Feyland: The Bright Court

Chapter Thirty-Five

Tam stumbled out of the sim chair. At least he could bear weight on his leg - the injury wasn’t that severe, though pain jabbed through him. He took a second to power down the Full-D and turn off the jamming switch. No point in advertising he’d been there.

He thumbed his flashlight on and went to the wall. There was a cupboard with med supplies somewhere near the corner - he needed to at least slap a bandage on before he left. Blank wall met his questing fingertips. Maybe the cupboard was a little more to the right.

The corner of the end-table emerged from the dark, banging him right below the knee. Pain zinged through him. He swallowed back a yell and tried to catch himself, but it was too late. With a sick sense of inevitability, he crashed forward, knocking over the lamp and piles of books on the table.

It wasn’t a loud collision - but the lights suddenly flared to full brightness. A second later, a screeching alarm split the air. He jumped, his heartbeat spiking hard.

“WARNING!” the house network called. He heard the sound echoing down the hall, projected from every speaker in the place. “Intruder detected in the gaming room. The authorities have been notified, and the subject contained.”

Crap. He felt like the alarm was shrieking inside him, just under his skin. He levered himself up, scrambled to the doors, and wrenched at the knobs. They were locked. Of course.

He glanced wildly around. Could he hide behind the couch?

The doors flew open, and he jumped sideways, trying to get to cover.

“Tam!” It was Jennet. She hurried to his side. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?”

“Later,” he rasped, trying to make himself heard over the shrilling alarm. “I need to get out of here. Now.”

Before they got to the door, Jennet’s dad rushed into the room, belting on a thick plaid bathrobe.

“What the hell is going on here? HANA!” he yelled, “turn off that alarm.”

Silence fell. Tam took a deep breath, trying to mute the fear drumming through him.

“Jennet.” Her dad turned to her, his expression grim. “What’s Tam doing here?”

“Freeze!” a voice shouted from the hall. “Keep your hands where I can see them.”

Oh no. The View’s security had arrived. Two men in combat gear appeared at the door, guns out and pointed at Tam. Scenarios flashed through his mind, all of them ending with him in jail. The only thing keeping the panic at bay was Jennet’s presence beside him, warm and solid.

“Wait, wait, wait,” an accented voice said. It was Marie, the house manager, no doubt elated to find that Tam had tripped the alarms. “The Carters are in there! We must not have a hostage situation. This boy from the Exe is very dangerous. Shoot him, if you must.”

“No!” Jennet moved in front of Tam. “This is my boyfriend - he was just, um…”

One of the security guards gestured with his weapon, and Tam flinched.

“Move away from the suspect, miss,” the man said. “We don’t want anyone injured.”

“Stop it,” Jennet’s dad said. “Everyone calm down. This is all a misunderstanding.”

“Hey,” Tam said. “I’m unarmed. Just - quit waving your guns around, and I’ll come quietly.” He hoped they’d at least bandage his leg before they threw him in a cell.