Crystal Keepers (10 page)

“This place is unreal,” Jace said with reverence.

Cole nodded. How would they know who belonged to the Crystal Keepers? Would it be written on their T-shirts? Who could they safely ask? “Do we just roam around?” Cole wondered.

“Yep,” Jace said. “Keep your ears open. Watch for clues. We'll find who we're looking for.”

They wandered over to a clear cube labeled KNOCKOUT!, where a kid in a helmet and padded vest fought a heavily padded robot. Not much more than a cylinder with two long arms and a glowing face near the top, the robot was anchored to the ground and wielded a cushioned club in each hand.

As they watched, Cole realized the boy was trying to use his own padded weapon to strike five targets on the robot without getting hit. He used his club defensively to block blows, then lashed out at the targets when he had an opening. When he hit a target, it lit up.

After connecting with the third target, the robot sped up. The kid strained to block the more aggressive attacks but got whacked in the side of the head and then thumped on the chest.

The illuminated targets went dark, the lighting within the cube dimmed, and the robot laughed mechanically, raising both arms in victory. The boy went to the door and it opened up, freeing him from the cube. He handed his padded bat to the next player in line, who was already wearing a helmet and vest. The new player entered, displayed his ID card, and the door closed.

“Looks like you pay with your ID,” Cole said.

“Isn't that how you pay for everything here?” Jace said. “Too bad our cards will probably alert patrolmen if we use them. Plus, we're broke.”

“I still have a bunch of ringers,” Cole said.

“Me too. But even if we could change them to credits, we can't risk using our cards.”

“Think you could take out the robot?” Cole asked.

Jace gave a small snort. “In a heartbeat.”

Cole couldn't help thinking it was easy to brag since they didn't have any way to try the game. The second kid didn't last long, striking only one target before getting pummeled. Cole wondered how he would do against the robot. It was pretty quick.

Jace led the way to another game. A glitzy sign above the cube dubbed it
PRIZE HUNTER
. Inside the cube, a weaponless girl in a helmet and puffy vest crouched in a corner. In the center, a robotic cylinder with twenty padded arms twisted
and flailed. An additional three dozen mechanical arms reached down from the ceiling. About half the arms held slender cushioned weapons. The other half clutched prizes ranging from candy bars to stuffed animals to electronics.

“What's she doing?” Cole asked.

“Picking her moment,” Jace said. “Looks like the game can't reach her there.”

The multijointed arms raised and lowered, stretched and bent. Suddenly the girl raced out of the corner. After dodging a couple of arms, she reached for a bag of peanuts. Her fingers brushed the bag, but she failed to take hold of it. A padded arm struck her across the back. She went down, and the lighting in the cube dimmed. The arms stopped moving.

The girl got up and exited. Nobody was waiting for the next turn. Jace hustled over to the girl, who looked about their age.

“You wanted the nuts?” he asked.

“Kind of,” the girl said. “Stupid thing is rigged. It's impossible to win.”

“You have to grab a prize before you get hit?” he asked.

“You can take as many hits as you want until you get knocked down,” the girl said.

“Want me to get you some nuts?” Jace asked, rubbing his hands together.

The girl paused. “If you want.”

“I don't have any credits,” Jace said. “I'd need to borrow your ID.”

“Yeah, and then run off with it,” the girl said. “Get lost.” She walked hurriedly away.

A girl who must have been a couple of years older than them approached. She had a dark, stylish haircut with the tips dyed red and wore a mostly black outfit that hugged her trim physique. About the same height as Jace, she was a few inches taller than Cole. “You bothering her?” she asked.

“I was going to win her some prizes,” Jace said.

“Win some for me,” the girl replied.

“You have to cover my game,” Jace said.

The girl rolled her eyes. “You'll win me prizes using my money? No wonder she took off! Are you guys posties?”

“Huh?” Cole asked.

“You know, from the outposts,” the girl said. “New to town. What are you trying to pull?”

Cole didn't like her attitude. She seemed to think she was pretty awesome. “Maybe we're con artists trying to seem oblivious.”

The girl folded her arms. “If so, you're doing a perfect job.”

“Bet on me,” Jace invited. “I'm a good investment. But I keep every third prize.”

“If you win them at once,” the girl replied. “Otherwise I keep everything.”

“Sure,” Jace said.

“Fine, I'm curious,” the girl said. “It's ten credits per game. You get one try.”

“Where do I snag a helmet?” Jace asked.

The girl groaned. “You really are from the posts!”

“Maybe,” Jace replied. “But I'm here now.”

She walked them over to a bin with helmets and padded
vests and helped Jace choose some. They returned to the Prize Hunter game to find the cube still empty.

The girl held out her ID. “I need your card as collateral.”

Jace handed it over. The girl glanced at it. “You just got this today.”

“Maybe,” Jace said, glancing at her card, “Luri.”

“You're not posties,” Luri said. “You're outlanders. Have you ever even been to a gaming hub?”

Cole tried to read her. She was acting casual but seemed extra curious. Could she be a Crystal Keeper? Or might she be dangerous? Did City Patrol have informants in places like this? She was pretty young. Maybe she was just nosy.

“You'll get prizes,” Jace said evenly.

“Go for it,” she said, waving him away. “If any part of you besides your feet touches the ground, you're through.”

“Did you read the sign?” Cole asked, pointing at a little placard beside the door into the cube.

THIS GAME MAY CAUSE BODILY HARM. PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

“Isn't that obvious?” Jace asked.

“I guess,” Cole said.

“All the good ones have warnings,” Luri said.

Jace entered the cube and held Luri's ID card toward the door. The lighting in the cube brightened, and the arms started moving. Divided into several segments, different levels of the robotic cylinder pivoted independently. As some of the attack arms came his way wielding padded weapons, Jace ran diagonally and reached for the bag of nuts. The arm holding the treats raised them out of reach,
and an arm with a padded bat struck Jace on the shoulder. He stumbled into a second club that whacked him in the chest and should have knocked him down, but Jace grabbed hold of it just long enough to regain his balance. After releasing the club, he darted forward and snatched a candy bar from a mechanical hand.

“Not pretty,” Luri said. “But he kept his feet.”

An instant after he claimed the candy, a padded bat whacked Jace in the back of the head. He staggered but ducked another swing, then jumped a swift swipe at his shins. Lunging, he ripped a stuffed rabbit from a robotic grasp, then spun away from a blow to his side, barely staying on his feet.

“He should just go down,” Luri said.

Cole thought the arms sped up a little. Jace tossed aside the stuffed animal and the candy bar. He dodged and weaved, reaching for prizes and barely missing them. He got battered by three padded weapons in a row and hung on to the third to keep from falling. It lifted him off his feet as two more cushioned bats swung at him. Jace dropped and crouched low just in time, holding his hands out for balance but keeping them off the ground.

“He's going to get hurt,” Luri said.

Jace waded in toward the cylinder where the arms were thickest. He danced and twisted to turn some attacks from the arms into glancing blows and snagged a small, golden disk covered in shrink-wrap. Cole wondered if it might be a little CD or DVD.

As he stood near the cylinder, a bat hit Jace on the shoulder
while another swept his legs from the other direction. He flopped to the floor, and the lights dimmed. Getting up, the little golden disk still in hand, Jace collected the candy bar and the stuffed rabbit from the floor, then exited.

“Looked like human pinball,” Luri said. “I get two of the prizes.”

“What's this?” Jace asked, displaying the little golden disk.

“A prize file,” Luri said. “You put it in a collector. You're never sure about the prize until you turn it in. A lot of the time they have credits you can load onto your card. Usually twenty or so but sometimes more.”

“Take it,” Jace said. He held up the other two prizes. “You want the candy bar or the rabbit?”

Luri took the rabbit. “It has more personality than a Zowie bar,” she said. “You didn't do badly for an outlander, but you're going to get hurt if you keep playing like that.”

“I already got hurt,” Jace said, rubbing his shoulder.

“Looked kind of painful,” Cole said with a wince.

Jace shrugged it off. “I've been in real fights. These are just games.”

“Real fights, huh?” Luri said. “What's your story?”

“We were hoping to win a bunny,” Cole said. “Now that dream is shattered.”

She shook her head. “You clearly don't fit in here.”

Cole felt another flash of worry—she was definitely studying them. What was she up to? Was she a potential ally or just one more person out to get them? Or was he being paranoid? She could just be a bored gamer who liked to meet people. In that case, she might be a good person to ask about
the Crystal Keepers.

“What makes you say that?” Jace asked.

“You wandered in here too wide-eyed. You begged for credits to play, then you didn't put up a fight to keep the prize file. We never agreed that you had to take the worst of the three prizes, but you volunteered. And your clothes aren't quite right.”

“It's because I don't have my hat yet,” Jace muttered to Cole.

“Also, I've never seen you in here before, or around this part of town,” Luri added.

“You know everyone who comes in here?” Cole challenged. Did that mean she was one of the good guys? The Crystal Keepers had been described as gamers. But if he was wrong, Cole knew he and Jace could end up getting arrested. At times like this he really missed his life before the Outskirts, when not everyone he met was a potential enemy.

“More or less,” Luri said.

“Anyone who can spend that much time here must be rich,” Jace said.

“I'm not born to it,” the girl replied. “You can stretch your credits if you're good.”

“I guess you could show us how it's done,” Cole said, glancing toward Prize Hunter.

“Good guess,” she said. She swatted Jace on the chest with the back of her hand. “You did all right for a clueless rookie. You're scrappy. Seriously, why are you guys here?”

“At Axis?” Jace asked.

“And in the city,” she said.

Jace and Cole shared a look.

“Are you really good at that game?” Jace asked, indicating Prize Hunter.

“All the games,” the girl answered.

“Why don't you show us?” Jace asked.

“Because I don't care if you believe me,” the girl said. “Why are you guys here?”

“To play games,” Jace said.

“But you didn't bring any credits,” she pointed out.

“Makes it more interesting,” Cole said.

“Makes it weird,” the girl said. “You're outlanders; you're clueless; you're creditless. . . . Why come here?”

“Why do you care?” Jace asked.

“I pay attention to who comes and goes,” she said. She patted Cole on the chest. “You want to win me something now?”

“Maybe,” he said.

“Want to try Knockout!? You were checking it out earlier. I'll pay.”

“Why?” Cole asked.

“I want to see how you do,” she said. “Maybe I'll get another prize disk.”

“You like watching us get beat up,” Cole said.

“That's entertaining,” she admitted. “Knockout is less brutal than Prize Hunter. It requires more finesse. One hit and you're done. You don't have to fall. And you don't have to try it.”

“Let's go,” Cole replied.

C
HAPTER

9

ROULETTE

“A
ny tips?” Cole asked as they got in line for Knockout! One kid waited ahead of them.

“Too many tips would spoil the experiment,” Luri said. “If you want to block an attack with your bat, you need to swing hard. The bot pushes through wimpy blocks. You probably noticed that it speeds up after you hit three targets.”

Jace gave Cole his helmet and vest. “Just one prize?” Cole asked.

Luri nodded. “You have to hit all five targets to get a prize file. And if I'm paying, I keep it.”

“What do I get?” Cole asked, adjusting the chin strap on his helmet.

“A free game,” Luri said.

Jace held out the candy bar he won to Cole. “Want to split it?”

“Sure,” Cole said, accepting the treat.

The word “ZOWIE” was printed across the foil wrapper.

Cole flipped it over and read the back:

Ingredients: Camels, microscopes, yams, hydrogen, coral reefs, mannequins, poems, comets, mousetraps, sarcasm, cacti, labyrinths; contains less than 2% uranium, cyanide, cobwebs, magma, polio

Chuckling, Cole read the ingredients aloud to Jace.

“I've never tried camel,” Jace said dryly.

“The hump is the best part,” Cole replied, tearing open the wrapper. Inside he found a bar made of puffed rice drenched in chocolate. Cole broke the bar and handed half to Jace.

Cole took a bite. The bar was crunchy and not very dense, but quite tasty.

Jace tried a bite as well. “I don't taste the yams.”

“Or the mousetraps,” Cole added.

“Have you two seriously never had a Zowie bar?” the girl asked.

“Are we that obvious?” Cole grumbled.

The kid ahead of them got hit by the robot's padded club, and the lights in the cube dimmed. He had lasted a little while by hanging back and staying defensive but hadn't struck a single target. Cole had noticed some opportunities the kid had missed.

Luri displayed her ID card. “I need yours as collateral.”

Cole traded cards with her.

“Bubba?” she asked.

“It's a family name,” Cole said.

“Go get that prize,” Jace said. “Five targets.”

“Like taking candy from a robot,” Cole said, stepping into the cube. He held up Luri's ID card, the door closed,
and the cube brightened. The cylindrical robot assumed a fighting position, both club-wielding arms ready.

As a bystander, Cole had seen some openings he thought he could exploit. Now that he stood facing the robot, the opportunities seemed less obvious. Those padded arms were long and agile and quick. Cole swallowed. He had once killed a cyclops. He had fought plenty of enemies with his life on the line. He should relax and have fun with this. It wasn't life or death. But Luri and Jace were watching.

He edged forward, the bat ready. He considered the five illuminated targets on the robot. The lower two might be harder to hit, which meant he should take them out early, before the robot sped up.

The robot swung at him. Cole raised his bat as if to block the club but ducked it instead, racing in close and bashing the other club aside before crouching to hit one of the lower targets.

Instead of standing his ground or backing away like the other players had, Cole raced past the robot, turning in time to slap aside the attacking clubs. The robot was really coming after him now. Minimus had given him some combat training when they were together, but Cole knew he was still no master swordsman. When both clubs came at him from opposite sides, Cole dove forward, rolled, and struck another target. As he scrambled past the robot, before he could get back on his feet, a club hit him in the back and the lights dimmed.

The blow caused him no pain. Cole was just mad to lose. At least he got a couple of targets. He had a new appreciation for the kid who tagged three just after they arrived.

“No prize?” Luri cried as Cole exited.

“Sorry,” Cole said.

“It wasn't a terrible first game,” Luri said. “You had some good ideas. It's hard to recover if you go to the ground.”

“I'll try it,” Jace offered.

Lira smirked. “You can't win this one through a willingness to take a beating.”

“Maybe you should show us how it's done,” Jace suggested.

Luri shrugged. “I'll show you one way.” She accepted her ID card from Cole and returned his, then claimed his helmet and vest.

“Think she'll be good?” Jace asked as the door closed and the cube brightened.

“She talks like it,” Cole replied. “I guess we'll see.”

Luri stalked confidently toward the cylindrical robot with the bat at her side. She only raised it to deflect attacks. Her stride never sped up or slowed down. When she was close enough, without moving her feet much, she alternately hammered targets and smashed attacks away. Her padded bat swished through the air quickly and accurately: target-block-block-target-block-block-block-block-target-block-target-target.

Cole stared in astonishment. Her last three attacks were particularly quick, denying the robot any time to speed up. After she struck the last target, the robot went slack while lights pulsed and sparkled. Luri waited until a prize file emerged from the body of the robot. She retrieved it, then casually walked away.

“That was amazing,” Cole gushed. “You made it look easy.”

“Maybe it
is
easy,” she replied.

“Come on,” Jace said. “I'm sure practice helps.”

Luri gave a little shrug. “Probably. Still, a lot of people never get the hang of it. The owners prefer for me to play the toughest games on the hardest settings. I could take advantage of them by winning the easier games nonstop, but then they'd ban me, so that isn't really winning. They don't mind if I beat a few easy ones now and then. It gives the other players hope.”

“Are you the best player?” Cole asked.

“Nope,” she said. “One of the best, maybe. The best is Trickster.”

“What's the hardest game?” Jace asked.

“P'Tang,” Luri said. “Want to check it out?”

“Sure,” Cole said.

Luri led them across the floor, passing numerous shooting and fighting games. At large tables, players manipulated the positions of their tiny soldiers and traded taking shots at the opposing army. Others guided metal balls through three-dimensional mazes with what had to be magnetic controls. Against a side wall stretched a huge obstacle course where players risked falling into a foam pit.

“What post did you guys come from this morning?” Luri asked.

“Who cares?” Jace replied.

“I'm interested,” she said. “Give me a number.”

“We're trying to leave some trouble behind,” Cole said, hoping the answer was vague enough that it wouldn't get
them in danger but might strike a chord if she was connected to the Crystal Keepers.

“Trouble with . . . patrolmen?”

“Maybe,” Jace said.

“I love that kind of trouble,” Luri said cheerily. “Come on, spill. What are you guys really doing here?”

“We're just checking out the place,” Jace said. “We don't want a lot of attention.”

“Too late,” she said. “You have mine. Go on. Talk.”

Cole glanced at Jace, who looked uncertain. “What if you're spying for them?” Cole blurted.

She laughed derisively. “As if the City Patrol were smart enough to use kids! Give me a break.”

“You don't like the patrolmen?” Cole asked.

She stopped walking. Her mood became serious. “What are you guys looking for? I can help you. Just tell me. Or tell me where you came from. Or what you're running from.”

Cole took a deep breath and finally decided to go for it. “Have you heard of the Crystal Keepers?”

“I knew it!” Luri said, her smile wide. “What's his name?”

“Who?” Cole asked.

“The guy who got arrested,” she said. “His name.”

“What do you mean?” Jace asked innocently.

Luri shook her head. “It's good to be careful, but it's pointless right now. I just have to confirm this. I know his name. What is it?”

“Joe,” Cole said.

“There we go,” she said gratefully. “Last name?”

“You give us the last name,” Cole insisted.

“I'll give you half,” she said. “Mac . . .”

“. . . Farland,” Cole completed.

“I take it his alias was somebody Boone?” Luri asked. “And you were posing as his relatives?”

“How do you know so much?” Jace asked.

“I'm not Luri,” she said. “Not any more than you're Hampton or he's Bubba. I go by Roulette.” She lowered her voice. “I'm one of the Crystal Keepers.”

Cole refrained from doing a happy dance.

“You're a kid,” Jace said.

“And you're about to get promoted to master detective,” she said, tapping him on the nose. “For the record, you're both younger than me.”

Cole edged close to her and whispered, “Joe told us to come here and find the Crystal Keepers. We need to contact the Unseen.”

Roulette backed away and punched his shoulder lightly. “Don't act so secretive. It draws attention.”

“I keep trying to tell him,” Jace said.

“Nobody cares what a couple of kids are saying at a gaming hub,” Roulette said. “Unless maybe they look suspicious. Where's the girl?”

Trying not to look like he had a secret, Cole glanced at Jace.

“I'm on your side,” Roulette said. “I don't know who she is. I don't need to know. All I know is she matters. This came from the top, and it came fast. The patrolmen know some kids fled when Joe was taken, but they consider it a low priority. Our leaders feel otherwise. They care more about the girl than anything.”

“She's not with us,” Jace said. “We scattered. I think she got away. She knows to come here.”

“That's good news,” Roulette said. “City Patrol hasn't picked her up. Just Joe.”

“You're sure?” Jace asked.

“We have sources.”

“Do you know Joe?” Cole asked.

“A little,” she said. “He's from Outside. An accidental transplant to the Outskirts. Like you.”

“Me?” Cole asked innocently. After a moment, he wondered, “Do you think we can help Joe?”

Roulette scratched the back of her head. “They took him to City Patrol HQ. It would be tricky.”

“Where's the rest of your crew?” Jace asked.

“Around,” she said. “Some of them, at least. Things have gotten complicated over the past several weeks.”

“Complicated how?” Jace wondered.

“Harder to operate,” Roulette said. “Some people got caught. A bunch more went deep into hiding. The Grand Shaper has been cracking down like never before.”

“Sorry to hear it,” Cole said.

“You didn't approach us by accident,” Jace said. “You were watching for us.”

Roulette batted her eyes. “Be glad I was. You two were kind of standing out.”

“Is it dangerous here?” Cole asked.

“Less dangerous than most places,” Roulette said. “Nowhere is safe. This is mostly a hangout for kids. The City Patrol knows kids get up to mischief sometimes, but they
don't take us seriously. That's good for the resistance. We can still move around freely.”

“Are all the Crystal Keepers kids?” Cole asked.

“That's the idea,” Roulette said. “Maybe you can join. You've got potential. Depends what the higher-ups want. Let's check out P'Tang.” She started walking.

“What about the girl?” Jace asked, staying beside her. “Should we go look for her?”

“Others are watching for her,” Roulette said. “Where'd you get off the monorail?”

“Hanover Station,” Jace said. “She got out at Canal.”

“That's kind of far,” Roulette said. “Does she have credits she can use?”

“No,” Jace said.

“But she knows to come here?” she checked.