Futureland, p.19
Futureland, page 19
“We’ve got to go now!” Inaya said. “We should blend with the crowd!”
Angel seemed unsure. “That’s too dangerous. What if they see us?”
“It’s going to close soon. We need to make a decision,” Rich stressed. “Earl, what do you—Earl?”
* * *
* * *
Through the darkness of the underground bunker, I saw a haunted house, its entrance shaped like the face of a clown with its skin peeling off. The clown had yellow, chipped teeth and a menacing stare. There were several swings and carousels, all loud and rusted as they turned jerkily, grinding and clinking with each revolution. Carnival workers glided from tent to tent, setting up their attractions.
One tested out a balloon pop game with a dart, and when the latex erupted, a dark red ooze splashed everywhere. The Glider carefully clapped their hands, showing no emotion, before clasping them back at their waist and walking away. In the distance, beyond it all, I saw the tallest Ferris wheel I had ever seen. As one car reached the top, hundreds of feet above the muddy floor, it disconnected from the link and fell disastrously into the sludge, shattering into hundreds of pieces and splashing everyone nearby with mud. All the Gliders watching cheered.
Inaya let out the beginning of a shriek, but Angel quickly covered her mouth.
“Cam, what do we do?” Rich asked.
I searched around until I located Yusuf again. He stood on a platform in the middle of the construction site. Every few moments, a group of Gliders would approach him. He’d say something I couldn’t hear, then tap his Haventech band, and they would all leave.
“He’s giving them instructions,” I said. “Whitebourne is controlling through him the band, and then he’s controlling the Gliders.”
“So we gotta get the band from him,” Inaya said as she watched.
“How are we going to do that?” Earl said.
“Earl, you’re pretty good at that whole gliding thing,” I said. “You think you can pretend again?”
“For sure,” he said.
“Rich, think you got another one of those cannonball moves in you?”
Rich chuckled and rubbed his hands together. “I’d belly flop on each one of y’all for free, three times a day, if I could.”
“Great,” I said. “I’ve got a plan. Inaya, Angel—go right, over there by that pile of wood. Rich, you come with me. Earl, listen up. Your part is the most important. This is for everything. We only get one shot.”
Monday, February 15, 2049
1:25 a.m.
Rich and I crouched behind Yusuf, barely able to peek over the platform where he stood.
“Is it time yet?” Rich whispered.
“No.”
I looked to the left and to the right. In the shadows, Angel and Inaya had taken their stations.
“Now?” Rich whispered, leaning in close to my ear. I swatted him away.
Finally, the crowd approached—a fresh set of Gliders coming to secure their next assignment from Yusuf. The waking zombie workforce moved efficiently.
“How about now?”
I sighed. “Rich, will you—”
Yusuf turned in our direction, and we both ducked our heads below the platform. Sorry, Rich mouthed. I hoped that Yusuf hadn’t heard us over the sounds of banging metal and construction all around. I slowly peeked over the lip of the platform again and saw Yusuf walk to the front of it, ready to address his new workers. Nestled in the middle of the crowd, I saw Earl, blending in as a Glider—just as planned. Yusuf spoke to his minions, commanding their next duties.
“All of you over there, get to work on the Ferris wheel. Reconstruct the car that fell, and then reattach it to the wheel. Loosen up another one and let’s watch it drop. You guys, fill up some more balloons. We need as many as possible.”
When he finished giving instructions, everyone dispersed from the crowd except Earl. He stood there perfectly still, all emotion wiped from his face.
Yusuf shouted at Earl while tapping his wristband. “Hey, you. Get to work. Everybody has their assignments.” Earl didn’t move. Yusuf finally looked up from the band and stepped closer to the edge of the platform.
“What in the—” He peered at Earl. “Hey, don’t I know you?”
Yusuf jumped off the platform and slowly walked up to Earl. Earl remained as still as he could, but I could see him starting to crack. As Glider Yusuf towered over him, Earl closed his eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Yusuf asked.
“Rich,” I said. “Now!”
“Huh? Like right now?” he said.
“YES!” I nearly bellowed.
I pulled Rich up onto the platform with me. Right as Yusuf yanked Earl up by the collar, I dove into him, tackling him from behind. Earl let out a high-pitched yelp and rolled away from Yusuf’s grip. I wrapped my arms tightly around Yusuf’s legs as he wriggled. He flipped over from his stomach onto his back and looked at me, sneering.
“Cameron,” he hissed. He reached for me, but Inaya and Angel came right on time.
“Not so fast, basketball boy,” Inaya said.
“Grab that arm!! I’ve got this one!” Angel called. They each held down one of Yusuf’s arms, pinning him down to the ground with all of their body weight. I scooted my way up Yusuf’s body, sitting on his legs to keep them pinned. It took all we had to try to keep him still.
“Hand me his arm, Inaya!” I yelled.
“I’m trying!” She thrusted Yusuf’s arm toward me, and I scraped at his Haventech band, trying to remove it. Yusuf struggled, jerking his arm back and forth. Veins throbbed in his forearm as he grunted and growled.
“No! Noooo!” he barked, muffled under the weight of us all.
I almost had the band. I had pulled it over the heel of his hand and almost over his thumb, but Angel couldn’t hold him any longer. Yusuf broke one arm free and pushed me off him. He did a backward somersault, twisted his way out of Inaya’s grasp, and rolled to his feet. Me, Angel, and Inaya lay crumpled in a pile of defeat.
“Cameron,” Yusuf said. “You brought your friends to stop me, huh? How sweet. Teamwork makes the dream work. As you can see, we’re big on teamwork around here. And you will be, too—once you join my Glider army and help me finish my life’s dream.” Yusuf sneered with narrow eyes and a venomous grin. I shuddered. This wasn’t the Yusuf I knew. Whitebourne had him deep under her control. He had no idea what he was doing.
“I know you’re in there, Whitebourne!” I shouted as Glider Yusuf approached us. “Stop using my friend! Leave him alone!”
“I don’t think I will,” Glider Yusuf said. He grabbed the collar of my jogging jacket with two hands and lifted me up. He bared his teeth in anger.
“Geronimooooooo!!!!”
Still clutched in Glider Yusuf’s grasp, I watched his eyes grow wide with fear. He threw me to the side, but not in time to dodge Rich’s infamous belly flop. They both toppled over from the force of Rich’s weight. He had timed the jump perfectly. Rich was big and graceful, like a beautiful, chubby gazelle.
Inaya, Angel, Earl, and I scrambled back toward a dazed Yusuf and pinned his limbs down once again. I yanked the band off his wrist. As soon as we freed Yusuf from the Haventech device, he closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.
“Cam? Angel?” Yusuf croaked. “You’re here. You came to save me.” I put my hand in his, pulling him up off his back and wrapping him in a quick hug.
“You know we would never leave you behind,” I said.
Yusuf smiled weakly. “Real friends.”
“Real friends,” Angel, Rich, Earl, and I said at the same time.
“Oh, word? Y’all got catchphrases?” Inaya said. “That’s cute.”
We started to pull Yusuf up to his feet. He leaned on us as his legs wobbled. Despite all the commotion, none of the Gliders had stopped their tasks. They continued building Whitebourne’s theme park of doom undisturbed.
“Let’s go, Yusuf,” I said. “We’ve got to get you out of here. Get you some help.”
Yusuf paused and shook his head. Sorrow grew in his eyes and his expression pleaded for us to wait.
“What’s the matter?” Angel asked.
“We can’t leave these people down here,” he said. Yusuf coughed and took a sad glance at the Gliders. “If we don’t help them get out of here, there’s no telling what she’ll do to them. And all they’ll remember is that Futureland was the beginning of the end of their lives.”
“Yusuf, we can’t possibly take all these people out of here!” Rich said. “There’s hundreds of them! We have to get out while we can.”
Yusuf shook his head. “We can’t leave them.”
“Can we take off their bands, somehow?” asked Inaya. “Like we did with Yusuf. Then they’ll start to recover, and we can lead them out.”
“It might work,” I said, “but it’ll take hours to remove everyone’s band. And I’m not sure how many more belly flops Rich has up his sleeves.”
“Ugh!” Yusuf said, rubbing his temples in frustration. “It’s hard for me to think. My brain feels so fuzzy.”
“Don’t think too hard, my darling,” came a voice from behind us. “You’ll hurt yourself.”
We whipped around and saw her. She was standing on the platform where Yusuf once stood, in her red jacket, matching hat, and high heels that made her look ten feet tall.
Whitebourne.
She smiled without showing her teeth, glaring at us with menacing eyes. She unclasped her hands from their resting place at her waist and put them on her hips.
“Welcome to my little playground,” she said. “Leaving so soon? The fun is just starting.”
Whitebourne let out a hideous cackle. Me and the crew scrambled to turn and go back toward the staircase that would lead us up to the Alice in Wonderland statue. But we couldn’t go anywhere.
In a matter of seconds, all the Gliders had ceased their work and encircled us. No matter which direction we turned, a wall of mind-controlled zombie minions stood facing us, blocking our path. I looked back up at Whitebourne on the platform just in time for her to flash us a snarling grin.
“You’ll never leave,” she spat. “You’re all mine. Forever.”
Monday, February 15, 2049
2:22 a.m.
You kids don’t understand, just like everybody else,” Whitebourne said, pacing the platform as the Gliders kept us enclosed in the construction space. “Generation after generation of hard work has made my family one of the wealthiest and most powerful in the world. So much blood, sweat, and tears to make it to the top of the food chain.”
My friends and I looked at each other in panic. Nobody knew what to do next.
“But we sacrificed so much,” she continued. “All of us. Working all the time. Nobody has any fun anymore! When I was a little girl, I wanted ever so badly to go to the playground with my friends from school. Pull the heads off my dolls. Play spooky dress-up.” She snarled, baring her teeth. “But no! I always had to study, I always had to work, I always had to prepare to be the next great Whitebourne. My entire life has been all about work.”
My eyes popped listening to her talk. Whitebourne wanted to…play? She was willing to ruin the lives of others just for a little enjoyment?
Jordan had been right—she was pure evil.
“You did all this…for fun?” I said.
“Fun is the most important thing in life,” she said. “I would hope that you, as a kid, could understand, but even kids these days are too obsessed with school and growing up. I have to make people remember how to have fun. When I turn this entire city into the first ever Haven Horrors park, the world will see,” she finished.
“Do you think you’re treating Jordan any better than your parents treated you?” Inaya shouted. “You think he’s having fun wasting away in that hospital bedroom? You’re not changing anything at all. You’re just causing the same kind of damage all the Whitebournes before you did!”
Whitebourne glowered at her. “Jordan is a hero. A martyr. He understands that giving his life for something this important is the greatest sacrifice of all. I’m proud of my son. There will be Jordan Whitebourne statues at every Haven Horrors park worldwide, in his honor!”
“He doesn’t want statues!” I cried out. “He wants to live! You have all the money and power you need to change the world in a positive way, but you’d rather force people to do what you want? There’s no honor in that!”
“That’s what nobody understands!” Whitebourne stamped her feet in anger. “Ugh! This is why the world needs Haven Horrors. They need someone like me to show them how good something different could be. They’ll be able to eat, sleep, and play at Haven Horrors, and never miss a moment! The fun won’t ever end!
“You know,” she said to me, “I actually did enjoy my trip to Futureland. It’s an amazing park, quite honestly. Your parents are brilliant. I admire them. They’ve made something so fun. But it’s not enough! It could use a little edge. A pinch of horror always makes things better. That’s why I borrowed your wristband technology from my good friend Southmore.”
Southmore. I knew he was involved with this in some way. I gritted my teeth, a fire sparking in my belly.
“Besides, with the amount of trouble you all have been getting into, it won’t be long before the park shuts down forever.” She grinned widely—madly—and winked.
“It’s been you all along,” Angel said.
“It was rather easy. I traded access to Cameron’s personal devices for some of the data Southmore stole last year. But it wasn’t until I noticed the prototype for Futureland’s projection band that I discovered an easy way to gradually control people. It’s worked quite well, if I do say so myself.”
And I had thought that Southmore was as big and bad as they got. How wrong I was.
“You demolished my family’s home!” screamed Inaya. She pointed right at Whitebourne. “Our brownstone in Harlem! Just to build one of those creepy parks!”
“I’ve knocked down hundreds of buildings on the way to my dream, darling,” Whitebourne said, examining her bright red nails. “Sacrifice is necessary. Now, enough chitchat. The grand opening of the first Haven Horrors is almost here. Let’s get to work!”
Whitebourne tapped on her own wristband, and the circle of Gliders around us started closing in. They grabbed at us and pulled on our clothes. Yusuf hip-tossed and sweep-kicked a few of them. Earl scurried on his hands and knees between their legs until they ran into each other. Inaya and Angel fought back-to-back, kicking and pushing any of the Gliders that got too close.
Rich ran around the construction site, pushing materials down in the path of any Gliders that tried to follow him. I tried to make my way toward Whitebourne on the platform, but I could never get more than a couple steps closer to her before a Glider would pull me back into the circle. I yanked one Glider’s shirt over their head and pushed them backward into a group of others, knocking them down like bowling pins.
There were too many Gliders. No matter how hard we fought, they kept closing in. One picked Earl up and pinned him up against the wall of the cavernous dungeon. Two others restrained Inaya’s and Angel’s arms behind their backs. Rich finally ran out of space to move as Gliders cornered him. Only Yusuf remained free, ducking under the reach of two Gliders and leaping onto the carousel as they collided. I barreled through a group of them and jumped on the carousel with him, riding around and around on the same beast, holding him for stability.
“Yusuf!” I called out. “Make them stop!”
Yusuf pulled the wristband out of his pocket and paused. He eyed it in the palm of his hand. “I can’t, CJ,” he said. “Whitebourne is commanding them. I can’t control them anymore.” He paused for a second. “But I think I can stop them.”
“How?” I shouted.
“This wristband still has data for all of these people stored inside it—that’s how I controlled them—and all of them have been to Futureland. They have Holo-pals. If I can project them down here, they’ll be able to help us fight back.”
“Will that work?” I asked, breathless. We were running out of time.
“I think so. Whitebourne has been tinkering with the Futureland tech a lot,” Yusuf said. “She made it so that Ali could project outside Futureland and fly me to her. If it works for the other Holo-pals and Holo-pets, they should be able to get down here.”
We didn’t have another choice. “Let’s give it a shot!” I said.
We continued to go around and around on the carousel. Gliders climbed up onto the platform and chased us, reaching out to try to pull us down. I looked over my shoulder and saw their arms outstretched, getting closer.
“Yusuf!” I cried. “Do it now! Do it now!”
Yusuf did a combination of taps on the wristband in his left hand. I felt someone tugging at my leg and turned to see a little girl with pigtails, not older than eight or nine, pulling at me with all her strength. She looked up with glazed eyes and gave me a close-lipped smile.
“Now!” I yelled.
A flash of light. The grip on my pants leg disappeared. I blinked the shine out of my eyes and looked over my shoulder again. This time, there was a brilliant sight to behold.
Dozens of Holo-pals stood on the platform of the carousel as Yusuf and I continued to go around, making a barricade that kept everyone away from us. Beyond them, hundreds more projections made their way into the crowd of Gliders, each one shined in their own unique way, copies of their people with aquamarine, electric-green, or hot-pink skin.
Relief washed over me. I tapped my own Futurewatch, projecting Goggles and Sarafina into the space. The caracal growled and jumped into the crowd, scaring the Gliders away from my friends. Goggles winked at me, then pulled his shades down over his eyes. He leaped over a tall mound of concrete blocks, pushing a few Gliders down on his way.
