Virtual Prophet (27 page)

CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

Brandon woke up and looked around in the darkness.

It was the middle of the night, pitch black, but for some reason he was fully awake and alert. Sometimes it was difficult to know what reality he was in; and this was one of those times.

His vision sharpened as the tiny bits of light entered his expanding pupils. He knew where this was, but it made no sense for him to be here.

He swung his legs over the edge of his cot and stood up, the hard floor cold against his bare feet. He walked slowly towards the far wall, passing the bunks filled with sleeping children as he made his way quietly to the faint source of light coming from the bathroom.

Brandon stopped and looked over his shoulder; he recognized dozens of familiar faces. They were all between the ages of ten and twelve, and Brandon was the youngest of them. Somehow, he was back where it had all started; the Game Facility in the Dream.

A golden light began to glow from the bathroom to his right, and Brandon headed quietly for the far wall, nodding as it disappeared to reveal a dense green jungle. Brandon stepped over the ledge and into the tropical setting, feeling the moist warmth and cloying heat cover him like a heavy blanket against his skin.

He knew which tree to look for, but it was empty this time.

Brandon looked around and called out. “Sloth? Are you here? Owl?”

There was no answer.

Brandon ventured further into the jungle, calling out occasionally, but there was no response. 

A large tree appeared out of the mist. Rough wooden slats were positioned halfway up the trunk along the outer edges of the branches to form a crude floor. The branches and leaves had been woven together to enclose the interior into rooms, although it was still possible to see inside at many points. The trunk had what appeared to be a broken old makeshift ladder nailed at points along the length of it. Many of the small boards were missing, and the ones that remained looked dark and rotten, likely to break if any weight was applied to them.

Brandon drew close and looked up into the branches. He could see light wavering gently in one of the small rooms, most likely a small candle burning. He cupped his hands and called out. “Hello? Is anyone up there?”

Leaves around the lit room began to rustle, and there was a distinct thud followed by mutters and a very creative swear word. Brandon cautiously watched as the branches moved from the lit room towards an open platform area that had no branches surrounding it. He smiled as he recognized the form which burst through the leaf doorway and peered down at him with a scowl.

“What in blazes are you doing down there yelling like that?” the old man whispered harshly, his white hair standing up like a ragged flame, unmoving as his body flailed about while he spoke. Black garbage bags covered him from shoulders to knees. Brandon was glad to notice that they were tied tightly at the bottom so he didn’t catch a glimpse of what was underneath. Heavy black laceless army boots peeked over the edge of the boards; his slight, scrawny frame provided enough weight to make the clumsily built deck tilt dangerously towards the ground.  “There’s all sorts of dangerous animals living on the ground. You could attract one of them and get yerself killed!”

“I’m sorry,” Brandon whispered. “I had no idea.”

“Hmphh! Youngsters like you never do have much of an idea. Not that most manage to gain ideas as they age, either, come to think of it,” his hands made a chopping motion, the red pop bottle caps of his gloves clinking together melodically. “Hey, wait a minute.” He leaned down to get a better look at Brandon. “Aren’t you the boy I saw with Owl a while back?”

Brandon nodded his head and opened his mouth to ask where Owl or Sloth might be, but the old man interrupted him excitedly.

“Owl Boy!” he exclaimed loudly, suddenly not worried about the volume of his voice or the dangerous predators that it might attract. “It’s good to see you again! Have you finally come to spend some time with me?”

Brandon looked around to see if the brush was moving. If there was danger close by, the old man’s yelling hadn’t woken them... yet. “I can’t seem to find Owl or Sloth, so yeah, maybe I’m here to be with you.”

The old man’s eyebrows shot up and his eyes twinkled happily as his mouth opened in a broken-toothed smile. “Excellent!” he exclaimed. “It’s been so long since anyone was sent to learn from me. You must be a clever lad indeed to have earned such a reward. Well, come on up then, boy, what are you waiting for?”

Brandon nodded and walked towards the broken ladder attached to the tree trunk. He figured he was strong enough to navigate the broken rungs and make his way to the top.

“Where are you going?” the old man dropped to his belly and peeked his head over the boards to watch Brandon. “You give up already, boy? That’s a bit of a surprise, if you are.”

“I’m climbing to you,” Brandon whispered as loudly as he could. He heard the bushes rustle from his right. He caught a glimpse of a large, dark, orange cat stalking towards him. It looked hungry, and it was focused intently on Brandon.

“You don’t have time for climbing,” the old man chuckled. “There’s a tiger on the prowl and you have only a few seconds to avoid being eaten. Nasty business getting eaten by a tiger. I don’t recommend it at all. It would really cut our lessons short if that were to happen.”

Brandon backed away slowly from the trunk and shot a look at the old man. “Fly up?” Brandon guessed.

“Of course you fly up,” the old man scowled. “You fall on your head lately or something else bad happen to your brain? Hurry and get up here before Tony over there gets his claws into you.”

Brandon closed his eyes and the glow was there immediately. He leapt into the air and quickly flew up to join the old man. Directly below him he could see the tiger had pounced and barely missed him with its razor sharp claws. It roared in fury and glared at Brandon as he flew upwards.

The old man whistled slowly as Brandon landed beside him. “That was way too close a call,” he said. “I sure hope you don’t plan on being that slow for the rest of your stay, Owl Boy. It would be fun, but likely a short visit.”

Brandon grinned and shook his head. “I’ll try to be quicker from now on,” he assured his host.

“Good,” the old man nodded. “All right, then, why don’t you come inside and we can get started? There’s much for you to learn.”

“I’m older than I look,” Brandon said. “I’ve learned a lot already.”

The old man grinned. “I know you have, Brandon. The thing about this life we live, though, is that there’s always lots more to learn, no matter how much we think we already know.”

Brandon considered the old man’s words, and he nodded slowly.

“Good!” the old man slapped the boy happily on the back. “Let’s get to it, then, shall we?”

Brandon followed the old man into the treehouse, and the branch door closed softly behind them.

EPILOGUE

Tygon

Cooper sat in a hotel room, gazing out of the window at the restaurant across the street. Years of training and discipline in diverse military conditions enabled him to sit without moving for hours. His eyes flitted constantly in all directions, looking for patterns or signs that he’d been followed.

He spotted his contact entering the restaurant and continued to observe the area, looking for clues that his contact was being tailed. The odds were slim, but bad luck could magically appear at any time and destroy even the safest plans in an instant. Cooper watched the scene below until he was confident that everything was as safe as it could be, and then he exited his hotel room and crossed the street to meet his contact.

Lohkam sat in the back corner of the room, his back to the wall so that he faced the doorway. He continued to scan the single sheet of paper that served as a menu in the pub-style restaurant, but Cooper knew he’d been seen; Lohkam was a careful kid.

Cooper sat down and waited patiently for Lohkam to look up from his menu; he knew the boy was observing the door to make sure no one had followed him in. Ten seconds passed and Lohkam looked up. “You’re clean,” he announced. “Why are we meeting again so soon?” he asked, his cruel eyes looking left and right, his thin lips pursed in a tight scowl that meant he was nervous and ready for violence. It was a common look for him.

“I heard you were planning on making a move against Trew.” Cooper picked up a menu and pretended to be interested in it. “I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“The runt’s pet is all alone and unprotected now.” Lohkam’s face reddened slightly. “He’s just coming off a big victory in the Game; it’s on all the feeds. Now is the perfect time to strike and take over.”

“Oh, he’s protected,” Cooper said calmly. “I’ve got his back, unless you’re finally ready to challenge me?”

Lohkam looked at Cooper and frowned. “I don’t get it,” he said finally, shaking his head.

Cooper glared at him for a few moments until he was certain Lohkam had received his message loud and clear, then his face softened and he sighed. “I’ve explained it to you more than once; what part don’t you get?”

“What side you’re on.”

Cooper chuckled softly and looked around to make sure no one was listening. “There’s only one side for me to be on after all that has gone down, Lohkam.”

“Well, you could have fooled me.”

“Of course I could.” Cooper grabbed a handful of peanuts from the bowl in the middle of the table and leaned back. He cracked the shell and popped two peanuts into his mouth. “I’ve fooled everyone for a very long time; people who are significantly more clever than yo
u,
boy.”

“Okay, so I leave Trew alone,” Lohkam said, and reached for a peanut as well. “What are my orders, then?”

“Just keep on doing what you’ve been doing. When the General is ready for us to move, he’ll send me a message.”

Lohkam chuckled as he popped a peanut into his mouth. “I would love to be there when Brandon finds out you’ve been working for the General this whole time.”

Cooper leaned across the table and slapped Lohkam sharply with the back of his hand. Lohkam’s eyes burned with hatred as he looked at Cooper in surprise. “What the hell was that for?” he asked angrily.

“Shut your mouth,” Cooper hissed. “This is not some quick game of capture the flag, you idiot. This is a long and dangerous game that requires silence and patience. Have you learned nothing in all your considerable years?”

“I was just saying,” Lohkam said.

Cooper smiled and leaned back again. “I know, it’s difficult at times. This last turn was a long one, but everything the General said would happen has occurred. The dreamers are awake and rebuilding a new society with the General at the reins and no governments or officials to oppose him. Thorn thought he was being clever, but he played right into the General’s hands.”

“Why keep the Game and Tygon online?” Lohkam asked.

“There’s no rush to deactivate either,” Cooper shrugged. “Brandon is trapped in here and Thorn is without his best player. We can assess the situation and do whatever the General decides to do at his leisure. No one knows the truth, except you and I.”

“Are you in contact with the General very often?” Lohkam asked.

Cooper smiled and tapped his head lightly. “Any time he wants to tune in,” he said.

===

The General blinked three times rapidly to deactivate the organic viewer implanted in his skull. His vision of the conversation between Cooper and Lohkam faded to be replaced by his current surroundings; a makeshift office in what was once the State Capitol building.

He scanned the various monitors showing him how things were progressing around the countryside.

One feed showed Thorn hunched over a table with a group of computer engineers. They were discussing and designing plans for a new facility.

The General leaned back in his chair and smiled.

Everything was progressing perfectly.

THE END