Raine VS The End of the World (4 page)

The light switch didn’t work. She stood in the darkness gawking at her virtual hero, wondering what Agnes would think of what was going on in her mind right now.

It didn’t seem reasonable in the least to follow an imaginary videogame character down a secret hall. But then again, with her reputation as a runaway and a slacker, she wasn’t exactly the textbook example of a reasonable person.

Raine plunged into the room, brushing aside the occasional cobweb. As she approached it, the dusty old machine turned itself on. Its title was
Endless Metaverse
, and the blinking text read:

”Press Start”

“Credits (1)”

The entire episode was maddening, and Raine’s finger hovered over the Start button.

No. This is impossible. It’s all in my head.

She backed away from the cabinet, closed the door behind her, and fled from
Flynn’s
like a bat out of hell.

Fairy tales and stupid dreams
.
You’re hallucinating. This madness ends here.

But each step away from her destiny grew heavier, until halfway home she stopped at the old park, frozen in place. This time a different voice advised her.

What are you doing? Is bolting like a bunny your default response to everything? SBB promised you answers! Sure, who knows if they’ll be the answers you’re looking for, but this is your big chance, and you’re just going to let it slip away?

No use crying over a couple of quarters. The place is closed. It’s too late now
, Raine told herself.
I’ll go back and try again tomorrow after school… if I feel up to it.

The girl spent the rest of the walk home in some sort of uncertain truce with the voices in her head. Sneaking through the parking lot, she noted that Agnes’ car wasn’t there; as hoped, she’d be spending the night with her boyfriend.

The door unlocked to an empty condo, a dwelling Raine would never feel at home in, despite its other inhabitant’s best intentions. The pantry was always empty, and gaming was heavily frowned upon.

She could never shake the feeling that she’d become the newest piece of decoration, a living standin for the abstract sculptures that littered the living room and were easy to stub your toe on during middle of the night cereal runs.

So lost was the girl in her mixed-up mind that she literally jumped in surprise when upon entering her bedroom she came face to face with the glowing arcade cabinet.

Endless Metaverse. So it’s fate, then. That damn machine wants me to clear it.

This time even the more rational members of her inner jury had nothing to say. Raine practically floated to the machine and hit Start. Another message appeared, along with an image of a hand:

“Please place your right hand inside the screen. If you have no right hand, press ‘2’.”

She was dumbfounded. It must have been a mistranslation. In any case, she lined her opened palm against the on-screen prompt.

Cautiously, she pressed down with a light touch.

At first, nothing. Then, suddenly, she began to sink into the cabinet.

“Do not adjust your machine. This is completely normal.”

Strangely, the message was enough to instill a sense of calm. She felt her entire arm embraced by the warm, electric screen, and sensed the rest of her body becoming drawn in as if into quicksand. Not one to leap without looking, the girl stuck her head through the glass.

II. Gateway

“The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is knowledge of our own ignorance.” – Benjamin Franklin

Raine crawled out of the portal and stood on her own two feet. The hole from which she emerged then disappeared like a television after-image.

This should have alarmed me
, she realized.
What if I can’t go back?

But the doubts soon faded into alphabet soup and out of her thought process, as if forces beyond her perception were toying with her consciousness. Without noticing it, she’d fallen back into a state of childlike curiosity.

Though Raine could see all of herself perfectly, she was but a drop of color on a black canvas. Nothing else seemed to exist; worse, Super BlastBoy wasn’t anywhere to be found. Even so, there was nothing for it but to press on.

Three steps later, a mass of metal ball bearings materialized around her frame. Before the girl could react or even process what was going on, irises sprung open from the orbs, emitting lasers that scanned her body with blinding flashes. As quickly as they appeared, the floating invaders vanished into the ether, leaving Raine with the beginnings of a rather uncomfortable headache.

What the hell! Look what you’ve gotten yourself into.

Rubbing her temples, Raine tried to will a chair into existence. Instead, glowing light waves bobbed up and down from the now-visible horizon and washed away at the black shore under her feet. Static remnants clung to her boots before dissipating.

The scene was so odd and otherworldly that she ceased being amazed by it.

This has got to be a dream
, she felt with a sad rationality, and then realized that was an invitation to wake herself up. She flinched at the prospect of returning to her cold bed in Agnes’ depressing condo with another school day awaiting her, and decided against any thoughts of the sort for the meantime.

Raine walked cautiously atop the matrix, trying not to feel ticklish at the little bumps underneath her sneakers. The way the colors shifted had her wondering if she’d happened upon a giant arcade game.

Just then, Super BlastBoy emerged before her feet, erupting in a cascade of pixels that dripped down him like water from a person exiting a swimming pool.

Raine stared completely dumbfounded at SBB as he turned on his side and disappeared. The girl moseyed over ninety degrees and quickly discovered that he’d become two-dimensional.

“S-Super… I mean, m-mister Anthony Kon? How did you do that?” Raine asked.

The hero turned around and glanced at Raine, evidently surprised at hearing his real name.

“HELLO-RAINE. WE-MUSTN’T-TALK-HERE. THEY-ARE-LISTENING.”

His mechanical voice fizzed out as if from an old radio.

“I-I just need a minute of your time,” she whispered, and her voice came out in MIDI chirps. “I’m probably one of your biggest fans, see. I heard something about a bonus level, and I thought maybe you could, um, give me some life advice, or sign an autograph or something--”

“FORBIDDEN-KNOWLEDGE. TOO-MUCH-TO-SAY. SEEK-ME-TO-FIND-YOU. TIL-WE-MEET-AGAIN.”

With that, he spirited away once more, reappearing on the grid below sprinting across Level 3 of his game. She dashed after him, glad that her first instinct was right as usual - the grid
was
an arcade machine.

Raine leapt onto the glass to catch her quarry. It was impossible, she realized with a thud; he was deep below the surface.

Forbidden knowledge? Too much to say?

If the words were meant to quell her curiosity, they were doing the exact opposite. And just
who
was listening?
There has to be a way to find out. I need to bounce this dreary shadow world.

She stomped in frustration, sending a tremor rippling over the waves so strongly that it shook the virtual realm below.

Eureka!

If she were truly standing atop an arcade cabinet, then Raine could find a way off the grid.
Then again, if my theory proves accurate, I should be falling right now.

Her realization shook the fibers of this universe. The road to her right curved in on itself, as if it were a river that happened upon a cliff and suddenly snapped into a waterfall.

I didn’t mean to think that! I take it back!

But once a quest for truth is set into motion, it becomes impossible to return to a state of prior ignorance, a fact that landed Raine on her behind and set her careening down the grid. Although the speedy slide appeared to stretch on indefinitely, eventually the girl noticed repeating pixel patterns.

I’m stuck in a sort of glitch – that’s the only rational explanation, anyhow.

Raine recalled Agnes’ lectures about the dangers of being a smart aleck. “Your gifts of wit and intuition should be used for productive things,” she once said, “for the betterment of society.”

Society can eat a hat. Why can’t I be as clever as I want to be for my own damn reasons? Is that just plain old selfishness, the kind that led to our civilization’s current predicament? Ugh. If this nightmare is some sort of subconscious punishment
,
it’s uncalled for.

The quickest way out would be through. Snagging her keychain from her backpack, Raine bravely spun around, closed her eyes, and plunged her house key straight into the glass screen, creating a tear that sent pixilated sparks flying around her trembling hand. After some time, she looked below her – sure enough, the original mark was approaching. With expert precision the two were matched, crafting one long, deep crevasse. It wasn’t long before cracks in the surface signaled that the whole thing was about to erupt.

Shielding her face from flying shards, Raine willed herself to awaken. Her attempts failed. She pushed the key deeper, prompting an electric shock. All at once, the barrier gave way and a flood of pixels gushed out from within, knocking her off the grid and onto a large, cushioning Start button. In place of the screen, a hypnotizing whirlpool of sand took shape.

Whispered voices lulled her to slumber as a large sand-arm reached out and gently picked her up. The giant thumb pressed singularly on her forehead, and she felt queasy and unsafe, like something was being changed in her brain. There was an instant where her mind was naked; she became aware that her hopes, her dreams, and even her memories were being watched. By whom or what, she had no idea, but she felt on the edge of realizing something quite important.

Oh, no, not again,
she thought, without understanding why.

Just as Raine approached the verge of recognition, her mind went blank.

√

She jolted upright and felt that she’d woken at last from her dream.

To her great surprise, Raine found herself seated in something resembling a more comfortable dentist’s chair. Her senses felt stronger, only there wasn’t much to sense. The room was pitch-black, and her head hung heavily. She hobbled up on her feet and scoped out her surroundings. The ground felt cold, even under thick socks. Cotton clothes shuffled about weakly.
A hospital gown?

“Heya, Raine!” a female voice sounded out from everywhere at once, chipper as a spring breeze. “Ray-ray, it’s me, the stylish time traveler! We met at the arcade. Do you read me?”

She felt ready to clobber whoever it was. Dream or not, if this was some sort of sick joke, it had run its course already. For all she knew, the voice could be in her own head.

“Y-yeah, I remember that night,” she began, her trembling voice not quite as tough as it sounded in her mind. “Who are you? What the hell’s going on?”

The answer rang in bright and clear, a stark contrast to the darkened chamber.

“I’d tell you, but there’s a chance your memory wipe will spring a leak. See, you’re not supposed to remember. Not yet. It’s no biggie; everything’s going as planned, except for this slight Network malfunction. Incumbent weather and all that. Won’t happen again, Captain.”

“I still don’t understand--” began Raine.

“Simulation’s over. It’s business time. Get some rest, honey; you’re gonna need it. And please return to your seat for the duration of the ride.”

Not likely
. “Why should I? I don’t trust you. This… this isn’t the bonus level, is it?”

The pause before the mysterious voice answered only intensified Raine’s suspicions.

“Sorry, but we’ve come too far to do a restart. The worst will soon be over, dear. You’re doing so well.”

This is unacceptable.
She slammed the padded wall with her fists.

“Answer my question! What’s happening to me?” Raine cried, but this time there was no response.

Instead, the room quickly flooded with a sweet-smelling gas. Before she could stop herself, Raine gasped, and soon afterwards collapsed to her knees and then fell face-first onto the cold floor. Metal appendages carried her gently back to the dentist’s chair.

“Chances are slim you’ll remember any of this, but maybe something will stick…” the voice droned on as Raine faded away. “You don’t want the shot. And the woman is not your mother. Never forget what it is you’re searching for. Remember… don’t take the shot…”

◊

When Raine regained consciousness again, it was at the sound of her name.

Yes, I’m probably still dreaming
, she reasoned. Unless she had lost her mind completely, since she was now inexplicably sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office, in between an elderly lady with a pug in her lap and a little boy munching on his shirt collar.

She vaguely remembered chasing Super BlastBoy. He seemed to have some answers. A giant arm of sand was involved, and there was a nagging worry that she’d lost her house key. Faint traces remained of another memory, something to do with waking up in a dark room, but they were vague, undefined, and soon vanished entirely.

Raine rummaged through her shoulder bag for the distinctive keychain.

No. That’s not right
.
I’ve been wearing my trusty backpack all day.

Finding it filled with sharp little squares wreaked further havoc on the girl’s state of mind. She continued her hopeless search until her name was called out for the tenth time.

“Miss Raine!”

She looked up, startled. “Huh? E-excuse me, all my stuff seems to be---”

“Dr. Astro will see you now,” the exasperated receptionist announced with a forced smile.

Quietly adjusting her shoulder bag, Raine followed the nurse into Astro’s office. He was a tall gentleman with bold but uninteresting features, and he sat her down atop a child-sized medical bed. His bored gaze reminded her of a laconic giraffe.

“So, I just have a few questions and then you’ll be good to go, capiche?” he droned.

“O-kay,” Raine replied uncomfortably.

“You seem nervous,” he said.

“I don’t know why I’m here. I’m scared, I feel lost, and I can’t explain why.”

“Oh, that’s quite normal. If you’d like, I can give you something for it.”

“Scratch that. I’m just saying, man. This doesn’t look like a bonus level to me. I don’t mean any offense, but before I ended up here, I was chasing--”

“You’ll be in your utopia in no time, girl,” he interjected. “Here, have some licorice.”

Though she hated being called ‘girl’, Raine munched on the stick; it was all she had to hold on to that seemed real.

Astro took a clipboard from his desk and scribbled a few things down.

“Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be. But I’ve got questions of my own.”

The Doc stole a glance at his watch. “Make them quick.”

“Well, first of all, what is this place? How did I get here? Why am I here? Where’s my stuff? Have you seen Super BlastBoy? And of course, who are you?”

“You’re in Account Creation. I can’t answer any of the other questions.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t answer that either. Here’s what I can tell you: if you have any complaints or comments, Customer Service will gladly help you after we finish the application process.”

“Can’t they answer them now?”

“No.”

Raine stood up. “Well, then. If you could just point me in the right direction…”

Astro gestured out the window. It was an unfeasibly large, desolate landscape of nothing but blank white, both land and sky covered in printer paper. In the far, far distance floated a speck that resembled an ant in a swimming pool of milk.

“It… can’t be that little thing off in the distance there?”

“Indeed it is. You seem awfully surprised. It’s not our fault it’s so far, you know. You’re the one with a weak Network connection.”

“Is there any way I can get over there that doesn’t involve walking?”

“We can’t help you with that. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a job to do. Sit, please.”

Raine slunk back into her seat quietly. She turned once more to the window. It was now a fake picture of a beautiful sunny field.

“What just happened to your window?”

“I’ll be asking the questions now, Raine.”