Doomed by Tracy Deebs Read Free Book Online Page A

answers.
    “Play video games?”
    He lifts an eyebrow. “Hack systems.”
    I look at him, standing there in his button-down shirt and khaki pants and can’t imagine him as anything but a rule follower of the highest order. I mean, even his shoes are perfectly polished. But then I make the mistake of meeting his eyes, and they’re not cold anymore. Instead, they’re totally bad ass. Filled with confidence and the thrill of the chase. There’s no sign of the sickness that’s churning inside me.
    Again … “You really think you can do this?”
    “Damn straight.”
    Eli comes up to us then, and he looks a little excited—as if he, too, is actually looking forward to getting inside and playing with this monstrosity some crazed hacker has created. “Come on, Pandora. How could they get worse? Besides, what if they get better?”
    It’s an enticing thought. I look at my laptop, think about doing what they ask. I don’t want to. For the first time, ever, I’m refusing to let my curiosity control me.
    Sure, it seems like things are bad now. They
are
bad, but a little voice in the back of my head tells me that we don’t have a clue what bad is. Not yet. And I just couldn’t stand it if
I
somehow made things worse.
    I think of my mom, of how annoyed she’ll be in Alaska tonight if she tries to reach me and can’t get through. How worried she’ll be, how worried Theo and Eli’s parents will be on their honeymoon, if this thing continues to spiral out of control.
    And that’s when I know—I’m going to click on the box.
    I’m going to play the game.
    Because when it comes right down to it, Theo’s right. I don’t have a choice. Some madman has seen to that.
    I take another deep breath, hold it in my lungs, then bring my laptop back to the family room. I don’t look at it, don’t look at anything, until I’m once more settled on the couch. And then I move the cursor over the box and double-click before I can change my mind.

7
     
    For a few seconds, nothing happens. Then everything does, all at the same time. The lights come back on, Theo’s and Eli’s laptops beep from the other room, and mine—mine starts to play music—a full-orchestra version of “Happy Birthday” that is totally inappropriate, considering the circumstances.
    “Told you,” Eli says, looking at the lights. “We’ve got electricity back.”
    Theo doesn’t seem as happy with that development as Eli does, but when I start to ask, he shushes me. Points to my laptop, which has begun talking to us.
    “Welcome to Pandora’s Box, the most real game you’ll ever play.” The voice that comes out is female and so overly sweet it makes me want to gag. It’s also completely unexpected and as I listen to it, I wonder what other surprises Pandora’s Box has in store for me. The thought weirds me out even more, and somehow Eli knows, because suddenlyhe’s behind me, his big hand rubbing the tension from between my shoulder blades.
    “Evil is everywhere. Your only hope is to fix what’s broken. Complete the given tasks to level up. Beat the game and find the key to a brave new world. Lose the game and life as you know it will come to an end forever. But be warned: this world is modeled after the real one. No matter how many points you amass or levels you conquer, you can only die once. There are no second chances.”
    “What does she mean, ‘fix what’s broken’?” I ask. “What do we need to fix?”
    Theo shrugs. “We’ll just have to play for a while and see.” He’s leaning back against the family room wall now, his hands shoved into his pockets. He appears totally calm, totally relaxed, but there’s a hypervigilance about him, an alertness in his eyes as he watches me, that negates the casual way he’s holding himself.
    The graphics on the screen suddenly blur, and as I watch, it feels like I’m being pulled superfast into the box. The game is sucking me through a virtual black hole, with stars and planets rushing by me