LOGINThe world was falling apart like a piece of paper that was being folded and creased. Mayas feet, which were once standing on the floor of the laboratory were now standing on a thin white piece of paper. The sweet smell of flowers was. It was replaced by the sharp smell of fresh black ink.Maya looked down at her hands. Let out a scream. Her skin was no longer brown and warm it was turning white like a page in a notebook. Black lines, like words and sentences were crawling up her wrists like snakes. "Sarah hold on to me " Maya said, reaching out. Her fingers were becoming flat and thin like paper.Sarah did not answer she was already gone. Where Sarah had stood there was a pile of shredded paper spinning in a digital wind. The Teacher had vanished too leaving behind a trail of paper scraps that spelled out the word ERROR. "You cannot do this " Maya yelled at the screen. "I am a person I have a heartbeat I have a soul."The girl on the screen the Maya in the void did not look like a med
The walls of the laboratory were not just shaking they were melting into white smoke. Maya reached for the metal computer desk. Her hand went right through it. She felt a stinging feeling in her fingers like her body was being rubbed out by an invisible eraser. Across the room Sarah was screaming. Her body was flickering like a lightbulb that was about to burn out."Maya, my legs I cannot feel my legs " Sarah cried. She reached out her hand. Her arm turned into a cloud of glowing blue squares before snapping back into skin and bone.Maya tried to run toward her friend. The floor felt like it was made of water. Every step she took was heavy and slow.The child outside the window was glowing with a light bright it turned the Sahara sand into a giant mirror. He looked up at the tower. Pointed a small finger.The glass window disappeared it did not break into pieces it just vanished into the air. The hot desert wind rushed into the room. It did not smell like dust it smelled like flowers
The air in the laboratory felt really cold and creepy. Maya sat on the floor with her back against the metal computer desk. She was holding a silver disc in her hand tightly that the edges were cutting into her palm. She looked up at the man who looked like Julian. She did not feel any love for him. Instead she felt an terrible fear.The mans eyes were not blue like Julians. They were like two holes of swirling oil. When he smiled his teeth looked too sharp and too white."Julian?" Maya whispered,. Saying his name felt weird.The man laughed. It was not a laugh like Julians. It sounded like glass breaking in a metal box. He reached out to touch Mayas face and the air around his fingers turned black."Stay away from her!" Sarah yelled.Sarah ran forward swinging a heavy metal wrench she had found on the floor. She was fast. The man did not even turn around. He just flicked his fingers. Sarah flew backward crashing into a row of glass computer screens.CRASH."Sarah!" Maya yelled.Seein
The computer screens in the Sahara building had stopped showing numbers. Instead they were filled with a white light that was screaming at everyone. Maya stood still her eyes fixed on the monitor on the wall. Thousands of people were walking out of the glass tanks blinking in the hot desert sun. Every single one of them had a silver leaf scar on their hand that was glowing. It was not a mark anymore it was a light that was beating like Mayas own heart."They are not victims Maya " the Teacher said quietly. He stepped closer to her his shadow stretching across the metal floor. The soldiers behind him lowered their guns and their faces turned pale with fear. "They are the reason the world has been broken for long. We did not put them in tanks to take their dreams. We put them there because if they woke up the real world would end."Suddenly the glass window of the Master Suite exploded. It did not break because of a stone or a bullet. It broke because the air pressure in the room had ch
The world around Maya was screaming. It was not a sound that you could hear with your ears. It was a bad feeling that made her teeth rattle and her vision go blurry. The lines on the floor were snapping like rubber bands. They were falling away into a black hole. Benson jumped across the breaking floor. His face did not look human anymore. His skin was flickering. It showed a face made of light and angry red code."Sign it Maya!" Benson yelled. His hand was around her throat. His fingers felt like metal. "Give me your mind now or I will pull us all into the dark hole!"Maya tried to breathe. Her hands were scratching at his grip. She could feel everything around her falling. The hospital room where her father and the real Julian were was turning into mist."Never " Maya said, trying to talk.She did not try to grab the pen. Instead she looked into her mind. She thought about the formula Julian had left for her. It was a way to block her brain. It was like a switch that could turn her
The wind did not smell like the wet forest anymore. For a second the smell of trees and rain vanished. It was replaced by the smell of cleaning stuff and electricity. Maya stood still. Her heart was beating fast like a drum hitting her ribs.. Her eyes were fixed on Benson.He kept walking toward her. His arms were wide open. To anyone he looked like a worried man coming to save his future wife.. Maya saw something different. She saw his eyelid flicker. A tiny jump that wasn't human.T-R-A-P. The tapping sound in her head was loud now. It was like a vibration that made her teeth ache."Maya you are shaking " Benson said. He reached out to touch her shoulder. His skin looked warm and real.. When his fingers touched her dirty sleeve the fabric didn't move like cloth. It broke into gray squares for a second before turning back into a shirt. "You have been through a lot of pain. Let the doctors check your body.""Don't touch me " Maya said.She stepped back. Her heels sank into the dirt..
Coach Miller’s boots crunched on the ice—slow, steady, creepy. Crunch. Crunch. He gripped the sledgehammer tight, and honestly, he didn’t look like a teacher anymore. He looked like a hunter, zeroed in on his prey.“Move, Maya,” he said, aiming the hammer at her. “You’ve done enough tonight. Hand o
Maya’s fingers scraped against the cold, rough edge of the roof. The black book—their only proof Julian was a good man—started sliding away. It hit a patch of ice and teetered, right at the edge of a five-story drop. One more slip, and the wind would tear those pages apart. All their hope, scattere
The newsroom felt dead. Just the air conditioner humming, and somewhere far off, a police siren. Maya’s mom stood smack in the middle, holding that tiny slip of paper like it was a weapon. To anyone else, it was just a hospital bill. For Julian, it was his little brother’s life hanging in the balan
The red “On Air” sign glared at Maya—a hot, watchful eye. Across the newsroom, TV screens lined the wall. On one, she spotted her father, stuck in that dark computer room. Some thug pressed a metal weapon to the back of his head.“Ten seconds, Maya,” her uncle’s voice blared over the speakers. “Nin







