fold and then craned his neck to face Pete. “This ought to hold.”
“Nice.” Pete laughed. “Light Ninja.”
Ret shrugged. “Sure. Ninja.”
With the light now shining a straight beam ahead, Ret followed the twists and turns of the darkness with ease. Even rebooting the light was as simple as a quick shake of his head and the tunnel stayed lit as they moved.
After a bit, a foreign aroma entered the tunnel. Ret suppressed his gag and halted. Food? As well as the stale aroma, a glowing up ahead spoke of the end. That can’t be the smell of their food.
“What’s going on? Why’d you stop?” Pete’s gravelly voice urged him forward. “My chops are watering. I can’t practically taste the pizza.”
Ret took a measured breath and shuddered as he released it back into the tunnel.
“Man, what I wouldn’t give for a cheeseburger.” Pete smacked his lips together and Ret’s stomach recoiled a little deeper into his belly.
Ret reached up and removed the Light Ninja from its band and placed it behind him on the floor of the vent. He moved into the reaches of the light coming from beyond, and as he neared the mesh covering, an odd sensation engulfed his body. The small hairs on his arms rose to attention, and a tight feeling in his throat made him swallow hard.
“They’re waiting.” Pete sounded defeated.
“Who are they ?” Ret asked.
“Graphies. Stationed at every vent opening in the Agora. I thought they might have missed this one, but I guess not.”
Ret maneuvered around and found Pete, feet overhead with his slender body conforming to the curve in the wall. “Like I said, they’re trying to starve us out.” His voice sunk with disappointment. “No cheeseburgers today, man.”
Ret nodded. “What’s the code here?”
“Are you nuts? The Graphie is right there .” Pete’s voice cracked, and he held in another cough. “Listen,” he croaked. “You’re not from around here, right?”
“Right,” Ret answered.
“Well then, believe me when I tell you, you don’t want to feel the hit of one of these patrols.”
Ret wasn’t convinced. “The code, Pete.”
Pete waved his hands through the air. “Just for the record, Ret, I’m against this whole idea. But … AW7. Four asterisks for the override.” He coughed again. “If there even is an override, anymore,” he muttered under his breath.
Ret wiped nervous palms onto his Canvies before waving his hand past the light beam. Although he knew his father wouldn’t send him in without absolute certainty of Ret’s invisibility, the what if’s pulled tight in his throat. He turned to Pete. “Back up, would you?”
Pete obliged and scurried back while Ret swiped in the code. The venting hummed, and Ret poked his head through the opening like a mole coming out of its hole, leaving Pete behind.
Immediately the brilliance of light and chaos whooshed past him, like an asphyxiating wind. The biting awareness of the nearby Graphie was felt on Ret’s skin. He gazed at the hovering holograph, amazed at its likeness to a man.
His father had explained how the holographs had been rendered using mirrors and infrared beams in addition to complex programming sequences. Yet until now, Ret hadn’t quite been able to piece it all together. The image before him had a translucent quality, with waves of light rippling up and down its form. And eerily luminescent. Fascinating!
Ret shimmied from the vent, pretended to mess with his shoe, then he unfolded his body with a sigh of relief. His cramped back fought the stretch. He pressed a fist onto his spine to ease the tightness. When extended to his full six-foot-plus stature, he noted his head reached no higher than the shoulder of the Graphie. Just like Wolf had said—a figure larger than life .
He lifted his gaze to the eye-holes from which bolts of red light flicked randomly about the court. Ret shuddered but remained next to the image, waiting until he felt confident of his own invisibility.
“Nice.” Pete laughed. “Light Ninja.”
Ret shrugged. “Sure. Ninja.”
With the light now shining a straight beam ahead, Ret followed the twists and turns of the darkness with ease. Even rebooting the light was as simple as a quick shake of his head and the tunnel stayed lit as they moved.
After a bit, a foreign aroma entered the tunnel. Ret suppressed his gag and halted. Food? As well as the stale aroma, a glowing up ahead spoke of the end. That can’t be the smell of their food.
“What’s going on? Why’d you stop?” Pete’s gravelly voice urged him forward. “My chops are watering. I can’t practically taste the pizza.”
Ret took a measured breath and shuddered as he released it back into the tunnel.
“Man, what I wouldn’t give for a cheeseburger.” Pete smacked his lips together and Ret’s stomach recoiled a little deeper into his belly.
Ret reached up and removed the Light Ninja from its band and placed it behind him on the floor of the vent. He moved into the reaches of the light coming from beyond, and as he neared the mesh covering, an odd sensation engulfed his body. The small hairs on his arms rose to attention, and a tight feeling in his throat made him swallow hard.
“They’re waiting.” Pete sounded defeated.
“Who are they ?” Ret asked.
“Graphies. Stationed at every vent opening in the Agora. I thought they might have missed this one, but I guess not.”
Ret maneuvered around and found Pete, feet overhead with his slender body conforming to the curve in the wall. “Like I said, they’re trying to starve us out.” His voice sunk with disappointment. “No cheeseburgers today, man.”
Ret nodded. “What’s the code here?”
“Are you nuts? The Graphie is right there .” Pete’s voice cracked, and he held in another cough. “Listen,” he croaked. “You’re not from around here, right?”
“Right,” Ret answered.
“Well then, believe me when I tell you, you don’t want to feel the hit of one of these patrols.”
Ret wasn’t convinced. “The code, Pete.”
Pete waved his hands through the air. “Just for the record, Ret, I’m against this whole idea. But … AW7. Four asterisks for the override.” He coughed again. “If there even is an override, anymore,” he muttered under his breath.
Ret wiped nervous palms onto his Canvies before waving his hand past the light beam. Although he knew his father wouldn’t send him in without absolute certainty of Ret’s invisibility, the what if’s pulled tight in his throat. He turned to Pete. “Back up, would you?”
Pete obliged and scurried back while Ret swiped in the code. The venting hummed, and Ret poked his head through the opening like a mole coming out of its hole, leaving Pete behind.
Immediately the brilliance of light and chaos whooshed past him, like an asphyxiating wind. The biting awareness of the nearby Graphie was felt on Ret’s skin. He gazed at the hovering holograph, amazed at its likeness to a man.
His father had explained how the holographs had been rendered using mirrors and infrared beams in addition to complex programming sequences. Yet until now, Ret hadn’t quite been able to piece it all together. The image before him had a translucent quality, with waves of light rippling up and down its form. And eerily luminescent. Fascinating!
Ret shimmied from the vent, pretended to mess with his shoe, then he unfolded his body with a sigh of relief. His cramped back fought the stretch. He pressed a fist onto his spine to ease the tightness. When extended to his full six-foot-plus stature, he noted his head reached no higher than the shoulder of the Graphie. Just like Wolf had said—a figure larger than life .
He lifted his gaze to the eye-holes from which bolts of red light flicked randomly about the court. Ret shuddered but remained next to the image, waiting until he felt confident of his own invisibility.
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