D. MacHale - Raven Rise

He didn’t. The shadow that was deposited at the mouth of the flume looked nothing like him. The image was slighter, and much shorter. Whoever it was stood ramrod straight as they walked out of the tunnel. When the light receded, I saw something that made my head nearly spin. It made no sense, but there was no mistake.

It was Veego, the game master from Quillan. The woman looked exactly as I remembered her. She had short dark hair that was slicked straight back from her sharp features. She wore a single-piece dark pants suit that was immaculate. In her hands was the pole I had thrown into the flume.

“Hello, Nevva,” she said formally. “Did you misplace this?”

Nevva took the pole and threw it aside.

“Welcome back,” Nevva said. “I think you’ll be pleased.”

This was Veego’s original home. Or should I say it was her home three hundred years in the future of her own time. She and her nutbag brother, LaBerge, were brought to Quillan by Saint Dane to run the sadistic Quillan games. What the heck would she be doing back, three hundred years later than when she had lived on Veelox?

Nevva pointed to me and said, “Of course you remember Pendragon.”

Veego looked down her nose at me. With a disapproving sneer she said, “I see you’re still playing games, Challenger Red.”

“She’s not a Traveler,” I hissed at Nevva. “How can she travel?”

“I told you, the Convergence has begun,” Nevva said matter-of-factly, as if she were telling me the time. “Halla is changing. When it is complete, the territories will become one.”

Veego ignored me and looked straight at Nevva, saying, “Is everything ready?”

“For quite some time.”

“Ready for what?” I screamed, struggling against the Flighters’ grasps.

Veego looked at me with a cold stare. “Blok has finally seen its way clear to reward me appropriately for my successful game services. I have to say, it’s long overdue.”

Nevva added, “Veego and LaBerge have done such a phenomenal job with the Quillan games that the Blok corporation has decided to present them with their very own island.” She looked to Veego and added, “It’s a beautiful location. I trust it will be up to your standards.”

My heart sank. “What island?” I screamed. I didn’t want to know the answer.

Nevva gave me a fake smile and answered, “Why, Ibara of course.”

I was so angry I nearly broke loose from the Flighters. They forced me back down, pushing my face into the dirt, and sat on me.

“It’s not just an island,” I shouted. “It’s a civilization. You know as well as I do, Nevva, the tribunal won’t allow this.”

Nevva and Veego exchanged knowing looks. I didn’t like that. Knowing looks were never good.

“They won’t have a choice,” Nevva said.

The flume came back to life. Veego and Nevva stepped out and faced it. I felt as if I were inside of a dream. Who could be coming in now? LaBerge? How could he affect anything? He was an idiot. Saint Dane? I hoped so. Beyond that, I had no other guesses. I figured I would be wrong anyway.

I was. When light from the flume filled the cavern, I saw two men walking out of the flume, shoulder to shoulder. Followed by two more men, followed by two more. And on and on. I stopped fighting. There was no use. I was watching the future of Ibara, and nothing I could do would change it. The men wore the crisp, green uniforms and gold helmets of the Blok security force from Quillan. They were dados. Veego spun on her heel and led the line of robots past me.

“Good-bye, Challenger Red,” she spat at me with false warmth. “Pay a visit sometime. You’re always welcome.”

She strolled out of the cavern, her posture perfect, as if she were leading a military parade. She turned the corner that led to the tunnel out, and was gone. The dados kept marching out of the flume. Twenty, thirty, forty, I gave up counting. They marched in a straight line, two by two, like, well, like robots. They were identical. No expressions. No emotions. No morals other than to carry out their orders. I couldn’t stop them. No way. What I needed to do was warn Genj. There was another war coming. Ibara would soon be under attack. In those few frantic seconds I made my plans. These Flighters couldn’t hold me forever. Once I got loose I’d make my way out of there and back to the harbor. There were a few skimmers left under the dock. I’d take one to Ibara. It was night. I’d follow the stars. I had no idea how the dados would get there, and I didn’t care. I couldn’t let them reach Ibara before me. I had to warn the people of my new home that they were in danger. On the voyage I’d have time to figure out a way to defend the island again. Yes, that was my plan.

As the last dados rounded the corner into the tunnel, Nevva walked over and looked down at me.

“This is only one small example, Pendragon. Throughout Halla the strong will thrive and be rewarded. The weak will perish. That’s the way it was meant to be.”

That was it. I couldn’t take it anymore. I kicked out, sending one Flighter reeling back across the cavern. With my legs free, I jackknifed up and grabbed another Flighter around the neck and twisted. He squealed in pain and let go. The third Flighter didn’t want any part of that action and let me go too. All three of them took off running after the dados.

“It’s not over,” I called to Nevva, breathless. “I’m not done.”

“But you are, Pendragon” was all she said.

I didn’t care about her anymore. My place was on Ibara. I had to get out of there. I had to get back. I ran for the tunnel that led out. I turned the corner and sprinted along the narrow shaft. In the distance I heard something that sounded like pounding. Like metal on metal. Something was being hammered. I was only a few yards from the larger section of tunnel where the subway car dangled overhead. I was about to enter that wider area when I pulled to a stop. I saw what was making the hammering sound. Several dados were using their powerful arms to hammer at the supporting beams that held up the subway car. Were they crazy? Could robots be crazy?

“Stop!” I shouted.

They didn’t. Several supports were knocked out quickly. I saw the hanging train shift and groan. Dirt rained down. It was going to fall. Two dados scrambled for the far side, leaving two more to continue smashing out supports. I made a quick calculation and decided to risk it. The train was going to come down. I sprinted for the far side. It was a gamble I had to take. A huge creeek sound told me I had made the wrong decision. I was directly under the big chassis. Dirt and rocks fell down on me. The subway train was ready to follow. I was about to be crushed. I had no choice. I put on the brakes and scrambled back the way I had come, just as the train, and all hell, broke loose. With the screeching sound of wrenching metal, the giant car fell through the air. I got thumped by a couple of larger rocks, but it didn’t stop me. I dove back into the narrow tunnel, my body parallel to the ground as the whole world collapsed behind me.

The train car plummeted down, crashing onto the cavern floor and bringing tons of rock and dirt and pieces of Rubic City along with it. I scrambled on my hands and knees to escape from the avalanche. The tunnel had become unstable. I was afraid the whole thing would come crashing down on top of me. I rolled to the side and wrapped my arms around my head, in case any more rocks were on their way. I was pelted by a bunch of gravel, but nothing worse than that. After a minute, the sound stopped. All was still. I looked up to see the air was filled with dirt and dust. It took a while for it to settle enough for me to survey the damage.

Behind me, the cavern that had held the train was no more. The train car had fallen straight down, sealing the way out. I was trapped on the wrong side. The dados weren’t. Next stop for them, Ibara. I sat there in the dusty darkness, staring at the wrecked train, trying to understand all that had happened. There was too much to get my head around.