[Permission to proceed granted]
My target was walking across the dimly lit courtyard. The sun had just set, making conditions perfect for the capture.
The courtyard was empty, as predicted. The others had done their jobs well.
I confronted the target halfway between the dorms and the admin building.
[Unknown target number three identified. Locking on specific mind frequencies]
“Brown hair, violet eyes...you must be Forrest,” the target said. Smart guy. I stared him down.
“The head counsellor has identified you as a threat to the stability of this camp. I am here to take you into custody,” I said. Lines I was required to say, according to the head counsellor’s orders.
“Custody? I’m not going to be the head counsellor’s test guinea pig,” he replied. He was glaring at me quite vehemently.
[Locking on complete]
Excellent, just what I was waiting for.
‘Activate virtual area, ten by ten metres.’
[Acknowledged]
The brown haired guy was still glaring at me, unaware that he had just fallen into my trap.
A sleek black gun suddenly appeared in my hand. The guy looked at it in alarm.
“Where did that come from?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I replied, taking aim and shooting him in the chest. He fell to the ground.
I willed the gun away, and it disappeared as I kicked the guy on the ground, making sure he was unconscious. His mind had been convinced that he had been shot, so his whole body acted as if it had. If manipulated correctly, the mind was a very powerful tool.
Diagnostic information appeared in a virtual screen on top of the unconscious body. His name was Jessie, he came from Quintrow, graduated from the same high school as me...Other information appeared as the system trawled his memories, looking for relevant facts.
‘Deactivate virtual area.’
The virtual diagnostic screens disappeared, but the body was still there. Darren would handle that. I knew he was nearby, ready to clean up my mess.
I reported back to the head counsellor’s admin office, to find Kari and Felix already there.
“I captured Jessie,” I said in response to their unspoken question.
“What number was he?” Felix asked.
“Three,” I replied. Since the intruders were not present at the camp ten years ago, they had not been logged by the virtual network and thus the head counsellor had no information on them. Now even if they escaped they could be tracked. “Your target?” I said.
Felix grinned. “Captured as well.”
“His name was Sean,” Kari said, “if that rings any bells.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t even recognise my target, and he comes from my hometown. Where’s the head counsellor?”
“Right here,” came a voice outside the office. The head counsellor strode into the room and took his place at the desk. “Well done, all of you. We now have two of the intruders in our possession.”
“How about the other intruders? There were five, weren’t there?” Felix asked.
The head counsellor looked annoyed. “They disappeared.”
“Well, if we have the virtual network track Chloe and Dylan, we should be able to find the other intruders, right?” I asked. It was well known that those two had sought refuge with the intruders.
“I don’t think we can spare the processing power at the moment. It’s certainly possible, but with the fireworks commencing soon...”
That statement hung in the air. The fireworks were only the cover for what was really happening. A final test of the virtual reality network.
“You will keep your virtual network privileges for now. I need mind locks on the other intruders so keep your eyes open. Meet back here in one hour.”
That was the dismissal. We filed out of the office and went down to the lunch room.
Felix opened the fridge and tossed us some wrapped sandwiches.
“Not these again,” I complained. We sat down and started eating.
“Got no choice,” Felix said, “the main dining room is a bit of a mess.”
I grinned. The little camper revolt had ended up with a vicious food fight against some of the remaining counsellors that had to stay on the camp grounds. I really felt sorry for them.
“Well, at least it smoothed things over for now,” I said.
“How’s Maria?” Kari asked.
Maria. Why did Kari have to bring her up here?
“She was showing signs of betraying the head counsellor so I had to turn her in,” I said.
“She didn’t last that long, did she,’ Felix noted. “I thought the head counsellor had her all figured out.”
“She’s been confined to her room. The head counsellor has given her some meditation exercises to do and has ‘locked her room so she can’t be disturbed’.” I forced a chuckle. “I can’t believe the head counsellor even thinks she’s fit for the agency.”
Kari and Felix smiled, but all I wanted to do was get out of there. They were making me think of Maria and that was making me nervous.
“Has Tyler been apprehended yet?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.
Kari nodded. “I think Darren got him awhile ago. It was easy to track him down with the virtual network.”
“Can you believe the things you can do with it?” Felix said, excitement evident in his voice. “If I had my way I would have it activated all the time.”
“We don’t have the permissions to do that,” Kari said, amused, “but maybe you can convince the head counsellor to have extended play time when the final test is over.”
Felix glared at her. “I’m not a kid.”
“You act like one,” she replied with a smirk. There was a pause then they both burst out laughing.
I shook my head and stood up.
“Where are you going?” Kari asked.
“Bathroom,” I replied, exiting the room before they could ask me further questions. I looked at a nearby clock-I had forty minutes.
Plenty of time.
I walked into the reception room and saw Leila typing away at the desk.
“Leila, do you mind if I look through the confiscated materials? The head counsellor wanted me to check some things.”
“Sure. I assume you would like Dylan’s laptop first?” She took a few bags out from under the desk.
“And a blue mp3 player as well.”
Soon she had both things in a satchel for me to carry around.
I smiled and thanked her, and soon she was back to typing on her computer while I walked down into the labs.
I ignored the people that were still locked up in their cells as I walked through the hallways. When I reached the living quarters wing I took notice of specific room numbers until I reached the one I was looking for.
Maria’s room.
Ever since the main security system was compromised, according to the head counsellor, the impenetrable virtual network had taken over security. I knew the head counsellor was not pleased with this as it took up processing power, but security was crucial to the smooth operation of the camp. The key cards were useless as they were designed for the old system. One needed virtual network privileges to move around the labs now.
‘Request entry to room H6.’
[Request granted. This room is monitored]
The door was now unlocked. I opened it and found Maria sitting peacefully on her bed. The door shut behind me.
‘This room is monitored’ I said in my head, confident that she could hear me. She gave me a nod in return. I dropped the satchel of technology on the bed and sat beside her.
‘Dylan’s laptop?’ she asked mentally.
“If you want to show your loyalty to the head counsellor, check this laptop for details that might help us find weaknesses in Dylan’s psyche,” I said out loud.
‘You mean search his laptop for clues about this camp, right?’ She almost smiled but caught herself in time.
“Okay...I can do that,” she said. Her hand slid across the bed slowly until it brushed mine. Then she grabbed it discreetly. ‘You’re safe to think whatever you want now.’
‘Huh?’
‘The head counsellor came in here with Tyler some time ago. I tried to read Tyler’s thoughts but I came up with nothing. That’s when I noticed that the head counsellor had his hand on Tyler’s shoulder the whole time.’
‘You think that having physical contact shields that person from outside interference?’
‘I believe so. Whether it also shields you from the influence of things other than the head counsellor, however...that would be interesting to find out.’
With my other hand I grabbed Tyler’s mp3 player from the satchel. Maria’s eyes widened when she spotted it.
“What a pretty mp3 player,” she said, giving me a cheeky smile.
“I put some songs I thought you might like on it,” I replied. “You should listen to some when you get bored of meditating.”
‘Both Dylan and Tyler think this mp3 player is extremely important,' she said mentally.
‘Don’t be too alarmed with what I say. I was just putting on an act for everyone else.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘I’m not that stupid.’
“You are too kind,” she said out loud.
I smiled. “I felt really bad turning you in to the head counsellor...I didn’t want to do it, but I thought it would be best if the head counsellor knew about it. I’m sure you will continue to show the head counsellor your loyalty.”
“Yes, it seems everyone has been feeding me false theories that were causing me to waver...I really like this place, you know. I don’t want to be cooped up here anymore. I want to help the head counsellor. He’s such a great guy. ”
It was really hard to stop myself laughing.
‘Okay, maybe I went a bit too far...’ she said cheekily in my mind.
That’s when I realised that time was running out. This was no time to be joking around.
“I feel like we should listen to some of those new songs together. What do you say?” I asked, already getting the headphones ready.
“Sure, I need a break,” she replied, but looking at me quizzically. We both took a headphone and started to listen to the precious recording. But I turned it down. She could listen to it later.
‘I needed an excuse so that it didn’t look suspicious if we just stopped talking out loud.’
‘Why, what’s wrong?’ She sounded very worried. Funny how I could tell that more easily when we were speaking in my head.
‘I’m needed upstairs soon, and there are some things I need to discuss.’
She squeezed my hand, letting me know she was prepared for anything.
‘Things are going to get dangerous pretty soon. I might not make it out unscathed.’
‘How about we just leave now then?’ She sounded very serious.
I almost broke our cover and looked at her, but managed to stop myself in time.
‘You convinced me to stay and fight; now you want to leave and abandon everyone?’
She had a sad smile on her face. ‘I was thinking about it, and I think Dylan and I were wrong to force you to help us. Everyone has the right to choose their own fate.’
This was it. What did I want to do? What was most important to me? I had gone through so many changes of thought that I didn’t know what my true motivations were anymore.
‘I don’t know, Maria. I just don’t know.’
She surprised me by pulling us into a hug, regardless of what anyone else thought.
‘I’ll find out what the head counsellor is up to. I’ll gather evidence, catalogue information, write up a report. I’m good at that.’
‘You’ll be fine down here?’ I didn’t want to let go, afraid that she would fall into the clutches of the head counsellor again.
‘I can handle the head counsellor just fine. I’ll try to get back in his good graces and observe. Perhaps he will think that I won’t betray him again because I have realised I will lose my independence if I do that.’
‘Good luck.’
I pulled away but she still kept a hold of my hand.
‘If we make it out, I’ll definitely come visit you in Quintrow.’
I smiled. She was optimistic, already thinking about the future. Perhaps I should make something of my life and enrol in Plotovesus’ university. Perhaps...
We let go and I forced myself not to think about her.
The door opened and I stepped out into the hallway. The door closed.
I had precious little time to get back to the head counsellor’s office, so I ran there and arrived just as Kari and Felix entered the office. We weren’t the only ones in the office. It seemed that everyone who was to be involved with the ‘fireworks’ event was there.
The head counsellor stood so that he was visible to everyone in the room.
“These fireworks are very important to the agency. It is imperative that everyone do their jobs well,” he said.
“What of these ‘intruders’? I heard that not all of them have been captured,” said one of guys.
“Good question. It will be up to all of you to apprehend them if they interfere with the operation. The network has found links between the intruders we have captured and Labresci, so I suspect that they have been sent to spy on our new technology.”
“Labresci? Why would they want to interfere with the agency?” Kari asked.
The head counsellor smiled. “They are afraid of our technology, afraid that we outrank them. Of course, they will attempt to claim that what we are doing here is illegal, but really, they just want our trade secrets. Saves them from doing it themselves.”
So everyone in the camp who was from Labresci was either a spy or a hostage. What a situation.
“Every one of you has virtual network privileges, and when the fireworks start the network will be activated to cover most of the camp. Be aware that if you encounter one of the intruders, the network needs some time to analyse their specific mind frequency. Stall them until the network has a lock.”
“What of the normal campers?” I asked. They were going to be mulling about, enjoying the fireworks.
The head counsellor looked at me. “They are the test subjects. I will be exposing to them to...let’s say a number of situations to see how they react. You will be aware of these...situations but due to your privileges you will not be affected. The network is stable but be aware that there may be anomalies...be on your guard.”
Everyone nodded and started exiting the office.
It was dark outside, except for the light of the bonfire. All the campers had already gathered around it. Obviously the head counsellor had informed the camp that the fireworks were to commence soon.
I found myself next to Felix as we paced around the edges of the bonfire area.
“It’s going to begin soon,” he said, “excited?”
“You bet,” I replied, except I was feeling extremely apprehensive. What if I encountered one of the intruders? What would I do?
Then the first firework was lit. We heard the crackles as it exploded in the air.
[Full network operational]
That strange, disembodied voice always gave me the creeps. But its announcement heralded something even creepier.
