Arcade Catastrophe
Page 4

Once Pigeon stopped somersaulting and sliding, he got up. He hustled to the bike, but the front tire was shaped like a taco and the frame was bent or maybe broken. Turning, Pigeon raced recklessly toward them on foot, falling twice as he jumped off small ledges.
Panting and sweaty, his clothes torn and dusty, Pigeon reached Trevor and flopped to the ground. Although he seemed exhausted, there was no blood on him.
“One minute, fifty-three seconds,” Trevor reported.
“Last place?” Pigeon wheezed.
“You had the best crash,” Summer consoled.
“Did it hurt?” Nate wondered.
Pigeon sat up. “No. It freaked me out, though. I thought I was dead for a second there.”
“Here comes Lindy,” Trevor announced.
Nate turned to watch. She was using Peak Performance and riding her own bike, just as he had. He wondered if her magic eye would give her an advantage.
Lindy had been missing an eye when Mr. Stott took over as her guardian, but a powerful magician named Mozag had provided a replacement. The glass eye looked perfectly real but could see better than a normal human eye. With her replacement eye, Lindy could see in the dark, zoom in on distant objects like a telescope, and even recognize different temperatures.
Whether the eye was helping or not, Lindy came tearing down the hillside like a professional stuntwoman with a death wish. Nate wondered if he had looked that good while taking wild jumps and careening around corners. She skidded to a stop near the others with impressive precision.
“What a rush,” she said with a huge grin.
“You were cruising,” Trevor complimented. “You should have had me time you.”
Lindy shook her head. “Three contestants, one for each candy.” She looked down at Pigeon, who was still sitting in the dirt. “You look like you were hit by a train.”
Pigeon gave a weak smile. “Welcome to my life. Not only did I come in last, I’m also the most tired and filthy.”
“I wasn’t timed,” Lindy said. “Let’s say you beat me.”
“I don’t need your pity,” Pigeon said, getting to his feet. “You looked just as fast as Nate.”
Trevor stuffed his stopwatch and walkie-talkie into a backpack. “Moon Rocks definitely won as the fastest way down the mountain.”
“I thought they would,” Lindy reminded everyone. “But Peak Performance wasn’t far behind.”
“And my bike wasn’t totaled,” Nate chimed in.
Lindy nodded thoughtfully. “If we could mix Peak Performance with an Ironhide and a sturdy bike . . .”
“Can’t risk mixing candies,” Pigeon said. “Instead of a combined effect, you might get something unexpected. Like your head bursting apart.”
“I said ‘if,’” Lindy pointed out. “If we could find a safe way to mix the candies, great skill and much riskier jumps might combine to have a chance.”
“I lost a lot of time going back for the bike when I crashed,” Pigeon said. “And I’m a lousy sprinter.”
“I could have hit the jump a little better,” Summer said. “I could probably shave a few more seconds off my time.”
“If we were mixing,” Nate said, “Peak Performance and Moon Rocks would probably beat Peak Performance and Ironhides.”
“It’s all speculation,” Pigeon complained. “We can’t test it out.”
“It can still be fun to speculate,” Lindy said.
Pigeon shrugged.
Trevor elbowed Nate and jerked his head in the direction opposite from the hillside. Nate looked where Trevor had indicated and saw a pair of blocky men in suits walking toward them.
“Am I seeing double?” Nate asked.
“There are two of them,” Lindy confirmed. “And yes, they look almost identical. They must be twins. One has a small mark on his neck. It could be mistaken for a mole from a distance, but it’s actually a tiny tattoo of a rosebud.”
The men evidently saw the kids looking because one of them waved. The pair strode directly toward them. Both men had dark hair, and binoculars hung from their necks. Nate waved back. “What do you think they want?” he murmured.
“They don’t have bikes,” Trevor noted. “They’re not dressed for hiking.”
“They have binoculars,” Summer observed. “Were they spying on us?”
“I knew we shouldn’t have used the candy in such a public place,” Pigeon groaned. “Without white fudge clouding people’s minds, it was only a matter of time before we got caught.”
“This isn’t a very public place,” Nate said. “We’re practically in the wilderness. And it’s late. We were keeping watch.”
“Apparently not well enough,” Pigeon said. “Do we make a run for it? You guys could use your bikes. Summer and I can use Moon Rocks.”
“What if they’re just bird-watchers?” Trevor said.
“In suits?” Summer replied doubtfully. “Here? Now? They look like government guys.”
“They look really similar,” Lindy said. “Maybe they’re clones.”
“We should start moving away from them,” Nate said. “We don’t need to run. We can just act like we’re heading home. If they chase us, then we can start using candy.”
“Sounds good to me,” Trevor seconded.
They turned and started marching away from Dead Man’s Run in a direction that would let them avoid the men in suits. Nate, Trevor, and Lindy walked their bikes so that Pigeon and Summer could keep pace.
“A moment of your time,” one of the men called.
Nate looked back. One of the men had his hands cupped around his mouth. The other was waving both hands over his head.
Nate stopped walking. “We need to get home,” he called.
“We have a mutual friend,” the man called back. “John Dart.”
Nate exchanged glances with his friends. They hadn’t heard from John in months.
“What do you think they want?” Pigeon asked.
“They could be faking,” Trevor warned. “They could be bad guys.”
“What do you want?” Nate hollered.
“Just a few words,” the man called back. “We know all about you. John is in trouble. We’re all on the same side.”
Nate looked to his friends again.
“If they found us here,” Summer said, “they’ll find us again.”