Game Over

Chapter 54





I DIDN’T WANT to open my eyes. They hurt enough as it was with the lids closed, without having to focus or move or do anything. I just wanted to go back to sleep. I just wanted to fade back into darkness. I just wanted get myself away from the sickening, searing pain that racked my head and entire body.

“Daniel, sit up. You need to drink.”

The noise hurt my head, but there was something reassuring about the voice, something that was the closest thing to comfort I could remember.

And then I realized why. It was Dana’s voice.

“Am I dead?” I managed to croak, no pun intended.

“Almost—but you somehow teleported yourself away before they could actually kill you.”

“I don’t remember trying to teleport,” I said with a wince. “I was in too much pain.”

“Maybe it was the pain that forced you to do it,” Dana said. “You couldn’t stand it any longer and channeled all your energy into getting away. There’s no shame in backing down when you know you need to. It’s what we’ve all been trying to tell you from the beginning.”

I decided I would have to think about that some more later. “Where are we? Are we safe?”

“You’re back at the Amitabha Buddha in Ushiku.”

“The giant one?”

“Yes, the one that could kick King Kong’s butt.”

“You mean if the statue were alive and King Kong were real?”

“Yes, Daniel, that’s exactly what I mean.”

I cautiously let one of my swollen eyes open. It was dark.

“Is it nighttime?”

“Yes, you’ve been unconscious awhile.”

“Wow, it’s really dark,” I said, allowing my other eye to open. “Even for nighttime.”

“Well, that’s because we’re inside the statue’s head. There aren’t a lot of light sources in here.”

“So… why are we inside a Buddha statue’s head?”

“Because that’s where you teleported yourself, genius.”

“I teleported myself? Away from Number 7 and Number 8?”

“That’s what I was just telling you. Don’t you remember anything?”

“Would I be asking—” I couldn’t finish the sentence. I had to stop talking. My brain was wobbling like bowl of jelly on a dirt bike’s fender. Dana forced a Japanese lemon soda to my lips. It was really sour, but it felt good in my sore, dry mouth. I drained the entire bottle in less than five seconds, a new personal best.

“That’s it. Drink up. Clearly, you aren’t ready to heal yourself yet,” said Dana, taking the soda and resting my head gently in her lap. “So, get some sleep. Let your body do some of the work on its own. I’ll be right here.”

It’s true—between the pain and the exhaustion, there was no way I could possibly think about doing something as complicated as diagnosing and fixing my wounds. You know why doctors have to go to school for like ten years before they get licensed? It’s because healing is a complicated business. Way too complicated for somebody as beaten down as I was then. But I wasn’t going to stress about it. After all, Dana was right there next to me. Seemed like nothing bad ever happened when Dana was around. I turned my head and started to thank her, but she pressed her finger to my lips.

“Shhh. You should sleep, Daniel.”

I did want to sleep. But I also wanted to figure things out. I wanted to figure out if Number 7 and Number 8 had done any permanent damage to my body or mind. I wanted to figure out what Dana might be thinking right now. I wanted to figure out what that weird high-pitched droning sound was.

“Is that my stomach, Dana?”

“I wish,” she said, jumping to her feet and letting my poor aching head slam down on the steel platform where we’d been resting.

“Ow!” I complained. “I’m injured here.”

“You’ll think you were just tickled by a feather if we don’t get out of here right now. That noise is coming from an alien skycar. The hunters are coming!”