Unplugged (10 page)

“I just want you both to know that I'm grateful.” My voice cracked. “Really and truly grateful. I don't know what I ever would have done without you here. You've taught me order and virtual right from wrong and App etiquette and too many other things to mention. You've given me so much.”

The smile fell from Mr. Sachs's face. “Skylar, you're starting to worry me. Is there something you're not telling us? Is something wrong?” He crushed his napkin in his fist. “Are you in trouble?”

“No, no,” I said quickly. “Everything's fine.” Mrs. Sachs's brow furrowed. Deep lines extended from her eyes. “It really is.” Panic fluttered in me. This was a stupid idea. All I'd done was make them suspicious. I needed to backtrack.
“I guess, despite the Defense Minister's reassurances, I'm worried that the body removal process might not go well and one of us could disappear at any moment, so I wanted to say those things just in case. Because I mean them. They're all true.”

Mrs. Sachs dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “Skye, you are such a sweetheart. But there's nothing to worry about. No one's going to disappear, just like Emory Specter said. The process is completely safe. We have no reason not to believe him.”

“Yes,” Mr. Sachs echoed. “We're going to think positive about this! If there was truly a danger, people would have already vanished. But they haven't. There hasn't
been a single report of anyone going missing. We're all here and accounted for, safe and sound. Now, while I don't exactly agree with the Defense Minister's choice of venue for his announcement, he wouldn't lie to us about something so important. What reason would he have? The betrayal would be too great and too costly for all of us.”

I nodded, like I believed this, too. I wanted to reassure them because they meant me only kindness. Showing them respect felt more important than disagreeing with them about Emory Specter.

Inara returned to the table. “The desserts will finish downloading in just a sec.”

“Did you know Skylar was so worried about vanishing?” Mr. Sachs asked her immediately.

Inara raised her eyebrows at me.
Are you really
? she chatted in my brain. “Skye's always worried about everything,” Inara said out loud to her parents with a laugh.

I managed a sheepish grin.

Eventually the conversation moved on to other things and we ate our dessert.

But before the night was over, Inara chatted me one last time.

What aren't you telling me, Skye?

FRIDAY MORNING ARRIVED.
It was my last day in this world.

A mixture of feelings followed this thought. Sadness. Nostalgia. Regret.

When I walked into the lounge, Emory Specter's speech about the Cure was on repeat and Singles huddled in groups to watch it. I was forced to hear his words about secret experiments on bodies and the destruction of the plugs once again. Now fear reared its head inside of me. Would I have a body to unplug tonight? Would any of us? If we did unplug, with the plugs soon destroyed, would we lose our way back?

Even though the body was fragile, prone to disease,
and so many other terrible things, it had always been a consolation to think I was still attached to it, that it was waiting there in case I ever needed it. I wasn't ready to give it up and maybe I wasn't the only one who felt this way. It was wrong for Emory Specter to think he could single-handedly decide to separate all of us from our bodies.

Inara was waiting on the corner by Singles Hall when I walked out the doors. There was a bright-green leaf in her hands that she must have plucked from the tree branch that stretched over the sidewalk. She was smiling down at it. This might be one of the last times I saw that familiar smile. When she looked up, I said something even I didn't expect.

“Let's skip school today.”

Inara let the leaf fall gently to the ground. Then she folded her arms across her chest, eyeing me. “But you never skip. Like, ever.”

I pulled my hair up into a ponytail. “Exactly why we should do it, right?”

“I don't believe you,” Inara said. “I think you're . . . I think you're . . .
joking
.”

“I'm not.” I was glad she didn't use the word
lying
, though I knew it had been perched on her lips. “Come on.”

A smile tugged at her mouth. “What if I say no?”

“You're not going to, so don't even try. I had you at
let's
,” I added with a laugh, but I was less confident than
my words. These could be our last hours together and I wanted to do something fun. Something we would both remember. “Please.”

“Well, okay, Ms. Cruz. If you're going to beg.” Inara joined in on my laughter. “Somebody downloaded a Personality Change App this morning.”

I smiled. So we would have our final day of fun. “Speaking of Apps . . .”

Inara rubbed her hands together. She was becoming giddy. “I'm all ears.”

I linked my arm through hers and we headed into the park. “Let's definitely not download the All Ears App. Remember that time when Simon did, because he wanted to better eavesdrop on his friend, but the App took forever to wear off?”

“It almost cured my crush on him,” Inara said. “Becoming all ears is not attractive, no matter who you are.”

“I think that download could cure a crush on anyone.” I shivered with disgust. “Hey—remember when we were twelve and you decided you wanted to kiss Jamie Sanders, the son of that famous singer, because you thought he had nice lips?”

“Do you have to bring that up?” Inara said, but she was smiling.

“And when you downloaded his App,” I went on, “his lips deflated just before you were about to kiss him
because his daily Lip Enhancer wore off and it turned out he barely has lips without it?”

Inara guided us into a part of the park where the trees were always coded for fall. Their leaves shone in hues of bright yellow, orange, and red. It was one of her favorite places in the City. “At least now we know the truth about that not-so-kissable mouth. And while we're discussing our most embarrassing downloadable moments, I'll remind you of the time you tried the Boob Job App and it malfunctioned and got your virtual body size wrong and each of your boobs got as big as a basketball and you couldn't even stand up straight for, like, the entire five hours it lasted.”

I grimaced at the memory. “And your mother found me hiding in your closet.”

“And she sat us
both
down to talk about age-appropriate downloads. Meanwhile, your boobs were still so big they bulged out from your lap and my mother kept trying not to stare and laugh but she couldn't help it. That was the worst.”

Other memories of Inara and me were bubbling up, from the Hide-and-Seek App we downloaded a million times when we were little, to the day we were old enough for Imaginary Boyfriends. I was smiling so wide my cheeks hurt. “Then there was that other time,” I started, “when—”

“Skye,” Inara interrupted.

I glanced at her. “What?”

“Why are you acting so weird?”

“How am I acting weird?”

She stopped in front of a tree that burned with fiery-red leaves. “Last night with my parents, and today, wanting to skip school, and now, with our greatest hits of Apping.”

“That's not what I'm doing.”

Inara studied me hard. “Yes,” she said. “I think it is.”

I looked away. Scraped my foot back and forth along the path, listening to the sound of the gravel. “That's just your imagination playing tricks.”

“It isn't, though. I know you better than anyone else in this world, which means I also know when something is up.”

I started walking again, keeping my eyes on a tall tree raining down bright-yellow leaves on repeat. “Then you also know I'm going to whoop your virtual butt at Odyssey.” I heard Inara's footsteps following after me but I didn't turn around. “I think that's what we should play today. Since we're not going to school,” I added.

Inara had almost caught up. “Skye, be serious.”

I spun to face Inara, walking backward, sidestepping the pits and dips in the dirt path. Trusting my instincts to keep me upright. “I
am
serious.”

Inara threw up her hands. “Fine. I'll humor you since skipping school does make this a special occasion. But
this isn't the last time we're having this conversation.”

“Okay,” I agreed, relieved. Then I realized a problem with my plan. I'd spent everything downloading footage about Lacy Mills. “Um, could you spot me some capital?”

“You don't have any? Odyssey isn't exactly one of the pricier Apps.”

“I know, but . . . can you just spot me or not?”

Two red marks appeared on Inara's cheeks. “Sure. Sorry.” She knew how much I hated asking for handouts. “I shouldn't have asked.”

I felt guilty for holding out on my friend—holding out on so much. “Thanks, Inara.” Tears pressed at the back of my eyes. “Really.”

“No, it's okay. I shouldn't have doubted you.”

Inara's eyes glazed over.

The sound of capital hitting my account alerted my brain. Everything felt woozy and liquid before I pulled myself together. “Inara, that's way too much!” I wiped my eyes, hoping she didn't notice they were wet with tears. She'd put in triple the amount we needed for Odyssey.

When her gaze refocused, she shoved me playfully. “Now if I were you, I'd quit worrying and start downloading. I'm totally going to take advantage of my head start.”

“Your head—” I began, but didn't finish.

There was no point.

Inara disappeared from the atmosphere.

She was already in the game.

I took a deep breath. Composed myself. Then I began the Odyssey download. It wasn't long before I vanished into the game, too.

At first, I couldn't see anything.

But the smell all around me was familiar. Salty and fresh, briny and cool. There came the sound of water and the periodic
shhhhh
of waves. I immediately relaxed. The landscape took shape and it was just as I expected. The beach where I stood curved like a long sliver of moon. Inara was already at the other end. We each wore long, billowy linen tunics, our legs bare.

“You cheated,” I shouted to her, my voice carried by the breeze.

Inara turned and laughed, walking backward. “Did not! Catch me if you can!”

I started across the sand, my feet sinking among the shifting, sliding grains. They were warm. I didn't rush to catch up. I'd forgotten how much I loved playing Odyssey with my best friend. Of all the games, this one's genius was that you could choose your own adventure. Whoever was leading got to pick the landscape, the terrain, the method of travel, whether the mood was lighthearted and fun or dark and menacing. They even got to pick which other characters would appear to help or challenge players. Everyone loved a villain. There was something so satisfying about fighting off and defeating a person you'd
never gotten along with or who'd bullied you as a kid. I wondered who Inara would choose if she stayed in the lead, and I was curious to see where she would take us next.

Up ahead, Inara reached the top of a great sand dune and disappeared on the other side. The sun shone brightly, warming my skin. My tunic flapped against my body and swirled up around my legs in the breeze. I swerved toward the water and waited for it to wash over my feet. My toes curled into the soft, wet sand.

A powerful yearning opened inside me.

I wanted to go to the beach with my family again. My mother and my sister.

And I would. Soon.

“Skye?” Inara's voice traveled over the wind, impatient. “Hurry up!”

I started across the dune in a run, my feet slipping in the unstable sand, and was at the top in no time. I shielded my eyes against the sun's glare. On the other side was another cove. Two tiny sailboats bobbed at the water's edge. Inara was already untying the rope attached to a stake in the sand on one of them. I scanned the water and saw an island not too far out. So that's where we'd be going.

Inara waved when she caught sight of me.

I waved back. “Don't get too comfortable with that lead! You won't have it for long!” I traveled down the rest
of the dune with long, leaping strides until I was running along the flat packed sand at the tide's edge.

Inara pushed and shoved until her boat was floating in the shallows. She hopped in. She eyed my own little vessel on the shore. “Good luck with that!”

“Right,” I said under my breath. Inara knew I didn't sail. I preferred using my body to do what needed to get done. It cost less capital that way, and the game lasted longer. I reached my boat and stopped. It looked simple enough and it was such a pretty thing, with that tall white sail. But appearances can be deceptive.

Inara was still floating in the shallows, holding back.

“You don't have to baby me,” I called out.

She stood, balancing as the boat rocked. “I'm worried I made this too difficult for you.”

I laughed. “We may be in your Odyssey world, but don't forget that gaming is my thing.” I was untying the rope tethering the boat when I had an idea. The island wasn't that far away. I glanced underneath the tunic she'd given us to wear. There was no bathing suit, but I had on underwear. And it was only the two of us so far.

What, really, did I have to be embarrassed about?

I raised my arms and lifted the dress over my head, tossing it aside.

“What are you—” Inara started, but didn't finish.

I was already running into the waves, the water splashing up around my legs. It was warm, almost tropical. I
laughed. There was nothing like going for a swim, nothing better than being here, doing this, on my last day in this world. “Who's worried now?” I shouted.

Quickly, Inara sat back down and put her hand on the tiller. “That's not fair,” she cried, guiding the rudder. “We don't have bathing suits because you're not supposed to—”

I dove under and the rest of Inara's words were drowned out by the water. I shot forward, my torso and legs like a spear. Underneath me were fish. Blue and silver and purple and gold. They scattered as I approached. When my momentum slowed I came up for air and started to swim, my arms lifting in arcs above the water, legs kicking. Faster and faster. The next time I lifted my head I glanced right and saw that I'd almost caught up with Inara. Soon I would overtake her. As I propelled myself forward, I wondered what it would be like to swim in the sea of the Real World, a river or a lake, if I would have to start over as though I didn't know how, or if the body would somehow remember this skill, if swimming would be instinctive like it was for me here.

My arms and legs pushed faster.

Ahead, I saw the island. If I reached it first, then the landscape would shift. I wondered what my mind would create for us today. It might be fun to let my unconscious take over so everything that appeared in the game would be a surprise even for me. I'd always liked playing Odyssey
this way, discovering what my mind was thinking about that I didn't even realize.

Looking right, I saw that Inara and I were neck and neck.

I dove under again, rippling through the water. I swam as fast as I could, occasionally glancing in front of me to gauge the remaining distance to the island. The bottom of the ocean began to rise. It got closer and closer until I could set my feet down. Inara's sailboat would be harder to get to land. She hadn't accounted for me being able to run once I got to shore.

“Noooo,” Inara groaned. “I hate you, Skye,” she said, but she was laughing.

I stopped when I was thigh deep in the water. “You don't hate me! I'm your best friend for, like,
ever
.” I watched as Inara climbed out of the boat. I crossed my arms, smirking as I waited for her to catch up, like she'd waited for me earlier.

She dragged and tugged. “You are a mean best friend!”

“What? Like you didn't just do the same thing to me?”

As she struggled with the boat I walked the rest of the way to shore. When I was ankle deep I hesitated. The moment I stepped on dry land everything would shift. The terrain and the objectives my mind conjured were always less . . . tranquil. Maybe it was because I liked running from villains and dangerous animals. When I was gaming I was no longer a Single, dependent on the
kindness of others, an outcast in the App World. I had power. Challenges would come my way and I would get through them like I was made for it.