LOGINThe golden light coming from the tower was not warm and cozy. It felt like a needle poking Mayas skin all over. The ground beneath her feet started moving. The sand was not just shifting it was rising up in straight pillars."Maya watch out!" Dr. Aris yelled. She grabbed Mayas shoulder. Pulled her back. A pillar of gold stone shot up from the spot where Maya had been standing just a second before.The woman who looked like Maya, the "Sister" was standing at the top of the tower. She was not moving. Her doctors coat was flapping in a wind that was not even there. Then she raised her hand."The crowd is moving " Aris whispered. Her voice was shaking with fear. "Maya look at them. They are not walking. They are being pulled."Maya looked at the million people. They were not. Running. Their faces were blank. Their eyes reflected the light of the tower. It was like watching a million sleepwalkers. They moved in rhythm. They stepped over the pieces of the satellite as if it was just trash.
The peace of the beach did not last long. The beautiful sound of the waves was suddenly drowned out by a thumping noise. It was the sound of metal hitting sand. From the shadows of the ruined city nearby black armored vehicles roared toward the crash site. These were not the heroes from the moon. They were the Cleanup Crews. They were the soldiers who still followed the Watchers rules. They did not look happy to see a million people waking up.Maya get down Dr. Aris screamed. She tackled Maya into the sand.Then a red laser beam sliced through the air. It passed where Mayas head had been a second before. Maya pressed her face into the sand. The salt stung her eyes. The purple spark in her palm began to move. It felt like a heart beating inside her own hand. It was warm and steady.They are coming for the Pen Maya gasped. Her voice was thick with dust. She crawled behind a piece of a glass wing that had fallen from the satellite. They do not care about the people. They only want the co
Maya pulled her face away from Bensons touch. His hand felt like fire. She fell back her boots tripping over the roots of a silver tree. She looked at her face in a glass wall. A small spot on her cheek was glowing with a metal light. It was not on her skin; it felt heavy. It felt like her blood was turning into metal."What did you do, Benson?" Maya gasped. She held her throat. She felt the coldness moving toward her neck. "Benson, your hand... Your eyes..."Benson stood up from a bench. His movements were strange. He moved like the man she loved. Also like a machine. He looked at his hand. It was made of light. He moved his fingers and blue sparks jumped between them."I did not do anything Maya " Benson said. His voice was warm. It had a hollow echo. "When you pushed your hand into the Core you deleted the Watcher.. You left an empty hole. Something had to fill that space so the satellite would not fall. I took the weight a million people would not die.""You took the virus inside
The glass city was not peaceful anymore. Maya felt like something was wrong. The sunlight was too bright and the smell of honey made her feel sick. She backed away from the man on the bench. The man looked like Benson. He was not Benson. Mayas boots made a clicking sound on the crystal floor.The man stood up slowly. His movements were too smooth. "Do not run, Maya " he said. His voice was deep. It sounded like a lot of people were speaking at the time. "You are the one who opened the door. You are the one who invited the fire inside." Maya was scared. She whispered, "You are not Benson. Benson is kind. Benson is human. You are covered in the Watchers marks."The silver symbols on the mans skin began to glow. They moved across his arms like living snakes. He stepped closer. The trees in the park began to turn from green to a metal silver. Maya felt a sob rise in her throat. She looked around the city. People were still waking up. They were. Hugging each other. They did not know what w
The golden clock on the silver door did not just show the time it beat like a dying heart. 9:45. 9:44. Every second that passed felt like a weight on Mayas chest. The beautiful blue ocean behind them began to lose its color it turned into a flat grey. The white sand under her feet felt cold, like plastic."The computer is eating the world to stay alive " Maya whispered. She held the Silver Pen tight her knuckles turned white. Her blue dress flickered for a second it turned into computer code and then back into cloth."Maya look at me " Benson said. He grabbed her shoulders his hands were warm. His eyes were full of love and fear. "Do not look at the door look at me. We can fix this you always find a way. You are the doctor I know.""I am not a doctor Benson " Maya shouted. Her voice echoed across the beach. "I am a battery. Every breath I take in this dream costs the system power. Every time those children there laugh we lose a second. I am holding the lives of a million people. I am
The glass shield on the chair exploded into a thousand pieces. The black hand of the shadow felt like ice it was so cold. It made the fire in the room seem like a candle.Benson jumped forward. Swung his broken pipe at the shadow.. The pipe went right through it like he was fighting smoke."Get away from her!" Benson yelled. His voice was scratchy from the smoke in his lungs.The shadow hand did not hit him back. It just rested on Mayas shoulder. Then a person stepped through the wall of fire. He was a man in a very expensive grey suit. His hair was white. His face looked like it had a lot of secrets. His eyes were as clear as the sky."Stay calm, engineer " the man said. His voice was soft. It was louder than the sound of the building falling down. "I am not here to break your things. I am here to take back what is mine."Mayas body started to shake. Her eyes flickered, trying to find their color again. She reached out. Touched the mans sleeve."Father?" she whispered. The robot soun
Rain in London didn’t feel like rain anymore. When it hit the pavement, it left these oily streaks, crawling right at Maya’s feet—like a nest of snakes. The man in the business suit stood dead still in the middle of the rush hour crowd. People passed right through him, like he was some kind of ghos
The black hand didn’t feel like skin or bone. It felt cold and thick, like oil wrapping around Julian’s chest. As it hauled him back, the purple stars overhead spun out of control. The universe twisted into a wild whirlpool of light and shadow. Everything was going way too fast."Julian!" Maya scre
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
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







