Josh tucked the communicator into his left ear. It fit snugly, then expanded to fill the space. There was a slight tickling sound as something bonded with his skin. “This is biotechnology,” he said, surprised. “I thought only the military used stuff like this.”
Scrawl grinned. “Like I told you before, Clatter has connections,” he said. “Let’s go.”
They left the freak-show tent and walked to the end of the arcade, where a dilapidated structure with FUN HOUSE written across the front stood with its doors yawning open. Scrawl went inside, and the rest of the team followed.
Scrawl checked his watch. “We should be starting right… about… now,” he said as the now-familiar electronic woman’s voice came through the communicator in Josh’s ear.
“Torchers, prepare for play,” it said.
In front of them, mirrored doors swung inward, revealing a staircase going down. “Use the lights on your torches,” Scrawl reminded them as he led the way.
Josh turned on his light, which produced a thin but clear beam courtesy of the halogen bulb mounted above the flamethrower’s barrel. He kept it pointed down as he followed Seamus into the stairwell.
At the bottom of the stairs Scrawl stopped. “Team one, we’re going north,” he said, indicating a long hallway off to his left. Team two, head south.”
Scrawl and his team moved out, leaving Josh, Charlie, Freya, and Stash at the foot of the stairs.
“Listen up,” Freya said. “I want this to be quick and clean. We make a sweep of our quadrant, we torch anything we see that isn’t human, and we collect our pay.” She looked at Josh and spoke in a low voice. “Remember, there are cameras monitoring us at all times. The customers want to see action, so make sure you’re always on.”
Josh nodded. He understood the rules. If they performed well, the customers made bigger bets and everyone made more money. But Josh wasn’t concerned just about the money. He wanted to show that he could really play.
“My guess is that we’re going to have a six-and-six,” Freya said as they started to walk. “Clatter almost always divides them up equally.”
That means two of us will get a bonus z, Josh thought. He hoped he got one. He also hoped Stash didn’t.
The tunnel they were in suddenly curved to the left and opened up into a small room filled with machinery. Freya turned to Josh. “Do you know where we are?”
Josh pulled an image of the map from his memory, trying to recall all the different sites. “The merry-go-round,” he said. “We’re underneath it.”
“Good job,” Freya said. “And ahead of us through the door on the other side?”
Stash made a spitting sound. “What is this, kindergarten?” he said. “It’s the bumper cars, then the Tilt-A-Whirl, then the flying swings.”
“Actually, it’s the Tilt-A-Whirl, then the bumper cars,” Josh said without thinking.
“Josh is right,” Freya said.
Stash grunted and spat on the floor. Josh avoided looking at him, but he knew what the other boy was probably thinking. He chided himself, You should have just kept your mouth shut.
A crackling sound filled Josh’s ear, followed by Clatter’s voice. “Team one has located and neutralized one target,” he said.
“Damn!” Stash said, slamming his hand against a piece of machinery. “They get the first-kill bonus.”
“Calm down,” Charlie said.
“We could have had it if we weren’t standing around here chatting like a bunch of girls,” Stash said angrily.
“We need to make up some time,” Freya said, ignoring him. “Split up. Charlie, you come with me. Stash, you and Josh check out what’s going on topside.”
“Topside?” Stash groaned. “Why do I have to go topside?”
“Because I said so. Now shut up and go!”
Charlie and Freya headed off to the other side of the room, while Stash started climbing a ladder that ran up the side of one wall. He didn’t say a word to Josh, who followed him, wishing he were with anyone else.
At the top of the ladder Stash pushed against a hatch that swung up and over. Then he put his head through the hole, looked around, and climbed out. Josh emerged after him into a gloomy tent that covered a large merry-go-round. Rain pounded on the roof and dripped through holes in the rotting canvas. In the semidarkness Josh saw the animals of the carousel sitting silently, their painted eyes staring straight ahead.
Stash still said nothing as he walked around the edge of the merry-go-round. Josh decided to walk in the other direction. The carousel was large enough that after a few steps he could no longer see Stash. Instead he focused on the merry-go-round itself. A meatbag could easily hide among the carved horses, tigers, and rabbits.
A second later he heard a whooshing sound and the clatter of broken glass. Then he heard Stash yell in frustration. As Josh started toward the other side, a figure emerged from the carousel and hobbled toward the side of the tent, where a slit in the canvas created a kind of doorway.
Josh aimed his flamethrower at the zombie. “Target in sight!” he shouted, and pulled the trigger. Just as he did, a second figure came flying out from between two horses. Startled, Josh jerked to the side so the stream of fire from his thrower missed the zombie and narrowly avoided catching the second figure, which fell to the ground bellowing in pain. Josh realized, too late, that it was Stash.
“Torcher down!” he yelled, kneeling down beside Stash.
“Get the hell away from me!” Stash shouted, shoving Josh. “You fouled my kill, you stupid noob.” He stood up and ran after the zombie, who had managed to leave the tent.
Josh got up, retrieved his flamethrower from where it had fallen, and looked around. He knew he should follow Stash, but he really didn’t want to be anywhere near him right now. It would be better for him if he returned to the hallway and tried to find Freya and Charlie. But he knew it was foolish to leave a Torcher alone chasing a z, especially one that might be wounded. Besides, he thought, maybe this is another test.
He heard a crackling in his earpiece, then Freya’s voice came through. “Josh, what’s the situation?”
Josh hesitated. He wanted to say that Stash was injured, but since Stash had run off he wasn’t sure that was true. And he didn’t want Freya to think he was panicking.
“We sighted a z,” he said. “Stash is in pursuit.”
“Good,” Freya said. “Then you know what to do.”
The communicator went silent. Before he could talk himself out of it, Josh pushed through the opening in the tent and found himself outside. It was raining even harder now, and he could barely see anything. But off to his right he saw a black figure entering one of the attractions. It had to be Stash.
He made his way along the arcade until he came to the spot where Stash had disappeared. “Great,” he said, looking at the ride. “The Tunnel of Love.”
Sighing, he ran up the ramp to the start of the ride, where a bunch of little boats that carried riders through the tunnel were gathered. The water in the imitation stream had long ago dried up, but the rain had filled it halfway. As Josh made his way to the heart-shaped opening of the ride, the water sloshed around his feet.
Josh walked carefully down the track and through the entrance. The inside of the ride was a mess. Overturned boats blocked his path, and pieces of fallen timber lay across the floor, crushing whatever they’d fallen on. Holes in the roof let in even more rain, and it was almost impossible to see anything. Josh tried using the light on his flamethrower, but it did little to help. Fortunately the flamethrower itself remained lit even in the rain.
He saw no sign of Stash or the zombie. How could they have disappeared so quickly? As far as Josh could tell, he was alone.