew too. It hurts to even think that they’d do that after being so nice. Oh well, I guess it’s all over now. We just have to hope that they don’t pop their heads up around us any longer. What’s done is done,” Liam said.

“That’s a good outlook. Better to just leave it be and not hold a grudge. You’re going to do fine in life, kid,” David said.

•••

We stayed around the fire most of the night, trading stories and hearing about their lives back home. It was interesting talking to them, the oldest people in the entire competition, hearing the things they’d seen and the things they’d done in their lifetimes. They told us a lot about Seattle and Denver, two places I had always wanted to see sometime. They seemed like beautiful megacities, though I’d only ever seen pictures, their majestic mountains and lakes like something reminiscent of the older days my grandmother told me about.

I looked down at my bracelet, still here with me, before touching it, thinking of her. I knew this was the grid, but I hoped she was here with me right now. I could use her guidance right now more than anything.

Later that night, before we were all winding down for bed, they moved around, none of them wanting to be too close to one another. James got up, moving closer to the corner where I had hidden the talisman. Liam didn’t notice James moving, too entranced in his conversation with David, and I saw James rummaging about, moving some things, mainly rope, out of his way.

I kept an eye on him; his attention looked like it was piqued. He looked in the general direction where I had hidden it. I felt nerves in the pit of my stomach, like I wanted to throw up, but he looked the other direction, still moving things out of his way.

Did he see it? He must have, it was right there. Wouldn’t he have done something about it, like pick it up or call people over, thinking he had found it himself? It was well hidden to the point that someone could think they had found it if they didn’t know the story behind it.

“One half of the talisman has been found,” Gordana announced overhead, breaking up David and Liam’s conversation.

James looked back, walking over, but the talisman wasn’t in his hands or anywhere on his person. I knew he didn’t take it, as Gordana wouldn’t announce it if it were re-found.

“I can’t believe it. It looks like it’s over,” Julia said.

“Well, not so fast. They still have to connect the two halves,” Cassandra said.

“They should be doing that any second. Why would they wait?” Julia asked.

I looked at Liam, and he looked back at me, both of us knowing that they had no clue we had the other half. Whoever just found it
couldn’t
connect it with the other half because they didn’t have it.

Minutes passed and nothing happened, all four of them waiting, like they were expecting this to be over any second and be thrust back into the physical world within an instant. It didn’t happen, though, and I could tell they were starting to wise up.

“I don’t think the same group has both halves,” I said, planting the seed in their heads.

“Yeah, I don’t think so either now,” James said.

That was the only quip I needed to hear to know our half was still safe, James none the wiser as they all shrugged it off, going about their business, not bringing it up again. I guessed we were safe…for now.

•••

I woke up the next morning, my back aching a little from the hard wooden floor. Liam and I were sleeping beside one another. I looked around the room, the little bits of coal from our fire completely cold, seeing nobody else in the shack.

I sat up, rubbing my eyes as I looked around, trying to figure out where the four older people went; there was nowhere for them to hide in here. Were they
just
wanting to stay for the night, leaving before we woke so they wouldn’t bother us? I thought for sure they’d still be here, since they all looked positively exhausted last night.

“Liam,” I said, nudging him.

“Huh?” he mumbled.

“They’re gone,” I said.

He sat up, slowly opening his eyes, yawning and stretching.

“Where’d they go?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I just woke up. They’re just gone,” I said.

“What about the talisman?” he asked in a softer tone.

I perked up, having forgotten all about it in the corner, before I quickly got up to check. James saw it yesterday, I knew it, and instead of just pointing it out to everyone last night and causing a panic, he probably snuck it away so that he could get out of here. Who
wouldn’t
want to get out if they could, no matter their age or how good they thought they were at all of this? It was the perfect plan.

I moved the wooden crate, the black freckled talisman looking up at me, still safe and secure where I had left it. I felt the stress ooze off of my body, my heart rate starting to go back down, and I took a deep breath, Liam looking at me like I was crazy.

“Did you think they took it or something?” Liam asked.

“Yeah, I could’ve sworn that I saw James eyeing it last night when he was messing around over here. It would’ve been easy for him to take it, especially this morning when we were dead asleep,” I said.

“Yeah, but there were four of them, and only one half of the talisman. That’s just too risky if you ask me. I think you’re just paranoid because you have it,” Liam said.

I looked out the gap between the boards, seeing nobody around, though never really knowing if someone, or something, was lying in wait. The four of them snuck up on us last night, after all. The rainforest was thick with flora, the trees scaling almost as high as some buildings back home, vines connecting them as monkeys and insects traveled them like roads. After that attack in the lagoon, I wasn’t too keen on taking things lightly, especially in
this
ecosystem.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” I said, the talisman tucked back safely.

“Then go,” he said.

“I’m scared. What if someone is out there?” I asked.

“Here,” he said, unclasping his pouch.

He handed me two cards, the radar card and the camouflage card. I looked at him, confused, rubbing the cards together in my hand, the metal slightly warm from being pressed against his body.

“Use the radar card now to see if anyone else is around, and use the camouflage card when you’re outside so you aren’t seen,” he said, closing his eyes again.

I put the camouflage card in the hand my skimmer was in, keeping it on the ready, before putting the radar card on the edge of the skimmer strip.

“Modify,” I said, swiping the card.

The alert went off overhead, notifying everyone in the competition a card was used, before a digital map showed up in front of me, a hologram coming out of my skimmer itself. The radar didn’t provide a large map, only five hundred feet or so, though it did show that nobody was around. I figured I was safe, nobody in the immediate area, so I clicked to turn off the map, and it was sucked back into my skimmer.

I handed it back to Liam and he put it back in his pouch, keeping the camouflage one in my hand to use when I actually got outside. Since it had only a five-minute limit, I knew I had to save it for when I really needed it.

I opened the shack door, it scraping against the wooden planks below, a small groove starting to form. I closed it behind me and ventured off into the rainforest alone, something I never thought I’d have to do.

There were no places I found suitable in the area, all of it vastly overgrown and in need of a trimming, though it seemed to get a little better as I kept going further in. I didn’t see another competitor or even an animal, which was odd, but it kept me from needing to use the camouflage card, which I thought we might need later. A six-hour cool down on these things made you only want to use them when absolutely necessary.