Tark and Zyra sprinted into the common room, straight to Tee.
‘We has an idea,’ said Tark. ‘We needs ta gets tasum Interface, somewhere close ta the entrance.’
‘Why?’ asked Tee.
‘What are you up to?’ added Hope.
‘We don’t has time ta explain.’ Tark’s eyes met
Tee’s. ‘I need ya ta trusts me.’
Tee held his gaze for a moment and then spoke.
‘Stay here, Hope. Keep an eye on the screen and let me know if anything changes.’
Tee led Tark and Zyra to a side passage in theouter network of caves. It ended in a wall of static.
‘The largest we’ve found,’ said Tee.
‘Great.’ Zyra passed Tark the end of the cable that had a connection point. He plugged it into the back of the IDD. Zyra held out the other end to Tee.
Tee’s face went white and he opened his mouth to protest.
‘Please,’ said Tark. ‘Trusts me. Trust us!’
Tee hesitated. One look into Zyra’s eyes, even though they were not his Zyra’s eyes, and he switched off the force-field. Taking the cable from Zyra, he examined it. Tendrils of silver wire hung limply from its end.
‘Stand back,’ he said, holding up the end of thecable towards the wall of static.
The wire tendrils rose up, reaching out for the Interface. Tee moved the cable closer and wisps of sizzling greyness wound through the air towards the tendrils. When they touched, energy crackled around them and the cable was yanked from Tee’s hands, plunging into the depths of the static that was the emptiness between worlds.
The IDD almost jumped from Tark’s arms as theraw power of the Interface hit it, filling the syringe in seconds flat. Tark clutched it to his chest as it shuddered.
‘I’ll stay here,’ said Tee, holding up the remote.
‘If there’s any trouble, I’ll switch on the force-field, which will sever the cable and cut the power.’
‘Thanks,’ Tark said.
‘Good luck,’ called Tee, as the pair headed out. The first thing that Tark and Zyra saw as theyemerged into the daylight was the light grid which dominated the landscape between the mountains and the Forest. Within it, the Fat Man was on his knees, a waning stream of static surging towards the Static Man. Step by step, the Static Man closed in on the Fat Man.
‘Drop the perimeter,’ yelled Zyra.
The Fat Man glanced over his shoulder. He saw Tark and Zyra standing at the edge of the light grid holding the IDD between them, and smiled.
‘That won’t work,’ laughed the Static Man. ‘Itdoesn’t hold enough power.’
The Fat Man jerked his head to one side and the light grid disappeared.
As Tark flicked the override switch and fired the IDD, the Static Man caught a glimpse of the cable snaking its way from the weapon into the darkness of the Outers’ cave. A plethora of faces appeared within the static form of its body, all shouting ‘Nooo!’ Tark and Zyra clutched the weapon, desperately trying to hold their position and keep it aimed as lightning blasted from the IDD towards the Static
Man.
Hit by the full force of the discharge, the Static Man had time for one guttural howl before it lost its shape.
The energy of the Interface sped along the electricdischarge, coursing through the antivirus program, overloading its programming, frying its coding, line by line. Faces appeared within its depths - screaming, contorting faces that disintegrated. Streams of numbers rushed across the surface of the static, each one disappearing - and with each deletion, the program became less and less.
Eyes closed tight against the overpowering glare, ears ringing with the roaring of the discharge, Tark and Zyra hoped that they were doing the right thing. It seemed like they were frozen in time, their minds playing back their lives. The game, the dangers, the thieving; the World and Suburbia; the Fat Man, the Cracker, Edgar and Vera; love and ice-cream. All messed up and mixed up and blended into one continuous stream that spun relentlessly through their heads.
‘Stoppp!’ A voice broke into their thoughts.
Zyra cracked open an eye.
It was the Fat Man shouting. ‘Stop!’
There was nothing left of the antivirus program. The blazing energy that arced from the IDD was scorching across the ground in random waves, splitting apart the environment, revealing the Interface beyond.
Zyra nudged Tark, who opened his eyes and took in the scene.
‘We need ta cuts the power,’ he called over the sound of wildly discharging energy as their world ripped apart.
‘Can you hold it?’ cried Zyra. ‘While I get to Tee?’
‘I’ll try.’
Zyra released the IDD and ran for the cave entrance. The IDD quaked with power as it spewed energy indiscriminately. Tark found himself dragged off his feet. He tried to hold on as long as he could, but it slipped from his grasp and Tark crashed to the stony ground. As it launched up into the air, the syringe shattered and the static burst from it in a short, sharp explosion.
And then all was still and quiet. The haphazard wounds into the Interface healed as if they had never been there.
Tark opened his eyes. Zyra and Tee were running from the cave towards him. He staggered to his feet and found himself in Zyra’s embrace.
When they released each other, they saw the
Fat Man lying unmoving on the ground. His eyes flickered open when they approached.
‘So, it worked?’ said Tee.
‘Yes,’ the Fat Man gasped. His eyes closed and his body disappeared in a shimmer of light.
‘The Ultimate Gamer,’ said Tark at the same time as Zyra cried, ‘Bobby!’
The three of them ran for the common room.