“It’s like they’re building the level. Right now,” Starr marveled.
I nodded, unable to look away. I’d never seen anything like this. Structures rising, then blinking out of existence, as if the game designers had changed their minds. Cars, trees, street signs. In mere moments, it had transformed from an almost blank canvas into a total futuristic cityscape.
A ruined futuristic cityscape, I realized as the details continued to fill in. Buildings that had just grown out of nothing a moment before started to buckle and wear before my eyes—going from brand-new to centuries old in a flash. Overgrown ivy climbed up their sides, graffiti slashed across their walls. Spiderlike cracks crawled down windows while others were smashed to smithereens. Apocalypse rising in all directions.
“Hm,” Starr said. “Maybe we need to—”
But she never got a chance to finish her sentence. For at that moment, the ground shifted under our feet. I staggered, trying to keep my balance, my heart in my throat. Was it an earthquake? Or something worse?
Lilli’s eyes were wide with fear. “We need to move,” she declared. “Right now.”
She started to dash away, but before she could get very far, the ground began to rumble again. And suddenly we found ourselves thrust straight up, high into the sky, as if we were on an elevator gone mad. It took me a moment to realize what was happening. But when I did, my heart sank.
“We just got built under,” I exclaimed.
I stepped closer to what was now an edge, looking down—way down—back to the scene below. Sure enough, they’d literally built a skyscraper under our feet. And we were now on the roof of that skyscraper. Far, far away from the ground.
“Oh no!” Lilli exclaimed. “What are we supposed to do now?”
Starr paced the building. “I could fly down. But I don’t want to leave you guys here.” She tapped her chin with her finger. “Maybe we could jump? We might die, but we’d be resurrected, right?”
“Where?” Lilli asked, looking around. “No graveyards, remember?”
I shuddered. “I, for one, have jumped enough today,” I declared.
I looked up, scanning the horizon, suddenly worried that maybe Atreus had followed us here. But thankfully the sky remained empty. Which reminded me, where was Yano? Was the dragon having difficulty getting back in the game? Or did he simply not know where we’d gone? Maybe we were untraceable in the unfinished levels.
“Mech Heads! I’m so glad you’re here! I am in need of your help!”
We whirled around at the sound of the new voice. A little girl stood behind us—a girl I was positive hadn’t been there a moment before. She appeared to be Japanese and about six years old. Her hands and face were streaked with mud; her clothes were tattered. Very apocalypse-chic. Above her head was a silver dot. A quest giver, I realized. They must be adding quests now!
“Where’d you come from?” Lilli asked, looking concerned. “Are you lost?”
“She’s an NPC,” I whispered, not knowing why I was whispering. Was I afraid of hurting her feelings?
“Zombies have taken over the building,” the little girl told Lilli. I wasn’t sure if she was answering her question or just repeating her programmed lines. “I got separated from my parents and ended up here. Will you help me? I need to get back to my mommy and daddy. They will reward you if you get me to them safely.”
“Sorry, we don’t have time for quests,” I interjected. “Also, if you haven’t noticed, we’re kind of trapped up here, too.”
The girl pointed down. To my surprise, a trapdoor appeared in the floor.
“Sweet!” Starr exclaimed. She reached down to pull open the door, revealing a darkened hallway below. I squatted to get a better look. Dim yellow lights flickered on and off, giving the building a super horror movie vibe. And what was that sound? I strained to listen. A weird creaking. And was that a groan?
Oh, right. The zombies. Awesome.
“You sure this is a good idea?” Starr asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Not at all,” I admitted. “But I don’t have a better one.” I started to drop down into the building.
“Wait!” the little girl cried. “Where are you going? Aren’t you going to help me?”
“Like I said, no time for quests,” I muttered. But Lilli grabbed my arm.
“We can’t just leave her here!” she protested.
“Why not? She’s not a real person, Lilli. She’s just a computer program.”
Lilli frowned. “I know. But… I mean, look at her!”
I glanced over. The girl was crying now, hugging a ragged teddy bear I was sure someone had just rendered for her. Ugh.
“She’ll slow us down,” I argued.
“Or she might show us the way,” Starr broke in. “Maybe it’s a follow quest. Like, we follow her through the building, killing zombies to keep her alive, and she leads us out. And bonus, you’ll rack up some experience points. Which, no offense, but you really need. Especially in these harder levels.”
I sighed. She was right. “Okay, fine,” I said. “Lilli, go accept the quest.”
My sister looked relieved. She ran over and tapped the girl twice, as we did to accept quests back in Dragon Ops.
The girl frowned. “Why are you poking me?” she asked.
Oops. Maybe that wasn’t how it worked here.
“Sorry,” Lilli said, looking embarrassed. “I was just trying to accept the—um, let you know we’re going to help you.”
The little girl’s face brightened. “Thank you!” she cried. “Oh, thank you so much! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ikumi.”
I stared at the little girl, shocked beyond belief. Ikumi? Could it really be her?
“Ikumi?” I whispered, my heart thudding in my chest. “You’re Ikumi?”
The girl nodded eagerly. “Yes. My name is Ikumi. I live in this city. I got separated from my parents and ended up here. Will you help me? I need to get back to my mommy and daddy. They will reward you if you
