The Candy Shop War, Vol. 2: Arcade Catastrophe (24 page)

Roman sprinkled some dust, and almost every particle misted over to the little sphere, dissipating into smoke on contact. “It doesn’t look like a map.”

“That is not my concern,” William said. “Search the house with your dust, if you choose.”

Roman walked around the room, dropping pinches of dust. It all went toward the stone marble. Roman went and took the marble from William.

“Won’t you reconsider?” William asked. “What can your employer offer that is worth granting him power to destroy the world?”

“The guy who sent us is really powerful,” Roman said. “If he wanted to mess up the world, he could do it on his own.”

William shook his head. “You’re blind. You don’t even know what he’s after. Whatever power your employer possesses is nothing next to Uweya.”

Roman glanced at Summer. For the first time, he seemed a little indecisive.

“Maybe we should just let him go,” Summer said. “Maybe we should let him take the guidestone. We might not get what we’ve gotten ourselves into.”

“I’ve gathered that much,” Roman said. “But he’ll find it again. Our boss. He’ll just send somebody else. Another club. New recruits. His own people.”

“Just because other men would do evil does not mean you must participate,” William said. “Help us stand against your employer.”

Roman shook his head. “I don’t think so. You stay down here. Don’t bug us and we’ll leave quietly.”

“Are you sure?” Summer asked.

“I’m not sure about anything,” Roman snapped. “How do we know this guy isn’t lying? He could be the bad one.”

“A bad guy would have tried to stab you with his sword,” Summer pointed out.

“Maybe,” Roman said. “Maybe not, if he’d already guessed there was no chance to win.”

“Is being a Tank worth it?” Summer asked.

“He made those dolls of us,” Roman said. “Those simu-whatevers. If we turn on him, we’re toast. We just have to hope he wants Uweya for good reasons.”

“Not likely,” William grumbled. “The kind of power Uweya represents should never be unearthed. A wise person would know that.”

Summer knew that Jonas White was a pretty bad guy. He had abducted Mozag and John. Just like his crazy sister, he was luring kids to do his dirty work and selling mind-altering food. But she couldn’t trust Roman not to turn her in if she revealed her true purpose and shared all of her information. Without her, who would monitor the Tanks? “William might have a point,” was all she said.

“Doesn’t matter,” Roman said. “We already chose sides. If Uweya is so powerful, we’re smart to stay on the winning team. If you were going to wimp out, Summer, you shouldn’t have accepted the stamp.”

Sighing, Summer gave William an apologetic glance. “You’re right, Roman. Let’s get out of here.”

Roman started up the ladder first. Summer looked at William intently. “I’m on your side,” she mouthed. “I’ll try to help.”

She wasn’t sure whether he could read her lips. She couldn’t afford to make Roman suspicious by confirming that William understood. She followed Roman up through the trapdoor. He shut it and pulled the bed down over it.

They returned to the living room. Ruth remained atop the man who had fired the stun gun.

“Did you find it?” Derek asked, standing beside Arrista.

Roman held up the stone marble. “It’s called a guidestone.”

The screen door shifted, and everyone turned to look as a figure blurred into the room. Derek lunged toward the door, but the figure had already charged Roman, who held the guidestone between his thumb and forefinger. A little slow to react, Roman had barely begun to lower his arm by the time the Racer reached him. He had failed to enclose the guidestone in his fist, and the stone marble vanished before he could do so. He reached for the quick figure, but the thief was already beyond his grasp and heading for the door.

Derek, who was standing nearest to the door, had started for it as soon as the screen opened. He made it there just in time to become entangled with the Racer on her way out. Together they tumbled out onto the porch.

Summer ran to the door. Lying on the porch, Derek held Paige tightly. With a flick of her wrist, Paige tossed the guidestone into the yard, where Trevor quickly recovered it.

“Give it back!” Derek yelled. “Give it back now or she gets hurt!” He had one leg across Paige’s shins and gripped both of her forearms.

“You’re already hurting me!” Paige spat. “Get off.”

“Not until we have the map,” Derek insisted.

“Okay,” Trevor said. “You win. Catch.”

Trevor tossed the guidestone underhand to Derek. The stone marble traveled in a high, slow arc. When Derek reached up to catch it, Paige yanked her legs out from under him and darted away. Trevor blurred forward, catching his own throw before it reached Derek, then streaking away before Derek could grab him.

Claire and Hailey dashed forward as well. Whether they meant to intercept the thrown guidestone or help Paige was difficult to tell. But since Trevor had beaten them to the guidestone and Paige had managed to scramble away unaided, they arrived with nothing to do and tried to turn around. The two girls got tangled with each other on the porch steps, slowing them enough that Derek’s desperate swipe at Trevor clipped Claire’s leg.

Squealing and spinning, Claire tumbled down the porch steps, landing on the cement walkway that divided the grass yard. Derek pounced, grabbing her ankle with both hands before she recovered.

“No tricks!” Roman cried, pushing past Summer onto the porch. “No more games or you’ll be sorry!”

“I think he broke my leg,” Claire whimpered.

“Don’t move,” Derek warned.

Trevor looked closely at the guidestone. “What is this? The world’s smallest globe? I don’t see any markings.”

“Give it back,” Roman demanded. “Not to Derek. He’ll keep hold of Claire. Give it to me, and you guys can leave.”

“What do I care about Claire?” Trevor said, putting the guidestone in his pocket. “She’s the worst. You can have her. Keep Paige, too, if you can catch her.”

Paige and Hailey glared at him.

Roman looked furious. “If you don’t give us the guidestone—”

“Do what you want to them,” Trevor said. “That’s your business. Mine is winning.”

Before Roman could reply, Trevor turned and streaked away at top speed.

*****

As Trevor sprinted away from the trailer, he hoped he had made a good choice. He doubted they would hurt Claire. The Tanks were strong, but they were kids. They weren’t out for blood. If the guy with the stone they wanted ran off, there would be nobody to threaten and no reason to hold hostages.

As he dashed away, Trevor heard Roman shouting something, the words unintelligibly slow. It didn’t matter what he said. By stopping to listen, he would give them a reason to keep harassing Claire. By pretending that he didn’t care, he would decrease her value as a hostage and hopefully make her safer.

If he kept hurrying, the Racers should win, which was probably for the best. Trevor had taken some time to think it through while the Tanks were in the mobile home. He had firmly concluded that he would have more luck backstabbing the other Racers than Summer would have betraying the Tanks.

Using his maximum speed, Trevor ran past the trailers, distantly aware of how slowly the rest of the world was moving. Water leaked from a spigot, dripping as if gravity had almost ceased. A few small birds took flight in slow motion, startled by his rapid approach. Everything but him seemed restrained by some invisible force, while he was free to run like normal.

Except the running was making him much more tired than any natural sprint. As the arched DEVIL’S SHADOW entryway came into view, his head started to pound and his lungs burned. It felt as though he had sprinted ten times as far as he had actually run. The day had grown inexplicably hotter, and his mouth was suddenly parched.

Trevor shifted down to normal race mode and reduced his sprint to a jog. All he had to do was make it to the car. His burst of super speed meant he was well ahead of the Tanks.

Even in normal race mode, moving at a jog almost felt like too much. He knew through practice how much running at top speed sapped his energy. Adrenalized by the need to escape the Tanks, he had stayed at top speed for longer than ever before. He had known that overdoing it could wipe him out, but fear and excitement had driven him to push the limits.

Even at this slower pace, his legs felt rubbery, his head remained sore, and his heart was drumming like a hummingbird’s. He began to get dizzy. Wouldn’t that be great if he fainted?

Trevor slowed to a quick walk. In race mode, this would still be like a normal run, and his time at top speed had given him a huge head start. A glance back showed nobody following him yet—not Paige, Hailey, or any Tanks.

It was probably best if Paige and Hailey stayed with Claire. They could help her get back to Arcadeland and find the medical care she needed. Had she really broken her leg falling off the porch? It was possible. She had fallen hard.

All Trevor had to do was make it to the car. Then he could rest while the driver sped away. The Tanks would try to pursue him, but with his lead, hopefully they would never catch up. If they did, he would be rested and could escape on foot.

Trevor dropped to his knees and dry heaved. The need hit urgently, leaving him no chance to resist. He briefly wondered how this would look to an observer, watching somebody violently gag in fast motion.

Trevor staggered back to his feet. His muscles remained fatigued, his head woozy. Would it help if he left race mode altogether? But then his walk really would be just a walk. He couldn’t risk the Tanks catching up. Race mode had never tired him much more than normal mode. It was the speediest mode that really drained him.

Beyond the arched entrance, Trevor stopped in his tracks. Both cars were still waiting out front. But his was upside down.

What had happened? The Tanks must have flipped it over before they followed the Racers into the trailer park. Was that allowed? He supposed there had been no rules against it.

His driver stood outside the flipped vehicle, leaning against it. He saw Trevor looking and shrugged, hands raised helplessly.

Would the other driver take him? It was worth a try. Motivated by desperation, Trevor picked up his pace and trotted to the car that had brought the Tanks. When he reached the driver’s door, he shifted back into normal mode so they could converse.

The driver, a Middle-Eastern man with a scruffy beard, rolled down the window. “Yes?”

“Would you take me back to Arcadeland?” Trevor panted.

“I’m their driver,” the man said. “Not yours. Overturning your car was a dirty trick, but so it goes.”

“I could pay you,” Trevor tried.

With his wrists still on the steering wheel, the driver raised his hands. “I’ve already been paid. I accepted the job. I’m sorry.”

Trevor slumped. His body remained unusually exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep.

What if he sabotaged this car? Let the air out of the tires or something? Would the driver prevent him? Maybe.

Trevor looked back at the trailer park to see all four of the Tanks racing into view, sprinting at their best speed. He shifted back into race mode. He could run off and try to lose them in the wilderness. But he had wrecked his endurance. The thought of running made bile rise in his throat. His head was throbbing a little less, but it still hurt.

Trevor knew from Summer that the Tanks tired slowly. They weren’t fast like a Racer, but they would keep coming. Running at top speed was no longer an option. How long could he last in race mode? Could he get far enough ahead of the Tanks to lose them before he collapsed? If he got away, they’d try to head him off back at Arcadeland.

He turned and started running into the field beside the dirt road. It was worth a try. His legs gave out with no warning, and he sprawled in the brush. The ground swayed as if he were at sea. He lay still for a moment, spitting out dirt and smelling dry weeds.

He couldn’t let them win. So what if his worthless teammates had stacked the odds against him? So what if the Tanks had sabotaged his car? He still had super speed. He would find a way to keep going.

Trevor got up and tried to run. His legs felt leaden. He shuffled along like an old guy who had lost his cane. Still, he kept moving.

Roman came alongside him on one side, Derek on the other. A strong hand clamped down on his shoulder. Only then did Trevor realize he was no longer in race mode. When had he slipped out of it? When he had fallen? It was hard to be sure.

Trevor stopped, his legs wobbly, and held out the guidestone on his palm. Roman claimed it and shoved him to the ground. Trevor felt no desire to rise.

Chapter Sixteen

The Resistance

Nate awoke to the sound of somebody tapping on his window with a coin. It took only a moment for him to realize that it must be an emergency. After kicking off his covers, Nate crossed to the window to find Summer outside.

He opened it. “What’s up?”

“We got the map,” Summer said. “The Racers lost. I’m worried about Trevor.”

“What time is it?” Nate wondered.