Cytronica

Forty-four

Zack spun around in his chair, a vain attempt at keeping himself occupied. A full forty minutes had so far elapsed.

Although those forty minutes would certainly feel like a lot longer inside the realm. He was annoyed that he was missing out on the prestigious tournament.

Well, on one hand, he wasn't entirely envious, especially after seeing the code Hunter had entered into the system. It promised to be carnage of the highest degree.

Still, it was a shame to miss out, especially with so many students taking part, and even more especially since they'd most likely never have this level of access to the realm again.

He twisted his neck and looked at his computer screen.

"Wow," he said to himself. The numbers were now at 24 and 196—a severe drop. The latest line of code to be executed—malignance mode—had certainly taken a toll on the users.

He'd read about it while studying the manual. It wasn't too dissimilar to bot peace, except that it actually made the bots malicious, turning against any and all users logged in, and suddenly knowing their exact whereabouts. In the public realms, this could make for a potentially fun fight to the death.

In the school's realm, however, with some kids as young as thirteen, it was a living nightmare. And it was hardly any surprise to see the user count drop so sharply.

He gasped. It suddenly dropped again. 19 and 172.

At this stage, it was looking all the more likely that the Wynter Legion was going to win. And understandably so. They had several advantages: they had the greater numbers, the leaders knew the code, and, perhaps most importantly, its members were actually interested in manipulating Cytro in the first place. The 4PM Club seemed to exist merely as a means of stopping the Legion, without any real interests of their own. In other words, their existence was ultimately—

Zack almost jumped out of his chair. He thrashed his arms about and quickly regained his balance. Whatever had startled his thoughts, it was loud.

He spun around, his heart practically beating through his chest.

It took his eyes a moment to adjust. For a second, he thought he was seeing things.

But his eyes weren't deceiving him. Not this time.

His face contorted as a surge of adrenaline coursed through his body.

It can't be, he thought.

Mr Miller pounded his fist against the window again. "What are you doing in there!" his voice thundered.

Zack felt sick to his stomach. His entire body began to tremble.

"Open this door. Now!" the network engineer demanded.

The boy's breathing became erratic.

This is bad.

Very, very bad.

He continued staring at Mr Miller, who stood in the shadows of the hallway outside.

"I can see you, you know," Miller said. "I know you're in there, Zack. And I can see Hunter. And some other kid."

Zack swallowed hard.

We're dead.

"Open the door," Miller repeated.

"I ..." he choked, his hands shaking uncontrollably. "I can't."

Miller's face became red. "You what?"

"I ..." Zack was trapped. It was exactly as he feared. There was no way out of this. If he opened the door, the tournament would be finished, and Hunter—not to mention the Legion—would destroy him. He couldn't betray his faction.

But at the same time, this act was betraying the academy. And such treason was grounds for instant expulsion. Not to mention a possible criminal record.

"I'm not an idiot, you know," Miller said through the glass. "I received an alert on my comm saying that Cytro had been brought back online. Did you honestly think you'd get away with it? Every bit of equipment in that room is monitored."

Zack buried his head in his hands. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He didn't know what else to do.

Miller had waited long enough. He removed his keys from his pocket and began searching for the right one. "Thank you for bringing me here on my day off," he muttered sarcastically. "This is exactly how I pictured my Saturday—" He paused, his eyes widening, his jaw tightening.

Zack peeked out between his fingers and saw the man's dumbfounded expression.

"What is this?" Miller demanded, astonished. "What the hell have you done!" Needless to say, he'd realised the key was jammed in the door.

"I'm ... I'm sorry," Zack murmured again.

Miller flared his nostrils. "Open this door, right now. Open it, or I'll call the principal, and the police."

Zack ground his teeth. His heart rate increased. "I can't."

Miller appeared surprised by Zack's defiance. After a few seconds, his face began to relax. He shrugged. "Have it your way, kid." He turned and walked away from the room without saying another word.

Sweat began to drip down the boy's forehead. He took in several gulps of air, attempting to calm himself.

But it was no use. His heart rate and breathing were out of control, panic gripping him.

I'm so dead.