Grid Seekers (Grid Seekers Book One) (6 page)

I walked over to the purple section, which was in the front and to the left, the four doors spaced fairly far apart, since the doors encompassed the entire massive circle we were standing in. I saw my name lit up above the door furthest to the right and walked up, pressing the glossy black button to the right. The doors opened and the lights inside the room came on. A screen against the far wall turned on too, displaying the same city view that was in the other room.

I walked inside and the door closed behind me. A rather narrow hallway lead me to the inside of the room, and I stopped in front of a door to my right that was in the middle of the small hallway. I pressed a black button next to it, and the door opened to reveal a bathroom. It was beautiful, completely wrapped in marble, with a large shower closed in by glass, the likes of which I’d never seen. Was this how the people in those giant skyscrapers lived? If so, maybe Matthew had a good idea by wishing for an apartment in one of those buildings.

I walked out of the bathroom, the door closing behind me, and came into the room itself, a room seemingly as large as most of my apartment back home. There was a bed against the back wall facing the screen; it looked fluffy, and at least ten feet wide. I put my hand on the comforter, the down blanket puffing inwards under the light weight of my hand before I let go, seeing it slowly fill up with air again.

I had never experienced such luxury before, and I was unsure if I ever would again. I couldn’t believe I was staying here, in a place as nice as this. It was almost as if they gave us all of this so that we’d forget what we were really doing here. If that was their angle, it was definitely working, and I had only just walked inside the room. I couldn’t imagine what I’d feel like after actually sleeping and living in here.

I looked at the end of the bed, seeing my uniform, before walking over to a closet, opening it, and saw about ten of them hanging inside. The uniform itself wasn’t much to talk about, all black except for a portion of the shirt, which featured a purple six outlined in a thin white trim over the left breast, which I didn’t think necessary considering we were already wearing colored bands on our wrists that gave away where we were from.

I didn’t get dressed right away like they wanted, knowing I had some time to decompress and look around before they’d call us out again. I kicked off my shoes, jumped back on the bed, and sunk in. A stack of two pillows propped me up enough to look at the screen, the cars in the street below the camera whizzing by as people the size of ants scurried about, and I got to relax while they worried about getting to their next appointment.

The camera was in a part of town I had never even gone to, an area where you seemed to need a higher net worth just to set foot, even though it wasn’t cut off from everyone else. I guessed I just felt out of place going to an area like that, walking around in my ratty and sometimes stained clothes as everyone else walked around in high-end outfits, all perfectly coordinated and manicured, each of them looking at me like I was some kind of filthy servant girl who could give them some kind of incurable disease. I knew they wouldn’t treat me right, and I figured I could be treated a little better if I stayed around my own kind, even though they weren’t the greatest people either. Sometimes you need to pick the lesser of two evils.

The comforter felt soft against my bare feet; with my toes curling up, I felt as if I were lying on a cloud, the bed perfectly forming around my cold, tired body, my eyes still having a hard time staying open after my lack of sleep last night. I looked up for the first time and saw that the ceiling was gold, contrasting with the snow-white walls that wrapped around me. I had no idea how long I had been in here, since time was escaping me as I relaxed, trying not to think about having to leave this room even for a second to go and train, which I wasn’t sure I would be ready for. Couldn’t I just stay in here until the tournament? I’d take my chances with the competition.

I closed my eyes for what felt like just a second, and I swore I could hear the sounds of traffic from the screen in front of me. I opened my eyes again, halfway, but the sound went away as soon as they opened.

“Ten minutes remaining. Please make sure you are dressed and out in the lobby within ten minutes,” a voice said over a speaker in my room.

I sighed, sitting up and swinging my feet over the side of the bed. My back already missed lying on the mattress, and I hadn’t even been off of it for five seconds. I looked at the uniform on the end of the bed, let out another sigh, and stood up, walking around the front of the bed and picking it up, rubbing the number six on the front between my thumb and forefinger.

I got changed, folding my old clothes nicely. The only part of me I kept on was my bracelet, which I was determined not to ever be without, even if they didn’t like me wearing it. I kept my clothes in the same spot the uniform was in, the contrast of my worn sweater against the crisp white sheets really showing me the difference between where I was this morning and where I was now. It was almost night and day.

With only a few minutes to spare, I walked to my door, pressed the button to open it, and walked out into the lobby, seeing most of the other participants already there, sitting around on the couches as they waited to see what was next.

Everyone had the same uniform, the only difference being the number and color on the breast of the shirt. Jamie was the only person from my group who’d come out, and she nodded at me as I walked over. I sat down beside her and crossed my legs.

Now to hope this training wouldn’t kill me before I could get back into that bed.

Chapter Six

I woke
from my slumber the next morning fully rested. The bed was like nothing I had ever slept in before; it was far better than the old, lumpy one I had at home. I didn’t even wake up once during the night, which was something I wasn’t sure that I had ever experienced before. It was a little thing that kept me feeling a bit better about being here, which I now did, even if I still wasn’t in love with the idea.

We didn’t do too terribly much yesterday, just learned about the building, more about the competition, and spent time with our teams. It seemed to be more of an easy day, or at least that was what I’d gotten out of it, considering we didn’t even start any actual training, not even in one of the areas we were going to be learning.

Christian told us that we’d be finding out who our partners were today, which I think most of us were fairly excited about. I tried to be both reserved and outgoing yesterday, not alienating anyone from my team, but also not getting so close that I’d be disappointed if they didn’t end up being my partner. All of them seemed like they’d be of value to me, since they each had their own individual strengths, though I did think Matthew would be the hardest to work with. Him being older didn’t exactly help when we’d probably be on the run most of the time.

I got ready, grabbing a different uniform set from my closet, tossing the old ones in a basket. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail, both because I wanted to keep it out of my face in case we had a challenge, and because I honestly had no intention of taking the time to do it. I had nobody to impress here.

I walked into the lobby area a few minutes before I needed to be there. Almost everyone else was already out there waiting, nobody talking to one another as they all watched me walk out and to an open seat on the couch. It was awkward, but then again this entire situation was a little awkward.

The front doors opened and Christian walked through, a digiboard in his hands and a smile on his face as the last two people we were waiting for, both from Denver, came out right on cue. Christian stopped in front of us, putting his hands on his hips, as he looked around the room, watching each of our faces.

“How was your first night here?” he asked.

“It went well,” a guy from Seattle said.

“Everyone else do well with the accommodations?” Christian asked.

We all said yes, some a little more enthusiastically than others, but he took the answers and didn’t try to get us in a peppier mood.

“Well, I thought we could start the morning right and get you guys into a skimmer demonstration. Not only that, but you will be meeting your hackers today, as well as getting your team assignments. It’s a busy day! If you’d all follow me, we can get over there and get started,” Christian said.

We all stood up, walking behind him through the maze of hallways. I quickly lost my sense of direction, knowing I’d be unable to find my way through this mess of a shiny white building if I somehow got broken off from the group. How Christian knew his way through here I’d never know.

A set of doors opened and we walked into a large room, larger than the lobby by our rooms. The floor was made up of wide, black matte tiles and the walls were white with a silvery pearlescent sheen. The floor tiles looked texturized, not slick like all of the other tiles in the building, which was a much-needed change of pace. I looked up to see Quinn, one of the instructors from yesterday, the strategy woman, standing at the front of the room, giving off a slightly creepy smile as we walked near. She didn’t look as prim and proper as everyone else here, even Borgis and Petram, who weren’t exactly going to model anytime soon. She had slightly frizzy brown hair held back in a ponytail, although her hair was so thick that the little band could barely tame the mane on her head. She wore thin wire glasses and no makeup at all, not even a stroke.

“Quinn, if you’d like to take it away, they’re all yours. I’ll be over here and out of the way as I watch on,” Christian said, before walking away to a corner, sitting with his digiboard.

“Good morning, and welcome. I’m sure many of you know what a skimmer is. Whether you’ve seen them in past competitions, maybe learned about them in school, or even saw them on the streets, you should be familiar with one by now. If, for some reason, you aren’t familiar, let me bring you up to speed. This is a skimmer,” Quinn said, holding one up, the dim lights above shining on the metal surface. “It allows you, the users, to change the source code within WorldNet, within the competition, letting you change attributes of both yourself and your surroundings. To do this, you use these, your skim cards. They can literally be anything and everything, and can definitely save your butt.”

Quinn pulled up a variety of cards, showing them to us, letting us see first-hand what they were really like. They had pictures on them, the name of the card, and a brief description of what they did. The cards looked like they were made of metal, their metallic surfaces shimmering under the somewhat dimmed lights above, as she moved them around.

“You might be wondering how you get these cards. Well, for each stage of training you pass, you will be eligible to receive
one
skim card, up to a maximum of five to start with. The cards will be set out in rows, face down, and you’ll randomly pick the number of cards you’re eligible for. Once you’ve picked, those same cards will be replenished and then randomized for the next person, so everyone has the same opportunity to receive and get the same cards. Some will be great cards that will save your butt, and some will be basic cards that you might not even use. It’s all up to luck,” Quinn said.

I was happy to know that we would pick the cards and that anyone could get the same card as the last person if they picked right. There was no favoritism and there was no apparent edge by going first or last in the picking. I wasn’t too thrilled, though, about some cards being totally random in usefulness. She said it was up to luck, and let’s be honest, I wasn’t exactly the luckiest person in the world.

“What I have right now is a demonstration for you. This skimmer is currently hooked up to WorldNet, and inside we have a dummy simulation of what the competition will be like. I’m going to skim one of these cards, and the character inside the screen will use the card. This is exactly how it will be like for you,” Quinn said.

The screen had a blank-faced person standing in an open space, the ground flat; there were no trees, hills, shrubs, or anything else. It looked a little lame, but I guess it was cool in its own way.

“I will choose the terraform skim card,” Quinn said, holding it up.

Quinn grabbed the card, put it at the top of the skimmer, and before skimming it, said something aloud, something that every competitor was seemingly forced to say to get it to work correctly, which I did remember from last year’s competition.

“Modify,” she said, a second before skimming the card.

Her card took, and the dummy inside the simulation moved his arms and legs, punching and kicking. The flat ground came up, and he was able to control the earth itself, warping and forming it how he wanted. I was in awe, knowing a card like that could do such great things for both my partner and myself. We could build a shelter, build a fortress of some kind, or even make tunnels that would allow us to stay hidden. Controlling the ground and earth itself would be a game-changing ability.

“As you can see, the dummy inside the simulation is able to have full control over the ground itself. He can warp, shape, and form it the way he wants with no limitations. He could pull up boulders, rip huge chasms into the ground, or even take himself up to higher ground,” Quinn said.

Jamie raised her hand and Quinn looked at her.

“How long do the cards last? If I have that card and skim it, will my powers be permanent?” Jamie asked.

“What an excellent question! No, your ability isn’t permanent. Each card can only be used
once
every six hours. This is to keep the user from spamming their powerful cards over and over again, giving themselves an unfair advantage. Each card lasts for approximately five minutes, though you can’t always use them consistently during that five-minute duration. For example, a plasma cannon card is the most powerful weapon, though you can only fire it off twice in the five-minute span because of the recharge time it needs,” Quinn said.

“Can we use multiple cards in a row?” Jamie asked.

“You can, though you might not want to! Since each card has a six-hour-long cool-down time, using all of your cards at once, though it may be powerful for a short time, will leave you completely vulnerable for six long hours after. Some players here might take advantage of that,” Quinn said.

The dummy inside the simulation stopped his actions, the ground going back flat like it was before the skim, like it never even happened. Seeing that demonstration and hearing Quinn talk about the variety of random cards we had to choose from made me wonder exactly what kind of cards we’d get to pick from. How many were there? How many of those were really powerful, and how many were really useless?

“Okay, now we’re going to start the hacker assignment process, as well as your teammate assignments. Guards, if you’d please let the hackers in and let them know we’re ready for them, I’d appreciate it,” Quinn said.

I knew the hackers were our lifeline and support, and they were in the same situation we were. Most of them were kids or adults who had gotten into trouble somehow; they weren’t exactly criminals by any means, but people who used their special gifts for not-so-great things.

The hackers came in, twelve of them in all. They all looked different, and I couldn’t tell what their home megacities were, as they didn’t have any bracelets or other identifying information on them.

“These are your hackers. They have everything to gain by helping you and your partner navigate through the competition and helping you find cards and gifts along the way. If they lose, or you and your partner are eliminated, they will face the same fate as you. If they help you win, they also get a wish, which I know they all want. Even though your hacker will be your lifeline, they don’t have all of the answers. They don’t know the locations of different cards or gifts that have been planted, and most importantly, they don’t know where the talismans are. They have to use their hacking skills to break down the walls that confine them and give you information as you go along. Before we pair you up with your hacker and let you talk with him or her, I’m going to commence with the team selections. For this, I’ll need a friend to help. Gordana, are you there?” Quinn asked.

“Yes. What can I help you with, Quinn?” Gordana asked, as Quinn looked at the screen in the front of the room.

“Will you please list the competitor team assignments on the screen?” Quinn asked.

“Certainly. Here are your results,” Gordana said, and the pairings came up, each of our faces next to another person from our cities, a gold trim boxing in each pair of two so that we knew exactly who we were with.

I scanned the screen, looking for my face. It was the same picture they showed on television for the lottery drawing just two days ago. I looked to the right of the picture and saw Liam’s face next to mine. I held back a small smile, both knowing that he was a great competitor who would give me the best chance of winning out of the three I could’ve had, but also because, let’s face it, he was cute.

I looked over, seeing him look down at me a few feet away, two bodies separating us, and I nodded.

“Now that you have your assignments, we are going to pair you with your hackers. This will work the same way as your partner assignment,” Quinn said, before asking Gordana for help.

The twelve hacker faces matched up with the twelve teams. Our hacker looked very distinct in comparison to the other hackers, who were mostly well dressed and cleaned up. I looked back up at the lineup and saw him there, smiling and waving to us. He looked a little disheveled, though not dirty, and he had messy brown hair, a little bit of acne, and a chubby waist, which was fairly typical of hackers. He looked nice, though, which I knew would come in handy, considering some of the hackers looked ticked off to even be up there right now.

“Teams, please meet with your hackers and introduce yourselves. We will reconvene shortly,” Quinn said.

Liam and I got together, and our hacker walked over to us, smiling from ear to ear, extending his hand for us to shake.

“Hi guys! My name is Peter. I’m so happy to be teamed with you two. I know we’re going to have a lot of fun,” Peter said.

“Well, not too much fun. I don’t plan on making a vacation of this,” Liam said, before shaking his hand, and I did the same.

“I know this is hard and stressful, but we’re a team! I know we can still make this fun and exciting if we want,” Peter said, still smiling.

“I love your enthusiasm, but I plan to win, and by any means necessary. I hope you can get us the goods when we’re inside,” Liam said.

Liam was cute, and he seemed like a good teammate, but I still had the strange feeling I’d had about him earlier. I felt a little uneasy, like he wasn’t entirely trustworthy. I didn’t know if he would throw me under the bus or anything, but I didn’t think he would risk himself for me, though I would do it for him. The one thing I had learned from past competitions was that you didn’t
have
to use the talismans with your partner to win. That exact thing happened two years ago. A competitor from one team had one half of the talismans, and a person from an entirely different team had the other half. Their respective partners, who were unlucky enough not to have a half, duked it out and fought while the two just used the talismans together and combined them, getting themselves out and winning, even though they weren’t together in it at all. I was going to make sure something like that
didn’t
happen to me.