Michael Ford - Z

Josh pored over the different maps with growing excitement. He couldn’t believe Clatter’s operation was so extensive. This is going to be so cool, he thought as he tried to memorize as many details of the maps as he could. He wanted to impress the others the next time they played.

As he was looking at a map of the sewers that ran beneath the ship graveyard, the telecom sounded an incoming call. “Firecracker is calling,” the machine’s voice said. “Firecracker is calling.”

Josh went to his desk and hit the answer key. Firecracker’s face filled the screen. “How’s the paper going?” he asked.

Josh wracked his brain. “The paper,” he said, a sinking feeling growing in the pit of his stomach.

“Right,” Firecracker said. “Did you get your part done?”

“Just about,” Josh lied. “I’m still researching a couple of things, but I’m almost finished.”

“All right,” said Firecracker. “Make sure it’s good. My presentation is going to kick major butt, but it’s only half the grade. Don’t forget you have to submit the written report to Darjeeling by eight tomorrow. She’s going to have them graded before we do the presentations.”

“Don’t worry,” Josh said. “It’ll be done.”

“Okay,” Firecracker said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Firecracker out.”

The screen went dark, and Josh groaned. He’d forgotten all about the paper. He looked at the clock. It was almost ten. Reluctantly he closed the manual he’d been reading and started to pull up information on Antarctica.

His computer beeped, signaling an incoming message. He opened it and saw a note from Charlie.

The next game is Saturday. Meet me at the park at 1400 hours. Study the maps for Location 4.

Saturday? That’s the day after tomorrow, Josh thought. That didn’t give him much time, especially since Friday night was family night, when he and Emily were forced to do something with their parents. You can’t show up unprepared, he told himself.

He started to pick up the manual again, then remembered the planetary geography paper. Paper first.

He worked quickly, locating the information he needed and cobbling it into something that resembled a paper. When he was done he read it through. It wasn’t his best work, but at least it was finished. Hopefully it was enough to get them a decent grade.

He glanced at the clock and was shocked to see that it was after one o’clock. He was exhausted, but he forced himself to open the manual file and start reading again. Location Four was also in the Docklands. It was an old amusement park called Happy Time that had been built along the boardwalk. Since the ocean around the city had become too polluted to swim in, nobody went there anymore, and like everything in that part of the city, the boardwalk—and Happy Time—had been left to slowly fall apart. Josh had never been there, although his parents had told him and Emily stories about going there when they were kids.

According to the manual, there were a number of buildings still standing at the park, as well as several underground tunnels that must have been used for maintenance purposes. They formed a complex maze that Josh found difficult to keep straight, so in order to memorize them he focused on one section at a time, taking in the details and then closing his eyes and trying to re-create the map in his mind.

The problem was that every time he closed his eyes, he felt himself drifting into sleep. Several times he woke with a jerk, having dozed off in the middle of trying to picture a stairwell or hallway. Then one time he closed his eyes and didn’t wake up.

Josh dreamed about trying to find his way out of a dank cellar. He’d lost his bearings and no longer knew where the stairs he’d come down were. Things were moving in the dark, and he couldn’t remember how to use his flamethrower. Hands were grabbing at him, and he felt cold breath on his face. The alarm clock jolted him awake.

He sat up and looked around his room, his heart racing. The dream had been so real. There was a knock on the door, and Emily looked in.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Sure,” said Josh. “Why?”

“You were yelling in your sleep,” his sister told him.

“Oh,” said Josh. “It was just a nightmare.”

Emily nodded. Then she noticed the reader lying next to Josh on the bed. She came in and picked it up. “What are you reading?”

“No!” Josh yelled, grabbing the reader from her.

“Ohhh,” Emily said, a grin spreading across her face. “You were looking at something naaauugh-ty!”

“I was not!” Josh countered. “It’s just something for school.”

“Okay,” Emily said, giving Josh an exaggerated wink. “Sure.”

“Get out of here,” said Josh. “I have to get dressed.”

Emily scurried out, laughing, and shut the door. Josh looked at the reader. It was still open to the map of Location Four. Close call. If Emily had seen the map, she definitely would have asked a lot of questions.

Twenty minutes later Josh was downstairs having breakfast. Emily looked at him from across the table and smiled sweetly. “Read any good books lately?” she asked.

Josh glowered at her.

“Don’t forget, tonight is family night,” his father said. “We’re going to go play mini golf.”

“Yay!” Emily said, genuinely excited by the news. Josh was a little excited too. Mini golf was super old-fashioned, but it was also kind of cool. He would never let his parents know, but secretly he was looking forward to it.

Fortunately for him, the mini golf news also made Emily forget all about the reader. On the train to school all she talked about was how much fun it was going to be. When she got off at her stop, she waved good-bye to Josh and ran to catch up with some of her friends who had been riding in the car ahead of theirs.

The rocking motion of the train almost lulled Josh back to sleep, and he was glad when he reached his stop and could get out into the cool air.

Firecracker caught up with him as Josh was opening his locker. “Did you get it done?” he asked.

“I did,” Josh answered. “And I sent it to Darjeeling. The rest is up to you.”

“Piece of cake,” said Firecracker. “I’ll see you later.”

The day dragged on. At lunch Josh tried to perk himself up by downing an energy drink, but all it did was make him feel sick. By the time planetary geography class rolled around in the afternoon, he was both wired and sleepy. It was a horrible combination, and all he wanted to do was sit at his desk and zone out.

Unfortunately, he had to listen to the other presentations. There was going to be a test on the information, so he forced his eyes open and tried to concentrate on what was being said. Beside him, Firecracker’s leg bounced up and down anxiously as he waited his turn to go before the class.

Josh listened as Veda Churling told them about the formation of the Martian Sea, then as Peter Prieboy gave a rambling account of the meteor strike that had created the Vargas Canyon. None of it was very interesting, and Josh found his thoughts wandering. He hoped the recorder built into his NoteTaker had caught everything, but he doubted it. It had been acting up lately, and he hadn’t had time to fix it.

Finally it was Firecracker’s turn. He went to the front of the room and started talking. As promised, he had made holographic maps to illustrate the changes taking place in Antarctica and how the resulting rise in water levels was affecting the rest of the earth. This was followed by an animation showing the Antarctic Conflict waged by the seven countries claiming territorial rights to the area, and the ultimate creation of a protected world park there.