“Josh got one of them. They didn’t even see it coming.”
“Nice!” My sister gave me a high five, and I beamed.
But our celebration didn’t last long. Suddenly Lilli yelped in shock and surprise. When I turned around to see what was wrong, she poofed in a bright flash and disappeared.
What on earth?
Confused, I spun around. Who had gotten her? There was no one here! Except…
My eyes caught a shimmer in the corner of the room. As I squinted at it, I could just make out the outline of a person sneaking up the stairs. My jaw dropped. Did their armor give them invisibility?
I charged after him, slashing down with my sword. The player yelped in surprise; clearly he hadn’t realized his power had worn off enough for me to see him. He fell to the ground, then blinked out of view.
Two down. But now we were down one player, too.
I ran back into the base to let Starr know. When I got there, she was already in battle mode. One member of Team Blue—the bulky guy—had gone straight through the front door, not knowing Starr was lying in wait for him at the orb. She spun in the air, winding up, then throwing her star at the intruder. It spun madly, then hit the guy square in the forehead.
“Hasta la vista, baby!” Starr crowed.
“Nice!” I cried as she dipped back down to the ground. “I took one out in the hall.”
“And I got the girl outside,” Josh added, coming back down the stairs.
“So there’s one left,” I said. “Did you see him?”
Josh shook his head. “No. He must have gone back to the base.”
I wrinkled my nose. Annoying. I would have liked to have taken them all out before using the power-up. But we couldn’t waste any more time. We needed to go now—while the other three were in the graveyard.
Three of us against one of them. We had the odds at least.
“Okay! Use the power-up!” I told Josh.
He raised his hands. They began to glow. A ball of white light crackled at his fingertips. I had to admit, it looked supercool. I watched as he wound up his arm and vaulted the ball out into the city.
Everything immediately ground to a halt.
“Yes!” I cried, so excited I could barely stand it. No more robot sentries. Our path to victory was wide open.
“Go, go, go!” Starr shouted. “I’ll stay here, in case that last guy shows up.”
Josh didn’t need a second invitation. He dove down the street like he was on fire, his purple armor blazing in the sunlight. I followed, using my leap ability to keep up with him.
We raced past the dead sentries, now standing like useless metal hulks, thanks to Josh’s power-up. I wondered how long it lasted—would we have to face them again on the way back? Whatever. That was Future Ian’s problem. Right now we had to get the orb.
Finally I reached the Team Blue base. Josh was already there, going for the orb. But before he could put his fingers on it, a figure leapt from the shadows. The last member of Team Blue! He grabbed Josh from behind, stabbing him in the back with his sword.
Josh screamed in fury, but it did no good. A moment later, he popped off the map.
And the enemy turned to me.
I held my breath as the player stalked toward me. He’d already used his super leap, but I didn’t know what other powers he might have up his sleeve. Maybe super strength like me? Or invisibility? Super speed?
Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.
I drew my sword and we circled each other, eyes not leaving the other’s face. He was bigger than I was. Taller, bulkier. But hey—the bigger they were, the harder they fell, right? And there was no time to hesitate—in a few moments his teammates would revive from the graveyard nearby. And the sentries would wake back up.
It was now or never.
With a mighty yell, I abandoned my sword, grabbed a huge hunk of machinery that was lying on the ground, and heaved it in his direction. It crashed down on top of him, not knocking him out, unfortunately, but pinning him to the ground—at least for a moment. As he struggled to free himself, I made a leap toward the orb, pulling it into my hands. It felt warm and tingly as I hugged it against my chest like a football.
I glanced over at the enemy. He was almost free. Time to make my exit.
I dashed out of the compound. I could hear the angry shouts from the other players—they had just revived and were running back into the base and realizing the orb was gone. They dashed out after me, and I tried my best to pick up the pace. It was going to be close, but I was pretty sure I had enough leeway to make it.
ROAR!
The sudden sound ripped through my ears. I dug in my heels, stopping short. Because suddenly, standing where nothing had been a moment before, was a dragon. A big, huge, red-scaled dragon. Mouth creaking open. Sparks dancing on his blackened tongue.
“No,” I whispered. “Oh please no!”
My hands shook. My legs gave out from under me. I fell to the ground, barely able to breathe.
Please not now. Not now—when we’re so close.
“You’re not real,” I whispered, struggling back to my feet. “You’re not real.”
But then, maybe this time he was. After all, this wasn’t like seeing him on a soccer field in the real world, a place he couldn’t possibly be. We were in a game. Which meant he could have found his way in, too. Finally tracking me down after all these months to get his revenge.
Do you want to play again?
Do you want to play again?
Do you want to—
“Ian! What are you doing? Run!” I could vaguely hear Josh’s voice. But it sounded a million miles away.
Suddenly I felt the orb being ripped from my grasp. I turned to
