Deadzone

  Javi's eyes widened, then he grinned. "A bird was the predator to a cat?" He looked around the group. "Seriously, no one else thinks that's funny?" Seeing the rest of the team's serious expressions, he said, "Oh, wait. What kind of bird can lift an eighty-pound cat? Yeah, that is pretty bad."

  "Exactly." Yoshi shrugged. "We need to start watching for materials to make a bow and arrow. My sword is a good weapon for creatures on the ground, but we need other options. Once we leave the desert behind--"

  "We're not leaving it behind," Molly said firmly. "I've reconsidered. We're going back onto the blood sand. We're going to look for Oliver."

  Javi wanted to go back for Oliver, he absolutely agreed with Molly about that. But everything that came after that decision made him nervous. Such as returning to the blood sand, for example, this time with no water and less food than before. Yoshi was banged up, Molly's wound wasn't healing, and everyone was exhausted. There could be additional confrontations with those pincer robots, cloaking fields, sand grabbers, or who knew what else--he did not want to go back.

  But it was for Oliver.

  Javi knew if it was him who'd been carried away, when Molly proposed they go back, Oliver would've been the first to step up. Of course Javi would go.

  There was just one problem.

  "Molly," he said softly. "I think we need to be realistic about what we're going to find. Or not find. I think it's likely that Oliver is ... that he's--"

  "That he's alive," Molly said. "I think so, too."

  "Why?" Anna said. "What makes you say that?"

  "Think about it," she answered. "Someone built this place. And someone uses the mites to maintain it. And someone went to a lot of trouble to keep us alive when our plane went down. Presumably, it's all the same someone. Or someones."

  "Okay," Javi said. "So ... ?"

  "So presumably the person who programmed the mites wants us alive. You heard Yoshi--they were swarming down there when Oliver was taken. I think they meant to help him."

  "They didn't save Caleb," Anna said flatly.

  Molly hesitated.

  "Okay," Javi said. "Let's say you're right and the robots saved him. Where would they take him?"

  Molly smiled, clearly grateful that he was taking her seriously. "I think our best chance of finding him is to go back to the cave where Yoshi, Anna, and Kira first saw the robots. Maybe that was, like, their mission control."

  "We, uh, pretty much destroyed that cave in an avalanche," Yoshi said. "Before we can return, mission control needs a visit from the snow patrol."

  "Then we have to find their new home base," Molly said. "Maybe we can pick up noises on our radio, like before. Maybe there's a trail across the blood sand that we can follow."

  "Maybe not," Anna said. "It's a huge risk to take on so little evidence."

  "And what about the building?" Javi asked. "That's still our best hope of finding a cure for your shoulder."

  "My shoulder is fine," Molly said.

  But it wasn't fine. The price for going after Oliver might be Molly's life. She had to know that.

  Yoshi consulted with Akiko and Kira, then said, "If we're going to do this, we need to split up more of the food and maybe Anna could check on her water holes."

  Molly agreed, and handed her backpack to Akiko to divide up the food while Anna, Yoshi, and Kira went in search of water.

  "Stay with me," Molly asked Javi. He didn't know why, but the expression on her face was so tense, he knew it had to be serious.

  Once the rest of the group had spread out for their tasks, Molly said, "I have a feeling we took a wrong turn on our way to that structure. I don't think we're supposed to be here at all. I want to go after Oliver to save him, of course, but I also think we need to backtrack and look for a better path through the rift."

  "Where is this coming from?" Javi said. "What do you mean, you have a feeling?"

  Molly looked bashful. "I ... had a dream about it last night."

  Javi shrugged. "Well, last night, I had a dream that I showed up for school in the pink ponies shirt and tried to convince the principal that it should be our new mascot. I don't care how real that dream seemed--that shirt is gone and good riddance, and once we get home, I'm not telling anyone about it. It was only a dream, you see? So are you talking about a dream, Mol, or is it something more than that?"

  He waited while Molly thought about that, and before she could answer, behind them Anna exclaimed, "Water! We have water!"

  Molly and Javi joined the others in running over to her. Sure enough, in a deep hole near the tallest tree, a puddle of water had formed. It didn't look entirely hygienic, but Javi doubted anyone would care.

  "We'll need to boil it first," Anna said.

  "Everyone get your water bottles and fill them up," Molly said. "I'll start a fire!"

  Thirty minutes later, Team Killbot had drank the last drop of their still-warm water. Anna suggested if they stayed there for the day, the hole might refill, but even she said she'd rather set out to search for Oliver. Breakfast was one large seaweed chip each, and this time everyone ate theirs. Javi even wished he could have another.

  "All right, let's pack up camp," Molly said. "I want to be back on that blood sand in ten minutes."

  At least with a little food and water in his stomach, the idea of crossing blood sand didn't sound as awful to Javi. Well, it still did, but he would do it, for Oliver.

  Oliver? Javi stepped forward, almost unable to believe his own eyes.

  Oliver was standing right in front of him, just past the scraggly trees at the edge of camp. He was holding one robotic sand mite in his arms, like it was a favorite puppy. The robot's long whiskers were coiled around one of Oliver's wrists, but he wasn't resisting. In fact, Oliver appeared strangely comfortable.

  "Oliver!" Akiko squealed with delight and darted forward with open arms, but Javi grabbed her and pulled her back. Somthing was wrong.

  He looked at Javi, but not really, and in a voice that didn't sound entirely like him, Oliver said, "You are all in danger. I am here to warn you."

  Anna had been near the back of the camp when Oliver showed up, but as soon as she saw him, she pushed past Yoshi and the sisters and ran up to Molly and Javi, who were standing beside each other, looking at Oliver with their mouths hanging open.

  "What's wrong with everyone?" she asked. "Oliver!"

  He tilted his head to stare back at her, but said nothing.

  "Oliver?" This time, it was a question.

  It shouldn't have been. Obviously, Oliver stood before them. And yet, Oliver had always stood with slightly hunched shoulders. Now his posture was perfectly straight, and he stared at Team Killbot without really seeing any of them.

  "I don't understand," Anna whispered to Molly and Javi.

  "Look at his eyes," Javi replied.

  They were glazed over, unfocused. Distant. Like something else was using his eyes to look at them.

  "Oliver, are you okay?" Molly asked cautiously.

  He turned to her, and in a flat voice, said, "Molly Davis, you should not have taken the team here. We tried to stop you."

  Molly looked over at Javi, her brows pinched together in concern. "We?"

  "We made the river, to stop you."

  "No, Oliver," Javi said. "We jumped over the river with you. You were there, remember?"

  In return, Oliver stared blankly back at him, his forehead slightly wrinkled, looking genuinely confused.

  Anna stepped forward and asked, "Who are you?"

  Oliver looked at her, or through her. Then an odd smile stretched across his face, like two hooks were widening his mouth. It gave her the shivers. "You know me, Anna Klimek. I am here to help you."

  Anna turned back to Molly and shook her head. This was Oliver's body and Oliver's voice, but she did not know this person. She wasn't even sure he was a person anymore.

  "How are you trying to help us?" Javi asked. "Are you saying we should go back?"

  Oliver tilted his head. "It
is too late to go back. The blood sand is too dangerous. You must be careful now. You must be warned."

  "Why are you all listening to him?" Yoshi asked, pulling out his sword. "This isn't Oliver!"

  "Don't you dare use that on him!" Molly yelled.

  "He's one of them," Yoshi said. "He's helping them."

  "And maybe they are helping us!" This had been Anna's point all along.

  Yoshi was interrupted by Kira and Akiko, and while he was translating, Molly said, "What happened to you, Oliver, after they took you away?"

  Oliver shook his head. "I am good, Molly. I am fine."

  "We were just about to leave, to rescue you," Javi said.

  "I do not need rescue, Javi. I am safe. You are not. You need rescue."

  "How?" Molly asked. "How do we need rescue?"

  Oliver blinked. "We must leave the rift, before it is too late. You must help."

  "Who brought down our plane?" Yoshi asked. "Do you know who did that, and why they saved us?"

  "The building is good." Oliver turned back to Molly. "Good for your shoulder. Aka is red. Stop fighting and relax already."

  The last part was an echo of Molly's own words, but coming from Oliver now, the warning sounded ominous.

  "I will meet you again in the building," Oliver said. "I will wait for you there."

  "Don't go!" Molly said. "Stay with us, Oliver. You're one of us."

  "Team Killbot," he said, then repeated, "I will meet you again in the building." With that, he turned and walked out of camp. But it wasn't Oliver's walk. This was stiff, as if he wasn't entirely sure how to use his limbs.

  Yoshi pushed past Molly to follow Oliver, and Anna went with him. The rest of the team was behind them.

  "If you're going to the building, then take us with you," Yoshi said. "Let's all go together."

  "Where I go, you cannot follow," Oliver said without looking behind him.

  Yoshi met Anna's eyes. He looked every bit as confused as she felt.

  He crossed in front of Oliver, using his body to block Oliver from leaving. "I know you're in there, kid. Talk to us."

  Oliver stared back at him. His lower lip quivered. "Yoshi?"

  That was him; that was Oliver's voice!

  Oliver shook his head. "It doesn't ... doesn't know how to explain--"

  "What doesn't know?" Molly asked.

  Whatever it was, it took control again, steering Oliver's rigid body around Yoshi and onto the blood sand.

  Molly stretched out a hand. "Oliver, look at me. Put the robot down and come with us."

  Oliver shook his head, though it was forced and robotic. This wasn't the bright, enthusiastic Oliver who had shaken his head on the airplane when Anna had asked him whether he'd ever flown before.

  "Never in my life," he'd said excitedly.

  In his life. Was this Oliver's life now?

  "Do not take the bait," Oliver said. "It is midori. It is abunai. It is dangerous."

  "Bait?" Javi asked. "What bait?"

  "Do not do what it wants." Oliver looked directly at Javi. "It will destroy everything."

  Anna crossed onto the sand, and Yoshi went with her. As soon as she put her foot down, Oliver nodded at them, then the robot in his arms dripped a spot of oil on the sand. Oliver sank down to his knees, but didn't register a hint of concern in his expression.

  "No!" Molly yelled. "Oliver, let go of that--"

  Before she could finish, another drop of oil fell, and Oliver disappeared beneath the sand.

  "Who has water?" Yoshi said, rushing forward to the exact spot where Oliver sank. "Give it to me!"

  "He's already gone!" Javi yelled.

  "Then we'll follow," Anna said. "Wasn't that our plan? At least now we know he's close!"

  "But in which direction?" Javi asked. "Oliver told us where to find him again. If we go to the building, that's where he'll be."

  "Unless the robots are baiting us to go there," Yoshi said. "It could be a trap."

  "He warned us about being baited," Javi said. "He wouldn't warn us about his own trap!"

  So then, what was the bait Oliver referred to? Anna wondered. It didn't sound like he even knew the answer to that question.

  But if they were going to survive the rest of their journey to the building, Anna was certain they needed to figure it out ... or else.

  Molly felt the eyes of her teammates fall on her. "Options," she announced. "I want everyone's best suggestion."

  "We need to go after Oliver," Yoshi said. "His trail is fresh again, but it won't last long. We have a chance to follow him."

  He translated that for Kira and Akiko, who started in on their own conversation in French. Yoshi rolled his eyes, and said, "Kira and Akiko agree with me."

  They probably didn't. If they were speaking in French, then they were discussing an idea they didn't want Yoshi to understand. Molly heard Oliver's name in their conversation, and recognized a few basic words, but not enough to gather anything meaningful. All she knew was that Kira and Akiko had not expressed agreement with Yoshi's opinion. They might not even know what his opinion was.

  "Other suggestions?" Molly asked.

  "I think we should go forward," Javi said. "Since we're off the blood sand, the devices can put us in the air again. With strong jumps, we might be only a few days away from the building, which means we're only a few days away from rescuing Oliver."

  Anna shook her head. "He claimed he came here to rescue us. To warn us. Can we believe him?"

  "Of course we believe him," Javi said. "It's Oliver!"

  "Oliver's been programmed," Anna said. "Like it or not, that's the truth--you all saw that. He's a bridge between us and those robots."

  "But Oliver is in there, deeper than any programming," Molly said. "We can get him back."

  "Maybe," Anna said. "But we don't know that. A robot can be hooked into a computer and a new program uploaded within seconds. You can delete old programming--overwrite it, changing the robot's function forever."

  "Humans aren't like that," insisted Molly.

  "Aren't they?" Anna asked. "Until we know how the robots changed him--what they've done to his brain--we don't know if he can come back to us again."

  "But we can't give up on him," Javi said. "I looked right in his eyes. I saw Oliver!"

  "Maybe you only saw what you wanted to, because when I looked at him I saw a robot." Anna shrugged. "The question isn't only if we can bring Oliver back, it's the question of what he is now. Do you remember when we attacked the sand mites? As soon as Javi picked up one of them--"

  "They all responded," Javi said. "Exactly the same way and at exactly the same time."

  "What are you thinking?" Yoshi asked. "That Oliver joined their secret group text?"

  "He joined their colony." Molly knew how flat her voice had sounded. She didn't want to call it that, or think of it that way, but Anna was right. The robots clearly had a shared program, so whatever happened to one of them was processed by all of them. "I'm sure he didn't want to join them, but he is one of them now, more than he's one of us."

  "Exactly!" Anna said. "And we have to assume that everything Oliver knew about us, those robots now know."

  "But all along, you've argued that those robots are good," Yoshi said. "So why is this suddenly a bad thing? Maybe if Oliver can ... communicate with them, then that's great news for us."

  "What I've said is that robots can't be good or bad," Anna explained. "It's their programmer we have to question. And whoever that is, they now potentially know everything about us that Oliver would have known--our names, our roles for Team Killbot, our unique talents, our weaknesses. Meanwhile, we don't even know who or what the programmer is."

  Yoshi let out a low whistle and sat down on a rock to gather his thoughts.

  "If the programmer is good, then Oliver was sent here to help us get to the building," Javi mumbled.

  "And if the programmer is bad, then Oliver is a trap," Anna said. "He is the bait he warned us about."

  Sud
denly, Molly felt all eyes on her once again. Even Kira and Akiko were looking at her, although Yoshi had quit translating for them once they started speaking French. She remembered what Javi had said to her last night, that what the team needed most was to believe she knew what she was doing, even if she didn't.

  Maybe someone else should try being the leader for a while and see how hard it was.

  Finally, Molly asked, "If we knew for sure where Oliver was, how many of you would vote to try rescuing him?"

  Yoshi translated, and every hand went up in the air.

  "That's how I feel, too," she said. "Now, how many of you think we should still go to the building?"

  Hands raised more slowly this time. Javi's went up first, which didn't surprise her. But it wasn't just about Oliver. He was constantly staring at her shoulder as if willing his eyes to develop X-ray vision so he could check on her injury, and he clearly believed the best hope for a cure was at the far end of the rift.

  Kira's hand went up next and Akiko followed, then Anna.

  "I think we should go toward the building," Yoshi said. "But I'm not going inside it until we know more about what we'll find there."

  "I can agree with that," Molly said, and then Yoshi's hand joined the rest.

  Molly crouched on the ground and grabbed a stick. Based on what Yoshi had described to her a few days ago, she drew a rough outline of the rift, put a rock at the far end to represent the structure, then drew an X in the approximate area where she believed them to be.

  "Then we're sticking with our original goal of reaching the building," Molly said. "I think we'll find Oliver there, and we will get him back."

  Hearing a question from Akiko, Yoshi asked, "The sisters want to know about the bait, what we think it is."

  How could Molly possibly know the answer to that? She merely shrugged and said, "I think of what my dad used to say to me when I was a little girl: Worms don't swim. If a fish sees one, it should look for the hook." Seeing some confused expressions on her friends' faces, she added, "If it doesn't look right, then we need to be suspicious."

  "That's the problem," Javi sighed. "Nothing looks right here."

  "Better that we see it from the air, then." Molly pulled an antigravity device from her backpack. "Everyone attach yourself to a bungee cord. We're going to jump."

  Of everyone on Team Killbot, Yoshi figured he enjoyed flying--or "prolonged high jumping"--the least. It wasn't about being tied to the others, or the way weightlessness made his gut do flips. It was the loss of control he always felt in the air. On the ground, he could run or crouch or swing with his sword in a gravity he understood. In the air, he floated. Which would be great in an amusement park or as an escape from the crowds of Tokyo and New York. But in the rift, he wanted full use of his skills.