Tron Legacy - It's Your Call - Initiate Sequence (17 page)
Read Tron Legacy - It's Your Call - Initiate Sequence Online
Authors: Carla Jablonski
Tags: #Fiction - Young Adult
Y
our disc,” you say. “It's gone. That's a big problem, right?”
“Is it?” He throws out his hand to meet a control panel that emerges from the wall. He quickly punches in a code.
The floor beneath you opens! The elevator descends into an invisible sublevel. Here are the hidden wires, cables, pipes, and labyrinthine infrastructures from the Grid world. A place very few people other than your dad knows anything about.
The glass elevator shrieks to a stop. The doors open, but your father just stands there, not moving. You kneel beside Quorra who now lies motionless at your feet.
“I'm sorry. I screwed up,” you say. If you had listened to your dad he wouldn't have lost his disc and Quorra wouldn't be injured. “We can go back to your safe house.”
“This is the road we're on now,” your father says.
“So what do we do?”
“We head to the Portal,” he says.
You help him carry Quorra out of the elevator. Outside you see you've arrived at what looks like a wharfâonly there's no water, just energy grids. A large cargo ship is floating in the air.
“A solar sailer,” your dad murmurs, identifying the ship. “That's how we'll get to the Portal.” Together you carry Quorra and sneak aboard the ship. Just as you lay Quorra on the platform, the ship breaks away from the Grid and unfurls its sails. It levels out like an airplane, heading out to sea.
D
ashing over to the game, you duck down. Aha! You grab a pair of ankles and yank hard, pulling out a squirming, yelping kid.
“Leave me alone!” he squawks. He kicks out at you.
“Who are you? And what are you doing in here?” you demand.
“Let me go!” he yells. “Or I'll call the police!”
“You'll call the police? You're the one who's trespassing!” But you release him. He quickly scrambles to his feet.
“How did you send the page?” you ask.
He looks puzzled. “What page? You mean like from a book? I get into trouble if I tear up books. Ooh, I bet whoever sent you that page is going to get into big trouble.”
You stare at him. “Not that kind of page. You know. Like from a phone.”
Now the kid looks mad. He kicks the leg of a nearby game. “I don't have a stupid phone. It's no fair. All the other kids have them. My mom treats me like a big baby.”
“Okay, okay!” you say, holding up your hands in surrender. Man, for someone so small he sure speaks in big chunks.
“Listen,” you tell him with as much authority as you can muster without cracking yourself up, “If you leave now, I won't rat you out. No one's supposed to be here.”
Y
ou drag Zuse over to the bar and haul him up onto it. You keep a strong grip on himâhe's your ticket out.
You glance out at the crowd and see all eyes riveted on you. Good. Now if you can just make yourself heard over the pounding music! And keep Zuse from squirming away.
“Hey!” you shout.
“Hey!” they shout back.
That's weird. They're all mimicking you. Not just your words. Your every moveâincluding each time you yank Zuse. They're grabbing their partners and jerking them. “What's wrong with them?” you ask Zuse.
He cackles. “They think this is the latest dance craze! We were in the middle of a dance contest when you made your untimely appearance.” He starts to add little flourishes: a kick here, a toss of the head there. Everyone on the dance floor copies him.
“Listen to me!” you shout.
“Listen to me!” the crowd chants back.
“Give it up for our next dance champion!” Zuse shouts. They cheer.
“Shut up!”
Should you toss Zuse into the crowd and announce his identity
ON PAGE 67?You don't want to lose your hold on Zuseâhe's your
bargaining chip. Shut down the music
ON PAGE 73
.
Y
ou and Alex set out with a detailed map, a vehicle that has seen better days, and instructions. “According to Bartik, as long as that blue light is beaming, the Portal is open.”
“Are you sure I can't stay?” Alex whines.
“Absolutely and totally sure,” you reply.
You're able to use the vehicle for a while, but then, just as Bartik explained, it runs out of juice. That means you're now off-grid. The good thing is no one can look for you out here. The bad thing? Since none of the inhabitants can venture off-grid your map ends here. The pulsing Portal light is your only guide.
It feels like days before you finally reach the floating island that holds the Portal. Alex looks worried. “How's that supposed to get me home?”
You have no idea. But you don't want him to know that. “Remember when we came here? There was some kind of flashing light, right? So I guess we travel on beams of light or something.” You glance down to see if he's buying this explanation.
He shrugs. “Makes sense.” Without further adieu he steps up to the pulsating light. All his hair stands straight up. For one moment, you wonder if maybe you should go with him. Then you remember your father. Your mission.
Alex gives you a final wave, then shuts his eyes and leaps into the light. There's a blinding flash and a surge of energy so powerful it knocks you over.
You scramble back to your feet. Alex is gone. You hope he made it back okay. You wound up being really fond of the kid.
G
otta go!” You grab Alex and spin around. A beefy hand clamps down on your shoulder. “Run, Alex!” you shout. The boy takes off and disappears into the crowd.
Bartik spins you around roughly. “We need to know more about the small one,” he says with a snarl. Then he calls over his shoulder. “Bring him back!”
“Leave the kid alone!” you shout. “He hasn't done anything wrong!”
A man dressed all in silver taps Bartik with a translucent staff. “Now, now, Bartik. Haven't I warned you before? Please take your fights outside. My insurance premiums keep going up!”
“Don't worry, Castor,” Bartik says, but his eyes never leave your face. “I'll take this one to a nice quiet spot where we can talk.”
“Hey! I'm innocent here,” you tell Castor. “Don't let himâ”
But Castor just shrugs and dances off into the crowd.
Y
ou wish you could spend more time with your father, but there's no way you're staying here. Once you're back home, you'll deal with Clu and help your dad from outside the system.
Your dad provides you with his bike and a fake discâjust in case you get stopped. He gives you a long, hard hug before you go. You're sorry he's not coming with you, but you're very glad you found him. You feel better than you have in a long time.
It's a long, hard ride to the Portal, and you have to keep stopping and hiding as patrols on foot and in the air blast their searchlights. But your dad gave you a great map that points out danger zones, good places to take cover, and shortcuts.
Not short enough. A few miles away from the Portal the light flickers wildlyâthen the beam blinks out. Completely.
You stand staring at the pitch black sky where just one minute ago there was an intense blue light. Too late. You waited too long. Your chance to get out is gone.
Now what?
You slowly turn your bike around back toward your dad's safe house. It may take you the rest of your daysâand it seems like days can easily become years in this crazy placeâbut you vow you're going to find a way to overthrow Clu. This world will go back to being the brilliant, promising place your father originally created. And someday you'll escape.
With renewed purpose, you thunder along the Grid, knowing exactly where you're going.
THE END
