Arcade Catastrophe
Page 92

Nate knew he couldn’t wait. If his Peak Performance started to wear off, he would never survive the obstacles ahead. So he zoomed forward.
Dodging through the brutal obstacles was no easier the second time. Nate took a similar route as he had the first time, with many minor variations. Once again, he progressed gradually, his body spinning and flipping into strange positions to avoid the endless dangers. He received nicks and scratches and plenty of close shaves, but he emerged alive at the other end.
This time the door beyond the obstacles was already open. Nate flew into the domed chamber. He saw the clothes belonging to Ted and Celia in motion, and felt relieved to see that Katie hadn’t incapacitated them.
A large sphere hung in the center of the room, roughly twelve feet in diameter. Unlike the appearance of Uweya in the real world, this Uweya glowed brightly, its vivid surface an ever-changing palette of swirling color. Amid the dynamic hues, the forms of the oceans and continents remained visible, although the shapes undulated and blurred as diverse colors migrated across the globe.
Nate flew over to the worktable where Ted had gotten him a coin. Several coins lay in plain view, and he claimed one. It seemed identical to the coin in his pocket. Flying close to the brilliant sphere, Nate held the coin in his palm. When he threw in the coin, would Uweya be destroyed instantly? Or might he have a chance to try to fly out and look at the sky using the coin in his pocket?
Iwa Iza was supposed to be an amazing magician. Nate hoped he wouldn’t have designed Uweya so that whoever unmade it would be killed.
Bracing himself, Nate searched for the courage to proceed. Throwing the coin might be the last thing he ever did. But it would make his family safe from the threat of Uweya. His friends would also be safer. In thousands of years, nobody had been in a position to remove this danger from the world. Even though he might die, he had to take the chance. He focused on the hope that he would live.
Nate flipped the simulcratic coin with his thumb toward the glowing sphere. After spinning through the air, it disappeared inside the globe. For a moment the sphere swelled and became blinding, then Nate experienced a sensation as if he and everything around him were being drawn into the globe and imploding down to a singularity. As he shrank, an instinctive terror of death rose within him. This could be it. There might not even be a body left to recover.
*****
When Nate expanded out of that point where all of Uweya had united, he found himself back in the room with Ted and Celia. They stood gaping at him. Looking up, Nate saw that he was sitting below where Uweya had previously hovered. Except Uweya was gone. Dust swirled in the air and was spread on the floor. Glancing over his shoulder, Nate saw Katie Sung lying motionless.
“You did it,” Celia gasped, her gaze fixed on him.
“It’s gone,” Ted said, astonished. “You survived.”
The ground rumbled threateningly.
“Guys?” Nate asked.
A second rumbling was accompanied by some heavy quaking. A few blocks fell from the ceiling, streaming trails of dust.
“This place is old,” Celia said. “It might not hold together without the power source.”
“It might be deliberately rigged to fall apart without the power source,” Ted added.
“Time to go?” Nate asked.
A stronger quake hit. Ted and Celia were already running for the door. Nate glanced at Katie. She had fought against him, but he couldn’t just leave her to die. He went to her and slapped her cheek. Her eyelids twitched. He slapped her harder. “Get up!”
Katie groaned.
Nate shook her shoulder. “Get up or you’re dead!”
Her eyes opened. “You?” Katie asked, disoriented.
“I trashed Jonas White’s power source and also demolished Uweya,” Nate explained hastily. “This place is coming down.”
The strongest, longest quake yet made Nate fly into the air to avoid the shaking. Stone blocks and dirt cascaded from the ceiling, some landing nearby. Fragments skittered across the vibrating floor.
Katie sat up, eyes closed, legs crossed, her remaining hand in her lap. She breathed deeply, as if meditating. Her posture became more erect.
Nate realized she must be trying to recharge her batteries. “We need to hurry,” he said.
There was a lull in the shaking. “You go,” she said. “I’ll be along.”
Nate zoomed for the doorway. He could feel his Peak Performance wearing off. The obstacles in the corridor beyond the doorway no longer functioned. The blades had stopped swiping, the spikes had stopped stabbing, and the pendulums no longer scythed back and forth. Nate caught up with Ted and Celia as they made their way through the stalled traps.
Chris and Lindy came flying toward them. Their appearance surprised Nate—he had assumed they would already be headed for the exit.
“Nate!” Chris called. “You’re alive!”
“We have to get out of here!” Nate yelled. “I wrecked Uweya! This place is falling apart!”
Another round of heavy quaking added emphasis to his warning. One of the heavy pendulums dropped to the floor, leaned into the wall, and came to rest against several inert blades.
“Who are you with?” Chris asked as he reached Nate.
“Ted and Celia Graywater,” Nate said. “They’re on our side.”
“Lindy, get the girl,” Chris ordered. “Nate, help me with the guy.”
Nate was surprised to see Lindy scoop Celia into her arms and fly off down the corridor with only a little extra difficulty. Celia was fairly short and slender, but it was still impressive.
“As flying tanks you can handle more weight?” Nate asked.
“Quite a bit more,” Chris said. “But I may need help with the guy.”
Nate grabbed one of Ted’s legs. Chris grabbed the rest of him. Nate wasn’t sure how much he was helping, since Chris bore most of the weight, but together they shuttled Ted from the corridor.
Looking back, Nate saw Katie rushing through the corridor. Occasionally she would make a larger leap than seemed possible, but she was far from using the impressive bounding stride he had witnessed in Arcadeland on Uweya. Judging by her pained expression, her current effort was requiring all of her energy and concentration.
The quaking was getting more severe, and the pauses were becoming less frequent. Risa flew to greet Nate and Chris in the room beyond the cluttered corridor.
“Where’s Jeanine?” Nate asked.
“She ran back toward the entrance with Cleon,” Risa said.