Josh got up and walked slowly toward the cells. When he got there, he steadied himself and then looked through the window. Freya—or what had once been Freya—lunged at him, her teeth bared. She’d torn out her hair, which lay in bloody clumps on the floor, and her bald scalp was black with dried blood. Josh looked away.
He forced himself to look into the next cell. Stash was in it, standing motionless in the middle of the tiny space. The place on his shoulder where he’d been bitten was green and gangrenous, and his skin was mottled with dark purple lesions. One of his eyes was missing, the socket where it had been like raw hamburger.
“Who are the rest of them?” he asked Scrawl.
“Different people,” he answered. “People who didn’t pay their wagers. Street people. Runaway kids. People nobody will miss.”
“So first he infects them, then he milks them for their blood,” said Josh. “It’s a slaughterhouse. Like they have for animals. Only these aren’t animals, they’re people.”
“Yes, they’re people. What did you think zombies were?” said Scrawl.
“I thought those were cybers!” Josh said. “And the ones in the hologame aren’t real. It’s just pretend.”
“Still, I bet you never really thought about who they used to be,” Scrawl said softly. “I know I didn’t.”
Josh started to argue, but stopped. Scrawl was right. He knew about his aunt Lucy, and yet he had never thought of her—not even once—when he was torching the z’s in the game.
Freya pounded on the window of her cell and let out a strangled scream. Josh turned away. “Is this what happens to Torchers who ‘retire’ from the team?” he asked.
Scrawl didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. Scrawl’s silence confirmed it.
“So we help him make his money, we kill his victims when he’s done with them, and if we try to get out, we end up like them.” He jerked his head toward Freya’s and Stash’s cells.
“We need to find your friend,” Scrawl said. “And Charlie, if she’s here. He hasn’t turned them yet, or they’d be in here. That means he’s probably holding them somewhere else while he decides what to do with them.”
“Well, I was doing exactly that,” said a voice. Clatter was standing in the doorway, peering at them through his gray glasses. He smiled and nodded at Scrawl, then Josh. “However, I think you gentlemen have just decided for me.”
20
“Where are they?”
Josh faced Clatter. The anger in him was growing quickly, particularly because Clatter just stood there grinning. Josh wanted to wipe the smirk off his face. He even started toward the man, but Scrawl grabbed him and pulled him back. “Don’t do it,” he told Josh. “You won’t win.”
“You should listen to Arthur,” Clatter said. Then he addressed Scrawl. “I assume this means you’ve decided to end our partnership.”
Scrawl said nothing. After a moment Clatter sighed. “I am disappointed,” he said. “You showed such promise. Now, well…” He waved his hand around the room full of cells. “It’s unfortunate.”
“You’re not turning me into one of those things,” said Scrawl. “I’d rather die.”
“That could certainly be arranged,” Clatter replied. “But the alternative is so much more interesting. No, I’m afraid I can’t make an exception for you, Arthur.”
Scrawl stiffened but remained silent, staring at Clatter.
“What do you want?” Josh asked Clatter.
Clatter turned his attention to Josh. “Who says I want anything?” he asked. “Am I to understand that you think this is some kind of negotiation?” He laughed.
“I want Charlie and Firecracker,” Josh said firmly, though terror threatened to take control of him. Now that he knew what Clatter was doing, the possibility that he might not leave the underground lab alive seemed very real.
“You want?” Clatter said. “I don’t think you’re in any position to be wanting anything.”
“Well, maybe I have something you want,” Josh countered.
Clatter raised an eyebrow. “And that would be?” he asked.
“Money,” said Josh.
Clatter leaned against the doorway. “Are you offering me a bribe?”
Josh shook his head. “You know I don’t have that kind of money,” he said. “But I’m worth it.”
“A ransom,” said Clatter.
“No,” Josh said. “Not a ransom. I mean my game playing. And his,” he added, nodding toward Scrawl. “We’re the best gamers you have.”
Clatter shrugged. “You’re good,” he said.
“Really good,” Josh said. “We bring in more money than anyone else on the team.” He didn’t know if this was entirely true, but he figured it was worth a shot. When Clatter didn’t contradict him, he assumed he had guessed correctly.
“Let’s play a game,” he continued. “Me and Scrawl against your zombies. Call in your biggest wagerers. Make a big deal about it. A match to the death or whatever.”
Clatter thought for a moment. Josh held his breath, hoping his idea would work. “Go on,” Clatter said.
“If we win, you let us go,” said Josh. “All of us. We won’t say anything about what you’re doing down here.”
Clatter chuckled. “Or I could just kill you and not worry about that anyway,” he said.
“Except that before we came here I sent my parents a com message telling them where we were going,” said Josh. “It’s set to open at five o’clock tomorrow morning.”
Clatter shook his head. “You’re lying,” he said.
“No, he isn’t,” said Scrawl. “My sister will get the same message. It has maps and everything. The cops would be here by six, and there’s no way you could clear everything out of here by then. Even if you killed us, your entire business would be wiped out. Plus, I think there are some people who would love to get their hands on you.”
Clatter looked from one of them to the other. He’s trying to decide if we’re bluffing, Josh thought. He decided to beat Clatter to the punch. “No, you don’t know whether we really did it or not,” he said. “But you have more to lose by assuming we didn’t than you do by assuming we did.”
To his surprise, Clatter grinned. “That was very well put,” he said. “All right. We’ll play a game. But it won’t be just you and Arthur playing. Your friends will join you. All four of you must survive, and all the zombies will have to be killed. If you can manage that, I will let you all go.”
“How do we know you’ll hold up your end of the bargain?” Josh asked.
“You don’t,” said Clatter. “But you have more to gain by assuming I will than you do by assuming I won’t. So, do we have a deal?”
Josh looked at Scrawl, who nodded.
“Excellent,” Clatter said. “At this hour it will take a little while to gather together an audience. But I think that makes it even more exciting, don’t you? I’ll send the message out immediately. In the meantime, I imagine you’d like to see your friends. Come with me.”
He walked to one of the cells and typed a code into the keypad beside it. Josh and Scrawl stepped back as the door opened.
“Don’t worry,” Clatter said as he stepped inside the cell. “It’s unoccupied.”
Josh and Scrawl followed him into the cell; then the door slid shut and the floor began to drop. It took a second for Josh to realize that they were in an elevator. It continued down for twenty or thirty seconds, then came to a halt. The doors opened and Clatter stepped out into a tunnel very much like the one through which Josh and Scrawl had entered the lab.